Chapter 1: I am Liqiang

It was seven o’clock at night–exactly dinner time. As usual, the restaurant Fragrant Pot, which was situated at the end of a one hundred foot long alleyway, was already bustling with noise and excitement.

The kitchen of the restaurant was in full swing. Steam and the aroma of various cuisines pervaded the surroundings. Within the restaurant, the waiters tasked with taking orders were busily doing their jobs; those in charge of serving customers were also bustling around, and the ones who were tidying up the tables and chairs were doing just that. They were completely mixed in with the customers.

Apart from the fact that it was quite clean, this small restaurant wasn’t remotely similar to a top-class restaurant. The reason for the restaurant’s popularity was mainly due to the fact that the boss had poured his blood and sweat into managing it. In addition to this, the meals were cheap and the flavor was quite decent. The majority of people who had eaten here became returning customers. This was why the restaurant was incredibly crowded with people whenever during their daily meal times, especially at night.

In contrast to the bustle of the first floor, the second floor of the restaurant was relatively quiet. A number of private rooms could be seen on the second floor, separated by room dividers and green plants. When seated upstairs, one could even see the distant Huxin Park through the window.

At this moment, within a secluded private room facing a window on the second floor of the restaurant...

A man and a woman were currently seated across a table from each other. They remained silent–causing a strange atmosphere to pervade the private room.

The dishes had already been served earlier and were just sitting there on top of the table. However, no one had touched them.

The man appeared to be more than twenty years old and wore the most ordinary of t-shirts and jeans. He was quite handsome and possessed thick eyebrows along with large eyes, looking quite similar to the Hong Kong celebrity, Luo Jialiang. In comparison, the woman was dressed in an extremely meticulous manner. She matched her black Chanel silk gown with a pearl necklace. With her locks of long, raven hair and her beautiful face, she appeared elegant and dressed in good taste. It had even caused the waiter who served the food earlier to be unable to restrain himself from taking a second glance.

Apart from the aroma of the dishes on the table, the fragrance of top quality perfume which permeated from the woman’s body could also be detected within the private room. But to the man, the scent of the perfume was unfamiliar.

“We haven’t met for a month, yet you’ve changed your perfume?” The man smiled, raising his eyes to look at the woman before him. He paused for two seconds before solemnly saying, “Jiaying, there’s no need for you to use perfume. You smell the best after you’ve taken a shower with scented soap...”

Seeing that the man had broken the silence, the woman also withdrew her gaze from the treetop in the distant park outside the window. She gazed seriously at the man sitting across from her and hesitated for a moment. “I... actually have something I want to discuss with you today!”

“What’s wrong?” As the man spoke, he had already picked up his chopsticks. As per usual, he helped the woman to her favorite seasoned stir-fried pork strips and placed it into her bowl. “Let’s talk as we eat. I was waiting for you just now. The food has already become slightly cold!”

“Let’s break up...”

The man’s gentle and kind personality allowed the girl to summon her courage all at once. She immediately expressed her thoughts, not caring about the consequences in the slightest. No matter what happened, this woman knew that the man sitting before her wouldn’t do anything to her. The dramatic affairs between a large number of couples after breaking up would end up becoming a crime/action movie. The minority would even transition into a horror or even a disaster film.

However, the man currently sitting in front of her, from when they had met until now, for the entire three years they’d been together, had never once raised his voice at her. Because of her understanding of the man, the woman knew that even if she were to propose them breaking up, the man would never do anything to her. Thus, the outcome of the break up today would only be a literary film.

After she finished, she gazed at the man’s face. She had already prepared excuses to give him prior to this. However, what she didn’t expect was that when he heard the words ‘break up,’ his facial expression wouldn’t change in the slightest. He didn’t appear shocked, nor was he stunned. There was no sadness, no heartache or hysteria. He only froze mid-motion for a brief moment, halting his actions of helping her to some food. Following this, the man placed the food into his own bowl.

He calmly ate his meal, then shot a glance at the woman before speaking in an indifferent tone, “Okay! I agree!”

The man’s indifferent attitude caused the woman to let out a sigh of relief. At the same time, her pride as a female caused her to feel slightly disappointed, even a tiny bit angry and unresigned.

Could it be that this man had feigned affection towards her through all these years? Or had he never truly loved her to begin with?

A woman’s heart was unpredictable.

“I hope you can forgive me!”

“It’s fine. This is probably because we’re not destined for each other. Today is your birthday. Initially, I wanted to give you a surprise. but it seems like there isn’t a need for one!” The man was still calm. He ate his meal as he spoke, seemingly indifferent about the situation. “I never expected that you’d be the one to surprise me instead!”

The woman was not the least bit interested in the birthday surprise the man mentioned. She only stared at the man with a judgemental and discerning gaze. “Do you know why I wanted to leave you?”

“That’s no longer important...” said the man calmly as he sighed. He cast a gaze towards the woman. It was difficult to make out even the slightest bit of sorrow on his face.

The woman glanced at the man as she shook her head. “My best friends from the past are now either driving a Mercedes-Benz, a BMW, or living in villas. If they’re not out shopping, then they are either indulging themselves with beauty treatments or doing yoga. Each one of them is living a satisfying life. I don’t want to become a faded old woman by the time I turn thirty, still thinking of how to pay the house loan on a small house with you every single day, living frugally to pay for the children’s education, or sending the elderly to the hospital...”

“So this is like what the female guest said on ‘If You Are the One’?[1] She would rather cry in a BMW than laugh on a bicycle?”

“That’s right!” The woman fell silent for a few seconds before nodding honestly.

“However, I’ve never taken you on a bicycle ride before!” The man gazed solemnly at the woman. He earnestly corrected her, “I let you ride an electric scooter! It’s environmentally friendly, convenient, and can even do a three-hundred-and-sixty degree spin!”

Even now, this man was still able to have an untimely sense of humor? He really hadn’t changed at all...

Nonetheless, the woman did not laugh.

“I’ll be thirty in a few years. I’m not young anymore. I want to seize the chance while I’m still relatively young to find a reliable man. I’m not a woman who can undergo hardships and struggles with you!”

“I can tell!”

“Perhaps our meeting back then was a mistake!” The woman stood up and grabbed her bag, preparing to leave.

“I already ordered the dishes. As this is probably our last time eating together, just treat it as a farewell dinner. Don’t waste it. Just leave after you’ve finished...” He lifted his head and glanced at the woman. She hesitated for a moment and then sat down once again.

The woman half-heartedly moved her chopsticks. In actual fact, she didn’t eat much at all. However, the man was heartless; he ate two bowls and finished more than half of the food on the table. In the end, he paid the bill and left.

Upon departing from the small store, early evening had fallen and the lanterns were beginning to light up. The two of them stood outside the restaurant before courteously splitting up.

The woman walked towards Huxin Road at the other end of the alleyway. Unexpectedly, the man also walked towards the same road.

“Yan Liqiang, we’ve already broken up...” After taking a few steps, the woman turned her head and spoke coldly to the man who was trailing after her.

“Miss Lu Jiaying, I believe you’ve mistaken my intentions. I’m going to take a car!” smiled Yan Liqiang.

“Isn’t your electric scooter somewhere in the storage station?” Lu Jiaying scrutinized the man with a grudging gaze.

She knew that when they came here to eat ordinarily, Yan Liqiang would always drive his electric scooter. Once they had finished eating, he would leave in the opposite direction of the alleyway. The only difference was that she had always left together with this man back then. Today, however, there wasn’t any need to do that anymore.

“I want to use a vehicle today!” exclaimed Yan Liqiang, shrugging his shoulders.

The woman grit her teeth and didn’t speak any further. Yan Liqiang also didn’t utter another word. Both of them walked towards the mouth of the alleyway.

By the entrance of the alleyway, a seemingly thirty year old man stood by a shiny black BMW5 as he posed like a car model and waited for the woman to emerge. Upon seeing the woman walking out with Yan Liqiang, he was slightly taken aback and once again shot a glance at the woman. In return, she gave him a meaningful gaze. After understanding the woman’s message, a reserved yet arrogant smile emerged on the BMW man’s face. He then proceeded to move towards the two.

“Greetings, you must be Yan Liqiang. Jiaying has talked about you before...” The BMW man made a victory stance as he arrogantly stretched out his hand to Yan Liqiang. “Jiaying told me that you were doing quite well in a mobile phone company. You’ll even be promoted to an assistant manager in the near future! You’re also preparing to buy a house on a mortgage...”

It was unclear as to whether the man’s tone was praising him or taunting him instead.

However, a radiant smile emerged on Yan Liqiang’s face, without the slightest trace of frustration or dejection. He extended his hand and vigorously clenched the BMW man’s hands. He swung it as though two troops from the Red Army had joined forces at Shanbei in the previous years, filled with excitement, passion, looking magnanimous, and as though relieved from a burden. “Hahaha! That work was only temporary! It was quite fun. However, I have to leave soon. Tonight’s the flight, so it will probably be difficult for us to meet again in the future. I am entrusting Jiaying to you. Jiaying is a nice girl; she’s gentle and kind. I hope you can take good care of her from now on. Oh right, I suppose Jiaying has never told you before. Never feed her iced watermelon when it’s hot because she gets headaches easily. Also, remember to boil water with molasses and fresh ginger whenever she isn’t feeling well...”

The victorious smile on the man’s face froze slightly. He then eyed the woman in suspicion. The woman was also puzzled, as she originally believed that Yan Liqiang had followed her because he felt unresigned and intended to duke it out with her new boyfriend. This was an act that every man would have done, but she had hoped that Yan Liqiang would back out after seeing her new boyfriend. However, what she didn’t expected was that Yan Liqiang’s current behavior was completely unlike a man who had just been dumped.

“Rushing to your flight? I’ll drive you to the airport then. After all, it’s quite far from here to the airport. Jiaying said you normally drive your electric scooter...” The BMW man continued to act ‘courteous.’

“There’s no need. My ride is here...”

As Yan Liqiang finished speaking, a poised, luxurious, silver Rolls-Royce Phantom came speeding in the distance. It came to a direct stop right in front of the BMW man’s car.

The Rolls-Royce’s license plate was from Shanghai. Even the license plate number appeared to be incredibly domineering. As the Rolls-Royce came to a halt, a seemingly forty year old driver dressed in a well-ironed Armani suit as well as a beautiful blonde haired and blue-eyed woman simultaneously exited the car. She wore high heels along with golden thread spectacles as she carried a briefcase. The woman owned a pair of beautiful, bewitching legs and seemed as though she was an astute, capable, and experienced model of an office lady; she was akin to Iron Man’s secretary.

When the Rolls-Royce Phantom came to a stop, the passers-by on the street were already turning their heads in order to look.

The driver wearing the Armani suit stood before Yan Liqiang and graced him with a humble bow. He then said, “Young master, the plane is ready. It’s waiting for you at the airport!”

Under Lu Jiaying and the BMW man’s wide-eyed and stunned expressions, Yan Liqiang spread his arms and affectionately embraced the beautiful female secretary. “Claudia! It’s been a while!”

“Young master, getting a flight plan approved for private planes in China is too bothersome!” exclaimed the beautiful female secretary in chinese as she shook her head after breaking out of Yan Liqiang’s embrace. She grumbled softly, before directly taking out a document from the briefcase she held. “Oh yeah! This is the medieval castle that was on sale in Europe which young master wanted me to pay attention to. I’ve prepared a set of statistics. There are a couple of nice castles in France. Young master, do you want to take a look? If you require it, I can immediately arrange for the property rights lawyer to make the relevant arrangements. However, young master, buying a real estate like a castle in France contains a number of law procedures. It requires at least a few months to get it done...”

“It’s alright...” Yan Liqiang only took a quick glance at the document, before he shook his head. “This was originally a gift and a surprise. However, it seems that they aren’t needed anymore. My father was right, I’m too naive...”

“Additionally, I have prepared the necessary materials for the soccer club in Europe that the chairman wanted to purchase.”

“Okay. Let’s look over them on the plane...”

After he finished, Yan Liqiang walked towards the Rolls-Royce. The driver in the Armani suit had already advanced two steps, personally and respectfully opening the car door for Yan Liqiang.

As he was about to lower his head to enter the car, Yan Liqiang suddenly stopped. He turned around and glanced at the pale Lu Jiaying, who was gazing at him with an astonished expression, as well as the completely dumbstruck BMW man. In the end, he uttered, “The both of you really are a perfect match for each other. I hope that the two of you can live to a ripe old age together.”

Following this, Yan Liqiang entered the car. The pretty woman named Claudia quickly glanced at Lu Jiaying and smiled. However, she didn’t speak and also entered the car. Finally, the driver in the Armani suit also moved back into his driver’s seat. Under the group of dumbstruck gazes, the stunning Rolls-Royce Phantom quietly passed through the street outside Huxin Park, and vanished within the traffic. Leaving behind a vexed woman on the verge of collapse and a completely withered man who was struck dumb as they stood at the mouth of a hundred foot long alleyway...

Chapter 2: I am not a Salted Fish

As he sat in the luxurious Rolls-Royce Phantom, Yan Liqiang gazed at the passing scenery outside with a strange expression. Neither the driver nor the beautiful secretary beside him spoke.

It was to be expected of a luxurious car.

For most of the drive, the cars on either sides of the road would keep their distance in a meticulous manner after noticing this car. As such, the driver didn’t even have the need to sound his horn. At the traffic lights, no cars dared to cut in. They were afraid of scratching the car as that would be a tragedy.

Even those who seek compensation from deliberate car crashes were intimidated by this car, that could easily be accounted by several million yuan, let alone average car owners.

As he reminisced about the times when he had been honked crazily by cars whilst on his electric scooter, Yan Liqiang reaffirmed one fact–being wealthy in this world was great!

Within twenty minutes, the Rolls-Royce had already left the lane a hundred feet behind and was about to enter the city’s highway...

Yan Liqiang was still waiting. He knew that woman would definitely call him.

As he sat within the silent vehicle, the singing voice of the Phoenix Legend abruptly surfaced within his head.

“The boundless horizon is my yearning. Flowers blossom at the foot of the green mountain. What kind of rhythm is the most touching? What kind of singing is the most pleasant...?”

As Yan Liqiang took out his Huawei phone, a blinking screen with an incoming phone call from ‘Wifey’ could be seen.

This ‘Wifey’ was naturally Lu Jiaying. Yan Liqiang had yet to even edit the contact details saved in his directory...

This call was completely within Yan Liqiang’s expectations.

He took a deep breath before handing his phone to the beautiful secretary beside him.

The beautiful secretary nodded as she accepted the phone that Yan Liqiang passed to her and pressed the hands-free button.

Lu Jiaying’s sobbing voice could be heard through the phone. “Liqiang, why did you deceive me? We’ve been together for the past few years. Am I not good enough for you? It’s my fault, I’m just an ordinary little woman....”

The beautiful secretary glanced at Yan Liqiang. Yan Liqiang nodded his head and the female secretary began to speak in English.

Lu Jiaying was a graduate from a foreign language college and had been working in a small foreign trading company in the city over the past few years so understanding a little bit of English was not a problem to her.

“How do you do, Miss Lu Jiaying? I am young master’s personal assistant, Claudia. I’m in charge of young master’s trivial matters. How may I help you...?”

The sobbing on the other end of line immediately stopped. It seemed as though Lu Jiaying didn’t expect that the call would be picked up by this woman named Claudia.

“Uhm... where’s Liqiang? I would like to speak to him...”

Lu Jiaying stammered in English.

The beautiful female secretary answered in a deadpan voice. “You’ve wasted too much of young master’s time and he was extremely disappointed. He initially thought he had found his true love upon returning to his home country. However, it seemed like you weren’t the right one for him. So Miss Lu, please do not waste any more of our young master’s time. His time is very precious and shouldn’t be wasted by doing anything worthless. Should you feel that you’ve been hurt and require compensation, you may take this to the court. Our international lawyers will be more than happy to handle it at any time.”

“Please let me speak to Liqiang. It’s my fault... I...”

When Claudia saw that Yan Liqiang had nodded, she hung up the call and returned the phone to him.

Yan Liqiang accepted the phone and immediately deleted Lu Jiaying’s contact details before turning his phone off. In the end, he leaned back in the seat weakly as his chest rose and fell with the most painful exhilaration.

The Rolls-Royce left the highway and directly headed into a street not far from the high-speed railway station before pulling over.

The high-speed railway station in the suburbs of New City had just been fixed the previous year. Other than being slightly more congested at the station, the surroundings were fairly quiet.

“Please remember to look for me should you require this type of service in the future. Thank you, boss...” The blonde beauty beamed happily as she spoke in Chinese. Prior to leaving the car, she spontaneously leaned over and gave Yan Liqiang a peck on the cheek before taking off her glasses. She let down the hair that was styled in an up-do and let it drape over her shoulders. She opened the car door and retrieved a leather suitcase from the boot of the car. After putting on her jacket, she made her way towards the high-speed railway station.

The driver glanced at Yan Liqiang through the rearview mirror before starting the car again and rejoining the flow of traffic.

“Not bad, little fella. You have a ruthless personality. You’ll definitely achieve great things in the future...” The driver dressed in the Armani suit who had been silent throughout the entire journey finally spoke for the first time, and he had even complimented him.

Yan Liqiang forced a smile, but didn’t speak.

...

After half an hour, the Rolls-Royce pulled over at an intersection of the Old City District. The roadsides in this area were filled with willows and the national highway was just up ahead. As he stood here, he was able to see the distant lights of the nearby university campuses.

The road here was very secluded; cars rarely passed by and this area wasn’t being monitored.

Yan Liqiang exited the car.

The driver dressed in the Armani suit exited along with him and replaced the front and back car plates on the Rolls-Royce with extraordinary speed before returning to the car. Within a blink of an eye, he was already at the national highway and had disappeared from Yan Liqiang’s line of sight.

Yan Liqiang’s lonely figure stood in a forlorn manner under the lights of the lamp post by the road, it was as though he was a petrified sculpture. He stood blankly for more than five minutes before fishing out a pack of cigarettes from the pocket of his shirt and lit it up.

Under the dim light, a desolate figure emanating an aura of ruthlessness could be seen shrouded in smoke. A number of cyclists passing by were daunted by this scene. In fear of being robbed, they pedaled their bicycles as fast as possible.

The cigarette butts on the ground piled up one after another.

The event that had occurred on this day seemed as though it was a scene from a movie. That’s right. Everything was directed by Yan Liqiang himself.

He had already guessed that the reason why Lu Jiaying wanted to meet with him on this day was in order to break up with him. For the last two months, it had become increasingly difficult for him to reach Lu Jiaying on the phone. Even if he did, they would hang up after exchanging a few brief lines. Towards the end, Lu Jiaying had even came up with various excuses in order to avoid his calls and the couple barely met anymore. During that time, he already had a feeling that Lu Jiaying was hiding something. It was only until a few days ago when he was out to meet his client that he witnessed the sight of Lu Jiaying clinging onto the BMW man as they came out from the Hilton Hotel. It was only then that everything became clear to him.

After asking a friend who worked at the same company with Lu Jiaying, Yan Liqiang uncovered the truth. That BMW man was some bullsh*t director who had just joined Lu Jiaying’s company. He came from an impressive family and seemed to be worth a few millions dollars. As he drove his BMW on his first day to work, he noticed Lu Jiaying’s beauty and began to pursue her. However, Lu Jiaying quickly sunk into the man’s pursuit. The two of them hit it off and got together in a short period of time.

During a time where love was fickle, a person’s betrayal was sometimes as simple as this.

In the past, Yan Liqiang had never thought that Lu Jiaying was this kind of person. However, only after this had happened did he realize how young and how naive he was after all.

Yan Liqiang had already predicted what Lu Jiaying wanted to discuss with him during their meetup today.

Claudia, the foreign beauty who dressed up like the female secretary of Iron Man, was a foreign student that he had hired from Shanghai.

Claudia was British and was preparing to return to her country. She was only earning a mere few hundred yuan per day from working nightly in a bar. Thus. Yan Liqiang had paid her 4,000 yuan, which was more than what she would earn in a single week. After knowing the role that she had to play, Claudia happily accepted his offer.

The Rolls-Royce had been rented from Shanghai and the cross city service costed 15,000 yuan per day.

The car plate of the rented Rolls-Royce would expose him, hence Yan Liqiang personally gave the driver another 6,000 yuan and requested that he temporarily change the car plate.

There weren’t many Rolls-Royce in this city. Furthermore, their operation was carried out during the night. Replacing car plates would, at most, take a few hours. Under the temptation of Yan Liqiang’s money, the driver agreed to it.

He didn’t have that many lines either and had practiced them beforehand; these lines were short and had no flaws. The Armani suit he wore was his normal uniform.

After spending 20,000 yuan, Yan Liqiang finally sought revenge against his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend on this night, giving them an unforgettable memory which would last a lifetime.

20,000 yuan wasn’t a small amount to Yan Liqiang; it was equivalent to a few months of his wage in his current job.

Was it worth it?

To some, perhaps it wasn’t worth it. But to Yan Liqiang, it was very much worth it.

In ‘Shaolin Soccer’, Stephen Chow had once said, “If a man has no dreams, how different is he to a salted fish [1]?”

After watching ‘Shaolin Soccer’, this quote revolved incessantly within his mind. In Yan Liqiang’s opinion, things such as dreams were too meaningless, indistinct and philosophical to an ordinary person like him. Bullsh*tting was an extremely practical thing and was greatly appreciated and approved by everyone.

Henceforth, the life motto which motivated him to strive in life was, “If a man doesn’t bullsh*t, how different is he to a salted fish?”

Only when bullsh*tting is able to be performed in style and bring out a person’s manners and standards will the state and meaning of life surface.. It was similar to how Mr. Wang had talked about setting a small goal of a hundred million yuan in life first [2], or how Mr. Ma had said that he had never touched money, [3] and so on. It could be said that the history of human society’s development was a history of ever-changing patterns in bullsh*tting.

The lowest tier of bullsh*tting was showing off vulgarity, whereas the highest tier of bullsh*tting was a sacred rite. These were the levels of bullsh*tting.

The events that had occurred on this day were executed perfectly.

If Yan Liqiang hadn’t put on this facade today, the outcome would have been completely different. He would be no different than a salted fish. However, he wasn’t a salted fish, and thus put on facade. Based on the impact of this act, he gave it a score of 95.

After the ninth cigarette butt fell to the ground, Yan Liqiang crumpled the empty cigarette pack into a ball and fiercely hurled it onto the floor.

“F*ck...”

His voice was deep and hoarse as he cursed. It sounded similar to the roar of an injured, wild wolf. With this single word, Yan Liqiang expelled all the resentment and emotions bottled up within his heart.

He let out another long sigh and felt the stifling emotions in his heart grow lighter. Yan Liqiang laughed wildly when he thought back to his staged act and his sweet revenge. It started off as a small smile, then escalated into a series of wild laughs. He laughed in solitary until his body convulsed under the streetlights. In the end, he teared up, just like a nutcase.

Chapter 3: Meteor Falling From the Sky

After smoking to vent out his emotions, Yan Liqiang walked toward the distant Old City District. As he made his way towards that area, he thought about his future plans.

He did not wish to stay in this city any further.

He had already resigned from the company yesterday. This was only partially due to Lu Jiaying’s actions as the idea had already been haunting him from the start. Now that the conditions were met, he had no qualms about leaving the company and trying to make a living for himself.

The department manager in his company had been working to degrade and discredit Yan Liqiang of his work. This man who would go as far as to even strike off Yan Liqiang’s name from the creator’s list when Yan Liqiang made a brilliant powerpoint slide to be uploaded into the company’s Office Automation system. He had done it out of fear for the fact that the boss might know that Yan Liqiang was the one who made the powerpoint slides in the first place.

However, even though the man was constantly oppressing him, Yan Liqiang was still able to do surprisingly well within the company based on his outstanding abilities alone.

It was this year in particular where Yan Liqiang’s services had risen to the top of the company for four consecutive quarters.

Despite all of this, Yan Liqiang still chose to leave in the end. It was because one of the old executives he knew admired his skills and character very much and wanted to invest in a large-scale mobile-electronics shopping mall within another city, intending to let Yan Liqiang manage it. Additionally, he had also given Yan Liqiang a large share of the land, allowing him to become both a shareholder and partner of the company from a mere employee in a single step.

At first, Yan Liqiang was hesitant to leave due to his bright future within the company. However, in a flash, his income and benefits had began to multiply rapidly. However, in order to rope in Yan Liqiang and express his sincerity, the old executive had even changed the name of his investment into Yan Liqiang’s name.

He had already gone to this extent, so what else could Yan Liqiang say?

His life would start anew. Yan Liqiang was confident that he would definitely excel. The act that he had put on today might one day come into fruition. Even if he wasn’t able to be a rich second generation [1], there was still a chance that he would someday be the father of one. For the sake of that miniscule chance, Yan Liqiang would desperately put up a fight for it.

‘If you don’t struggle, then how different are you from a salted fish?’ This was Yan Liqiang’s second motto in his lifetime.

During this time period, Yan Liqiang was no longer in pain. The most heart aching and painful moment for him was when he had first discovered that Lu Jiaying had cheated on him. The shock from the impact that he had suffered almost made him collapsed on the spot. Extreme measures had even surfaced in his mind at that moment, but after getting over it, he realized that there really wasn’t any need for him to harm people for the sake of one treacherous and self-conscious woman. It really wasn’t worth it. Bygones should just be bygones.

If it weren’t for the fact that Lu Jiaying had gone to the extremes, and that the two were really not meant for each other, Yan Liqiang would likely not have gone as far as he did. The facade he put on today was a lesson for that vain woman.

When he thought back to his facade, Yan Liqiang couldn’t help but laugh whenever he thought of how remorseful and ashamed she must be feeling right now. It was akin to the satisfaction one felt after a prank had succeeded. This joy managed to gradually washed away the depression in his heart.

Yan Liqiang felt that of all the pretenses that he had put on throughout all these years, only the one today could be considered to be the apex of his acting career.

He fished out his switched-off mobile phone, removed the sim card from his phone and threw it directly into a smelly gutter by the roadside. Yan Liqiang inserted a new sim card into the slot before switching on his phone. Following this, he called a number.

“Hey, Liqiang! How is your work coming along?” An enthusiastic middle-aged man’s voice, brimming with energy, answered the call.

“Manager Zhao! It’s already been dealt with. I should arrive at Guangzhou Airport at four o’clock tomorrow afternoon!”

“You don’t have to address me as Manager Zhao anymore, Brother Huan will do!” The tone of the middle-aged man coming from the phone now sounded extremely serious and forthright. “I will send a car to pick you up from the airport tomorrow afternoon, and I’ll also find us a place to hold the welcoming dinner at night. I’m planning on introducing a couple of friends to you. These friends of mine are very capable in Guangzhou! After they had heard what I had said about you, they said that it was very rare to find someone as loyal as you in this generation, so they really want to be acquainted with you...”

“Okay! Thank you, Brother Huan!”

“Why are you thanking me? Don’t you be so courteous with me from now on! If it weren’t for your zealous help, I would’ve lost over one hundred million yuan for those goods by those bloody cheating koreans! It’s not really a big issue losing that amount of money since it’s only a couple of houses. But my reputation was at stake! Liqiang, you were the one who had saved my dignity! I absolutely admire your personality! You’re capable and loyal, so you don’t have much to worry once you reach Guangzhou. I’ve already found you a place to stay and settled on your car. You don’t have to worry about anything at all! Just concentrate on doing your job and I’ll completely hand over the shopping mall work to you. I’ve only arranged for a financial manager and as for the rest, you make the call. The shopping mall is only a small business and is considered as my investment. However, once you settle in, make some achievements, and gain a little experience, it’ll be easier for me to transfer you into the corporation to help me out. The other shareholders of the company will not object to it!”

After ending the call, Yan Liqiang heaved out hefty sigh. The depression that he had felt deep down vanished like smoke in thin air. He felt that his life was no different from a see-saw. Although he had failed in relationship affairs, his career had quietly advanced to a higher and all new stage thanks to the good karma he had accumulated throughout the years!

Even if he hadn’t put on a facade today, if Lu Jiaying had found out Yan Liqiang’s current situation, she still would’ve definitely regret her choices. Yet, Yan Liqiang still continued to pretend, not for the sake of anyone else, but for that one word–satisfaction!

He wasn’t the kind of man who couldn’t survive without a woman, so Yan Liqiang could accept Lu Jiaying’s departure. However, he could never bring himself to forgive her for her betrayal. Towards traitors, there was naturally no need to be sincere to them.

...

“Selling radios, insoles, needleworks...”

After ending the call with his Brother Huan, Yan Liqiang had subconsciously walked to a street on the Old City District where the voice of a peddler under the street light next to Yan Liqiang had caught his attention.

It was an old couple, still working in their street stall at this time of the day. They were sharply dressed and next to them was a small and shabby looking tricycle. The old man was at the stall trying to attract customers while the wife was sitting on the tricycle, using a couple of pieces of rags to cut insoles. Their stall was set up right under the street light. The light from the street light happened to illuminate the items in their booth clearly in the night.

When he saw the two old couple sitting on the ground selling things, Yan Liqiang couldn’t help but feel a little pain.

Perhaps there were a lot of youngsters who were born in the big city and would never see vendor’s booth like this in their lifetime. They would never have imagined that these items could actually be used to set up a stall in the street.

The old man had placed a couple of worn-out items on top of the green plastic cloth for display. There was an old-fashioned radio with the paint peeling off, a few w-filament bulbs, an old pair of dusty gloves, a box of old screws, a couple of pairs of insoles, two no longer new nail clippers, a box of needles, some threads, rubber bands and buttons, a few pieces of old mobile phone batteries of unknown models, two powerboards, as well as a pile of old books and a couple of other miscellaneous stuffs...

To most, even if these items were thrown into the rubbish pile, nobody would pick them up, let alone use them to earn money. This was simply a joke.

However, Yan Liqiang knew that this old couple wasn’t doing this to fool around. The majority of the elderly who were in the latter stages of life either lived their lives laid off or living in the old district without any living resources. They really were just setting up a stall in the street in hopes that these items could earn them some money.

This wasn’t Yan Liqiang’s first time encountering these kind of elderlies. During the day, the city inspectors were strict so the elderlies were afraid to come out, so it was only during the night that they could emerge to set up their booth. There were many instances where Yan Liqiang had seen that the old man and wife selling things like half a bottle of soy sauce, half of a noodle, a few beer bottles, half of a medicine bottle for colds, a set of old chess pieces or anything of the sort... To these elderlies, this was the only way that they could think of that allowed them to make money whilst retaining their pride.

Yan Liqiang wasn’t that much of a prideful man, so he had no qualms about buying things from the old couple. Everytime he saw the old couple setting up their stall, he would buy their things even if he would never use them.

Yan Liqiang arrived before the old man’s booth and knelt down to look over the items in the booth.

The old man watched Yan Liqiang with a hopeful yet uneasy gaze. “Young man, take a look at what you need. These things are cheaper than those sold in shops. They can still be used...”

Yan Liqiang also didn’t know exactly what it is he should buy. However, it was at these moments where Yan Liqiang’s acting skills were exhibited.

As Yan Liqiang scanned the old books on display, he caught sight of an interesting old book among them named the ‘Performing Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Internal Cultivation Manual’. This was an old book which appeared to be published twenty years ago by the Zhongzhou Ancient Books publishing company. The price of the first print was only twenty-six yuan.

When he laid eyes on this book, he was taken aback due to the fact that he had never expected that a rare manual like the Muscle Tendon Changing Manual had truly existed. In the past, he had thought that such a thing was only invented for novels and movies and would never have dreamt that a thing like this actually existed in real life. Under the lights by the road, he flipped through the book unhurriedly. He realized that apart from a couple pages’ worth of prefaces and a few text, the rest were all drawings depicting different forms of training techniques.

As Yan Liqiang stared at this book hidden amongst the pile of old books, he didn’t really find anything else that attracted his attention. He sighed in amazement at the broad and profound culture of China, so much so that he could easily find a secret cultivation manual in a pile of old books.

Ah, whatever. This will just be treated as a bit of fun. He could wait until when he was more free once he was old, and exercise according to this manual at the park everyday in the morning, treating it as broadcast exercises. He could still act in front of everyone else. While the others were doing open-air fitness dancing, he was practising the Muscle Tendon Changing Manual. If word got out, the standard would be completely different!

Grasping onto this thought, Yan Liqiang yelled out in a pompous tone, “Ah, I’ve finally found it! I can’t believe that I can still find this kind of things out here...” A gleeful expression emerged on Yan Liqiang’s face. He waved the old book at the old man selling it. “Uncle, how much are you selling this book for?”

“This...this book costs ten yuan.” Since it was such an old book, the old man felt a bit of embarrassment from his sales pitch since he felt that the price for the book was too high.

“Ten yuan? It’s that cheap?” Yan Liqiang was shocked. He quickly patted all over his body before retrieving five red notes from his pocket, and handed them over. “Uncle, I’ll take this book. Here’s five hundred yuan...”

“Ah! That much...” The old man jumped in fright and quickly waved his hands to dissuade Yan Liqiang. He didn’t take the cash. “I don’t need this much! I really don’t...”

He had already spent a lot of money from the previous performance alone. Hence, he didn’t mind spending five hundred yuan more this time. However, it felt satisfying to spend this kind of money whilst explaining in a bullshit manner. Yet to some people, this amount of cash wasn’t even enough for health care. But to these elderlies, this small amount would probably cover their living expenses for a whole month.

“Uncle, you have no idea. This book of yours is extraordinary. It’s extremely valuable...”

“Oh, this... I’ve seen it online before. They’re also selling it. A brand new set only costs roughly fifty to sixty yuan. I’ve only salvaged this book from the recycling centre, it shouldn’t cost that much...” The uncle seller also wasn’t a money-grubber.

“Uncle, you have no clue! This book is like wine and stamps. You have to look at the year as well as the edition. This book was published earlier and is extremely scarce, so it has a special collectible value. The book will probably worth more in a few years time...”

“Really?” The uncle was still half in doubt after being persuaded by Yan Liqiang

“I won’t take advantage of uncle! Five hundred yuan it is!” said Yan Liqiang solemnly. In truth, he too had almost fell for his own lies. Once he finished speaking, he immediately stuffed the five red notes into the old man’s hand. Without waiting for the old man to respond, he grabbed the book and ran off.

The old man from within the street stall watched Yan Liqiang leave with a grateful, yet perplexed expression. After a while, he took another glance at the five red notes that remained clutched within his hands. Letting out a sigh, he turned his gaze towards his wife and said, “It looks like there’re still quite a lot of good people in the world. We have certainly met a nice one today...”

...

There were few people walking on the streets and the streetlights were quite bright. More than ten minutes later, after leaving the old man’s booth, Yan Liqiang walked as he flipped through the pages of the book in his hands. At this moment, he heard somebody excitedly shouted loudly from afar.

“Ah! It’s a meteor! And it’s heading in this direction...”

As he walked on the sidewalk, Yan Liqiang came to a sudden halt as he turned his attention towards the sky in a dumbstruck manner. He had only just raised his head and sensed that the surrounding streets had suddenly became radiant. Everything was engulfed in a plume of white light. Before Yan Liqiang could react, a loud ‘BOOM!’ resounded out from a nearby area, and he instantly lost consciousness...

...

Yan Liqing had vanished. All that remained at the sidewalk where he was initially was a gigantic hole with a diameter of countless metres. After a few minutes had passed, the city’s fire truck and police cars had all arrived under the screams that filled the scene. A warning line was immediately put on site, and even the reporters from the TV station had came...

...

A week had passed, and in the archive room of the city’s public security bureau, another person was added to the missing people list: Yan Liqiang. Male. Han Ethnic Group. He was born in a certain month and date and was reported missing on a certain month and date from the city....

Chapter 4: A Bizarre World

“Liqiang, wake up... Liqiang, wake up...”

It was unknown as to when, but an anxious shout faintly rung in Yan Liqiang’s ears. During which, he also felt that there was a person lightly patting his face. The shout gradually shifted from being barely audible to distinctly clear. This voice became so clear that Yan Liqiang had even sensed that someone had begun to shout loudly in his ears, prompting him to open his eyes.

What fell into his line of sight was the face of a fourteen to fifteen years old youngster whose face was pressed closely to his own body. His face was slightly chubby and was even covered with a couple of pimples. His eyes were also slightly reddened, filled with apprehension and fury. It was the owner of this face who had been using his hand to slap his face.

To Yan Liqiang, the owner of this face belonged to a stranger, and yet, he had an indescribable feeling that he knew the youth well. However, he was momentarily unable to recall the name of this youth.

Upon seeing that Yan Liqiang had opened his eyes, the youth’s face was immediately overwhelmed with delight. “Ah! You’re awake! You’re awake! Liqiang, are you alright...?”

Yan Liqiang’s mind was still a little hazy, his consciousness still slightly fuzzy.

“Everyone, please give way. Don’t surround him. Let’s get him to the medical hall first...” The voice of the middle-aged man’s voice sounded in Yan Liqiang’s ears. Soon after, the fourteen or fifteen year old youth quickly stood up. It was only after he had stood up that did he realize that he was lying on the ground, surrounded by a mob of teenagers. Each of their figures towered over him as they stared at him with strange expressions on their faces.

Some of them were eyeing him with concerned gazes while the others’ eyes were filled with traces of schadenfreude. Furthermore, there were some people whose faces held traces of astonishment and curiosity amongst the crowd.

However, the thing that made Yan Liqiang confused was the manner the youngsters around him were dressed; it was extremely peculiar. They were all wearing the same outfit held together by the belt clasped around their waist. The whole get up reminded Yan Liqiang of martial art training robes. They also had long hair, it was no different from the hairstyles he had seen from various TV dramas.

‘What’s going on?’ A question had begun to surface within Yan Liqiang’s mind. Was this a prank? Or was he dreaming?

The moment the idea that he was dreaming surfaced within his mind, Yan Liqiang felt an excruciating amount of pain resonating from his head, back, and right arm. The pain was distinct and intense, attacking Yan Liqiang in the form of a rhythm, provoking his entire central nervous system. Thus, warning Yan Liqiang that his body was currently in immense danger. It all felt unmistakably real.

While enduring the excruciating pain, Yan Liqiang finally managed to catch a quick glimpse of the surrounding youths when his vision grew clear enough to see. He could hear faint murmurs coming from the crowd of people.

‘It’s his fault for gloating in front of everyone everyday! Now he got his just desserts. Haha...’

‘Serves him right!’

‘I never imagined that Hong Tao would be so amazing. He had trained the Iron Palm to the third layer, and had done so under everyone’s noses! But he put too much strength into his attack, he almost killed Yan Liqiang...’

‘I never expected Yan Liqiang would still be able to open his eyes! Hong Tao should have been crueler with his attacks! He should’ve crippled this annoying fellow so he won’t be able to participate in the Martial Arts County Trial in two months... ’

Yan Liqiang felt that his vision was blurred once again, the throbbing pain in his head contrasted his empty body. The clear faces he had seen and the remarks he had heard, was blurred once again.

Who were these people? Why did he feel like he knew them, yet didn’t at the same time? He was dreaming. He had to be dreaming. He must certainly be dreaming.

The voice spiralled within Yan Liqiang’s heart. However, regardless of the voice’s words, the scene before his eyes, as well as the sensation coming from his body was becoming more and more real.

The crowd abruptly dispersed as a man who seemed roughly thirty with a bulky build and a tanned face appeared before Yan Liqiang. He knelt down, casting a glance at Yan Liqiang’s broken body with his lowered eyes. Using his hand, he pinched Yan Liqiang’s body in various locations, as though he were examining him thoroughly. Following this, he lifted Yan Liqiang’s right hand with his own, pulling and twisting before letting go. A ‘crack!’ sound could be heard from his body as the dislocated arm instantly snapped back to place.

After his arm snapped back into place, Yan Liqiang groaned with his forehead drenched with sweat.

The man got up onto his feet and gestured with his hands, instructing in a low tone, “Move Yan Liqiang to the medical hall...”

A stretcher was moved to Yan Liqiang’s side, and he was lifted into it. Following which, the crowd parted, opening up a path as they witnessed the scene of the beaten down Yan Liqiang, lying down and being carried away on a stretcher.

As he lay on the stretcher, Yan Liqiang’s field of vision only consisted of the densely packed crowd in his surrounding. He was unsure how many people were there. The crowd consisted of males and females all wearing similar training robes. They watched him leave with various kinds of expressions. Not far from this area, Yan Liqiang caught sight of an arena, protruding above the ground at around two metres high. A fifteen or sixteen year old young man with a stout build stood on the arena with arms crossed, casting an arrogant and cold gaze at him. A trace of ridicule could be seen hanging from the corners of his lips. Behind this youth, an enormous projection of a green palm looking to be more than one metre tall could be seen to be slowly fading away...

Focusing his gaze even further, he saw a banner that hung above the arena. A large line of text could be seen written on it. It read, ‘Martial Arts County Trial’s Preliminary Exam in Qinghe County of Pingxi Prefecture’.

An old man clad in long robes could be heard loudly roaring in the distance after Yan Liqiang had left, “The victor of the fourth arena’s seventh preliminary tournament is Hong Tao! The next group, get ready...”

Everything continued to proceed. Yet, Yan Liqiang’s state of mind remained in a state of confusion.

After being carried away from the densely packed crowd, Yan Liqiang just noticed that he was currently in a large courtyard. Within the courtyard were a few odd-looking Chinese style buildings. Adjacent to the field in the centre of the courtyard was a row of weapon racks. It was currently morning; the shades of the tree worked as a shelter for the birds that were twittering and a flowery fragrance pervaded the air from within the courtyard. Youngsters could be heard yelling from the fights in the distant arena.

The sky was so blue and enchanting that it could attracted one’s attention. With such a clear and blue sky in sight, Yan Liqiang couldn’t help but recall the last time that he had seen such a sky; it was when he had traveled to Shangri-la at Yunnan.

Suddenly, the stretcher shook and in that brief moment of time, Yan Liqiang fell from the stretcher, his entire body collided with the floor. Waves of excruciating pain bombarded him and his vision couldn’t help but blurr again....

“Xu Changle, what do you think you’re doing?” The fatty lifting the stretcher berated angrily.

“Sorry, my hands slipped...”

“You’re clearly doing it on purpose...”

“So what if I did it intentionally? Hmph! Su Chang, this has nothing to do with you. Do you think Yan Liqiang would still dare to be as haughty as he was before?”

As he listened to the argument around him, Yan Liqiang couldn’t help but laugh bitterly to himself. It seems like the previous Yan Liqiang had made enemies out of a lot of people and wasn’t popular. At this time, even the person lifting his stretcher would go as far as to seize this opportunity to teach him a lesson...

A wave of weakness flooded his mind, forcing Yan Liqiang to faint once again.

...

While unconscious, Yan Liqiang found himself in a long dream. In this dream, he was born in a bizarre world called the Silver Continent. The Silver Continent had many clans that stood in great numbers. In this place, the weak were prey to the strong; it was a place where powerful countries, tyrants, large clans and sects infested the world. This was a world where martial arts was held in the highest regard and dominated everything by force. In this world, he was still known as Yan Liqiang, and was no different than the other him on earth who had grown up from an orphanage. In this world, he had an insane and strict father, who was a blacksmith from the Qinghe County under the Pingxi Prefecture in the Great Han empire. From the moment his brain could store memories, his father only had one request from him: to train in martial arts. Apart from madly indulging himself in martial arts training, he couldn’t recall much of anything else.

At the end of the long dream, Yan Liqiang once again saw the earth he was born on, and his past self who very much enjoyed to act. He caught sight of Lu Jiaying, and witnessed the meteor shooting right at him, as well as the broiling white light.

Within the light, the two distinct dreams and memories ultimately and completely merged together. The two Yan Liqiangs had also became one.

...

Yan Liqiang woke up, opened his eyes, and realized that he had been lying in bed. At this moment, everything that had transpired on earth before were no different to an unrealistic dream to him.

The first thing to enter his line of sight was a spotless and white roof, as well as the spotlessly white mosquito net that hung over the bed. After that, his nostrils were assaulted by the stench of alcohol as well as the scent of strong chinese herbal medicines. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that this was a ward.

The room was empty. Yan Liqiang took a quick glance out of the window. Judging by the time of the day, it should be in the evening. This meant that he had been lying here for half of the day.

With plenty of time to rest, Yan Liqiang sobered up; his brain had completely recovered his consciousness. He was fine except for his chest and back that still felt some discomfort. In addition, the back of his head was still somewhat sore. As he reached out to touch his head, Yan Liqiang could feel a bump swelling at the back of his head.

Only after removing his blanket did he realize that he was topless. His chest and back were held together by a layer of white gauze. His chest felt scorching hot. It seems that medicine had been applied his body prior to his awakening.

Yan Liqiang got off the bed with his clothes still draped over his shoulders. He noticed a mirror on the wall adjacent to the bed. Yan Liqiang was dumbstruck as he stared at the fourteen or fifteen year old youth in the mirror.

The young man’s face in the mirror was exactly the same as his on earth in his previous life. Even the vermillion birthmark found on his left earlobe was present. He hadn’t changed at all. The only difference was that, during the time when he was around fourteen or fifteen of age in his previous life, his body was still in the developing stage, so it was slender and weak, practically resembling a bean sprout. However, things were different now, the current figure of the fourteen or fifteen year old young man in the mirror was extremely wonderful! He could easily be a model! Not only were the youth’s arm, the muscles and lines on his chest and belly were all easily noticeable. This was especially true in his lower abdomen where a six pack was clearly visible. His body was full of strength and vigor. For a fourteen or fifteen year old young man to possess this kind of body figure, it was pretty much impossible to train it to become this fit. At least, not without enduring years of painstaking hard work and working out.

He had really struck gold!

Initially, Yan Liqiang felt a bit depressed inside, but having seen his body and figure that was younger by ten years for the first time in the mirror, his mood changed for the better. The corners of his mouth couldn’t help but break into a smile.

“My son! Where is my son, Yan Liqiang...?” A man’s irritated voice could be heard from outside the room. Yan Liqiang was just about to turn his head before the door of the room was forcibly opened in an abrupt manner and a man barged in...

Chapter 5: Ambushed

The burly man who pushed the door open was around forty years old. His body was strong and firm, the clothes on him were slightly stained with iron scrubs and carried the stench of fire and smoke. And rather than saying that he pushed the ward door open, it was more appropriate to say that he was the one who dismantled it.

The man was accompanied by two youths. He recognized one of the youths as the little fatty named Su Chang, whom he had seen earlier after he regained consciousness. The other youth was slightly thinner in appearance.

The three of them were sweating buckets as they gasped for breath. They seemed to have run all the way here without resting.

“Liqiang! Are you alright? Where does it hurt? Do you feel any discomfort...”

Before Yan Liqiang could say anything, the forty-year-old man was already anxiously approaching him in large strides. His hands tightly grasped Yan Liqiang’s shoulders, and he made a thorough inspection. Upon seeing a lack of critical injuries, the anxious expression on his face eventually relaxed.

When Yan Liqiang saw this display of deep concern, and the look of worry evident on the man’s face, he felt moved beyond words, the feeling resonating from deep within his heart. In his previous lifetime, he had grown up in an orphanage, so from a young age he had never known of fatherly love. Never would he have imagined being blessed with such a father in this lifetime.

“Father, I’m alright. They’ve already tended to my wounds. I think just a couple day’s worth of rest should be enough!”

“It’s great you’re alright! It’s great you’re alright!” The large pair of hands that had been pressing down on Yan Liqiang’s shoulders were finally lifted, allowing him to heave a heavy sigh of relief in response. “If it weren’t for Su Chang and Qi Donglai coming to inform me this time, I wouldn’t even have known what had happened to you...” After he finished, the man turned his head, gazing at the two youths who’d come along with him. “Su Chang, Donglai, I’ll be sure to treat you two to some drinks the next time you decide to come over to my house again. It’s already quite late now. Your families are most likely still waiting for you. The both of you should probably head home soon!”

Su Chang nodded his head in agreement while casting a glance at Yan Liqiang. “Alright, Uncle Yan. Now that Liqiang is awake, we can head back now!”

“Just go! Just go!”

The two youths were about to turn to leave, when Yan Liqiang suddenly called out to them, stopping them right in their tracks. “Su Chang, Donglai, thank you so much for your help this time!”

The youth named Su Chang was slightly caught off-guard by this, as though he’d never expected to hear the word ‘thanks’ coming from Yan Liqiang. Chuckling, he scratched his head. “Um... Sure thing! You’re most welcome...”

Beside him, the one called Qi Donglai shot a peculiar glance at Yan Liqiang. He realized that this gaze was being returned by a pair of keen eyes staring right at his face. The youngster, Qi Donglai, smiled. “Alright then, Liqiang, you rest well!”

...

As he watched Su Chang and Qi Donglai leave together, a question couldn’t help but surface from deep within Yan Liqiang’s heart. He didn’t understand why, but he found that Qi Donglai looked slightly tense. When Yan Liqiang had looked at him just now, Qi Donglai had involuntarily reacted by lightly pursing his mouth, unconsciously gulping down a mouthful of saliva. Based on Yan Liqiang’s experience in his previous life, this kind of expression made it evident that Qi Donglai had been chock-full of nervousness at that moment.

Why had Qi Donglai been so nervous when facing him?

All of a sudden, Yan Liqiang recalled today’s situation when he was battling Hong Tao.

During that time, a mishap had certainly befallen him in the arena. When he was battling Hong Tao, there had been a split second when a sudden numbing sensation from his right leg had caused his entire body to freeze in place, slowing down his movements in turn. It was precisely why Hong Tao had been able to seize the opportunity to get close enough to use the Iron Palm. Both of his palms had heavily attacked Yan Liqiang’s body, immediately sending him flying from the battle arena, and causing him to suffer a great defeat as a result. Furthermore, he was now covered in injuries and it would take time for a complete recovery.

He was really in the dark as to how Hong Tao had managed to train himself to use the Iron Palm technique and somehow still maintain it in the utmost secrecy. But even if Hong Tao had been in training, it still shouldn’t have been for too long, so it was safe to assume that his Iron Palm had yet to attain a high level. Thus, if they’d really fought it out, Yan Liqiang shouldn’t have suffered such a shameful defeat.

7

“Liqiang, weren’t you equally matched with Hong Tao before? And you’ve fought each other before this too. Even if he had been training the Iron Palm in secrecy for some time, he couldn’t have practiced it for long. On the arena today, you shouldn’t have lost as horribly as you did. What happened?”

After Su Chang and Qi Donglai left the room, Yan Liqiang’s father, Yan Dechang, began to interrogate him on what exactly had happened in the arena today. From the way he looked, it seemed Yan Dechang was taking Yan Liqiang’s defeat more to heart than Yan Liqiang himself.

“I’m not sure what happened myself, but the fact remains that within a split second, Hong Tao struck me before I had the chance to react. Maybe I was slightly taken aback by the fact that Hong Tao had learned the Iron Palm...” Yan Liqiang explained in detail.

“The outcome of one battle doesn’t prove much. Winning and losing are common occurrences in the field of military operations. As long as you work harder afterward and learn from your experiences, you will definitely be able to defeat Hong Tao the next time you meet him on the battlefield. You must become Qinghe County’s most formidable man for this generation! You have to defeat that Hong Tao! Do you understand me?!” Yan Dechang’s gaze glimmered with immense hope as he stared at Yan Liqiang, his tone putting a remarkable amount of pressure on him. His hands once again rested on Yan Liqiang’s shoulders, squeezing them tightly.

What else could Yan Liqiang say? He could only nod his head as he had done many times throughout the years. During that time, Yan Liqiang had developed a tendency of being submissive within the presence of his father. As for the ‘little life goal’ that his father entrusted him with, it was to stand at the top of Qinghe County’s younger generation.

Yan Dechang finally breathed a sigh of relief after seeing Yan Liqiang nodding his head.

For their remaining time, Yan Dechang had gotten hold of the physician from the medical hall. After relentlessly asking with meticulous detail about Yan Liqiang’s injuries, he found that apart from the bruise on his chest, Yan Liqiang’s body was quite fine. As long as he stopped his martial arts training for a month or two, as well as refrained from making any large movements, his body should gradually recover. After buying two bottles of healing medicinal liquor, Yan Dechang left the medical ward, taking Yan Liqiang with him.

The medical hall was situated inside the martial arts academy. By the time the both of them had departed from the medical hall, the martial arts academy was practically deserted. The training field and the arena were empty, completely devoid of the clamor that could be heard during the daytime. Only the medical hall remained bustling with activity, with people still waiting to see the physician.

As they left the martial arts academy, Yan Dechang’s brows knitted together, his facial expression as cold as iron. The moment the physician said that Yan Liqiang required around one or two months of rest, his expression had darkened considerably. Because if that was the case, then that meant Yan Liqiang would be unable to participate in the Martial Arts County Trial being held in two months...

Qinghe County Town was located just outside of the martial arts academy. Naturally, the county town was the most bustling place in all of Qinghe County. The street located outside the martial arts academy was about five zhang wide with a seemingly endless stream of horses and carriages moving through it, amid people scurrying about their daily lives. A great number of shops and buildings of lofty size stood by the street, which made this place extremely lively.

The sun had just set in the west while the sky was beginning to darken. Some of the shops had already hung a red lantern at their entrances to illuminate the streets, and the majority of the people were wearing long traditional Han Chinese robes with swords and blades hanging from their waists. Each and every one of them appeared to be treading on light air, full of heroic spirit. Looking at these surroundings, it felt no different from being in a dream.

Yan Dechang surveyed his vicinity and immediately instructed Yan Liqiang, “Wait here. The physician told me that you shouldn’t move excessively for the next few days, so I’ll call us a cart. It’s a couple of li to reach home from here. We’ll use the cart to get back!”

After he finished, without waiting for Yan Liqiang to respond, he advanced towards the end of the street to find a ride on his own.

Witnessing Yan Dechang leave by himself, Yan Liqiang laughed bitterly. As a father, Yan Dechang was too strict on Yan Liqiang. In his memories, Yan Dechang was the epitome of a ‘tiger dad’. From an early age, Yan Dechang had paved the path for Yan Liqiang, and so there was no need for Yan Liqiang to worry about anything at all. The only task of importance expected of Yan Liqiang was for him to do his martial arts training–to do his martial arts training and become stronger, stronger and even stronger. And it was precisely because he had this kind of father, that caused Yan Liqiang’s life to be devoid of any livelihood or fun for someone of his age. Thus, he lacked friends and became an introvert as a result. His entire being was slightly reticent, without any knowledge on how to get on in the world. Due to his personality, nobody in the town’s academy was willing to get too familiar with him. Even if you were to disregard all of his behavioral issues, because there were a lot of training and battle courses going on in the academy, students that had been hit by Yan Liqiang in these classes tended to hold a grudge against him. Thus, there was no surprise that so many people had rejoiced in his misfortune after getting struck down from the arena. Or even when he’d purposely been thrown from the stretcher.

Needless to say, for the past dozen years, Yan Liqiang’s personality had made him a bad example when it came to worldly and interpersonal relations.

As for Su Chang and Qi Donglai, both of them hadn’t yet spent much time in getting to know Yan Liqiang. It had barely even been a year. Speaking of which, their acquaintance had only started after an afternoon of a certain day last year; class had already ended when Yan Liqiang had caught sight of them getting bullied and extorted by a couple of people from the academy. Yan Liqiang had actively saved them at once. Hence, from then on, both Su Chang and Qi Donglai treated Yan Liqiang as a good friend and began to hang out with him.

When Yan Dechang’s retreating figure vanished at the end of the street, Yan Liqiang knelt down to roll up the right side of his pants and examined his leg thoroughly.

Not much effort was spent since Yan Liqiang was relying on his senses to find it. Exactly at the shank of his right leg, he discovered a small and bloody red dot just wide enough to fit a needle. And from that same spot, a small area could be found where his skin color was a tad darker, as though it had been stained by grease.

With such a small mark, had he not examined it as closely as he did, he wouldn’t have been able to discover it at all.

As Yan Liqiang fixated his gaze at the mark left on his shank wound, all of a sudden, a thought surfaced from his mind–ice ants.

Ice ants were a highly poisonous type of mystical creature. Once bitten, one would feel their entire body go numb.

Like the normal kind, the majority of these ants only lived deep inside the mountain forests. They lived in swarms and rarely appeared where people lived. But, it wasn’t as if this had never happened before, because nearly every year, Yan Liqiang would catch news of hunters and woodsmen getting bitten by ice ants while venturing into the mountains.

Ice ants were roughly the same size as ordinary ants. The difference was that their bodies were snowy white. Some of them were even nearly transparent and were quite difficult to be seen with a casual glance. The majority of those who ventured into the mountains would unknowingly bring some ice ants home with them. To most people, getting bitten by a few ice ants wouldn’t put their lives in any immediate danger, so other than feeling a sense of numbness from their bodies, there was nothing too dangerous about their bites. But the same could not be said if they were to be bitten by a swarm instead, in which case their lives would probably be in danger. Interestingly enough, once the ice ant released its toxins after biting a person, it would immediately die, similar to a bee after having stung someone. Its body would instantly melt like ice, transforming into a liquid indistinguishable from a water droplet.

The mark on his shank, along with the sensation he’d felt at that time, completely matched the distinctive trait of having been bitten by an ice ant.

But why would there be an ice ant on his body for no apparent reason?

Recalling the tense state Qi Donglai had been in just now, with Yan Liqiang’s intelligence, it only took a split second for his mind to figure out what had just happened.

Such a great scheme indeed!

Yan Liqiang didn’t want this matter to be discovered by Yan Dechang. Should Yan Dechang find out that the reason why Yan Liqiang had failed in the preliminary county exam was that he had fallen prey to a scheme, with Yan Dechang’s temperament, it wasn’t hard to picture him easily doing something irrational and regrettable.

And Hong Tao’s father was currently the Town Constable of Qinghe County’s Liuhe Town. A few of his family’s uncles were either stationed at the county government office or were stationed at Pingxi Prefecture. A number of them were even working for the government. In Qinghe County, the Hong Clan could be considered to be a fairly large clan. Regular clans could never compare to them. And in Liuhe Town, the Hong Clan was nonetheless, a clan that was second to none.

Yan Liqiang’s home was situated right at Liuhe Town.

Not long after, Yan Dechang soon came back, followed by a bullock cart...

Chapter 6: Yan Clan and Hong Clan

Liuhe Town was the largest town within the entire Qinghe County, it was located not too far or too near from the county seat. However, it was still a distance of three to four li away. Following the preliminary examination today, both Su Chang and Qi Donglai had traveled from the county seat all the way to Liuhe Town in order to inform Yan Dechang of what had occurred. Following which, Yan Dechang had immediately made the return journey to the martial arts academy of Qinghe County with the two in tow.

Usually, this short distance would be nothing to Yan Liqiang. During his time spent back at home, every single day was a nonstop session of tempering and toughening his body; he would run for at least a distance of ten li. Now, however, he was only able to sit on the bullock cart that Yan Dechang had called due to his injuries. In this manner, he began his journey back to Linhe Town from the county seat in the wobbly cart accompanied by his father..

After passing through the gates of the county seat, a vast amount of farmland could be seen stretched across the land as far as the eye could see. The road that led to Liuhe Town could be found between the acres of farmland.

The traversing bullock cart creaked and groaned as its hard, wooden wheels rolled against the earthen road. Although the cart wobbled slightly as it moved, it remained quite firm and steady, supporting their weight without a problem.

Presently, the night had neared. There were no longer any signs of farmers still working in the farms. Only the sound of croaking frogs could be heard in the background, along with the aroma of paddies wafting about the air. Three bright moons of various sizes gradually began to reveal themselves from under the cover of the night. The luminous and resplendent stars began to take after the moon and were beginning to appear one by one. The once mysterious and boundless void now seemed to be flooded with an inexhaustible source spiritual energy, dictating the ebb and flow of the stars in the sky.

Yan Dechang was silent as he sat in the cart, he gave off the impression that he was currently in a bad mood. Yan Liqiang on the other hand, lifted up his head to study the starry sky from within the gathering darkness from atop of the cart. He savoured the universe’s beauty and immensity as his mind was enchanted by the stars. In Yan Liqiang’s opinion, although he had lost in the tournament, and even if there was a likelihood that he had fallen prey to a scheme, he still wasn’t the dispirited in the least. In contrast, he felt slightly exhilarated as someone like him who was supposed to be dead, had been given the opportunity to live again. He was already blessed to be able to sit here and watch the starry sky in this manner.

The driver of the cart was acquainted with Yan Dechang. As he sat in front, controlling the cart, he was unable to read the expressions on the father and son’s faces. While he drove, he rambled incessantly. “So today is the preliminary examination for Qinghe County’s Martial Arts County Trial. I’ve long heard that Master Yan’s son is of the best in Liuhe Town for his age group. During the county trial’s preliminary exam this time around, he will certainly rank among one of the best! By that time, your son will have already officially participated in the Martial Arts County Trial and obtained good results; there will be a chance for him to enter the Pingxi Prefecture’s martial arts academy and meet a great master as a result. He will be able to learn the most profound forms of martial arts and techniques. The moment he advance to a Martial Warrior in the future will mark a significant point in his career, truly allowing him to bring honor to his ancestors! The days of achieving meteoric success is imminent! Master Yan, you can now hold your head high when you say that you’re from the Liuhe Town and Qinghe County! Oh right, Master Yan, did your son manage to get into the top three...?”

“No!” Yan Dechang dejectedly replied without saying anything more.

When he heard Yan Dechang’s words, the cart driver cast a backwards glance at Yan Dechang. He finally realized that Yan Dechang wasn’t in a good mood. Conscious of his words, he revealed an embarrassed smile and kept quiet.

Halfway down the road, a clear and crisp sound of thundering hooves echoed from somewhere behind the bullock cart Yan Liqiang was riding in about two li away from Liuhe Town. As the thundering hooves gradually approached them, Yan Liqiang turned around only to see a steward accompanied by two of the Hong Clan’s servants as they rode three rhinodrake steeds and pursued them from behind. When the three rhinodrake steeds overtook their bullock cart, the steward from the Hong Clan pulled the reins, prompting the three steeds to slow down simultaneously, placing themselves in an adjacent position to the bullock cart.

Hong Clan’s steward was dressed in a long, blue robe with the two ends of his moustache at either side of his lips; a shrewd expression could be seen on his face. On the other hand, the two servants wore gray tight-fitting clothes along with a saber strapped to their waists, giving off the aura of intimidation.

The gaze of the Hong Clan’s steward observed the father son duo. He then revealed a wicked smile and greeted Yan Dechang. “Isn’t this Blacksmith Yan? What a coincidence! I never would have thought that we would run into each other here!”

“Oh, does Steward Hong also have matters to attend to outside?” Due to the fact that this fellow had actively greeted him, Yan Dechang couldn’t pretend as if he hadn’t hear it. Hence, he responded in a half-hearted manner.

“Hahaha! Hadn’t my Young Master Hong Tao been ranked in the top three in today’s martial arts preliminary exam? When our master found out this morning, he quickly sent me to deliver the good news to Young Master Hong Tao’s elder uncle and third uncle in an adamant manner. In two day’s time, our master is arranging a feast of celebration in honor of young master Hong Tao achievement of being ranked among the preliminary exam’s top three! Entering the martial arts academy of Pingxi Prefecture is already definite. As for your son...oh right, I heard he was knocked down from the arena by our Young Master Hong Tao today. He fainted on the spot and was badly injured. He had only fought in the preliminary exam once and was already sent to the medical hall after. I wonder if your son alright now?”

Yan Dechang’s face instantly darkened. He slightly clenched his fists, before stiffly replying, “My son is fine. Thank you Steward Hong for your concern. ”

“That’s great! It’s great that he’s alright!” Steward Hong’s expression did not change, he was still beaming with smiles. “My master had always said that everyone is one big family. We should help each other if something were to happen. We have collected a lot of good healing medicines in our medicine room back in our Hong Clan. If needed, you can come to our residence to look for our master. My master has always been kind hearted. He won’t refuse to help... ”

“Hmph...” Yan Dechang snorted directly.

“During these past few days, the rhinodrake steeds from our Hong Clan has travelled quite a far distance so their horseshoes have been slightly damaged. We’ll still need to trouble Blacksmith Yan to make a couple of sturdy horseshoes for our Hong Clan’s steeds someday. If your esteemed son is not successful in the county trial this year, he can still consider becoming a servant for our Hong Clan! Our master has always admired youngsters with a knack for improvement, someone just like your son. Hahaha...” laughed Steward Hong heartily. Once he had finished laughing, he didn’t bother to see Yan Dechang expression, and urged his steed to leave.

“Might I trouble Steward Hong to send a message to your Young Master Hong Tao...” Yan Liqiang suddenly spoke after maintaining his silence throughout their conversation. This caused Steward Hong’s movements to slow down and halt his tracks in order to shift his gaze to Yan Liqiang in puzzlement. He then curiously asked, “What would do you like for me to pass on to Young Master Hong Tao?”

“I would like to request Steward Hong to tell young master Hong Tao that I, Yan Liqiang, thank him for the lesson he taught me in the arena today!” Yan Liqiang smiled at Steward Hong; his demeanour was filled with dignity, everlasting elegance, grace, and calmness. There wasn’t the slightest trace of resentment or anger to be found in his tone. Instead, he appeared to be genuinely honest and sincere. “As the saying goes, losing and winning are common occurrences within military operations. And the loss that I, Liqiang, had suffered today was due to my lack of skill. With regards to Young Master Hong Tao’s methods in battle, Liqiang admires them greatly! I have no complaints in my heart! I only have Young Master Hong Tao’s drive and motivation as inspiration to push me forward. Liqiang will definitely put in a greater amount of effort from now on and exert myself harder with twice the effort as the result! I won’t disappoint the name my father has bestowed on me and I hope that one day, I will have another chance to ask for guidance and learn from Young Master Hong Tao!”

Head Steward Hong’s once relaxed face was now faintly distorted; it had begun to turn serious when he heard Yan Liqiang’s words. From the amount of spirit he felt oozing from Yan Liqiang’s words as well as the limitless fighting spirit emanating from him, was this youth really defeated in the preliminary exam?

Instead of ridiculing Yan Liqiang further, he cast a serious gaze towards Yan Liqiang. It was as if this was the first time he had encountered Yan Liqiang. After a moment of tension, he nodded his head without speaking. Soon after, he prompted his steeds to move and left with the two servants in tow, leaving behind only the thundering sounds of hooves. In the blink of an eye, they had already vanished without a trace from Yan Liqiang’s line of sight.

Yan Dechang also eyed his son in a peculiar manner. He had never expected that his reticent and introverted son would utter such a sentence in this situation. It was as though he had spoke from the bottom of his heart. After listening to Yan Liqiang’s words, his furtive gloom and dejection had been greatly reduced in spite of everything.

The bullock cart stopped on the road for a period of time. Only when dust storm kicked flying by the three rhinodrake steed had settled did the bullock cart move towards Liuhe Town once again at a slow and unhurried pace.

Both the Yan Clan and Hong Clan were situated within Liuhe Town. However, the latter is a rich family who had absolute authority, whereas the other was the town’s blacksmith. The issues between the two had originated from Yan Liqiang. Due to the fact that Yan Dechang had forced Yan Liqiang to diligently practice martial arts everyday during his youth. This essentially pushed Yan Liqiang to make a small name for himself amongst the youngsters in Liuhe Town. Unfortunately, Hong Clan also had a young master who was aged similarly to Yan Liqiang. Thus,, the Hong Clan would naturally never allow their reputation to be tarnished by that of the son of a blacksmith in Liuhe Town under these circumstances. It was when Yan Liqiang had reached the age of ten in particular when the Hong Clan had been directly and also indirectly targeting the Yan Clan. Moreover, Hong Tao of the Hong Clan had been trying to suppress Yan Liqiang further...

...

Yan Liqiang’s residence was very easy to locate in Liuhe Town as his residence was situated right beside the Willow River. The entirety their land, which was inclusive of the courtyard, rooms, stable, as well as Yan Dechang’s blacksmith workshop occupied a total land area of more than three mu. But even from a distance, one would still be able to see the large chimney above their residence’s blacksmith workshop.

Apart from Yan Liqiang and Yan Dechang, there were also two other people living in their residence. One of of two was a disciple named Zhou Tiezhu whom Yan Dechang was currently nurturing within the blacksmith workshop, whereas the other was an old servant named Mother Wu.

Mother Wu was mute. From as far as Yan Liqiang could remember, Mother Wu had always been living together with Yan Liqiang and his father. According to Yan Dechang, Mother Wu had been a refugee and in the year when Yan Liqiang was born, Mother Wu had fled from the soldiers and ran all the way up north to the Qinghe County all by herself. Finally during the heavy winter, she caught a cold and collapsed by the road in a state of near death. Yan Dechang had been the one who found her, he took her in and called a physician to heal her illness. Eventually, he allowed her to stay in his residence in return for being responsible for doing menial chores of the house. Such a task included chores such as doing the laundries, preparing meals, and cleaning. From then on, Mother Wu had always stayed with them in this residence.

When Yan Liqiang returned, Mother Wu behaved like usual. She had already finished cooking the dishes and was currently warming the food in the pot. Upon seeing the return of Yan Liqiang and Yan Dechang, the mute Mother Wu quickly took out the dishes from the pot and served them.

There were four people eating: Yan Dechang, Yan Liqiang, Zhou Tiezhu, as well as Mother Wu. Yan Liqiang had heard from his father that when Mother Wu had first came to their home, she had refused to eat at the table even if she were to be beaten to death. However, after having stayed at Yan’s residence for so long while wholeheartedly doing chores, Yan Dechang requested that she ate with them on the table as though they were one family.

The meals that Yan Dechang, Zhou Tiezhu and Mother Wu ate were very simple. It consisted of string beans, bok choy, radish soup, rice and a plate of deliberately made salty fermented soybean curd.

On the other hand, Yan Liqiang’s meal was made to be more sumptuous than theirs due to his bodily conditions. The table was filled with ordinary homemade dishes with the exception being the small pot that had been placed before him. When the lid of the pot was removed, a concentrated and rich aroma of ginseng quail stew pervaded the air from the pot...

This was something special that Yan Dechang had especially prepared for Yan Liqiang. He was determined to not take any of it for himself. As for Mother Wu who had seeked refuge at Yan Liqiang’s house, it could have been said that she had seen her shares of cannibalism before. Hence, she never touched meat or fish after she was safe. And as for Zhou Tiezhu, as Yan Dechang’s disciple, he was awfully well-behaved in front of Yan Dechang. He naturally wouldn’t behave in an inappropriate manner on the dining table. He would eat whatever Yan Dechang ate, so much so that whenever he saw a dish that Yan Liqiang loved to eat, he would instinctively avoid it. He either grabbed less of it or completely refrained from eating it. Thus, because of this, the broth cooked in the pot was solely eaten by Yan Liqiang.

The income of this household obtained had only come from Yan Dechang. The sole blacksmith, Yan Dechang, was capable of supporting the four as well as a rhinodrake steed. On a daily basis, they would eat as the steed chewed. Although his wages as a blacksmith were not bad, earning him more than the average Joe, the household still lived a fairly poor life. This was as Yan Liqiang in particular still needed to participate in martial arts training. There was a saying in this world, and the saying goes: the poor studies while the wealthy trains in martial arts. Due to the resources required for one to properly train in the martial arts, the expenses were much greater. Hence, this was why their financial situation had become more tight.

Apart from times of celebration, such as important festivities like Chinese New Year where Yan Dechang would request that Mother Wu add a few more dishes and eat some meat dishes with Yan Liqiang and Zhou Tiezhu. Yan Liqiang was the only one who was able to have fish and meat throughout three meals in a day in the entire household. Therefore, he was never lacking in nutritions.

Because of his job as a blacksmith, so long as he ate his fill and consumed enough salt, he would be okay with not eating a lavish meal. But the same would not apply for a person training in martial arts. These were words that Yan Dechang had once told Yan Liqiang.

...

As he gazed at the set of entirely different dishes on the table, he couldn’t help but reminisce about the fact that this day of special treatment was similar to the ones he had received from the past few years. He once again found himself gazing at Yan Dechang who only had two sets of clothes to change in and out of for the four seasons of a year. Yan Liqiang couldn’t help but feel the trembling of his tear ducts and began to feel an indescribable weight from his chopsticks...

Chapter 7: The Path of a Martial Warrior

After dinner, Mother Wu put away the dishes. Zhou Tiezhu usually lived atop the workshop, but had returned to the blacksmith workshop in order to watch over the furnace and tools. Yan Dechang had announced that he needed to leave for a while. Without speaking, he changed his clothes and immediately entered the backyard, placed a saddle on the rhinodrake steed, mounted it, and departed. Thus, Yan Liqiang was the only one left at home with nothing else to do.

In the past, he never had any free time. During the time between his dinner and bedtime, apart from leaving time for his food to digest, he would simply cultivate in the backyard of his home. Yan Dechang would stand by the side and personally supervise Yan Liqiang. He couldn’t slack even for a day.

Yan Liqiang’s modest reputation amongst the youths of Liuhe Town was gained with every drop of his sweat over these few years. It wasn’t a fluke in the slightest.

The front of Yan Liqiang’s house faced the side of the Willow River. There was also a water hammer that was powered by water within the blacksmith workshop. The backyard and front yard of Yan Liqiang’s house were polar opposites, behind the backyard was an extremely secluded bamboo forest.

The stable and fodder storage room were located below the two tile-roofed houses in the backyard. There was also a peach tree in the backyard with a weapon rack underneath it. There were four types of weapons sitting on the rack: a sabre, a spear, a sword, and a staff. The staff was known as ‘The Grandfather of Weapons’, the sword was known as the ‘The Gentleman of Weapons’, the sabre was known as the ‘The General of Weapons’, while the spear was known as the ‘The King of Weapons’. These were the four main types of weapons which were often used for optimal proficiency in killing. Over 90% of martial arts practitioners would choose one of these four weapon types as their primary weapon. However, it was uncommon for staffs to be chosen due to the fact that it possessed inferior killing power. Hence, the majority of people would opt for the sabre, spear, or sword as their primary weapon.

The saying of ‘a month to master the staff, a year to master the sabre but a lifetime to master the spear’ implied that the spear was the most difficult weapon to master amongst these four weapon types. Subsequently, the number of people trained in spear techniques were relatively fewer in comparison to those who trained in sabres and swords techniques.

Nonetheless, Yan Liqiang’s primary weapon was the spear.

He hadn’t determined this on his own, but rather because Yan Dechang had already chosen it for him when he had begun his training. He hadn’t the slightest clue as to why Yan Dechang, who was not knowledgeable in martial arts, would select such a difficult route for him. Over these past few years, Yan Liqiang had been training with the spear, as well as learning its fundamentals.

There was another rack not far from that weapon rack. Under one of the shelves on that rack, there was a row of iron beads, each about the size of a chicken egg, tied together with a string. This was the prop that Yan Liqiang used in his spear practice. That string of iron beads was smeared with a layer of fluorescence powder. Although not visible during the daytime, the string of iron beads glowed lush green under the moonlight at night. They were very eye catching and could be used for training.

The basic techniques when using a spear revolved around three words– outward, inward, and stab. Outward spear parry, inward spear parry and stabbing spear. Outward parrying was for defense, inward parrying utilized one’s strength, while stabbing of course referred to offense!

Although Yan Liqiang had been training in these three simple words and three basic movements for a period of eight years, he had yet to be even considered proficient.

Yan Liqiang was still cultivating due to the fact that he had yet to set a foundation and wasn’t considered a true Martial Warrior. He was only able to cultivate its stance and method, but without a foundation, he wouldn’t be able to become a Martial Warrior in this era. No matter how hard he tried, he wouldn’t be able to fully grasp any martial arts.

When he was knocked off from the arena by Hong Tao with the Iron Palm technique, he hadn’t expected that Hong Tao had already begun cultivating it. That was due to the fact that Hong Tao was just like him, both of them had no fundamentals and weren’t Martial Warriors yet. The Iron Palm technique required a lot of time to cultivate. It wasn’t very wise to waste a huge amount of time on these kinds of external skills. There was a saying: ‘Train the skills first, then train the fists. The skills come before the fists. If one were to cultivate martials art without any skill, they will achieve nothing in the end.’ The fists were considered external whereas the skills were considered internal. If one wished to train their skills, they would first need to build their foundation. Otherwise, even though their external skills may appear to be impressive, it wouldn’t support them for long. This was due to the fact that, in this end, they were nothing but the reflection of a flower in the mirror or of the moon in the water, so fleetingly beautiful but impossible to grasp.

There was a time limit for one to set their foundation as God didn’t allow too much time for one to squander. Essentially, if one had yet to set their foundation before the age of twenty five, then their hope in setting their foundation within that lifetime would be extremely slim. That also meant that impossible for them to advance as a Martial Warrior. Yan Dechang’s disciple, Zhou Tiezhu, was still far from setting his foundation after the age of twenty five and subsequently lost his chance to establish it. It was only then, that he came to Yan Dechang to learn a trade for his livelihood.

The reality was that warriors were virtually everywhere in his previous world. After casually training in any fighting skill for a period of a few years, one would possess a slightly robust body. They would then carry blades and slaughter without hesitation before proclaiming themselves as warriors. However, these warriors would be considered trash compared to the standards of this world.

In this world, one’s foundation was a vital standard for becoming a Martial Warrior. In order to establish one’s foundation, one would have to pass three stages. Each of these stages being harder than the last and had a specific objective to determine whether one had passed. Only those who made it through these three stages and had established their foundation had the right to proclaim themselves as a Martial Warrior. Only these Martial Warriors were able to truly cultivate all kinds of skills and battle techniques to a profound level.

Yan Liqiang had been cultivating since he was young until now, drenched in sweat every day in this small yard. Yet he had not even made it through the first of the three stages.

The first of the three stages was the Horse Stance. This was a necessity that any martial practitioners would need to have.

The Horse Stance might seem simple to anyone at first glance, but in actuality, there was a high chance that not even a single person out of a hundred could make it past this stage.

How would one be considered to have passed the Horse Stance? They had to achieve the unity of waist and horse whilst exerting all the strength in their body through their feet. One could only be considered to have passed if they could perform the stance as if they were on a horse. When one has passed this stage, they would be able to fight against ten with just their fist and leg techniques, being able to throw most of them far away.

Yan Dechang had spent a fortune on a rhinodrake steed for the sake of helping Yan Liqiang pass this stage. The rhidodrake steed was kept at home in order to help Yan Liqiang learn horsemanship and also to allow him to comprehend the enormous power that stemmed from the unity between a man and a steed when one struck out with his fist or spear while the rhinodrake steed charged forward.

A fist strike from a person who had a true grasp of the horse stance would seem as though he was mounted on a horse. The energy from his soles, his thigh, waist, and back could be transmitted to his fists. This kind of fist attack would easily crush an ordinary person. There’s a saying that goes: ‘the arm is no match for the thigh’.

If an ordinary person were to swing their fist at someone, they would use the strength from their arms. Those slightly more trained could utilize the power of their pectoral muscles as well as their back. Professional boxers on Earth could partially utilize their waist power. To be able to use even the power of your toes was a sign of success in the Horse Stance. This was the reason as to why all practitioners considered the Horse Stance a necessity. Succeeding in Horse Stance was akin to gaining an additional power of a horse. Even when standing on the ground, it would be as if they were riding on a horse, moving yet staying in place.

Yan Liqiang would never have understood this principle on Earth but in this world, everyone seemed to understand this.

However, understanding didn’t mean that one could achieve it. For instance, back on Earth, every high school student knew that atomic bombs originated from Albert Einstein’s mass-energy equation. However, this didn’t mean that just anyone could create an atomic bomb even if they understood the mass-energy equivalence.

Apart from willpower, temperament and hard work, some other unknown method might be needed to succeed in the Horse Stance. As an ordinary blacksmith, Yan Dechang could only do his best to help Yan Liqiang make it past this stage. Due to fact that he could not comprehend the profoundness and the fact that he couldn’t afford to hire a teacher for Yan Liqiang, Yan Dechang could only act like those parents who have great hopes for their child and followed the experiences that were passed down by the others. He purchased a rhinodrake steed for Yan Liqiang so that he could comprehend the profoundness of the Horse Stance after mastering horsemanship.

In this world, true abilities, profound secret techniques, as well as the understanding of skills and martial techniques were extremely valuable. These understandings and abilities were akin to highly valuable patents in a commercial world. They were not owned by any average person, but instead they were exclusive to only a minority. Only the truly rich and powerful clans had the resources and assets to hire famous masters. Not to mention others, even the Hong Clan of the Liuhe Town did not have enough of either to hire famous masters.

All the truly famous masters possessed a cultivation of at least Martial Warrior level. They possessed abilities as well as secret techniques and were also willing to impart them to others.

Yang Liqiang knew that although there were no such people Qinghe County, there were two in the Pingxi Prefecture. One of them, with the surname Song, lived in the capital city of the Pingxi Prefecture and taught the Horse Stance. Nearly one third of those who had acknowledged him as master were able to make it past the Horse Stance stage foundation after a decade of hardship in cultivation.

It went without saying that Yan Liqiang’s father wished to send Yan Liqiang to learn from him, but he couldn’t provide the honorarium to pay the master. At least a hundred taels of gold were needed in order to become a disciple of the man with the surname of Song, and it was absolutely non-negotiable. The entire property of Yan Clan, including the blacksmith workshop, was only worth twenty taels of gold.

Without an abundance of wealth, how would it be possible to learn any true abilities?

The scenario in which one would be apprenticed to a master simply by carrying a basket of chicken eggs, some slices of pork, and two bottles of wine would only be possible in films back on Earth. As for the scenarios in films where the master would take care of you, teach you the secret techniques of martial arts for free, allow you to freeload in his home, focus on the growth of your cultivation, and even have his wife give birth to a beautiful junior martial sister for you to flirt with were basically impossible, even in your dreams. If Yue Buqun[1] from Jin Yong’s novel were to be born in the Silver Continent, he would practically be worshipped as an influential figure like Lei Feng[2].

This Martial Arts County Trial was vital because those who excelled in the County Trial would have a chance to join a first-rate martial arts academy to gain skills. Having the right to become a disciple of a first-rate martial arts academy meant that even ordinary people would be able to develop some abilities. Thus, it was the only way to advance as a Martial Warrior and the reason as to why money was involved.

Martial Warrior wasn’t just a mere title. In this world, everyone strived to succeed in creating a foundation in order to achieve this title. High social classes were a step ahead ahead of the commoners in terms of privilege. Thus becoming a Martial Warrior signified that one had become a member of a higher social class. With the combination of hope and the stepping stones to one’s meteoric success, they would be the best of the best no matter where they went.

In Ancient China, there was an old saying that went: ‘The worth of other pursuits is small, the study of books excels them all!’ However in this current world, it was ‘The worth of other pursuits is small, the study of martial arts surpasses all!’

The only reason behind the grandeur of Liuhe Town’s Hong Clan was Hong Tao’s great-grandfather. In the past, he was the only Martial Warrior in the entire Liuhe Town. Because of this, Hong Tao’s great-grandfather was able to acquire a vast amount of property for the Hong Clan in Liuhe Town. Tens of stores, several oil and rice mills, and also a few thousand mu of fertile agricultural lands of Liuhe Town all belonged to the Hong Clan. The efforts of a single person had blessed the sons of three generations...

As he thought up to this point, Yan Liqiang was struck with realization. He understood immediately; he completely understood the situation of the Hong Clan.

The Hong Clan hadn’t had a single Martial Warrior for three generations now. The was a saying that went, ‘The influence of a Martial Warrior is terminated in the third generation’. Although the Hong Clan currently seemed to be well-off, the Hong Clan’s head, Hong Tao’s grandfather, was probably already filled with a sense of crisis since long ago. Hong Tao was the only person among the younger generation of the Hong Clan that had any hopes of becoming a potential Martial Warrior. Hence, the Hong Clan was anxiously making an all-out effort during this County Trial.

It went without saying that Hong Tao becoming a Martial Warrior would be the most ideal outcome for the Hong Clan. However, as long as no one else among the current generation became a Martial Warrior in Liuhe Town, the position of the Hong Clan in Liuhe Town would still be secure even if Hong Tao couldn’t become a Martial Warrior. From then onwards, the Hong Clan would still be able to live in a glorious manner and linger at death’s door while entrusting their hopes to the future.

Therefore, making Hong Tao a Martial Warrior was the Hong Clan’s main objective and their utmost concern, whereas preventing Yan Liqiang from becoming a Martial Warrior was their secondary objective.

Recalling his bitter experience on the arena today, the ice ant, and Qi Donglai’s nervous expression when he saw him, Yan Liqiang came to a realisation.

Qing Donglai was also from an ordinary clan in Liuhe Town.

How despicable!

Yan Liqiang’s experiences in his past life had allowed him to understand a truth since long ago– escaping from a problem was simply impossible. The problems you face are destined to be encountered by you. Even running or shrinking away from these problems will prove to be of no use. These problems will continue to attack you under different guises, and in the end, you will have less and less room to maneuver. Eventually, you will be left without room to retreat.

When faced with a problem, your only choices are to defeat it or let it defeat you. There is never a third option.

Even if this principle were to be disregarded. God had allowed him a second life and arranged for him to be reincarnated in such a magical world. Moreover, God had also chose such a path for him. Because of this, Yan Liqiang believed that he might as well live his life in a vigorous manner and head down this path with determination in order to view the differences in the scenery on this path and find out where his final destination would be.

He had managed to see through the Hong Clan’s plan. As he remembered his injury, boundless will to fight suddenly welled up in Yan Liqiang’s heart, completely merging his entire being into his current self.

‘If a man doesn’t struggle, how different is he from a salted fish?’

Under the moonlight, Yan Liqiang murmured to himself while he watched over the quiet backyard as a smile appeared on his face....

Chapter 8: Seeking Shelter at Huanglong

Yan Liqiang had trouble sleeping throughout the night. This being the first night of his reincarnation, he lay in bed, lost in thought as he pondered over everything that happened before.

Especially after midnight had passed, the wound on his body inflicted by Hong Tao’s Iron Palm was still burning with pain, as though someone was roasting him under a bonfire. This made it that much more difficult for him to fall asleep, as he tossed and turned restlessly in bed. At the same time, he was also grateful that Hong Tao had yet to cultivate his Iron Palm to a higher realm. It was rumored that should the wielder of the Iron Palm ever cultivate this technique to a high enough level, that palm would be capable of destroying and burning a person’s internal organs upon impact, which allowed the wielder to easily claim the lives of their enemies in battle. What’s more, the force from the Iron Palm was capable of causing great injury to one’s lungs. So even if a person were to survive getting hit by the Iron Palm, a permanent injury would remain in their lungs, one which was very difficult to cure.

Just like that, his mind was occupied with both his state of discomfort, and thinking over all that had occurred to him. And so before he realized it, soon the first cry of the rooster flew into his ears. Outside, the sky was still dark. This was usually the time when Yan Liqiang would wake up to begin his training.

Yan Liqiang quickly got up from his bed. After washing up, he changed into another set of clothes. He ate his breakfast with Yan Dechang and Mother Yu, and afterward, he carried his packed luggage on his back, before heading out to rein the rhinodrake steed from the stable and setting up the saddle. Yan Dechang sat in front on the rhinodrake steed, while Yan Liqiang sat behind him with his hands wrapped around Yan Dechang’s waist. Both of them rode the rhinodrake steed out of the residence.

Atop the rhinodrake steed’s head was a horn not too different from that of a rhinoceros’s. Its skin was rock solid, covered in a faintly visible layer of scales. Ordinarily, a rhinodrake steeds’ back was usually two meters in height, with limbs that were lanky and powerful. They appeared to be larger than ordinary horses by more than half their size. So if an ordinary horse were placed before a rhinodrake steed, it would be no different from placing a Suzuki Alto in front of an Audi. It was simply not possible to compare the two. This rhinodrake steed was the single most expensive object within Yan Liqiang’s household.

Although this rhinodrake steed hadn’t been the best in stock when they first bought it, it still could not be considered as too bad. To the rhinodrake steed, it could effortlessly gallop while supporting two people.

For ordinary households, even if they wanted to learn horsemanship or undergo martial arts training, the majority would opt to buy ordinary horses instead. When it came to ordinary horses, apart from being able to ride them, they could also assist in performing various tasks and were easier to rear. However, what Yan Dechang chose to buy was the far more expensive, rhinodrake steed. The price required to purchase one was practically the equivalent of buying five ordinary horses. Yan Liqiang had once asked Yan Dechang for the reason behind his purchase of the rhinodrake steed. To which Yan Dechang had replied by telling him that all cavalry troops had a rhinodrake steed to ride off to war and moreover, those who trained in the spear arts would most definitely have a rhinodrake steed to ride in the future. Recalling that scene, Yan Liqiang was once again rendered speechless.

Yan Dechang had spared no effort in his investment of Yan Liqiang.

By the time the two of them left their house, the sky had already brightened up quite a bit. Quite a number of people were already awake–martial art practitioners, merchants of small businesses, and people selling vegetables–all of which were making their way through Liuhe Town’s pathways.

When the people on the road saw Yan Liqiang and his father riding out on their rhinodrake steed, each and every one of them wore a slightly odd expression on their face.

Even without saying anything, Yan Liqiang could tell with just one glance alone, that yesterday’s news of his crushing defeat had already been widely spread throughout Liuhe Town.

“Have you heard? Blacksmith Yan’s son was severely injured by the young master of the Hong Clan during the county seat’s martial arts preliminary exam yesterday...”

“I’ve heard he even coughed up blood and fainted. A couple of his bones were even fractured. He shouldn’t be able to do much for the next few months!”

“Blacksmith Yan’s son has always been revered as the best. It seems to me that Hong Clan’s young master is even more amazing!”

As they were listening to the idle gossip coming from the jobless people by the road, Yan Dechang’s expression turned increasingly sour. He had no choice but to put on a cold front and shake the reins in his hand, prompting the rhinodrake steed to move faster.

The two of them had just passed the town’s entrance when they suddenly crossed paths with Butcher Liu and his son who were also driving a bullock cart. Apparently, they had just come out using another of the town’s pathways. Both pairs of father and son had just so happened to bump into one another at the town’s entrance coincidentally.

“Hehe... if it isn’t Blacksmith Yan? Why are you heading out so early with your son? You’re not rushing to the medical hall right now, are you?” As Butcher Liu caught sight of Yan Dechang and Yan Liqiang, a smile had instantly formed on his face. Both he and his fat, useless son fixated their gazes on Yan Liqiang as they gloated over his defeat.

When they were younger, Butcher Liu’s son had constantly been punched by Yan Liqiang. And due to the children’s conflict, the Yan and Liu families had always remained at odds with each other.

“My son has never been better! Who says we’re going to the medical hall?”

“Hahaha! I already know about what happened to Liqiang in the preliminary exams. In fact, the Hong Clan is going to host a banquet just for that occasion. Just last night, the steward of Hong Clan paid me a little visit. Since the Hong Clan has booked up so many pig heads, I decided to rush off first thing in the morning to collect all the pigs outside of town...” said Butcher Liu in all earnestness, immensely proud of himself. “I’ve already said it before–when it comes to martial arts training, it’s not something suitable for just anyone. Common folks like us should only treat the martial arts as a method to strengthen our bodies. Don’t think too deeply about it. It’s not that easy to become a Martial Warrior. In the entirety of Liuhe Town, only Old Master Hong is a Martial Warrior. As for the rest of us, we should just focus on what we’re supposed to do. Take my son as an example! He should learn how to butcher a pig like me, just like how those who need to forge ironware should just forge ironware. Isn’t that good enough?”

Ever since he was young, Butcher Liu’s son would constantly complain whenever he performed the Horse Stance. In contrast to his reaction to martial arts, he would light up with joy whenever the topic of eating was brought up. In truth, he simply wasn’t cut out for martial arts. As time gradually passed, he had learned the skill of butchering pigs from his father and became a butcher. Apart from the conflict between the children of the Yan and Liu Clans, Butcher Liu took every opportunity to spread rumors saying that Yan Liqiang wasn’t cut out for martial arts. He would end up just like his own son, ultimately, learning the trade of ironware from Yan Dechang and becoming nothing but a blacksmith in the end.

In some cases, the contents of a human’s heart was truly an ugly sight to behold. If one wasn’t doing well, then they couldn’t bear to see other people doing well, either. They weren’t capable of jumping out of their own social class. But at the same time, they also couldn’t stand to see people who could climb out of their social class. The moment they discovered that there was someone at their side who showed the first sign of progress, their hearts would rage with jealousy, which they would soon follow up with attacks and slander. To some people, what brought them joy in life was seeing others in misery.

When dealing with people like Butcher Liu and his son, Yan Liqiang had no problem seeing through them with just a single glance. At this moment, he didn’t even feel like talking to them. He only gazed indifferently at the two. When dealing with these sorts of people, the only method was to use success and strength to drive them to despair until they finally respected you, even as they crawled on the ground. To leave them in despair, up till the point of being incapable of speaking aloud in his presence. Apart from this, to do anything else was meaningless.

“You don’t have to worry!” Yan Dechang replied with a cold expression on his face. He shook the reins, prompting the rhinodrake steed to quicken its pace into a gallop, leaving Butcher Liu and his son in the dust within the blink of an eye.

“Hmph...Pui!...” As his gaze trailed after the retreating figures of the Yan Clan’s father-son duo, Butcher Liu ferociously spat out a mouthful of phlegm on the ground. He laughed coldly, “I’ll wait and see just how long your Yan Clan can keep this up and how strong can your son even get in the future...”

The road they traveled on was an old route that led to the county seat. Yan Liqiang’s body hadn’t fully healed yet, and he couldn’t withstand the vigorous bouncing of the road. Even when Yan Dechang maintained a slow pace, they were still traveling faster than a bullock cart. Not even twenty minutes in, and the both of them were dismounting after having arrived at the Liuhe Dock, which wasn’t too far away from the county seat.

“When you disembark at the Huanglong County Dock, there will, of course, be someone there to fetch you. The man picking you up is roughly around the same age as me. He only has four fingers on his right hand, and just calling him Uncle Qian will do. He will make arrangements for you. You should be able to stay at Huanglong County in peace and recuperate for the time being. You won’t have to worry about us back home, and you don’t need to write any letters or even send us news. If something happens, I will come find you. The people there will notify me as well...”

Yan Dechang explained to Yan Liqiang in all seriousness as they stood at the side of the dock. After he had finished, he fished out a dense silk pouch from his clothes and stuffed it into Yan Liqiang’s arms. “In here you’ll find the money I’ve prepared for you for your journey. If there’s anything you need, just buy it, no questions asked. Don’t concern yourself about saving money when you’re out there. I’ve already placed the medicinal liquor in your bag. Remember to apply it frequently!”

“Okay! I’ll remember!”

“I believe that my son will be able to become a Martial Warrior and bring me glory in the future!” Yan Dechang heavily patted Yan Liqiang’s shoulders.

Yan Liqiang could only roughly nod his head.

After he had finished briefing Yan Liqiang, Yan Dechang sent his son off to board a cargo ship that was still unloading several bundles of wood.

“Boss Wang, this is my son. Sorry to trouble you...”

“Hahaha! What’s there to be troubled by? It’s just on the way...”

“Here are two bottles of aged wine for you and the crew to try out, to help keep warm at night...”

“Hahaha! Master Yan, you’re too courteous! Too courteous...” Boss Wang’s expression instantly lightened up as he accepted the wine.

After about ten minutes, the cargo ship began to move. One of the sails was hoisted, while a few of the crew members on the ship used a pole to push against the shore. Soon, the cargo ship moved away from the dock, sailing towards the remote distance.

Yan Dechang hadn’t left yet. Instead, he pulled the reins of the rhinodrake steed as he stood on the dock by the shore, his eyes trailing after the departing ship from beginning until the end.

The ship had sailed far away on the waters, and the dock had gradually vanished from Yan Liqiang’s line of sight, but he could still see the silhouette of a hazy figure still standing at the side of the dock.

He was struck with an indescribable emotion, his heart welling up with an overwhelming feeling of exhilaration.

...

After living there for so long, this was the first time that Yan Liqiang had left the Qinghe County. For the past fourteen years–his whole life–Yan Liqiang had never once stepped out of Qinghe County.

After going through the short-lived pain of separation, Yan Liqiang politely refused the cabin that Boss Wang had arranged for him. Instead, he sat on a pile of wood on the ship, taking in the riverbank scenery in high spirits.

For a person who had been reincarnated into this world from a life on earth during the 21st century, this world here, along with the sky and everywhere else he could see, reminded him of Shangri-la. The scenery on the riverbank resembled that of the Xixi Wetland [1] in nearly all aspects. Even the river water would make people remember Xu Zhimo’s ‘Saying Goodbye to Cambridge Again’ [2].

The cargo ship wasn’t moving at that fast of a pace and was sailing in accordance with the flow of the river. A couple of the crew members even threw down their fishing lines. Not long after, the bells tied to one of the fishing lines began to ring. They pulled up the line, hooking up a large black carp measuring about a whole chi long. It thrashed around wildly, causing the crew to burst into laughter...

By the time Yan Liqiang finished eating his fish with the ship’s crew and drinking his delicious fish soup, they had already been sailing for a couple of hours, and soon came to a stop at a dock.

Huanglong County, he was here at last!

Chapter 9: Grace and Enmity

Huanglong County was a huge county with a population higher than that of Qinghe County. Their rate of economic growth had progressed much faster than Qinghe County. Thus, the wharf of Huanglong County was naturally a lot more livelier than Qinghe’s.

Around a hundred boats of all kinds were currently docked at the Huanglong County’s wharf, with a multitude of warehouses situated next to each other on the wharf. The laborers loaded and unloaded goods like ants. Coming to this world and watching the liveliness of this wharf, everything seemed especially interesting to Yan Liqiang.

“Oh, be careful...”

Just as Yan Liqiang stepped foot onto the dock, a laborer had suddenly slipped while loading his goods onto a ship more than ten meters away. He fell into the river with the sack he’d been carrying on his back, causing the surrounding people to cry out in alarm.

Since he was close at hand to the person who’d fallen into the river, Yan Liqiang rushed over without a second thought to see if he could assist in any way.

“Oh no, that’s the sack of cotton yarn I only just received. Don’t let it get damaged by the water!” A merchant-like person hopped around the boat. “Hurry and get it out of the water!”

Both the person and the goods had fallen into the water. Yet the first thing to cross that merchant’s mind was to save the goods instead of the person. Yan Liqiang was close to cursing at him. He surveyed the area and noticed a piece of rope lying on the ground nearby. He dashed to pick it up, ready to rescue the laborer.

However, someone else beat Yan Liqiang to the punch. Just as Yan Liqiang picked up the rope and ran back near the water, an old, bare-footed boatman on another small boat at the side held out a long pole of about seven to eight meters long. He dipped the pole into the water and then lightly flicked it up. The laborer’s sturdy body was effortlessly thrown out from the water and landed steadily on the dock.

“THE COTTON, THE COTTON!” That labor who had just come out from the water didn’t have the time nor leisure to worry about his own safety. He was frantically yelling the second he landed.

The old boatman dipped his pole into the water once again. When he flicked it up, a big sack came flying out from the water and landed on the dock.

There was only a two second interval in between the rescue of both the person and the sack. The entire process was carried out efficiently and was gracefully executed. The panic from earlier died down as the people at the dock and on the boats by the side couldn’t help but to cheer. “Such an impressive display of skill...” That old boatman only responded by cupping his fist in silence to the surrounding people. “Please excuse my performance,” he said meekly with a calm expression before returning to the hold of the ship and resumed his work, acting as if what had just happened was something trivial and hardly worth mentioning.

Yan Liqiang was still holding the rope in awe. He could tell that although the old boatman had been using a pole on the boat, the movement in which he had used to get the laborer and the sack out of water was a spear technique because of the way he had been holding the pole. His right hand gripped the pole at its end, fully covered in his palm. At that time, the old boatman had been standing at the edge of the boat and yet his lower body was as firm as a rock. He had been able to lift up a man weighing over a hundred kilograms and goods that weighed tens of kilograms with minimal effort. It was as if he’d picked up two bean sprouts from a plate with chopsticks. This was definitely unachievable without a few decades’ worth of experience in spear techniques.

For someone like this to just be a boatman, it seemed apparent that this old boatman hadn’t manage to complete his foundation. Without a foundation, the old boatman’s spear technique would always remain an external skill no matter how hard he trained. He reckoned that the old boatman’s spear technique had already reached its pinnacle and was impossible to advance any further. Thus it could only decline, along with the stamina of the old boatman, in the future. In the end, all the effort he had put forth in training his spear technique over a few decades were going to fade away, like the reflection of flowers in the mirror and the moon in the water.

‘If one cultivates martial arts without any skill, they will achieve nothing in the end.’

That merchant from earlier hastily ordered his workers to remove all the veils from the sack and dry them. It was fortunate that the veils hadn’t been in the water for long, so not many had been soaked. The water in the river here was crystal clear, so it wouldn’t stain the veils in such a manner that would affect their quality. Well, at least the magnitude of the damage wasn’t that great.

“What a pity.....” A voice abruptly rang out from behind Yan Liqiang.

When Yan Liqiang turned around, he could see that a middle-aged man was standing not too far behind him.

He was a middle-aged man around his forties and was fully dressed in the town government’s dark red army uniform. He was also wearing a gorgeous cowhide leather belt with a tiger head buckle, which was tucked right below his belly. He appeared to be a first rank commandant among the military. The middle-aged man had a beard and seemed to be lazy and slovenly. He even reeked of alcohol.

Other military officers would have a weapon like a saber or a sword hanging on their belt. However this person had a wine gourd hanging on his belt instead.

By the time Yan Liqiang turned around, he had noticed that the gaze of this man had already been directed towards Yan Liqiang. He was startled for a moment as the look on his face grew conflicted all of a sudden, he then started to mutter to himself. “Such resemblance...”

Yan Liqiang’s gaze swept over this man’s right hand and discovered that he had a missing pinkie.

“It is a pleasure to see you, Uncle Qian!” Yan Liqiang hurriedly bowed to this man.

The expression on the man’s face had already recovered as he scanned through Yan Liqiang’s figure, his gaze swept through the piece of rope that was still in Yan Liqiang’s hands. The hint of a smile appeared on his face. “Were you planning on rescuing him?”

Yan Liqiang dropped the rope, slightly embarrassed. “The human life is beyond value, I couldn’t stand by and just do nothing....”

“Hahaha, the value of human life is indeed beyond our imagination and we shouldn’t just stand by and do nothing!” The middle-aged man laughed heartily. He reached out to give a pat on Yan Liqiang’s back. “Let us go. I will guarantee that you will live a better life here in Huanglong County than in Qinghe County...”

After their meeting at the wharf, this man left with Yan Liqiang and walked to the roadside not too far away.

The road here was bustling with activity. There were way more carriages and crowds here than the Qinghe County.

The wharf was a place where people and goods came and went. Hence, there were a countless number of bullock carts and horse carriages pulled over on the roadside, just outside of the wharf, to transport passengers as well as goods.

Just when Yan Liqiang was wondering if this man he referred to as ‘Uncle Qian’ was going to call for a carriage, before he even had the chance to flag for a carriage, one had already stopped nearby. A horse carriage that looked to be specially used for carrying passengers was already heading towards them. It came to a halt before them and the coachman of the carriage nimbly leaped off from the cart as he nodded his head and excessively bowed to Uncle Qian in greeting.

“Uncle Qian, ride my carriage, ride my carriage.....”

“Hahaha, young man, you have sharp eyes. Alright then, I shall give you face and ride on your carriage...”

A smile immediately broke across the coachman’s face as he immediately opened the door of his carriage for Yan Liqiang and that man. “Where are you heading to today, Uncle Qian? Is it the Drunken Fragrance Inn or perhaps the Pleasure Fragrance Court? I heard that a few gorgeous ladies have arrived at the Pleasure Fragrance Court over the past few days and are waiting for Uncle Qian.”

“Cough cough...” The man with the surname Qian glanced at Yan Liqiang then waved his hand. “Stop your nonsense, just bring us back to the Weaponsmiths Quarter...”

“Roger that......”

After both of them got into the horse carriage, the coachman closed the carriage door and climbed onto the front seat. Upon hearing the shake of the reins, Yan Liqiang felt the the horse pulling the carriage start to gallop.

The two-wheeled horse carriage was extremely fast and lightweight and there was also plenty of privacy within the carriage. Other than the shaking within the carriage, so long as one tried looking inward from outside of the carriage, one would not be able to see nor hear the activities going on inside when the curtains of the windows were drawn.

Yan Liqiang, who had entered the carriage, was actually already full of questions since long ago.

Since his father could entrust him into the care of this man with the surname Qian at times like this, it was evident that the trust and relationship his father shared with this man were definitely not ordinary. However, he found it odd that his father had never mentioned such a close friend in Huanglong County before. This man with the surname Qian had also never visited his home. The relationship between the two was most likely difficult to be understood.

It was a little shaky inside the carriage. The man with the surname of Qian sat across Yan Liqiang. He studied Yan Liqiang’s face, and again a conflicted look resurfaced in his expression. “Your father has told me about you. Although the Hong Clan could be considered somewhat of a tyrant in your Qinghe County, their clan hasn’t had a single Martial Warrior for three generations. Even if their claws are to grow again, they won’t be able to reach all the way here to Huanglong County. And even if they do somehow manage to reach all the way here, I can chop them off and make them bear the consequences of doing so. All you need to do right now, is to just follow my arrangements and recover from your injury in ease!”

“Thank you, Uncle Qian!”

“Oh right, has your father ever mentioned me before?”

“No!” Yan Liqiang shook his head.

“Hmph!” The man by the surname Qian snorted coldly, seemingly displeased. “My name is Qian Su. I am your father’s junior. In the past, both of us were disciples to the same master....”

“Junior?” Yan Liqiang gave a doubtful look to Qian Su.

Qian Su seemed to know what Yan Liqiang was thinking. He picked up the wine gourd that he had hanging on his waist and drank a mouthful of wine after he opened it. “What your father and I had been studying together back then was the mastery of the forge, not martial arts. Then... Then I had a fall out with your father over a certain matter and we hadn’t contacted each other over these last few years. I knew your father was in Liuhe Town and he also knew that I was in Huanglong County. But even after we moved on from that whole incident, neither of us could swallow our pride and bring ourselves to look for each other. Which is precisely why I didn’t expect that your father actually came all the way here just to find me last night... ”

“Did you and my father have a fall out over my mother?” Yan Liqiang calmly asked.

Su Qian’s hand stopped in mid-motion just as he was about to take a second swigof wine. He stared blankly at Yan Liqiang with a look of shock on his face. He hadn’t expected Yan Liqiang to be so sharp. “Did your father tell you that?”

“No, it’s only a guess!” Yan Liqiang shook his head.

A fall out between men were mostly due to one of two possible issues – either money or women. This was an experience and life lesson that Yan Liqiang had gained in his previous life. As cliche as it might sound, it was the truth. Judging from the conflicted expression written all over this man’s face the moment that they’d met, and what he’d heard of his relationship with Yan Dechang along with what Yan Liqiang knew about the personality of his own father, he theorized that the only thing that could possibly cause a fall out between them was love-related issues.

Qian Su took another swig of wine. As a look of perpetual desolation appeared on his unkempt, bearded face. “Your mother was the daughter of our master. Both your father and I adored her, yet the one that your mother liked was your father...”

“Uncle Qian, my mother is no longer around. And both you and my father are people who value their friendships. Just let go of the past...” Yan Liqiang sighed.

“Hehe, you are right. The past is the past and to be honest, I am very glad that your father could bring himself to look for me!” Qian Su let out a long sigh. He took another glance at Yan Liqiang and suddenly laughed. “Your father said that you have never gone on a journey before and have only been practicing martial arts every day. He also told me that you are quite the introverted and simple-minded person, and that you’re not good at socializing with others due to your lack of communication skills. He even asked me to take better care of you. I think your father might have gotten the wrong idea about you instead...”

What else could Yan Liqiang say? He could only widen his pupils as far as he possibly could and stare at this man in front of him with his most pure and innocent eyes. The expression on his face was similar to those 2D-like teenage girls who took selfies while wearing circle lenses.

Qian Su almost choked on his next mouthful of wine, seeing Yan Liqiang’s facial expression, going into a violent coughing fit in the carriage.

...

When Yan Liqiang arrived at the Huanglong County, Old Master Hong of the Hong Clan, Hong Tao’s grandfather, frowned slightly whilst he listened to the report from one of his men in the backyard of the Hong Clan’s great manor in Liuhe Town.

Hong Clan’s Old Master, Hong Chengshou was a stout man around sixty years old. He was dressed in a long, gorgeous indigo satin gown and his hair was neatly combed in place. He sat on an imperial tutor chair with a few metal balls in his hands. The smile on Old Master Hong’s face gradually vanished, replaced by an increasingly harsh look in his eyes as he listened to the his steward’s report.

“You’re saying that Butcher Liu saw the father-son duo of Yan Clan making their way to the county town and then Yan Dechang came back alone without Yan Liqiang?

“That’s right!” The steward nodded his head at the Old Master.”At first, I thought that Yan Dechang was sending his son to the medical hall to tend to his injuries, but Yan Liqiang was nowhere in sight when I sent someone to check the medical halls!”

“Does anyone know just where exactly is Yan Liqiang?”

“No one seems know where Yan Liqiang is at the moment.” The steward answered in a soft voice. He then seemed to have recalled something. “Oh yes, I ran into that father and son pair from the Yan Clan on my way back last night. They were of course, refusing to yield as usual. However, that Yan Liqiang seemed to be acting a little different than before, he didn’t seem to be the same dim-witted brat as he’d been previously....” Steward Hong recounted the meeting with Yan Liqiang last night to Old Master Hong. He even repeated the precise words that he’d heard Yan Liqiang say and repeated those words to Old Master Hong without leaving out a single thing.

As Old Master Hong listened to the steward repeat Yan Liqiang’s exact words, he narrowed his eyes and momentarily stopped rotating the metal balls that he had within his hands for two seconds before he resumed again. “Yan Liqiang’s stupidity may have been a charade that his father made him put up so that we wouldn’t notice him. But since this father and son pair of the Yan Clan had seen the Hong Clan make a move on him during the Martial Arts Preliminary Exam, they figured that there was no reason to continue in such a manner...” Speaking up to this point, Old Master Hong sneered coldly. “But at this point of time, this is no longer up to them to decide. Go and find someone to ask around for Yan Liqiang’s whereabouts. Even if our Hong Clan hasn’t had a Martial Warrior for three generations, this Liuhe Town is still the Hong Clan’s territory. We cannot allow the son of a mere blacksmith to overturn this place...”

“Roger!”

As the steward left the study room, another person came out of a secret door in the study room.

That person had a slim figure with a pair of unattractive triangular-shaped eyes on his wretched face. There was also a black mole of about the size of a bean on his left cheek and a sinister aura. He laughed sinisterly, “Old Master Hong, didn’t I tell you that it was best to commit the deed a few days prior? As long as I can sneak into their house, I would have been able to break his spine with just a single slap and then he’d be crippled for the rest of his life, doomed to spend his remaining days in a wheelchair. He wouldn’t be training inmartial arts and things wouldn’t be this troublesome as they are right now.”

“If we did try to make a move on Yan Liqiang a few days before the martial arts preliminaries then the mark would have been too noticeable. It would be bad if it attracted unwanted attention and criticism. As long as Tao’er defeated Yan Liqiang on the arena and proved the strength of Hong Clan, no one would suspect the Hong Clan even if anything were to happen to the blacksmith’s son. I was planning to have you make a move on him over these two days, but I hadn’t expected that this father and son duo from the Yan Clan would be this vigilant...” Old Master Hong sighed and shook his head.

“I can’t be of any assistance in finding the person and since Old Master Hong didn’t hire me to find someone anyway, you only need to tell me where he is. Once I’m done, I’ll leave the Pingxi Prefecture. But I’ll have to charge extra for the few day’s worth of hold up in the Hong Residence.......” That man chuckled while licking his lips as a greedy look flashed across his eyes.

“Rest assured, we of the Hong Clan can still afford to pay this small amount of money....”

“That’s good then!”

Chapter 10: Weaponsmiths Quarter

The main road of the Huanglong County was built in a flat fashion, thus it wasn’t a bumpy ride even after the horse carriage had briskly galloped for over twenty minutes. From the wharf by the river, it followed the outskirts of the county in a semicircle, before eventually arriving at the Weaponsmiths Quarter of Huanglong County.

On the way to the Weaponsmiths Quarter, Qian Su did not belittle Yan Liqiang by treating him as an ignorant kid. Instead, he had solemnly introduced Yan Liqiang to the current state of affairs of the Huanglong Weaponsmiths Quarter which he currently resided in, so that he would get to know what to expect.

To explain using simple and understandable terms, the Huanglong Weaponsmiths Quarter was a logistics and armaments division. It was a standard military unit operating under the Military Governor’s Office, with the one at Pingxi Prefecture being the highest ranking military unit there was. Within Pingxi Prefecture, there were still quite a number of units similar to the Huanglong Weaponsmiths Quarter. While some of their individual duties overlapped and some didn’t, the main responsibility of the Huanglong Weaponsmiths Quarter was to forge and repair military equipment. Qian Su was a genuine Feiyang Commandant, and the Quarter Master–a title specific to his official position in his line of duty. If explained in Earth’s perspective, the title was a form of rank such as Military Sergeant, Company Commander, or similar. Within Huanglong Weaponsmiths Quarter, Qian Su was the head and possessed absolute authority. As for the title of Feiyang Commandant, it was a military rank equivalent to Second Lieutenant, First Lieutenant, Captain, Lieutenant Commander, or any other sort of similar ranks back on Earth.

Even the County Magistrate of Huanglong County had no authority over Qian Su as he only heeded the orders of the Military Governor’s Office. The Military Governor’s Office had also stationed another barracks at Huanglong County, but this one only consisted of about a bit more than 2000 men. Even the Barrack General of the entire division only had the military rank of a Yingyang Commandant, which was a class higher than Qian Su’s. Even though that was the case, the two of them belonged to different systems under the Military Governor’s Office. So, not only did the Barrack General have no authority over Qian Su, he even required a lot of help and support from Qian Su so they maintained good relations with each other. Thus, all parties would show Qian Su some sort of respect, so he was living a comfortable life in Huanglong County. As for those with the ability of discerning judgements, they would all know that this Uncle Qian was a frequent visitor to all the restaurants and pleasure quarters in Huanglong County.

After having listened to Qian Su’s introduction of these affairs, Yan Liqiang finally realized why Yan Dechang would send him to Huanglong County to avoid trouble. Since he was being protected by Qian Su in Huanglong County, there wouldn’t be much for him to worry about.

The Weaponsmiths Quarter was located at the base of a small mountain within Huanglong County. There was a path on the main road which directly led to the gate of the Weaponsmiths Quarter. Just by judging from the exterior, one could see that the Weaponsmiths Quarter was much larger than the martial arts academy in Qinghe County. Standing from the outside, one could see the numerous courtyards within the Weaponsmiths Quarter; situated right behind the courtyards was a hillside, enveloped by a lush green forest.

The landscape here was pretty decent.

“Catch!” Upon exiting the cart, Qian Su immediately took out a silver coin, tossing it at the cart driver.

“Uncle Qian, how could this humble one accept money from you? And this much too! You’ve already given me face by riding in my cart. And as for the money, you should just keep it. Please keep it...” The cart driver subconsciously caught the silver coin Qian Su that had thrown, before frantically waving his hands, signalling that he wanted to return the money.

“Nonsense! If you don’t earn money from driving carts then won’t your family be living on air with you? Am I the sort of person who doesn’t pay for my ride?!” berated Qian Su as he momentarily laughed while also glaring at the cart driver. “Don’t waste your time here. When you go back, head to Joyous Cloud Inn to send a message for me. Give the Joyous Cloud Inn’s Boss Song my request and tell him to prepare four whole roast lambs, twenty Sichuan pepper chickens and ten pots of Cloudy White Wine for me! Tonight our brothers of the Weaponsmiths Quarter are going to be having a special sumptuous meal!”

“Alright! Alright! Uncle Qian, you can put your mind at ease. I will definitely send word!”

“Then hurry up and go. If the special feast for our brothers of the Weaponsmiths Quarter ends up being delayed, you’d do your best to be on the lookout for my subordinates, as they are the ones who are going to devour you alive...”

The cart driver took the money and left with a beaming smile on his face, driving his cart away to deliver news from Qian Su.

Immediately after, Qian Su walked in the direction of the Weaponsmiths Quarter’s entrance with Yan Liqiang in tow.

The entrance of the Weaponsmiths Quarter truly gave off an impression of being an important military location. Outside of the quarter was the main gate and on that gate was a iron plaque with the words ‘Weaponsmiths Quarter’ embossed in gold on a black surface. There were two lines of spear-wielding soldiers that were positioned on either sides of the main gate, emitting an awe-inspiring aura.

Upon seeing Qian Su approaching the site with Yan Liqiang by his side, the spear-wielding soldiers instantly straightened their bodies. A military officer of around thirty years of age ran out from a small hut to the side of the main gate. He saluted Qian Su, “I’ve come to greet Quarter Master!”

“This is my nephew with the surname of Yan. He’s bored at home these few days, so he wanted to come visit our Weaponsmiths Quarter and spend a couple of days to improve his own knowledge and experience. Whenever he comes and goes from the Weaponsmiths Quarter, make sure our brothers keep alert. Do not ever make the mistake of not recognizing him as one of our own and make a fool out of yourselves!” said Qian Su offhandedly.

“Quarter Master, you can put your mind at ease!” The military officer seriously sized up Yan Liqiang from top to bottom, as if he wanted to memorize every inch of Yan Liqiang’s being. Then, he gave a vigorous nod. The surrounding soldiers who had overheard their conversation also took a serious glance at Yan Liqiang to remember what he looked like.

“Today we will have a special feast to welcome my nephew. Our brothers can let go and drink to their hearts’ content. Please arrange the same treatment for the brothers who’re going to take the night shift. The usual rules apply–brothers who’re going to take the night shift will get an extra pot of wine tomorrow...”

Once they heard this, the military officer as well as each and every one of the surrounding soldiers’ eyes lit up, beaming with happiness.

Qian Su then proceeded to lead Yan Liqiang into the quarter after he was done talking to the soldiers stationed at the entrance of the Weaponsmiths Quarter. They weren’t even able to walk too far before Qian Su grabbed a chieftain standing to the side, who he had caught sight of earlier on. Qian Su pointed at the courtyard with a smoking chimney in the distance and sternly said, “Go and ask Niu Daluan whether a craftsman like him is complaining that the bonus given to him last month was too much or whether he needs a good spanking instead? The fire inside of the furnace isn’t even burning hot enough to reach the required temperature, yet he’s already over there hammering away. Just how much coal is he going to waste in two hours? Is it because the bellows are damaged and he still hasn’t fixed them yet? I won’t let him off easy if the weapons that we’ve forged breaks easily in the battlefield. Tell him to remelt and reforge all the things made today in the Ironware Factory. The extra expenses for coal will be deducted from his salary. If he seriously wants a good spanking, tell him to come find me. Let’s just see if I’ll flay him alive...”

The small chieftain nodded his head, wiping away the cold sweat that had appeared on his forehead. The moment Qian Su finished speaking, the chieftain hurriedly made a beeline towards the Ironware Factory.

Others might not have understood what Qian Su was saying but Yan Liqiang had understood clearly. It was because Yan Liqiang had a blacksmith for a father. Experienced blacksmiths only needed to look at the color of the smoke emitting from a chimney to determine the current state of the furnace as well as the temperature of the flames. Those who were more advanced, were easily able to determine how brittle or soft the iron was, just by listening to the sound of tempering during the forging process.

Within the Weaponsmiths Quarter, Qian Su was akin to a tiger wandering around its territory. Everywhere he went, it was evident that he was highly respected. Seeing such a scene also made Yan Liqiang secretly admire him from deep within.

Each and every single one of these courtyards were manufacturing different types of items or were carrying out different processes. Yan Liqiang realized that great spears were the primary weapon being manufactured within the Weaponsmiths Quarter, which was exactly the kind of weapon he had been training with up until now. However, they were also forging all kinds of weapons, and various defensive equipment.

Yan Liqiang couldn’t help his hands from itching when he saw the many poles of great spears forged from ashwood. But thinking about how his weakened body hadn’t completely healed yet, he could only afford to look on for now.

Qian Su finally brought him over to a courtyard, situated next to the blanket of forest behind the Weaponsmiths Quarter.

Within that courtyard, there was an elm tree and under the elm tree was an old well. A pond could also be seen within the vicinity as well. Divided into multiple layers, a wooden canopy was set up in a place next to the pond near the house, it bore some resemblance to the drawers used to keep medicine in a pharmacy. Beneath the wooden canopy, there were bundles of ashwood which were left to dry in the shade. There were two rooms located at the bottom of the building. The door to the rooms were open and inside the rooms were also filled with bundles and bundles of ashwood, each roughly the size of a duck’s egg. The ashwood were so abundant here, so much so that they could be even be found below the eaves. Between the rooms, there was a flight of stairs which directly led to the loft above.

Qian Su handed over two keys to Yan Liqiang and said, “For the coming days, you’ll stay in this courtyard and sleep upstairs. I have already requested someone to prepare your room.”

After taking the pair of keys, Yan Liqiang once again surveyed his surroundings. “I’m the only one staying in such a big place?”

“Yes. This is where we stack up the spear poles and you will be the sole person staying here at this time. The ashwood you see here are all spear poles and they are required to be dried naturally before we can proceed to the next step in smithing. There’s three more months before this batch of ashwood can be used. During this time, nobody’ll come here to bother you so you can stay here at ease. The soldiers of the Weaponsmiths Quarter are staying in a row of barracks not too far from here. You should’ve already seen it just now on your way here. I live in another courtyard not far from here as well. If there’s any trouble here, just yell and everyone can hear you!”

Yan Liqiang nodded his head in satisfaction. “Okay! Thank you, Uncle Qian!”

“It’s alright if you stay here so long as you don’t use any fires within the premises. We cannot allow any fires to be seen here. Everyday I will request for someone to send your meals over. You won’t need to worry about your three daily meals and changes of clothes, there’ll be someone to do that for you. This entire mountain area is the Weaponsmiths Quarter’s territory. It’s an important military location and the people of Huanglong County know of this, and outsiders wouldn’t usually dare to enter this area. If you’re bored, you can take a casual stroll around the Weaponsmiths Quarter. You can go whenever you want, however, if you’re leaving the quarter, you need to inform me first!”

“Alright! I’ll keep that in mind!”

“I’ve heard from your father that you’ve been hit by the Iron Palm skill. So let me take a look at the medicines you’ve been taking!”

Yan Liqiang unwrapped the baggage that he’d been carrying on his back this whole time and took out two bottles of medicine from it, handing them over to Qian Su.

Upon receiving them, Qian Su unscrewed the bottle caps to take a couple of whiffs. He then shook his head before handing back the bottles to Yan Liqiang. “This medicine must have been given by the county’s medical hall. It’s just average. It’s not that good, but not that bad either. Wait until nighttime, I will send over two bottles of good medicine. It will definitely make your wounds heal faster. Go and get some rest in your room. I’ll get someone to fetch you when it’s time for dinner, and get you acquainted with the rest of the men here...”

Yan Liqiang nodded his head. After Qian Su was done explaining, he left.

As he looked across the courtyard that temporarily belonged to him, Yan Liqiang was feeling very satisfied. He glanced at the two keys in his hand before climbing up the stairs, arriving at his loft on the second floor.

The room was enormous, around thirty-four square meters. He cleaned and tidied every bit of the room. A set of military blankets was spread out atop the wooden bed. Apart from this, there was also a table and a closet.

Yan Liqiang put down the load on his back in the room. Only after he had settled in, did he take notice of the light yellow powder on the floor. It was scattered into various corners of the room but not only that, his nose had also caught a whiff of an odd odor...

He crouched down at one of the corners of the room, pinched up some powder with two fingers from the floor and took a sniff. He guessed that this yellow powder was most likely... sulfur...

This was being used as an insect repellent.

While Yan Liqiang was staring at the sulfur in his hands, a sudden realization dawned on him as he thought of something...

Chapter 11: Strange Dream At Night

More than two hundred smiths of various specializations were currently staying inside the Weaponsmiths Quarter. There was also a platoon of more than fifty men stationed there to protect it. Lastly, more than twenty maidservants serving in the quarter lived there as well. Taking everyone into account, the total number of people within the quarters did not exceed three hundred. And Qian Su was the head of everyone there.

For tonight’s special sumptuous feast, the Quartermaster had requested that Boss Song from the Joyous Cloud Inn deliver four roasted lambs as well as twenty Sichuan pepper chickens. The maidservants also prepared many side dishes in the Weaponsmiths Quarter’s kitchen. When it was time for dinner, almost all the people of the Weaponsmiths Quarter appeared in high spirits in the large compound of the kitchen where they usually ate.

There was a canopy in the large courtyard and under it was a lengthy table. A large brazier was then taken out and a whole roast lamb was mounted over it on a spit rack. One after another, the Sichuan pepper chickens were served on plates after being sliced up, followed by pots full of Cloudy White Wine being broken open. In the blink of an eye, the aroma of the meat wafted all over the courtyard and the smell of the wine assailed their nostrils. The entire atmosphere was lively beyond measure.

It was because of this kind of atmosphere that Qian Su had brought Yan Liqiang here to announce that Yan Liqiang was his nephew and to get him acquainted with everyone. The sumptuous feast that they were having today was all a reception held in honor of his nephew, Yan Liqiang.

Upon taking in what Qian Su said, everyone present in the Weaponsmiths Quarter was grinning from ear to ear as they glanced towards Yan Liqiang.

In the middle of this lively meal, Yan Liqiang stood up to actively toast the Weaponsmiths Quarter’s chieftains under Qian Su, addressing them as uncles and big brothers. When they saw that Yan Liqiang was such a well-mannered and thoughtful child, each and every one of them felt their impression of Yan Liqiang improve significantly. They immediately treated Yan Liqiang as one of their brothers within the quarter. Some had quite a bit of wine, and with their faces flushed red, they hammered their chest proclaiming their desire to find a beautiful wife for Yan Liqiang.

Having seen that in just one meal, Yan Liqiang was already getting along with every smith and soldier in the Weaponsmiths Quarter, Qian Su was caught by surprise. It was only in this moment that he realized that Yan Liqiang’s method of treating people and handling affairs might be on par with his. Also, due to the fact that Yan Liqiang was young and innocent, he seemed more sincere and humble when interacting with people, which in turn made it more likely for him to win the favor of others.

By the time Yan Liqiang had returned from making a round to toast everyone, each and every one of the men from the Weaponsmiths Quarter had already begun addressing Yan Liqiang as Young Master Yan.

Qian Su found himself completely relieved upon seeing Yan Liqiang at ease in the limelight. However, he found it puzzling as to how Yan Dechang could have brought up a son like this. Could it be that whatever Yan Dechang had told him before was just to deliberately sound modest or did Yan Dechang not even understand his own son?

...

The flavor of Joyous Cloud Inn’s whole roast lambs and Sichuan pepper chickens was pretty good and could even be described as delicious. Compared to the so-called delicacies he had eaten in his past life that were made from ingredients like leanness-enhancing agents, artificial hormones and chemical additives, the meal he had here was better by at least a hundred fold.

This safe place that his old man had found for him to avoid trouble was really great. There was food, drink and even entertainment. Haha....

Yan Liqiang didn’t even hesitate to let himself go, and ate and drank to his heart’s content. By the time the curtain of night had completely fallen, and the sky was filled with stars, everyone had finally dispersed after enjoying themselves to the fullest. And only then did he leave, satisfied, with Qian Su.

“Burp...” On the way back to the house, Yan Liqiang rubbed his belly in contentment and burped loudly.

“How do you find it here?” Qian Su asked while smiling.

“Naturally, Uncle Qian’s territory is superb!” replied Yan Liqiang emulating the Zhenhuan Style [1].

“Back home, apart from learning martial arts, did you also learn blacksmithing from your father ?”

“Initially, my father didn’t allow me to learn and wanted me to focus only on martial arts training. But while I was training, I would always drop by my father’s workshop to fool around. Sometimes, I would roll up my sleeves and help him out. In recent years, I’d often head directly to the blacksmithery to forge ironware, drawing air using bellows and building up my strength. What my father knows, I basically know as well. The problem is that I’m just not as proficient as him! As a blacksmith’s son, if I don’t even know how to forge ironware, then won’t I be forgetting my roots?”

“Good! Good!” Qian Su nodded his head in satisfaction, considerably touched by his statement. “In this world, although martial arts can help you rise, not everyone has the aptitude for it and can build their foundation successfully. Just like your father and I, when we were young, we wanted to train in martial arts as well. However ultimately, we went down the path of the blacksmith instead. In this world, the absolute majority live out their entire lives as ordinary folk. It was like our encounter with the boatman that saved someone down at the wharf today. Back when he was young, it wasn’t that he didn’t have lofty aspirations or goals, but that fate enjoyed working against him. So for the sake of surviving, he could only make a living on the water, replacing the great spear that he’d once held in his hands with a pole. While you’re recuperating here, if you have spare time, you should visit each of the courtyards here. If you want to learn something, they will never selfishly conceal it and will definitely give everything they can to teach you and help you out. It’s not a bad thing for young lads to learn more skills and increase their own knowledge and experience. Even if you can build up your foundation in the future and walk the path of a true Martial Warrior, broadening your horizon and mind will also be advantageous to your cultivation!”

“Alright! I’ll take this to heart!” nodded Yan Liqiang.

As Qian Su looked at Yan Liqiang, he suddenly thought of a question, “What do you think of my position?”

“Here, Uncle Qian is living a comfortable life no different from a fish in water!”

Qian Su burst into laughter. “Like a fish in water! Comfortable lifestyle! What you said is interesting! Interesting indeed! It’s precisely so. Within the Pingxi Prefecture, every Weaponsmiths Quarter’s Quarter Master is a lucrative position. There are countless numbers of craftsmen working under the Military Governor’s Office, and it’s needless to say that we’re not lacking in blacksmiths who can forge ironware. Do you know how I managed to steadily climb to this position?”

The question that Qian Su was asking now was too deep and seemed to conceal a greater motive. Yan Liqiang didn’t answer him immediately. As he was mulling over it, he cast a glance at Qian Su and noticed that Qian Su was staring right at him. In the moonlight, the gaze of his old man’s Junior Brother was gleaming and somewhat abstruse.

This scene appeared to be more like an elder’s test.

“Don’t play dumb with me...” Qian Su reminded him in all seriousness.

Yan Liqiang smiled in embarrassment. He could only answer truthfully in the end, “How Uncle Qian reached today’s position and remained firmly seated as the Quarter Master, I believe that is because Uncle Qian was able to work hard enough to plough through your set path without losing sight of your goal...”

“Able to work hard enough to plough through my path without losing sight of my goal!” Qian Su repeated Yan Liqiang’s words again, his entire body frozen in shock. Never did he ever imagine that he would hear such serious words with profound knowledge from a fourteen year old. Furthermore, he had said it so implicitly. Naturally, Qian Su knew in his heart the answer to the question he asked. The answer was more or less the same as what Yan Liqiang said, but it wasn’t nearly as incisive as Yan Liqiang’s words. It had vivid form and gave careful consideration to his honor. Yet Yan Liqiang had captured the true essence of the matter in just a short phrase.

Judging by Qian Su’s expression, Yan Liqiang knew he was right. The words he uttered earlier weren’t invented by him. Instead, it was the most profound summary of a life experience he had heard in his past life. Regardless of whether one had gone through the bureaucracy or their career, this phrase was already close to being the truth. Now that it had been said out loud meant that there was no room to nitpick about it anymore.

There were several aspects in this world which was different from his previous life on Earth. However, the hearts of the people as well as their nature wasn’t the least bit different at all.

“Alas...” sighed Qian Su suddenly. “Since you can say something like this, I really have nothing to teach you anymore!”

“No, I still have a lot of areas that I need to learn from Uncle Qian...”

“Haha! Don’t be modest about it! For Yan Dechang to be able to have a son like you, is truly something of an oddity! He should be content in this lifetime...” Qian Su said ruefully. Then, he took out a bottle of medicine, passing it to Yan Liqiang. “During these few days, it should be good enough to apply this medicine on your wounds. It’s getting late. You should head back and rest early!”

...

Yan Liqiang carried the medicine that Qian Su gave him back to the small courtyard. Once the gate of that courtyard closed, the entire place became his own little world.

Apart from him and the large tree within the small courtyard, there was only a sky full of moonlight and stars.

Having just eaten, it was inadvisable to go straight to bed, so Yan Liqiang wandered around the small courtyard to aid his digestion while he admired the resplendent starry sky.

To a reincarnated person, the sight of the resplendent starry sky in this world was quite stunning. It was ten folds better than in any blockbuster movie he had seen in the cinema before. In that short while, he couldn’t get enough of that sight.

Just by lifting his head to gaze at the starry sky, Yan Liqiang had felt that was a form of enjoyment.

After an hour had passed and the night sky had gradually darkened, the air started to feel a little chilly. After letting out a yawn, he was starting to feel sleepy. Yan Liqiang cleaned himself up in the courtyard before heading back to his room in the loft. He applied the medicine, changed into his night clothes and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

The effects of the medicine Qian Su had given him was truly vastly different than the medicine from the medical hall. When the bottle was opened, the surge of an odd but sweet scent assailed the nostrils. The medicine had only just been applied to the wounded area, but Yan Liqiang could instantaneously feel a cooling aura making its way into his skin. The discomfort that the Iron Palm had brought him was reduced by a lot as well.

Speaking of which, Yan Liqiang also hadn’t slept for two days so he already felt sleepy earlier on. His body was feeling more comfortable by the moment, and within a short while, Yan Liqiang soon slipped into his own sweet dreams.

...

In his dreams, a verse suddenly emerged somewhere from the depths of his consciousness. Eventually, the verse distinctly appeared in his thoughts.

‘I was born weak, constantly sick. Before the age of ten, I have not been taking care of my diet and was always plagued by diseases such as pathogenic cold. After the age of ten, I became alcoholic and was diagnosed with a variety of skin diseases. Until the age of nineteen, I was addicted to opium. At the age of thirty, I was plagued by illness for days, too alarmed and afraid to move, trapped between the heat and the cold. I felt restless throughout, feeling both hot and cold every day and night. During the days I’d been suffering from my illness, my body felt like it was on the verge of death...’

Following the appearance of these scripts, more and more lines of script began to surface from the depths of Yan Liqiang’s consciousness. Akin to an animal that had been reawakened after hibernation, they gradually appeared in Yan Liqiang’s mind.

...

‘The teachings instructed orally were knowledge imparted from Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, the Divine Heavenly Kings, the Great Grandmasters of Luohan. Though the techniques were different, each had their own uniqueness and were difficult to fully grasp and absorb. They were simply too complicated to be studied in detail, yet also too simplified if only one was selected to be studied.’

...

‘During the Taihe period under the Xiaoming Emperor’s reign of the Northern Wei Dynasty, the Grandmaster Damo (Bodhidharma) left the Liang Empire, moving to Wei and faced the wall in meditation as he resided in the Shaolin Temple. One day he told his disciples, “Why don’t you tell me what you have understood and what I should observe about your current attainment in learning?” Each disciple then reported to him what it was that they had been cultivating. He said, “A certain disciple has gained my skin while the other, my flesh. Another gained my bones.” Only to Huike, he said, “You have obtained my marrow.” The later generation misinterpreted. They thought this was referring to the depth of the disciples’ Dao, and were unaware that this was in fact true and had not been randomly said by Damo. It wasn’t until nine years later, after he’d succeeded in his achievement and ascended to immortality. He was buried at the foot of Xiong’er Mountain having almost vanished, leaving only one straw sandal behind.’

Afterwards, the stele at the wall where Damo had faced in meditation was destroyed by the storm. While the Shaolin monks were repairing it, they found an iron chest. Although it didn’t have a lock, they weren’t able to open it regardless of what they used. A monk comprehended and explained, “This must be solid wax. We should use fire.” The chest was opened successfully, causing the melted wax to splatter all over. Hence, they obtained two hidden manuscripts. One was the “Muscle Tendon Changing Manual” and the other, the “Marrow Cleansing Manual”. The “Marrow Cleansing Manual” mentioned that a man’s body was affected by carnal desires which would then take shape in a bodily form, contaminated by filth. To continue to desire cultivating the profound truth of Buddha and remove obstruction to obtain thusness, one must first cleanse and purge their five viscera and six bowls, the four limbs and the hundreds of bones within their body. Once one is purely cleansed and is able to see peace clearly, only then can one have truly cultivated and attained the wisdom of Buddha....’

...

‘He had obtained the strong physical body of the vajra, gradually attaining the wisdom of Buddha, allowing him to build up the foundation of tendon strength. The will of this monk was strong and sincere. And since he did not want to fall into worldly affairs, he followed through with the teachings of the holy monk and travelled along the mountains and seas, where his whereabouts became unknown. The guest Xu Hong met him overseas and obtained the sacred truth. He passed on the teachings to the Bearded Warrior and the Bearded Warrior returned it to me.’

...

‘Tang, Duke of Wei, Li Yaoshi....’

...

‘I am a warrior. I cannot read a single word. I am adept in the techniques of the long spear and great sword, and find great joy in riding the horse and drawing the bow. It was when the Central Plain was lost, and the Hui and Qin emperors went up North. The muddy horses crossed the river and many events happened to the south of it. Because I was recruited under Marshal Shao Bao (Yue Fei), and assigned as an assistant commander-in-chief, I often won wars and eventually became a great general. I recalled a time when I was ordered to war by Marshal Yue, the army later returned to the state of E. On the journey back, I suddenly came across a travelling monk, whose appearance was strange and old, akin to a Arhat. He carried a letter in hand and entered the camp. He requested for me to deliver it to Shao Bao. I asked for the reason and the monk said, “Does this general know that Shao Bao has divine powers? I said, “I don’t know but I saw that Shao Bao has the ability to draw a bow of hundred picul.” The monk asked, “Was Shao Bao’s divine strength bestowed by the heavens?” I said, “Yes.” The monk replied, “That’s wrong. I was the one who taught him. Shao Bao used to train under me and was successful in employing his divine strength. I then implored him to follow me to achieve enlightenment together.”’

...

‘Song, Shao Xing 12th year. The great general of E under Marshal Shao Bao (Yue Fei). Hong Yi General Niu Gao, Tang Yin, He jiu Fu.’

...

‘The great meaning of Buddha was that the one who wished to advance and obtain proper results must begin with one of two primary foundations: one is to be pure and empty, while the other one is to shed and change. Those who can be pure and empty, will have no barriers. Those who can shed and change, will be unhindered...’

‘What was being said: for the ones that are pure and empty, it is marrow cleansing and for the ones that shed and change, it is muscle tendon changing...’

‘The Marrow Cleansing spoke of a man’s body who was born from flesh and was affected by the pleasures of the flesh, which caused carnal desires to take form. The five visceras and six bowls, the limbs and the bones were tainted by filth and must be cleansed and purged thoroughly until not a single impurity was left behind. Only then would one be able to transcend through the door of enlightenment. There was no other foundation in entering the Dao apart from this. One who does Marrow Cleansing was cleaning their internals. One who does Muscle Tendon Changing was strengthening the externals. If one was able to achieve inner peace and external strength, then advancing into the holy domain was as easy as turning one’s palm. There’s no need to worry about achieving nothing.’

‘It is said to those who practiced “Muscle Tendon Changing”, that the constitution of a man’s body was formed when they were just fetuses. Some muscles and tendons are loose while some are shrivelled. Some are withered, some are weak, some are cringing, some are strong, some are stretchable, some are sturdy and some are harmonious. There are all different kinds and they all depend on the quality of the fetus. If the muscles and tendons are loose, then one is sick. If the muscle and tendons are shrivelled, then one is thin. If the muscles and tendons are withered, then one is weakened. If the muscles and tendons are weak, then one is sluggish. If the muscles and tendons are cringing, then one is dying. If the muscles and tendons are strong, then one is vigorous. If the muscles and tendons are stretchable, then one will grow. If the muscles and tendons are sturdy, then one is firm. If the muscles and tendons are harmonious, then one is healthy. If one cannot even be pure and empty, and is flowing with impurities, they cannot be strong externally, and has obstructions. How can such a person ever be permitted to enter the Dao? Therefore, to enter the Dao, one must first change their constitution to strengthen the body and the internal, to support the external. Otherwise, the Dao will be difficult to attain. Talking about those who practiced “Muscle Tendon Changing”, the change is said to be profound....’

...

One by one, these writings continuously emerged from within Yan Liqiang’s mind...

After these writings had completely finished appearing, what then emerged from Yan Liqiang’s sea of consciousness, were a series of training diagrams.

Finally, those writings and drawings merged together, turning into a book. The name of the book had large words that were all sparkling in gold, titled “Performing the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Internal Cultivation Manual”. Soon after, the book assimilated into Yan Liqiang’s sea of consciousness...

Chapter 12: Immense Power

The dark sky right outside was only visible through the window of the loft. It was full of stars as well as the moon. Back in his younger days, this was around the time when Yan Liqiang would get up to train his skills.

His powerful biological clock maintained its existing pattern. Regardless of whether Yan Liqiang had gotten enough sleep or not, it would still wake him up at this time.

Yan Liqiang opened his eyes only to realize that he was still lying on the bed. He couldn’t help but heave a long sigh of relief. Since he was still recovering from his injuries during these few days, he didn’t have to train after waking up in the morning. So after Yan Liqiang opened his eyes, he didn’t get up immediately but instead started reflecting on that strange dream he had last night.

‘The dream last night was very strange.’ Yan Liqiang muttered inwardly.

He had dreamt of all sorts of things ever since he was a child. Preposterous ones, peculiar ones, terrifying ones, lascivious ones and also even boring ones. He recalled one of his childhood dreams, where he dreamt that he became one of the Autobots from the Transformers and could transform his body into a car and raced on the road at lightning speed. When he grew older, he once dreamed that he had become the president of a country... But those dreams in the past were nothing compared to the perplexity of the dream he had today.

In the dream he had last night, he was actually reading a book. He dreamt he was reading the entire night and the book that he’d been reading was the ‘Performing Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Internal Cultivation Manual’– the very same one that he had bought in his past life from that old man in the street stall.

There was nothing else in that dream. No scenery, no other people, no demons or ghosts either. Just him and him alone, reading through that book attentively from the few prefaces it had all the way to the last training diagram.

Could there be any dream weirder than this?

The even stranger thing was whenever he woke up in the past, the scenes and memories of his dream would be like an old photograph, fading rapidly, heading towards the land of the forgotten. However, when he woke up this time, the book that he had read within his dream became even more vivid, as if it had completely integrated itself into his memories and his brain cells. Yan Liqiang could remember every word and diagram in that book, down to the location of every single punctuation mark. He could even copy out everything in that ‘Performing Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Internal Cultivation Manual’ from the beginning to the end from memory, including the exact same training diagrams found within the book.

When he discovered that he had a book imprinted in his mind without rhyme or reason, the expression on Yan Liqiang’s face was strangely filled with excitement.

Fortunately, because Yan Liqiang was granted another life, he was highly mentally resilient. Since life could be restarted and he could reincarnate into such a bizarre world, then having a book imprinted in his head was not something he would be too be surprised about.

Yan Liqiang thought about it carefully while lying on the bed and it was then that he realized that the ‘Performing Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Internal Cultivation Manual’ didn’t appear in his mind without rhyme or reason either. It was more like a recreation of his memory. He recalled that he had glanced through the entire book when he purchased it from the old man at the street stall back then, and then casually skimmed through it again on the road. Based on common sense, it should be impossible for him to remember the contents of that book with how fast he’d been reading the manual then, as this would practically require a photographic memory. However he didn’t know why, when he was reincarnated this time, this ‘Performing Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Internal Cultivation Manual’ that he had only flipped through twice had tagged along in his mind through the reincarnation process.

Yan Liqiang was clueless as to why this had happened. But it certainly didn’t hinder him from accepting this fact without much hesitation.

He laid on the bed for awhile. Although he wished to continue sleeping for a little while longer, he still gritted his teeth and directly got up before dressing himself and headed downstairs to quickly wash up.

This entire mountain was a territory belonging to the Weaponsmiths Quarter and it wasn’t far from the county town. There weren’t any ferocious beasts within the radius of tens of li. At this moment, the mountain air was as fresh and clean as it could possibly be. He could feel it even while standing in the courtyard.

Yan Liqiang arrived at the entrance of the small courtyard, thinking of opening the door to take a walk in the nearby forested hillside. Getting some fresh air would also be beneficial to his recovery.

The moment his hand came into contact with the door bolt, a thought flashed through his mind like lightning.

He was recalled the preface in the beginning of the ‘Performing Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Internal Cultivation Manual’ by a Qing Dynasty scholar named Zhou Shuguan.

In the preface, Zhou Shuguan had explained that he was born weak with many illnesses and was constantly sick. Due to his binge eating habits before the age of ten, he suffered from various diseases, such as ‘pathogenic cold’. After the age of ten, even though he was still considered a child, he started drinking and became alcoholic; this led to him having skin conditions such as ‘ulcers and sores’. When he was at the age of nineteen, he started smoking opium and carried on doing so for eleven whole years. By the time he was thirty years old, his body had already completely broken down and he was plagued by various illnesses that basically put him on the verge of death. Soon after that, he sought many physicians and consumed various tonics, but none of them proved effective. While he was waiting for death, he accidentally discovered the ‘Performing Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Internal Cultivation Manual’ by chance. And with only a single year’s worth of training, his body and mind recovered. Not only that, but he also managed to quit opium and his physique grew even stronger along with his strength...

‘I was born weak, constantly sick. Before the age of ten, I have not been taking care of my diet and was always plagued by diseases such as pathogenic cold. After the age of ten, I became alcoholic and was diagnosed with a variety of skin diseases. Until the age of nineteen, I was addicted to opium. At the age of thirty, I was plagued by illness for days, too alarmed and afraid to move, trapped between the heat and the cold. I felt restless throughout, feeling both hot and cold every day and night. During the days I’d been suffering from my illness, my body felt like it was on the verge of death...’

Before he had reincarnated, Yan Liqiang was quite skeptical when he had first read through this preface, and even felt that it may have been grossly exaggerated. But at that moment, a sudden question crossed his mind. ‘What if this Qing Dynasty scholar by the name of Zhou Shuguan was telling the truth? What if this book could really lead to this kind of result? People of the modern era loved to brag, so people of the ancient era should be a little more honest, right?’

If a debilitated youth from the Qing Dynasty who was lying on his deathbed could rise up and recover his health from the brink of death after being trained in the contents of this book, then his little problem could hardly amount to anything.

The other few prefaces of this book had also talked about the origins of this book. It was a secret technique that had been left by Buddha after it was brought to China by Grandmaster Damo (Bodhidharma), who founded the Chan Wu cultivation branch of Shaolin. Those prefaces mentioned that the people who cultivated with this book were all outstanding and well-known figures within the history of China.

The Bearded Warrior from the Tang Dynasty was like a Sword Immortal from the legends. He wished to compete with Li Shimin over the title of World Hero but soon realized that he was too incompetent, so he escaped overseas. It was there that he conquered a territory, becoming its king, thus finding contentment and lived a free and unfettered life. The Bearded Warrior later passed on this book to Li Jing, the same Li Jing who was known to be an invincible war god of the Tang Dynasty. His true identity was of the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King in ‘Investiture of the Gods’ and ‘Journey to West’, and also husband to the Lady with Red Sleeves (Hong Fu Nu), a legendary sword immortal of the Tang Dynasty.

‘He had obtained the strong physical body of the vajra, gradually attaining the wisdom of Buddha, allowing him to build up the foundation of tendon strength. The will of this monk was strong and sincere. And since he did not want to fall into the worldly affairs, he followed through with the teachings of the holy monk and travelled along the mountains and seas where his whereabouts became unknown. The guest Xu Hong met him overseas and obtained the sacred truth. He passed on the teachings to the Bearded Warrior and the Bearded Warrior returned it to me.’

According to the preface at the beginning of this book that was written by Yue Fei’s subordinate, General Niu Gao, it appeared that the national hero of the Chinese,Yue Fei, had also actually received the teachings of a monk during the Song Dynasty and had cultivated using the Muscle Tendon Changing Manual. Not only that, but he had also passed on the teachings in the Muscle Tendon Changing Manual to Niu Gao. According to Niu Gao’s preface, the courage of Yue Fei was at the apex of the world and he could also draw a powerful bow of a hundred picul. He possessed superhuman strength simply because he had cultivated using this book.

Perhaps the people of the modern area wouldn’t really have an idea on just how powerful a bow of a hundred picul was. However, in ancient times, the bow was especially favored by King Xuan of Qi, Tian Bijiang, as his weapon of choice during the Warring States period. When someone handed him a bow of nine picul, which in actuality was a bow of only three picul, King Xuan of Qi was so elated that he had managed to draw that ‘bow of nine picul’ and believed that he had the courage unstoppable by even ten thousand men. A bow of nine picul was already worth that big of a deal, let alone a bow of a hundred picul.

The words and the people on the few prefaces of the Muscle Tendon Changing Manual rolled around within Yan Liqiang’s heart.

Should he give it a try too...?

This thought suddenly emerged in Yan Liqiang’s mind and it grew to be more and more intense.

Yan Liqiang thought back to the training diagrams in the book and realized that there were certainly not too many intense movements depicted in the training diagrams and the intensity of these exercises were quite moderate, so there was no need to run or jump. It could be done by only moving the limbs and the body while staying at the same spot. Furthermore, the difficulty wasn’t that high either. Since it wouldn’t affect his injuries, he figured that he should give it a try.

There was no harm in trying since he wouldn’t lose anything. He’d just see how the results would turn out first. Besides, he was very free right now and possessed the liberty to treat it as an exercise. If he felt anything strange at all, he could just stop it.

With this intention in mind and his curiosity piqued, Yan Liqiang made his way to that one tree in the courtyard after he having recalled the content of the techniques in the ‘Muscle Tendon Changing Manual’. He then started his cultivation on the twenty seven stances of the Upright Body Diagrams in the ‘Performing Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Internal Cultivation Manual’.

The First Stance of the Upright Body Technique – the Fist Cupping Upright Stance.

Yan Liqiang quietly followed through with the requirements of this stance within his mind. As he slowly shut his eyes, he brought his heels close together while pointed his toes away from each other. He opened his left hand with his palm faced towards the skies, while he firmly clenched his right hand and placed it in front of his chest right above his Yellow Yard (center of the body) [2]. He straightened his knees and his spine, so that his ears would vertically line up with his shoulders and so that his nose would also be vertically lined up with his chest. He then constricted his gaze to the close confines within the radius of one-foot away from him. He clenched his teeth and stuck out his tongue to the roof of his mouth while exhaling through his nose. He then regulated his breathing and concentrated on his movements. After three breaths’ worth of of time, his entire body started moving gently in a relaxed manner...

Fist Cupping Upright Stance, Presenting the Pestle to Begin Work Stance, Extending Claws and Spreading Wings Stance, Twin Phoenix Facing the Sun Stance, Flying Eagle Spreading Wings Stance, Supporting Tower with Both Hands Stance, Three Peak Standing Stance, Dragon Stretching Right Claw Stance, Dragon Stretching Left Claw Stance, Horizontal Arms Half Squatting Stance, Three Forces Qi Channeling First Stance, Three Forces Qi Channeling Second Stance, Three Forces Qi Channeling Third Stance... Three Forces Qi Channeling Thirteenth Stance, Three Forces Qi Channeling Fourteenth Stance...

At first Yan Liqiang didn’t have any feeling from the training, but when he reached the last few stances of the Three Forces Channeling Qi technique, he gradually felt as if his body was turning into an empty bottle. With his entire body was suddenly feeling empty, he felt as if he had become one with his surroundings. A strange energy wave poured forth into his body through his stance unceasingly, seemingly from the Heavens and the Earth and from all directions. It went all the way up to his brain, all the way down to his tailbone and spread throughout his torso while coursing through the orifices of the blood vessels in his four limbs. Being cleansed by that wave of energy was so indescribably pleasant and comfortable that one could easily lose oneself within this sensation of pure ecstasy....

The three forces of this universe are divided into Human, Earth and Heaven. The fourteen stances of this Three Forces Channeling Qi technique clears the energy channels between human and Heaven and Earth.

This twenty seven stances of the Upright Body Diagrams were indeed very pleasant to practice. This pleasure was something that Yan Liqiang had never experienced before.

Without realizing it, Yan Liqiang had started to practice the twenty seven stances of the Upright Body Diagrams repeatedly.

He was so caught up in the exercise that he easily lost track of time. By the time Yan Liqiang opened his eyes after completing the final stance of the Upright Body Diagrams with the Fist Cupping Upright Stance, the sky was alreading turning bright.

He didn’t think that so much time had passed. That was at least two hours and Yan Liqiang was a little surprised. Had he really lost track of time just because he was so immersed in the techniques and actually repeatedly practiced the Upright Body Diagrams over and over?

The moment he thought of this question, Yan Liqiang felt as if something was going to come out from his stomach. Feeling an inexplicable disgust, he opened his mouth and belched, coughing up a mouthful of thick and black stuff that seemed to be clotted blood.

After coughing up the ‘blood clot’, the area between Yan Liqiang’s chest and abdomen felt extremely relaxed and cleared up. That suffocating sensation that was present seemed to be gone now...

Chapter 13: Mastering the Secret Technique

Yan Liqiang was dumbfounded, or perhaps it was best to say that he was in complete shock.

He recalled the physician in the medical hall back in the county town that had diagnosed his injury. It was a blood stasis that was left behind by the impact of the Iron Palm technique on the area located between his chest and abdomen. His body would recover as the blood stasis slowly dissolved.

Feeling an unobstructed sensation between his chest and abdomen, Yan Liqiang expanded his chest and swung his fists a couple of times with all his strength. He discovered that there wasn’t any discomfort at all in the area between his chest and abdomen. The ripping pain that he had felt whenever he tried those movements from last time was no longer present.

Upon taking another look at the puddle of black colored blood that he had coughed up, a thought crossed Yan Liqiang’s mind. Could this blood clot be the one that was left behind when he suffered the blow from Hong Tao’s Iron Palm technique? If he had coughed it out just like that, would this mean that he had actually recovered from his injury?

This was too incredible, just like a dream. He remembered that the physician had told him that his injury would require at least one or two months to heal, so how could it be this fast?

At this moment, the shock in Yan Liqiang’s heart was simply too difficult to be put into words. Regardless of how outrageous everything seemed, the unobstructed feeling in his body and the black colored blood clot that he had coughed up. had already clearly and undoubtedly told Yan Liqiang that everything that had just happened was real.

While Yan Liqiang was still in a daze, a series of knocks were suddenly heard on the door of his courtyard.

‘Dong dong... dong dong dong...’

At this moment, the sounds that traveled to Yan Liqiang’s ears were like drumbeats. Startled, Yan Liqiang subconsciously moved to open the door. After only two steps, he turned and saw the blood clot that he had coughed up on the floor. He hurriedly reversed his steps and dug into the ground with his shoe a few times to get some dirt to completely cover the blood clot.

After he was done with all this, he took a deep breath, doing his best to appear normal. He then proceeded to the entrance of the small courtyard and opened the door.

A round-faced maidservant about forty years old, stood outside of the door, carrying a food box in her hand. Yan Liqiang had seen this maid last night. She was one of the servants in the Weaponsmiths Quarter.

“Young Master Yan, I have brought you breakfast...” A cordial smile appeared on the round face of the maidservant as she handed him the food box. “Young Master Yan, please leave the food box by the door when you have finished. I’ll come back to collect it!”

“Alright, thank you!” Yan Liqiang gave her a slight smile and accepted the food box. “Oh right. There’s no need to deliver anything tomorrow morning.”

As soon as Yan Liqiang had finished speaking, the maidservant face immediately contorted into terrified expression. “Oh, is Young Master Yan not pleased with our food?”

“That’s not it. I’ll take my breakfast with everyone else at the dining hall tomorrow morning so there’s no need for you to especially deliver my meal.”

“But the Quarter Master had ordered that...”

“Don’t worry, I will talk to Uncle Qian!”

“Well... Alright then...”

Although he could stay in the courtyard the entire time while waiting to be served by others, Yan Liqiang didn’t want to be treated this way because he wasn’t a Young Master and wasn’t that pampered to begin with. From his previous life’s experience, this kind of habit was nothing more than ‘isolation’ and that wasn’t something positive. He had come here to Huanglong County to flee from dangers. Thus, it was needless for such pretension here. Although he was under the protection of Qian Su, mingling with everyone in the Weaponsmiths Quarter and following the mass line[1] was the wisest choice.

After the maidservant left, Yan Liqiang took the food box to the stone table under the tree in the courtyard and opened it. A delicious fragrance immediately wafted towards his nose.

There was a generous serving of millet congee with lean meat in a big bowl, a plate of dried tofu, a plate of salted vegetables as well as two chicken eggs in the food box. Yan Liqiang’s tummy immediately growled at the sight of the food.

He wasn’t sure if it had been because of all the training he had just done or if it was the fact that all of these especially clean, unadulterated dishes were made out of authentic, natural ingredients that made them seem delicious. Regardless, he realized that his appetite today was particularly good and that he was able to eat more than usual. In just a short moment, he had wolfed down everything and the food box was polished clean.

Yan Liqiang was initially planning to continue to study and experiment with the ‘Performing Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Internal Cultivation Manual’ in his mind after he was done with his meal. However, after a second thought, he was only a fourteen year old teenager right now. The nature of teens at this age was supposed to be active rather than staying quiet. If he holed himself up in the courtyard behind closed doors every day, people would think that there was something wrong with him instead.

If he didn’t have that shocking experience from before, perhaps Yan Liqiang wouldn’t really be bothered whether or not he was normal or abnormal in other people’s eyes. But it just so happened that Yan Liqiang had the mentioned experience, so he was adamant about becoming a normal, inconspicuous person in other people’s eyes.

After finishing the rest of his food, Yan Liqiang left the food box by the entrance and exited the courtyard. He made his way directly towards the mountain forest behind the Weaponsmiths Quarter, ready to stroll around the mountain.

That mountain forest mostly consisted of White Ash Trees while pine trees and other trees made up the rest of the forest. The White Ash trees stood perfectly straight in that mountain forest, just like sentinels standing guard. These White Ash trees should not be underestimated. They were actually important military supplies to the Weaponsmiths Quarter because the trunks of these White Ash trees were materials used for manufacturing the poles of long spears and moreover, long spears happened to be one of the most important weapons to the army of this era. This White Ash Forest was a provider for the most important weapon among the Military Governor’s Office in the Pingxi Prefecture. It could also be said that the Huanglong Weaponsmiths Quarter existed solely because of this White Ash Forest.

The White Ash Forest had people that specially cared for it. They trimmed the branches and leaves, protected them against insects and ensured that there were no scars or holes made by pests on the trunk of every White Ash tree. Every White Ash tree here stood straight like a spear and their sturdy trunks all had fine textures.

The air in this mountain forest was very fresh and there was an abundance of spiritual Qi and energy of the mountain. Yan Liqiang leisurely strolled around the forest, while carefully noting the terrain. In about twenty minutes or so, he finally made it to a wide empty land near the mountain summit.

This place wasn’t that huge, it had an area of only thirty or forty square meters. The lush green grass on the ground was like a mattress, with thick trees in the surroundings; behind this was a mountain wall that went all the way up to the summit and a stream by the side. He was right in front of the slope of a hill, the courtyards of the Weaponsmiths Quarter lay just below this hill. From here, Yan Liqiang could easily assess the situation at the foot of the mountain. He was able to clearly see if someone was coming up. However, the same could not be said for the people at the mountain foot or in the distance.

When Yan Liqiang arrived, the sun had just fully risen from the East and the earth’s yang Qi had started increasing. The warm sunlight bathed the White Ash Forest and its surroundings on the mountain. In this clearing, the light interspersed with the shadows while the air was filled with vitality; it was a good place to train.

Ascending the mountain had helped Yan Liqiang digest almost all his food. He exercised his entire body here for awhile and realized that the unpleasant feeling between his chest and abdomen really had vanished without a trace. This boosted his confidence. After he was done with exercising his entire body, he stood properly while taking a few deep breaths. He then shifted his right leg to the 4 o’clock position as he assumed the Left Bow Stance. He faced his right palm to the right and raised it up, towards the front, allowing it to draw an arc to the front of his body. He turned his palms facing upwards, while the same time bending his right elbow. He raised his right palm to the side of his waist while assuming the beginning stance of the Empty Step with Flashing Palm. In an instant, he fully focused his attention.

After taking a few breaths, Yan Liqiang unleashed the Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist technique.

The Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist technique was a type of basic fist technique that was widely spread throughout the Great Han Empire. Almost everyone knew it. The popularity of this fist technique was comparable to ‘The Most Dazzling Folk Style’ that was deeply adored by the aunties who performed it in plaza dances in his past life. Yan Liqiang’s father and Zhou Tiezhu both knew this fist technique. Yan Liqiang knew of this technique because Yan Dechang had personally taught it to him. The sequence of movements in this fist technique was short, hence it was very easy to learn and practice. It could also help a novice martial artist set their foundation in fist techniques. At the same time, it also had great effect in stretching the muscles and bones. Though the movements in this fist technique were few, it had stricter requirements on the hands, eyes, body, and footwork. Among the youths in Liuhe Town, at least nine out of every ten people had cultivated this fist technique since young.

That day on the arena, Yan Liqiang had used this Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist technique in his showdown with Hong Tao as it was the only fist technique he knew.

Yan Liqiang couldn’t be more familiar with the only fist technique that he had cultivated over so many years.

At the beginning, Yan Liqiang’s movements were still a little slow. But slowly, as Yan Liqiang realized that there wasn’t any discomfort in his body when he was practicing his fists, and it had completely returned to normal like before, his movements started growing in strength and speed. One movement followed after another, as they were unleashed in an imposing manner.

By the time he finished practicing the thirty-two forms of Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist, a thin sheen of sweat had already formed on his forehead. But what was more important was that he could finally confirm that his injuries had indeed been completely healed.

He had only practiced the Upright Body Diagrams of the ‘Performing Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Internal Cultivation Manual’ for one entire morning to achieve this outcome. He wondered what would happen if he were to persist in his practice of the ‘Performing Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Internal Cultivation Manual’ several times every day.

If he thought of this, then he should do it!

With that thought on his mind, Yan Liqiang once again started with the First Stance of the Upright Body Technique – the Fist Cupping Upright Stance and began to practice it.

This time, he didn’t repeat after he finished practicing the twenty seven stances of the Upright Body Diagrams. He instead proceeded to cultivate the Sideway Body Diagrams. There were eight stances in the Sideway Body Diagrams, One Hand Raising the Heaven Stance, Unsheathing the Sabre Stance, Drawing Bow Shooting Ball Stance, Straight Shoulder Stance, White Crane Flapping Wings Stance, Presenting the Pestle in Unity Stance, Facing Towards the Sky Stance and finally the Cupping and Returning Stance....

After finishing Sideway Body Diagrams, he continued onto Half Body Diagrams, then Leaning Body Diagrams, followed by Folding Body Diagrams, Twisting Body Diagrams, Falling Body Diagrams, Flipping Body Diagrams, Moving Body Diagrams, Sitting Body Diagrams, Fixed Body Diagram, and lastly Crouching Body Diagrams...

Among these various body diagrams, there were some that had more than twenty stances in the diagrams while there were also some with as little as seven or eight stances. Each and every single stance had their own ingenuity and distinction.

Nearly two hours had passed by the time he had just finished practicing a single round with a total of twelve body diagrams.

During his first round of practice, some of his movements were still somewhat shaky and inconsistent. Even so, Yan Liqiang felt that he was much more energetic after completing one round of practice. An endless stream of vigor seemed to well up from his body...

He practiced it again for another round. After another two hours had passed, Yan Liqiang felt as if his vitality had increased a hundredfold. His body had actually never felt this great before, it felt like there was a cool breeze blowing under his arms.

Yan Liqiang had actually wanted to continue practicing, but then he remembered that it was almost lunchtime back in the Weaponsmiths Quarter. So, to avoid complications from arising, he suppressed his urge to continue training and quickly descended the mountain...

After he had finished his lunch, Yan Liqiang took a walk around every courtyard in the Weaponsmiths Quarter in the afternoon, before returning to the mountain. He started cultivating the various techniques in the ‘Performing Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Internal Cultivation Manual’ and only descended the mountain in the evening. After he finished dinner, he continued with his practice in his small courtyard.

In just one day, Yan Liqiang’s familiarity with the techniques grew after repeated rounds of cultivation. He had already fully grasped the essentials of the techniques such as movement and breathing...

Chapter 14: Slowly Transforming

In the following few days, Yan Liqiang stayed in the Weaponsmiths Quarter and didn’t exhibit any unusual behavior.

He disallowed the maidservant of the Weaponsmiths Quarter from delivering any of his meals again. Just like everyone else in the Weaponsmiths Quarter, he also gathered in the dining hall to dine together. He’d eat whatever the others ate and while he ate, he’d happily chat with the others. After having finished eating, he’d go to whichever courtyard he wanted to watch the different processes of those blacksmiths while they forged and produced various weapons, and he would ask those blacksmiths for guidance. Occasionally, he’d also go to the courtyard where the soldiers lived to watch them train.

Yan Liqiang treated everyone with respect and didn’t flaunt his status as the Quarter Master’s nephew. He addressed everyone as ‘uncle’ or ‘brother’ and treated even the blacksmiths and servants of the Weaponsmiths Quarter with due respect. Due to his friendliness, easy-going nature and respectful treatment of others, Yan Liqiang was able to get along well with everyone in the Weaponsmiths Quarter in just a few days. He fit right in with them and was greeted by smiles wherever he went.

The first two days, Qian Su still kept a close eye on Yan Liqiang, but when he realized that Yan Liqiang was already comfortable enough in the Weaponsmiths Quarter, he stopped monitoring him. Besides, it wasn’t like Yan Liqiang was capable of causing trouble in the Weaponsmiths Quarter so he left him alone. However, Qian Su himself frequently traveled to the county town of Huanglong County. He would often go missing for a day and even stayed out all night from time to time. Whenever that happened, everyone in the Weaponsmiths Quarter knew that Quarter Master Qian had gone out to fool around.

After Yan Liqiang had gotten closer to the people of the Weaponsmiths Quarter in just a few days, no one really paid any further attention to what Yan Liqiang did in the Weaponsmiths Quarter. All of them felt that Yan Liqiang wasn’t just some immature troublemaker and furthermore was Qian Su’s nephew, so naturally, no one really wondered what Yan Liqiang did nor did they meddle in his business. As a result, Yan Liqiang frequently went to the mountains every day and people understood it that as a teenager’s nature so they didn’t really mind. It would be fine as long as Yan Liqiang didn’t set the whole mountain on fire.

But of course, this was all only on the surface. In reality, the life that Yan Liqiang led in the Weaponsmiths Quarter over these few days was actually the polar opposite of how it seemed on the surface. Although he might appear to be very free and idle in the Weaponsmiths Quarter to the rest, in fact, he actually didn’t slack off on his cultivation at all.

The bitter experience of being beaten down from the arena by Hong Tao and the fact that he was forced to flee to Huanglong County from danger was like a taut bowstring within Yan Liqiang’s heart. He didn’t relax at all but instead started cultivating even more diligently than ever.

The official Martial Arts County Trial Examination was only two months away. Despite the fact that he had failed in the preliminary exam, he was still eligible to participate in the official examination due to his past outstanding performance back in Liuhe Town. Even without the threat of the Hong Clan, Yan Liqiang would still strive to move forward for the sake of getting a good ranking in this martial arts examination. That was because this matter didn’t only impact his future as an individual, but also the earnest expectation that his father had for him over more than a decade.

The ‘Performing Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Internal Cultivation Manual’ had never been a part of the training regimes that Yan Liqiang had followed in the past. But after he realized the formidable power of the techniques that were recorded within, Yan Liqiang treated the ‘Performing Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Internal Cultivation Manual’ as the main regime in his daily training.

Every day, Yan Liqiang got up before sunrise to cultivate the ‘Performing Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Internal Cultivation Manual’ in the courtyard. Cultivating a single round of ‘Performing Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Internal Cultivation Manual’ took about two hours. After having cultivated it for one round and then practicing the Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist technique for another few rounds, it would be just around breakfast time at the Weaponsmiths Quarter, so he would go to have his breakfast.

After he was done with breakfast, he would stroll around the Weaponsmiths Quarter for a while before ascending the mountain. Then on the mountain, he would continue to cultivate the ‘Performing Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Internal Cultivation Manual’. This time, he would be able to complete two rounds of ‘Performing Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Internal Cultivation Manual’ cultivation before lunchtime.

After lunch, he would take the opportunity return to his own loft to nap and read.Until dinner time, he could cultivate ‘Performing Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Internal Cultivation Manual’ again for another two or three times.

After dinner, he’d hang back a little longer with the people of the Weaponsmiths Quarter before returning to his small courtyard again. Then he’d start focusing on squatting in Horse Stance for the sake of tempering it into the foundation of a Warrior. This would go on all the way until bedtime.

Just like this, Yan Liqiang would spend more than ten hours every day cultivating the ‘Performing Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Internal Cultivation Manual’ five or six times in the Weaponsmiths Quarter.

He didn’t dare to tell anyone about the secrets of the ‘Performing Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Internal Cultivation Manual’ because the effects of this secret manual were really too terrifying. As the saying goes: ‘treasuring a jade ring becomes a crime’[1]. Yan Liqiang knew that he wasn’t capable enough to protect this secret and feared that the people around him would be put in danger should this secret ever be exposed.

Yan Liqiang gradually discovered that the growing amount of vigor he had within his body corresponded with the increasing amount of time he’d put forth in cultivating the ‘Performing Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Internal Cultivation Manual’ in the wake of his daily cultivation. It was as if he had opened a treasure vault in his body, that boundless energy gushed forth like an underground geyser as it poured forth from within his body in a steady flow.

On the third day after he had officially started practicing this technique, Yan Liqiang realized that for the first time he was no longer drowsy after waking up in the morning to practice.

Although waking up to train his martial arts around 5 o’clock at dawn every day had already become a habit to Yan Liqiang, however, he was still a fourteen-year-old youth. He was honestly still quite sleepy when he woke up at this hour every morning ever since he started training martial arts. That warm blanket was still very attractive to him and waking up at this hour every day really wasn’t something to be joyful about. He was only able to persevere at getting up at this hour every day by relying on his own willpower and the habit he had acquired from being supervised by his father all this time; he had to clench his teeth to force himself up and then get into an energetic state by rapidly washing up and training.

But this time when Yan Liqiang’s biological clock woke him up on the third day of his new training regime, he discovered that his body no longer felt drowsy. Instead, his drowsiness had been replaced by an overflowing energy in his body and a clear mind. That warm blanket had suddenly lost its attractiveness to him within an instant.

After just a few days, Yan Liqiang subsequently discovered a series of changes that had started to occur within his body.

First, the quality of his sleep had become better. He was able to fall asleep faster, felt extremely comfortable and no longer dreamed while he slept.

Next, Yan Liqiang discovered that the amount of food that he needed to consume was gradually increasing. His appetite had increased. Everything he ate tasted especially delectable. Taking his lunch and dinner as examples, if he previously ate three bowls of rice per meal, then the amount of his intake had increased by thirty percent in just a few days into four bowls. Not only that, it was still showing signs of increasing...

Lastly, which was also the most obvious transformation, Yan Liqiang discovered that the physical quality of his body was rapidly enhancing in various aspects, especially the energy in his entire body. This transformation was most evident when he was practicing his fist techniques and the Horse Stance, especially the latter.

Prior to sustaining his injury, Yan Liqiang could last more than an hour when he assumed the Horse Stance before his body would start to tremble, despite having trained the Horse Stance for all these years. But from the fourth day after he started practicing the ‘Performing Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Internal Cultivation Manual’, Yan Liqiang realized that the amount of time that he could hold his Horse Stance had started to increase. At the beginning, it was still not that obvious. But after more two days had passed, Yan Liqiang realized that it was gradually getting easier every time he assumed the Horse Stance, so the amount of time that he could hold it for had also obviously become longer. It increased day by day. This was originally the most difficult fundamentals, yet it had gradually become much easier. In only the span of a few days, the amount of time he could hold his Horse Stance had increased from more than one hour to two. It had doubled within just a short time...

Chapter 15: Obtained a Secret Manual

Unknowingly, half a month had already passed since Yan Liqiang had first come to the Weaponsmiths Quarter.

During this period of time, Yan Liqiang immersed himself in diligent training every single day. In accordance with the ‘Performing Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Internal Cultivation Manual’, he had reached the point where he had memorized its contents by heart; this allowed his skills to slowly mature.

Today, from the moment he woke up, Yan Liqiang had been getting a feeling that his body was rapidly changing while he was training. This was especially noticeable when he was practicing the Triple Burner Attaining Virtue Fourteenth Stance, one of the forms in the Sitting Body Diagrams. Yan Liqiang could clearly feel that a hole of sorts seemed to have opened on top of his head, feeling like he was in a trance, he also sensed that numerous amounts of bright, multicolored energy, as well as spiritual Qi, present among the Heavens and Earth, all of which were surging towards him, entering his body from the top of his head. The five viscera and six bowels within his body behaved like a piece of dry sponge meeting water for the first time as they madly absorbed and devoured the energy and spiritual Qi that entered into his body. While his own heart, spleen, liver, lungs, and kidney were absorbing those energies, he was also overwhelmed with euphoria to the point where he wanted nothing more than to burst out loudly into song.

The Fourteenth Stance of the Sitting Body Diagrams’ Triple Burner Attaining Virtue was the same as the Fourteen Stance of the Upright Body Diagrams’ Three Forces Qi Channeling and also the Half Body Diagrams’ Folding Joints on Horse’s Fourteenth Stance. The only difference was that training of the Fourteenth Stance of the Upright Body Diagrams was done while standing, whereas the Fourteenth Stance of the Half Body Diagrams was practiced in a half-squatting posture similar to the Horse Stance, while training of the Fourteenth Stance of the Sitting Body Diagrams was done while sitting down in a cross-legged position. According to the given explanation in the ‘Performing Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Internal Cultivation Manual’, ‘...the first part of the process was done in attempt to circulate the Qi, while the second part is done to circulate the Qi to a focal point and the last step was done to circulate the Qi towards its original point. The exercise is divided into three parts and it should be accomplished in the order stated above from start to finish. To those who have trained to this extent, they would be able to manipulate their Qi up and down to do as they see fit, allowing them to transcend into the realm of wonders.’

Once one had practiced the ‘Performing Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Internal Cultivation Manual’ to this degree, only then would one truly be considered to have “transcended into the realm of wonders.”

In the morning, after having completed a single round of training, Yan Liqiang felt his entire body become light and agile, as though he was floating on air. In particular, his kidneys, that is to say, his waist area, were feeling like they were being enclosed with two bags of warm water. It was a feeling of extreme coziness as well as a sense of comfort which he found himself unable to put into words.

After having his fill of breakfast and lunch, Yan Liqiang continued to cultivate. Every time he did so, his inner organs would absorb and devour a large amount of bright and multicolored energy and spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth. For every time he cultivated, he would receive corresponding gains. Cultivating for five rounds every day before dinnertime, Yan Liqiang felt like the entirety of his body seemed to have immersed itself in a completely different state of being. He could feel that his body was bursting with energy while his sight and hearing perception had been raised to a more advanced level. His eyesight was becoming keener, while his hearing had also been elevated and now could notice even the most minute amounts of noise. After he finished his afternoon training on the mountain, Yan Liqiang could sense that the scenery in his surroundings had unexpectedly turned more vivid and lively.

During this dinnertime, Yan Liqiang once again crossed paths with Qian Su. During the entirety of yesterday and the day before that, Qian Su couldn’t be found within the Weaponsmiths Quarter, and nobody knew just where he had gone to get drunk and release his amorous desires.

After they’d both finished their respective dinners, Qian Su’s call halted Yan Liqiang right in his tracks, before bringing him back to his residential courtyard.

“Liqiang, you’re looking much better these days. Is the medicine I gave you still useful?” Upon seeing Yan Liqiang’s complexion, Qian Su nodded in satisfaction. After having stayed in the Weaponsmiths Quarter for half a month, Yan Liqiang’s complexion was growing better by the day. Upon looking at his now much healthier complexion, Qian Su also felt his heart was put at ease.

“Thank you very much, Uncle Qian. The medicine you gave me is really useful. I’ve already felt my injuries getting much better since a few days ago!” Yan Liqiang laughed. Had it not been for the medicine that Qian Su gave him, he really would’ve at a loss to explain his miraculous healing speed. “After all, Hong Tao’s Iron Palm was still in the beginning stages of training when he hit me with it, so the power wasn’t that great. I’ve recognized that the abundant spiritual Qi in the mountains is nourishing for the body, so for these past few days, I’ve been running up and down the mountains several times a day. Whenever I’m free, I either train my fists or take a nap so that my body can grow to feel more comfortable and relaxed. When I was running up the mountain two days ago, I even coughed up some blood clots. After that, the uncomfortable feeling in my chest area is almost all gone. During these few days, I feel like my own body almost back to normal and in a good enough condition to practice the Horse Stance again, so I did just that...”

“Good!! That’s great! That’s great...” After hearing what Yan Liqiang had said, the expression on Qian Su’s face became nothing but smiles. “Yesterday, your father requested someone to send news over. He told us that everything is fine and that you don’t have to worry about home. You just need to stay here to recuperate in peace. I’m sure that your father would be ecstatic if he knew just how fast your body has been healing!”

“I still have Uncle Qiang to thank for this!”

“How is any of this my effort? It’s because you’re still so young, brimming with so much vigor that you’re recovering so fast. Oh, speaking of which, apart from the basics in spear arts, are you practicing any other form of martial arts?”

Yan Liqiang scratched his head. “Apart from spear arts, I’m also practicing the basic fist technique, Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist, to build up my foundation. As for the other forms of martial arts, I’m not practicing any!”

“Hmm, you’re going about this in the right way. Before setting your foundation, it’s inadvisable to spend too much time on training external martial arts. However, Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist is still popular to the point where practically everyone knows how to use it. So, unless if you have a unique insight that will help you practice this fist technique, or you are able to train this fist technique to perfection, you shouldn’t be relying on it to win against an enemy. Otherwise in your current state without a foundation, trying to use this fist technique to win especially when facing an adversary such as Hong Tao, would be near impossible. So, apart from this fist technique, it’s best for you if you were to learn another martial art to increase your self-defense. Only then would you have a higher chance of victory when facing the enemy...” As Qian Su spoke on, he took out a book from his bosom and passed it to Yan Liqiang. “This was a secret footwork manual I came across back in my younger days. When compared to other valuable secret manuals, you’ll find that this manual isn’t really that powerful. The highest you can cultivate until is only a realm of the sixth layer, but despite so, this manual is still rarely seen. Not only that but if you can train yourself well enough in this art, then you can use it to either attack or defend in battle, while also maintaining the ability to advance or retreat at will. You can also use it in conjunction with other martial arts. Even if you were to build your foundation, you can still train in it and put it to good use when in a confrontation with your enemy!”

The moment when he heard that there was a realm of six layers within the secret manual in Qian Su’s hand was when Yan Liqiang’s mind flooded with excitement. Within this world, one has to know that the simplest and most direct method in grading the heights of martial arts and techniques was by observing the number of layers within a realm that a martial art could possess while using said martial arts or techniques. The higher the number of layers one could possess within a realm for the martial arts and techniques would imply that they could attain higher levels, thus becoming more formidable. Naturally, it would be more valuable as well. The layers of the realm for these techniques were of course not determined by people. Instead, every layer would be divided by the different forms of techniques’ Dharmic projections and phenomena.

For instance, the Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist he’d been practicing would serve as a good example. The pinnacle of this ever-so-popular martial art was only up to a realm of the fifth layer. As for the secret manual that Qian Su had given him, although the highest limit for it was only at a realm of the sixth layer, the fact that it was only one layer higher than the Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist didn’t make it look much more valuable. But in reality, more than ninety percent of the commoners in this world would perhaps never be presented with the chance in their lifetime to see a manual containing a realm of the sixth layer. Even the Iron Palm that Hong Tao was cultivating peaked at a realm of the sixth layer. However, the difference between the two was that secret manuals that touched upon the art of footwork and body stances of martial arts were more valuable. The value of this secret footwork manual containing the realm of the sixth layer was more than sufficient enough to be equal or even rival other techniques of the seventh layer realm.

Within the world of cultivation, there was another saying that says that a ship rises with the tides. If a person can cultivate a low-level secret manual to its highest realm, then when that same person begins to cultivate a more advanced secret manual of similar type in the future, it would be easier for them to master it. Furthermore, they would also be able to advance to a higher layer at a faster rate, therefore every fundamental technique was significant. For example, if Yan Liqiang could train the Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist to it’s highest fifth layer and if he happened to be able to gain access to a fist technique manual of the highest tenth layer, then there was a very distinct possibility that he would be able to break through those previous layers in the manual in a shorter than normal time frame.

Being prompted by his now highly piqued curiosity, Yan Liqiang respectfully accepted the secret manual given to him by Qian Su. Holding it before him, he could see that there were only words that read ‘Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps’ on the manual’s green cover.

The secret manual was very thin with only a dozen or so pages. But while he was holding it, Yan Liqiang could feel the secret manual emanating an immense amount of pressure, the light-looking manual had instead felt that it had a weight of a thousand jin. It felt very heavy.

“Uncle Qian, may I know what layer have you cultivated the ‘Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps’ until?”

Yan Liqiang’s question made Qian Su’s aged face slightly flush. “Cough, cough! Your Uncle Qian, me, don’t even have the foundation and furthermore, I never even passed the Horse Stance level. My legs are weak, thus, I only barely managed to cultivate the ‘Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps’ up to the second layer with great trouble, and no more after that as it was too difficult for me to continue. To prevent your father from troubling me in the future, you can keep this footwork manual with you. But, wait until you pass the Horse Stance before cultivating...”

“I really don’t know how to repay Uncle Qian for giving me this!”

Qian Su’s gaze fell on Yan Liqiang’s face before suddenly sighing, “For you to live a long and meaningful life, that’s the greatest gift you can give to me!”

...

Upon leaving Qian Su’s courtyard, Yan Liqiang tucked the ‘Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps’ secret manual into his clothes and went back to his own place. After closing the doors to his courtyard, this place turned into his private little world.

It wasn’t permitted to light a fire in this courtyard, so items such as lamps and candles were not available. Thus, Yan Liqiang opened the manual at the stone table in the courtyard and studied it attentively.

The moonlit skies were clear on this night, with no clouds in sight and the moonlight shone like silver. Even without a lamp in the courtyard, Yan Liqiang still could clearly read through the entire manual with the aid of the brilliant illumination.

Having only read through it once, Yan Liqiang was able to completely memorize every word and diagram in the manual.

To have such a photographic memory ability in his brain was really absurd. To Yan Liqiang, the book he read before, felt like a picture that had been permanently captured and stored inside his brain– as long as he had even glanced at it once, he could completely remember every detail. Yan Liqiang never had such an ability before, but ever since he had that dream where he recalled the entire contents of the ‘Performing Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Internal Cultivation Manual’, Yan Liqiang realized that he had somehow inexplicably gained this gift.

Of course, not a soul other than his own knew about this fact.

After reading through the ‘Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps’ manual, Yan Liqiang shut his eyes and waited until his mood had completely calmed down before returning the manual back within his bosom. Following that, he went to the tree in the courtyard where he once more assumed the Horse Stance.

The Horse Stance was the foundation of all known martial arts. Without this foundation, martial arts would be no different from duckweed on water. This was particularly so when it came to the ‘Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps’ and such similar footwork manuals, as the area of foundation it tested were the techniques of the lower body and legs. If the foundation of the Horse Stance wasn’t built up, then even if one had a better manual, it would turn out to be a complete waste.

Moreover, today was when Yan Liqiang felt that the condition of his body was superb. He was full to the brim with energy which made this the perfect moment to strengthen the foundation of his Horse Stance.

The instant that Yan Liqiang began to perform the Horse Stance, the entire courtyard fell into a state of absolute silence. The only exception to this silence were the sounds made by insects and frogs that could only be heard sounding from outside the courtyard.

In the moonlight, Yan Liqiang shut his eyes, balancing his body in the Horse Stance posture. His legs stood firm like two pillars while his entire body seemed to be as sturdy as a boulder. Without any reasonable explanation, he appeared to be more imposing than ever.

As his body remained in this position for a whole hour, from his side, a blurry red light had slowly begun to form, enveloping him. Within that blurry light, a silhouette of a rhinodrake steed began to slowly form, spreading a majestic aura throughout the courtyard.

Chapter 16: Successful in Accomplishing the Horse Stance

Today, like the past few days, Yan Liqiang spent his day performing the Horse Stance with his eyes closed, immersing himself into it.

For the earlier half of the month, the amount of time that Yan Liqiang spent on practicing the Horse Stance became much longer and as a result, his Horse Stance was becoming more stable by the day. This was especially true for his results of the past two days. Every time he performed the Horse Stance, he felt as though his body was floating on water. The upper half of his body from the waist felt weightless to him while assuming the stance, this caused his entire body to feel extremely light. Only when he was breathing did he sense that his body was slightly undulating. Although it came from a purely spiritual perception rather than an actual physical movement, his body was moving despite being inert. When he was drawing in breath, he could feel his body was inflating like a balloon, which gave the sense that he was floating upwards. Yet, whenever he breathed out, he felt his body dropping back down again.

Yan Liqiang himself also could not ascertain the reason why. His body had gotten used to practicing the Horse Stance for many years, and he was used to being drenched in sweat as well as feeling sore and aching pain in his legs which were always present every day of his life before. However, practicing the Horse Stance to him now felt no different from floating on water. Although this was something that he had never experienced before, Yan Liqiang began to suspect that it would not be a problem for him to practice it for an entire day under such conditions.

Because of the fact that he lacked an experienced master by his side with the ability to advise him, Yan Liqiang was unable to differentiate whether this was a good or a bad state to be in. But while he was in this state, his body was so comfortable that it couldn’t possibly be bad, so he would continue to persevere in doing this.

Today he stayed in this state without knowing for how long when all of a sudden, Yan Liqiang felt a surge of heat rising from the bottom of his feet. The heat firstly warmed up his shanks, feeling as comfortable as soaking them in warm water during a foot massage. Under that warmth, the soles of his feet felt like it had connected with the Earth. It was as though his entire body had been made from mud, and had just emerged from the ground. This gave rise to a sensation in which he’d feel his entire being was merging with the Earth underneath his feet, becoming one entity.

While he was still contemplating on how long this feeling would last, he was hit with the sensation that the heat was beginning to rise up from his shanks, over his knees, continuing to envelop the base of his thighs. From the waist down, the lower body completely felt as though he was soaked in a comfortable lukewarm liquid. Along with his breathing, his body continued to rise up and down. Slowly, the undulation motion formed towards an idea similar to that of riding a rhinodrake steed in a gallop. The strength of his quads seemed to follow the pace of his undulating and breathing conditions, like the surging waves of pulses, being slowly transmitted to his upper body.

Located within his waist area, seemed to be an obstruction which prevented the upsurge of force from spreading. The rippling force kept crashing against the obstruction, the faster the frequency, the more formidable the force became. The temperature from his waist up seemed to be slowly rising and when the might of the force reached its peak, it finally resulted in a loud ‘BANG!’. It was resonating, as the force that was being transmitted upwards had finally broken through the obstruction in the waist area. The heat he felt was similar to the blissful feeling of lukewarm water from under the waist. It burst forth in the form of waves, slowly moving past his pelvis, abdomen, chest, until the point where it was covering the the top of his head.

While he was being enveloped in such warmth, several large tendons in his two legs became increasingly hot, then started to vibrate. The vibrating force was transmitted from his small toes on his feet until it reached the forehead on the top of his head. As for his hands, it was needless to say that the strength in Yan Liqiang’s upper and lower body were thoroughly merging into one, as the paths obstructing their flow was now opened up.

...

Unbeknownst to Yan Liqiang, during the time that he’d spent immersed in practicing the Horse Stance, the small courtyard of his had already been filled with people.

About a total of a dozen people had rushed into the small courtyard of his. Some of them wielded sabers and swords in hand while some of them rushed in armed with water basins, water buckets, and even water jugs, all ready to put out fires.

At this moment, those very same people were all dumbstruck, staring at the scene in front of them. They could see the red light, akin to a fiery blaze, as well as the silhouette of an extremely magnificent rhinodrake steed enclosed within the red light, all the while forming around Yan Liqiang’s body.

Qian Su was also standing amongst the crowd. He was still wearing his night clothes as he had just fallen asleep not long ago. He was instantly awake the moment he heard someone shout ‘FIRE!’ outside. He got up at once, not even sparing the time to wear his clothes and rushed out of his room. After having charged out of his room, he noticed that the so-called ‘blaze’ was actually coming from the courtyard that Yan Liqiang resided in. Nothing else mattered to him in the heat of the moment, as he worried for Yan Liqiang’s safety as well as the supplies kept for military usage. He promptly directed the patrolling soldiers of the Weaponsmiths Quarter to force an entry through the courtyard gate of Yan Liqiang’s temporary residence. He charged in and prepared to put out the fire and initiate the search and rescue.

However, the scene they came across upon bursting into the courtyard was only that of Yan Liqiang who was currently practicing the Horse Stance in the courtyard. The red light that they’d mistaken for a blaze was currently blossoming from Yan Liqiang’s body.

Qian Su’s heart was currently filled to the brim with an astonished, yet pleasantly surprised feeling. Never would he ever have expected that in the few hours that he’d parted ways with Yan Liqiang, he would have caused such a huge commotion.

Each and every single one of the men in the courtyard stood rooted to the spot. Everyone’s envious eyes were focused on Yan Liqiang whose body was enclosed within the red light.

Everyone understood the meaning behind the appearance of the red light, as well as the magnificent rhinodrake steed within it. This was a visual representation of Young Master Yan having broken through one of the stages of the three foundation stages–the Horse Stance Stage! Of the three foundation stages, this was the first but was also the most difficult stage to break through. 99% of those so-called martial artists would fail to pass this stage.

The red light itself as well as the rhinodrake steed emerging from Yan Liqiang’s body that was shrouded by the light; both were classified as phenomena which would automatically occur upon breaking through the first stage. The spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth in this world would resonate upon contact with a martial arts practitioner. When said practitioner broke through an important stage or was successful in the training of any form of martial arts techniques, it would prompt a response from the spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth. This response came in many forms, exhibiting various kinds of Dharmic projection, art manifestation or auspicious form. These phenomena were given rise due to the resonance between a human and spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth, which was impossible to be faked. Due to this, it had also become the most standard and direct tool to test the cultivator’s level. Of course, it also became the best tool for cultivators to flaunt off their cultivation base with.

“Why is it a rhinodrake steed? Why is it a rhinodrake steed...?” The only squad commander leading an army in the Weaponsmiths Quarter was currently standing next to Qian Su. He stared absent-mindedly at the rhinodrake steed emerging from Yan Liqiang’s body, overwhelmed with shock.

As the squad commander, he had seen his fair share of men who succeeded in passing the Horse Stance stage, as he himself had also passed this stage. When the squad commander passed the stage, he also had an auspicious form. However, the thing that stuck in his mind the most was the fact that all of the auspicious form emergences he’d seen in the past was incomparable to the one he was seeing now.

The auspicious form around Yan Liqiang was too powerful and the light had been too strong in the first place. When the auspicious form appeared around his body just now, everyone outside thought that his courtyard had caught fire. Next, which was also the most important point, was the fact that the auspicious form that emerged from Yan Liqiang’s body when he passed the Horse Stance was a rhinodrake steed! A rhinodrake steed!! A rhinodrake steed!!!

This alone could practically drive a man to go insane with jealousy. Because under normal circumstances, 99% of the martial artists who passed this stage would only be able to give rise to an ordinary horse as their auspicious form, the origin of the Horse Stance. Only the extreme minority would have their auspicious form appear in the form of other beasts apart from the horse. This list included tigers, leopards, bears, and elephants when they passed the stage. But that tiny percentage of martial artists were either cultivating extremely powerful arcane secret techniques or they were natural born prodigies, the treasured sons and daughters of the Heavens above, when they passed this stage. When passing through this stage, the more potential in the body that was unearthed, the more likely it was that the auspicious form would reveal beasts apart from horses.

In this world, the beasts revealed in the auspicious form when passing the Horse Stance stage was not only for show but also represented the realm and result they had attained after passing this stage.

The ordinary folks practicing the Horse Stance would be able to increase their body’s strength by the power of an additional horse after passing the Horse Stance stage. They could perform the stance as if they had a horse beneath them, allowing them to achieve the unity of waist and horse, genuinely establishing the foundation for martial cultivation. This would instantly place them above other common folks. For people with other auspicious forms after passing the stage, apart from receiving the corresponding strength of the beasts, they would also obtain additional bonuses of those beasts, such as faster speed, greater strength, greater explosive power and so on. With this, these people would possess even more formidable might after passing the Horse Stance stage. On the road to martial cultivation, they would have a head start so big it would be no different from winning the first step at the starting line.

For ordinary folk, passing the Horse Stance stage was the first step in setting their foundation. This was already enough to fill them with happiness. As for those people who revealed extraordinary auspicious forms when passing the Horse Stance stage, ‘passing the Horse Stance stage’ was instead known as ‘crossing the golden gates’ or alternatively, ‘leaping over the dragon gate’. The future accomplishments of such people were hard to imagine. Such being the case, becoming a Warrior for them seemed to be a done deal.

The passing auspicious form from Yan Liqiang’s body was a rhinodrake steed. This signified that upon passing the Horse Stance stage, Yan Liqiang’s body strength would have an increase equivalent to the power of a rhinodrake steed. There was even a chance that he could also obtain other additional powers of the rhinodrake steed.

When compared to an ordinary horse, not only was the strength of the rhinodrake steed at least two times more, the rhinodrake steed also possessed a stronger endurance and faster speed.

Beasts were all different from one another, with the same being said for horses. Ordinary horses could be divided up into various grades, with the same also being said for rhinodrake steeds. Yet, regardless of how one viewed this scene, the figure of the rhinodrake seen emerging from Yan Liqiang’s body, with its tall frame, radiant eyes, and mighty aura as it galloped with its head held high, rather than being a normal rhinodrake steed, it seemed to be the most elite of its kind.

The most important thing to note here was the fact that Yan Liqiang was only fourteen years of age. Those who are able to pass the Horse Stance stage at this age were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns. Even for those people who were extremely gifted, they would usually need to wait until they were over sixteen years old before being able to pass the stage.

Practically everyone at the scene knew this fact and it was precisely because of this fact that overwhelmed everyone with shock.

As they stared at the radiance emitting from Yan Liqiang’s body, everyone appeared as though they were witnessing the rise of a martial superstar with their very own eyes.

Amongst the onlookers, was a half-naked soldier who had rushed over while carrying a bucket of water. While staring at the glow emanating from Yan Liqiang’s body, in his dazed state, he accidentally loosened his grip on the wooden bucket still in his hand and it instantly fell to the ground. Amidst the splashing water, the bottom edge of the wooden bucket crashed onto the foot of the person next to him.

“OWWW...” The person who had been hit was caught off guard and couldn’t hold back a blood-curdling scream of pain.

But precisely when this scream erupted, the majestic rhinodrake steed shrouded in the scarlet red light suddenly made a mad dash towards Yan Liqiang. It blended into Yan Liqiang’s body upon contact. The scarlet red glow slowly became dim, and then soon dissipated as though it was never there.

The moment Yan Liqiang opened his eyes, he discovered a large influx of strongly built men carrying various things had barged into his courtyard. And each and every single one of them was glaring at him like a tiger staring at its prey. Quite a few of them were still half-naked, revealing a chest full of hair with saliva almost drooling out from their mouth.

To his surprise, Qian Su was also present and only dressed in his thin nightgown. He was currently eyeing him with a peculiar expression on his face.

F*ck, was this a slumber party or a naked party? Everyone here were all guys! He certainly didn’t swing that way.

Startled, Yan Liqiang subconsciously moved to cover his chest. “What’re all of you doing?”

Chapter 17: Not Exchanging For Even Ten Thousand Gold

Yan Liqiang’s reaction rendered everyone speechless. They all looked at each other in dismay, unsure of what to say.

“Everyone disperse at once and return to your posts. For now, please keep quiet about what happened tonight in this courtyard to avoid inviting trouble...” Qian Su spoke first, turning around and ordering the onlookers that had gathered around in the courtyard with an extremely solemn expression on his face.

The moment that Qian Su realized the red light in this courtyard wasn’t a fire, he sent someone to placate the blacksmiths that had been rushing to put out the fire and get them to return to their quarters. So now there was only a small troop of about fifty soldiers from the Weaponsmiths Quarter in the courtyard. Of the group currently gathered, all were Qian Su’s subordinates, so naturally they wouldn’t dare to step out of line.

“Rest assured, Quarter Master. We naturally know how to handle this!” The commander of the squad nodded at Qian Su. He then shot an envious look at Yan Liqiang before turning around to admonish his troop loudly. “Those of you who are currently on duty may return to your posts. Those that are not on duty, may return to your barracks and rest. You are strictly prohibited from discussing or spreading the events that you have witnessed in this courtyard tonight. Any breach will be treated as a violation of military law. Everyone, heed my command. FACE TO THE REAR, AND MARCH...!”

In just the blink of an eye, the soldiers that had been carrying water buckets, sabers and swords all left the courtyard that Yan Liqiang was at. When the last soldier had passed the threshold, the squad commander even closed the door of the courtyard up once again.

“Uncle Qian... what’s going on? Why are you all here?” Yan Liqiang scratched his head while giving Qian Su a puzzled look.

Qian Su explained what had caused all those people to gather here and gave Yan Liqiang a strange look. “Don’t tell me you were unaware of the fact that you passed the Horse Stance stage just now and the auspicious form that you revealed when you passed the stage?”

“What? I passed the Horse Stance stage?!” Yan Liqiang was stupefied on hearing this as a look of disbelief spread across his face. He was so immersed in the realm of Horse Stance earlier that he was unaware of what had been going on outside of his body. He only felt that the state he was in was something that had never happened to him before. It felt very pleasant. Now, his entire body was filled with energy. This kind of situation was completely new to Yan Liqiang, so naturally he was a little clueless. Little did he expect that he had unknowingly passed the Horse Stance stage, thus completing the first step in setting his foundation.

“Give it a try, you’ll know yourself of whether you have passed or not...”

Of course Yan Liqiang would want to try after hearing Qian Su’s words. The auspicious form of the passing of the Horse Stance Stage would only ever appear once, after that, it would never appear again. However, there were plenty of quick methods he could use to check if he had indeed passed the stage.

Yan Liqiang’s didn’t do much. He just stood where he was and forcefully curled in the little toe on one of his feet as it dug into the ground before abruptly releasing it. With just that simple move, Yan Liqiang could hear the Jade Pillow [1] at the back of his head ring out. He clearly heard a ‘dong’ sound in his ears, as if someone had just forcefully beaten once on a drum.

Curling in the toe and hearing the drum – this was the easiest way for one to check if they had passed the Horse Stance stage. This was due to the fact that people who passed this stage would have their large tendons in their legs completely unblocked. This allowed them to course their strength throughout their entire body, especially for the Lesser Yang Meridian that spanned all the way from one’s head all the way to their toes. The moment the tension in his curled-in toe was released, the Lesser Yang Meridian at his feet would vibrate so he could hear something akin to drumbeats in his ears.

To many people, this sound was a celebratory drumbeat that signified the success of setting a solid foundation in martial cultivation.

While still listening to the distinct drumbeat still ringing in his ears, he sensed a new sensation as well as energy in his legs and body. As Yan Liqiang struck his fist out into the air, the energy from his legs and feet traveled to his fist within an instant, suddenly causing his normal punch to take on a different form and speed. The whooshing sound in the air was a few times louder than when he normally practiced his fists techniques. If Yan Liqiang had his current strength back in his battle with Hong Tao at the martial arts academy, then Hong Tao was nothing to be afraid of even with his Iron Palm technique.

An ecstatic look appeared on Yan Liqiang’s face. In this ordinary punch, he was able to re-experience that unstoppable sensation of striking out with his spear along with the momentum of riding on the back of the rhinodrake steed back at home. It really felt as if he was mounted on a running horse.

“Hahaha, I have passed the Horse Stance stage, I have passed the Horse Stance stage! I have passed the first stage in setting the foundation to become a Warrior...!” Yan Liqiang immediately started hopping around in the courtyard, unable to suppress the excitement he had in his heart. He was dancing in joy, happier than landing a great prize in a lucky draw.

Regardless, be it in his past or current life, this was his first time personally experiencing the profoundness and mysterious charm of martial art practice, so it was inevitable for him to feel so excited.

Normal people would be excited for about half a day if their character leveled up in a game, let alone experiencing a level up of your own self in reality.

Qian Su waited until Yan Liqiang had finally calmed down before explaining to him about the auspicious form that had manifested when he passed the Horse Stance stage. Out of curiosity, he then asked Yan Liqiang if he had been cultivating any secret techniques.

Of course, Yan Liqiang shook his head. “I have a rhinodrake steed at home that is used for practicing my horsemanship and gaining insight into the mystery of the Horse Stance. But I have no idea as to why something like that would happen when I passed my Horse Stance stage!”

Qian Su thought about it for a moment but shook his head. He knew Yan Dechang well and he was a blacksmith, so naturally he wouldn’t have known of any profound skills or secret techniques. The same went for Yan Liqiang. The Yan Clan couldn’t even afford to pay for a famous master for Yan Liqiang. If they had any profound skills or secret techniques, they wouldn’t stay cooped up in Liuhe Town for all these years. Furthermore, had he really been practicing such an amazing secret technique over these years, he wouldn’t lose so terribly during the preliminary exam of the Martial Arts County Trial and be forced take refuge in Huanglong County.

“I really didn’t expect this from you, Liqiang. You are indeed a rare talent and a prodigy in martial art practice for you to still be able to breakthrough in the midst of a predicament...” Qian Su was seeing Yan Liqiang in a new light. “I told you to cultivate the ‘Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps’ that I gave you last time after you passed the Horse Stance stage to treat it as a motivation. I didn’t expect that you would actually manage to pass the Horse Stance stage in such a short period of time, in such a world-shaking way on top of that!”

“Qian Su, you are overpraising me. To be honest, I have no idea what is going on too...” Yan Liqiang foolishly laughed.

“This is the way geniuses are. They are able to instinctively achieve unimaginable things without deliberately trying!” Qian Su lowered his voice a little bit and continued. “The people in the Weaponsmiths will keep quiet about the incident today, so you can stay here without any worries. I will send someone to notify your father of your passing of the Horse Stance stage, so he can rejoice too. As for whether or not you should return to Liuhe Town, your father will probably send word to us. We’ll talk about this again when the time comes!”

Yan Liqiang nodded, as he also wished for his father to learn of this news so he could be happy too.

“Now that you have passed the Horse Stance stage, you’re another step closer to setting your foundation. You have already surpassed most of the people of your age as of right now and will have a promising future. From this point onwards, your strength will increase by leaps and bounds. But make sure to refrain from slacking off at all costs and also stay away from reckless frolics, especially when it comes to women. Be very cautious, do not lose your virginity before you finish setting your foundation. If you lose your primordial yang, you will destroy your own future. Many who passed the Horse Stance Stage weren’t able to make any further progress because they weren’t able to guard against their sexual temptations. They let a moment of pleasure ultimately adversely affect their entire life!” Qian Su solemnly warned Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang was quite moved by Qian Su’s genuine and sincere reminder. He nodded his head vigorously. “I know, Uncle Qian!”

“That’s good then. I shall retire for tonight. You should go rest too...”

...

After Qian Su left, the courtyard quieted down once again, leaving Yan Liqiang all by himself. He lifted his head to gaze at the bright moon and the stars in the sky. His heart rose and fell like the waves, unable to settle down for the longest time...

After the incident today, he reckoned that everyone in the Weaponsmiths Quarter would think that he was some sort of extraordinary genius in cultivation, but in fact, Yan Liqiang himself knew that his aptitude was nowhere close to that of a genius at all.

The root cause of everything was that secret manual.

To be able to pass the Horse Stance stage this fast, the only thing that Yan Liqiang could think about right at this moment was a quote from that book –‘Those who can be pure and empty, will have no barriers. Those who can shed and change, will be unhindered...’ Unobstructed and unhindered would mean being able to proceed smoothly, hence naturally finding ‘a foundation for entering the Dao’.

...

He was an ordinary person in his past life, he was still an ordinary person in this life. However, he knew that his life would begin on a fresh page after tonight as his life would no longer be ordinary from here on out.

When he thought about the secret manual in his mind was only a ten or twenty yuan second-hand book that was sold at a street stall, Yan Liqiang felt bizarre.

In his previous life on Earth, nearly everyone was crazed towards chasing after their materialistic desires. They sunk themselves into dazzling LV bags, iPhones, luxury cars, mansions, diamonds and jewelry, branded watches and all other sorts of luxurious goods.

Yet only a minority had shown interest on truly valuable items such as the secret techniques that transcended worldliness and attained holiness, passed down by Buddha then brought all the way to China by Grandmaster Damo, and was a secret manual that was cultivated by Chinese national heroes like Yue Fei and Li Jing, even if free or nearly free.

Instead, the vast majority chased after bags that cost tens of thousands yuan, handphones that cost a few thousand yuan, or luxury cars that cost several million.

Such an exceptional secret manual only cost tens of yuan, it was even less expensive than a packet of cigarettes, yet was unnoticed by most...

This was how people measured the value of an object in his past life, simply by the number on the price tag displayed.

He wasn’t sure if he should be crying or laughing!

Maybe even God couldn’t put up with this ignorance any longer so He had Yan Liqiang reincarnated into this world along with this secret manual.

Even if anyone were to offer Yan Liqiang a city or a mountain of silver or gold at this moment, Yan Liqiang would still refuse to sell this secret manual. That was because right now in his heart, this secret manual was priceless. It was his future; his everything.

“God, since you have allowed me to live again, so I’m guessing that You don’t wish for me to live a life as another ordinary person...” An odd smile appeared on Yan Liqiang’s face as he faced towards the sky. He muttered under his breath, “Rest assured, I won’t let You down!”

...

Chapter 18: Skills Competition in the Quarter

Due to the silence that night, Yan Liqiang managed to have a good night’s sleep. The next day, at around five in the morning, Yan Liqiang got up as usual and began his customary morning training.

After attaining mastery in the Horse stance, he found that sure enough, everything became easier. Now it was a lot smoother when he practiced various stances and techniques that were contained in the ‘Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Manual’. During the course of his training through the entire set of techniques, he realized that the rate of the energy he absorbed and devoured, as well as the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth, had increased significantly. When he compared the results to those of the previous days, the effect seemed to have doubled. Yan Liqiang could even feel the spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth was being engulfed and merged into his body while also slowly but surely being guided into his limbs, bones as well as his flesh and blood, constantly cleansing them as he practiced each individual stance of the technique.

After having finished practicing the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing techniques, he tried to practice the Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist again. It resulted in another sight to behold. The Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist that Yan Liqiang had been training in for almost nine years had undergone a complete transformation. Its formidable power had now increased by more than seven or eight fold.

Yan Liqiang’s figure was extremely quick and ferocious without compare. Every time he punched with his fist, the fierce thundering roar of a tiger could be heard from the blast of wind created. This made it not only look very awe-inspiring, but it was also extraordinarily terrifying. To top it off, he had only practiced the Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist halfway, but a green glow had started appearing from behind Yan Liqiang’s back. Within that light was the illusory image of a bold, powerful and eye-catching tiger.

When the Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist had been trained to the degree of displaying a martial Dharmic projection, it was a sign of having attained the fourth layer of the Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist.

Yan Liqiang was taken aback when he sensed the Dharmic projection of the Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist technique appearing behind him. Prior to yesterday, he felt that the force of his Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist should still be somewhere within the second layer. Upon attaining the Horse Stance stage, he initially thought that as long as he cultivated for a couple of days, it shouldn’t pose much of a problem to advance the Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist to the third layer. The sign that indicated having advanced into the third layer was a tiger roar which was emitted when the punch was thrown. But what was out of his expectations was the fact that it didn’t even require much training. All he had done was just wake up after sleeping, then when he began to train his fist again, the roar of a tiger erupted the instant he punched with his fist technique. Without any clamor, his technique had already entered the third layer. While he continued training midway, the Dharmic projection of the technique had already revealed itself to have entered the fourth layer. Just a single round of fist technique practice allowed the realm of his fist technique to consecutively leap two layers, advancing into the fourth layer without any slight hindrance in between.

This matter had allowed Yan Liqiang to personally experience what it meant by ‘to desire training the fist, one would have to train in the fundamentals first’. It had also made Yan Liqiang feel incredibly amazed from deep down because this was simply unheard of.

Could it be that the foundation for the Horse Stance was really that important to martial cultivation? Or was it because of the fact that he was cultivating the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing technique?

Doubt uncontrollably surfaced from Yan Liqiang’s heart, however, the current him was incapable of distinguishing as to why it would be like this. But in any case, this was a good thing so he felt that he did not need to worry. All he needed to do was to let nature take its course.

After he had finished with practicing the Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist, Yan Liqiang’s entire body felt at ease. After suppressing and calming his Qi for a few minutes, he felt that it was almost time for breakfast, so he left.

When he was eating breakfast, Yan Liqiang caught a glimpse of various Weaponsmiths Quarter’s soldiers and noticed that the expressions the soldiers were eyeing him with, were different from before. A few days back, the soldiers had met Yan Liqiang with friendly expressions. But today, apart from their friendly expressions, their gaze held a trace of reverence as well.

Yan Liqiang knew that was the result of his performance last night. In a world dominated by martial arts, a man who displayed the potential of a mighty expert would be respected regardless of where he went.

Such a feeling was indeed amazing.

...

Everyone talked and laughed as they finished their breakfast, before leaving the dining hall together. As Yan Liqiang was about to walk out of the dining hall, he noticed that the head of the soldiers, squad commander Zhou Yong, had been staring straight at him, seemingly hesitant about speaking. The majority of the soldiers surrounding them were also quietly shifting their gaze attentively towards him.

“Big Brother Zhou, is something the matter?” Yan Liqiang took the initiative to approach and greet Zhou Yong.

Zhou Yong first gave a quick scan of his surroundings. After discovering that no other smiths were in the vicinity, he furrowed his brows at Yan Liqiang before closing in and whispering, “Master Yan, are you available this morning?”

Master Yan? Yesterday, Zhou Yong had still addressed him as Young Master Yan. But even though the address that he had used today was only shorter by a single word, the appeal it brought was completely different.

“Of course I’m available!” nodded Yan Liqiang.

“It’s like this...” He rubbed his hands together as he spoke, making Zhou Yong seem like he was slightly embarrassed. “My brothers under me had their curiosity slightly piqued after witnessing Master Yan pass the Horse Stance stage last night. Today, they would like Master Yan to drop by our barracks to give them pointers on their techniques and maybe even have some friendly matches together. Would you...”

Yan Liqiang understood it all at once from the moment Zhou Yong had brought it up. He could empathize with how the high school graduates who wanted to get into Project 985 and Project 211 must have felt when they saw the top scorers in the college entrance examinations were accepted into Qinghua University and Peking University. Similarly so, he could also guess how the soldiers of the Weaponsmiths Quarter must have felt when they saw him last night. Initially, Yan Liqiang had planned on heading up the mountains to examine the extent of his strength increase after having passed the Horse Stance stage. Upon hearing Zhou Yong’s invitation, he changed his mind at once. If he wanted to examine his own strength, then perhaps the best method for doing so was for him to go Weaponsmiths Quarter’s barracks.

“I’m free anyway, and since my big brothers want to have friendly matches with me, then let’s head there together. At the same time, I can also learn from Big Brother Zhou and company...”

Seeing that Yan Liqiang was showing such respect towards them and even went as far as to flatter them with such pleasing words, Zhou Yong and each and every one of his soldiers found themselves breaking into a smile. Everyone merrily laughed as they escorted Yan Liqiang to their barracks.

Although the soldiers’ camp was referred to as the ‘barracks’, in reality, it was just a bigger and more spacious courtyard within the Weaponsmiths Quarter.

The courtyard wasn’t that far away from the one that Yan Liqiang was currently residing in. It was less than a hundred meters. Within the barracks were three lines of buildings that formed a concave shape when seen as a whole. In the middle of the three lines of buildings was a field roughly the size of about three to four basketball courts. The ground of the empty field was covered with sandy soil. Just outside of that field was their holding place for a variety of items such as weapons, wooden targets and stone locks used for training in the surrounding area. This was the place that the soldiers would normally train in.

Apart from the men that were stationed to guard the entrance to the Weaponsmiths Quarter at this time, every other soldier within the Quarter were gathered currently together. It was difficult for all of them to mask the exhilaration they felt.

Yan Liqiang glanced at the site and nodded. Cutting to the chase, he asked, “Big Brother Zhou, how do you want to compete?”

Zhou Yong pointed towards a white ring that had been drawn using white chalk located in the middle of the field. “How about we compete in the push-wrestling ring first?”

Yan Liqiang also smiled and nodded. “Sure!”

In this world, push-wrestling ring was a popular type of skills competition game. From the rich and powerful clans, aristocrats and royalty living in the big city all the way down to the peasants and farmers residing in the remote countryside, this was a game that was well-loved by everyone. This game could be played by the elderly from the age of ninety down to six or seven-year-old kids. Furthermore, it was particularly easy to play. Back when Yan Liqiang was staying at Liuhe Town, he frequently played the game along with the other young lads that were of the same age. In the military, this game was also a favorite of countless soldiers.

A skills competition game of push-wrestling ring would first require a site. Should they have a spot, regardless of whether it was a meadow, sandy beach, land, or even the hall of a house, they would draw a ring with a radius anywhere from one to five meter on the ground. The size of the ring could be big or small as it would vary depending on the number of people participating.

After having secured a proper location, everyone could now participate in the skills competition game of push-wrestling ring.

The rules to play the game was simple; participants stood inside of the ring and push their opponent out to be victorious. They only needed to watch out for one thing; while they were still in the ring, they were not allowed to either hit with their hands or kick with their feet to push their opponent out. Apart from this, there were no other restrictions. They could push, drag, pull with their hands, bump with their shoulders, collide with their bodies, hook them with their feet or trip the opponent all they wanted. Even throwing the opponent down was not an issue.

The game could be played pitting one player against another, one against many or many against many. Even a bunch of people were allowed to join in the fight for a battle royale.

Although the rules and methods for the game of push-wrestling ring appeared simple, it was not. This was because participating in the push-wrestling ring would put a person’s might, flexibility, judgment, agility, and reflexes to the test, all the while trying to outlast their opponent. It was not a fight, but a pseudo-fight. Throughout the entire game, there would be an extremely high level of competitiveness. It had the sense of a real combat, while still maintaining a slight harmony between the players so the players would not be severely injured and would unlikely end the game in hostility. Hence, this explained why this game would be so highly received by all social classes and why even the military would use this game of push-wrestling ring to train the soldiers’ stamina and reflexes.

In regards to this, it was somewhat similar to the sumo wrestling sport prevalent during the ancient times in China. But when compared to the sumo wrestling sport, it was more flexible and shared a closer resemblance to a genuine martial battle.

In his previous life, soccer was the number one sport on Earth. When compared to soccer, this push-wrestling ring game in this world was not inferior to soccer in any aspect. The majority of the big cities would even have a specialized push-wrestling establishment, arranging people to participate in push-wrestling ring competitions as well as lotteries.

Before he got beaten down by Hong Tao in the arena in Liuhe Town, Yan Liqiang was the number one in the push-wrestling ring skills competition amongst all of the youngsters in town. Basically, he won more matches than he lost. For the youngsters in town, none of them could even be said to be Yan Liqiang’s match.

Under the strict discipline of Yan Liqiang’s tiger dad, Yan Dechang, this was the only game he was allowed to play since he was young.

Being the first one to enter the ring of this push-wrestling ring game caused Yan Liqiang to smile, “Which amongst these big brothers would like to compete with me?”

One by one, the surrounding soldiers were eager to volunteer. Yet, Zhou Yong cast his gaze at the man with the most sturdy build among the soldiers.

“I’ll do it...” said the mighty youth in a gruff voice, he had a height of more than 190cm, weighing almost two times more than Yan Liqiang. He walked out of the crowd and entered the ring while rolling up his sleeves.

Yan Liqiang parted his legs and casually took his place. He extended his hands and said, “Please.”

“Please!” The soldier stepped forth with a Bow Stance, his pair of hands instantly reaching out to press against Yan Liqiang’s hands before he began to apply pressure.

In the starting round, none of them used any fancy tricks and competed directly with each other using only their physical strength.

The young soldier took on the posture of a Bow-and-Arrow Stance to resist against Yan Liqiang’s forceful push. They had only just locked hands and the young soldier was already exerting his full strength, his entire body akin to a farm cattle plowing through. He had his head hung low while pushing his feet back with all his might. His body propelled forward, intent on shoving Yan Liqiang out of the ring. Yet, Yan Liqiang, on the other hand, was bracing himself with his hands before his chest.

“Come on!””Come on!””Come on!” The surrounding spectators began to shout loudly, stirring everyone up. Abruptly, the atmosphere turned tumultuous.

Slowly, the bulky youth’s breathing became heavy, his face gradually flushed red and his forehead covered in a sheen of sweat.

Yan Liqiang was taking in the force coming from his opponent’s hands. His heart was starting to slowly calm down. If this was him in the past, he absolutely would not have been able to endure such force. But today, Yan Liqiang felt his legs were akin to wooden stakes being nailed to the ground when he stood there, rooted to the spot, his lower body as firm and steady as Mt Tai...

This was the power of cultivating the fundamentals of martial cultivation...

Chapter 19: A Modest Display of a Master

The force of his opponent still slowly increased until it hit a certain point, and after about two minutes, it completely stopped.

Currently, Yan Liqiang was feeling quite puzzled due to the fact that the strength of his opponent didn’t seem to be as powerful as he had imagined. That couldn’t be right. Could it be that his opponent was holding back on exerting of his full strength due to the fact that Yan Liqiang was younger than him? But then again, when he saw the expression on his opponent’s face, especially how the veins on his forehead popped out while he was sweating like a pig and huffing and puffing like a bull, it was evident that he was struggling to use every ounce of his strength in his entire body. He wasn’t going to comment on the rest, but the feet of his opponent had already made two small pits on the ground trying to push Yan Liqiang backward.

How could the physical strength of a person with such a large build be so little?

In but a moment, Yan Liqiang was hit by a sudden realization. The strength of his opponent was neither weak nor he was holding back, instead, this was the result of Yan Liqiang’s drastic increase in strength after passing the Horse Stance stage. On top of that, he could feel his body growing stronger after cultivating the ‘Performing Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Internal Cultivation Manual’ for only more than half a month but he had never really tested it out. The preface of the manual mentioned that this technique could give rise to divine force upon a person, it also stated that Grandfather Yue Fei could draw a powerful bow of a hundred picul after cultivating it, thus becoming a top figure in the martial world. So perhaps all of that might not just be a bluff after all.

With all of that on his mind, Yan Liqiang suddenly exerted some force into his hands and abruptly pushed outwards. When he did, the force from the bottom of his feet traveled to his hand. That youth who was twice the size of Yan Liqiang was instantly knocked over as if he was being hit by a charging rhinodrake steed. He only felt a wave of tremendous force before his entire body was sent flying out of the boundaries of the white push-wrestling ring, over seven or eight meters in the air, before heavily landing on his back.

The excitement around them suddenly died down as everyone stared towards the ring, stunned. They couldn’t believe that Yan Liqiang’s strength would be so huge as to even be able to send the best soldier amongst them flying out of the ring in an instant. On top of that, he was sent flying over quite a distance. Just how much strength was needed to achieve this?

Yan Liqiang stared at his own palms in amazement. This was the first time his energy fully erupted and he hadn’t expected it to be this violent. At that instant, he only felt as if he had two enormous springs embedded within the bones in his legs. When he exerted force, those enormous springs violently released and sent his opponent flying backward.

That person didn’t really sustain any injuries upon landing on the ground. He just bared his teeth and got up.

Two seconds later, Zhou Yong was the first to react, responding with applause. “AMAZING!” His soldiers followed suit in the applause and loud cheers...

Great confidence rose up from within Yan Liqiang’s heart. He let out a hearty laugh and looked all around him. “My brothers, who else would like to push-wrestle?”

“Four of you go together!”

At Zhou Yong’s command, four men charged out from amongst the crowd of soldiers in the surrounding and entered the ring together, four versus one.

The four soldiers in the ring gave each other a look before charging in together towards Yan Liqiang from one direction in sync. One of them pushed Yan Liqiang against his shoulder as the other pushed against his chest. The third one instantly bent over to hook Yan Liqiang’s calf while the remaining one attached himself to one of Yan Liqiang’s arms, holding on with both hands.

This time, Yan Liqiang no longer planned on just using brute force, instead, opting to utilize his skills. As someone who loved push-wrestling rings, Yan Liqiang knew many various techniques and counters since long ago. His tremendous gain in strength served only to greaten his strength within the wrestling ring, much like adding wings on a tiger[1].

The push-wrestling ring wasn’t wide enough to allow any running and evading within. Therefore, Yan Liqiang wasn’t even bothered by the person who was hooked onto his left calf. Just by taking a step back with his right leg and swinging his body to the side when the other three of them charged towards him, the trio’s synchronized attack was instantly foiled.

The moment he swung his body to the side, the positions of Yan Liqiang and the other four people instantly changed. Yan Liqiang’s back was directly facing towards the two that were pushing against his chest and shoulder, and he firmly returned the favor of the soldier who was aiming to grab his arm by grasping his wrist instead. While the soldier was slightly stunned, with the wrist he grasped, Yan Liqiang pulled him towards the front in the direction of his exerted force. That person’s body, carried by momentum, rushed out of the ring and fell to the ground, making him the first person to be knocked out.

Although this push-wrestling ring game wasn’t a martial battle, it still required the spontaneous reaction in accordance with circumstances. This aspect alone made it quite similar to a martial battle.

In a flash, Yan Liqiang’s back and shoulder had already made contact with the four palms that were extending towards him; by leaning into them, he knocked those two soldiers away.

Within this timeframe, his left leg had also been grabbed by a crouching soldier. Grasping onto one’s leg was part of a grappling technique. Hence, that soldier couldn’t help but feel elated when he had managed to get a grasp on Yan Liqiang’s leg. He was just about to stand up and overturn Yan Liqiang, when Yan Liqiang made an unexpected move by extending the leg that he had just latched on, to the front under his crotch. So when he was about to get up to overturn Yan Liqiang, Yan Liqiang had already used his instep under the soldier’s crotch to hook his butt.

When the soldier got up, Yan Liqiang just conveniently raised his feet, resulting in that person to be lifted by Yan Liqiang’s leg off from the ground first with his feet dangling in the air.

In the past, Yan Liqiang was definitely incapable of lifting his leg while carrying a person of about seventy or eighty kilograms hanging from it. However, this was not even a difficult feat for the current Yan Liqiang. He raised his leg and like a crane, that soldier was easily lifted.

That soldier held on to Yan Liqiang’s leg, but with both of his feet suddenly being lifted off the ground, his body instantly lost its leverage. Hence, the entire weight of his body was pressed against Yan Liqiang’s leg, like a koala bear hugging on a tree.

In the next second, Yan Liqiang retracted his right foot, not giving a chance for the two fallen soldiers to charge at him, then made a 180-degree turn as his left leg flung out, performing the Thunder Flying Kick of the Roaring Tiger Consecutive Fist technique.

This kick was done not for the sake of kicking someone, but rather to fling someone off. Yan Liqiang was directly using his leg like his hand, hence breaking no rules in the process.

Under the great influence of centrifugal force, the soldier that had been holding onto Yan Liqiang’s leg had an innocent look on his face and his mouth hung agape as he was instantly flung away screaming from Yan Liqiang’s leg. He landed about seven or eight meters outside of the ring and tumbled for another seven or eight times before he could crawl back up.

When his left leg fell to the ground, Yan Liqiang did a beautiful turn. Only two out of the four opponents remained.

The two remaining opponents gave each other a glance before they snarled and charged towards Yan Liqiang. Yan Liqiang didn’t concede, he directly met their charge head-on with force. He took a stride and performed the Horse Step Pushing Stance of the Roaring Tiger Consecutive Fist technique. He did so while changing his fists to palms, then pressed them against the shoulders of those two soldiers simultaneously before giving them a chance to react. The countenance of the two soldiers instantly contorted as they hurriedly shifted their force to Yan Liqiang’s hands, in an attempt to push them down.

Yan Liqiang smiled, unleashing the power from his feet. With the push of his palms on each soldier, both of them were sent flying out of the ring at the same time and landed on the ground.

It took less than ten seconds for him to get rid of four people.

“Amazing...” The soldiers that surrounded the push-wrestling ring applauded and cheered at the same time, they were like soccer fans that had just witnessed the scoring of an epic goal.

Compared to the first round, the second round of push-wrestling ring was even more exciting. Yan Liqiang went up against four opponents and managed to end the battle quickly and efficiently, putting on an extremely satisfying show for everyone to watch.

“Hahaha, Master Yan is indeed amazing. I, Old Zhou, would like to give it a try with Master Yan!” The ordinary soldiers in the Weaponsmiths Quarter were no longer qualified to be Yan Liqiang’s opponent. After Zhou Yong witnessed the extraordinary valor of Yan Liqiang, he couldn’t restrain himself from personally coming down to the push-wrestling ring and getting ready to compete with Yan Liqiang.

Zhou Yong was a squad commander who had already passed the Horse Stance stage a few years back. In addition to the training in the army over these few years, his martial arts had long surpassed that of the commoners. This was also the reason why he had managed to get the position of a low-ranking officer.

For Zhou Yong to personally take him on, Yan Liqiang couldn’t ask for more. He had just been thinking of trying his hand with a veteran like Zhou Yong to thoroughly test his strength.

“Hahaha, please go easy on me, Brother Zhou. Don’t make me lose too pathetically...”

“Hahaha, I should be the one asking Master Yan to show some mercy.”

The both of them courteously greeted each other before walking into the push-wrestling ring, prepared to fight against each other.

Naturally, Yan Liqiang wouldn’t dare to be reckless when his opponent was Zhou Yong. To be truthful, had it not been for him passing the Horse Stance stage, thus reaping great harvests and having his strength increase tremendously over these few days, he wouldn’t even be qualified enough to challenge Zhou Yong with the standard he was at a month ago. If Zhou Yong wanted to push-wrestle with him, others might even think that he was bullying a child.

Both of them circled around each other in the wrestling ring twice. Upon seeing that Zhou Yong was taking the initiative to make a move, Yan Liqiang knew that this was Zhou Yong’s act of courtesy towards him. Hence, he also stopped being reserved and immediately took two strides to move in front of Zhou Yong. When he was close enough to Zhou Yong, he flipped over both of his palms and directly pushed towards Zhou Yong’s chest and abdomen area by lunging forward with the Bow Step Lunge stance of the Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist technique.

Zhou Yong didn’t back down either. He intended to test out the extent of Yan Liqiang’s strength, so he took a step forward and pushed his palms against Yan Liqiang in a similar manner.

‘Bam...’ Both of their palms collided with each other with pure force and without any fancy tricks.

Zhou Yong’s expression slightly contorted as he sensed the force that had transmitted through Yan Liqiang’s hands. It was so massive that it had already exceeded his expectations.

Back when he saw the auspicious form that had appeared during Yan Liqiang’s passing of the Horse Stance stage was a rhinodrake steed, he already knew that Yan Liqiang’s strength would definitely be greatly increased. Thus, Zhou Yong had already mentally prepared himself. However, when both of them fought, Yan Liqiang’s strength still registered as a shock to Zhou Yong, who thought he had already mentally prepared himself. Zhou Yong simply didn’t expect the power on Yan Liqiang would be this massive. The sensation that he felt on his hands that were pushing against Yan Liqiang was just like he was trying to push back a strong charging rhinodrake steed. That huge momentum shocked him numb all the way to his shoulders and he almost couldn’t help but take a step back...

Chapter 20: Obtaining a Fine Bow Again

After having passed the Horse Stance stage ten years ago, Zhou Yong didn’t advance to Martial Warrior, instead, he’d been setting his foot into the gentry social class for all these years. But among the external skills he practiced, there were methods to strengthen the body as well as methods to increase strength. Furthermore, his strength was not inferior to a Martial Warrior expert, he had great confidence in his own physical strength. The first time earlier on was only to try out Yan Liqiang’s strength. Zhou Yong himself had yet to use his full strength, he had instead been holding back by thirty percent.

During the very moment that Zhou Yong had been wondering if Yan Liqiang had exerted his full force, he realized that Yan Liqiang didn’t wait for the strength on his hand to dissipate before he rapidly pulled back and switched to another technique. He brought his foot back to the front and within a split second, Yan Liqiang had already knocked into Zhou Yong with his shoulder....

To have been able to unleash and pull back that quickly, it was evident that Yan Liqiang hadn’t been using his full strength as well just now. He too, was testing out his strength, which caused Zhou Yong to be even more surprised.

...

As seen from the battle between Yan Liqiang and Zhou Yong, it could be said that the two had both met their match. Zhou Yong himself liked competing in skills through a game of push-wrestling ring. With all of his accumulated experience, no one within the entire Weaponsmiths Quarter was his match. However, Yan Liqiang wasn’t any weaker. Although he lacked experience when compared to Zhou Yong, he possessed a great strength akin to that of a tiger descending the mountain[1] that was also coupled with his sharp instincts.

The two men traded blows back and forth with each other. They were both strong and quick, and while fighting within the ring made it impossible for the eyes to process every single thing. The soldiers in the surroundings cheered loudly in excitement.

...

Yan Liqiang wasn’t sure of how Zhou Yong was feeling at that time, but he felt great. Zhou Yong was indeed a worthy adversary. His actions and responses were ruthless and direct, efficient and unscrupulous like that of a soldier. This was different from Yan Liqiang’s previous opponents. During this match with Zhou Yong, Yan Liqiang himself had been receiving a huge harvest in terms of experience. His confidence was built up all of a sudden.

Zhou Yong wasn’t your average Joe. This man here was, in fact, a genuine squad commander among the army of the Great Han Empire; a professional amongst the country’s martial law enforcers. Although a squad commander was a basic ranking officer, it was impossible for one to be able to hold this position without a remarkable amount of bravery and strength in the military.

...

Within five minutes, the two of them while pushing against each other were nearing the white circle, the very border of the push-wrestling ring.

In a flash, Yan Liqiang seized this as an opportunity to use the Plucking the Stars and Gazing the Moon stance from Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist. Instantaneously, his right hand reached through and under Zhou Yong’s armpit and with just that single hand, lifted Zhou Yong up. This left Zhou Yong aghast. He was aware of Yan Liqiang’s strength. At such a moment, if both of his feet were off the ground and he lost his balance in the midst of being hoisted up by Yan Liqiang, then he was sure to lose. Being in such a vulnerable position, allowed him to be easily thrown off the ring by Yan Liqiang. In such a circumstance, without a second thought, he hooked one of his arms around Yan Liqiang’s right arm. At the same time, he twisted his body around to Yan Liqiang’s side with the intention of knocking him out of the ring.

Yan Liqiang smiled faintly. Using his body at this critical moment, he raised his right hand and with a twist of his body, managed to turn his body around under his own arm. During the brief moment of time that his right arm had been passing through Zhou Yong’s waist, his right hand accidentally swept through Zhou Yong’s clothes. He then proceeded to get into a defensive posture and collided against Zhou Yong’s body which rammed towards him.

Zhou Yong did that to save himself. Like a collision with a bull, it had been very powerful.

His body crashed into Yan Liqiang’s upper arm. Yan Liqiang immediately retracted his arm as his whole body retreated five to six steps. He was swiftly knocked out of the ring by Zhou Yong.

“Great!”

“Marvelous!”

Upon seeing Zhou Yong emerge victorious from the intense competition of skills between the two, the surrounding soldiers cheered loudly. Everyone was in great delight as their applause rang out loudly. The soldiers had been defeated by Yan Liqiang in the two rounds prior, but their chief had managed to win back their pride. Every single one of them was ecstatic.

Yan Liqiang was all smiles. He cupped his hands in salute towards Zhou Yong, “Brother Zhou is terrific, and indeed skillful! I admit defeat!”

Zhou Yong, as the victor, took a deep glance at Yan Liqiang. The movements during their battle just now were too fast, the spectators might not have been able to keep up with their pace. And even if they had been able to cope with their speed, it would have been impossible for them to understand the profundity within. But, Zhou Yong understood within his heart. Judging from Yan Liqiang’s standards, if Yan Liqiang’s hand wasn’t in a defensive position, but rather placed on his waist during the final moment, then with Yan Liqiang’s strength, he would have been easily thrown out of the ring before he could even have the chance to ram into him.

Yan Liqiang must have lost on purpose during their bout so that Zhou Yong would win. Looking at how the soldiers in the surrounding were looking at him with admiration, Zhou Yong instantly understood Yan Liqiang’s intention. Yan Liqiang had purposely allowed for him to maintain his authority and pride in front of his subordinates.

Yan Liqiang had leaped over the dragon gate like a carp[2] and passed the Horse Stance stage at the mere age of fourteen. There was no doubt that he would be able to advance to Martial Warrior in the future. When it came to social relationships, for such a sophisticated person at such a young age and to be able to handle situations with sincerity and experience, it would be impossible for him to not achieve stellar success in the future. This youth was definitely not your average teenager.

A thought flashed through Zhou Yong’s mind. His understanding towards Yan Liqiang had increased promptly; he truly held the intention of building a friendship with him. If he didn’t make friends with such a young elite like him now, then when else would he find a better time? He wasn’t going to wait for him to succeed first then only buddy up with him.

“Hahaha! I am ashamed, I thank Master Yan for giving in...” Zhou Yong said while he cupped his hands in obeisance towards Yan Liqiang. Both of them had a tacit mutual understanding towards one another so they naturally understood each other’s exchanged words and smiles. When the surrounding soldiers heard their conversation, they only thought of it as Zhou Yong simply being humble after his victory and didn’t give further thought to it.

“Brother Zhou need not to be modest. I have just passed the Horse Stance stage and I’m lacking experience in many aspects. I still have much to learn from Brother Zhou!”

“Master Yan has passed the Horse Stance stage at the age of fourteen. With the foundation of the Horse Stance stage, I reckon that it won’t even take you two or three years to pass the next Stretching Tendon and Extending Bone stage. How can I ever compare with your future achievements?” Zhou Yong said as he walked out of the wrestling ring. He came face to face with Yan Liqiang. “I realized that Master Yan mostly used the moves from the Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist technique in the wrestling ring. Although this fist technique is commonly seen, it appeared to be entirely different when executed by Master Yan. It should have at least reached the fourth layer. I wonder if Master Yan has invested his time practicing any other martial techniques apart from this one?”

Yan Liqiang smiled and shook his head, “I’m currently building up my foundation so the techniques that I have practiced were all of the basics. I haven’t managed to practice any other martial techniques.”

“Then, I wonder if Master Yan has ever practiced archery before?” Zhou Yong continued to ask.

“No, I’ve never tried!”

He had never practiced archery before, so naturally, he didn’t own any kind of bow.

“Archery is the first of the Confucian Six Arts of a Martial Warrior. Master Yan should learn archery after having advanced to a Martial Warrior in the future....” Zhou Yong said to Yan Liqiang. He then turned his head around and barked an order to one of the soldiers who was always following him. “Shao Ling, go to my room and bring over that war bow that is always placed on the weapon rack.....”

As soon as the soldier heard his order, he sped off towards a house next to the barracks.

The minute Yan Liqiang heard it, he understood what Zhou Yong was planning on doing. He hurriedly declined, ” Brother Zhou, how can I accept your bow? I shouldn’t!”

A war bow was different from an ordinary bow, just like how a sports car was different from an ordinary car. An ordinary bow could be made out of bamboo by anyone at home. But a war bow was a bow that could be used on an actual battlefield, an environment where the demands for a bow’s quality and power were especially strict.

Due to the materials needed and time constraints in producing a war bow in this era, it was amongst one of the most expensive weapons. Among the weapons of the same level, the price of the war bow was more expensive than other weapons of similar quality. A slightly better war bow could easily cost more than ten taels of gold. It was not something that just anyone could afford.

The barracks was just beside them, only a few steps away from where they were standing. So, while Yan Liqiang was still rejecting the offer, that soldier had already returned with the bow in hand.

That bow was being kept in a perfectly sealed bow bag, so he could not see its features. But with Yan Liqiang’s judgment, within a single glance, he already knew that within the bow bag was no ordinary bow.

The bow bag was made out of precious rhinoceros’ leather. It was entirely green and covered with beautiful patterns, and resembled the shape of a half-crescent. The entire bow bag was very long, as it could almost reach Yan Liqiang’s chin when it stood on the ground. Putting everything else aside, just the materials and craftsmanship alone would cost a lot.

Zhou Yong opened up the bow bag and took out the bow. Upon seeing the bow, Yan Liqiang couldn’t help but be shocked. “Brother Zhou, could this bow possibly be the legendary Horned Python Bow...?”

“Hahaha! So, Master Yan also has heard about the Horned Python Bow before. Not bad! This bow is indeed the Horned Python Bow...” Zhou Yong lovingly gazed at the black war bow as his hand gently caressed the sleek body. “This was obtained by one of my good brothers on a battlefield. He later gifted it to me. It requires the draw strength of at least five piculs for anyone to be able to use this bow. It is too strenuous for me to use but with Master Yan’s superhuman strength, this bow will surely fit you...”

“Brother Zhou, it’s too precious. It is truly too precious! I can’t accept this!” Yan Liqiang waved his hands frantically as he rushed to decline the offer.

Previously, Yan Liqiang had thought that Zhou Yong had planned on giving him an ordinary war bow. Who would have thought that Zhou Yong was going to give him an actual Horned Python Bow? To put it simply, this was a genuine Horned Python Bow, it was essentially the Ferrari among war bows. It was impossible to buy this Horned Python Bow, which was right in front of his eyes, for any price of less than a hundred taels of gold. Even with Zhou Yong’s status as a squad commander, this item was probably among one of his most valuable belongings and assets.

Zhou Yong frowned all of a sudden, “We are martial practitioners. We do not go back on the words we have spoken. Could it be that Master Yan won’t accept my gift because you look down on me? Do you perhaps think that I, Zhou Yong, who is only a squad commander, is unfit to befriend Master Yan?”

Zhou Yong’s words were too serious. The surrounding soldiers instantly went silent. Every single had their eyes set on Yan Liqiang.

“That’s not it, Brother Zhou. This truly is...”

“Take it!” Zhou Yong directly shoved the bow into Yan Liqiang’s arms. “If you don’t accept this bow today, don’t ever call me Brother Zhou ever again! I am too embarrassed to take back the things I have given away, so I’ll just smelt it in the furnace of the blacksmith anyways...”

Yan Liqiang knew he couldn’t reject it and took a deep breath. He suppressed his excitement and accepted the bow. He cupped his fist with his other hand and respectfully said, “Then Liqiang shall accept Brother Zhou’s gift today. If Brother Zhou thinks highly of me, then from now on please refrain from calling me Master Yan. Just Liqiang will do!”

“That’s right!” Zhou Yong laughed heartily, “Come, come! Let us try this bow out over there! Let the brothers in the barracks witness your superhuman strength!”

“Brother Zhou, I have never practiced archery before.....”

“That’s alright. It is easy to learn. I’ll just explain it and you’ll be able to pick up immediately.....”

Chapter 21: Desire Realized

Zhou Yong was right. It was indeed not difficult to learn archery, at least it wasn’t harder than it had been for him to learn how to drive.

When it came to archery, even an inexperienced person who had never picked up archery would be able to shoot an arrow if you gave him a bow. The ones who had previous experience would be able to shoot better. ‘Better’ being dependant on the following aspects – stance, holding the bow, nocking the arrow, hooking the bowstring, pushing the bow, drawing the bow, anchoring, positioning, aim and release. A total of only ten steps and moves.

These movements were similar to those in golf and tennis, sports that had rules and techniques that had been well tested and reinforced. These techniques were not complex. Rather, they were even easier to execute than learning a broadcast radio exercise from the beginning to the end. Normally, anyone would get the hang of it after a round of explanations and then a hands-on session with some corrections done. The difficulty wasn’t that high.

In just less than ten minutes, with Zhou Yong giving instructions at the side, Yan Liqiang had managed to grasp ahold of it almost immediately. He was able to remember the main aspects of those ten movements in archery very quickly, causing Zhou Yong to shower him with praises.

After grasping the basic aspects of archery, Yan Liqiang spent the entire morning hanging out with Zhou Yong and his soldiers in their barracks. He practiced archery and observed the soldiers conduct training in their spear formations. He also exchanged ideas with the rest on martial techniques as well as their experiences on cultivation.

Quite a number of soldiers asked Yan Liqiang about tips and tricks for performing the Horse Stance, and Yan Liqiang wasn’t selfish when it came to answering. Apart from his secrecy of the ‘Performing Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Internal Cultivation Manual’, he was very open when it came to sharing about the sensation that he had felt when he passed the Horse Stance stage. The breathing pattern, the neither floating nor sinking sensation that his mind experienced, and the feeling of the outer tension and inner relaxation of his body that he felt when passing the stage. He related everything to the soldiers, benefitting many of them. They were all extremely grateful to Yan Liqiang. One couldn’t simply gain this kind of knowledge from just anywhere in this era.

A whole morning passed by in just the blink of an eye. When the lunchtime call was heard, Yan Liqiang went together with everyone to the dining hall. He parted ways with Zhou Yong and the rest only after eating lunch, then returned alone to his residence in the small courtyard. After arriving at the small room in the loft, he shut the door and took out the bow bag that Zhou Yong had given to him. He placed it on the table and opened it to take out the Horned Python Bow that was contained within, then proceeded to admire it from every angle.

This Horned Python Bow was a little shorter than the longbow bag that contained it, despite so, it still remained prestigious-looking. It felt heavy in his hands and gave off a very pragmatic and reassuring feeling.

Earlier in the morning today, at the camp, Yan Liqiang appeared to be very calm. However, in actuality, Yan Liqiang’s heart had been racing like mad when he accepted this Horned Python Bow from Zhou Yong. He was so excited that it was difficult for him to contain himself.

This was a Horned Python Bow, the extraordinary Horned Python Bow!

This was indeed a coincidence as Yan Liqiang just so happened to have dabbled in archery during the very month that he broke up with Lu Jiaying on Earth in his past life. One of his clients was fond of archery and had financially invested in an archery club in the city that he lived in. When Yan Liqiang visited the client that one time, the client brought him to the archery club to have some fun. After that, Yan Liqiang found himself hooked on archery.

Before he got into archery, Yan Liqiang had never really held any interest towards other sports despite having also dabbled in golf, tennis, basketballs and so on. He had no idea as to why, but from the moment he tried archery, he fell in love with the feeling of releasing the arrow from his hands.

For Yan Liqiang, his heart would always be filled with a serene pleasure the moment the arrow was released from his hands. To him, it didn’t feel like he was shooting an arrow, but rather it was like seeing an imprisoned bird being liberated from by his hands, sent to its freedom in the vast sky, the forest or anywhere else.

Yan Liqiang wasn’t sure if this feeling was zen or a psychological issue with him.

During his first visit to the archery club, Yan Liqiang accepted a compound bow that his client had handed over to him on the archery range. After letting loose a few stray arrows without any guidance from a coach, archery became an addictive drug that he couldn’t extricate himself from.

The membership fee for joining the archery club was 150,000 yuan. That client only registered people with premium memberships and Yan Liqiang, who was embarrassingly short of money, buried the joy and the palpitations of his heart. All he could do was to silently add another item to his list of his life goals.

It was a pity that he went through reincarnation before he got the chance to realize that list.

...

Yan Liqiang gently caressed the frame of that black bow. He was more stirred up right now than he had been during the first time he had touched Lu Jiaying. The frame of that black bow was sleek, exquisite and had a great texture as it had spiral patterns covering its body. Touching it felt no different from touching metal.

In the eyes of many, the Horned Python Bow was not simply just a bow, like how the Rolex wasn’t simply just a watch.

During the construction of an average qualified war bow, the required materials were wood, horn, sinew, glue, silk, and paint. Not only were the materials expensive, the process of making it was complex and required the considerations of various climate’s influence. The wood of the bow staves was cut in the winter, the horn was treated in the spring, the sinew was treated in the summer and the materials were assembled in the autumn. The limbs of the bow and everything else on the frame of the bow were all formed at the onset of winter, the appearance of the bow was refined at the onset of frost. The time for a war bow to be constructed to its completion would require at least three years. And this was also the factor that held the most contribution to the sky-high price of a qualified war bow.

Despite this, the Horned Python Bow was even more expensive than those war bows that were made from this crafting procedure. The only reason for its value was because of the fact that entire frame of the Horned Python Bow was all natural, and not man-made.

The frame of the Horned Python Bow was made from the entire skull of a Horned Python.

The Horned Python was a rare beast that existed only in this world. Compared to a normal python, the Horned Python grew a pair of long horns similar to cow horns on its head. Those long horns growing on its skull made a fine and slender bow frame. This was the reason why it was named Horned Python.

The horns that grew out of the Horned Python’s head were different compared to the horns that grew on the heads of other species. Those horns on the Horned Python’s head were directly connected to its skull, making it entirely whole and extremely firm. Other than its firmness, its two horns were extremely tough and had an elastic attribute. Under a great force, the horns would deform, but the moment the force was released, the two horns would spring back to its original position.

The features of these twin horns on the Horned Python’s head were even better than the features of a man-made war bow. It was also due to these features that the head of a Horned Python became the best material for the frame of a war bow while the sinew of the Horned Python became the best matching bowstring.

It could be said that in the eyes of many people, a Horned Python was pretty much the equivalent of a fine bow.

The Horned Pythons lived in the wilderness and not only they were quite rare but extremely dangerous as it was also very aggressive. Even three to five people with weapons, when met with a Horned Python, would only be able to flee. Because of these reasons, the value of a Horned Python Bow would be inconceivable, in the least over a hundred taels of gold.

Therefore, Yan Liqiang wasn’t at all expecting for Zhou Yong to have such a fine bow in his possession.

Holding such a fine bow in his hands, Yan Liqiang was so fond of it that he could hardly bear to put it down as he swept his gaze over the entire bow frame.

The blacksmith had taken special care of this Horned Python bow, and its bowstring along with it. The grip in the middle of the bow no longer resembled the skull of a Horned Python. A section of it had been removed and it was now plastered with a layer of slip-resistant leather. The leather itself was bound tightly by a weave of silver threads. After the eye sockets in the skull were cleaned, it was just right to be used as an arrow rest. The nocking points at the ends of the bow were also coated with metal to make it convenient to affix the bowstring.

At first sight, one could tell this entire bow was of superior quality.

Apart from these, there were five gorgeous dark red ring patterns on each end of the bow, on different parts of the bow limbs that were akin to cow horns. These patterns were not added to the bow by the blacksmith. Instead, they were like the growth rings of trees, representing the age of the Horned Python since its birth. It was said a Horned Python would grow a ring pattern on its twin horns every four years after its birth. This five-ring pattern was an indication that this Horned Python was twenty years of age. At the same time, it was also an indication that this was a powerful bow of five piculs.

As the Horned Python grew, the toughness and elasticity of its twin horns would correspondingly become stronger every four years. Hence, drawing it would also require greater strength and this amount of strength happened to be just about one picul for every four years of growth.

As Yan Liqiang stared at the five-ring pattern, he could only sigh in amazement at the Horned Python. For such a fine python snake with horns on its head that could be made into a bow, the sinew in its body could be made into bowstrings and even the patterns that recorded its age could be used as an indicator of a bow’s strength. How could anyone possibly let it go?

Zhou Yong said that he couldn’t draw this powerful bow of five piculs. Yan Liqiang had naturally found it to be embarrassing to show off in front of him. That was why he had used another bow that only required the strength of two piculs when he practiced archery in the barracks just now.

Thirty jin was about thirty catties, one hundred twenty catties was equivalent to a picul. Every picul was 120 jin, which was equivalent to sixty kilograms. A pull strength of at least three hundred kilograms would be needed in order for one to be able to draw a powerful bow of five piculs. It was simply impossible for an ordinary person to draw this type of bow.

After delicately playing with the Horned Python Bow for a while, Yan Liqiang stood up properly and grasped the grip of the bow with his left hand while holding the bowstring with his right. He took a deep breath then exhaled loudly and pushed outwards with his left hand while pulling back with his right. The energy focused in his legs, waist, and back all resonated at the same time. The Horned Python Bow was slowly being drawn all the way back by Yan Liqiang.

With the success in the Horse Stance stage, Yan Liqiang’s body gained an additional strength of a rhinodrake steed. This powerful bow of five piculs was not a strenuous weight to pull for him, but instead, it felt just right.

His hand slacked and the bow snapped like a crack of thunder. A loud crack reverberated throughout as if a firecracker had just gone off inside of the room...

“Hahaha...” Yan Liqiang laughed out loud in the room in extreme happiness when he thought of how his desire had actually been realized here today.

Yan Liqiang put the Horned Python Bow back into the bow bag after testing it and left the bow bag in his room. Since this courtyard was the most important place in the Weaponsmiths Quarter, it was watched by countless pairs of eyes. Since there was no chance for any outsiders to enter the Weaponsmiths Quarter anyway, he didn’t have to worry about leaving the bow here either.

After putting away the bow, Yan Liqiang took a glance at the pile of sulfur in the corner of the room. He suddenly recalled something, and with that in mind, he closed the room door, left the courtyard and made his way to Qian Su’s resting quarters.

Chapter 22: Coping with Crisis

The door leading to the courtyard that Qian Su resided in had been left open. Just a slight push was needed for the door to allow entry. Yan Liqiang entered and was greeted with the sight of Qian Su lying down with his eyes shut, enjoying the cool air of a noon break. He was in a deck chair under a grape trellis in his own yard, leisurely rocking the chair back and forth.

For the past few days, Qian Su had been happily living a debauched life outside. Today, however, he remained in the quarter to recuperate and didn’t leave the camp at all. After lunch, he stayed in the quarter to rest.

For some unaccountable reason, the moment he saw Qian Su acting like his, Yan Liqiang recalled a time in his previous life where he saw two men relaxing in the resting area of the bathing and recreation center after brandishing their beloved ‘swords’ for two hours.

“Cough...cough...” Yan Liqiang cleared his throat twice.

Finally, Qian Su’s eyes fluttered open. Upon seeing Yan Liqiang, he sat up from his deck chair and gestured for him to come over.

“Uncle Qian!”

Qian Su sized up Yan Liqiang from head to toe with a glance, a teasing smile appearing on his face. “I heard Zhou Yong gave the Horned Python Bow from his collection to you?”

“Under the circumstances, it wouldn’t have done me any good to refuse it.” Yan Liqiang hadn’t been surprised in the least. Although Qian Su wasn’t present at the barracks earlier this morning, any matter big or small that happened in the Weaponsmiths Quarter could ever escape him. As the Quarter Master, if he didn’t even have such ability, then wouldn’t that be disgraceful?

“Hahaha! Since you’ve already accepted it, you should just take it! That Horned Python Bow is worth at least a hundred and thirty gold taels. It’s worth a fortune and it’s a strong bow of five piculs. Zhou Yong was struggling when he attempted to use it, and the bow has since been in his care for a number of years. Seems to me that you are fated to have it and that it has been made for your sake!”

“Big Brother Zhou was just being too courteous!”

“Although I am not a Martial Warrior, I still know that there must be a reason as to why archery is the first of the Confucian Six Arts. A lot of different tribes even place the art of archery on par with martial arts. Especially in the military, the bow is an effective weapon in war. The layers in the art of archery greatly surpass that of martial arts. If a man can establish his foundation to some extent in archery, he can also achieve meteoric success. Upon entering the military, the highest rank that a newly advanced Martial Warrior can achieve would be the same rank as me, a Feiyang Commandant. However, even if the man hadn’t established his foundation and wasn’t a Martial Warrior, if his cultivation in archery reached the realm of the Third Heavenly Layer, he would be a Yingyang Commandant upon entering the military, a rank higher than mine. Not only that, but they are favored more by the upper echelons...” After he finished his meaningful and heartfelt words, Qian Su reflected on what he just said and smacked his mouth. Soon after, he recalled that Yan Liqiang was here for something, “Oh right, what is it that you need? Do you want to leave the quarter?”

“Uhm...I’ve stayed in the quarter for half a month. I want to take a breath of the fresh air outside and relax for a bit. I have never been to Huanglong County before, so I wanted to take a stroll around the county to relax so that I can improve even further!” explained Yan Liqiang as he smiled.

“Two days ago if you wanted to head out of the quarter alone, I’m afraid I would’ve had to arrange two soldiers to follow you so I can feel at ease. But after seeing your performance today, after your passing of the Horse Stance Stage, I’m aware that regular folk are no longer your match. Thus arranging two of my men to tag along with you will not be of much use!” Qian Su pondered for a moment, then took out a token. “Let’s do this, take my token and hold on to it. I’m well-acquainted with Constable Zhu and the other county officers of Huanglong County, and they also recognize my token. Should you encounter any problems that you can’t resolve in the county town, reveal this token and say you’re my nephew. Nobody will dare to do anything to you!”

“Thank you very much, Uncle Qian!” Yan Liqiang took the token and glanced at it before tucking it safely in his clothes. Soon after, he bid goodbye to Qian Su.

He had just reached the entrance of Qian Su’s courtyard when Qian Su’s voice once again rang out behind him, “Remember! Lascivious activities can lead to bitter consequences. You’ve just passed the Horse Stance stage, so it’s normal to be prone to outside attractions. But be careful not make a mistake on this matter, it’ll destroy your future as a result!”

Could it be that Qian Su thought the reason why he wanted to go to the county town was to brandish his ‘great sword’? Having been rendered speechless, Yan Liqiang turned around to cast a glance at Qian Su. “Uncle Qian has reminded me twice! I won’t make a mistake!”

“Then that’s good. Then that’s good!” Yawning, Qian Su lay back down on his deck chair.

...

After leaving Qian Su’s courtyard, Yan Liqiang immediately made a beeline towards the entrance of the quarter. The soldiers manning the Weaponsmith Quarter’s entrance warmly greeted Yan Liqiang when they saw him. “Master Yan, are you planning to head out?”

“Yeap! I’ve been cooped up here for too long. I plan on taking a stroll around the county town!”

“If you’re heading to the county town by foot, you’ll need to walk for the time it takes two incense sticks to burn in order to reach the place. It’s quite a distance to walk. How about Master Yan takes a ride in our quarter’s cart? The quarter’s cart just so happens to be going to the county town today to buy salt, so it’s just along the way for them to drop you off...”

“What a coincidence! May I know when will the cart depart? If it’s too late, I will just walk on my own!”

“Ah! There’s no need to wait! No need to wait! Look, Master Yan, it’s already here!” The soldier pointed. As Yan Liqiang turned around, he was greeted with the sight of a servant from the Weaponsmiths Quarter driving a horse cart from around the corner.

The driver of the cart was an old servant working in the Weaponsmiths Quarter’s kitchen so naturally, he recognized Yan Liqiang. The servant promptly requested Yan Liqiang to get on after Yan Liqiang stopped him at the entrance to explain his intention.

The horse cart was used to pick up goods, thus the lack of comfortable seats in the back. There were only a couple of boards, but Yan Liqiang wasn’t picky, so he promptly leaped into the cart and sat on the board behind. After that, he left the Weaponsmiths Quarter in the small cart, arriving at the main road outside.

The servant driving the cart, on seeing that Yan Liqiang was seated in the back, felt uneasy so he turned around to say to him. “Young Master Yan, this cart is used to pick up goods so it’s uncomfortable to sit behind. Why don’t you sit in front? I can get off and walk while leading the horse, it makes no difference to me!”

At the front of the cart, there was only enough space for the cart driver so should Yan Liqiang choose to sit there, the servant from the Weaponsmiths Quarter could only get off.

Yan Liqiang smiled and waved his hands. “Hahaha! No need! No need! It’s the same if I sit behind here. Aren’t there a couple of boards here too? I can sit on these. Don’t worry...”

The servant asked a couple more times, and after realizing that Yan Liqiang really didn’t mind, he laid his heart down to rest.

“Right, uncle! Are you familiar with Huanglong County’s county town?”

“Familiar? Of course, I’m familiar. There’s nothing I don’t know about it. I’ve lived in Huanglong County for decades!”

“Then do you know if there are any places that are fun or interesting to see in Huanglong County?”

“There are a lot....”

On hearing Yan Liqiang’s inquiry, the cart-driving servant spirit was lifted. As he drove the cart, he introduced a variety of things that were available in Huanglong County to Yan Liqiang. In return, Yan Liqiang eagerly listened to him with great interest.

Throughout the entire journey, Yan Liqiang hadn’t found chatting with the cart-driving servant to be a bore. It only lasted a total of ten minutes, and the horse cart that he was on eventually entered Huanglong County’s county town through the south gate. The soldier manning the entrance to the county town seemed to be aware of where this horse cart originated from. He didn’t deliberately try to make things difficult for them nor make any effort to examine the cart. Just like that, he allowed them entry.

It was only the afternoon and the streets of Huanglong County’s county town were already bustling with activity. It was congested with horse carts and people bustling about at this hour, making it out to be incredibly lively. Casting a glimpse around, Yan Liqiang noticed that the streets of the Huanglong County’s county town were definitely much more spacious and wider than Qinghe County. The high-rise stores on the street were also greater in number, and there were also many incoming and outgoing merchants and businessmen. The entire county town was also two or three times larger than the county town of Qinghe County. It was almost on the same scale as a city.

Yet, the only similarity that the county town of Huanglong county shared with the county town of Qinghe County was that the majority of the strong youths in the street had weapons such as sabers or swords strapped to their waist. Everybody seemed to be accustomed to this.

“Young Master Yan, the Myriad Abundance Grain Shop is just up ahead, right around the left corner of the main street. May I ask where Young Master Yan is planning to go to? I can drive you there first...”

“Thank you, but there’s no need for that. I’ll just get off here!” said Yan Liqiang, swiftly leaping down from the cart. He then stood to the side of the road.

“Will Young Master Yan be using the cart to head back? If you want, I can wait for you at the county town’s entrance at the south gate once I’m done picking up the goods!”

“It’s alright. I’ll go back on my own once I’m done strolling about...” said Yan Liqiang as he waved his hands at the cart driver. In the blink of an eye, he had already made his way into a crowd of people.

Seeing that he had gone, the cart-driving servant smiled and shook his head. Without any further delay, he drove his cart away to purchase goods.

...

Yan Liqiang strolled about on the main street of the Huanglong County town, in search of a shop that made ice.

Within the county seat of Qinghe County, there was an ice shop. And since Huanglong County was wealthier than Qinghe County to an unaccountable extent, it made sense that there had to be an ice shop around somewhere.

From his conversation with the cart driver on the way here earlier, he had already obtained quite a lot of useful information. He discovered that the number of ice shops within the Huanglong County town wasn’t only one, but three.

One of these ice shops was located near Chaoyang Alley whilst another one was situated not far from the county office. In addition to those two, a third ice shop could be found at a place called the Great Water Well up north of the county town.

It was Yan Liqiang’s first time here. Although he already had prior knowledge of where the ice shops were situated, he was still unfamiliar with the structure of the town, so he could only slowly fumble around as he searched for them.

And as for the reason why he was in search an ice shop, was naturally not for the sake of buying ice. But rather, for the sake of purchasing another kind of item: saltpeter.

Half a month earlier, when he’d seen the sprinkled sulfur in his room after just having arrived at the Weaponsmiths Quarter, the idea had already been formed within his mind.

The reason why he came to Huanglong County was to avoid misfortune, and this misfortune came from the Hong Clan. The Hong Clan and his own household were both situated in Liuhe Town, he could run but he could not hide forever. Whenever he thought of the underhanded methods that the Hong Clan used, Yan Liqiang’s heart was overwhelmed with a great sense of crisis.

As a normal person, he naturally wouldn’t resign himself to his fate, waiting for the Hong Clan to carry out their schemes on him, destroying his future prospects. After the day that he found sulfur in the Weaponsmiths Quarter, Yan Liqiang spontaneously crafted the plan to create gunpowder.

There was no such thing as gunpowder at this current time in this world. But as a man from modern times and a youth who had been baptized by ‘Landmine Warfare’ [1] since young, Yan Liqiang was very familiar with the formidable might of gunpowder. If only he could create gunpowder, then he might be able to use it to make something and obtaining a trump card for use in crucial moments. Perhaps it could even save his own life.

There was a lot of sulfur in the Weaponsmiths Quarter and the place wasn’t lacking in charcoal either, but the exception was saltpeter.

This was a bizarre world; the vast majority of the things found here were difficult to explain in the name of science and logic, so Yan Liqiang honestly had no clue either whether he could actually create gunpowder. But this thought and the gunpowder formula had always been on his mind. If he didn’t even give it a try, it would be something he would always regret.

If his adversary was only Hong Tao of the Hong Clan, even if Hong Tao had learnt Iron Palm, the current Yan Liqiang was confident that he could still beat the crap out of Hong Tao. However, Yan Liqiang understood that if the Hong Clan truly wanted to prevent him from advancing as a Martial Warrior then the Hong Clan’s plan m was in no way simply Hong Tao himself...

During the martial arts preliminary exam, the Hong Clan had made use of ice ants and even had the resources to bribe his own friend. That clearly proved that for the sake of dealing with him and for the sake of protecting their clan’s position and their interest in Liuhe Town, they were ready to resort to any means necessary.

Even though he had passed the Horse Stance stage, it did nothing to relieve him from the threat that was the Hong Clan. A man who had just passed the Horse Stance stage wasn’t enough for the Hong Clan to hold him in any regard at all. In the nearing Martial Arts County Trial that would be hosted half a month later, he was beginning to dread that this crisis was already imminent. Since the Hong Clan had already made the first move, they definitely wouldn’t allow him to survive until next year...

This was the basic conclusion that Yan Liqiang had towards his predicament with the Hong Clan.

Chapter 23: Chance Encounter

Yan Liqiang strolled along the county town of Huanglong County alone. After asking two people for directions, it only took him a little more than an hour to arrive at the county town’s Chaoyang Alley and located the ice shop within.

The name of this ice shop was Chaoyang Ice Shop and it was located in the middle of the alley. Yan Liqiang saw the signboard outside of the ice shop as soon as he walked to the mouth of the alleyway. At the sight of the signboard, he made his way there.

In his past life, Yan Liqiang had once thought that the popsicles that people ate during the summertime were an enjoyment of the modern generation that only came around after the invention of freezers. This had been how he’d thought of it until he watched a cultural relic auction on the television show. Amongst all of the relics they had shown, there was an ancient chest that was used to store ice. When he heard the introduction made by the host, it was only then that he realized that the Ancient Chinese had been enjoying cold drinks and popsicles in the summer since the Tang Dynasty. This instantly made him realize just how uncultured he was.

The ancient people didn’t make ice with a modern freezer. They used saltpeter instead. When saltpeter melts in water, it quickly absorbs the heat in water and freezes. The people of the past used this property of the saltpeter to manufacture ice cubes. They filled up two basins – one big and one small – with water and placed the smaller basin in the bigger one. Then they’d pour the saltpeter in the big basin. By the time the water in the bigger basin had frozen, the contents of the smaller basin would be frozen too.

Things were also the same in this world, only the rich could enjoy the luxury of ice in the summer. Therefore, ice shops only existed in economically prospering county towns or big cities. It goes without saying that some of the wealthy clans, like the Hong Clan in Liuhe Town, had an ice room in their residence for making ice cubes. Yan Liqiang thought back to his younger days. Whenever the hottest period of the year arrived, Hong Tao, who was older than him by two years, would come to school every afternoon with a popsicle in his hand. The popsicle had crystal sugar added to it, which made it all the more impressive, leaving a strong impression on his mind. That impressiveness remained fresh in his memories until today because it was as if a wealthy man had driven a Rolls-Royce to the countryside.

It was summer right now and a little past two o’clock in the afternoon. The cicadas on a few of the old trees in the alley were chirping. The sun glared down over his head, scorching the piping hot ground. A few children were hanging around outside the ice shop, they were hungrily trying to catch a glimpse inside of the shop. The shop assistant of the ice shop, who was dressed in blue, stood at the entrance of the ice shop and was shooing the little children away, just like a scarecrow that drove sparrows away from the rice paddy field. “Shoo shoo shoo, don’t block the entrance. If you want to eat some ice, go ask for money from your daddy...”

As the shop assistant was shooing away the little children, Yan Liqiang entered the ice shop.

The moment he entered the ice shop, Yan Liqiang could feel the temperature drop by a few degrees. The temperature inside was noticeably lower. A cooling wave swept over him and it felt extremely pleasant.

There was a counter in the shop and behind it were a few freezers, wooden blocks that were coated with a layer of tin on the inside.

A man was standing behind the counter. After sizing up Yan Liqiang, he decided that for his age he should be different from those little brats who came here to scam for food and drinks, a smile broke across his face. “Are you here to buy ice, sir? We serve all kinds of ice here, pure ice, ice with crystal sugar or bayberry juice added, we have them all at affordable prices. Which one would you like?”

When Yan Liqiang heard that there was ice with bayberry juice added, he realized that he was salivating all of a sudden. It was a pity, but he knew that the ice that these ice shops sold was at least the size of a basin. A basin worth of ice was enough to supply for a family. Only great clans were willing to make those popsicles that Hong Tao ate in the past for themselves. These small shops would never make small ice blocks that were the size of popsicles because the manufacturing cost was too high. Ordinary children wouldn’t be able to afford them at all.

Yan Liqiang tried his best to put on a pure, innocent smile on his face before speaking to that shop assistant. “Ahem. Do you sell saltpeter here?”

“Come again?” The shop assistant had an astonished look on his face.

“I’m talking about saltpeter, the thing used to make ice. I’d like to buy some!”

“We sell ice here, not saltpeter!” The smile on the shop assistant’s face faded. If it wasn’t for the smile on Yan Liqiang’s face, he would probably have been chased out of the shop right now.

“I know. I just want to buy some. Is that possible?”

The shop assistant firmly shook his head. “We don’t sell saltpeter here. Why don’t you go try somewhere else? Besides, the shopkeeper isn’t here and I’m not in the position to make any decisions...”

“Do you know where I can buy saltpeter?”

“I don’t know either!”

While they were talking, another customer came in. The shop assistant immediately ignored Yan Liqiang and went off to attend to the customer that had just arrived.

Seeing the look on the shop assistant face, Yan Liqiang knew that this negotiation was probably not going to work out. He rubbed his nose and walked out of the shop.

...

Yan Liqiang wandered around in the county town of Huanglong County for the next few hours. He hadn’t expected that buying some saltpeter would turn out to be so difficult.

He visited all three ice shops, but none of them were willing to sell him any saltpeter. What drove Yan Liqiang a little crazy was that saltpeter had an extremely limited amount of use, so in the entire county town, besides the ice shops, he didn’t know where else he could get saltpeter.

Fortunately, Yan Liqiang had strong communication skills. Although he couldn’t buy any saltpeter from the ice shops, he managed to find out a bit of useful information. He learned from a shop assistant working at one of the ice shops that a trading store that purchased fur had supplies of saltpeter. It was located a the major trading town, Shiqiao Town, which was right outside of the county town.

Yan Liqiang racked his brain and recalled that aside from making ice, saltpeter could also be used to tan leather. Since that trading store in the Shiqiao Town accepted leather, they probably supplied raw materials for leather tanning, like lime or saltpeter.

...

By the time Yan Liqiang exited from the trading store in Shiqiao Town, it was late in the evening and the sun was about to set.

The saltpeter in the trading store was sold to customers wholesale. Those clients usually bought tens or hundreds of jin every time. When he went into the store asking for a jin of saltpeter, he was nearly chased away by the staff as they thought he was fooling around. In the end, only when Yan Liqiang fished out some silver, did the shop assistant skeptically sell a little to him. However, since the price of two maces of silver was considered to be a ‘sky-high price’ for saltpeter, he only bought one jin.

Walking out of the trading store, Yan Liqiang touched the few taels of saltpeter in front of his chest and let out a long sigh. This time, he had only bought a little bit just to see if he could create gunpowder. If he could, he’d naturally find a way to get his hands on more saltpeter in the future.

He raised his head to look at the sky. It was getting late. It wouldn’t be good if he returned to the Weaponsmiths Quarter too late and made Qian Su worry.

With that in mind, Yan Liqiang made his way towards the public square that was not too far away in the heart of the town.

Shiqiao Town was indeed a major trading town. Amongst the visitors, there were particularly many customers and merchants that were coming and going. The public square in the heart of the town was surrounded by stores and inns and there were also street stalls set up along the public square, selling some herbs and other miscellaneous items. There were also carriage renting services provided.

Yan Liqiang had just walked to the public square and was about to flag for a carriage when he saw four rhinodrake steeds charging into the public square mountain like the wind along with their horsemen. One of the horsemen leaped off the back of his steed while another one instantly retrieved a gong from his saddle and stuck it rapidly.

In his past life, if one wanted their posts to be noticed or shared on online forums, then they’d only have to sticky their posts or request for internet celebrities to reshare it. However, there was no internet and there were no forums in this world. Although he heard that there were newspapers in the big towns, Yan Liqiang had never seen any. Other than the authorities who could post up various announcements, if one wanted to make any public announcements, hitting the gong would be the quickest way to attract attention in a crowded place.

Sure enough, the four horsemen who rode to the public square on their rhinodrake steeds managed to gather a large crowd of people from around the public square within just the blink of an eye.

Since it was happening around him, Yan Liqiang squeezed himself into the middle of the crowd to be a part of the bustling scene, curious to see just what those two wanted to do.

Among the four horsemen, one was a little older in age while the other three were quite young. Judging from the attire that the older man was wearing, he seemed to be a steward from some great clan while the other three seemed to be guards of some sort.

At this very moment, regardless of the older steward or the three younger guards, they were all drenched in sweat and had panic-stricken looks on their faces. The three younger guards seemed slightly better than the older steward, who was panting with a pale face.

“Isn’t that person the steward of the Lu Clan? What is he doing?”

A merchant at a street stall beside Yan Liqiang asked the person beside him in curiosity and Yan Liqiang just so happened to hear his question.

The Lu Clan. Yan Liqiang had vaguely heard of them before he came to Huanglong County. Huanglong County had a great clan that went on for a few hundred of years and that was the Lu Clan. But Yan Liqiang had no idea if this Lu Clan that the people around him were speaking of was the same Lu Clan. After all, there were plenty of great clans with the surname Lu in Huanglong County.

Seeing more than a hundred people had gathered around in an instant, that steward took a few deep breaths and calmed himself down. He raised his hand and the guard that was hitting the gong abruptly stopped.

Steward Lu cupped his fist in the other hand towards his surroundings and scanned around before speaking up loudly. “My fellow folks and friends, I am the steward, Lu Wenbin, from the Lu Residence on Mount Lianhua. Some of you may know me. I’ve come here today to seek help for an emergency. Does anyone of you have any secret techniques that are capable of saving a drowned person? A child in the manor on Mount Lianhua drowned earlier today, so I have especially come to seek help!”

Steward Lu scanned through the crowd with hope in his eyes, but everyone was completely silent. No one was able to make heads or tails of this whole thing and Yan Liqiang was also puzzled in his heart. It was simply too strange for them to actually come here to seek help when someone had drowned in the Lu Clan.

“Steward Lu, if a child had drowned in the Lu Residence, you should quickly look for a physician. For a clan that is as rich and powerful as the Lu Clan, they can easily find any physicians. So why is it that you have come here?” Someone among the crowd finally asked aloud the question that was on everyone’s mind.

Steward Lu went silent for a few seconds before speaking in a sharp tone. “We have done that. The best physicians from Huanglong County and Pingxi Town are all currently staying in the Lu Residence. It’s been somewhere from six to eight hours since the child drowned and the few physicians couldn’t do anything to save him. We have only come to seek help from everyone since we are running out of options, hoping to find any secret techniques that we can try. If we manage to rescue that child, you will definitely be well rewarded by the Lu Clan. If the child cannot be rescued, the Lu Clan will not blame anyone either...”

Everyone around instantly understood the situation upon hearing the explanation. The Lu Clan had hired the best physicians in the Huanglong County and the capital city, but they couldn’t save the child. According to Steward Lu, six to eight hours had passed so this meant the child that drowned had already stopped breathing for six to eight hours. There are only twenty-four hours in a day. Six to eight hours would mean that more than a quarter of the day had passed and the child was already long gone. If even the best physicians that the Lu Clan could afford to hire couldn’t do anything, who else could?

The art of reviving the dead was nothing more than a legend. The child had drowned and so much time had passed since. How could he possibly be saved? He reckoned that the Lu Clan sent their steward out to try their luck in finding even the smallest of chances, as a last resort since they had run out of hope and couldn’t find any other way.

When the surrounding people heard this, they immediately shook their head and dispersed. Although whatever great reward that Lu Clan could possibly offer might be drool-worthy, no one was capable of bringing the dead back to life. Even if they went there to try, it would just be a waste of time and they might even get into trouble for fooling around without any ability.

The people who had walked away were discussing in soft voices. They were all wondering which child from the Lu Clan had drowned for there to be such a panic among the Lu Clan.

Looking at the crowd that was dispersing, a look of despair and disappointment appeared in Steward Lu’s eyes as he lowered his head helplessly...

At this moment, Yan Liqiang muttered to himself then went directly in front of Steward Lu. “Steward Lu, perhaps I can give it a try...”

Steward Lu instantly lifted his head upon hearing Yan Liqiang’s voice. The moment he saw that it was a plainly dressed youth fourteen to fifteen years old standing before him, he froze with a shocked expression on his face...

...

Chapter 24: The Powerful Lu Clan

“Young’un, this is not a joke! A person’s life is at stake...” cried the steward from the Lu Clan as he swept his gaze behind Yan Liqiang and across his surroundings. “Whose disciple are you? Do you have a master or an elder accompanying you?”

At such a moment, when everyone seemed helpless in the face of a crisis, a plainly dressed youth of fourteen had suddenly jumped out of nowhere saying that he was capable of rescuing and that he would try. This prompted two thoughts to suddenly emerge from the Lu Clan’s steward’s mind; this young lad was either joking or he was perhaps a disciple of some expert. But after Steward Lu surveyed the vicinity, he confirmed that Yan Liqiang seemed to be alone.

“Does one’s age or sect have anything to do with saving people?” asked Yan Liqiang smilingly.

“This...” Steward Lu was hesitant as he eyed the youthful-looking Yan Liqiang. The fourteen-year-old Yan Liqiang had bright and clear eyes, with a very thin layer of stubble growing by the edge of his mouth. The clothes he was dressed in was that of a commoner and didn’t appear luxurious in the slightest. He didn’t look at all like the disciple of some expert. And to top it all off, Yan Liqiang’s accent seemed like it was from the nearby county state. Never in his life did Steward Lu ever hear of a boy of fourteen or fifteen originating from the nearby county state with the capability of saving people. If there was truly a youth with the ability to do just that, then such a young lad would already have made a name for himself. Every year when summer comes around, where would you find a place where there aren’t children drowning?

Judging by the expression on Steward Lu’s face, Yan Liqiang knew exactly what was going on inside his mind. Initially, he had volunteered out of good intention, wanting to try whether there was even the slightest chance that he could help out since a life was at stake. Even if he failed, he was still young and wasn’t famous to begin with, so he wasn’t worried about what he had to lose. If he did in fact succeed, then he would have done a great service to mankind. However, if the Lu Clan didn’t believe him, there was no need for him to keep forcing himself. He would treat it as it was not meant to be since he had no relations with the Lu Clan anyway.

“Nevermind then. If Steward Lu doesn’t trust me, then let’s just leave it to Heaven’s will...” Yan Liqiang shook his head and said nothing more. He immediately proceeded to call a horse cart in order to return to the Weaponsmiths Quarter.

Perhaps it was due to the calm and unperturbed demeanor that Yan Liqiang had, that made Steward Lu realize that there was something distinguished about the fourteen-year-old youth, that made him different from the common folks. It was either that or maybe he was seriously out of better options, so he could only try it out as a desperate last resort.

Steward Lu instantly pursued after him, calling for Yan Liqiang to stop. “Little brother, please wait!”

Halting in his tracks, Yan Liqiang turned to stare at Steward Lu.

“Little brother, is that the truth? Do you really have a way to save him?”

“I have a way to save him, but I, myself, can’t guarantee whether or not I’ll be successful in saving him. We can only see if the Heavens will bestow an opportunity for him to live.”

Gnashing his teeth, Steward Lu stamped on the ground. “Fine! Follow me! We’ll head to the Lu Residence immediately!”

After he finished, Steward Lu immediately ordered two of the three bodyguards he had brought along to remain and see if there was anyone who was still willing to come and ‘apply’. He then ordered the other bodyguard to ride on the same rhinodrake steed together with Yan Liqiang and head back with him. When he came here, he had prepared a dual saddle and placed it on one of the rhinodrake steeds, which allowed room for two people to sit.

“Steward Lu. I don’t need anyone to bring me. I know how to ride a rhinodrake steed!”

“You know how to ride a rhinodrake steed?” Steward Lu shot a surprised glance at Yan Liqiang. It should be known that there was a difference in riding a rhinodrake steed and an ordinary horse. Normally, those who lacked the experience of riding a rhinodrake steed would have difficulty in controlling one. Moreover, since a rhinodrake steed wasn’t something that was easily afforded by commoners, a young man at this age from an ordinary household might know how to ride a horse, but it was very rare to find one who knew how to ride a rhinodrake steed. This was due to there being a very scarce number of common households with the capability to raise rhinodrake steeds.

Yan Liqiang nodded.

Pointing to one of the other three rhinodrake steeds, Steward Lu said, “Then you shall ride this rhinodrake steed and return with me!” Then he proceeded to order the three bodyguards, “All three of you are to remain here!”

The three guards nodded in response.

Steward Lu immediately pulled his own rhinodrake steed over. He mounted the steed before directing a gaze at Yan Liqiang. “Let’s get a move on!”

Yan Liqiang smiled. He stood before the rhinodrake steed, grabbing onto its reins. He supported himself by holding onto the saddle while also stepping on the stirrup with one foot. He turned his body around lightly and sat on top of it. His actions were clear-cut and done without the slightest hesitation.

On seeing that Yan Liqiang looked to be adept at mounting the rhinodrake steed, Steward Lu shook the reins of his own steed, prompting it to break into a small gallop out of the plaza with Yan Liqiang following a short distance behind.

This particular rhinodrake steed was gentle and didn’t pose a problem to ride. It didn’t feel more difficult than riding the one he had at home.

The two rhinodrake steeds were initially running at a slow pace. However, after departing the crowded area and streets, they crossed the stone bridge over Shiqiao Town. It was then that Steward Lu gave a shout and shook the reins. This caused the rhinodrake steed he was riding to instantly increase its speed. As it charged ahead, the sounds of its hooves were akin to crashing thunder. Yan Liqiang smiled and gave his own steed a quick squeeze, causing it to also break into a run. The two rhinodrake steeds ran neck and neck, rushing towards the Lu Residence.

Even though it had broken into a run, the steadiness and snugness riding on the broad back of the rhinodrake steed was far superior to that of an ordinary horse. Yan Liqiang felt that if he were to compare an ordinary horse and the rhinodrake steed, then it would be the same as comparing an old Santana versus a Mercedes Benz.

After passing the Horse Stance stage, Yan Liqiang found it to be smoother and easier for him to ride the rhinodrake steed. He effortlessly sat on top of the thick and broad saddle, squeezing the steed’s back with his thighs while leaving his feet hanging. He had completely become one with the steed. His upper body was as steady as the mountains and was completely capable of riding this rhinodrake steed without the need to use his hands.

Steward Lu was quietly studying Yan Liqiang. When he discovered that Yan Liqiang did not require the use of his hands to handle the rhinodrake steed and that he was holding the reins short and hanging close to his legs, Steward Lu’s mouth was agape from the shock. This was completely not the level of skill that a youth like Yan Liqiang should have at his age. Even if it were the guards from the Lu Residence, not many of them had such skills in horsemanship, much less someone like Steward Lu himself.

A number of thoughts were rolling about Steward Lu’s mind. He suddenly began to have more confidence in Yan Liqiang.

He had already attained such a profound level of horsemanship at such a young age. This clearly proved that there must be something extraordinary about this young lad’s origin and education. Such a person probably wouldn’t trick him with any regard to the severity of the situation.

“May I know what I should be addressing this little brother as?” Riding on top of the steed, Steward Lu’s tone turned more courteous as he inquired about Yan Liqiang’s circumstances.

“I’m called Yan Liqiang!” Yan Liqiang smiled, glancing at Steward Lu. “Quarter Master Qian of the Huanglong Weaponsmiths Quarter is my uncle!”

“Ah! Quarter Master Qian is your uncle?” Steward Lu’s eyes blinked, as a look of revelation appeared on his face.

“Why? Does Steward Lu also know my uncle?”

“Haha! In the entirety of the Huanglong County, who doesn’t know Quarter Master Qian? Moreover, Quarter Master Qian is also a frequent customer of our inn below our Lu Residence. Last time, during my clan’s old master’s birthday, Quarter Master Qian even came to offer his congratulations!”

“Oh. Then that’s great. I came out earlier today and should be heading back to the Weaponsmiths Quarter right about now. To prevent Uncle Qian from getting worried about me, I would like to request for Steward Lu to arrange for a person to inform my uncle at the Quarter.”

“No problem, that is easy to do! When we reach the Lu Residence, I’ll be sure to send someone to the Weaponsmiths Quarter and inform Quarter Master Qian, so that he won’t worry!”

...

A rhinodrake steed running at full speed was extremely fast, it was completely similar to being as fast as lightning. The sound that the eight iron hooves made when it ran was akin to thunder and was essentially far more effective than the sirens on top of a police car. Along the road, people and carts they encountered would all veer to the side upon hearing the sound of the thunderous hooves, despite being hundreds of meters apart, they would still open up a pathway for them to pass by.

Just like that, not even twenty minutes had passed after Yan Liqiang had followed Steward Lu and within that time frame, they had already arrived at the Lu Residence on their rhinodrake steeds.

The Lu Residence, as the name implied, was the manor of the Lu Clan. The entirety of the Lu Residence was larger than Liuhe Town. Liuhe Town had many households living within it, but the entirety of the Lu Residence were just assets of the Lu Clan alone, this included the surrounding lands of many thousands of mu, a greater distance than the eye can see.

The exterior of the Lu Residence was surrounded by a defensive wall of more than seven meters in height. It was all built by laying dark red sandstones on top of each other. It looked extremely firm while also appearing extremely aged. On top of the wall were arrow battlements and towers, as well as guards standing alert. Outside of the defensive wall, there was a river that protected the wall, the river was about dozens of meters wide and was both for protecting the wall as well as irrigating the cultivated land around the residence. It could be said that this was killing two birds with one stone.

Although Yan Liqiang hadn’t been a rich man in his previous life, he had seen his share of wealthy men. Those wealthy men were wholly the same; playing with delicate models, cars, watches, as well as purchasing mansions, private planes, and yachts. He’d seen them all.

Yet, when comparing the rich and powerful people in his previous life with the Lu Clan before him, Yan Liqiang realized that the rich and powerful men that he had been accustomed to in his previous life were utterly nothing before the Lu Residence, which looked like a castle. Before the Lu Residence, they were similar to duckweeds.

While Yan Liqiang gaped in shock at the Lu Residence before him, he was only overwhelmed with one feeling–b*llshit!

How many generations in a clan had to work hard and settle in order to achieve wealth on such a scale? This Lu Residence, unless if someone wanted to raise a military banner and start a coup d’etat, who else could shake them? In his previous life, Yan Liqiang knew about this billionaire who had married a female celebrity. In the end, he was extorted and scammed by a hoodlum in a fitness club, ultimately leading to his bankruptcy and his family ruined. For this Lu Residence, what kind of hoodlums would dare to extort them?

In most cases, the time that it took for one’s riches to settle in was possibly more valuable than the sheer amount of wealth that they’ve accumulated!

...

Steward Lu directly brought Yan Liqiang on their rhinodrake steeds, through the wide-opened main gate into the Lu Residence without stopping, even for the briefest of moments. Finally, they arrived at the main gate of a grand manor located in the center of the Lu Residence.

At the doorway of the grand manor stood two lines of guards and beside the gates, were two awe-inspiring guardian lions which were nearly two meters high.

The pair dismounted their rhinodrake steeds and right away a servant beside them quickly took the reins of the rhinodrake steeds and led them away.

Steward Lu called out to Yan Liqiang, before hurriedly entering the gate with Yan Liqiang in tow.

There were numerous courtyards; one after another inside the grand manor of the Lu Residence. But today, after entering the Lu Residence, Yan Liqiang felt the obviously depressed atmosphere of the entire Lu Clan, without the least bit of clamor. All of the servants and guards inside of the grand manor appeared to be trembling, not one of them had even the trace of a smile on their face...

Chapter 25: Saving A Life (1)

After bringing Yan Liqiang to one of the side halls in the numerous courtyards and having him wait there, Steward Lu hastily walked out. He had even forgotten to order the servants to serve Yan Liqiang a cup of tea.

Yan Liqiang knew that Steward Lu was reporting to his superior. He guessed that Steward Lu wasn’t able to make a decision on such a matter; he was only responsible for bringing him back. Even if he could give it a try, it would still be up to someone of higher authority. However, Yan Liqiang believed that the Lu Clan were already out of ideas at this point. Otherwise, they wouldn’t even allow the manor’s steward to ‘try his luck’ outside. This was similar to the desperate people in his past life who would ask for help in online forums.

Yan Liqiang wasn’t anxious either. He sat quietly in the side hall, pretending to admire the few calligraphy paintings that were hung in the side hall. In a discrete manner, Yan Liqiang compared the commodities which he had saw along his way after entering the Lu Clan’s manor with Liuhe Town’s Hong Clan’s manor.

Hong Clan and Lu Clan were on completely different levels. The Hong Clan was only a dominant clan within Liuhe Town whereas the Lu Clan was a massive tyrant even within Huanglong County.

Yan Liqiang hadn’t need to wait for long in the side hall. Barely two minutes had passed before he heard the footsteps of two individuals coming from outside the side hall and at the same time, the faint voice of Steward Lu. From Steward Lu’s voice, Yan Liqiang was able to discern a few words such as ‘Quarter Master Qian’ as well as ‘great horsemanship’ and the likes.

Prior to practicing the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Manual, Yan Liqiang hadn’t possessed such a sharp sense of hearing. However, after he had practiced the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Manual, Yan Liqiang had realized that his five senses had improved substantially. Because of this, Yan Liqiang was able to detect the footsteps outside of the side hall as well as listen in on the conversation of the two individuals from a distance.

The sound of the footsteps grew closer. Soon after, Steward Lu entered the room in the company of another person.

The person who had entered along with Steward Lu seemed to be roughly sixty years old. His head was covered in white hair and the clothes he wore were very exquisite. He looked slightly aged but still held a very sharp gaze; his body exuded an astute and powerful aura. Before this person, Steward Lu appeared to be more prudent.

“Brother Yan, this is Head Steward Lu of the Lu Clan. He’s responsible in all matters within the manor. I have told Head Steward Lu about your situation and I have also just sent someone to the Weaponsmiths Quarters to inform Quarter Master Qian. You can be at ease...”

“Greeting, Head Steward Lu!” Yan Liqiang nodded as he politely greeted him. However, Yan Liqiang had also noticed that Head Steward Lu slightly frowned upon seeing him. After all, his age and the manner in which he dressed were drastically different to other highly skilled physicians.

Head Steward Lu’s sharp gaze pierced through Yan Liqiang like a sword. His gaze lingered for fully ten seconds and not a single word was spoken. The pressure was enormous. Head Steward’s expression only softened when he realized that Yan Liqiang’s expression remained unchanged as he looked calm under his sharp stare.

“I’ve never heard that that Quarter Master Qian had any medical skills. Furthermore, there are no medical experts within the Weaponsmiths Quarter. I wonder where you learned your medical skills from?” Head Steward Lu opened his mouth and slowly asked.

Yan Liqiang laughed, “I’ve never learned any medical skills!”

Head Steward Lu frowned once again before glancing at Steward Lu who stood at the side, “So, how are you able to save someone?”

Yan Liqiang unfolded his arms and began to utter nonsense with a deadpan face, “I had a strange dream a couple of days ago. In my dream, I accidentally entered deep into mountains wreathed in mist and met an old man who possessed completely white hair as well as a completely white beard. The old man conversed with me for a short period of time before abruptly telling me of a way to save a drowning victim. Even after I awoke, I still remember it. Today, I coincidentally ran into Steward Lu upon my arrival at Shiqiao Town and thus, I had followed him here!”

“So, are you confident in saving this person?” Head Steward Lu frowned even deeper before he continued asking.

“I’m not confident!”

“Not even a little?”

“Not even a little!”

Head Steward Lu stood up abruptly and took a deep glance at Yan Liqiang. He nodded before saying, “Come with me!”

Steward Lu–the person who had brought Yan Liqiang here–sighed in relief as he witnessed the manner in which Yan Liqiang presented himself in.

Yan Liqiang smiled. He knew that there was a high possibility of being kicked out by Head Steward Lu if he answered Head Steward Lu’s questions by saying that he had confidence.. By admitting that he had no confidence, he had instead earned Head Steward Lu’s trust. This was also based on his experiences in his previous life. Being honest before those who were experienced in life was oftentimes better as they had seen enough of the so-called smart asses.

Under Head Steward Lu’s direction, Yan Liqiang left the side hall and passed through the lengthy corridor as well as the courtyard door before finally arriving before a house.

A portion of the few Lu Clan’s bodyguards stood outside of the house. Under the eyes of the Lu Clan’s bodyguards, Yan Liqiang followed Head Steward Lu into the house.

A number of people were already within the house. Amongst them was a slightly pale but plump old man with three strands of beautiful long beard. He sat upright on the host’s seat within the house. Adjacent to the old man was middle-aged man who wore a brocade robe and seemed to be roughly thirty years old middle aged man. The old man looked mournful whereas the middle aged man was on the verge of tears.

On the chairs to the left of the room’s entrance were a group of people who ranged from forty to sixty years old. In comparison to the old man and the middle-aged man, every single one of them wore an awkward and helpless expression. Medicine chests could be seen before the group of people. Due to this, Yan Liqiang knew that they were the physicians invited by the Lu Clan. He had heard that the Lu Clan had invited the best physicians from Huanglong County and Pingxi Prefecture and presumed that they were this group of people.

The sound of a weeping woman’s heartbroken cry as well as the wailing of many women could also clearly be heard from the room which was connected via a door at the side.

A glum atmosphere hung within the room.

As soon as Head Steward Lu brought Yan Liqiang into the room, the gazes of those present immediately focused on Yan Liqiang. Every single one of them were somewhat stunned. Amongst the physicians, two of them gazed at Yan Liqiang with disdain after the brief period in which they were slightly stunned.

Head Steward Lu walked towards the old man, bent down, and softly uttered a few words to him.

That old man fixed his gazed onto Yan Liqiang for two brief seconds before waving his hand in disappointment, “Fine! Let him give it a try. We’ll do everything we can and leave the rest to fate. If it still doesn’t work, then... then let the servants arrange the rest.....”

Head Steward Lu nodded and walked over. He gave Yan Liqiang a signal before bringing Yan Liqiang to the adjacent room.

After passing through a door and the side room beyond that door, Yan Liqiang arrived before a room with two maids as well as two bodyguards guarding the room along with Head Steward Lu.

Although it was a bedroom, it only possessed a small number of items.. It looked vacant. Only a bed could be seen with a child who seemed to be six to seven years old lying on it; his complexion was pale. His face was already completely drained of colors.

Yan Liqiang gazed at the child lying on the bed before giving Head Steward Lu a single glance. Head Steward Lu nodded and Yan Liqiang walked over in order to carefully examine the child.

The child that lay on top of the bed wore a loose white night robe. His hair was untied and slightly resembled the middle-aged man who was standing outside with red eyes just now.

Yan Liqiang began by touching the child’s forehead. It was ice cold and no longer had the body temperature of a normal person. He then examined the child’s breath, pulse, as well as heartbeat. As expected, all these vital signs were already long gone from the body of this child.

“How long has it been since the child was first in this state...?” Yan Liqiang asked Head Steward Lu.

“Before lunch hour up until now, roughly six hours!” Head Steward Lu sighed. “This morning, he was playing hide and seek outside with the other children from the residence. Whilst hiding within the reeds by the river bank, he accidentally slipped and fell into the water. His leg was trapped by the water plants and because of this, he drowned. At first, the kids couldn’t find him and thought that he had ran to other places. It was only during lunch time that we realized that he had been missing so everyone went out to find him, only to discover him in the water behind the reeds. He’s been like this ever since we lifted him out of the water. We’ve thought of many methods in the manor. We’ve tried lifting him by his feet, chest compressions, and also mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Other than releasing a small portion of water from his mouth, there were no signs of improvement. Although the physicians we had invited had tried all sorts of methods, nothing had worked...”

Yan Liqiang knew that if it weren’t for the fact that the child had been drowned for more than six hours, there would be no way that a great clan such as the Lu Clan would turn to outsiders.

As for the chest compressions as well as the mouth-to-mouth resuscitation that Head Steward Lu mentioned, it was known as cardiopulmonary resuscitation and artificial respiration in his previous world. There existed many martial practitioners in this world. In comparison to ordinary people, martial practitioners were much more knowledgeable on human body’s physical form and functions. Many killing techniques were also converse methods that saved people’s life. Hence, it wasn’t unexpected for Earth’s life saving procedures to appear here.

“May I ask, who is this child to the Lu Clan?”

“This child is Old Master Lu’s eldest grandson. Prior to this child’s birth, Old Master Lu only had a few granddaughters!” Head Steward Lu glanced at Yan Liqiang. He thought that Yan Liqiang was worried about the expenses and uttered in a deep voice, “If you have a way to save him, just do it. Don’t worry about the costs. Our Lu Clan will be able to afford it. Even if you want a 100-Years Ling Shen, our Lu Clan will be able to take it out as long as you save him!”

No wonder why! It turned out that this child was the Lu Clan’s eldest grandson!

Yan Liqiang had finally understood the reason as to why Lu Clan was so anxious.

“Then, I’ll have to request that Head Steward Lu will help me prepare a few items!”

“What do you need?”

Yan Liqiang took a glance at that child who was lying on the bed, “Head Steward Lu, please help me prepare a few moxa sticks!”

“Moxa sticks?” Head Steward Lu gazed at Yan Liqiang in astonishment. Head Steward Lu wouldn’t be surprised even if Yan Liqiang were to request for rare items during this situation. However, the words ‘moxa sticks’ had surprised him. This was due to the fact that this item was an extremely cheap and common item. Mugwort plants could be found all over the place, and Moxa sticks were made by wrapping up the moxa floss made out of Mugwort plants in a bundle. They could be made by anyone.

“Do you need anything other than the moxa sticks? Is there a need for assistants?” Head Steward Lu asked.

“No need. Moxa sticks and a candle to light them up will do. The temperature in this room is a slightly low. Add a few more basins of charcoal!”

After gazing deeply at Yan Liqiang, Head Steward Lu quickly exited the room. In less than two minutes, a few servants came in carrying a few more basins of charcoal and placed them at the corners of the room whilst maintaining the air ventilation in the room. At the same time, Head Steward Lu returned with the items that Yan Liqiang had requested. Entering alongside with Head Steward Ly was the middle-aged man as well as the physicians whom he had just seen outside...

Chapter 26: Saving A Life (2)

After hearing that Yan Liqiang’s tool for saving this child’s life was a simple moxa stick, the few physicians that had just been outside followed the others into the room.

A few hours ago, they had failed in reviving this child, despite having gone through all of the possible methods they had at their disposal. This child was obviously dead and had been dead for a few hours. They simply couldn’t believe in the possibility of reviving a child that had already drowned for over so many hours. Furthermore, they could not believe that it would only take the most common and most ordinary of items, a moxa stick, to achieve this.

If a mere moxa stick could revive a drowned person, then it must have been done by God.

In their hearts, none of them believed that Yan Liqiang could revive a dead person. The only reason why they came in was to see just what kind of trick was Yan Liqiang going to pull with a moxa stick and then expose him right on the spot.

Yan Liqiang very clearly understood the intentions of those physicians for coming in. However, he didn’t want his mood to be affected by the sideline chatter while he was administering the therapy later.

There was nothing he could do but continue with his pretension.

“Steward Lu, when I treat this child, only this child’s next of kin is allowed to remain in this room to observe. The rest of them are not allowed to be in here!” Yan Liqiang was blunt when speaking to Steward Lu.

The purpose of allowing the child’s next of kin to observe was so that he could have a witness with him as his insurance. This was so that even if he was unable to revive this child in the end, at the very least, the Lu Clan would know that he had made a very serious attempt in saving the child. It would also prove that he hadn’t been taking the Lu Clan as a fool or even defiled the body of this child. Yan Liqiang had carefully thought this through.

Upon hearing Yan Liqiang’s request, all of the physicians in the room were escorted out by Steward Lu before they even got the chance to protest.

The moxa sticks and a candle had already been placed before Yan Liqiang. The father of the child, the man whose eyes were currently red, stood by Yan Liqiang’s side as he opened his eyes wide to watch how Yan Liqiang was going to save his son.

“Brother Yan, please do all that you can to save him. Even if you are unable to, the Lu Clan will not place any blame on you either...” The man told Yan Liqiang with a slightly hoarse and deep voice.

“A human life is beyond value. Although I can’t promise anything, I will definitely try my best!” Yan Liqiang sincerely assured this man. This was his honest thought without any misgivings. Under such circumstances, he was absolutely willing to try even if it was other ordinary people instead of the Lu Clan. If he won the gamble, he’d win back a human life. Even if he lost, no one would point a finger at a fourteen-year-old youth in this situation. Besides, he didn’t really have any reputation so there really was nothing for him to worry about at all.

The father of the child nodded his head and didn’t say anything else, so Yan Liqiang got started.

He picked up the moxa stick that Steward Lu had brought for him and proceeded to examine it. He could instantly tell that this moxa stick was definitely made with the best moxa floss, because in the short time it was placed in front of him, even without looking at it the fragrance had already naturally permeated the air.

But of course, since mugwort plants were everywhere, even the best moxa stick wouldn’t be worth much.

Firstly, Yan Liqiang held the moxa stick over the candle to light it up. He waited until one end of the moxa stick was completely red like an incense stick before placing it on the tray at the side. Then he got up and unbuttoned the clothes that the child was wearing.

When the child’s father saw Yan Liqiang’s actions, some emotions flickered in his eyes but he remained silent and just silently watched.

The body of the child was already cold and slightly stiff. However, his belly was flat and without a bulge. He’d surmised that the water inside must have been completely pushed out by someone from the Lu Clan.

Yan Liqiang kneaded the child’s belly gently with a solemn face as he started to pray silently within his heart – Miracle Doctor Sun, Perfected Master Sun, your disciple, Yan Liqiang, will try saving a life right now by using the secret technique that you passed down. Please bestow your blessings upon me. If this method works, your disciple will not be selfish and will definitely impart this knowledge to more people so that the victims of drowning in this world will have a greater chance of survival while also reducing some tragedies for countless families out there.

After ending the prayer in his heart, Yan Liqiang retrieved the red glowing moxa stick with one hand and moved it to the belly button of that child. He pointed the lit end of that moxa stick at the child’s belly button, leaving the distance of only a few centimeters between them. He tested out the temperature of the moxa stick with his hand. After determining a distance that wouldn’t burn the skin, he began using the moxa stick on the child’s belly button.

This was Yan Liqiang’s method of saving him. But of course, this method wasn’t something that Yan Liqiang had conjured out of nowhere. It was a method that was left behind by the Perfected Master Sun, Sun Simiao. He was the most famous miracle physician in Ancient China, otherwise known as the Medicine King, who had lived to be 142 years old.

It was one of the fascinating methods that was left behind in one of his encyclopedic works in medicine, the ‘Essential Formulas for Emergencies Worth a Thousand Pieces of Gold’. This fascinating method was performed in order to save a drowned person. One of the quotes from his book read: ‘Rescuing the drowned: Open the dead person’s clothes and perform moxibustion on their navel. This is only applicable to patients that have drowned for less than a day.’

In his book, the Perfected Master Sun had mentioned that this method could even revive those that had drowned for an entire night. So Yan Liqiang had come to give it a try.

Yan Liqiang knew of this method because he had read it in one of the articles that he had been following closely from time to time in his previous life. He thought he wouldn’t be able to remember it, but after he reincarnated, ever since he recalled the Performing Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Internal Cultivation Manual, he realized that his brain seemed to have a boosted amount of memory storage. He was actually able to remember all of the books and articles he had read before in his previous life, including ones where he only had a single glance. These books and articles were all stored in his brain. As long as he had the intention, he’d be able to completely recall the entire thing.

The navel of a person’s body was one of the most important acupoints. This acupoint is known as Shenque (Spirit Gateway) but also Mingdi (Life Stem), Shenzhe (Deity), Yuanshen (Primordial Spirit), Xiantian (Innate), Quezhe (Guardian of the Tower), Chenglou (City Gate Tower) Gaolou (High Tower) Gongdian (Palace), Ming (Life Form), Shenming (Existence), Xingming (Life), Dizhe (Stem), Dijie (End) and Bing – which meant a handle. As the names implied, this acupoint was a towering palace that housed a person’s primordial spirit. It also held the authority over a person’s life as well as their existence.

Mugwort leaves were amongst the most ordinary of herbs yet it contained pure yang. ‘Capable of restoring vitality, clearing the twelve meridians, regulating through the Three Yin Intersection, managing qi and blood in a body and preventing pathogenic colds...’

...

In his mind, every single word within the article that he had read before flashed across his mind. While holding onto the moxa stick, Yan Liqiang’s hand was like a pair of pliers that had been fixed in place. He was staring at the moxa stick and the child’s belly button with a fully focused expression on his face, making him appear to be extremely divine and serious.

From time to time, Yan Liqiang’s other hand would move for a bit. He did this was so that the ashes that had fallen off the moxa stick wouldn’t land on the body of the child. Yan Liqiang used his free hand to catch the ashes and quickly disposed of it on the tray at the side at the same time.

Sometimes when he was shaking out the ashes, the burning red embers of moxa floss would also fall off altogether, burning his hand as if he had just been splashed by hot oil. However, Yan Liqiang persevered in continuing to catch it with his hand, only frowning a little before disposing of the ashes into the tray beside him.

If he were to move the tray over and move the moxa stick away, he would be momentarily interrupting the moxibustion process, as doing so would move the moxa stick away from the belly button of the child. Hence, Yan Liqiang would rather catch the ashes with his hand, parting his fingers would allow the heat of the moxa stick to continue dissipating from the gaps between his fingers while the ashes would be caught by his hand.

While trying his best to keep the ashes away from the body of the child, Yan Liqiang was also closely monitoring the temperature of the skin around the child’s belly button. He did so by putting a finger on the area around his belly button from time to time to feel the temperature of the skin around that area. He didn’t want the moxa stick to damage and leave burns on the child. He knew that it was already extremely painful for a parent to witness the death of their child. Regardless, no parent would like the idea of seeing the body of their late child being tossed around and damaged by others.

These were all the smallest details that were probably ignored by most people. But to Yan Liqiang, his experience from his previous life had taught him that small details like these mustn’t be neglected. These were the elements that differentiated success from the devil.

As long as he had paid attention to all these small details, the Lu Clan wouldn’t think that he was a cheat even if he were to fail in reviving this child.

The father of that child was watching Yan Liqiang’s actions closely at first, but when he had ultimately seen Yan Liqiang trying his best and earnestly doing his job, the expression on his face gradually softened, letting out a sigh in the end.

When the ashes of the moxa stick were about to fall off, a hand reached out just before Yan Liqiang could reach out his. “Let me do that...” A hoarse, deep voice said beside his ear.

Before the old moxa stick could even finish burning, Yan Liqiang had already lit up another new one.

...

As time slowly passed, the entire room was filled with the scent of the burning moxa stick. Within the span of about two hours, Yan Liqiang had already used up two moxa sticks, and the sky outside was now completely dark.

He was on the third moxa stick, and half of it had already burnt away.

The fire holder that had been lit in the room kept the room temperature suitably comfortable.

Just when Yan Liqiang thought that this method might not be able to save the child, his finger that was touching the child’s belly button could suddenly feel the intestines beneath convulse for a moment...

Before Yan Liqiang could even react...

“Cough...” The child that had been lying down suddenly coughed, then turning his head to the side, he vomited a mouthful of water.

The child slowly opened his eyes. As soon as he opened his eyes, he was greeted by a visage of his father with reddened eyes that looked at him with an elated expression that he had never seen before on his face.

“WAA...” The child instantly started crying loudly.

Yan Liqiang placed the half-burned moxa stick onto the tray beside him. He then stood at one side and blankly stared at the child who was now crying loudly after he had just woken up. A voice in his heart was crazily shouting, ‘I’VE DONE IT, I’VE DONE IT! HE’S BEEN REVIVED, HE’S BEEN REVIVED...!’

...

Not only that child was crying, even Yan Liqiang had the sudden impulse to shed his tears at this very moment.

Thank you, Perfected Master Sun, Grandpa Sun, thank you WeChat, thank you Boss Ma, thank you Boss Zhang. Thank you to everyone for spreading their positive energy...

...

The cries of that child exploded in the room like a sudden clap of thunder and instantly traveled outside...

In just the blink of an eye, Yan Liqiang could sense the door outside was violently pushed open, followed by a countless number of footsteps flooding in. The old man that he had just seen, followed by a few madames, as well as a few other men that he had never seen before barged into the room.

“Lin’er...” One of the madames around thirty years of age came in. Upon seeing the child having gotten up, she exclaimed in pleasant surprise and instantly rushed over, embracing the child into her arms, as she buried her face into him and sobbed loudly.

Seeing this scene, a few girls on the side started weeping tears of joy. Old Master Lu, who was already advanced in age, was also so worked up that his face had turned very red, and even his hands were slightly trembling. “So the dead can come back to life, Good, good, good.... This must be a blessing from the Heavens to my Lu Clan...”

As they spoke, everyone in the room suddenly shifted their gaze over. Each and every person within the room was staring at Yan Liqiang’s face.

Chapter 27: Forming Ties with Lu Clan

Yan Liqiang was foolishly laughing under the gaze of everyone within the room. At this very moment, Yan Liqiang wasn’t even thinking about how he would be rewarded by the Lu Clan. His heart was only filled with pure excitement and joy. As a person who had been given two chances to live, he didn’t expect that he himself would be able to bring the dead back to life.

As long as one was using the right method, it was possible for them to trade in a few cheap moxa sticks for a person’s life. Sure enough, a precious thing such as life wasn’t necessarily expensive.

“Little Seventh, bring Young Master Yan to the Peony Hall and have him take a seat there. Serve him well, I will join him in a moment...” Old Master Lu spoke up.

The person that Old Master Lu had been addressing as ‘Little Seventh’ was Head Steward Lu. Of the entire Lu Clan, only Old Master Lu was able to address Head Steward Lu as ‘Little Seventh’. Amongst the others of the Lu Clan would address to him as ‘Seventh Uncle’ or ‘Seventh Master’.

“Understood, Old Master!” Head Steward Lu nodded, then walked to Yan Liqiang’s side and spoke politely. “Young Master Yan, it’s a bit chaotic here, so please follow me to the Peony Hall to take a short break!”

“Please lead the way, Head Steward Lu!” Yan Liqiang nodded. He had stopped looking around and was already following Head Steward out of the room.

The few physicians that the Lu Clan had invited were all found standing outside by the door, waiting for Yan Liqiang to make a fool out of himself. When they saw Yan Liqiang coming out of the room, all of them looked at his expression as though they were looking at a living three-headed alien with six limbs descending from a flying saucer.

They instantly crowded around him almost all at once. They bore a resemblance to paparazzi seeing a celebrity as they tried to outdo each other rushing towards the front.

Before any of them could say anything, Head Steward Lu spoke up first. “Everyone, Young Master Yan is a bit exhausted and wishes to rest. If you have something to ask, please wait until it is more convenient for Young Master Yan!”

Yan Liqiang didn’t say anything. He simply smiled at the few physicians before leaving with Head Steward Lu.

The Lu Clan had witnessed the secret technique in action, saving a life, but they probably would not spread that information around due to it being a taboo. If the Lu Clan were to sell him out after he had saved their eldest grandchild, then the Lu Clan would have tarnished their own reputation throughout Huanglong County, or possibly even in the entire Pingxi Prefecture. In short, this wouldn’t bring any benefits for the Lu Clan. Even so, there was no need for the Lu Clan to do something as foolish as this, as they had no reason to do so. For the Lu Clan, the most that they would possibly do was if the same thing were to happen again, they would use the method themselves, instead of hiring someone else.

So this secret technique was still a special technique that those few alone would know for now.

Yan Liqiang had the intention of spreading the knowledge of this method too. It would be even better if everyone were to know of this so that more drowning victims could be saved. However, he didn’t want it to be done this way. If this came from someone else’s mouth, the physicians would just think to themselves ‘Oh, so it was this easy? Why did I not think of this before?’ Thus, not realizing just how impressive Yan Liqiang was or how valuable this secret technique was and taking it for granted instead. Yan Liqiang had really been one lucky bastard. Had there been any nasty people amongst them, then they would have sabotaged him out of jealousy after learning the secret technique, and possibly gone around destroying his reputation.

This was Yan Liqiang’s conclusion based on the experiences he had accumulated throughout his past life. Being a great person not only required one to work hard but also one to work smart. Sometimes, you have to pretend when it is time to do so. If you don’t, it might turn out badly instead. Most people were suckers when it came to this.

...

Yan Liqiang only walked for less than a minute with Head Steward Lu’s leading before arriving at Peony Hall of the Lu Residence.

This Peony Hall should be the place where the Lu Clan would receive their important guests. It was a secluded area, with a garden built right outside filled with peonies. All the furnishings in that room were extravagant and refined.

The moment that Yan Liqiang walked into the Peony Hall, his stomach growled. The growling noises were so loud that they sounded just like a toad croaking, and even Head Steward Lu who was just beside him could hear it.

Head Steward Lu apologized. “Please forgive us for being such inconsiderate hosts today! Take a seat here, Young Master Yan, I will arrange for dinner to be prepared for you at once!”

Yan Liqiang only smiled and nodded, but didn’t decline because he was indeed hungry. He had spent the day walking around the county town of Huanglong County and was worn out. His initial thought was to return to the Weaponsmiths Quarter for dinner, but he hadn’t expected to have gotten involved in this incident. Two or three hours had passed by just like that. He didn’t even feel any fatigue when he was busy rescuing the child just now, but now that he could relax, he was so hungry that it felt as though his front was sticking to his back [1].

Head Steward Lu left Peony Hall to arrange for Yan Liqiang’s dinner, then returned the very next moment. He stayed in the Peony Hall to keep Yan Liqiang company and chatted with him, as it was proper etiquette.

Head Steward Lu was someone who became wiser as he aged. He chatted with Yan Liqiang and praised him greatly. The topic of their conversation eventually shifted to Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang didn’t try to hide anything either because he couldn’t do it at all. So, he went with the flow and told Head Steward Lu all the things that he could say about his situation back at home.

These weren’t the kind of things that could be hidden and there was nothing for him to hide anyway. That was because his hometown was in Qinghe County, which was just adjacent to Huanglong County. If the Lu Clan really wanted to learn about him, they could easily send a Steward out there to gather information on him and they would find out everything there was to learn about him.

As two of them were talking, within a short while, Yan Liqiang’s dinner had arrived.

Although it was called a dinner, it was more like a feast.

A few bulky-looking Lu Clan servants moved in a huge round table and placed it in the middle of Peony Hall. Following suit, maids that were dressed up like beautiful butterflies served up a variety of appetizing dishes. In just the blink of an eye, the table in front of Yan Liqiang was filled with fragrant dishes. There were more than twenty dishes and their aroma permeated throughout the room. There were also a few bottles of decades-old aged fine wine.

With the exception of two dishes, Yan Liqiang had not been able to identify any of the others on the table Of those two dishes, one of them was a thick bear paw.

A steamed bear paw wasn’t a dish that could be prepared under such short notice as it required the better half of day to prepare. For the Lu Clan to have been able to serve this up at such speed, it was evident that this was a dish that was frequently served within the Lu Clan’s kitchen. It was quite possible that they had a few bear paws steaming in the kitchen every day so they could request for it to be served whenever they wanted.

Yan Liqiang hadn’t even seen this kind of sumptuous high-end dish more than once in his past life, much less in this life.

This entire table was full of dishes that were truly too wasteful and extravagant for Yan Liqiang to enjoy alone.

“Young Master Yan, please enjoy your meal!” Head Steward Lu politely gestured to invite him to help himself to the food.

Yan Liqiang held the chopsticks that were made out of elephant tusk with silver patterns carved on them, not knowing why his tears were rolling down his face while looking at the table that was filled with dishes.

...

Head Steward Lu was slightly shocked. “Is Young Master Yan not satisfied with the dishes that have been served? If you aren’t happy with it, I will have someone serve you something else!”

“Oh no, that’s not it!” Yan Liqiang wiped his tears. “This is embarrassing, Head Steward Lu. I am only suddenly remembering my father back at home. He’s been forging every day to earn a living. For over more than ten years, he has been waking up early and going to bed late, scrimping and saving for the sake of allowing me to practice my martial arts. He is usually reluctant to eat any meat and only gave them all to me. I think he has probably never eaten a sumptuous meal like this in his entire life so I couldn’t help feeling emotional!”

Head Steward Lu didn’t laugh upon hearing this, rather he stared at Yan Liqiang deeply. Along with the tone of his voice, the gaze on Yan Liqiang instantly softened by a lot. “Young Master Yan, there’s no need to be so emotional. After today, Young Master Yan’s father will no longer need to bear such hardships!”

...

Yan Liqiang ate for about half an hour and was able to finish about half of the dishes served on the table all by himself.

Over the days he had spent cultivating the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Manual, especially after he had passed the Horse Stance stage, Yan Liqiang’s appetite had gradually grown bigger. Especially when faced with such a sumptuous meal, Yan Liqiang wouldn’t hold back in the least and immediately stuffed himself to the fullest.

Yan Liqiang only ate the food and didn’t drink any wine. After finishing his meal, the maid served him tea and fruits.

After he was done with the fruits and had a bit of the tea, only then were the dishes on the table cleared away.

But as soon as the dishes were cleared away, something else was carried in.

The servants of the Lu Clan brought forth two heavy chests in and placed them on the table. Head Steward Lu then proceeded to open the chests, revealing the two chests to be full of gold bars that shimmered and dazzled under the candlelight. They were so blinding that Yan Liqiang had to involuntarily squint his eyes.

As Yan Liqiang was estimating the amount of gold that was within the chests, Old Master Lu entered from outside with a smile.

...

Chapter 28: Power Must Not Be Exhausted

Yan Liqiang stood up and paid his respects to the Old Master of the Lu Clan. “Greetings, Old Master Lu!”

“Young Master Yan, please! Sit down, sit down. There’s no need to be so polite. Hahaha!” Old Master Lu was in a jovial mood. After courteously ushering Yan Liqiang to take a seat, only then did he take his place on the master seat next to Yan Liqiang. “Had it not been for Young Master Yan’s technique in reversing today’s desperate situation, my beloved grandson would have been separated from me in death. To see one’s child pass on before they do, I can’t even imagine how many people in our clan would have their hearts broken. The Lu Clan will forever remember the kindness that Young Master Yan has bestowed upon us. As for the one thousand taels of gold, it is but a small token of our gratitude. I hope Young Master Yan will not decline!”

“Thank you, Old Master Lu!”

“You’re welcome. Don’t mention it. I should be the one to thank you instead. How could the life of a Lu Clan member ever be compared to these insignificant pieces of gold? Hahahaha...”

In that moment, Yan Liqiang did not put on any pretense. His own father was still living a frugal life back home as a blacksmith, if he were to act noble and virtuous now when faced with the riches placed before him, allowing his father to continue to eating salted vegetables, how was he any better than a dog or a pig? What kind of reputation would a person have if they were willing to abandon even their own parents?

Despite this, the fact remained that the one thousand taels of gold rewarded by the Lu Clan was indeed a large sum. Regardless of whether it was in his previous life or his current lifetime, this was a sum of money that Yan Liqiang had never possessed. The money he required in order to improve the conditions of his home for the better was certainly not to this extent. Moreover, he had formed ties with the Lu Clan, who now owed him a favor. How could such a relationship ever be compared to mere pieces of gold? There was a good saying that said, ‘Power must not be exhausted and blessings must not be enjoyed to the fullest. Otherwise, disaster will befall you once your strength is exhausted and you’ll be fated to succumb to isolation once your fortune is gone.’ These were all words of wisdom.

He had kept his head down and worked hard to painstakingly pulled the plow towards his chosen path. But now, it was time for him to look up ahead so he would not lose sight of his goal.

From Yan Liqiang’s point of view, the current Old Master Lu was no different from those super big customers he’d met in his previous life. He decided he had to maintain the relationship that he had forged with the Lu Clan, after all, there was nothing wrong in looking long term.

“Old Master Lu, honestly speaking, although I did contribute something today, it was also due to the profound blessing of your grandchild and the Lu Clan. You’ve all been blessed by the Heavens, which is why a deity appeared in my dreams to impart the method for this treatment. I’m sure that the deity wanted to borrow my hands to do this deed. My own efforts were honestly too insignificant to be mentioned...”

As Yan Liqiang spoke, he carefully observed the expression on the Lu Clan’s Old Master Lu’s face. Sure enough, the results were just as he’d expected. Upon hearing what Yan Liqiang had to say, Old Master Lu’s face reddened all over, and his entire being appeared overwhelmed with happiness. He found Yan Liqiang’s words to be extremely pleasing to the ears and Yan Liqiang self to be even more pleasing to the eye.

“Young Master Yan is too humble! Too humble!” Old Master Lu stroked his beard and continued, “There are billions of people inhabiting this world. Why would the deity visit only Young Master’s dreams and his alone? This proves that Young Master Yan is also a man with a profound blessing, and has been brought to the Lu Clan by fate. Otherwise, our household steward wouldn’t have come across Young Master Yan by chance upon reaching Shiqiao Town. This is all through the will of Heaven!”

“Old Master Lu is right!” Yan Liqiang smiled while shaking his head. “But the amount of gold you’re presenting to me is too much, I’ll only accept half. If I were to lust for more then I’d be claiming credit for someone else’s achievement, I’d never be able to get a good night’s sleep!”

Upon hearing Yan Liqiang state that he only would accept half of the gold, it wasn’t only Old Master Lu who was stunned by the remark, even Head Steward Lu who was standing by his side was taken back. It’s important to note that in this world, common households could not earn even one hundred taels of gold in their entire lifetime. Yet in the face of such riches, Yan Liqiang, a young man at the age of fourteen, could actually calmly refuse half of the profits that he gained. And this half that he had refused was five hundred taels of gold...

“Young Master Yan, you said you only would accept half?” Old Master Lu looked strangely at Yan Liqiang. It was as though he wanted to confirm that Yan Liqiang was not saying nonsense.

“Half of it is indeed more than enough...” sighed Yan Liqiang. “When I saw the table full of delicacies during the meal just now, I thought back to my father who worked to forge iron at home, living a frugal life. I couldn’t help but tear up at the thought. With these five hundred taels of gold, I can now buy a hundred mu of land for my family at home. I can provide for my father so he can enjoy his life in retirement. My father can stop working himself to death at the workshop every day, He can live and enjoy life as it is. My household is small and my father and I rely on each other for survival, so we don’t spend much. Just these five hundred gold taels would be more than enough for us. If we have too much money, then I fear it will bring disaster instead of fortune!”

To be able to hear such words and to witness such a display of wisdom from a youth only fourteen years of age, this caused Old Master Lu to view Yan Liqiang in a different light. He stroked his beard and grunted, gradually nodding his head. “It’s rare to see a man like Young Master Yan possess such filial piety and insight. These gold taels were originally supposed to be a small token of gratitude from the Lu Clan to Young Master Yan. If it is as Young Master Yan says, that being in the possession of this small amount of gratitude would cause Young Master Yan to be targeted by evil-doers, then it would seem that I really did not think this through!”

“Thank you, Old Master Lu for understanding!” Yan Liqiang cupped his hands in salute before Old Master Lu.

Sometimes, wealth was no different from the goods stored in a ship. For an individual, having more money didn’t necessarily mean that things would be better. It was still important to look at the situations of each and every individual to determine whether or not they had the capability to cope. Some large ships had no issues with pulling anywhere from a couple of tons to a few kilotons of goods, or even thousands upon thousands of tons. Yet, for some smaller ships, when an item weighing a ton was placed on it, it would sink immediately. Thus, for the Lu Clan, perhaps one thousand gold taels didn’t account for much, however, for ordinary folks, it was a hefty sum, so those of ordinary status might not be able to cope with it.

Old Master Lu asked another question, “Young Master Yan, is it possible that you’re training in martial arts as well?”

Yan Liqiang nodded.

“Then has Young Master Yan ever heard of Headmaster Song Tianhao, from Dragon Flag Martial Arts Academy of Pingxi City?”

“It’s only natural that I’ve heard of him. Headmaster Song from Pingxi City’s Dragon Flag Martial Arts Academy; he’s a famous Martial Warrior as well as a great teacher from within the prefecture. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been aware of Headmaster Song’s name in the Qinghe County. Rumor has it that Headmaster Song has a secret technique that allows for martial practitioners to pass the Horse Stance stage in just several painstaking years of training!”

Old Master Lu smiled, his eyes squinting as he gazed at Yan Liqiang. “Correct. Not bad, not bad! You’re pretty good. Headmaster Song has a secret technique known as the Essence Unifying Post stance. He also knows how to refine the Essence Nurturing Pill, a specialized pill. If a martial arts practitioner training in the Horse Stance practices Headmaster Song’s Essence Unifying Post stance and uses the Essence Nurturing Pill, with several years of hard work, they would be able to break through the Horse Stance stage. Upon passing this stage, the subsequent Stretching Tendon and Extending Bone stages wouldn’t be difficult to achieve. If they can endure the hard work and pass these two stages. if they also have the aptitude for it, then there is a chance they can establish their Dantian, and thus succeed in completing their foundation to become a Martial Warrior. In this specific instance, achieving future meteoric success will naturally be easy to accomplish. For many years now, my Lu Clan has maintained a friendship with Headmaster Song. We have a good relationship with one another and quite a number of our Lu Clan children have acknowledged Headmaster Song as their master. If Young Master Yan agrees, I am willing to help make arrangements and request that Headmaster Song accepts you as his disciple. He’ll pour his heart and soul into imparting the Essence Unifying Post stance to you. I can guarantee that he will supply you with the Essence Nurturing Pill as well. The Song Clan won’t dare to say anything else. But if Young Master Yan can bear the hardships, it won’t take more than a couple of years to pass the Horse Stance stage. Then there’ll be a chance that you’ll advance as a Martial Warrior in the future...”

Yan Liqiang knew this was just an excuse by the Lu Clan to express their gratitude. In order to acknowledge Song Tianhao as his master, he’d require a hundred gold taels at the very least. As for the Essence Nurturing Pill, this was also Yan Liqiang’s first time hearing of it. He reckoned that it wouldn’t be cheap as well.

“Thank you, Old Master Lu, for your concern! But I’ve already passed the Horse Stance stage, so there’s really no need to trouble Headmaster Song!”

“What?” This time, both Old Master Lu and Steward Lu were caught by surprise and even felt some shock from hearing his reply. For the average person, being able to pass the Horse Stance stage by the age of eighteen meant that they could be considered talented. On the other hand, Yan Liqiang was no more than fourteen or fifteen years of age, so how could he have passed the Horse Stance stage? It was too amazing.

From the moment Yan Liqiang had first arrived at the Lu Residence to the current point in time, the two of them were unable to discern whether Yan Liqiang had passed the Horse Stance stage. If what he said was true, then they needed to thoroughly reassess the young man before them.

Old Master Lu’s eyes lit up and shone. He sized Yan Liqiang up with a serious expression, and then suddenly reached out a hand towards the center of the small side table. “I’m honestly curious. Young Master Yan, would you care to have a test of strength with me?”

After passing the Horse Stance stage, the great tendons in an individual’s thighs would be like a dragon, where their force would be released from their feet. Their entire being would achieve a state of unity of the horse and waist. Even if the individual were to remain still, the force from the feet, waist, and back could be circulated to the hands. This would allow the hands to gain an immense and volatile power within a narrow range, thus giving rise to an explosive force. By suggesting a test of strength, Old Master Lu really meant to test the explosive force which Yan Liqiang had attained after passing the Horse Stance stage.

“Of course I would...” Yan Liqiang smiled; he had also extended his hand across the small side table, moving it closer to Old Master Lu’s palm. He stopped when the two hands were about two fingers apart, roughly an inch away from each other.

Both palms were very close to one another, close enough to feel the heat gradually being emitted from their opponent’s palms.

“Young Master Yan, please!”

Old Master Lu had to maintain his reputation, so naturally, he wouldn’t make the first move.

Since he had been invited to do so, Yan Liqiang did not hesitate. He exerted a quarter of his strength and immediately struck his palm towards Old Master Lu’s.

A dull thud emanated from the room. Old Master Lu did not budge an inch, causing Yan Liqiang to smile as he withdrew his palm.

“Good...good...good...” Old Master Lu was ecstatic. After withdrawing his palm, he kept repeating the word, ‘good’ continuously. “I never expected Young Master Yan would be able to pass the Horse Stance stage at such a young age. For decades, not many people in the entirety of Huanglong County were able to pass the stage at your age. Young Master Yan is truly a martial arts prodigy!”

“Old Master Lu is being too polite! I was just lucky. By the way, I would like to know if the physicians that the Lu Clan hired are still present in the manor?”

“Hahaha! Of course, those physicians are still in the manor. They have yet to leave and have been scratching their heads, each of them grumpy and burning with impatience to ask for the method Young Master Yan used to save our child. But Young Master Yan need not worry. Our Lu Clan will definitely guard your secret life-saving technique!”

As the saying goes, when you have the skills, you can eat your fill. If this technique to save drowned victims were to remain a secret, then Yan Liqiang could eat his fill anywhere in the world. He could earn a living with this alone. During the summer, of the people living in the villages and towns, how many of them would drown in the pools and rivers of Huanglong County every year? Moreover, other places were in the same boat as well.

“I’d like to request for Old Master Lu to call those physicians over for a while. I would like to have some words with them!”

Although Old Master Lu didn’t understand Yan Liqiang’s intention, he still cast a glance at Steward Lu, who immediately went to make the arrangements.

By the time the physicians had arrived at Peony Hall, by Steward Lu’s order, the servants had already put away the gold in the main hall.

When they were brought to Yan Liqiang again, every single one of those physicians was overcome with excitement.

But before the physicians could speak, Yan Liqiang said in a direct and straightforward manner, “I know what everyone wants to ask. After the drowned victim is rescued, you will still need to provide emergency treatment first. Make them vomit out the water, then perform chest compressions as well as mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. If these emergency treatments are incapable of providing any results, and the victims had drowned within a day, then there is still a chance to save them. The method to do so is actually quite simple. It is to perform moxibustion on the Shenque acupoint, which is the navel. I was imparted the knowledge for this method through a deity who came to me in my dreams. Now in the presence of Old Master Lu, I shall then impart this technique to the physicians here. I hope every one of you can use this technique to show benevolence, and perform more good deeds...”

Upon hearing Yan Liqiang directly explain the secret technique to save drowned people, some of the physicians were shocked by the revelation, while some of them fell into deep thought. Soon after, Yan Liqiang turned his gaze back towards Old Master Lu. “Old Master Lu, this method to save a person’s life wasn’t mine to begin with. The reason I had that dream was probably because the deity couldn’t bear to see the heartlessness of the rivers, and intended to borrow my hand to make this method well known so more people can be saved. There is no need for the Lu Clan to protect this secret for me. Do your best to pass on this method to the surrounding villages and let more people know the better!”

Old Master Lu was emotionally moved by Yan Liqiang’s decision. “Young Master Yan, please do not worry. Our Lu Clan has received such benevolence, we will definitely spread this method around so that it can benefit others...”

Chapter 29: The First Signs of Danger

When Yan Liqiang left the Lu Residence, he sat in Old Master Lu’s personal luxurious horse carriage, a completely different way than how he had arrived at the Lu Residence earlier.

Head Steward Lu personally sent Yan Liqiang off, they were escorted by two guards from the Lu Clan on their rhinodrake steeds.

The sun had just set, before arriving at the Lu Residence. But now, as he was leaving the Lu Residence, the sky outside had already been decorated with countless stars.

They were sending him off in a horse carriage as a sign of courtesy and respect, but more so because Yan Liqiang was carrying the five hundred taels of gold that the Lu Clan had rewarded him. It would be inconvenient for him to have a rhinodrake steed carry the fully loaded chest.

He opened the chest and took out a shiny gold bar. It felt heavy and cold to the touch while giving off an indescribable sense of security in Yan Liqiang’s heart as he held it in his hands.

Regardless of his past or current life, this was Yan Liqiang’s first time possessing such a large amount of wealth. These shimmering gold things had caused so many people in this world to shed blood, lay down their lives, or even become a self-centered deranged person incapable of recognizing their own family and relatives.

The valuable gold bars on one side, with cheap moxa sticks on the other. It was a human life that had put an equal sign between a couple of moxa sticks and the chest that was filled with no less than five hundred taels of gold in front of him.

In this world, there were many times where things could be fantastic.

Who could truly determine whether or not valuables were truly valuable, or the cheap was truly cheap?

When he thought back to the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Manual that he had bought from the street stall, Yan Liqiang who was currently rubbing the gold bar in his hand sighed to himself.

The emotions and excitement that the gold bars had stirred up within Yan Liqiang lasted a lot shorter than he had expected, the horse carriage had only just exited the entrance of Lu Residence. Looking down at the gold bar in his hand again, Yan Liqiang had calmed down compared to before. He then grabbed a handful of gold bars from the chest, about five or six of them; without even counting, shoved them into the arms of Stewart Lu Wenbin, who was escorting him back and currently sitting across from him.

Aside from Yan Liqiang, Steward Lu was also very excited at this same moment.

The Lu Clan had sent out twelve stewards to all corners of Huanglong County in search for help. And he ended up being the one who had brought Yan Liqiang back, contrary to the other stewards who had returned empty-handed. He did not expect that Yan Liqiang, whom he had brought home, would manage to miraculously save the child in the end.

Although Head Steward Lu had yet to say a word, Steward Lu could already see that better days for him in the Lu Clan were right around the corner.

While still immersed in his own fantasy, Steward Lu suddenly felt something heavy being pushed into his arms. As he lowered his head to look, he discovered that Yan Liqiang had shoved a handful of gold bars into his arms, giving Steward Lu’s heart a sudden shock.

“Young Master Yan, I couldn’t possibly accept this...” Steward Lu lowered his voice and tried to return the gold bars to Yan Liqiang.

However, Yan Liqiang pressed Steward Lu’s hands back to him and spoke to him in an equally lowered voice, “Steward Lu, if it wasn’t for you for bringing me to the Lu Residence, I wouldn’t have been given this opportunity. In fact, I still owe you my gratitude. Therefore, these gold bars are also partly thanks to you, so we should share them. There’s no reason for you to refuse since you deserve it...”

“No, no. This is something Old Master has bestowed upon Young Master Yan...” Steward Lu shoved the gold bars back towards Yan Liqiang.

“The things that Old Master Lu had bestowed upon me are mine, so I can do whatever I want with them. You don’t have to worry, Steward Lu...” Yan Liqiang shoved the gold bars back to Steward Lu.

“W-Well...”

“If Steward Lu insists on refusing it, it would be bad if the people outside overheard us. Aren’t you supposed to be working dedicatedly in the Lu Residence for the sake of providing your family with a better life? Yet, here I am giving you something openly and honestly with sincerity as courtesy calls for reciprocity. And I’m not worried even if Old Master Hong were to find out about this, so what are you worrying about, Steward Lu?”

He wasn’t certain if it was his sincerity or his words that had moved Steward Lu. But regardless of which, Steward Lu looked at the shiny gold bars that were in his arms, then looked at the smile on Yan Liqiang’s face. In the end, he finally ceased his attempts to push away the gold bars and instead very gratefully smiled. He swallowed hard before stuffing the gold bars into the front of his clothes. “Then... Lu Wenbin thanks Young Master Yan for the gift...”

“You’re welcome. Ever since I was young, my father has taught me that great things are achieved through mass effort. Without the efforts of Steward Lu, I wouldn’t have received these rewards and Old Master Lu’s grandchild wouldn’t have been saved. This is the least I can do...” The smile on Yan Liqiang’s face grew more sincere and amiable.

Steward Lu secretly sighed in amazement. This fourteen-year-old youth was really great in his manners. It really didn’t seem like he was a youth but a seasoned mature adult. No wonder why Old Master had personally sent him off to the entrance of the manor. Only a distinguished, honored guest would have the privilege to receive such treatment in the Lu Residence. If the current Yan Liqiang was already a person of such caliber, he couldn’t imagine how he would be like in the future.

With their intention of making friends with each other clear, Yan Liqiang and Steward Lu chatted enthusiastically with each other and in just the blink of an eye, their friendship quickly deepened.

...

After Yan Liqiang’s departure from the Lu Residence in the horse carriage, Old Master Lu and Head Steward Lu once again returned to Peony Hall.

When both of them sat down, the maid served up some freshly brewed tea for them before obediently withdrawing from the room.

The two of them started to discuss the incident that happened today. After a few exchanges, Old Master Lu suddenly asked Head Steward Lu a question, “Little Seventh, what is your impression of that youth, Yan Liqiang?”

“This youth appears to be upright and honorable, he is definitely not a treacherous individual. In addition to that, the way he treats people is wise and earnest for his age and is very adaptable. Not only that but he has also passed the Horse Stance stage and possesses a strength that is beyond the measure of ordinary people. From this point alone, no youths aged fourteen to eighteen in the manor can be compared to him. In my opinion, it is unlikely for this boy to be just an average individual in the future, however...”

The hand that Old Master Lu was holding the teacup with jerked slightly. “What is it?”

“This boy claims that Liuhe Town within Qinghe County is his hometown and that he has been living with his father. However, from what I have seen today, if this boy has really been staying in his hometown over these years, he would have gained a great reputation there since long ago from the skills he had displayed to us today instead of being a nobody. Huanglong County and Qinghe County are neighbors and the Lu Clan has constantly kept an eye out for talented youths among their neighbors. Yet we have never heard of his name, so I find that a little odd!”

“You think that he is lying?”

“Or perhaps he is in some circumstances that we don’t know about!”

Old Master Lu swept the teacup’s cover over the teacup twice. “Well then, I suppose we’ll know once we send someone to ask around in Huanglong County tomorrow. Try to get more details about Yan Liqiang’s background. I’ll leave this to you, Little Seventh, I’d be worried if this was left in the hands of someone else!”

“Understood. Rest assured, Old Master, I will definitely see this to the end!” After finishing his sentence, Head Steward Lu lifted his head to look at Old Master Lu and asked, “Out of curiosity, why is Old Master so interested in this youth?”

Old Master Lu’s face broke into a smile. “What do you think about Yan Liqiang and Bei’er being together?”

“Ninth Lady...” An astonished look appeared on Head Steward Lu’s face. He was seemingly unprepared for Old Master Lu to suddenly jump so far ahead in his thoughts. The Ninth Lady, Bei’er, was the Old Master’s most beloved daughter whom he had sired at his late age. She was the one he had doted on the most. Head Steward Lu was stunned for a moment but soon recovered. “But Ninth Lady is already nineteen years old, whereas Yan Liqiang is only fourteen years old. This age gap is...”

“The year before the last, I had Grandma Steel Beak from the county town perform a divination on Bei’er’s marriage. Her response to me was that Bei’er, who is born in the year of Xin You [1] is matched to a man who is born in the year of Bing Chen [2], and that they would be a match made in heaven. A marriage of love will be the most auspicious match. Yan Liqiang is fourteen years old this year, and it just so happens that he is born in the year of Bing Chen so he will be most suitable for Bei’er. Putting aside his achievements in the future, he has a very generous and kind heart and isn’t someone who is fickle, ungrateful and treacherous. He will certainly be a good marriage candidate for Bei’er. Even if he can’t achieve much in the future, I can still be at ease because Bei’er definitely won’t be suffering if she is with him...” Speaking up to this point, Old Master Lu paused before he continued resolutely, “Even if Bei’er is a little older, I don’t see any issues with that since she is the daughter to the Lu Clan...”

Yan Liqiang had no idea, that apart from saving a life during his trip to the Lu Residence, he had also gained the ‘approval’ of Old Master Lu...

“Yan Liqiang told me that Qian Su is his uncle. I’ll find a time to have a good chat with Qian Su during his next visit to the Drunken Fragrance Inn...”

“Not you. It would be too obvious if you were to go. Let Peien go instead. He frequents the Drunken Fragrance Inn so it would be normal for him to run into Qian Su without appearing too deliberate...”

“Understood...”

...

By the time Yan Liqiang got off the Lu Clan’s lavish private carriage at the Weaponsmiths Quarter, he and Lu Wenbin had pretty much become great friends despite their age gap. From Lu Wenbin, Yan Liqiang had come to know more about the Lu Clan and had gained a whole new understanding of them. He was already made well aware of the important figures within the Lu Clan and the connections between them instead of being clueless as before and only relying on hearsay.

Yan Liqiang got off the carriage with the chest full of gold bars and Steward Lu also got off the carriage to bid Yan Liqiang farewell.

This two-wheeled horse carriage was fine if used for short journeys, however, one would start to feel uncomfortable as time went by. On such a bumpy road, regardless of how well decorated the carriage was or how many cushions were in it, it would still be uncomfortable to ride in. It was even worse than a bullock cart. Due to the slow speed of a bullock cart, the shakiness wasn’t that bad compared to a galloping horse carriage.

“Oh right, Steward Lu. Why doesn’t the Old Master get himself a four-wheeled carriage for outings? With the Lu Clan’s financial resources, he can surely get a four-wheeled carriage for himself with just a word. It will be really a lot more comfortable...” Yan Liqiang casually asked Steward Lu when they were bidding farewell to each other, since he had grown closer to him by now.

“Haha, where can you find a four-wheeled horse carriage...?” Steward Lu was laughing loudly as he shook his head. It was as though he had just heard something hilarious. “How is it possible for someone as bright as Young Master Yan to be confused about this kind of thing? If a horse carriage has four wheels, how would it be possible for it to turn?!”

“Turn? What’s so hard about it? Isn’t it just...” Yan Liqiang froze abruptly as he spoke because he understood why there were no four-wheeled horse carriages in this era. Among all the carriages that he had seen, their wheels were affixed to the frame. This made it easy for two affixed wheels to change direction, but very difficult to turn if there were four wheels.

He was so used to seeing four-wheeled vehicles in his past life that he had always thought of it as nothing out of the ordinary. Yet he didn’t expect that two-wheeled carriages with affixed wheels would be taken for granted in this world.

“Young Master Yan, do you have any other issues?” Steward Lu asked when he saw Yan Liqiang standing in a daze.

“Oh. No. Nothing else!” Yan Liqiang snapped out of his trace immediately. “Thank you for sending me off, Steward Lu. Please return safely!”

“Alright, I shall take my leave then!”

...

After Steward Lu and the guards from Lu Clan leave, Yan Liqiang shook his head and then self-deprecatingly laughed before making his way towards the entrance of the Weaponsmiths Quarter.

Upon taking a few steps, Yan Liqiang’s expression soon turned into a frown. All of a sudden, his heart swelled with an intense sensation, it made him feel like he was being secretly watched by someone.

The main entrance of the Weaponsmiths Quarter faced the main road. The sky had already darkened and the road was nearly deserted. On either side of the main road were patches of corn fields. The corn that filled the fields reached the height of a human. There was a hill not too far away that was surrounded by a eucalyptus forest. Due to the darkness, everything in the distance was hazy, rendering Yan Liqiang incapable of determining where the peeping gaze was coming from.

Regardless, the feeling of being secretly watched by someone was definitely an extremely uncomfortable one. Yan Liqiang felt as though he was being preyed on by a ferocious viper, one that was seemingly ready to pounce on him at a moment’s notice. It also seemed to be eager in trying to do so, which caused the hair at the back of Yan Liqiang’s neck to stand up.

The intensity of this abrupt sense of crisis made Yan Liqiang’s heart race. Even his palms were slightly sweaty and his throat a bit parched. But he didn’t look around, instead, he swallowed hard and continued to walk at a steady pace towards the entrance of Weaponsmiths Quarter that was about twenty meters away.

The soldiers who were guarding the Weaponsmiths Quarter greeted Yan Liqiang warmly upon seeing his return. Yan Liqiang also returned the gesture with a smile.

Yan Liqiang waited until he stepped into the main entrance of the Weaponsmiths Quarter, then proceeded to walk straight for a distance before stepping onto a path inside of the Weaponsmiths Quarter. It was only then that he could feel the restlessness that was just there moments before had now vanished as if it had been suddenly cut off...

Chapter 30: Preparations

After turning the corner, Yan Liqiang realized that his back had been completely drenched in cold sweat.

There was an air vent at this corner. The wind emitted from the vent chilled the cold sweat on his back, causing him to quiver involuntarily.

Although he didn’t appear uneasy from a distance away a moment ago, he was actually extremely nervous on the inside due to the fact that he could feel the ill and vengeful gaze on him. He wasn’t sure if the person who was hidden in the darkness would jump out unexpectedly and land a fatal blow on him, or shoot an arrow from the cornfield or Eucalyptus forest.

Had it been back then, Yan Liqiang certainly wouldn’t have been able to discover whether someone was spying on him, let alone sense the deep malice in their eyes. However, after practicing the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Manual, the restless feeling he had just now was exceptionally distinct. All of Yan Liqiang’s nerves tensed up from the stare and his consciousness was instinctively sending him warnings. Even Yan Liqiang himself didn’t even know how he had managed to calmly make his way over here.

Since an early age, he hardly had any enemies other than the Hong Clan. Although he used to have some conflicts with other children of a similar age in town, that was just their youthful spirit and it hardly meant anything. Perhaps he wasn’t really that likable, but he had never made any enemies either. At most, he lacked popularity. Hence, other than the Hong Clan, it was impossible that there would be anyone else that would chase after him from Qinghe County all the way to Huanglong County.

He knew that person hiding outside was not someone from the Hong Clan either as he knew that no one among the Hong Clan possessed a strong aura so strong that it could give him such a great sense of danger. Hence, the person hiding outside just now was a fighter... or perhaps an assassin hired by the Hong Clan....

There were many ways for a person to die. For assassins, they had a plethora of ways to covertly kill a person without making it seem as though it was homicide. Oftentimes, the government wouldn’t pay attention to the death of an average youth like him without any solid evidence.

His departure from Liuhe Town was no secret. A large number of people had witnessed him entering the boat at the dock of Qinghe County and exiting at the dock of Huanglong County. It wouldn’t be difficult for the Hong Clan if they had really intended to look for him.

However, Yan Liqiang didn’t expect that even though he had only left Liuhe Town for merely half a month, the people working for the Hong Clan had already chased after him all the way to this point.

This survival crisis had pressured Yan Liqiang to the extent that he felt slightly suffocated. He clenched his fist tightly in order to feel the strength within his fist before touching the packet of saltpeter in his arms. After feeling that his heart slightly calmed down, took a deep breath and continued walking towards Qian Su’s courtyard.

...

As Yan Liqiang had predicted, Qian Su had already been waiting for him in his courtyard in a seemingly displeased manner.

Qian Su dashed over as soon as Yan Liqiang walked in. He inspected Yan Liqiang from head to toe with a strange gaze before bluntly questioning him, “Lu Clan had their people coming over to inform me that you’ve visited the Lu Residence. Since when had your father formed ties with Lu Clan? Why didn’t you tell me? Before leaving the Weaponsmiths Quarter, why didn’t you inform me that you were going to the Lu Residence?”

Yan Liqiang knew that Lu Clan wouldn’t explain the situation in detail, thus causing Qian Su to misunderstand. Hence, he recounted the entire story of his encounter with the Lu Clan. Other than the part where he had gone to buy the saltpeter, he didn’t hide anything from him.

As expected, Qian Su’s displeased expression was immediately replaced with a dumbfounded one as he heard Yan Liqiang’s explanation. This was especially true upon hearing that Yan Liqiang had revived the child of Lu Clan who had left a number of physicians feeling helpless due to the fact that he had been drowned for six to seven hours. Amusingly, Qian Su’s face was a marvelous sight to behold. It was practically akin to the Sichuan opera’s unique Face Changing show; constantly displaying all sorts of different expressions.

“You aren’t lying to me, are you?”

Yan Liqiang immediately opened the chest in his hands right before Qian Su in order to show him the gold bars within. “This was given to me by Old Master Lu. A steward from Lu Clan had also personally escorted me here in Old Master Lu’s carriage just now. Do you think I’m lying to you, Uncle Qian?”

As he gazed at the gold in wide-eyed wonder, Qian Su was left so completely dumbfounded he lost his ability to speak. After a period of roughly ten seconds, Qian Su’s expression changed. Following this, he spoke to Yan Liqiang with an expression of pain and surprise, “Does performing moxibustion above the belly button really work?”

Yan Liqiang helplessly unfolded his arms, “I wasn’t sure either before I arrived at the Lu Residence. After all, there wasn’t a guaranteed success in saving a life even for an immortal. Luckily, it was a success this time around and someone’s life had been saved!”

“Had someone really informed you of this method in your dream?”

“Uncle Qian, I’ve practically never left Qinghe County my entire life. This method has also never appeared before. If this hadn’t come from my dream, how could I possibly have come up with such a thing just by racking my brains...?” Yan Liqiang sincerely looked at Qian Su. To him, the memories and experiences of his past life were just a dream. He reckoned that even if he were to claim that he had gained these experiences and knowledge from his dream, it wouldn’t be an issue even if he were to be inspected by the most advanced lie detector.

“That’s strange.....” Qian Su circled around Yan Liqiang twice before reluctantly accepting Yan Liqiang’s explanation. “By the way, why had you only accepted half of the one thousand taels of gold bars that the Lu Clan had given you?? The other half that you hadn’t accepted was an entire five hundred taels of gold bars!”

“Could it be that Uncle Qian believes that the favor that Lu Clan owes me is worth more than five hundred taels of gold?” Yan Liqiang questioned.

“I really don’t understand how Yan Dechang has a son like you!” Qian Su sighed and eventually stopped talking, “If you trust me, you can leave these gold bars here with me. I’ll keep them safe for you!”

Yan Liqiang smiled, “Why wouldn’t I trust you? Even if Uncle Qian hadn’t mentioned it, I was planning to hand these gold bars to you for safekeeping anyways. It’s not very convenient to keep them in my courtyard. If Uncle Qian requires it, you can go ahead and spend it. Treat it as a token of appreciation from me to you!”

Qian Su shook his head and forced a smile. He closed the chest and murmured to himself before saying to Yan Liqiang, “You’ve abruptly gotten yourself involved in this incident at the Lu Residence today. I reckon that you’ll be known by the entire Huanglong County in less than two days. If you don’t wish to encounter any more trouble, you should stay within the quarter in these few days. Don’t wander around outside as you please! Oh, by the way, I’ve ordered someone to deliver two quivers of arrows to you. You can spend the following few days practicing archery in the Weaponsmiths Quarter if you have nothing else to do. It would be fantastic if you could master it...”

“I’ll listen to Uncle Qian. I won’t go out for the following few days!” Yan Liqiang replied in an obedient manner.

“Good! You have done enough today as well. Go back and have a good rest!”

“Uncle Qian, have a good rest too!”

...

After explaining to Qian Su and leaving behind the chest of gold bars, Yan Liqiang left for his own courtyard with empty hands.

The Horned Python Bow was too big of a target. Even if the Horned Python Bow was priceless, no one would be able to take it away from his courtyard. However, it was a totally different case for the gold bars due to the fact that it could easily be taken. His experiences from his past life had taught him not to trust the human nature and not to demand everyone to be like Lei Feng [1]. He had recalled seeing statistics which had recorded the fact that more than twenty percent of murder cases occurred between acquaintances and friends.

Oftentimes, human nature wouldn’t be able to survive in the face of any tests. Humankind possessed a kind side, also known as their nature. However, it also possessed an ugly side, which was innate. They also possess a side that follows the flow, and this is called adaptation. The personalities of most people were a combination of these sides. The words and phrases that the old ancestors of China had created long ago had clearly illustrated the human nature. As Qian Su managed the Weaponsmiths Quarter, all financial transactions within the quarter would have to go through him. Thus, he had a secret compartment in his house, which was a safe box to store all these things. Hence, it would be the safest for Yan Liqiang to leave his money with Qian Su.

...

During the time when Yan Liqiang was not present, his courtyard had a small number of additions. Atop the pile of ashwood were three quivers of arrows which resided under the roof of the courtyard. Yan Liqiang saw them the moment he arrived.

Each quiver contained thirty-six arrows. Yan Liqiang glanced at it for a short period of time before bringing the three quivers upstairs and placed them next to the Horned Python Bow in his bedroom.

Yan Liqiang then retrieved the packet of saltpeter from his chest which he had bought earlier today and placed it in the adjacent room.

Yan Liqiang had been using research as an excuse in the past few days in order to obtain a large number of items, tools, as well as raw materials from each courtyard. Items such as iron ore, different types of wood paint, pieces of copper, horsetail, ox tendon, tie wire, silk paper, as well as lime could be seen in the adjacent room. Among these items were obviously sulfur and charcoal. These were the raw materials used in the Weaponsmiths Quarter.

Aside from these items, certain utensils such as mortar, graver, steelyard, file and so on could also be seen.

These items were obtained from various courtyards by Yan Liqiang as toys. The people from these courtyards didn’t take it seriously and believed that as Yan Liqiang was a teenager, he wanted to play around with them when he was bored. Thus, they also didn’t mind.

He opened the window of the room and allowed the moonlight to fill the room. The room was illuminated, to the extent where it was visible enough for him to do many things.

Yan Liqiang took a deep breath as he recalled the crisis he had just encountered at the entrance of the Weaponsmiths Quarter. Thus, he immediately began preparing the gunpowder the moment he entered the room.

He had already prepared the charcoal powder and sulfur powder a few days ago. Hence, the only item that was currently lacking was the saltpeter.

Yan Liqiang placed the purchased saltpeter into the mortar and ground it into a fine powder. He then poured it out, packed it, and then began to weigh it.

The ingredients of black gunpowder consisted of one part sulfur, two parts saltpeter, and three parts charcoal. The specific ratio was: two to fifteen to three. Following this, he began to mix them together. As long as there were raw materials, making gunpowder wouldn’t be harder than mixing a bowl of salad.

Yan Liqiang had managed to create half a jin of black gunpowder without much effort. Afterwards, he wrapped the black gunpowder into strings of wick with silk paper.

Due to the fact that he wasn’t allowed to light a fire in this courtyard, Yan Liqiang didn’t test it out in the courtyard. Furthermore, it was currently dark and the black gunpowder would cause a huge commotion if the experiment were to be successful. Hence, it would still be best to experiment it in the mountain the following day.

Yan Liqiang suppressed his excitement after the black gunpowder was produced and went to bed after practicing Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing...

He’d leave everything else until tomorrow...

Chapter 31: A World of Cold Weapons

The next morning, Yan Liqiang woke up early as usual. After having completed his morning training and practiced a repetition of the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Manual, he went to the dining hall area of the Weaponsmiths Quarter to have his breakfast, making way back to his residence shortly after. He carried the Horned Python Bow that Zhou Yong had gifted him and strapped on a quiver of arrows. In his arms, he carried the gunpowder, which he’d prepared beforehand, flint and steel to light up a fire, three packs of ground carbon powder, sulfur powder as well as saltpeter powder. He exited the courtyard soon afterward.

“Master Yan, are you leaving to practice your bowmanship?”

He had only managed to walk some distance before bumping into a squad of heavily armed soldiers on their way to the White Ash Forest. As the soldiers caught sight of Yan Liqiang, each and every single one of them smiled as they greeted him.

“Yeah. It would be a waste if I don’t put the fine bow that Big Brother Zhou gifted me yesterday to good use. I mustn’t disappoint Big Brother Zhou after all his goodwill...” laughed Yan Liqiang heartily. “Oh right, big brothers, are all of you going to patrol around the White Ash Forest today?”

“Quarter Master Qian ordered all of us to be on alert these few days and tighten the security as well as increase the frequency of our patrols around the quarter!”

Yan Liqiang was slightly taken aback, but realization soon dawned on him as he understood Qian Su’s intentions. The moment the news of what happened at the Lu Residence spread, then everyone would know that he was currently staying in the Weaponsmiths Quarter. Hence the reason for Qian Su’s request for the quarter’s soldiers to make their rounds more often was indirectly for his protection.

Yan Liqiang gnashed his teeth quietly as he recalled feeling the cold peering eyes hidden in the shadows last night when he returned to the quarter.

In his previous life, he had always assumed that working hard to earn money every day was the most stressful thing to do. But this was when he was living in a peaceful and quiet environment. Because of that, he had never been exposed to any life-threatening situations and had never experienced any form of imminent crisis before. Naturally, he was never aware of the fact that the peaceful and stable environment he was in before was hard earned. But after experiencing this world for a few days here in this life, the trepidation that struck him instantly made Yan Liqiang feel the immense pressure to survive. This had nothing to do with earning money; this time, it was his own life and safety that was threatened.

Yan Liqiang conversed with the squad of soldiers as they walked together. Only when they finally reached the White Ash Forest on the hillside located near the Weaponsmith Quarter, did they go their separate ways.

Yan Liqiang walked up the hill as the squad of soldiers patrolled around the exterior of the Weaponsmiths Quarter and White Ash Forest. Because if this place were to be under siege, invaders would come in through the walls at the base of the hillside. It was impossible for them to come down from the top of the hill due to the fact that crossing the Weaponsmiths Quarter was the only way to head up the hill.

Yan Liqiang surmised that the unknown individual who was spying on him from the shadows last night did not have the guts to barge into the Weaponsmiths Quarter to stir up trouble. It was important to note that the Weaponsmiths Quarter was an important location for military operations, a part of the country’s specialized law enforcement organization. Though the place may seem tranquil, however, if anything were to happen, it would be the cause of a huge ruckus. Forget about the Hong Clan’s hired hitman, even if it were violent and desperate criminals, none of them would dare to casually charge into this important location for the military as that was the same as having a death wish.

Therefore, as long as he remained in the Weaponsmiths Quarter, that unknown individual wouldn’t be able to do anything to him.

He was carrying the bow on his back and had the quiver of arrows slung over his shoulder as he went up through his usual path. It didn’t take Yan Liqiang long to arrive at the location near the hilltop, the place he used for daily practice.

The sun had risen not long ago and the life force in the mountain forest was flourishing. The environment looked as if it had just woken up from its slumber, there were birdsong and fragrant flowers all over the mountain forest.

Placing the bow and arrows he carried carefully against a boulder, Yan Liqiang meticulously surveyed his surroundings. Upon realizing that there wasn’t a single soul in the vicinity, only then did he feel reassured. After that, he moved around to the back of two boulders that were situated below the hillside. It was not far away from the empty land which he was in previously.

The back of the boulder was protected from the wind and could conceal him from view. There weren’t any plants on the ground in the vicinity, only stones. Even if his formulation of the gunpowder was successful, it wouldn’t start any fires. Regardless, water could be easily retrieved from the nearby brook. If smoke were to rise, it would instantly be blown away by the mountaintop wind, the people at the foot of the mountain would not see it.

Yan Liqiang crouched down behind the boulder and took out the fire rope that he had already prepared earlier on and the flint and steel. Then he began to test it.

Honestly speaking, if this was still the Earth of his previous life, Yan Liqiang wouldn’t have any worries regarding whether or not the gunpowder could be used after being formulated. However, Yan Liqiang was not confident deep down, due to there being too many things that his knowledge could not explain nor could he comprehend in this world.

Such cases included the Dharmic projection and phenomena that had occurred during his training, the emergence of the gigantic palm silhouette during Hong Tao’s performance of the Iron Palm, as well as the appearance of the illusory rhinodrake steed during his passing of the Horse Stance stage. Damn it! The martial arts and secret techniques of this world all carried the effects of illusory imagery that could resonate with the spiritual Qi and the energy of the Heaven and Earth. In addition to all that, the imagery that had appeared were incredibly strange and different in all aspects. They were even more exaggerated than the emerging imagery that was shown when the little universe from ‘Saint Seiya’ [1] had exploded. Who could actually use scientific logic to explain the theory behind this? And how could they explain to him the kinds of chemical transformations that had taken place during his martial arts training and cultivation of the energy of the Heaven and Earth?

The tool that he had used to start the fire was a flint and steel. For a person who was used to using a lighter, using a flint and steel to start a fire was too inconvenient, but he was already out of options. This was because in this world apart from using flint and steel; there existed another tool called a ‘match’ which was used for the same purpose. Making the match wasn’t cheap and was more time-consuming. Using it once would diminish their numbers by one, so usually, only rich households such as the Hong Clan or the Lu Clan would use it on a daily basis. Other than that, there was the fire lighting method commonly used by the military and the majority of the ordinary households, the relatively cheap and ever so convenient, portable flint and steel.

Yan Liqiang opened the waterproof leather cover of the embroidered pouch which contained the flint and steel and took out the flint and the tinder that it carried. Then holding the flint with his left hand, he pressed the tinder that was between the flint and his finger, while he grasping onto the embroidered pouch with his other hand. Striking the edge of the steel against the flint, he produced sparks from the flint with each strike. And after repetitively striking them together for a couple of more times, the produced sparks finally ignited the tinder and a flame was born.

After taking in a deep breath, Yan Liqiang placed one end of the completed fire rope into the flame.

The cotton paper of the exterior of the fire rope suddenly ignited...

It happened within the blink of an eye, barely even taking two seconds, the ignited fire rope burnt to the area where he set the gunpowder he created.

Yan Liqiang held his breath, his eyes widening...

There wasn’t any sound of gunpowder being ignited!

There weren’t any violent chemical reactions taking place!

Which meant it was impossible to create an explosion...

The cotton paper was still burning so the fire rope was as well. It was burning at a slow pace, similar to burning an incense, only that it was burning at a rate faster than the incense.

Smoke was coming out of the ignited fire rope and the fumes were full of the strong and concentrated smell of sulfur. This was precisely the same smell that sulfur would produce when set on fire.

Yan Liqiang was expectantly waiting for the explosive light, but what came to him in the end, was a smothered fart, instead.

It didn’t take long for the fire rope to burn until the end, leaving behind a pile of ashes. Among the ash pile, there were still traces of carbon powder and saltpeter powder which hadn’t been burnt completely.

Yan Liqiang was shocked. Could it be that this recipe was useless in this world?

He once again took out another fire rope to test again only to discover that the end result was the same.

Both the carbon and sulfur powder came from the Weaponsmiths Quarter so there shouldn’t be any issue with the raw materials. Also, when he bought the saltpeter, he had inspected it himself, so there shouldn’t be any fault there as well.

So if there were no issues with the raw materials and the recipe was correct, then was the item produced gunpowder or not?

Yan Liqiang was unwilling to give up just like that. He proceeded to take out the remaining three packets of unused carbon, sulfur and saltpeter powder from his clothes. He then began to carry out several different combination tests. After relentlessly testing over and over again for almost an entire morning, Yan Liqiang finally came to understand a certain truth more than four hours later. Although he didn’t understand why it turned out so, he was finally able to verify that in this world, it was indeed impossible to formulate gunpowder.

This wasn’t the only issue. According to Yan Liqiang’s knowledge, natural lodestone and magnetite practically couldn’t be found in this world.

Though compasses existed in this world, the magnetic needle of the compass found here was instead forged from a material called starry steel. Starry steel was basically a kind of iron from meteorites which fell from Heaven. There weren’t much in numbers so they were extremely costly. A small piece could only be found once in awhile. When compared with the worth of the starry steel, it was worth more than twenty times the price of gold.

What did this mean?

Without gunpowder, there wouldn’t be any hot weapons and firearms and cannons would never exist. Moreover, without a sufficient supply of natural lodestones and magnetite, that would mean that in the future, this world wouldn’t be able to harness generated electricity.

The ones to dictate this world would forever be martial power and cold weapons...

Chapter 32: To Lose At Sunrise, But Gain At Sunset

The recipe for gunpowder hadn’t done him any good; however, Yan Liqiang felt no disappointment and instead was able to quickly accept this as fact. On the contrary, he wasn’t certain as to why he felt as though a burden had been lifted from his heart. He was getting an even clearer picture of his path for the future.

Perhaps a world that was incapable of producing any hot weapons wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. As Yan Liqiang descended the mountain, he was secretly thinking to himself more about the matter. He believed that since this world didn’t have hot weapons and lacked the requirements necessary to produce and use electricity at the same time, this would mean that it would be impossible for atomic bombs, nuclear weapons, or strange things that could easily allow humans to destroy themselves to exist in the future. Of course, this also meant that there wouldn’t be so much pollution and diseases either...

The harder it was to kill a person, the lower the possibility of humans bringing destruction upon themselves as the cost of killing each other would be increased. But was that really such a bad thing?

From the perspective of productivity development, by the time the future development of this world reached its peak of productivity, it would at most still only be able to reach the first Industrial Revolution era back on Earth. During that era, steam and the invention of steam engine perhaps were the most powerful ability for the humans in this world to conquer the nature.

The working principle behind a steam engine was actually not that complex.

When Yan Liqiang thought of the steam engine, a 3D animation that explained the structural principle of a steam-powered engine that he had watched online in his past life automatically replayed from within his mind.

Yan Liqiang, while walking on the mountain path, shook his head.

He didn’t come into this world to become an artisan. In fact, artisans were not highly valued in this world. So even if he were to take out a blueprint of a steam engine right now, it wouldn’t be of much significance. It wouldn’t change anything because there wasn’t such a thing as having a patent on an invention in this world. If the steam engine was really useful, others would be able to copy it after buying one and it would no longer have anything to do with him. It was even likely that the wealth he would earn off the steam engine blueprint wouldn’t even be a tenth of the reward that he had received from the Lu Clan.

A hundred taels of gold was a huge fortune to any artisan. This was at least true for the few years that Yan Liqiang had lived, he had never heard of an instance where an artisan was rewarded with hundreds of taels of gold for the invention of their items. Even so, a few hundred taels of gold were still unable to resolve the problems that Yan Liqiang had to face and it was even more impossible for him to convert the Hong Clan from a foe to a friend.

Thus, if one wanted to live a good life in this kind of world that was forever bound to be governed by cold weapons, one would require the capability to defend themselves from being exploited by others. Most importantly, cultivation was still crucial as it ruled over everything!

When he reached the foot of the mountain, Yan Liqiang coincidentally ran into the same troop of soldiers that he had seen in the morning. It appeared that they were also preparing to return to the dining hall to eat.

“Hahaha, what a coincidence, my brothers...” Yan Liqiang smiled as he took the initiative to greet the troop of soldiers of his own accord.

“Ah, Master Yan. How goes your practice?”

Yan Liqiang intentionally rubbed his shoulder, feigning a miserable appearance. “This Horned Python Bow from Brother Zhou is really too powerful. I’ve only managed to draw it a few times. Seems like I’ll have to take it slow...”

“Hahaha, that’s a formidable bow of five piculs. It’s already a great achievement for Master Yan to be able to draw it right now...” The leader of that soldier who was speaking shot an envious glance towards the Horned Python Bow that Yan Liqiang was carrying on his back. “I believe that Master Yan would definitely be able to put this Horned Python Bow to good use in the future. Don’t you think so too, my brothers?”

“Yes!” The troop of soldiers laughed heartily.

“Thank you for the encouraging words, everyone. Come, let us go eat...”

“Hahaha...”

...

After lunch, Yan Liqiang returned to the mountain.

For the sake of validating the gunpowder formula, he had already wasted the entire morning. Since he was already clear on all he wanted to check on and was able to confirm everything he wanted to verify, Yan Liqiang was naturally able to get back on track with his cultivation as he practiced even more diligently than before.

Without further ado...

Under the scorching sun, Yan Liqiang started by strengthening his body by practicing a round of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing.

In just less than two hours of practicing this technique, Yan Liqiang could feel as though his entire body had been cleansed by waves of energy as well as the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth again. After finishing, he felt relaxed and refreshed. The strangest thing was, apart from sweating Yan Liqiang didn’t even feel hot even though he had just finished practicing his technique under the blazing sun. Instead, he felt invigorated as though there was a breeze blowing beneath his arms.

It was about time to display his real technique...

After warming up with Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing, Yan Liqiang opened his bow bag to retrieve the Horned Python Bow and then started to practice his archery.

Archery was definitely the most formidable weapon during the cold weapon era as no other could compare against it.

In the past on Earth, there were the Mongolians, who had a population of only two or three million and a total army of less than a few hundred thousand. Yet they had swept across entire Eurasia with only iron hooves underneath and bows in their hands. They managed to destroy countless countries and established the biggest empire in human history, the Great Yuan Dynasty.

With only moderate strength and bowmanship, even a boor could easily kill people from a distance. The might of bow and arrows lay within the fact that it was something that lacked an effective way for people to guard against. This also made it incomparable to any other weapon.

On the Silver Continent, bowmanship was referred to as the art of archery. After advancing to a Martial Warrior, the art of archery was the first of the Confucian Six Arts. Not just that, but because the cultivation method for the art of archery was different from the average martial techniques, most people would even put cultivation for the art of archery on par with martial cultivation. Some extremists on this topic even believed that the importance of bowmanship was far above the martial arts. From this, one could understand the importance of the art of archery.

When an unprecedented danger was rapidly drawing near you and someone was after your life, and you were presented with two options. One was to search for a master to teach you martial arts, build your body and study a mixture of martial arts. The second option was to pick up the rifle or handgun in front of you and learn how to shoot. Which one would you choose?

Yan Liqiang would definitely pick the second option without a second thought because the second option would allow him to achieve the desired outcome in the fastest time with the most powerful result. This was also the reason why he had made up his mind to start practicing archery today.

Archery was the most effective way to transform a person’s energy into lethal killing power. This point alone was something that no other martial arts technique could surpass.

Yan Liqiang didn’t have anything else aside from his strength.

He practiced archery in the mountain forest, doing so without the need for any target boards, only needing to find a random big tree.

Yan Liqiang’s target was a big tree that was about thirty meters away from him. That tree trunk was so thick that it required the full arm span of a person in order to wrap around it, a little thicker than a person’s body. Behind that big tree was a sloping meadow. Even if arrows were to fly past that point, no one would get hurt and he also didn’t have to go too far to retrieve them. It was the most suitable to practice archery.

For his first arrow, Yan Liqiang drew his bow back to its fullest as he aimed for the distant tree trunk. The moment his grip loosened, he could feel the vibration of the Horned Python Bow’s bowstring and all he could hear was a soft ‘whoosh’ in the air by his ear as that arrow flew like lightning, vanishing within an instant.

The arrow that flew out really did vanish because Yan Liqiang’s eyesight wasn’t able to catch a glimpse of that arrow he’d released. He was even clueless as to where the arrow had ended up at. He only had a hunch that it was a miss because after he released it, that tree trunk that he had used as a target was still completely empty.

The first arrow was a miss and the Horned Python Bow was overdrawn causing it to accumulate too much power. In such a short distance, there was no need for a full draw at all.

During the second shot, he took into account the experience gained from his first, drawing back the bow back by about two-thirds less of its full length. The arrow was released. When this arrow flew out, although it was still difficult to follow with the naked eye as its speed was still very fast, Yan Liqiang was still able to see this arrow fly past the big tree trunk to its left and ended in the bush behind the slope.

Yan Liqiang made some adjustments again before releasing the third arrow...

The arrow strayed a little towards the right.

The fourth arrow strayed towards the left...

The fifth arrow grazed the tree trunk...

Archery was a completely strange enjoyment to him. Whenever an arrow was released, regardless whether or not that arrow hit its target, Yan Liqiang’s heart would always be filled with a sense of comforting and serene joy. In Yan Liqiang’s eyes, all of the arrows that were released from his hands were akin to birds soaring into the skies after he opened the door to their cage. It also felt like releasing those little fishes and loaches he bought from the fish market into the rivers and lakes. As long as he could see them regain their freedom with his own hands, that alone was a form of enjoyment and satisfaction for him, much like a spiritual massage.

From Yan Liqiang’s perspective, ever since he picked them up and shot the first arrow, the inanimate Horned Python Bow and ice-cold arrows seemed to have gradually turned into warm-bodied living things, naturally allowing him to feel closer to them.

...

When the eighth arrow was released, he finally heard a noise. The head of that arrow had finally penetrated into the tree trunk like a nail. The entire head of that arrow was buried in the tree trunk, leaving only the arrow shaft quivering like a leaf, after hitting the target...

The ninth arrow managed to hit the target again and the tenth arrow too...

Among the thirty-six arrows in the first quiver, apart from the first seven arrows that had missed the target, the other twenty-nine arrows hit the tree trunk and were firmly embedded in it.

“Archery doesn’t seem to be too difficult,” Muttering to himself, Yan Liqiang walked over to collect all the arrows he had released.

He could only retrieve the arrows stuck in the tree trunk by digging out the arrowheads with a small knife. He also found six out of the seven arrows that had flown beyond the tree. Due to the great force of the first arrow that Yan Liqiang had released, the arrow was almost entirely buried into the earthen slope, leaving only fletching at the end of the arrow visible. When Yan Liqiang was trying to pull it out, he discovered that the arrow shaft was already broken...

...

As expected of a formidable bow of five piculs. After releasing thirty-six arrows, even if he didn’t fully draw the bow, Yan Liqiang’s arm still felt a little sore. It was indeed extremely energy consuming. He ran to the bank of the mountain spring, took in a few mouthfuls of the refreshing spring water, and took a short break before he resumed his archery practice once again.

In the second round of practice, all thirty-five arrows met its target, hitting the tree trunk that was thirty meters away from him. Not a single arrow had strayed from its course...

In his third round of practice, he shot all thirty-five arrows one after another into the tree trunk. Still, none of them strayed. Not only that, the arrows that were shot into the tree trunk were arranged into a neat circular pattern, just like an archery target...

Chapter 33: Attaining The First Heavenly Layer Within A Day

Looking at the neatly ordered arrows stuck in that tree trunk in the distance, Yan Liqiang was surprised with himself.

As he shot the second quiver of arrows, because they were scattered on the tree trunk, he thought it’d be best if he could shoot the third quiver of arrows close to the ones already in the tree trunk, in a way that they would form a circular target as that’d make it look nicer.

He ended up doing exactly what he was thinking in his heart. But, he didn’t expect that he could actually shoot the arrows in such a way that they really formed an orderly circular pattern.

He was feeling very relaxed and satisfied when he released the arrows but hadn’t expected for things to turn out exactly as he had imagined after he was done shooting.

After being in a daze for a while, Yan Liqiang made his way towards the big tree to retrieve all the arrows while muttering to himself, “It must’ve been due to this tree being too near. That must be it. It’s only this easy because of how near it is. Look at those great archers, they could even shoot an arrow through a willow leaf from a hundred paces away. It’s probable that even a child can accomplish this if the distance is merely a few dozen paces away...”

This whole experience was a little too outrageous, so Yan Liqiang’s reasoning to convince himself was that the target he had chosen was too near to him.

After putting away the arrows, Yan Liqiang rubbed his shoulders and took a short break, before searching for another target. His next target was a tree that was no less than fifty meters away from him. The distance between him and this tree was a huge step up when compared to his previous target.

Swoosh... The first arrow was released, only grazing the trunk of the tree on its left side.

Swoosh... The second arrow was released, grazing the trunk of the tree in a similar manner, except on its right side...

Swoosh... Thud!

However, the third arrow hit its target on the trunk of the tree. Like a nail, it was firmly embedded into the tree trunk.

Swoosh... Thud!

Swoosh... Thud!

Swoosh... Thud!

...

The subsequent thirty-two arrows all flew fifty meters to hit the tree trunk, not a single one of them missing their target.

Yan Liqiang had thought that increasing the distance to fifty meters might raise the difficulty considerably. However, after merely a few shots, he had a feeling that this distance of fifty meters didn’t really make much of a difference compared to thirty meters. They all seemed extremely easy for him.

Yan Liqiang retrieved all the arrows once again and after taking a short break, he picked up the Horned Python Bow once more.

His goal this time was the same as before; to shoot all the arrows into a circular pattern onto the tree that was fifty meters away.

Swoosh... Thud!

The first arrow hit its target accurately.

Soon after that, every arrow released by Yan Liqiang was arranged on the tree trunk like rice seedlings. Each and every single one of them surrounded the first arrow that he had released in a circular pattern, forming a complete circle.

Looking at the arrows that were neatly embedded in the tree trunk, Yan Liqiang swallowed a mouthful of saliva. Being able to shoot like this was equivalent to being able to hit the target with a rifle with perfect accuracy. If that tree was a human, then it would be too easy for him to kill that person.

How could this be? Didn’t they say that archery was very difficult? And that every improvement came at the cost of much effort and many hardships. Nurturing a good archer was akin to nurturing a sniper as they needed to be fed with countless arrows. If that was the case, then how was he able to shoot so easily?

Yan Liqiang had a heart full of doubt, but he also had a strange feeling in his heart. The more he shot with this Horned Python Bow, the more relaxed he felt. Aiming for the target seemed to gradually get easier and easier for him. All he had to do was to lock onto a certain spot with his gaze, then the arrow he released would act as though it were alive and naturally fly towards the spot that his eyes were affixed on.

As soon as he nocked an arrow and drew back his bow, between the bow in his hands and the target that his eyes were locked on, he would automatically gain a natural sense of touch and feel that would tell him how to best to release the arrow.

Was this really because the distance between them was too close? Or was it due to the target he had picked being too big? Hmm, that must have been the case.

Yan Liqiang collected back all the arrows once again.

After round upon round of shooting, three out of the thirty-five arrows were inevitably damaged, leaving him with only thirty-two usable arrows.

The so-called ‘shooting an arrow through a willow leaf a hundred paces away’ referred to the act of penetrating a willow leaf from a hundred steps away. A hundred paces in this phrase referred to the distance, whereas the leaf of the willow tree referred to the target. The shooting part referred to the force that the arrow could still maintain when it made contact with the willow leaf. These were the signs of a great archer.

The people from the ancient times considered the lift of a foot to be half a pace, whereas one pace was when both feet had taken a step forward. Hence, ‘a hundred paces’ from the phrase, ‘shooting an arrow through a willow leaf a hundred paces away’ that ancient people talked about was the distance of a hundred meters based on the strides of a normal person.

According to the standards from Yan Liqiang’s past life, if a person was able to shoot an object that was as tiny as a willow leaf over that distance with a gun, that person had already attained the qualification of being a sniper.

The third target that Yan Liqiang had chosen was a willow tree about seventy meters away. The trunk of that willow tree was a lot slimmer than that of the previous two trees, so much so that it wasn’t any thicker than Yan Liqiang’s thigh.

After he was settling on the target, Yan Liqiang stared at that willow tree as he took a deep breath, and picked up the Horned Python Bow.

Swoosh... The first arrow was released. It grazed the willow tree on its left side, leaving behind a mark.

Swoosh... The second arrow was released. It grazed that willow tree on its right side, leaving behind a mark.

After releasing two arrows, a strange feeling overcame him all of a sudden, feeling as though he had just released two birds. Yan Liqiang was suddenly able to feel that strange sensation between the bow in his hands and the target that his eyes were locked on again.

Swoosh... Thud!

The third arrow upon release immediately hit the direct center of the target, seven centimeters of the arrow buried in the tree trunk. With the immense force that the arrow had carried, it shook the willow tree, causing a few of its leaves to fall.

Yan Liqiang’s mind stirred as arrow after arrow continuously fired from the Horned Python Bow that he held.

Upon the release of the final arrow, there were three rows of arrows all neatly and vertically arranged on the trunk of that willow tree, seventy meters away. Each row was made out of exactly ten arrows and the distance between those arrows were all completely the same. From a distance, the three rows of arrows looked just like soldiers that were lining up for practice.

He reckoned that this was the same standard of that so-called ‘shooting an arrow through a willow leaf a hundred steps away’.

Could it be that he was a genius?

Just when this thought emerged within Yan Liqiang’s mind, he sensed a surge in the energy of the Heaven and Earth and Spiritual Qi around him all of a sudden. Following that, an aura of red light appeared around him. The silhouette of a white longbow manifested within that red light for more than ten seconds before it was immediately absorbed into his body, along with the red light.

An advancement! The First Heavenly Layer in the art of archery!

Chapter 34: Consecutive Advancement

A month after Yan Liqiang attained the First Heavenly Layer in the art of archery, he had stayed in the Weaponsmith Quarter the entire time. He spent that time without heading out or any concerns regarding the events that were transpiring outside. He stayed within the Weaponsmiths Quarter to cultivate and train in peace.

Legend has it, that when Confucius was practicing the guqin, he never touched meat for three months. This was similar to the case with Yan Liqiang, someone who had already experienced the sweet taste of cultivation first-hand. He completely immersed his entire being into cultivating, even making adjustments to his own schedule and activity in the Weaponsmiths Quarter as a result.

Since it was too time-consuming for him to keep heading up and down the mountain to have his lunch and dinner, this entire month before going into the mountains, Yan Liqiang would bring some food from the dining hall along with him after having his breakfast. He would drink the spring water in the mountain whenever he was thirsty and would eat a bit of the food that he’d brought along when he was hungry. So like this, he would stay on the mountain every day until sunset before heading back.

Because of the familiarity that Yan Liqiang shared with the men in the Weaponsmiths Quarter, they weren’t bothered or bewildered by the things Yan Liqiang did. Moreover, the reason why Yan Liqiang would go into the mountain in the first place was to practice his bowmanship. Upon seeing a young man like him so diligent and hardworking, it was natural for each and every one of them to be glad.

There was one instance where a troop of soldiers who were responsible for patrolling the Weaponsmiths Quarter, went up into the mountain out of sheer curiosity to check up on what Yan Liqiang was doing. But before those soldiers could reach Yan Liqiang’s position on the mountaintop, an arrow came whooshing out from nowhere while they were only two to three hundred metes away from reaching the peak. The arrow landed in a tree trunk only a couple meters to the left of the leader of the troop. The arrowhead was buried three to four inches deep into the tree trunk, leaving the entire arrow shaft quivering incessantly.

When they saw the formidable power of the shot, the troop of soldiers were shocked to the point that they dared not take a single step forward, and hurriedly retreated down the mountain. During their encounter with Yan Liqiang on the very next day, when they brought this matter to his attention, Yan Liqiang responded with astonishment followed by a pure and innocent expression resembling a small white rabbit. “Ah! Big brothers went up the mountain yesterday? I wasn’t even aware of that! Yesterday, I was practicing my archery the entire time, sometimes the arrow would get launched high up in the air when trying to shoot down birds. I can’t control where it will land...”

After they listened to what Yan Liqiang had to say, several of them broke out in cold sweat and even the other men of the Weaponsmiths Quarter did not dare head up to the mountaintop out of curiosity anymore. Should one of them be unfortunate enough to get hit by Yan Liqiang’s arrows, they would die without being able to blame anyone else but themselves. They figured that Quarter Master Qian would just report it as an accident with one stroke of his brush, only needing to provide some form of compensation for the incident to come to an end.

After that day, nobody went up to the mountain to bother Yan Liqiang again. Even if Qian Su asked about his training, Yan Liqiang would answer with vague replies.

It wasn’t that Yan Liqiang didn’t want to tell Qian Su, rather it was because he was afraid that Qian Su would be shocked at the truth.

He had made his advancement into the First Heavenly Layer in the art of archery on his first day of practice, becoming an amazing bowsman. It was too alarming to have such a swift advancement, so much so that even Yan Liqiang himself was in a state of disbelief, unsure as to why it happened.

It had only been a week since he attained the First Heavenly Layer when Yan Liqiang’s cultivation in the art of archery once again resonated with Heaven’s will, giving rise to an advancement phenomena, signifying his success in entering the realm of the Second Heavenly Layer.

If it was said that the benchmark for the First Heavenly Layer in the art of archery was for one to be able to shoot arrows at still targets with great precision, then the Second Heavenly Layer was to possess the ability to shoot down a bird with every shot.

Shooting with great precision targeted still objects while shooting down a bird with every shot, targeted living, moving animals. The difficulty was definitely much higher in the latter more so than the former. That was the difference between a fixed target and a moving target. It was impossible for the majority of the people who had immersed themselves in cultivating the art of archery for a lifetime to attain the realm of the Second Heavenly Layer, yet, Yan Liqiang only required one week to do so.

In order to reach the realm of the First Heavenly Layer in the art of archery could possibly be done through sheer effort and sweat alone as Heaven rewarded the diligent. However, in order for one to achieve the realm of the Second Heavenly Layer in the art of archery, the precision necessary to hit down a bird within a hundred steps with every shot, would depend on luck as well as a person’s natural talent, or would require the advice of a great master.

Within the short period of seven to eight days, he had gone from a person who had never touched a bow and arrow into someone who had suddenly obtained the art of archery with the cultivation of realm of the Second Heavenly Layer. How could Yan Liqiang explain this to anyone?

Was he a rare talent in the art of archery? Or was all of this due to the effects of the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Manual? Or was it because of a mix between the two? Yan Liqiang did not know about that, but what he did know was that if news of such a cultivation speed were to spread, it would definitely arouse controversy. In the innumerable years of history of the Silver Continent, there had never been an individual like him with advancements in the art of archery cultivation at such lightning speeds. The word ‘genius’ couldn’t even begin to describe it as it was now simply seemed demonic!

If Yan Liqiang really was a demon cultivating the art of archery, then that would be great. Yan Liqiang would not be afraid to be exposed because when it came to innate talent as this was not something that could be taken away by anyone. However, he possessed a background with the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Manual secret technique. Therefore, Yan Liqiang didn’t want to reveal everything about himself before he was strong enough. That would be too idiotic.

For the remaining twenty days cultivating alone after advancing the art of archery cultivation into the realm of the Second Heavenly Layer, Yan Liqiang felt that his own strength was seemingly growing day by day.

The most obvious growth was his own power.

Within those twenty days, Yan Liqiang had not been lax cultivating Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing. On one hand, he was using the manual to cleanse and change his body in a way that his body could absorb a great amount of the Spiritual Qi and energy of the Heaven and Earth. While on the other hand, he was also continuously cultivating the art of archery. At the same time, he would practise up to two sets of Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist, allowing him to stretch his muscle tendons. Whenever he was unoccupied, he would take that time to comprehend and mull over the ‘Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps’ secret manual that Qian Su had given him. His schedule was packed every day and he felt very enriched. As for his own power, it had reached another level under this productive and fulfilling lifestyle.

Before he even started to cultivate the art of archery, when he had received the Horned Python Bow, Yan Liqiang first tried to fully draw the formidable Horned Python Bow to its extent. He found that he was only capable of doing so for 30 times while releasing it with full explosive force. This caused him to feel exhausted as a result, but he also found it slightly strenuous to draw the bow after. After the timespan of a month and without realizing, Yan Liqiang could now fully draw the bow more than 40 times. Not only that, but he could also feel that the strain from drawing the bow was also gradually dissipating.

Since there were no changes that he could find in the Horned Python Bow, it had to mean that he was the one who was undergoing changes.

During the same time that his physical strength was improving, the formidable power of his Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist was also improving step by step. But more than that, Yan Liqiang also found that under the driving force of each form and movement of the Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist, all of the tendons in his body were becoming more and more flexible and nimble.

Stretching Tendon and Extending Bone was the second stage in one’s advancement towards becoming a Martial Warrior. As the name indicated, the purpose of this stage was to completely pull and open up the tendons within the entirety of one’s body.

If the Horse Stance stage was focused on the issue of where the strength was coming from as well as whether it was available, then the Stretching Tendon and Extending Bone stage would address the issue on where the strength went as well as the effectiveness of the transmission. To put it in a more precise manner, only after the Stretching Tendon and Extending Bone stage, would one’s body only possess the foundations of exhibiting the formidable might of martial techniques and learning the martial techniques of a higher cultivation level. Without this foundation, then the so-called cultivation would be nothing more than a hollow display, impressive-looking but useless. Some cultivators wouldn’t even be able to create an impressive display.

...

For these twenty or so days, apart from the abovementioned, Yan Liqiang’s art of archery cultivation was also still improving every day at a rapid rate...

...

By the end of the fifth lunar month, Yan Liqiang could sense that his art of archery cultivation seemed to be on the verge of another breakthrough.

On the 31st day of the fifth lunar month, which just so happened to coincide with the end of the fifth lunar month, Yan Liqiang woke up and practiced a set of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing just like he had done every day. After that, he practiced his fist technique once, then went to eat breakfast. As he returned back to his own courtyard, he carried a meal box prepared by the dining hall for him to eat on the mountain. He then strapped on his bow bag and quiver before going up the mountain.

When he arrived at his usual training location, Yan Liqiang was not in a hurry to practice his bowmanship. He set aside the bow bag, quiver, and meal box and began his cultivation of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing.

When he began training, Yan Liqiang practiced Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing four times in a row, taking a total of six to seven hours. Only after the arrival of noon did he finally stop.

As Yan Liqiang came to a halt, he felt a sensation from his own spirit and strength which made him feel as if they were on the verge of bursting. He opened the bow bag and took out the Horned Python Bow, impaling an arrow into the grassy land before him. He closed his eyes soon after, holding onto the Horned Python Bow with one hand.

The scorching hot sun was like a fire above his head, the temperature more than 30 degrees(Celsius) while cicadas and bird cries could be heard from within the mountain forest. Yan Liqiang sat on the grass in a cross-legged position, motionless, akin to a rock but also similar to a sculpture holding onto a Horned Python Bow. For almost more than two hours, sweat had formed on his body dampening his back, leaving behind large wet area, however, the hand he used to hold onto the Horned Python Bow remained firm and steady as metal...

The sun in the sky gradually began to incline towards the west. A wave of dense clouds floated by, shrouding the sun, casting a large shadow on the earth below. A gust of wind blew from the east over the treetop canopies on the mountaintop and the meadow, carrying with it a long-absent cool and refreshing breeze. However, after a while, the clouds in the sky gradually became denser, looking as though it was soon going to rain...

Yan Liqiang used his ears to catch any sounds made by the leaves of the trees in the mountain. The rustling sounds of the tree leaves gradually became louder as time passed. Yan Liqiang’s lips also slowly became firmer in resolution...

Suddenly, a gale swept through the mountainside...

Yan Liqiang abruptly opened his eyes, his body immediately bolting up from his seat on the ground. With lightning speed, he grabbed the arrow pierced into the ground and fired it in one smooth motion.

This arrow shot was as fast as lightning. The moment the arrow was released from the bowstring, it had practically hit the delicate stem of a purple wildflower with a width that was roughly the size of a finger. This was despite the fact that the flower was swaying in the wind on the mountainside, more than a hundred and seventy meters away.

The purple wildflower flew into the sky, carried up by the gale.

Another arrow was shot. This arrow instantly hit the direct center of the purple wildflower flying amidst the gale. The flower tore into pieces, its four petals tumbling apart in the gale...

It barely took three seconds before another four arrows were launched in succession. The four purple flower petals were instantly hit by the ice-cold solid metal arrowheads. Eventually, they were firmly pinned on four different tree trunks located around a hundred and seventy to two hundred meters away from Yan Liqiang, scattered and smashed, only leaving behind traces of its lingering fragrance.

Appearing on Yan Liqiang’s body was a familiar glow, and within that glow was a sinister-looking black battle bow. The battle bow assimilated into Yan Liqiang’s body soon after.

The white bow represented the realm of the First Heavenly Layer of the art of archery cultivation whereas the gray bow represented the realm of the Second Heavenly Layer. And as for the black bow, of course, it represented the Third Heavenly Layer.

“So this is the realm attained by the highly regarded Yingyang Commandant of the Great Han Empire’s military, who dominated the art of archery. He’s one rank higher than Uncle Qian...” As he muttered to himself, a trace of smile soon appeared on Yan Liqiang’s face. The grin became wider and wider until Yan Liqiang couldn’t refrain from bursting into hearty laughter on the mountaintop...

A sudden clap of thunder resonated from the sky, as a drop of rain fell, cascading down Yan Liqiang’s face...

Chapter 35: Lu Clan’s Invitation

It had been a couple of days since it had last rained and yet, heavy rain poured abruptly today. From the first drop of rain that had landed on Yan Liqiang’s face until the heavy downpour, it all happened within the blink of an eye.

The heavy rain came pouring before Yan Liqiang even got the chance to collect the arrows that he had released.

Seeing how heavy the rain was, Yan Liqiang swiftly grabbed his bow, his arrows, and his basket of food before speeding off to get shelter from the rain in a small cave at the bottom of a mountain wall nearby.

That cave was very tiny, with a depth of no more than ten meters and height of around three meters. It wasn’t far from that cliff where he practiced his techniques. The old man from the Weaponsmiths Quarter said that this cave used to be a black bear’s den many years ago. Yet not even the fur of a bear could be found in the cave.

The mouth of this tiny cave turned into a waterfall in no time and became quite an appealing sight to behold.

Yan Liqiang sat on top of a rock at the entrance of the cave. He took out the basket of food that he had brought this morning and dug in.

Yan Liqiang had been accumulating his energy throughout the course of the day and never had the opportunity to have his lunch. He kept practicing the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing over and over again. Yan Liqiang’s stomach had been protesting long ago, but he hadn’t given it much thought to it before so he didn’t feel how hungry he was. Now that he had achieved a breakthrough from the realm of the Second Heavenly Layer to the realm of the Third Heavenly Layer in the art of archery, he was completely loosened up now. It was only then that Yan Liqiang could feel himself starving to the point that he could swallow an entire cow alive.

There were two rice balls that were about the size of fists, four eggs, a piece of cooked beef weighing about half a jin and some preserved fruits and nuts in the food basket. They all tasted pretty delicious.

Yan Liqiang finished all the food in the food basket in one go but only felt slightly fuller.

Since Yan Liqiang saw that it was still raining outside after taking half an hour of rest, he figured that he might as well resume practicing the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing in the cave for more two rounds. Yan Liqiang waited until the night began to fall. When the rain had totally stopped and the sky had cleared up, then he packed up and descended the mountain.

...

By the time that Yan Liqiang had climbed down the mountain, the sky was already completely dark.

Yan Liqiang stomped his feet to shake off the mud on the soles of his shoes and shook the droplets that had soaked his clothes outside the courtyard before he pushed open the door to his small courtyard with a ‘creak’. It was then that he saw Qian Su who was waiting for him under the roof of the small courtyard.

“Ah! Uncle Qian! What brings you here?” A smile appeared on Yan Liqiang’s face as he walked towards Qian Su. He winked at Qian Su, “Weren’t you taking a rest and recovering your strength in the quarter yesterday? According to Uncle Qian’s style from before, shouldn’t you be out with your confidante to enjoy the air and the moon today?”

Qian Su blushed and couldn’t help but shoot a glare at Yan Liqiang, “What do you know about enjoying the air and the moon at your age?”

“If I were to talk about all of those romances that I know of and show Uncle Qian the adult service menu[1], then he would have thought that they were really menus from a restaurant,” Yan Liqiang muttered in his heart. He used to work in the marketing business in his past life, thus it was inevitable for him to have to socialize with the customers. Some that had extreme tastes liked to visit those places for carnal pleasures, places that could practically make those who lacked the experience to doubt their outlook on life after their first experience. Yan Liqiang had been there a couple of times, but it didn’t suit his taste. Every time he went there, he would only go as far as sparking conversations the ladies that worked there. On top of that, he reckoned that even ten Qian Su added up together wouldn’t have as much knowledge as Yan Liqiang when it came to romance since he had come from an era of information expansion in his past life.

“Of course! Of course! I definitely have much to learn from Uncle Qian when it comes to romance!” Yan Liqiang laughed. He walked to the side of the pillar under the canopy to put away the quiver he had taken. Only when Yan Liqiang was setting down his quiver did he see that there were a couple of packed boxes at the entrance of the corridor under the canopy, “Did Uncle Qian bring me presents again? What’s in those boxes?”

“Ahem......Ahem.....” Qian Su feigned a couple of solemn coughs, “Those are the outfits I’ve prepared for you. There are new boots and new clothes. Go take a good bath and rid yourself of all the sweat for tonight. Put on all these things I’ve brought for you tomorrow morning!”

“What are these for?” Yan Liqiang blinked.

“Do you know what day it is tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow is the first day of the sixth lunar month!”

“And?”

“And.... it’s also.... tomorrow is also that Six....” When Yan Liqiang relaxed, he had nearly blurted out that tomorrow was Six One Children’s Day. But fortunately for him, he managed to swallow those words back right before he spilled it all out. There was no such thing as the Six One Children’s Day in the Silver Continent. Instead, there was another festival on the first day of the sixth lunar month. Yan Liqiang spun his eyeballs around and instantly recalled it. “Isn’t that... the Half Year Festival that falls on the first day of the sixth lunar month...”

Yan Liqiang finally completed his sentence.

The Half Year Festival of Great Han Empire was held on the first day of the sixth lunar month every year, during the summer. Summer was the time when the crop yields in the farms were at their highest. This was the reason why this Half Year Festival was also known as the Harvest Festival. It was considered to be a fairly lively festival.

“Good! You are correct! It is the Half Year Festival tomorrow and a steward from the Lu Clan came over to Weaponsmiths Quarter this afternoon. They have sent a couple of invitations to invite both of us as guests to join them at the Lu Residence’s Harvest Festival banquet for the Half Year Festival tomorrow. I’ve prepared these for you to wear tomorrow!” Qian Su spoke as he handed over a dark red colored invitation card to Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang took a look and confirmed that it was indeed an invitation from Lu Clan. He scratched his head from being a little surprised. Nevertheless, this invitation was also within his expectations. After all, he had saved a member of Lu Clan just a month ago. This was the Lu Clan’s way of expressing their good will. It seemed that his previous efforts with the Lu Residence was paying off.

“Alright!” Yan Liqiang put away his invitation card. “So Uncle Qian, what time are we going to the Lu Residence tomorrow?”

“Let’s go in the morning! We can go right after our breakfast!”

“That early?” Yan Liqiang was a little startled. Even though this Half Year Festival celebration was an invitation, it would be more suitable for them to go over there in the afternoon. It was only a dinner, what other business did they have for them to be heading over there this early?

“Ahem..... Ahem..... There’s a lotus pond of several thousand mu behind the Lu Clan’s manor and it just so happens that the fish in that large lotus pond are in their season right now. I’m making use of this opportunity to invite a friend to gamble in fishing at that large lotus pond at the Lu Residence tomorrow. So I’ll have to be there earlier!”

Gambling while fishing? Yan Liqiang did not expect for Qian Su to have such a hobby. But since Qian Su said that, he didn’t really have a choice but to show up early. That just meant that they’d just be staying for an extra meal, not that the Lu Clan would mind it anyway.

...

Qian Su left after having resolved the matter. Yan Liqiang shook his head and smiled. He carried the bow bag on his shoulder and held the outfit which Qian Su had prepared for him in his arms before heading up the stairs.

The night passed by uneventfully. To Yan Liqiang however, it was time for his evening cultivation, which could be skipped regardless of how busy he was.

...

When Yan Liqiang gave himself a clean new look and showed up in the dining hall of the Weaponsmiths Quarter in the outfit Qian Su had prepared for him, all of the soldiers in the Weaponsmiths Quarter gasped in surprise. A crowd was gathering around Yan Liqiang in no time as each and every one of them stared at him intently.

As the saying goes, ‘a person depends on their apparel, a buddha depends on gold’ [2]. Originally, Yan Liqiang didn’t look bad at all, he was rather handsome with his thick eyebrows and big eyes. But over this period of time that he cultivated the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing, his appearance and temperament had undergone some changes along with his body after being cleansed over and over again. Aside from his height that had increased by half an inch, his skin now glowed with a youthful rosy color. His eyes were also brighter and his body now stood straighter and stronger. Along with his advancement into the realm of the Third Heavenly Layer in the art of archery, was a type of indescribably confident yet insightful temperament that now appeared on him. He had grown from a little handsome man into a handsome man who seemed to be more energetic and more masculine. If he was in his previous world with his current appearance and temperament, he would most likely be able to become an idol among teenage girls too if he were recruited into TFBOYS [3] after a makeover.

On top of all these criteria, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to use the words ‘handsome’ and ‘outstanding’ to describe Yan Liqiang after being fitted into the azure blue silk gown that Qian Su had prepared for him. It was fastened with a belt that was adorned with a few pieces of white jade as well as a pair of buckskin low boots that slightly enhanced his height on his feet.

“Master Yan! I heard that you’ll be paying the Lu Clan a visit today. You’re going to bring yourself a wife home from the Lu Clan tonight if you’re going over there looking like this...” Zhou Yong said jokingly.

As soon as Zhou Yong finished his sentence, the Smith Head of the paint courtyard immediately stepped right in, “With Master Yan’s potential, one is not enough. He should have at least eight if not ten wives in the future...”

“Hahaha...” Everyone in the surroundings laughed out loud when they heard those words.

“Brothers and uncles! Please let me through. My stomach is growling as I have yet to have my breakfast. My entire day depends on this meal. If everyone has not seen enough, then you can watch me as I eat. How about that?” Yan Liqiang bowed to everyone in the surrounding with his hands clasped. This caused the people around laughed even harder, but they still gave way to Yan Liqiang.

...

Two lofty rhinodrake steeds had been prepared in the Weaponsmiths Quarter a while ago. After breakfast, Yan Liqiang took a rest and reorganized himself before he climbed onto the rhinodrake steed and traveled to the Lu Clan’s manor with Qian Su who had also changed his outfit, chatting and laughing along the way.

...

Just as Yan Liqiang was leaving the Weaponsmiths Quarter, a guest arrived at the door of the Yan Clan’s blacksmith shop back in Liuhe Town of Qinghe County early in the morning.

That guest was dressed up as a traveling merchant and wore a hat. Below that tilted hat of his was a face so pale that it would put even the dead to shame, and that face was a pair of unappealing triangular eyes. The most eye-catching feature of that man was the pea-sized mole that was on his left cheek.

This person was also pulling a horse along with him.

Staring at the blacksmith shop that had just opened and was ready for business, the man with triangular eyes had an evil aura emanating from his eyes.

Since Yan Liqiang had been hiding in the Weaponsmiths Quarter, there was nothing he could do about it. But he didn’t believe that Yan Liqiang would continue hiding after he found out that his family was in trouble.

Damn it! His initial plan was to do some business during his stay in Qinghe County. He planned to leave right after he completed his task and obtained the money, but who would have thought that this would drag on for so long?

“Ptui!” He spat as he directed his triangular eyes to the floor. He then called out to the Yan Clan’s blacksmith’s workshop, “Boss! The horseshoe for my horse is broken. Help me make a horseshoe.....”

Chapter 36: A Fateful Encounter at the Lake

Due to the fact that it was the Half Year Festival[1] today, there were many people heading to the market and visiting their relatives. Hence, the streets were bustling with residents and carts; it was rather lively.

As they were not in a hurry, Yan Liqiang and Qian Su rode their rhinodrake steeds and engaged in casual conversation as though they were taking a leisurely stroll. It wasn’t convenient for them to traverse on the street either as people crowded it. It took them almost two hours to reach the Lu Residence after their departure from the Weaponsmiths Quarter.

As expected, the present Lu Residence was more lively in comparison to a month ago. On the way to the residence, the travelers on foot had increased multiple folds in the morning alone when compared to the past. It was as though residents from each town and village in a ten li radius were heading towards the Lu Residence.

Each of the clans or families heading towards the Lu Residence brought each member along; this was inclusive of the young and old who sat in horse carriages or bullock carts. Hence, they were in either a group of five to six people or in a large group with dozens of people. Every single one of them headed to the Lu Residence in high spirits.

A number of them drove carts with empty seats that were still able to fit a number of people. Many of these people invited those traveling on foot into the cart so that they could journey together.

There were a couple of young men who rode their horses while some traversed by foot. Each and every single one of them was enthusiastic.

Within a carriage decorated with fresh flowers were a couple of young girls who sat in groups of three or four. Each one of them donned brightly colored skirts with all kinds of beautiful flowers inserted in their hairs. They were gorgeously dressed as they accompanied the crowd along the road.

The girls chattered incessantly whilst the men laughed heartily. The young men and women would exchange glances and occasionally tease each other. They would ask each other about things like which town or village they came from, who they knew, and whether either one of them also knew them. In the case that they got along with each other, the men would then proceed to invite the women to accompany them. Should the women agree, they would then move together as a group, bustling even more with noise and excitement. However, if neither of them got along, they would then go on their separate paths, not bothering each other in the slightest.

Yan Liqiang was fascinated as he witnessed such a scene unfolding before him. In his previous life, taking a stroll down the street was an extremely common occurrence. The only difference was that the atmosphere when taking a stroll in his previous life couldn’t be compared to the ardent and festive atmosphere before his very eyes. Although the shopping malls on the streets would do their utmost to create a festive and lively atmosphere during Chinese New Year or other important festivities, the people still felt incredibly distant from each other, slightly cold and detached. It was unable to be compared to the festive and ardent atmosphere displayed before his eyes.

As a result, Yan Liqiang was also deeply moved by the smiles and the enthusiasm he witnessed on the crowd’s faces on his journey.

As he rode on the large rhinodrake steed, Yan Liqiang had frequently stolen the hearts of many young women during the journey due to his handsome and extraordinary appearance.

“Uncle Qian, why is the Lu Residence so lively today?”

Yan Liqiang asked. However, upon noticing that Qian Su did not reply, he turned around, only to discover that Qian Su’s gaze was fixated on a woman sitting on the bullock cart further ahead. The woman appeared to be older than thirty years of age. She was dressed in a red skirt and was at the prime age of her life. Her entire figure was as round as pearls and as smooth as jade. She possessed a full bosom and perky buttocks, seemingly rather pretty.

The woman had also noticed that Qian Su was eyeing her. The duo was currently exchanging flirty and amorous glances with one another.

Yan Liqiang softened his voice, “Ahem...ahem... Uncle Qian...”

“Ah? What? Liqiang, were you calling me...?” Qian Su abruptly awoke from his trance and turned to ask Yan Liqiang.

“Such a beautiful scene to behold. How about Uncle Qian go up and ask? If the bullock cart still has vacant seats, then Uncle Qian can squeeze together with the woman. I will lead this rhinodrake to Lu Residence instead!” commented Yan Liqiang mischievously with narrowed eyes.

Qian Su’s aged face flushed as he glared daggers at Yan Liqiang. “A youngster like you dares to tease his elder?!”

Yan Liqiang instantly began to laugh uproariously.

...

There was still some distance before they arrived at one of the outer gates of the Lu Residence. Yan Liqiang soon caught sight of an old friend Lu Wenbin, who was throwing a look in his direction. Both him and Qian Su looked very conspicuous riding their rhinodrake steeds. When they took notice of Lu Wenbin, Lu Wenbin also saw them. By the time they rode their rhinodrake steeds close enough, Lu Wenbin promptly moved towards them with an enthusiastic, splendid expression on his face.

Yan Liqiang and Qian Su dismounted from their rhinodrake steeds, handing over the reins of the steeds to the two servants from Lu Clan who had come over with Lu Wenbin.

“Lu Wenbin pays my respect to Quarter Master Qian and Young Master Yan!” Lu Wenbin bowed towards them. Even Lu Wenbin himself couldn’t resist the temptation to take a second glance at Yan Liqiang as he noticed how different his demeanor was after changing into a new set of clothes.

Yan Liqiang blinked at Lu Wenbin and smiled. “Steward Lu is being too nice!”

“Hahaha! Is Brother Peien here? I promised to have a bet with Brother Peien today. I can’t wait any longer! The sun has just risen so it’s a good time to go fishing now...” said Qian Su as he glanced around his surroundings.

“Sixth Brother is already waiting for Quarter Master by the lake!”

“That’s great. I’ll go now. I’ll go now...” As soon as Qian Su finished, he turned around to speak to Yan Liqiang, “The scenic view at Lotus Flower Lake is beautiful as it can be found in Huanglong County. You haven’t seen it yet so you can come along with me. If you want to go around the Lu Residence’s market, you can wait until the afternoon because that’s when it will be bustling with people.”

“That’s right! It’ll be lively when the theatrical trope we’ve invited begin their performances in the afternoon. If Young Master Yan is interested in watching the play, you can wait and head over there in the afternoon. Our master has already requested us to leave a seat empty for Young Master Yan on the viewing platform...” explained Steward Lu smilingly.

“Okay. Then let’s head over and admire the view of Lotus Flower Lake that Uncle Qian suggested.” Yan Liqiang nodded.

“Both of you, please follow me...”

The three of them did not enter the Lu Residence. Lu Wenbin immediately brought the two to the riverside outside of the Lu Residence’s walls, before eventually boarding a small boat. After Steward Lu informed the boatman, the boatman then rowed the small boat towards the far off distance.

The boat was completely packed with two people sitting in it and the boatman. The boat moved briskly on the river. Before they knew it, the boat eventually rowed into a beautiful scenic lake which couldn’t be noticed with a glance after taking a spin around the Lu Residence’s walls.

The water of the lake was so clear that the bottom could clearly be seen. One could catch a glimpse of the fish swimming in it. When surveying the surroundings from the boat, pieces of lotus leaves were everywhere. A lot of green frogs were crouching on the bundle of lotus leaves, their eyes widening largely as they stared at the men on the boat. They eventually leaped into the water after the boat neared them.

It was currently at the height of summer, the time when lotus flowers bloomed. Pink, white or red lotus flowers stood slender and elegant amidst the lotus leaves and could be reached easily with the stretch of an arm. Nothing more beautiful could be imagined as far as their eyes could see. The small boat rowed along, as though it was rowing through a lush green forest. The lotus leaves swayed prettily and gently as a gentle breeze swept past. All they could smell was the delicate fragrance of the simple and elegant lotus flower which simply ensorcelled them.

In just a short while, the boatman rowed the small boat to a small island in the center of the lake.

The small island was surrounded by water and there was even a pavilion and a loft situated on it with a variety of plants around them. It was precisely a good place to fish.

A solid and dumpy built thirty-year-old man stood at the edge of the stone step on the island. His facial feature bore some resemblance to Old Master Lu, having two little mustaches on the edge of his lips. He cast a gaze jovially at the approaching small boat.

“Hahaha! Brother Qian, you’re finally here! Let’s see who’s better today. It just so happens that we can have fish stew tonight...” The man grasped Qian Su’s shoulders as he burst into laughter. Then he turned to throw a glance at Yan Liqiang. He sized Yan Liqiang thoroughly from the top to the bottom, and the smiling expression on his countenance became more apparent. “This must be Young Master Yan. As expected, what a fine-looking man!”

“Yan Liqiang greets Master Sixth!” Yan Liqiang greeted the man.

This Sixth Master was known as Lu Peien, one of the sons of Old Master Lu. He was the sixth son of the clan. When Yan Liqiang listened to Lu Wenbin explain the affairs of the Lu Residence before, he had already heard of Lu Peien’s name. The many properties that the Lu Clan owned in Huanglong County Seat were handled by Lu Peien. This man could be considered to be smooth and slick in establishing networks and was one of the core members of the Lu Clan.

Yan Liqiang did not find it strange in the slightest upon knowing Qian Su was friends with Lu Peien. Qian Su tended to frequent Drunken Fragrance Inn, which was one of the properties that Sixth Master handled. What made him puzzled was that, as an extremely busy man, why did Sixth Master have the time to come here and bet with Qian Su to kill time? There was an off-chance that they perhaps had some important matters to discuss, similar to how big bosses loved to discuss business deals over playing golf in his previous life.

“Liqiang, I’m going to fish here with Brother Peien. You’re a young man. If you find this boring, why don’t you use the boat to go around Lotus Flower Lake? Let’s just meet up when it’s time for lunch!”

Yan Liqiang was more than happy when Qian Su said that. It was simply a torture for him to sit here and do nothing while staring at the two fishing rods.

After bidding his goodbyes to Qian Su and Lu Peien, Yan Liqiang once again boarded the small boat, requesting the boatman to go around the lake.

Upon seeing Yan Liqiang leaving, both Qian Su and Lu Peien exchanged smiles with each other...

...

The golden lake was a feast for the eyes, enough for Yan Liqiang to linger on with no thought of leaving...

“Ah, Young Master Yan! Crap! The boat is leaking...” the boatman screamed abruptly. Yan Liqiang lowered his head to look. Unbeknownst to him, there was suddenly a hole about the size of a wine cup at the base of the board of the boatman’s feet behind him. Water was gurgling up from the bottom.

Why was there suddenly a hole in the boat?

“I know how to swim so it’s alright. You just row the boat back!” said Yan Liqiang calmly.

“There are two people on this boat. The water is leaking at an alarming rate so I’m afraid I can’t row it back...”

“Then what do we do? Are you saying we should all swim back?” Yan Liqiang looked at the boatman ridiculously. If that were the case, then his outfit today would be completely destroyed. He wasn’t particularly worried about the clothes though, as he just found the whole incident to be slightly ludicrous. He never expected he would encounter a situation like this.

“There’s no need to go that far. Young Master Yan just needs to change boats. I can row back on my own first...”

“Switch boats? What boat?”

“Ah....!” The boatman shouted exaggeratedly, no different than the surprised gasps from a couple of chefs in Stephen Chow’s ‘God of Cookery’ movie. “Look, Young Master Yan! What a coincidence! A boat has just arrived...” The boatman gestured into the distance. Turning his head, Yan Liqiang saw a small boat slide out amidst the lotus leaves.

On the boat were a boatman and a woman in a green dress. By the time he glanced at them, the woman on the boat also looked towards him, sizing up Yan Liqiang thoroughly. Her expression was extremely odd...

The boatman called out to the other and the other boat rowed over. The two small boats then met between the lotus leaves. After the boatmen stabilized the boats, Yan Liqiang made the switch and sat in the new boat.

The boatman who had brought Yan Liqiang here then rowed the ‘leaking’ boat away, instantly vanishing into the lotus leaves in the blink of an eye...

Chapter 37: Insight

The lady sitting in the small boat was about twenty years old. She had a very lovely face and actually slightly resembled Angelababy[1], but with a healthier-looking figure which made her appear to look even better. Even though this woman was sitting on the boat with her legs close together like she was a young lady from a wealthy family, Yan Liqiang could still make out the obvious outline of her slender yet powerful legs hidden underneath her green dress.

This woman had very fair skin on top of that. The paleness wasn’t the same as what he had seen from those cosmetics used in the past life, it was more of a youthful and healthy aura that came from within her. Her skin was translucent like jade and was also tinted with a pinkness that brimmed with vitality. Furthermore, this woman had very bright eyes that were overflowing with vigor. A lady of such caliber was definitely not someone that could be compared to little girls like Angelababy.

Based on his experience, Yan Liqiang could tell that this woman was definitely also a martial arts practitioner. Although she looked serene like a young lady from a wealthy family right now, the energy, essence, and spirit that this woman exuded were incomparable to that of an ordinary woman.

At this very moment, Yan Liqiang’s mind reacted despite how slow he could be sometimes. It was most likely Qian Su who had arranged his ‘meeting’ with this woman during his trip to Lotus Flower Lake.

For Qian Su to be this meticulous and for so many in the Lu Residence to put an act on just to create opportunities, this woman definitely had to have an unusual status at the Lu Residence.

The gears in Yan Liqiang’s brain turned rapidly. In just a moment, he was able to remember a person among the figures in Lu Clan that Lu Wenbin had introduced to him before – the Ninth Lady of the Lu Residence. The beloved daughter of Old Master Lu, Lu Beixin.

Lu Beixin was the youngest daughter that Old Master Lu had gotten at his old age and thus he pampered her a lot. However, Lu Wenbin previously mentioned that Lu Beixin had been studying at a martial arts academy in the Pingxi Prefecture. So why did she return to the Lu Residence and appear before him, sizing him up with such a strange gaze?

The way this woman was sizing up Yan Liqiang instantly reminded him of the two potential girlfriends that his friend had introduced to him in his past life. She was checking him out in the same way they did when had they first met.

Could it be that Old Master Lu had planned out such a drama because he wanted him to be a son-in-law to the Lu Clan?

Yan Liqiang’s mind was a little dizzy. Although this line of thought was somewhat beyond his belief, this was the best explanation for the situation before his eyes. If it wasn’t for the Old Master’s approval, who in the entire Lu Residence would dare to introduce a potential partner to his precious daughter without his knowledge?

Yan Liqiang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry all of a sudden.

At this moment, that woman who had been staring at Yan Liqiang reach up her head and removed a golden hairpin. Without even taking a look at it, she tossed that hairpin far into the lake.

“Lu Shun, I dropped my hairpin. Can I trouble you to help me retrieve it...?” that woman said indifferently.

The boatman who was rowing put down the oar in his hands without a word. The boat rocked gently as the boatman instantly plunged into the water with a plop. He was simply a great swimmer, there were no splashes as he exhibited his extraordinary swimming ability.

All of a sudden only Yan Liqiang and this woman were left on the small boat.

A hint of a smile appeared on the corner of the woman’s lips. The gaze that she sized him up with instantly grew intense as she started to scrutinize him.

“Ahem... ahem... Greetings, Miss Lu!” As a man, Yan Liqiang took the initiative to greet her.

“You know me?” Lu Beixin was a little taken aback before a trace of anger appeared her face. “They told you about it already?”

“Please don’t misunderstand, Miss Lu. It was only my guess!”

Lu Beixing gave Yan Liqiang an unconvinced look, seemingly distrustful of his words. “Your guess? What can you guess?”

“Parents will always care about their children!” Yan Liqiang let out a sigh. “Wouldn’t I be too stupid if I still couldn’t guess what was going on up until this point?”

“You’re quite a bright one!” Lu Beixin’s gaze finally softened. “So you’ve already figured out the situation?”

Yan Liqiang spread out his arms. “Rest assured, Miss Lu. It’ll be fine as long as you can explain to Old Master Lu. I’m fourteen this year. It’s still too early for me to talk about marriage, so this can buy you some time. Over the next few years, I think Miss Lu still will have chances to take action and regain your right to making a decision for your own marriage. If anyone in the Lu Clan asks, I will say that I am getting along quite well with Miss Lu and that Miss Lu is well educated, graceful, and is like an elder sister to me. What do you think?”

As the saying goes, ‘Which young man doesn’t want to stay loyal to a lover and which young lady doesn’t yearn for love?’ Lu Beixin had just turned nineteen and was in the prime of her youth. Not only that but she was currently staying in the prefectural city and had a lot of opportunities to meet opposite sex. Yan Liqiang would definitely not believe it if Lu Beixin didn’t have someone in her mind or was secretly in love with someone. In any case, even if Lu Beixin didn’t have anyone in her mind or someone she was secretly in love with, or even if she had completely no experience in love, Yan Liqiang still felt that Lu Beixin wouldn’t have any romantic feelings for him or any favorable impression on him, given their age.

Women always mature early, be it their physical appearance or emotions. A lady at Lu Beixin’s age probably admired a handsome, confident, easy going, and promising young man. It could even be someone like Tony Leung[2] or a mature man like Wu Xiubo[3] who looked like a stylish uncle, but definitely not someone who was a lot younger than her like a fourteen-year-old boy whose pubic hair hadn’t even fully grown out. This was all predetermined by Darwin’s theory of evolution and a woman’s hormone level.

Right now, the most possible scenario was Lu Beixin already had someone she liked in her heart but the Old Master Lu didn’t know about that yet. That was why he had dragged him here to match them up together.

Yan Liqiang wasn’t going to refuse in getting to know Lu Beixin to form a close relationship with the Lu Clan. However, he wasn’t going to let his sperm race to his brain and assume that this darling daughter from the Lu Clan was waiting for his arrival for all nineteen years...

Since this was the case, it was better for him to get right to the point to avoid wasting each other’s time. He had a feeling that Lu Beixin had sent the boatman away just now because she wanted to lay her cards on the table.

Lu Beixin was dumbstruck while she stared at Yan Liqiang. She definitely didn’t expect this boy to actually finish saying the words she wanted to say before she could even speak. Back then, she had snorted when she heard the story about Yan Liqiang saving her little nephew’s life. She even thought that it was nonsense on how Yan Liqiang had claimed that his knowledge was imparted by some deity in his dream. Yan Liqiang could have just been lucky enough to have picked up that lost secret technique from somewhere else. At this very moment, however, Lu Beixin had a feeling that what Yan Liqiang had claimed could have been true...

Facing Yan Liqiang’s deep gaze that didn’t seem to fit his age, Lu Beixin felt as though this youth sitting across from her could really see through her heart. It made her felt somewhat flustered. She couldn’t help but avert her gaze to the pink lotus flower that she had plucked in her hands despite her aggressive attitude just now.

“Regardless, I still have to thank you for saving Shaolin...” Lu Beixin took a deep breath and then smiled at Yan Liqiang.

This was an indication that she had silently admitted to the words than Yan Liqiang had just said...

Lu Shaolin was the Old Master Lu’s grandson whom Yan Liqiang had saved last time.

“You’re welcome. That’s something I should do. Besides, the Lu Clan has already given me ample reward!” Yan Liqiang replied calmly as he also averted his gaze from Lu Beixin’s face. A harmless and innocent smile reappeared on his face as he changed the conversation topic. “I wonder if it’s too much to ask for Miss Lu to show me around Lotus Flower Lake?”

The fact that both them had a mutual understanding of the most important matter caused Lu Beixin to instantly feel relieved. She patted the side of the boat to make some noises. The head of the boatman who had just dived into the water resurfaced not too far away from them with the golden hairpin that Lu Beixin had thrown into the water in his hand as he swam towards the boat. He placed both of his hands at the end of the boat. The boat rocked gently as he pulled himself up.

“Miss, here’s your hairpin!”

“Alright. You may keep it as a reward!” Lu Beixin was in a great mood. “Young Master Yan wishes to tour around Lotus Flower Lake. I shall leave the rest to you!”

“Understood, you can rest assured Miss!” The boatman gladly accepted the golden hairpin. With a simple and honest smile, he started rowing the boat energetically.

...

A little more than an hour passed by as both of them casually walked around the lake and chatted. It wasn’t until near lunchtime that the small boat which had sent Yan Liqiang out to the lake was ‘repaired’ and was rowing back towards him again. Yan Liqiang returned to his own small boat and parted with Lu Beixin...

With that, their first date that had been arranged by the Lu Clan and Qian Su came to an end.

As Yan Liqiang watched the Lu Beixin’s figure fade away, the judgment in his heart grew clearer. There was no doubt that Lu Beixin already liked someone else, but she hadn’t told Old Master Lu yet. She had been acting like an obedient child in front of Old Master Lu with a great concern in her heart as if she was worried about something.

Old Master Lu didn’t even mind a poor child like himself, so the concern in Lu Beixin’s heart was definitely not connected to the background of the person she liked. It must have been for another reason. She knew that Old Master Lu would definitely not agree to it if she had told him and he might’ve even been furious so she hid the truth and didn’t dare to tell him.

There was only one great possibility for Old Master Lu to express so much disapproval towards a person whom he had never seen before.The identity of the man that Lu Beixin liked was most likely from a family or clan that was on bad terms with the Lu Clan and Old Master Lu.

He vaguely recalled Lu Wenbin mentioning that the only clan that didn’t deal with the Lu Clan in the entire Huanglong County was the Wang Clan.

The Lu Clan and Wang Clan were both great clans in Huanglong County. However, these two clans had always been incompatible like fire and water with each other.

Hence, it was highly possible that the person whom Lu Beixin liked was from the Wang Clan!

That person was most definitely not a nobody in the Wang Clan to be able to attract a lady like Lu Beixin. He was surely an extremely outstanding individual, about the same age as Lu Bei Xin and had a lot of opportunities to be together with Lu Beixin. It would be very easy for him to find a person with such a profile.

If Lu Beixing found out that Yan Liqiang was able to guess all the secrets in her heart through just this one meeting, she would definitely regret meeting him this time.

Although Romeo and Juliet was a beautiful tale, the reality was that not every Juliet could meet a Romeo...

Should he tell the people from the Lu Clan about this?

Yan Liqiang was slightly hesitant...

Chapter 38: Alarmed by Grievous News

By the time Yan Liqiang arrived to meet Qian Su in the small island at the center of the lake, Qian Su and Lu Peien’s bet had already ended. Both of them were currently sitting in the pavilion in the middle of the island. They had started a fire on the stove and racked a copper pot over it. The aroma of fish stew inside the copper pot wafted through the air in all directions, with plates of steaming dishes placed around it. The two of them were currently engaged in casual conversation as they awaited Yan Liqiang’s return.

The moment Yan Liqiang arrived, the two old men exchanged glances with one another. Lu Peien broke into a crafty-looking smile. “What does Young Master Yan think of the Lotus Flower Lake scenery?”

“The countless lotus flowers in Lotus Flower Lake are beautiful beyond measure. Unexpectedly, it gives rise to a feeling that’s out of the world as the boat rowed amongst them...” Yan Liqiang smiled as he went over, greeting the two of them. He then sat down on the chair that was left for him and calmly said, “What a coincidence, I met Miss Lu by chance in the lake, she was picking lotus flowers there. My boat was leaking so I rode on Miss Lu’s boat as we took a spin around the lake..”

Prior to this, Yan Liqiang was still hesitating as to whether he should reveal his conjecture that there was a possibility Lu Beixin was in love with the Wang Clan’s son to the Lu Residence. But at this time, Yan Liqiang dispelled that idea. As the saying went, blood was thicker than water, and to the Lu Clan, he was still an outsider. If he rashly blabbed to the Lu Clan about this, there was an off-chance that it would cause him to be ostracized. Besides, this was only a conjecture so there was a possibility that he could be wrong. Thus, it was better for him to be patient and feigned ignorance instead.

However, the Sixth Master before him was a shrewd man. Perhaps he could discreetly try to hint to him so that the man from the Lu Residence could pay slightly more attention to their Ninth Lady’s movements within the prefectural city. This wasn’t an attempt to break them up, instead, it was to give the Lu Clan a benevolent reminder as someone who had personally experienced it.

Lu Beixin was very smart but no matter how intelligent a woman was, there were times when they would be blinded out of their minds with love affairs. From Yan Liqiang’s view, the current Lu Beixin was completely no different than those women who foolishly met their internet friends only to get drugged and ultimately scammed and raped in his past life.

“Hahaha, come! Come! Come! Young Master Yan, let’s eat! Let’s eat! Young Master Yan, do try out the flavor of this fish stew from Lotus Flower Lake...”

Lu Peien was also very crafty. When he heard Yan Liqiang and Lu Beixin had met, he only laughed and did not ask about the details. Instead, he called out to Yan Liqiang to begin eating. Yan Liqiang also wasn’t in a hurry to say anything because he knew that Qian Su and Lu Peien would definitely indirectly ask him about his impression of Lu Beixin during the meal.

Sure enough, midway through the meal, Yan Liqiang’s uncle, Qian Su, sold him out. He commented that Yan Liqiang had grown up and was already an ‘adult’, even going as far as to urge him to drink two cups of wine. When Yan Liqiang was feeling tipsy and merry, Qian Su once again brought up Yan Liqiang’s tour around the lake, indirectly wanting to listen to his opinion of Lu Beixin.

What kind of opinion could Yan Liqiang have? Naturally, he picked all her good traits and made a lot of remarks such as how she was pretty, generous, educated and such was.

Lu Peien was sitting to the side, beaming with joy as he listened. Occasionally, he would exchange a meaningful glance with Qian Su, appearing to be very satisfied.

After he praised Lu Beixin for a short while, Yan Liqiang used the fact that he was tipsy as a pretext to say what he really wanted in the first place.

“I heard Miss Lu said that she’s still studying in the prefectural city’s martial arts academy. It truly is the envy of everyone. Those who can enter the martial arts academy in Pingxi Prefecture are all young talents from various regions who are around the same age as Miss Lu. Thinking about it, being able to learn, train and be friends with so many other young talents also must be very exciting. During this year’s martial arts examination, I must work hard for an opportunity to enter our Pingxi Prefecture’s martial arts academy. At that time, perhaps I can again meet with Miss Lu and get acquainted with Miss Lu’s friends...”

Lu Peien had been smiling non-stop as he listened to Yan Liqiang. After Yan Liqiang finished speaking, only then did he slightly knit his brows together while casting a thoughtful glance at Yan Liqiang.

...

The reason why they had come to the Lu Residence this early in the morning was to create an opportunity for Yan Liqiang and Lu Beixin to meet. By the time he had finished lunch, it was already noon. Yan Liqiang realized that was the time when the Lu Residence was really bustling with energy upon returning to the Lu Residence from the island in the center of the lake. The many guests that the Lu Clan had invited only arrived in the afternoon. The plaza amidst the entirety of the Lu Residence was turned into the focal point of the surrounding townsfolk and villagers celebrating the Half-Year Festival.

The Lu Clan had set up a stage in the plaza and surrounding it stood various kinds of refreshment, snacks and small business booths. A merry atmosphere enveloped the entire Lu Residence, especially the area surrounding the plaza’s stage was packed full of people, it. When the gong went off on the stage, signaling the start of the opera, the cheers from the crowd simply went through the roof.

Everything was good in this world. The air was great, the mountain was great and the water was without a doubt, amazing. There is only one aspect that needed improvement and that was the lack of an entertainment that could please people. Under such circumstances, the greatest form of entertainment that everyone could think of was watching theatrical shows. This was the main reason why the Lu Residence was so lively.

In his past life on Earth, Yan Liqiang once heard a couple of old men chatting about a grand occasion during their younger years when they caught wind of news that a small movie team was heading to the nearby countryside to air movies. Knowing where movies would be aired during that period was a major event that could create a huge stir in the surrounding towns and villages.

For the sake of watching movies, the majority of households including the young and elderly would choose to give up dinner. They would boil a couple of potatoes to bring along on the journey as well as a small stool. Occasionally, the whole family would walk up miles worth of mountain roads, all for the sake of watching open-air films such as ‘Tunnel War’, ‘Shaolin Temple’ and so on. On the journey back, everyone would break out their torches as they rushed home through the night, each of them in high spirits as though they were celebrating the New Year...

When he heard what they said back then, Yan Liqiang was in utter disbelief. However, upon seeing the spectacle of the theatrical show before him today at the Lu Residence, he finally believed it.

The Lu Clan had placed two canopies at the best positions in front of the theatre stage and had left a lot of chairs for invited guests. As the show began, even the Lu Clan’s lord was already zestfully seated at the front. Qian Su was also fully engrossed in the performance on the stage as his spirit trembled with excitement.

Lu Beixin was also present, except that she was sitting with the other women of the Lu Clan and female guests on the other side which was quite a distance from Yan Liqang. After she nodded her greetings to Yan Liqiang, she then treated him like air.

The others were watching the play on stage with gusto. On the other hand, after he fulfilled his curiosity and watched the performers on stage sing for a while, Yan Liqiang was so overcome with boredom that he almost fell asleep. Without waiting for the rest of the acts to perform, Yan Liqiang came up with an excuse and fled from the viewing platform, heading off to watch a couple of craftsmen creating clay dolls at the side of the plaza.

At dinnertime, Old Master Lu even publicly introduced Yan Liqiang to their invited guests. When the guests heard Old Master Lu’s introduction, only then did they realize that the recent news on the method to save drowned people which had been spread all over Huanglong County had originated from Yan Liqiang while at the Lu Residence. In the midst of the sea of praise, Yan Liqiang gained some publicity during the banquet. His name was completely made well-known in Huanglong County.

After the banquet, Yan Liqiang then headed back to the Weaponsmiths Quarter with Qian Su. After he finished his nightly practice of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing, Yan Liqiang went to bed quietly.

However, while Yan Liqiang was indulging in breakfast at the dining hall early next morning, a man who he had never expected to see appeared before him.

...

Zhou Tiezhu’s eyes were red, looking extremely fatigued, his face still bruised and wounded. The first thing he said when he saw Yan Liqiang was, “Liqiang, Master...Master is in trouble!”

Chapter 39: Returning Home

The incident occurred yesterday, during the Half Year Festival. When Yan Liqiang was at the Lu Clan, a sudden and unexpected disaster befell the Yan Clan in Liuhe Town.

From Zhou Tiezhu’s brief narration, Yan Liqiang quickly understood what had happened back at home.

Very simply put, it all started with a horseshoe.

Yesterday morning, someone had come to the blacksmith store to have a horseshoe forged. At night, that person came back with a rude and unreasonable attitude, claiming that the horseshoe that he had gotten forged in the morning was ruined by the afternoon of the same day and caused one of his horse’s legs to be broken, so he demanded that Yan Dechang compensate him. Of course, Yan Dechang wasn’t going to comply because he was clearly just trying to extort money, so a dispute broke out between them. The dispute had even barely started when that person suddenly unsheathed a saber and hacked Yan Dechang to the ground. Zhou Tiezhu, who went to help, was also overpowered by that person and sustained a cut on his body.

After injuring them, that person slipped away under the cover of night. Zhou Tiezhu tossed and turned the whole night after he made sure Yan Dechang was stable. He finally recalled that Yan Dechang had secretly told him where Yan Liqiang was, so he hurriedly got onto his horse and rushed to Huanglong County to notify him.

On hearing the news of his father being grievously wounded, Yan Liqiang was instantly enraged. He could feel nothing but the boiling blood in his entire body rushing directly to his head as his whole body trembled. Endless fury surged and burned within Yan Liqiang’s body.

Brother Tiezhu, was that person yesterday from the Hong Clan?” Yan Liqiang’s eyes had turned red, as he asked the question through clenched teeth. He seemed as though he was about to murder someone.

“No. I’ve never seen that person in Liuhe Town before...” Zhou Tiezhu shook his head.

“How’s my father? Who is taking care of him right now?”

“Master is at home. I have already hired a physician, however, Master’s injury is very serious and has been unconscious...” Tears fell from Zhou Tiezhu’s eyes as he continued explaining, “When I made my way here, apart from Mother Wu, I also had my cousin stay by Master’s side to attend to the physician...”

Yan Liqiang shut his eyes and tightly clenched his fists. A few seconds later, he opened his eyes and looked at Qian Su, the look in his eyes had turned extremely determined. “Uncle Qian. Thank you for taking care of me all this time. Something has happened back home so I must return there now...”

Looking at the Yan Liqiang who stood before him, Qian Su knew that it was impossible to convince him to stay in the Weaponsmiths Quarter any longer. He sighed and said, “Go pack up, I’ll get someone to prepare the rhinodrake!”

Yan Liqiang wordlessly turned around and made his way towards his own courtyard with large strides.

The expression on Qian Su’s face was extremely gloomy as he beckoned to Zhou Yong. “Zhou Yong, go order two people to get changed into civilian clothes and escort Yan Liqiang to Liuhe Town. You know what to do right?”

Zhou Yong’s eyes flashed as he cupped his fist in response. “Rest assured, Quarter Master, I know what to do!”

...

Yan Liqiang returned to his small courtyard and packed up his belongings with the fastest speed possible. He carried the bow bag that contained the Python Horned Bow on his back and then left the small building. When he reached the center of the courtyard, he suddenly recalled something and turned around to pick up a quiver of arrows under the canopy of the courtyard and added it to his belongings.

By the time he arrived at the entrance to the Weaponsmiths Quarter, Qian Su was already waiting there with a heavy saddlebag made of ox leather. Qian Su’s gaze inadvertently swept past the quiver of arrows that Yan Liqiang was carrying and then he handed over the saddlebag in his hands to Yan Liqiang. “These are the things you left with me, perhaps they will be useful when you return home!”

Yan Liqiang accepted the saddlebag. Just by weighing it in his hands, he knew that it was the gold that he had accepted from the Lu Clan. It weighed about twenty kilograms or so.

At this time, Zhou Yong and two other soldiers from the Weaponsmiths Quarter led four rhinodrake steeds towards them, dressed in their casual clothes and carrying their sabers and swords.

“Brother Zhou, you all are...”

“Master Yan, if you really treat us like your brothers, then don’t say anything at a time like this!” Zhou Yong said with a solemn face and then shoved a rhinodrake steed’s reins into Yan Liqiang’s hands.

Yan Liqiang was touched deep down in his heart. He only nodded his head and didn’t say anything else.

Zhou Yong and the others were from the regular army. According to the military law of the Great Han Empire, without a transfer order, soldiers of the regular army were not allowed to leave their encampment without permission. They were definitely not allowed to cross over prefectures and counties. Zhou Yong and the rest following him back to the Qinghe County would be a criminal offense if they were found out.

Yan Liqiang knew the other two people that were coming along with Zhou Yong too. The one with the extremely robust body was Liu Gang while the other one that seemed somewhat frightful was Zhao Qifeng. They had both push-wrestled with him that day and had gotten familiar with each other over this period of time.

“Liqiang, I want to return together with you all too...” Zhou Tiezhu came over with his jaw clenched.

Yan Liqiang took a glance at Zhou Tiezhu, who looked extremely exhausted and battered at this point. Putting aside the fact that he was injured yesterday, he hadn’t slept for the whole night and had traveled so far out here on top of that. Blood was already seeping out of the wound on his upper arm that was only roughly dressed yesterday. Fortunately, his body was tempered over these years having followed Yan Dechang and was very sturdy. If he was an ordinary person, he would have collapsed long ago.

“Brother Tiezhu, you won’t be able to last if you travel in your current condition. You should have a rest in the Weaponsmiths Quarter first, eat something, have your wound dressed properly and recuperate before you return. There are still many things back at home that will require Brother Tiezhu’s help. We shall take our leave first...” Yan Liqiang gave a heavy pat on Zhou Tiezhu’s shoulder.

Zhou Tiezhu looked at Yan Liqiang and stopped insisting.

“Uncle Qian, I’ll have to trouble you to take care of Brother Tiezhu!”

“Don’t worry about it!”

Yan Liqiang didn’t say anything else and strapped the saddlebag to the saddle of the rhinodrake steed. He stepped on the stirrup and nimbly mounted. He hung the quiver of arrows on the other side then shook the reins. The rhinodrake steed beneath him was the first to charge out of the Weaponsmiths Quarter with Zhou Yong and the other two following closely behind on their rhinodrake steeds.

In just a flash, the four rhinodrake steeds were on the main road.

“Jiaaa...!” At Yan Liqiang’s yell and the squeeze of his calves, the rhinodrake steed started galloping. The sound of their hooves was like thunder as the four of them energetically charged towards Qinghe County on their steeds.

Qian Su wasn’t staying idle on his side either. After arranging for someone to help Zhou Tiezhu settle in, he also got onto a rhinodrake steed and left the Weaponsmiths Quarter as he made for the Lu Residence...

...

Qinghe County and Huanglong County were adjacent to each other, so naturally, Liuhe Town wasn’t that far from the Weaponsmiths Quarter. They were only about eighty or ninety kilometers apart from each other. It took Yan Liqiang four or five hours to travel from Qinghe County to Huanglong County by boat due to the slow speed and meandering rivers. On the rhinodrake steeds, it only took Yan Liqiang about two hours to lead Zhou Yong and the other two into Liuhe Town.

The impatient galloping sounds of the four rhinodrake steeds’ hooves broke the peacefulness of Liuhe Town, causing the pedestrians to rush to dodge. Those that knew Yan Liqiang stared strangely at the murderous-looking Yan Liqiang who had just returned to Liuhe Town. Each and every one of them was whispering and continuously commenting behind Yan Liqiang’s back.

Yan Liqiang’s face was ashen as he pursed his lips and galloped into the courtyard of his house with Zhou Yong and the others.

The moment they dismounted from their steeds, Mother Wu rushed out from the house. She looked at Yan Liqiang, unable to speak, she could only make gestures with her hands as tears streamed down her face.

Yan Liqiang dashed into the room right after he leaped off his steed.

The room was filled with the concentrated smell of medicinal herbs and reeked of blood. The physician that Zhou Tiezhu had hired and his cousin were both there.

Yan Dechang laid on the bed motionlessly with a pale face and deathly white lips.

“Physician, how’s my father...?”

“There’s a limit to my ability and the injury to your father is unusually severe. I fear that he won’t be able to last longer than a few days...” The physician shook his head with a troubled look on his face and then sighed.

The color immediately drained from Yan Liqiang’s face. He walked to the bedside and knelt down, tightly clasping the coarse palm of Yan Dechang with both of his hands. His eyes reddened and his voice quivered, “Father, I’ve returned...”

Yan Dechang’s eyelids that had been shut all this time trembled a few times when he heard Yan Liqiang’s voice before they slowly opened. He forced a small smile on his face and said weakly. “I’m... fine... Didn’t... I ask... you to... ask Uncle Qian to arrange for someone to send you to the county town... county town’s... martial art academy... on the martial arts examination day? It’s... dangerous here... why have... you returned... here...?”

Even at a time like this, Yan Dechang wasn’t thinking about himself but instead, he was still concerned about Yan Liqiang’s safety.

Yan Liqiang’s tears suddenly started rolling off his cheeks...

Chapter 40: Evil Scheme

Yan Dechang was still in a partially unconscious state at this very moment. His body would be cold in this instant minute and be very hot in the very next. After exchanging a few words with Yan Liqiang just now, he lost his consciousness again.

Looking at his father falling unconscious, Yan Liqiang flipped open the blanket and saw the wounds that were on his father’s body. Yan Liqiang trembled when he saw the wounds.

Yan Dechang had been stabbed twice. One was on his left shoulder, which was so deep that his bone could be seen and there was one on his chest. The wound on his chest was about one chi long and it ran all the way from his chest down to his lower abdomen, almost slicing the front of Yan Dechang’s body into half.

The bandages wrapped around Yan Dechang’s wounds were all soaked with blood that was seeping out. Even the mattress under Yan Dechang was half-dyed with his fresh blood.

If it wasn’t for Yan Dechang’s sturdy body, an ordinary person would have been long gone after sustaining injuries like this.

In all honesty, Yan Liqiang was like a volcano that was about to erupt at this moment. He was hungry to kill someone. But Yan Liqiang had to calm himself down because if he didn’t, it would really be over for Yan Dechang.

The incident had occurred yesterday. Zhou Tiezhu himself was injured too. He looked for the physician in the town and his cousin. It really wasn’t easy for him to do what he had done.

When Yan Liqiang walked out of the room with a grave expression, everyone else gathered around. For the first time ever, Yan Liqiang felt the pressure of responsibility on his shoulders under everyone’s gazes.

“Brother Hongda! I’ve troubled you today...” Yan Liqiang squeezed out a small smile at Zhou Tiezhu’s cousin. Yan Liqiang was grateful in his heart to those who had came to his house to lend a helping hand during this period of time.

Zhou Hongda was Zhou Tiezhu’s cousin. He was also from Liuhe Town and was an honest person. He and his wife owned a small restaurant in town that usually served breakfast. They were selling noodles as a small business. He used to come to Yan Liqiang’s family blacksmith workshop to look for Zhou Tiezhu before. Thus he was no stranger to them as well.

“I did what I was supposed to do. Master Yan is such a nice person. He usually doesn’t accept any money from the villagers for fixing their farming tools. Who would have thought that there would be someone who would act so ruthless towards Master Yan...” Zhou Hongda said in anger.

“I need another favor from Brother Hongda!”

“Please say it!”

“There are quite a number of people in the house these few days. I’m hope that Brother Hongda and your wife could temporarily halt your business for a couple of days to help out at the Yan Residence by doing grocery shopping everyday to cook and take care of everyone’s three meals at the residence!” Yan Liqiang said while he passed a gold bar over into Zhou Hongda’s hand, “This is for the food expenses for these few days. I won’t let Brother Hongda pay for it...”

One of the reasons Zhou Hongda had came over to help was for the sake of Zhou Tiezhu. Another reason was that he was indeed somewhat a warm-hearted person as well. When he heard Yan Liqiang’s request, he felt a little troubled. However, that troubled feeling vanished within the blink of an eye when he held that heavy gold bar in his hand which caused his heart to race. “Sure! I’ll go get my wife to come and help now...”

“Brother Hongda! Try to buy fresh vegetables for the Yan Residence for these few days and be more cautious with the meat!” Yan Liqiang reminded.

Zhou Hongda was also a merchant of a small business. He naturally knew about Yan Liqiang’s concerns after such an incident had occurred at the Yan Residence. He nodded, “I know. Rest assured, Liqiang. I won’t let anyone mess around here. I will buy the freshest food for the Yan Residence to eat these few days. I will buy the vegetables from acquaintances and I will also buy the animals alive.”

Yan Liqiang nodded his head, “Then I’ll leave this in Brother Hongda’s hands!”

“It’s no problem...” Zhou Hongda left the Yan Residence with the money to look for his wife to help out the Yan Residence.

Yan Liqiang settled the expenses with the town’s physician who was in the Yan Residence right after that. Then the town’s physician left as well.

Yan Liqiang took another gold bar and gave it to Zhao Jifeng who had come over with him, “Brother Zhao! I’ll have to trouble you to take a trip toJirentang Medical Hall in eastern street of Qinghe County. The physicians in Jirentang Medical Hall are some of the most famous in Qinghe County for treating knife wounds. Please invite Physician Hong to come!”

Zhao Jifeng, who had come with Zhou Yong, gave Yan Liqiang a nod. He accepted the gold bar, then turned around and left the Yan Residence on the rhinodrake steed again and made his way towards Qinghe County at lightning speed.

Yan Liqiang took another gold bar again and gave it to Zhou Yong and Liu Gang, “Brother Zhou! Brother Liu! Go to Guo Clan’s liquor shop in town and buy fifty jin worth of alcohol. Then, go to Qing Yun textiles in town to buy fifty jin of white gauze...”

As soon as Zhou Yong and Liu Gang took the gold bar, they nodded their heads and left without saying a word.

Yan Liqiang then talked to Mother Wu and had her boil two pots of hot water in the kitchen.

In Yan Liqiang’s memories, the development of medical science of this world was somewhat similar to ancient China. However, there was a difference as well. The similarity was that both were using the traditional chinese medical methods and the difference was that the medical science in this world had improved in certain aspects. For instance, this included surgery as well as the refinement of some peculiar pills.

The physician whom Zhou Tiezhu hired from the town stitched the wounds on Yan Dechang’s body by using catgut. In addition to that, he sterilized the wounds with alcohol. Many physicians from ancient China couldn’t perform this. It was rumored that Hua Tuo [1] was capable of doing this, but he unfortunately did not pass this knowledge down.

Yan Liqiang was actually feeling a little lost right now. He wasn’t sure what he could actually do. At this moment, the only thing he could think of was the story of Florence Nightingale: The Lady with the Lamp [2]. In terms of medical treatment, he couldn’t help as he was not a doctor in his previous world and he wasn’t well versed on medicinal treatment texts. Those memories in his head weren’t very helpful right now. But he knew that a good physician and meticulous nursing care would definitely increase Yan Dechang’s chances survival.

Within the blink of an eye, almost everyone was busy.

Yan Liqiang stayed in the room and stared at Yan Dechang who was lying on the bed with his eyes tightly shut. He lowered his head and agonizingly buried his face in his palms feeling remorseful. He never thought that when he was passing his days safely in the Weaponsmiths Quarter, Yan Dechang who was staying in Liuhe Town would encounter this kind of tragedy. Although there was no evidence to indicate that the person was sent by the Hong Clan yet, Yan Liqiang had a feeling that the person who had slashed Yan Dechang was possibly the person whom he sensed. That person had hidden himself and secretly peeked at him at the entrance of Weaponsmiths Quarter on that day.

This past month he stayed at the Weaponsmiths Quarter, leaving no chance for that person to lay a finger on him. As a result, that person returned to Liuhe Town and made this incident happen with the intention of forcing him to come back. That person would only have the opportunity to harm him with his return while away from the Weaponsmiths Quarter.

This was an evil scheme. If he didn’t come back and neglected Yan Dechang’s life or death, then certain people would be able to pin his “shortcoming in filial piety” on him and everything would really be over for him. In the Great Han Empire, being unfilial towards one’s parents was a very serious crime and it was despised and condemned by most. If someone “lacked filial piety”, then that person would more or less become a public enemy in society and his existence would be spurned by others. He would immediately be banned from the preliminary exam and even if he could become a Martial Warrior in the future, it would be difficult for him to become a government official.

Translator Notes:

[1] Hua Tuo, Yuanhua, was an ancient Chinese physician who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. Besides being respected for his expertise in surgery and anesthesia, Hua Tuo was famous for his abilities in acupuncture, moxibustion, herbal medicine and medical Daoyin exercises. He developed the Wuqinxi (Exercise of the Five Animals) from studying movements of the tiger, deer, bear, ape, and crane.

[2] Florence Nightingale was an English social reformer statistician, and the founder of modern nursing. She gave nursing a highly favourable reputation and became an icon of Victorian culture, especially in the persona of “The Lady with the Lamp” making rounds of wounded soldiers at night.

Chapter 41: Sorrow and Joy

Zhou Hongda and his wife were the first to return to the Yan Residence with the vegetables and food they bought. As soon as they both arrived, they started cooking before Yan Liqiang even needed to say anything.

Soon after, Zhou Yong and Liu Qiang also returned with some gauze and the alcohol they bought, and Yan Liqiang got to work too. He placed the purchased gauze into a big pot at the blacksmith workshop, boiling them for sterilization. After that, he hung them out in the courtyard, air-drying them to store later on, then went to change Yan Dechang’s bedsheets with fresh, clean ones.

By noontime, Zhao Qifeng returned at last, along with Physician Hong from Jirentang Medical Hall, which operated on the eastern street of the Qinghe County’s town.

As the saying goes: ‘When a high reward is offered, the brave fellows are bound to come forward’. Yan Liqiang had really spent a fortune. Physician Hong had come to the Yan Residence and was doing his best to treat Yan Dechang.

When it came to treating wounds caused by sabers and swords, Physician Hong’s trump cards were the two types of medicine that he had personally concocted. One of them was a translucent salve to be applied to the wound. It was said that the salve could speed up the rate the wound healed and dulled the pain. The other type was a dark red-colored medicinal pill. Physician Hong said that after the pill was ingested with water, it replenished the person’s Qi and blood loss.

Using the two different methods at the same time, Yan Liqiang changed the salve on Yan Dechang’s wound and fed him the medicinal pill. He soon discovered that Yan Dechang’s deathly pale lips were finally regaining their color and that his breathing had also stabilized slightly. Yan Liqiang couldn’t help but feel a lot calmer in his heart.

Just like in his past life, a Grade A county hospital may not necessarily be able to treat the ailments that a village hospital couldn’t treat. However, a Grade 3A hospital [1] might be able to treat the ailments that a Grade A county hospital couldn’t treat. Everyone had different levels of capability. Thus different doctors would have different judgments. Just because the physicians in town who’d arrived earlier had lacked the ability to help, that didn’t mean it was the same for other physicians.

By noontime and after everyone had their lunch, the sounds of horse carriages rang out again from the garden outside of the Yan Residence. Yan Liqiang, Zhou Yong and the rest came out of the courtyard and saw Qian Su, Lu Peien, Zhou Tiezhu and Lu Wenbin, as well as seven or eight guards from the Lu Clan, all of which had arrived on rhinodrake steeds.

“Uncle Qian, Sixth Master...” Yan Liqiang hurriedly welcomed them.

Yan Liqiang wasn’t surprised that Qian Su had turned up. Any grudges between him and his father had long been put to rest the moment he arrived at the Weaponsmiths Quarter. However, Yan Liqiang hadn’t expected the Lu Clan to send someone over too. Furthermore, the person who came was the Sixth Master of the Lu Clan, along with his steward and guards. He was quite an influential figure within the Lu Clan. Yan Liqiang took a look at the few people that the Lu Clan had brought and discovered that at least two of them, both with calm demeanors and keen eyes, seemed to be experts.

When these people arrived at the Liuhe Town on their rhinodrake steeds, they had already alarmed many folks in town. Even at this moment, there were a fair amount of people poking their heads around to take a look inside the Yan Residence’s courtyard.

“How’s Dechang?” Qian Su, who seemed a little exhausted from his journey, grabbed Yan Liqiang’s arm and questioned him as soon as he leaped off his horse.

“I have just found a physician from the county town to try their medicine on Father. Father seems to be doing slightly better than he was this morning...”

“Let’s go into the room. I hope we are not too late...” Lu Peien murmured.

Yan Liqiang shot a look at Qian Su and saw the signal in his eyes. Yan Liqiang nodded and led the two of them into Yan Dechang’s room. The others tactfully stayed outside and didn’t follow them inside.

Qian Su’s eyes turned red when he saw Yan Dechang lying on the bed. Lu Peien checked Yan Dechang’s breath and pulse, then assessed his dressed wound. He then breathed out a long sigh of relief, and his tense and solemn face finally relaxed. He nodded at Yan Liqiang, “Good, it seems like we’re not too late. We managed to make it in time by rushing over. It’s all thanks to Brother Qian promptly informing the Lu Clan that something had happened at Young Master Yan’s home!”

“What do you mean by that, Sixth Master?”

Lu Peien smiled and then fished out a cloth from his chest. He unwrapped the cloth, revealing an item half a fist in size, that was fully sealed in wax. Beneath the layer of wax that he scraped off was a box made from white jade. He opened the jade box, which contained a fiery red medicinal pill about as large as a dragon’s eye. At the same time, a sudden wave of a strange fragrance permeated the air in the room.

The scent was light and ethereal. Just one breath of it made one feel invigorated and refreshed.

Yan Liqiang’s eyes widened all of a sudden. In that very moment, even an idiot would know that the medicinal pill was definitely unusual. “Sixth Master, t-this... What kind of medicinal pill is this?”

“This is a Revival Pill from the Lu Clan’s collection. It is the world’s most famous panacea. Legend has it that as long as the person still breathes, and their heart still beats, then consuming this Revival Pill will bring him back from the brink of death. This pill is a gift from an old friend of the Old Master on his sixtieth birthday. That old friend of his is an inner disciple of one of the four major sects, the Soul Mountain Sect. He obtained this panacea for all his past contributions to that sect!” Lu Peien gave Yan Liqiang a meaningful glance. “As soon as the Old Master heard that something had happened at Young Master Yan’s home, he immediately sent me on my way with this Revival Pill...”

“I call the Heaven and Earth as witnesses today. I, Yan Liqiang, swear to remember the great kindness shown by the Lu Clan and Old Master Lu for as long as I live, and I will certainly repay this kindness one day!” Yan Liqiang solemnly swore as he cupped his fist towards Lu Peien. He was so emotional that his eyes flowed with tears.

Without having one’s family sink into a similarly hopeless situation, there was no way for a person to experience how it felt to be helped during a time of great need–like being given charcoal during a snowstorm. In that moment, he wouldn’t just repay their act of kindness–Yan Liqiang was willing to sell himself off as a slave to the Lu Clan if it meant saving Yan Dechang.

Lu Peien watched Yan Liqiang’s emotional face with a resolute expression. “Young Master Yan saved the life of a Lu Clan member back then. How can the Lu Clan possibly stand by and do nothing when the Yan Clan is in trouble now?”

“Liqiang, stop being courteous. You can thank him later. Let’s get your father to take this Revival Pill first. The most important thing is to let him recover as soon as possible!” Qian Su, who was standing at the side, spoke up.

“Right, right, right. Uncle Qian is right indeed!” Yan Liqiang wiped his tears away and asked Lu Peien. “How should this Revival Pill be consumed? Should I go fetch some water?”

“No need for water. Young Master Yan only has to prop your father up, tilt his head and open his mouth!”

Upon hearing Lu Peien’s instructions, Yan Liqiang carefully propped Yan Dechang up into a sitting position and had him lean against his chest. He then gently squeezed Yan Dechang’s mouth open.

Lu Peien picked up the Revival Pill from its jade box and placed it in front of Yan Dechang’s mouth. He then retrieved a tiny jade needle from the box and lightly pricked the Revival Pill. In just a split second, a trickle of glistening verdant liquid, as thick as a strand of hair, flowed out from the Revival Pill and dripped into Yan Dechang’s mouth. The moment the liquid trickled out, the fragrance in the entire room was instantly amplified by severalfold.

As the liquid drained, the Revival Pill shrunk down until it ended up looking like a deflated balloon. Lu Peien gently returned the red pill’s outer layer of skin, as thick as a cicada’s wing, into the jade box.

With care, Yan Liqiang once again laid Yan Dechang back onto the bed, unblinkingly observing his condition.

As miraculous as it sounded, a rosy color gradually returned to Yan Dechang’s pale face in less than two minutes after he consumed the liquid from that Revival Pill. His breathing had also become smoother and more stable.

Yan Liqiang’s heart, which had been gripped with suspense, finally seemed to settle into his stomach in that moment.

“Your father will wake up in as early as two hours, or four hours at the most after consuming this Revival Pill. His body will slowly recover as long as he rests properly. The skin of the pill in this jade box isn’t just any ordinary item. You can dissolve this layer of skin in hot water and let your father drink it after he is fully awake. It will speed up his complete recovery!” Lu Peien handed over the jade box in his hands to Yan Liqiang as he explained.

Yan Liqiang didn’t say anything. He only clasped his hands together and gave Lu Peien a very deep bow.

...

The three of them exited the room. When those who had stayed outside the room heard that Yan Dechang was safe after consuming the panacea, all of them cheered up. The tense atmosphere in the Yan Residence had instantly broken.

“Master is a great person. I knew he’d definitely be safe. Definitely be safe...” Zhou Tiezhu smiled while he wiped his tears away, feeling just as emotional.

“Brother Tiezhu, let us go to the living room. I have some questions I’d like to ask you!”

Yan Liqiang assigned two people to guard the entrance to Yan Dechang’s bedroom and to monitor the inside of the room for a while. He then called Zhou Tiezhu to the living room at the side and inquired about yesterday’s incident in detail, particularly on the facial features of the person who had hacked at both Yan Dechang and Zhou Tiezhu.

Zhou Tiezhu was able to recount the incident tirelessly and clearly, without leaving out any details. As for that person’s appearance, it was very difficult to give a clear description just through words. Zhou Tiezhu could only recall the person’s most prominent facial features, which were his slanted eyes and the black mole on his left cheek. As for the rest of his face, even if he could describe it with words, other people might not be able to picture it in their minds.

His inability to clearly describe the appearance of that person frustrated Zhou Tiezhu so much that he was covered in sweat.

‘A pair of slanted eyes and a black mole on their face’. To search for a person with such minimal information, it was like searching for a needle in the ocean.

Upon seeing Zhou Tiezhu having difficulty in describing that person’s appearance, Yan Liqiang had them wait for him in the living room as he went off to the kitchen. A few minutes later, he returned with a wooden board about a square foot in size, a charcoal core that had been peeled in his hands, along with a small erasing knife.

As Zhou Tiezhu described the person’s facial features, Yan Liqiang drew on the wooden board with the charcoal core while scraping with the small knife at the same time, continuously making changes on his drawing until a distinct sketch of a human face gradually formed on the wooden surface.

When Yan Liqiang made the final stroke with his hand, Zhou Tiezhu’s eyes instantly reddened like that of a fighting bull when he saw the sinister face that finally appeared on the wooden board. He pointed at the portrait that Yan Liqiang drew and hissed through his clenched teeth. “That’s him, that’s him! That’s the person who hacked at Master yesterday...!”

Beside them, Qian Su and Lu Peien had been left dumbstruck for quite some time upon seeing the extremely vivid face being drawn onto the wooden board. They were looking at Yan Liqiang in awe, as if he was an immortal...

Putting aside Lu Peien, the current Yan Liqiang was even more amazing in Qian Su’s eyes compared to the time he had witnessed his auspicious form passing the Horse Stance stage.

Had such a ‘supreme drawing skill’ appeared in this world before...?

Chapter 42: Out of Harm’s Way

In his past life, the first job that Yan Liqiang had earned money from was as an artist. He had grown up in an orphanage back then and began learning how to draw on his own when he was eight years old. As it happened, there was a teacher in the orphanage who knew how to draw, so they instructed him in practicing still life drawings as well as portraits. After going through five years worth of blood, sweat, and tears, Yan Liqiang was finally capable of carrying a canvas on his back, setting up a booth at the park or the streetsides to earn money from drawing portraits of people. He started doing this when he was thirteen years old. Drawing one portrait would earn him 20 yuan.

On the year he turned fifteen, while he was setting up shop in the park one weekend morning, he caught sight of an old man, who had come to do his morning exercise, fainting by the roadside. He didn’t hesitate to call an ambulance, sending the old man to the hospital. As the saying goes, ‘one good turn deserves another’. Afterwards, once the old man regained consciousness, the old man did not wrong him. Instead, after finding out that Yan Liqiang knew how to draw, he taught him how to draw portraits accurately in accordance to another person’s description. That old man turned out to be a criminal sketch artist for the provincial public security department and was a first-class expert in that field. Yan Liqiang learned from the old man for a few years, and received all his teachings. He managed to gain a solid grasp of his techniques in that area and even surpassed the teacher as a result. Later on, the old man had even wanted to recommend Yan Liqiang to work in the public security department as a criminal sketch artist too. But Yan Liqiang was in the prime of his youth at the time; he still had a lot of dreams and goals to achieve in the future so he wasn’t satisfied with a stable and peaceful occupation which would earn him a couple of thousand yuan a month for a lifetime. Thus, he chose not to work at the public security department and had instead, chosen the more difficult path of making a living with more opportunities.

Yan Liqiang himself never expected that the skills he’d learned in his past life could be put to use here.

To be the only one in the world with such a skill, with no others bearing the same skillset–it was an ability that would naturally have everyone on their feet once it was exhibited.

This was because the painters and artists of this world were accustomed to ink and wash forms of painting. Ink and wash painting paid particular attention to the artistic mood and vividness of the subject. It was the kind of state and comprehension which could only be grasped intuitively–to be sensed but not to be expressed in words. All ink and wash paintings had the artist’s personality drawn into it. It was an exhibition of the painter’s inner world. Even though line-drawing techniques existed in ink and wash painting, portraits drawn using brushes were completely incomparable to Yan Liqiang’s type of portraits. After all, he had especially trained himself to reach the standards of a criminal sketch artist in his past life.

The portrait drawn by a criminal sketch artist didn’t pay attention to vividness, artistic mood or any form of spiritual comprehension and experience. Instead, it was all about accuracy! To be able to draw the portrait to attain the quality of a photograph as well as to accurately and unmistakably reveal the appearances of the suspect–that was the highest realm that could be attained!

“Liqiang, when did you learn how to do this?” Qian Su stared at Yan Liqiang in amazement. “You were actually able to use a charcoal core to draw out such a realistic appearance of a man based on just a description. Such a skill is simply marvelous!”

Standing at the side, Lu Peien remained silent. He took the wooden board from Yan Liqiang’s hands and studied it carefully in his grasp. As he looked at the painting in hand, he shot a look of wonder at Yan Liqiang. “Clever! Wonderful! Marvelous! Such a skill has never been seen before. It’s unheard of...”

The surrounding crowd also moved closer. Every single one of them was all struck dumb when they saw the portrait drawn by Yan Liqiang.

“It looks like him! The resemblance is uncanny! The person in the painting almost looks alive...” Zhou Yong felt such respect for Yan Liqiang’s painting on the wooden board that he was practically prostrating himself with admiration. A martial warrior like Zhou Yong didn’t have anything more elegant to say than ‘alive!’. This was already the best praise he could think of.

“Uncle Qian, I myself am unsure when I learned this. Perhaps this skill was taught to me in my dreams...” said Yan Liqiang calmly. Since he had already used this excuse before, what harm was there in using it again?

Last time, Yan Liqiang had explained that he’d learned the method to save the kid from within a dream, but people like Qian Su and Lu Peien wouldn’t normally accept such a claim at face value. It was merely because they didn’t want to delve further since they thought Yan Liqiang must have encountered it by chance or by coincidence. But now, after Yan Liqiang explained that he’d learned this drawing skill from his dreams as well, both Qian Su and Lu Peien exchanged speechless glances with each other as they started to question their earlier decision. Could it be that Yan Liqiang was truly able to meet a deity in his dreams and was bestowed with this opportunity? Otherwise, how could such unimaginable painting skills that had never appeared in this world, emerge from a young man who had never held a painting brush before?

Lu Peien muttered dubiously to himself for a moment before he spoke to Yan Liqiang, “The perpetrator is vicious and merciless, and his methods are savage. He’s definitely not a good man. Now that we know what he looks like, how about I bring this painting to Huanglong County’s Law Enforcement Office and check the pictures of major wanted criminals to see if any of them share similar features to this one? It will make it easier for us to verify the perpetrator’s identity as well as issue a document to capture and arrest the criminal...”

“Why is there a need to go to Huanglong County? Isn’t there one in Qinghe County...?” Yan Liqiang was caught off-guard.

Lu Peien glanced at Qian Su, who in turn, gazed at Zhou Tiezhu who held a look of resentment on his face. “After master was met with this mishap yesterday, I went to the county’s Law Enforcement Office to report the case to the authorities, but the officer of the county’s Law Enforcement Office said this was a business dispute between the Yan Clan and the customer. So this wasn’t considered a ‘case’ and therefore nothing they’d be concerned with. He wanted us to resolve it on our own. I was so angry that I ended up arguing with them. Those officers even said that if we’re going to stir up trouble, they would instead investigate our Yan Clan’s workshop for making such a low-quality horseshoe that it broke the horse’s leg, that they’d demand we pay the compensation fee to the other man before they tried looking for him...”

Previously, Yan Liqiang was in a hurry to go home, so Zhou Tiezhu barely had time to explain everything in detail to him.

Yan Liqiang hadn’t expected such a thing as ‘no case-filing’ would also exist in this world. In his past life, only the officials would spout such words, causing a large number of people to have nobody to turn to for their injustices and with nowhere to go to cleanse away the hatred in their hearts. Just these two words alone had unknowingly covered up countless hidden crimes and filth, allowing innumerable demons and monsters colluding together to run amuck in the world without any scruples. Even if a person were killed, or an underaged girl raped, should you, the victim’s family, try to file a case, then as long as the official said ‘no case-filing’, even if the perpetrator was devoid of conscience and was worse than a dog, it wasn’t considered as breaking the law. Regardless of how major the injustice was, that was still wrecking havoc without reason. The so-called ‘truth and justice’, ‘law and sanctity’, the feelings of the people, they were nothing but a joke before these two light words.

A dark situation had befallen him, the most unjust since he’d arrived; his father had almost been hacked to death by some man, and yet the Law Enforcement Office stood on the perpetrator’s side without budging and had instead chosen to fling bogus accusations at them. Yan Liqiang instantly flushed red with fury, practically seething with anger.

After he calmed down, only then did Yan Liqiang recall that Hong Tao’s uncle from the Hong Clan seemed to be working at the Qinghe County’s Law Enforcement Office. No wonder they had banded together.

However, even if the Hong Clan could extend their hold over at the Law Enforcement Office of Qinghe County, they weren’t able to reach out to the Law Enforcement Office of Huanglong County. In Huanglong County, the Lu Clan’s influence was completely on a different level than the Hong Clan.

Once he understood these facts, Yan Liqiang sucked in a deep breath of air. He cupped his fists at Lu Peien. “Then I shall trouble Sixth Master...”

“No trouble. It’s no trouble at all! There’s no time to lose. If you’re sure that this man is our wanted criminal, we can request the Law Enforcement Office of Huanglong County to report directly to the prefectural city’s Law Enforcement Office so they can issue a document to make the arrest...” said Lu Peien unscrupulously. “After being commanded to do so by the authorities, Qinghe County’s Law Enforcement Office won’t be able to shirk their responsibilities. That culprit surely won’t be able to act as recklessly as before. This matter should not be delayed, so I’ll head back to Huanglong County first and verify this man’s identity. Even if he’s not a wanted criminal, our Lu Clan can still find someone to ask around for anyone who might know this person!”

Lu Peien stood as he spoke, getting ready to leave with the portrait drawn by Yan Liqiang. Yan Liqiang escorted him out of the residence.

“I’ll let Steward Lu stay behind, along with two guards from the Lu Clan. If Young Master Yan has anything that needs to be done, you can inform Steward Lu to handle it on your behalf!”

Yan Liqiang nodded his head. Lu Peien then handed Yan Liqiang’s drawing on the wooden board to the guard accompanying him and requested him to pack it carefully in a cloth, strapping it to his back. Soon after, he then brought along four attendants and went off on their rhinodrake steeds.

...

The Revival Pill brought by the Lu Clan was undisputedly miraculous. After a mere two hours had passed, Yan Dechang, who had lain unmoving up till then, finally regained consciousness. His complexion was also far better than how it looked that morning.

After Yan Dechang woke up, the Revival Pill’s skin was then dissolved in water for him to drink. After resting for a while, Yan Dechang became more spirited and could actually converse with the others. Upon seeing this scene, Yan Liqiang finally placed his worries at rest and was incredibly grateful towards the Lu Clan.

...

Both Qian Su and Zhou Yong stayed until it was almost sunset, then ate their dinner before bidding Yan Liqiang goodbye. Zhou Young and the rest were regular soldiers. Although they were dressed casually, it would become an issue should they stay at the Yan Residence for too long. Now that the Lu Clan had assigned a couple of men to guarantee the safety of the Yan Residence, and Yan Dechang was out of harm’s way, Qian Su was the first to leave, with Zhou Yong and the rest in tow.

Yan Liqiang personally escorted Qian Su to the outskirts of Liuhe Town.

“Liqiang, do you know why the Lu Clan took out the Revival Pill from their collection today? You should know that the Revival Pill is not just any ordinary medicine. If you placed it in the prefectural city’s auction house, you might get bids worth thousands of pieces of gold,” Qian Su said to Yan Liqiang, when they were finally alone together.

Yan Liqiang muttered, “I won’t conceal the truth from Uncle Qian. It was indeed out of my expectations that the Lu Clan would take out their Revival Pill. Although I did save a Lu Clan family member, they’ve already given me gold, which should count as repaying the favor. The Lu Clan’s favor today is too heavy to bear, I don’t know how to even begin paying them back!”

“You’re a bright man. When we went to celebrate the Half Year Festival at the Lu Residence yesterday, I’m sure you understood why you encountered the Ninth Lady at Lotus Flower Lake, even though you didn’t say it outright.”

Yan Liqiang didn’t feign his ignorance anymore. “I just don’t understand why Old Master Lu would have such thoughts. In terms of the Lu Clan’s aspects and family background, they completely outclass me. I’m seriously flattered!”

“When I went to the Lu Residence today and informed Old Master Lu of what happened with your family, I also told him about your auspicious form when you’d passed the Horse Stance stage. Naturally, the Lu Clan would consider such a son-in-law worthy of being offered their major assets in order to win him over. At the very least, even if you didn’t end up as the Lu Clan’s son-in-law, you’re still worth the Lu Clan’s investment as a youth with boundless prospects–someone who’s destined to advance as a Warrior in the future. You’ll be doing a huge favor to the Lu Clan!”

So this was the truth all along!

Yan Liqiang nodded, “I finally understand!”

“It’s good that you understand!” Qian Su turned to cast a glance at Liuhe Town. He then softened his tone. “Liqiang, just the Hong Clan in Liuhe Town was enough to almost ruin your family. Have you thought of the reason why? In this world, the so-called principles of truth and justice are just nonsense. In the end, everyone compares pure strength. People will obey whoever has that power. Those with similar strengths can probably negotiate with each other, while those without strength can only be pushed around like wooden puppets. What is ‘strength’? Money, land, people, relationships, and even fists all count as strength. The reason why the Lu Clan fancies you is because of the strength you’ve exhibited, as well as your future potential. Your future prospects are limitless, and becoming a Martial Warrior won’t be the end for you. It’s only the beginning. If you have the Lu Clan backing you, you’ll be like a tiger that has grown wings, and you’ll be able to obtain more achievements after you became a Martial Warrior. Perhaps you will perceive this point better after you’ve become a Martial Warrior in the future. This is also the reason why I wanted to match you up with the Lu Clan’s young miss!”

Qian Su gazed at the silent Yan Liqiang. “I’ve seen the Lu Clan’s young miss before. Although she’s older than you by a few years, her appearance and talents are considered the cream of the crop. Carefully think about it on your own. Take what just happened today; if your Yan Clan was linked to the Lu Clan through marriage, do you think the Hong Clan would still dare to use such methods against the Yan Clan?”

“Rest assured, Uncle Qian. This won’t happen again in the future.” The expression on Yan Liqiang’s face was as calm as iron. “I’ll give ample thought about Miss Lu.”

Qian Su gazed fixedly at Yan Liqiang. “Then that’s good!”

Yan Liqiang drew in a deep breath of air after Qian Su and Zhou Yong left. He then turned to walk towards his home.

The setting sun was similar to a red-darkened cloud. In the midst of the afterglow of the setting sun, the entire Liuhe Town was dyed a shade of crimson.

Yan Liqiang glanced coldly at where the Hong Clan’s courtyard was situated, his lips tightly pursed. The reddish light which shrouded the Yan Residence was akin to blood in Yan Liqiang’s eyes...

Chapter 43: King Cobra

After consuming the Revival Pill, Yan Dechang’s body got better day by day. By the fifth day, Yan Dechang was able to at least get off the bed by himself and walk with the aid of his cane even though he still struggled in his movements.

Over those few days, the Yan Clan had undoubtedly become the focal point in Liuhe Town. Putting aside everything else, not many people in Liuhe Town had seen the imposing aura from Lu Wenbin and the two guards from the Lu Clan before. Since there were no such things as ‘leak-proof’ walls in this world, the people of Liuhe Town found out Steward Lu and the others were from the great Lu Clan of Huanglong County just after a few days of their stay in the Yan Residence. As for the fact that Yan Clan managed to form ties with the Lu Clan, many were quite jealous and envious, hence, there were quite a few rumors and slanders floating about town.

One of the most exaggerated rumor was that Yan Liqiang had sold himself to the Lu Clan as a slave of his own accord so that the Lu Clan would send people to the Yan Residence to strengthening their influence. Yan Liqiang had laughed disdainfully when he found out about this rumor from Zhou Hongda’s wife.

Over those few days when Yan Dechang was bedridden, Yan Liqiang stayed at home and took care of him every day. He willingly supported Yan Dechang when he had to defecate or urinate, wiped him down and fed him without any complaints. He never requested help from anyone else either. His actions greatly impressed Steward Lu, who stayed at the Yan Residence, so much that he couldn’t help but to secretly admire him.

On the seventh day, information finally came from the Lu Clan. Through the Lu Clan’s efforts, the identity of the culprit who had injured Yan Dechang was finally confirmed.

That person was a wanted criminal in the Great Han Empire for over ten years. No more useful clues could be found among the records and archives of recent years in the Law Enforcement Office of Huanglong County. In the end, the Lu Clan had to make use of their connections before they finally found information on that person among the wanted criminal records in the Law Enforcement Office in Pingxi Prefecture.

That person was known as Deng Long, nicknamed King Cobra. He was a vicious and merciless serial killer on the run. He was wanted because he had robbed and killed in other prefectures over more than a decade ago, taking more than ten innocent lives. However, he had never been apprehended because of his cunning behavior and that he had kept wandering around, drifting from place to place.

If it wasn’t for Yan Liqiang’s drawing, the Law Enforcement Office probably wouldn’t know that this fugitive had already fled into Pingxi Prefecture.

After the identity of that person had been confirmed, the Law Enforcement Office in Pingxi Prefecture sent official notices to every county, ordering them to track down this wanted criminal. Upon receiving the official document from the higher-ups, only then the people of the Law Enforcement Office in Qinghe County put on the pretense of visiting the Yan Residence to further understand the incident that had occurred that day. After that, they stuck a wanted criminal portrait that looked totally unlike that person on the streets and then forgot about the whole thing.

Even though Yan Liqiang had been taking care of Yan Dechang at home over those few days, he didn’t slack on his cultivation either.

He slept in the room adjacent to Yan Dechang. Every night when Yan Dechang was asleep or resting, Yan Liqiang would cultivate Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing in his own room. He still maintained his cultivation practice of at least six rounds a day, without fail.

For those few days, Zhou Hongda and his wife had been doing the cooking at the Yan Residence while the people from the Lu Clan guarded the courtyard and Steward Lu took care of the various chores. Apart from looking after Yan Dechang, Yan Liqiang was able to fully focus on his cultivation, making improvements every single day.

In particular was the secret manual, the ‘Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps’, that Qian Su had given to him. Yan Liqiang was able to get a better feel of it after dabbling in it for a few consecutive days. In just a few days, Yan Liqiang had a feeling that he had grasped the realm of the first layer of the ‘Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps’.

At the same time, Yan Liqiang realized that his perception in every aspect was also getting sharper along with the cultivation of Muscle Changing Tendon. Every day during the daytime, he could feel himself being watched and spied on despite the fact that he was staying at home. This sensation was exactly the same as how he felt when he was outside of the Weaponsmiths Quarter’s entrance that day and it would only vanish late at night.

Although it might have sounded a little unbelievable, Yan Liqiang’s intuition kept telling him that King Cobra had always been around him. He didn’t escape, even if a warrant had been issued for his arrest. But instead, he was like a venomous snake, hiding in the dark and ready to strike him down at any time. The nickname ‘King Cobra’ itself was another name for Ophiophagus hannah, a species of venomous snake.

Since King Cobra never left, it was evident that the Hong Clan hadn’t given up on their plan as the martial arts examination drew near.

Yan Liqiang finally made his decision!

...

On the fourteenth night of the sixth lunar month, about an hour past midnight, Yan Liqiang, who was sleeping in the room adjacent to Yan Dechang, opened his eyes.

The clouds were very dense, obscuring the stars and the moon. It was so pitch black outside that visibility was very limited.

Yan Liqiang got up and fully dressed in black. He then slung the bow bag with the Horned Python Bow on his back and picked up a quiver of arrows before he silently exited the room.

As soon as he pushed open his door and stepped out, a soft voice called to him from the side. “Young Master Yan...”

The Lu Clan guard who was outside in the courtyard on night duty was very vigilant; Yan Liqiang had been discovered as soon as he stepped out.

Seeing Yan Liqiang’s black get-up along with the bow and quiver he was carrying, a surprised look emerged on the face of the Lu Clan guard.

Yan Liqiang placed his finger in front of his lips to hush him and that guard immediately understood. He came over and spoke with a voice that was only audible to Yan Liqiang. “Young Master Yan, this is...”

“Don’t mind me. I’m just going out to practice archery, just pretend you didn’t see anything. Remember, do not alarm the others...” Yan Liqiang told him with a solemn face.

The guards here were all members of the Lu Clan, loyalty naturally had never been an issue to them. That guard only slightly hesitated for two seconds before he nodded, indicating that he understood.

Yan Liqiang didn’t leave from the main entrance nor the rear exit, he instead walked to the rear courtyard where he usually practiced his martial arts. With the strength he exerted with his feet, he used the ‘Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps’ on the wall of the rear courtyard. The strong jumping ability instantly allowed his body to soar into the air. With just two more continuous steps on the wall, his body momentum continued to propel him higher up, reaching the top of the three-meter wall. Exerting a light force, he then used one hand to flip himself over the top of the wall, his entire body silently going over like a huge bird, and instantly landed over at the other side.

Beyond this courtyard wall was a dense and lush bamboo forest.

Yan Liqiang, who had jumped over the courtyard wall, squatted behind a bunch of bamboos as he opened his eyes wide to observe his surroundings in the darkness. At the same time, he also used all his other senses to carefully feel the situation around him.

When he confirmed that no one had discovered him, Yan Liqiang, ran just like a cat, agilely and quickly into the bamboo forest, towards the mountain range at the other end. In the blink of an eye, he fully blended himself into the darkness.

...

Yan Liqiang didn’t reappear in this forest until nearly three hours later. He then climbed over the courtyard wall, just like how he had left earlier. However, the bow bag and quiver of arrows he had with him were nowhere to be seen.

The Lu Clan guard had been waiting for Yan Liqiang’s return. He only breathed a long sigh of relief when he finally saw Yan Liqiang again.

Yan Liqiang winked at that guard and made a gesture for him to keep it a secret. Although the guard was filled with doubt, he still nodded to Yan Liqiang...

...

The next day, on the fifteenth day of the sixth lunar month, there was nothing out of the ordinary at the Yan Residence.

Yan Liqiang still got up at the time he normally did and then practiced a round of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing before he went off to take care of Yan Dechang and helped him to wash up.

Zhou Hongda and his wife also arrived at the Yan Residence early. Just as how they did for the past few days, they started making breakfast for everyone in the Yan Residence. By the time Yan Dechang finished washing up, the couple had also finished preparing breakfast.

“When I went to buy some meat early this morning, I found out that the live pigs that a few butchers in town had just bought were booked by the people from the Hong Clan again. I heard that because the martial arts examination is drawing near, so the Hong Clan is preparing to offer sacrifices to their ancestors today, praying for Hong Tao to be the best in this examination and to advance to Martial Warrior soon.”

While eating breakfast, this news that Yan Liqiang heard from Zhou Hongda stunned him for a few good seconds before he vaguely hummed in response.

In the afternoon after lunch, Yan Dechang threw away his cane for the first time and managed to walk two rounds in the courtyard. His body was getting better and better.

He exercised for about two hours before he felt a little exhausted. Yan Liqiang helped him back into the room and changed his dressing. By the time he was done, Yan Dechang had fallen asleep.

After Yan Liqiang came out from the room, he immediately went to the kitchen. He took out a back-carried basket and a small hoe and prepared to go out.

Steward Lu had an astonished look on his face when he saw Yan Liqiang leaving.

“I didn’t expect my father to recover this fast. It’s about time for the mushrooms on the mountains to grow out these few days. I’m going up there to pick some so I can stew some chicken for father as a nourishing supplement tomorrow...”

Steward Lu was slightly baffled. “Young Master Yan...”

Yan Liqiang had a big smile on his face. “It’ll be fine. Steward Lu, do you think that person would still dare to linger around Liuhe Town after orders for his arrest have been circulated for so many days? If I’m still not back by the time my father wakes up, tell him that I have gone shopping in town and ask him not to be worried. If I’m still not back by nightfall, you all can go ahead with dinner first!”

Steward Lu seemed to still have something to say but Yan Liqiang’s palm was already on his shoulder, giving him a pat with unusual force. He gave it a couple squeezes as he looked at Steward Lu with a determined expression on his face. “I’ll be alright going alone. Steward Lu, please stay here and look after my father...”

Yan Liqiang’s words were imbued with a wave of power that Steward Lu couldn’t refuse, besides, the Lu Clan had given him an order to follow Yan Liqiang’s instructions. Seeing Yan Liqiang’s determination to ascend the mountain, Steward Lu could only nod and urge Yan Liqiang to be careful out there at the same time.

Just like this, Yan Liqiang exited the main entrance of the Yan Residence with a back-carried basket. He followed the Willow River and made his way towards the forest that was not too far away. In just about twenty minutes, he went into the mountains under the gaze of many people...

Chapter 44: Death of the Perpetrator

The mountain within Qinghe County was known as Mount Hundred Zhang. Mount Hundred Zhang was neither a famous mountain nor was it a tall one. The entire mountain extended continuously for more than thirty kilometers. The highest peak was barely hundred zhang away from the ground, and thus it received the name – Mount Hundred Zhang. A majority of this mountain lied within the boundary of Qinghe County while a small part of it extended towards the neighboring Qulan County. It wasn’t considered to be quite far from Liuhe Town.

Mount Hundred Zhang wasn’t well known. However, the mountain was covered with verdant and lush vegetation everywhere. Upon entering the mountain for a brief moment, one would not be able to see any more traces of people on the small trail in the mountain. Apart from the bird cries ringing in one’s ears as well as the barely audible disjointed folk song coming from the other side of the mountain top, everything else appeared to be rather eerily silent.

Usually, apart from a few woodcutters and rhizotomists, not many people would enter the mountains.

Few years back, there would still be people occasionally heading up the mountain to harvest mushrooms. But ever since a woman was raped and murdered while picking mushrooms in the mountains two years ago, the number of people who picked mushrooms also lessened. During that time, the case caused an outrage in Qinghe County and was widely spread across the town. However, until this day they still hadn’t caught the culprit so this was an unresolved case. As time goes on, people slowly forgot about it.

The current world was the same as the past world that Yan Liqiang experienced. Although the worlds weren’t the same, humanity never changed. Everything that was good and evil, along with beauty and ugliness also remained the same. The only thing that changed in the world was perhaps the rules of power. Once the common folk passed through the hardships of training, they would obtain a slight chance to change their lives.

However, those that were hideous and evil in nature still remained unchanged just like before.

Yan Liqiang entered the mountains and followed a trail that led inside without the slightest effort of concealing his tracks. After walking for an entire one hour, he came to a desolate and uninhabited pine forest where the folk song couldn’t be heard anymore. He found a shrub inside the pine forest and underneath it, he found a rabbit hole. Then, he took out the Horned Python Bow as well as the quiver of arrows which he had hidden in the rabbit hole before placing the basket and hoe that he carried on his back into the hole.

It was just as Yan Liqiang had thought. Because the pines in the pine forest weren’t ripe yet, no one had come here last night until now. Even if someone came, they wouldn’t have been able to discover the items he had hidden in the rabbit hole behind the shrub.

When Yan Liqiang was nine years old, Yan Dechang had brought him to this place before to pick up pine cones as well as hunting rabbits. During the year when Yan Liqiang came here, the homicide case had yet to happen on Mount Hundred Zhang so Yan Dechang had led Yan Liqiang deep into the mountain. This blanket of pine forest was one of the very few happy occasions that he experienced during childhood so the memories remain fresh in his mind until now. He even remembered the location of the rabbit hole he scooped out his items from.

After he placed the items into the rabbit hole, Yan Liqiang carried the bow and arrows to the base of an entwined and vigorous old pine tree wrapping itself around another not far from where he had come from. He easily climbed up the couple of meters of the high pine tree and composedly opened the bow bag to retrieve the Horned Python Bow. Then he hid the bow bag and the arrows in a sunken tree hole of an old pine tree behind him. Soon after, he easily took out an arrow from the quiver and lightly nocked it on the bowstring. He hung the bow downwards with his back pressed against the old pine tree as he waited quietly here.

Sometimes, regardless of whether it was a sudden thought or if it had been planned for a long time, killing honestly wasn’t a very difficult feat to accomplish. People who trained in martial arts would find it easier. What was truly difficult was always having the resolution to commit it.

Yan Liqiang’s intuition was telling him that King Cobra would come.

After his identity was exposed, King Cobra was still hiding in the shadows spying on him. What he was waiting for was for a slight chance to make Yan Liqiang let down his guard. If King Cobra did not strike now and waited for the martial arts examination to come in two days time, it would be increasingly difficult for him to strike as there would be changes. The reason why Yan Liqiang went up into the mountain alone was to create such opportunity for him.

Yan Liqiang concealed himself from sight on the old pine tree. His entire figure was completely shrouded by the pine tree’s branches and leaves. Unless someone closed in on him, they wouldn’t be able to see him in any way.

The mountain breeze blew past the pine forest and swayed the pine trees. Silence engulfed the pine forest...

...

After about an hour, a man finally walked into the pine forest.

The person was wearing a bamboo hat with the edges pressed low on his face, dressed like a woodcutter. However, he wasn’t carrying any firewood on his body. After he walked into the pine forest, he appeared even more alert and cautious, sweeping his eyes across the surroundings every now and then. At times he would crouch down to examine the traces Yan Liqiang had left behind before slowly walking one step at a time towards the shrub where Yan Liqiang had hidden his bow and arrows earlier on.

Yan Liqiang towered above him, unable to see the man’s face clearly as it was covered by the bamboo hat. He wasn’t sure whether this man was King Cobra so he appeared a little hesitant. His arrow was already nocked on his bowstring, but he had yet to launch it.

Right at this moment, a woodpecker cried out from the distance as it flew from the trees from within the pine forest. The man instantly lifted his head in shock, glancing at the location where the bird had flown from.

Upon catching sight of it unexpectedly, Yan Liqiang finally got a full glimpse at the pair of triangular eyes underneath the bamboo hat as well as the mole on his left cheek. If this man wasn’t the King Cobra, who else could he be?

When he realized it was only a bird, King Cobra heaved out a sigh of relief...

Right now!....

Yan Liqiang loosened his grip and an arrow instantly shot out as fast as lightning through a distance not even a hundred meters. The arrow that flew out instantly hit the target. In the midst of the blood-curdling scream that erupted from King Cobra, the arrow that was shot out with a huge force immediately pierced through King Cobra’s underbelly before it stabbed itself to the ground, instantly drenching the arrow in red.

As a result, King Cobra heavily collapsed to the ground on his back.

Yan Liqiang snuck out the arrow from the tree hole behind him and carried it on his back. Then, he nimbly leapt down from the old pine tree he hid in with the Horned Python Bow in hand, breaking into a small run towards where King Cobra had collapsed. Yan Liqiang then came to a halt about twenty meters from where King Cobra had fallen. He did not attempt to move closer and took out another arrow, nocking it on the Horned Python Bow. He narrowed his eyes at the collapsed King Cobra in the pine forest.

King Cobra was motionless on the ground, his face facing downwards as though he was dead.

A cold smile then gradually formed on Yan Liqiang’s countenance.

“Your face is facing downwards, preventing others from seeing your appearance. Yet at the same time, your ears were pressed to the ground which allows you to listen to the surrounding footsteps to determine how many people would come over. On the other hand, one of your hands is grasping your waist. I presume there must be a weapon there. This arrow might possibly claim your life but it won’t kill you instantly. You’re not dead, you’re still waiting to make a comeback...” Yan Liqiang muttered to himself as he faced King Cobra.

King Cobra still kept his supine posture motionlessly.

Yan Liqiang did not talk rubbish with him anymore. He immediately shot an arrow from where he was at. The arrowhead instantly pierced through King Cobra’s left leg causing blood to splatter all over.

King Cobra’s body twitched and quivered for a brief moment, but he remained still.

Yan Liqiang still refused to advance forward. He once again nocked another arrow and muttered to himself, “Very good. I will see how long can you pretend. The next arrow will be aimed right at your right leg!”

As soon as he finished, the third arrow shot out and King Cobra’s right leg was instantly nailed down with the arrow.

Similar to before, King Cobra’s body still only quivered for a moment and remained motionless.

Yan Liqiang continued to nock the fourth arrow on the bowstring, his voice still serene and chilly as before. “As expected, you really are a crafty and experienced man. You can still endure it after being hit by two arrows in succession. However, you seemed to have forgotten something. No matter how much you endure, the reaction from your can’t be faked. Sweat is already forming on your neck. For the next arrow, I’ll count to three. It’ll be aimed right at your neck. Allow me to verify whether you’re really intending to pretend until death... ”

“Two...”

The moment Yan Liqiang counted to two, King Cobra’s body finally flipped over like a dead fish and he turned his head over. His expression was distorted as he glared daggers at Yan Liqiang who was twenty meters away from him with his pair of triangular eyes. Traces of fear, hatred, and murderous intent were oozing from his expression.

“Your hand has yet to leave your waist. Spread open your palm and reveal what’s in it face up. Then you slowly place it on the ground. Don’t test my patience...”

“I...I admit defeat...” King Cobra’s face trembled for a brief moment as he removed his hand from his waist and went according to Yan Liqiang’s demand, spreading both his hands on the ground. He opened his mouth like a dead fish, struggling to breathe violently, his chest heaving up and down. He cast a complex expression which was difficult to make out as Yan Liqiang cautiously walked slowly towards him with bow and arrows in hand. Gradually, he began to burst into a hysterical laughter, coughing as he laughed harder. “Ahem...ahem... I’ve never imagined that I, Fang Ji, would unexpectedly be defeated at a small unremarkable place like Qinghe County of Pingxi Prefecture.... Not only that, I can’t believe I’ll die in the hands of a young man...Retribution....Retribution...HAHAHA.... ”

Fang Ji? Yan Liqiang gave a slight frown, and once again meticulously studied the face on the ground. Wasn’t this King Cobra called Deng Long? How did he turn into Fang Ji? Could it be that Deng Long was also a pseudonym for King Cobra? Hmm, that ought to the case, so Yan Liqiang didn’t spare any more thoughts on it...

Yan Liqiang walked over with bow and arrow in hand. He soon came to a stop about ten meters away from King Cobra with no intention of going further.

“There is no doubt you’ll die today. Now that we have come to this, just beg for a quick death. Answer my question and I’ll end it quick by giving you a full corpse. I’ll even dig you a hole so you can be buried and lie at rest. Should you play tricks with me again, I’ll make sure you’d rather be dead than be alive. I brought a pack of icing sugar with me. If you’re not being honest, I’ll let you have a taste of a myriad of ants devouring you at death’s door!” Yan Liqiang coldly exclaimed, “How much did the Hong Clan pay you to kill me?”

“Initially it was fifty taels of gold, but after...because you ran all the way to Huanglong County, the delay was too long so I made the Hong Clan double the amount. In the beginning, the Hong Clan only wanted me to cripple you so you’d be handicapped forever. However, the Hong Clan found out your clan had relations with the Huanglong County Weaponsmiths Quarter, which prompted them to change their mind. They wanted me to kill you and your father to eliminate future problems...” King Cobra gasped for breath as he laid on the ground; his tone was suddenly filled with bitter resentment and unwillingness. “Prior to this, the Hong Clan said you never learned the art of archery... If I can live...I will crush them all...”

“The Hong Clan was the one who informed you of me heading up the mountain?”

“Yes, ever since you came back, the Hong Clan had sent someone to monitor your family’s every move. I’m also hidden in the shadows waiting for the right chance to strike again. The one who notified me today was Hong An. He’s still at the foot of the mountain...inside that peach forest...waiting for me to bring your head back to meet with him again...Then he’ll pay the remaining amount of money to me...” Large globs of blood began spewing out from King Cobra’s mouth.

Yan Liqiang fell silent for a few seconds. “Lastly, do you have anything else to say...”

A mad smile emerged on King Cobra’s face as he rolled his eyes to gaze at Yan Liqiang. He laughed sinisterly, “Since the Hong Clan tricked me, then let...let them be buried with me...”

“You don’t need to worry about that...” After he finished, the Horned Python Bow in Yan Liqiang’s hand trembled and the fourth arrow flew out, instantly piercing through King Cobra’s neck. The sharp, incisive arrowhead had immediately snapped the vertebra on King Cobra’s neck, causing him to ultimately die...

Chapter 45: Consecutive Revelations

In his two lifetimes, this was the first time Yan Liqiang had killed anyone.

He had seen many novels and television series in his past life. He’d always thought that a person would feel unwell after killing another, such as feeling dizzy at the sight of blood, nausea, or vomiting. But in fact, Yan Liqiang felt pretty calm after eliminating King Cobra. His mind was not seeing the corpse of King Cobra dying before his eyes, but instead the memory of the two horrible and nearly fatal gashes on the body of his father, Yan Dechang.

After seeing the wounds on his father’s body and then looking at King Cobra still form, Yan Liqiang calmed down completely. He was so calm that it even surprised himself.

After confirming the death of King Cobra, Yan Liqiang just put down the bow and arrow in his hands. He then walked over and started to examine King Cobra’s corpse.

Yan Liqiang stopped before the dead body and squatted down. He felt around and discovered two sharp items protruding from his waist. He took them out and realized they were two polished throwing knives that were about the length of a palm. He recalled that King Cobra kept touching his waist earlier on and suddenly felt relieved. Luckily he’d been careful to keep his distance from King Cobra. If he’d let his guard down even a little and approached King Cobra while he played dead, these throwing knives would probably be lodged in his body by now. Indeed, it hadn’t been easy to take down these outlaws.

Aside from the two throwing knives, Yan Liqiang had also found a money bag on King Cobra’s body. In the money bag were six golden promissory notes and some pieces of silver. Each golden promissory note was worth ten taels of gold. He could exchange these notes for money at the official monetary house of the Great Han Empire. Apart from the money, King Cobra had a medicine sack with him as well, with three different colored medicine bottles in the medicine sack. As there were no labels indicating what the bottles contained, Yan Liqiang chose not to sniff their contents just in case the bottles contained something harmful like sleeping gas or the like. If he were to hastily inhale them and accidentally fall into a trap, that would have been hilarious.

Yan Liqiang kept the money bag and immediately tossed the medicine sack back on King Cobra’s body before carefully searching again.

“Huh.....” Just when Yan Liqiang touched King Cobra’s underarms, he discovered the fitted clothes underneath appeared to have two layers. The material there seemed to be a little thicker and seemed to hold something within it.

Yan Liqiang pulled open King Cobra’s clothes. He took out a throwing knife and cut open the material under King Cobra’s underarm, digging out the item hidden inside.

It was a book with a silver-colored cover. The texture didn’t feel like paper. It was very soft to the touch and gleamed in appearance, yet had an underlying firmness. There was a metallic texture to it as if weaved out of some kind of metallic thread. Six golden words adorned the book’s silver-colored cover:”The Golden Bell Divine Protection Technique”.

A secret cultivation manual!

He quickly flipped through the book. The whole book was thin, including the cover, comprised of only seven pages, with the rest of the pages having been ripped off. This secret manual hidden on King Cobra’s person was apparently only the front part. He wasn’t sure how many pages made up the latter part. At the top of that seven-page-book’s last page was a line of words: The Golden Bell Shield: Qi Circulation Diagrams for The Sixth Layer and Medicinal Pill Recipes.

Surprisingly, this thinly-paged, incomplete secret manual was outlining a realm of six layers. He wasn’t sure how many additional layers there were at the later realms, but it was definitely more than six layers. A secret manual like this was practically a priceless treasure.

Yan Liqiang’s little heart thumped as he looked at the incomplete secret manual held in his hand.. He looked around to make sure there was no one nearby before quickly hiding the secret manual on his body.

He searched King Cobra’s body once again and confirmed there was nothing more to find. Only then did he proceed to deal with King Cobra’s corpse.

Yan Liqiang first pulled out the two arrows piercing King Cobra’s leg. As he pulled them out, he realized King Cobra’s legs were sturdy and very muscular. The arrows he’d shot were wedged deeply in his muscles. Moreover, the depth of the arrows’ penetration was also slightly out of Yan Liqiang’s expectations. He’d initially felt that his two shots would at the very least penetrate five inches deep into King Cobra’s thigh. But in fact, the arrowheads had only sunk about three inches into his flesh.

Could it be that King Cobra had practiced the secret manual he’d carried everywhere with him–”The Golden Bell Divine Protection Technique”– until he honed his body’s ability in resisting attacks to an extraordinary degree?

While Yan Liqiang was wondering about that, he pulled out the arrow piercing King Cobra’s neck. As soon as he removed it, the pointed end of the arrowhead seemed to dislodge a small layer of skin above King Cobra’s Adam’s apple.

Feeling odd, Yan Liqiang gently pulled back the line of skin with his hand. He realized that there was actually another layer of skin underneath. Yan Liqiang exerted some force, and a soft ripping noise was heard, akin to the sound of a package being torn open. A thin mask was revealed in his hand and suddenly the face of King Cobra as he lay on the floor, had changed drastically into another face. The face appeared to be that of a middle-aged man’s, with skin so pale it looked like it had never been exposed to the sun. His eyebrows were sparse and his cheekbones were sharp like a knife. His entire face revealed traces of a dark and vicious aura. But the face was now a grim mask of death. It couldn’t be any more lifeless than this.

Could this be King Cobra’s real face? He remembered King Cobra mentioning earlier that his name was Fang Ji and not Deng Long.

It had never occurred to Yan Liqiang that this King Cobra would bring this many revelations with him.

...

Yan Liqiang first dragged King Cobra’s dead body behind the nearby bushes. He then took the pack basket and hoe that he’d hidden in the rabbit hole behind the bushes. Using the hoe, it took him more than half an hour to dig a deeper hole within the abandoned rabbit hole. After that, he threw King Cobra into that hole and buried him. He’d pretty much kept his promise since he’d left King Cobra’s body still intact when he’d buried him.

More than an hour had passed by the time he’d completed this task. But Yan Liqiang didn’t feel tired at all.

Next, Yan Liqiang used a knife to cut a cloth left behind by King Cobra into thinner strips. He wrapped the entire body of the Horned Python Bow, leaving only the bowstring exposed. This way, no one else would be able to see that it was the eye-catching Horned Python Bow.

After that, Yan Liqiang cleaned up the battlefield once again and took care of the bloodstains and any obvious traces on the floor.

When he was done cleaning up, Yan Liqiang took out the mask he’d torn from King Cobra’s face, his eyes now lighting up...

...

When Yan Liqiang walked out of the pine forest ten minutes or so later, perhaps Yan Dechang would be incapable of recognizing him, since he had currently transformed himself into King Cobra.

Yan Liqiang wore his bamboo hat and carried the Horned Python Bow with its quiver of arrows. He threw his pack basket and hoe into the weed bushes at the bottom of the valley before he made his way to the foot of the mountain...

The sun had set and the sky had turned dark when Yan Liqiang arrived at the peach forest situated at the foot of the mountain.

Seeing no one around, Yan Liqiang swiftly entered the peach forest.

...

Not long after entering, Yan Liqiang saw a slightly plump figure pacing to and fro in the deeper part of the peach forest.

Who else could this person be if not Hong Tao’s uncle, Hong An?

Nobody, not even a single guard from the Hong Clan, accompanied Hong An. This kind of matter should be kept in the dark after all, hence the fewer people involved, the better, unless it was someone from the Hong Clan. If other people found out about it, the Hong Clan wouldn’t be at ease.

Yan Liqiang took a deep breath. He reached behind him, immediately gripping the Horned Python Bow in his hand. He couldn’t be bothered to move closer and waste his breath on the people of the Hong Clan anymore, so he released an arrow directly towards Hong An, at a range of more than a hundred meters away.

A ‘pu’ sound rang out. The long arrow entered Hong An’s left eye and pierced right through his brain. Without a sound, Hong An collapsed onto the ground.

Once the art of archery was successful, killing a person was practically just like killing a chicken. Drawing the bow and releasing the arrow. With just these two actions, a life within a hundred-meters radius could be easily extinguished in just a split-second.

...

Yan Liqiang, who had shot Hong An dead, remained in the peach forest for another half-hour. When the sky turned completely dark, only then did he pick up his bow and travel back to Liuhe Town.

It was at this moment when the Hong Clan’s ceremony to pay respects to their ancestors was scheduled to come to an end. The Hong Clan’s family were now feasting at their home...

Chapter 46: A Tooth for a Tooth

The Hong Clan’s manor was situated east of Liuhe Town. The entire manor occupied more than twenty mu. They were a household that was second to none in Liuhe Town.

Today, the Hong Clan was worshipping their ancestors and had been busy for almost the entire day from morning till sunset. When night came, and they’d finished worshipping the ancestors, the entire Hong Residence was brightly lit, filled with the sounds of voices and activity. They had set up a large banquet and were bustling with noise and excitement.

Just by standing on the outskirts of Liuhe Town, one would be able to catch sight of the glorious lights emitting from inside the Hong Clan’s manor.

Right inside a dining hall in the Hong Residence’s backyard, the Hong Clan’s Old Master Hong Chengshou, Hong Tao, Hong Tao’s father Hong Ding, Hong Tao’s third uncle Hong Fan, as well as his fourth uncle Hong Rong, sat together at the table, eating their fill while they waited for Hong An to return.

Old Master Hong Chengshou had four sons and two daughters, with both daughters already married out. His four sons were named “An Ding Fan Rong” in succession–which put together meant ‘prosperity and stability’– to symbolize the hope Old Master Hong had for the Hong Clan’s future.

Hong Tao’s first uncle, Hong An, and third uncle, Hong Fan, managed the Hong Clan’s properties in Yuntao County which lay adjacent to Qinghe County. The Hong Clan’s properties in Yuntao County weren’t considered particularly large, but neither was it seen as small as it spanned more than four hundred mu of land, with two yellow noodle factories as part of their operations. When Old Master Hong had been in charge of the family, he’d borrowed the reputation of Hong Tao’s great-grandfather at the time, using it to fight for the property in Yuntao Country and eventually winning ownership.

As for Hong Tao’s father, Hong Ding, he was the Town Constable of Liuhe Town. Although he had no grade and rank, he was still a man of his word in Liuhe Town. Hong Tao’s fourth uncle, Hong Rong, served under the Law Enforcement Office of Qinghe County as a clerk.

With regards to Hong Tao’s Elder Auntie and Little Auntie, one was married off to the prefectural city of Pingxi while the other one was married to another wealthy family in Qinghe County. In his current lifetime, Old Master Hong had two more brothers, both of which were Hong Tao’s two great-uncles. When they were determining the division of the family with Old Master Hong, they were unable to best him, so they moved out. Both lived in Pingxi prefectural city. One of them opened an inn while the other opened up a fabric store. The great-uncle who opened up the cloth store loved to gamble, so he had already squandered his small fortune early on. His wife had run away, and he had suffered a great setback as a result. Many years had passed, and there was still no news of him. On the other hand, the great-uncle who’d opened an inn was quite well-off and could still get by. However, he hadn’t seemed to get along with Old Master Hong back in those days so after he moved out, the dealings he had with the Hong Clan in Liuhe Town had considerably lessened.

While he was worshipping the ancestors today, Old Master Hong reminisced about past events in the Hong Clan and felt a little rueful. He chattered at the dining table about what had happened in the Hong Clan, and he lamented that their present situation had been earned with great difficulty.

After he finished, Old Master Hong looked at the vacant seat at the side of the table before glancing at the weather outside. He couldn’t help but frown, and asked, “Why isn’t Hong An back yet?”

Everyone inside the room was important to the Hong Clan, so any issues or matters of significance could be spoken straightforwardly. Hong Tao was an outstanding member of the Hong Clan’s current generation and had been the only one whose public status had risen, unlike his other cousins. The others were either mediocre or had lost themselves to wine and women. They were also incapable of enduring any hardship, so they weren’t the right people to train in martial arts. This was precisely why Old Master Hong had placed great expectations on Hong Tao. After the martial arts preliminary exam, he could also participate in the Hong Clan’s classified affairs and be a person of influence. He was currently being cultivated by Old Master Hong as the Hong Clan’s heir.

“That guy will probably take some time to do his job since Mount Hundred Zhang isn’t exactly small. If Blacksmith Yan’s son has actually run into the mountain forest, it won’t be easy to find him in a short amount of time, so it will take a while for him to do the deed!” Hong Ding glanced outside at the weather. “If he’s not back in two hours, I’ll ask Steward Hong to bring some men along to help him out!”

“Mm....” Old Master Hong nodded his head, his expression as deep as water. “Once the deed is done, those in Liuhe Town waiting to ridicule our Hong Clan will lay low for a while. The family estate left to us by our ancestors mustn’t be squandered at our hands. By the time Hong Tao advances to a Martial Warrior in the future, our position in Liuhe Town should still be safeguarded for another fifteen years.”

“Father is right. That two hundred mu of conferred fields in Liuhe Town will be our Hong Clan’s starting ground. No matter what, we mustn’t allow anyone else to occupy it. An inexperienced brat from the Yan Clan also wants to be a Martial Warrior. Heh...heh...Then we’ll wait for him to be reincarnated again to see how that turns out!” The one who said this with a cold smile on his face was Hong Rong. Hong Rong’s appearance was quite similar to Old Master Hong. However, his face was longer, his eyes were more narrow, and his lips were as thin as a piece of paper, giving the impression of a scheming character.

On the dining table, Hong Rong was the only one dressed in official robes. Although this outfit didn’t count as much in the Law Enforcement Office, it held a great, formidable power in the eyes of the common folks in Liuhe Town. Hong Rong knew very well what it signified in the hearts of the citizens, so every time Hong Rong returned to Liuhe Town, he would deliberately wear the official black robe representing the county town’s Law Enforcement Office.

The two hundred mu of conferred fields in Liuhe Town were top-notch irrigated farmlands that lay on the border of Willow River. This piece of farmland had actually been bestowed onto Hong Tao’s great-grandfather when he’d become a Martial Warrior back then. According to the Great Han Empire’s laws, the conferred fields were not considered as fully belonging to the Hong Clan. The Hong Clan only possessed the authority to use the fields and reap the subsequent profits. After Hong Tao’s great-grandfather passed away, three generations had passed without a Martial Warrior emerging from the Hong Clan. The favor bestowed from being a Martial Warrior had been severed. If another person in Liuhe Town were to advance as a Martial Warrior at this time, then those two hundred mu of conferred fields would be granted to the new Martial Warrior’s name.

The conferred fields originally served as a form of good governance by the Great Han Empire to motivate the common folks. But as the saying goes, it was easy to accept something but difficult to return it. If they were to request the Hong Clan to give up those two hundred mu of top-notch irrigated farmlands at this time, it would be no different than slicing pieces of flesh from their own bodies. On top of that, the conferred fields were tax-free. For years, the Hong Clan had occupied and bought a number of properties in the town. After using various methods, they were eventually designated under the conferred fields’ name. If the Hong Clan were to lose the conferred fields, opening up verification of those Liuhe Town properties, it would mean that the Hong Clan couldn’t escape paying taxes for those fields anymore. They would have to fork out a large sum of money to pay the annual taxes. This was completely unbearable to the Hong Clan, who were accustomed to their tyrannical lifestyle in Liuhe Town.

Apart from the conferred fields and in accordance with the Great Han Empire’s laws, if a Martial Warrior were to emerge from another household in Liuhe Town, Hong Tao’s father’s position as a Town Constable couldn’t be safeguarded as well.

This was precisely why the Hong Clan treated the Yan Clan as a thorn in their side and their flesh. They would never allow Liuhe Town to have another household that could produce a Martial Warrior apart from theirs. Once Yan Liqiang had exhibited signs of advancing as a Martial Warrior, they needed to destroy him even if it meant spending a huge sum of money to hire an outlaw.

“That Yan Liqiang is actually quite odd. A few days ago, I went to Huanglong County to ask about his circumstances with the Lu Clan. Everyone in Huanglong County was saying that a deity had appeared in his dream to impart a method that could save the lives of those who drowned. He performed moxibustion on the navel, and with this method alone, he saved the grandson of Old Master Lu and became good friends with them. His current reputation in Huanglong County is growing by the minute. Even people outside of the county know about his method! But even if the Lu Clan can protect him for now, they won’t be able to protect him forever!” said Hong Fan, shaking his head as he drank a mouthful of wine.

“What did he mean by a deity imparting teachings in his dream?! That Yan Liqiang was just lucky. I don’t know from which master he stole the method from, but he’s managed to create such a huge name for himself out there...” Hong Tao stated maliciously. Ever since he was young, he had hated Yan Liqiang. Now that Yan Liqiang had made a name for himself at Huanglong County, a name which was quickly spreading further, he felt even more mad with jealousy.

The key men in the Hong Clan were currently conversing in the room when all of a sudden a loud clamor could be heard from outside, coming from alarmed servants. “FIRE! FIRE! EVERYONE, QUICKLY PUT OUT THE FIRE!”

In the wake of the servant’s screams, the frenzied sounds of panic started to ring out from outside. At the same time, a plume of blazing red light was illuminated into the room from the door and windows.

On hearing that their house had caught fire, the men inside the room couldn’t sit still any longer. What was a wealthy family most afraid of? Fire. They were most afraid of fire. All those large buildings containing their vast wealth could sometimes be entirely wiped out by a fire alone.

Old Master Hong was the first to leave the room. He pushed through the door and moved to the middle of the courtyard outside. The others also quickly followed suit and left the room.

Fire covered the Hong Residence’s storeroom, the flames blazing upwards to the sky. Thick smoke permeated the entire place and continued to spread throughout.

“Old Master! It’s terrible! The storeroom has caught fire...” the Hong Clan’s steward ran over, shouting in panic.

“I’m not blind yet. There’s no need for you to say it!” Old Master Hong shouted angrily, “Why did the storeroom catch fire? Who did this? Don’t they know they need to be careful with fire on the day we worship our ancestors?!”

“I...I also don’t know who caused it!” the steward mumbled.

“What are you standing there for?! Hurry up and put out the fire...” Old Master Hong violently slapped the steward in the face.

“Yes...yes...” The steward lowered his head and was about to turn to leave. Right as he was turning, all of a sudden he felt a trickle of liquid splashing onto his face. The steward raised his hand to wipe it only to discover that the liquid was red in color, similar to blood. He lifted his head with curiosity and was greeted by the sight of Old Master Hong standing before him with an arrow pierced through his mouth. The arrow was lodged deep inside Old Master Hong’s mouth, leaving only the feathered end of the arrow outside.

Old Master Hong’s eyes were widened in shock as his upright body collapsed backward.

Another arrow was shot out. Unable to react in time, Hong Ding, the Town Constable of Liuhe Town, was instantly pierced in the heart by a keen arrow. He let out a terrifying scream, before collapsing to the ground in an instant...

The remaining men of the Hong Clan finally came to their senses. Hong Fan screamed with terror and turned around to run back into the room.

But just as he took a step forward, another sharp arrow flew towards him, piercing him directly through the center of his back, killing him on the spot.

In the blink of an eye, three of the Hong Clan’s men were murdered.

Hong Rong fell to the ground, trying frantically to escape. He hid behind the flowerbeds of the courtyard, screaming at the top of his lungs, “MEN, HURRY! THERE’S BEEN A MURDER! A MURDER...”

Chapter 47: An Arrow To Dispel A Thousand Worries

Hong Rong’s endless yells sounded strikingly forlorn and harsh among the chaos in the Hong Residence.

At this time, quite a number of guards and servants from the Hong Clan were busy drawing water to quell the fire. However, some of the guards who had heard Hong Rong’s yells ran towards the rear courtyard.

Yan Liqiang was running above the roof of one of the houses in the Hong Clan’s manor, his feet stepping over its tiles and eaves.

Hong Rong hid behind the flower terrace of the courtyard, where Yan Liqiang’s arrows couldn’t reach. Which is why he must charge into that courtyard in order to take care of Hong Rong too.

Four people from the Hong Clan had already been murdered. Naturally, this Hong Rong wouldn’t be spared too.

The murderous intention in Yan Liqiang’s heart was like a dragon.

He carried his quiver of arrows and held onto the Horned Python Bow wrapped in fabric. Like a scurrying cat on the roof, he hopped agilely over two courtyards and a wall. In a flash, he jumped off from a three-meter wall, landing in a courtyard.

One of the Hong Clan guards was the first to rush into the courtyard from another entrance. That guard had also spotted Yan Liqiang–the distance between them was ten meters. After a moment’s surprise, the guard yelled and charged towards Yan Liqiang with a saber in his hands.

Pulling out an arrow, drawing the bow and releasing the arrow–Yan Liqiang swiftly carried out these three actions in one go. In just the blink of an eye, Yan Liqiang’s arrow pierced the right shoulder of the Hong Clan guard before he could take more than three steps forward.

The guard was sent flying backwards from the bow’s great force before landing heavily on the ground, his fighting strength completely knocked away.

After his art of archery had advanced into the realm of Third Heavenly Layer–and showing no signs of entering the realm of Fourth Heavenly Layer anytime soon–the movements in the art of archery that Yan Liqiang practiced the most over this period of time were drawing the arrow and nocking the arrow. He was pursuing his goal of completing an attack in the shortest amount of time and he had finally reached a favorable point in skill after working hard these past few days. To an archer, the speed of loading an arrow, which was also equivalent to the shooting speed of their bow and arrow, became the most important factor in determining the outcome when fighting at close quarters.

“The assassin, the assassin is here...!” Steward Hong, who’d been scared out of his wits in the courtyard was acting like a chicken that was about to be slaughtered, yelling recklessly in a shrill voice.

Yan Liqiang released a shot. Steward Hong, who had once sized up Yan Liqiang from above his towering rhinodrake steed, was instantly pierced through the thigh by an arrow. Steward Hong fell down, his yell turning into an anguished wail while he rolled on the floor in agony, clutching his thigh.

Yan Liqiang quickly dashed into the courtyard.

Hong Tao was still standing in a daze, a silly smile on his face as he stared at the corpses of Hong Chengshou and Hong Ding, as though he’d gone insane.

Dashing forward, Yan Liqiang was already aiming an arrow at Hong Tao. However, the moment his eyes met with Hong Tao’s hollow eyes, Yan Liqiang changed the trajectory of his bow and arrow and shot at the courtyard entrance behind him.

The second guard who had just barged in from the entrance took an arrow to his thigh before he even managed to catch a glimpse of Yan Liqiang’s silhouette. He let out a blood-curdling scream and then collapsed onto the ground.

Yan Liqiang’s movements were as precise as an automatic rifle. Almost at the moment his arrow left the bowstring, his hand was already reaching backwards to pull out another arrow from the quiver on his back. The arrow was nocked on the bowstring in a flash and it took him only two strides to reach the side of the shrubs.

Hong Rong, who’d hidden behind the flower terrace, looked in shock at the sight of Yan Liqiang aiming his bow and arrow directly at him. His mouth was slightly ajar. The look of stunned surprise on his face seemed to ask the question: ‘How could it be you?’

Looking at Hong Rong’s expression, Yan Liqiang knew that he had also met King Cobra as well.

The distance between the two of them was less than ten meters. The moment Yan Liqiang’s hand loosened, the arrow left the bowstring. Hong Rong’s head was as though it had been shot at point-blank range. The arrow pierced his head from his eye socket, and his head exploded within an instant as blood spilled all over the floor. He died before he could even make a noise.

Another guard from the Hong Clan rushed in, but he proved to be of no use. Yan Liqiang drew his bow again. In the blink of an eye, the guard’s right shoulder was pierced through and he collapsed to the floor.

“Everyone, be careful! That assassin has a bow with him!” The courtyard outside was in chaos. By then, Yan Liqiang had already gotten rid of all the decision makers in the Hong Clan. And now the guards preparing to rush over to the courtyard knew of Yan Liqiang’s weapon.

The words ‘has a bow’ in this era was akin to hearing that someone ‘has a gun’ to modern people. It was a powerful deterrent.

A group of guards were huddling outside the courtyard, and they could hear the miserable wails of the remaining survivors from within. For a moment, no one actually dared to charge inside. The outside of the courtyard had fallen into chaos and someone was yelling loudly, “Hurry, go get the shields, go get the shields!”–”Hurry, go get the crossbow, get the crossbow!”

Of course, Yan Liqiang wasn’t going to wait for the guards to charge inside with their shields and crossbows. As soon as he’d disposed of Hong Rong, he was already running towards the courtyard walls. With just a few kicks of his feet, he quickly scaled up the wall more than two meters high. He then moved along the wall up to the roof, quickly making his way towards the back of the Hong Clan’s manor.

The manor of the Hong Clan was situated at the easternmost part of Liuhe Town. The Hong Clan had built a small garden surrounding the back of the Hong Residence. Beyond the garden were the outskirts of Liuhe Town.

“The assassin is on the roof! The assassin is on the roof...!” a Hong Clan guard shouted loudly after spotting Yan Liqiang running on the roof, chasing after him from the ground as he ran towards the back.

Another guard also jumped on top of the courtyard wall and tried to climb onto the roof. But Yan Liqiang easily released an arrow and shot that guard right on his thigh. That guard let out a blood-curdling scream before he fell off the wall.

He’d only made it past two houses before a sudden whooshing noise whistled past him. All Yan Liqiang felt was a strong gust of wind as something flew past him a meter away. He was taken aback by this and turned his head around, only to discover a few guards from the Hong Clan aiming a crossbow at him from a nearby courtyard. That last arrow had been shot at him by a guard with a crossbow.

Yan Liqiang turned around and released an arrow without a second thought. Before the guard could even finish loading the second bolt in the crossbow, Yan Liqiang’s arrow had already pierced his chest. The arrow went through his heart, killing that guard on the spot.

This was the first person Yan Liqiang killed apart from the people of the Hong Clan.

When one of the guards automatically tried to pick up the crossbow, Yan Liqiang immediately shot an arrow nailing the palm of that guard to the floor.

He released two more arrows, scaring off the other Hong Clan guards standing at the side. They fled in fright without even daring to expose their heads.

Yan Liqiang continued running towards the back of the manor. While he ran, he changed the tone of his voice and shouted huskily, “The Hong Clan has hired me to take care of the father and son from the Yan Clan. But after completing the work, they went back on their word and refused to pay up. They’ve gone too far, and now, I, King Cobra, have come to the Hong Clan today to seek justice. This is a grudge between the Hong Clan and I. Whoever dares to make me stay, don’t blame me for being vicious and merciless with my arrows...”

After hearing Yan Liqiang’s words, no one dared to pick up the crossbow that had been dropped to the floor. After all, there really weren’t many people who wanted to throw their lives away .

The group of guards and servants of the Hong Clan made a ruckus after one of the guards had been killed. They shouted and looked as though they were chasing after Yan Liqiang. However, quite a few of them had significantly slowed their pace in secret.

Yan Liqiang finally made it to the back garden of the Hong Residence. He leaped off from the garden’s wall and ran towards the countryside.

The Hong Clan’s guards and servants continued the chase outside with their fire torches. But before they could even make it to more than ten meters outside, an arrow suddenly shot towards them from the front. It struck the fire torch of the guard leading the group, and then knocked the hat off a guard standing at the very back. The torch’s burning flames exploded into a burst of fiery sparks in the darkness. The countless sparks sputtered onto the faces and hands of those who were holding the fire torches, scalding the guards and servants until they were crying out loud. The guard whose hat was knocked off from his head turned pale as he touched his head and the fluttering strands of hair. His legs suddenly felt weak and he found himself unable to stay standing...

Seeing the figure in front blend into the darkness in the end, the footsteps of all the guards and servants from the Hong Clan slowed down. Each and every one of them swallowed nervously and shot each other a look; none of them dared to continue chasing after the figure.

It was only at this point of time that the screams, the light from the fire at the Hong Clan’s manor, and the urgent beat of a gong ringing out gradually caused alarm among the people of Liuhe Town...

...

On the Yan Clan’s side, Steward Lu stood in the courtyard as he observed the light from the fire coming from the eastern side of Liuhe Town, and the noise from outside. His expression was somewhat anxious and uncertain, as he wondered if the people from the Hong Clan were up to no good.

...

He informed the two guards from the Lu Clan to stay alert, then sent Zhou Tiezhu outside to ask around and find out what had transpired.

Zhou Tiezhu returned half an hour later and told him that it seemed like the great manor of the Hong Clan was on fire and that there had been casualties. Upon hearing that, an excited expression appeared on Steward Lu’s face...

“Steward Lu, you mentioned that Yan Liqiang had yet to return. I hope he’s alright!” Without warning, Yan Dechang slowly walked out of his bedroom all by himself. He came to the courtyard and watched the light of the flames coming from the direction of the Hong Residence with a worried look on his face.

“Yes, Young Master Yan has just gone out shopping. Perhaps he was held up by something else? Master Yan, you need not be worried...” Steward Lu could only try his best to speak calmly, and assure Yan Dechang as much as he could.

After the group finished talking, they waited in the courtyard. They waited for more than an hour, each with an unsettled state of mind. Upon hearing a knock on the door, a guard from the Lu Clan opened it to find Yan Liqiang standing outside empty-handed.

Everyone let out a sigh of relief upon seeing Yan Liqiang’s return.

The look on Yan Liqiang’s face didn’t seem out of the ordinary. On the contrary, he appeared to be quite relaxed. As soon as he saw Yan Dechang was also waiting for him in the courtyard, he took the initiative to apologize to him. “I was thinking of going up the mountain to pick some mushrooms for you, father. But I didn’t expect to get lost after the sky turned dark. I took a detour and even lost the back-carried basket and hoe that I had brought along with me...”

Yan Dechang instantly breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Yan Liqiang. He wasn’t going to be bothered about losing things worth so little in value...

“Oh right, on my way back here, someone from town told me that something seemed to have happened at the Hong Clan...” Sitting at the stone table in the courtyard, Yan Liqiang ate the still warm meal Mother Wu had served him, all while looking at Steward Lu who was quietly scrutinizing him. “That King Cobra turned out to be an outlaw. Despite the arrest warrants issued for him, he’d never left the Qinghe County. Tonight, he suddenly barged into the Hong Clan and just slaughtered people out of the blue...”

“What? King Cobra?” Steward Lu had a shocked expression on his face. When he received news that something had happened at the Hong Clan, and that Yan Liqiang hadn’t returned, Steward Lu wondered if Yan Liqiang had boldly enacted his revenge on them. Now after being told that the culprit was King Cobra, the surprise in his heart was plainly written all over his face.

“What is it? Could it be that Steward Lu thought it was someone else?” Yan Liqiang looked at Steward Lu with a faint smile on his face.

” Cough... cough ... ” Steward Lu coughed a couple of times and hurriedly waved his hands. “No, not at all. Only an outlaw like King Cobra is capable of such a deed. The Yan Clan should also be more cautious tonight...”

Chapter 48: Examination Day

The Martial Arts County Trial Examination for all the counties in the Pingxi Prefecture fell on the 21st of the sixth lunar month.

On this day, Yan Liqiang was still woken up by his powerful biological clock early in the morning. He habitually practiced a round of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing, then he carefully washed up and changed into clean and fresh training robes. After a sumptuous breakfast, he bid his farewell to Yan Dechang and the rest before he went out, pulling along a rhinodrake steed from his home. Accompanied by a guard from the Lu Clan, they prepared to leave for the martial arts academy in Qinghe County to participate in the Martial Arts County Trial Examination.

Yan Dechang, Lu Wenbin, Zhou Tiezhu, Zhou Hongda and his wife, as well as Mother Wu and one of the guards from the Lu Clan, all went out of the courtyard to send off Yan Liqiang up until the main road outside.

“Father, Steward Lu, Mother Wu, big brothers and Sister-in-law Zhou, there’s no need to see me out. The county seat isn’t that far from here either. Such ceremony is unnecessary!” Yan Liqiang gave everyone a smile to stop them from accompanying him any further.

“Well then, I shall wish Young Master Yan in advance for his immediate success today, and for your name to be known across the Qinghe County!” Smiling, Lu Wenbin cupped his hands towards Yan Liqiang.

“Ah, then I shall thank Steward Lu for your auspicious words!”

On the other hand, Yan Dechang stared at Yan Liqiang with a troubled look, his expression a mix of worry and anticipation. “This is your first time participating in the Martial Arts County Trial Examination. It will be fine as long as you do your best this year. There’s no need to force yourself. Don’t fight recklessly if the opponent is too strong. If it really isn’t working out, then it’s fine to concede. There’s always next year!”

“Don’t worry, father, I know. If it ends up being too much, I won’t let myself be injured either!”

Yan Dechang felt slightly more relieved when he heard Yan Liqiang’s words. He waved at Yan Liqiang. “Go then, go...”

Yan Liqiang nodded, then cupped his hand to everyone in obeisance before he agilely mounted the rhinodrake steed. At a light shake of his reins, the steed made its way out of town.

King Cobra had been dead for six days, but Yan Liqiang couldn’t tell this secret to anyone. Due to the incident at the Hong Clan, the Lu Clan was worried that King Cobra might look for trouble with the Yan Clan. Not only were Steward Lu and the guards ordered to continue staying at the Yan Residence, the Lu Clan sent two more guards the day after the Hong Clan incident. The two new guards had calm auras and bright eyes. Both of them carried their own bow bag and quiver, and one glance was all it took to know that they were experts in archery.

Yan Liqiang naturally couldn’t say anything in regards to this. It wasn’t like he could tell the Lu Clan not to worry unnecessarily because King Cobra had already kicked the bucket long ago and he’d buried him.

These past few days, several groups of law enforcers and officers came to Liuhe Town, one after another. All of them had arrived to investigate the incident that occurred at the Hong Clan, while at the same time hunting for King Cobra.

The things that King Cobra had done at the Hong Residence that night were witnessed by a few dozen of the Hong Clan’s guards. With the testimonies of the witnesses, and Yan Liqiang’s ‘alibi’ that night, the evidence in the Hong Clan’s murder case was irrefutable. Naturally, King Cobra was considered to be the perpetrator of this case.

Over the next few days, everyone in Liuhe Town felt anxious over what had happened at the Hong Clan. As soon as night fell, everyone would tightly shut their front doors, and even the number of pedestrians at night had considerably reduced.

When Yan Liqiang passed by Liuhe Town’s public square on his rhinodrake steed, he caught sight of Hong Tao.

In just a few short days, Yan Liqiang almost couldn’t recognize him.

Hong Tao’s hair was disheveled, and he was still wearing the same outfit he’d worn that night, except that it was now extremely filthy and torn in places. He stood barefoot in the public square right at the heart of the town. His gaze was unfocused, and he kept switching between crying, laughing, and muttering to himself. It was plain to see that he’d already lost his mind.

“I am already the best Martial Warrior in the Pingxi Prefecture of the Great Han Empire. I’m about to advance into becoming a Martial Master. My promotion and my ambitions will inevitably be achieved. The entire Liuhe Town belongs to us, the Hong Clan. The entire Qinghe County also belongs to us, the Hong Clan. No one shall take them away. You two there! You’re in my presence, why haven’t you dismounted from your horses and kowtowed yet...?

Hong Tao was sitting on the floor in the public square, but when he saw Yan Liqiang and the Lu Clan guard drawing close on their rhinodrake steeds, he raised his head and exclaimed loudly as he pointed at Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang shook his head and sighed inwardly.

On that night, he had already realized that something wasn’t right with Hong Tao, so he’d spared his life. He thought that if Hong Tao could make it through that night, then he’d completely dash Hong Tao’s hopes of advancing as a Martial Warrior in the arena today. Yet Yan Liqiang didn’t expect Hong Tao to be so mentally traumatized from witnessing that night’s massacre that he would end up losing his mind.

Perhaps not everyone possessed the kind of mental fortitude that could quickly forget seeing their own family die in front of them, or at least, not without bearing any psychological effects.

Seeing Hong Tao in front of him, a slight twinge of discomfiture swept through Yan Liqiang’s heart. But then, when he remembered all the conduct, deeds and evil schemes of the Hong Clan, that twinge in his heart flew unimaginably far away in the blink of an eye.

The Hong Clan had brought this upon themselves. He thought about it from another perspective. If he hadn’t been reincarnated, and didn’t cultivate the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing, the Yan Clan would probably be Liuhe Town’s decimated clan instead. And he probably wouldn’t be any better than the current Hong Tao.

As the saying goes: ‘One should not impose on others what he himself does not desire’. Sometimes, the spit you cast out might just fly back to your own face. Perhaps the Hong Clan never expected the things they tried to impose on others would befall upon themselves in the end.

In just less than a week, Liuhe Town’s once-influential Hong Clan had vanished in a puff of smoke.

The flames that spread through the Hong Residence had only burned one storeroom, as well as the kitchen next to it, before the fire was extinguished. The fire hadn’t killed anyone, but all the key decision makers in the Hong Clan had died that night. The next day, after someone discovered Hong An’s corpse in the forest at the foot of Mount Hundred Zhang, several stewards, guards, and concubines of the Hong Clan fled with some of the Hong Clan’s wealth that very night.

After the death of the Hong Clan’s people, before the seventh day had passed and before they were even buried, a few of Hong Tao’s disappointing male cousins were already fighting over the Hong Clan’s properties. The fight within the clan was alarmingly unpleasant.

Hong Chengshou’s two daughters–and their respective husband’s clans–returned with the excuse of attending the funeral, and then also involved themselves in the fight over the Hong Clan’s properties. Even now, no one was bothering to sort out the burned down buildings in the Hong Residence. Everyone was too busy moving the clan’s possessions outside. They fought against each other for the manor and the land, eventually bringing the dispute to the court. There would always be someone yelling and making a racket all day long at home. Half of the guards and servants had already left since long ago.

A Hong Clan like this was no longer something worth worrying about.

A few dozen brand-new wanted posters for King Cobra were tacked up on the bulletin board at the public square in town. This time, the portraits distributed by the Qinghe County Law Enforcement Office no longer looked like paintings done by Vincent Van Gogh with a calligraphy brush. Instead, they were much more detailed now. King Cobra’s triangular eyes and the mole on his left cheek were at least more prominent now.

Hong Ding was the Town Constable of Liuhe Town. He could be considered a bureaucrat of the most basic level. Hong Rong was also a member of the Law Enforcer Office in Qinghe County, and pretty much a lower ranking officer. These two had connections with the public, so naturally, their lives were a little more valuable. In addition to the many recent deaths in the Hong Clan, their influence had worsened, and Qinghe County’s entire Law Enforcement Office had been in turmoil over the past few days.

After taking one last glance at Hong Tao, Yan Liqiang once again renewed his conviction. He lightly shook his reins, and the rhinodrake steed started galloping to the town’s exit.

Yan Liqiang wasn’t even a li away from Liuhe Town when he came across a group of three people riding rhinodrake steeds towards the town’s entrance. Among the three of them, two had fierce appearances, and did not appear very amiable. The only one who made eye contact with him was the slightly thinner person who seemed like a bookkeeper.

“Excuse me, young man. Is Liuhe Town up ahead?” As the two parties drew close, the one who looked like a bookkeeper suddenly slowed down. His eyes briefly scanned Yan Liqiang and the guard from Lu Clan, then plastered on a fake smile as he asked his question politely.

“That’s right. Liuhe Town is just up ahead!” Yan Liqiang nodded.

“Do you happen to know where I can find the Hong Residence?” One of the fierce-looking men interrupted impatiently.

“What business do you have with the Hong Clan?”

The man who seemed like a bookkeeper gave another insincere smile. “Oh, well, Hong An from the Hong Clan owes us some money. I heard that he’s dead, so we’re looking for the Hong Clan to collect our debt...”

“Hong Clan is a rich clan in Liuhe Town. You’ll know just by asking anyone after you arrive in town...”

“Thank you!”

The two parties passed each other on the road. After a distance of about a hundred meters, Yan Liqiang turned around to look at their silhouettes charging towards Liuhe Town on their rhinodrake steeds. They gave Yan Liqiang the impression of some vultures that had smelled death, flapping their wings as they flew towards their fallen prey.

The Hong Clan was left with only orphans and widows, and the people in charge were all dead. The Hong Clan’s reputation was already tarnished, and they had lost their supporters. If anyone were to suddenly show up to call in a debt, there was no way the dead could testify against it. Hence, they could just lie and snatch a portion of the rights to the Hong Clan’s properties.

Yan Liqiang had seen similar occurrences in his past life. This typical move wasn’t any different than those he had seen in his previous life...

However, this no longer concerned him...

Shortly after, he arrived at the Qinghe County seat on his rhinodrake steed. The wanted posters for King Cobra were also pasted on the entrance gate. The soldier who stood guard at the gate was scanning the faces of every person entering the county seat. Those with bamboo hats were asked to take it off. Those riding on carriages were asked to get out.

There was already a massive crowd forming outside of the martial arts academy...

Chapter 49: Not Even One Less

Similar to the sight he had seen outside the college entrance exam venue in his past life, whenever an exam candidate entered the school’s exam hall, countless parents and guardians would wait expectantly and anxiously outside the hall for their own children to come out.

The annual Martial Arts County Trial Examination was no different from the college entrance exam for the majority. It was even more important than the college entrance exam itself because for most of the common folks, this represented the birth of a noble son from a poor and humble family as well as the chance to get their big break.

Youths who performed exceptionally well in the Martial Arts County Trial Examination could enter the prefectural city’s martial arts academy to pursue their studies and could hope to become a Martial Warrior, advancing as a gentry. Even if they weren’t capable of becoming a Martial Warrior in the end, the chance to study in the prefecture’s first class martial arts academy housed a lot of advantages as well. It allowed the students to widen their network in the martial arts academy and make many friends. There was also the fact that they could perhaps even have the chance to be recruited into all levels of prefecture and county government offices because every year, each prefecture and county government offices would have many jobs available – they would always go to the prefectural city’s martial arts academy to make their selections.

In a sense, the Martial Arts County Trial Examination was equivalent to the junction between the Great Han Empire’s entrance exam and the office-bearer exam. There were a total of seventeen towns in Qinghe County and there were seven to eight hundred exam candidates every year. If there were a lot of students, the numbers could shoot up to the thousands, and only around thirty people could have the chance to pass the Martial Arts County Trial Examination to enter the prefectural city’s martial arts academy. This acceptance percentage was much lower than the other entrance exams.

After handing over the rhinodrake steed to Lu Clan’s guard, Yan Liqiang finally walked through the entrance of the martial arts academy in the midst of innumerable parents lining the streets in welcome.

There were four entrances at the main entrance of the martial arts academy. Every entrance had the name of Qinghe County’s towns written on them. Candidates coming from different places would enter through different doors respectively to go into the martial arts academy. There were three men inspecting the identity of those who entered at every entrance. It was extremely strict.

“Name?”

“Yan Liqiang!”

“Where are you from?”

“Liuhe Town!”

The man interrogated Yan Liqiang while flipping the book in his hand. He nodded his head after he flipped to the page where the candidates’ names of Liuhe Town were listed and saw that Yan Liqiang’s name was recorded in it. He then requested Yan Liqiang to stick out his right thumb and ink the thumb on the red ink case before leaving behind a thumbprint on the back of the register.

This thumbprint happened to be placed in the same line as the print which Yan Liqiang had left when he participated in the preliminary exam for easier comparison. Upon seeing that the two thumbprints were the same, only then could they verify Yan Liqiang’s identity. The man then gave the register to the person next to him to examine it for a brief moment. The person nodded and the third person took out a metal plate with a number engraved on it. He wrote Yan Liqiang’s name on the metal plate before handing it over to Yan Liqiang. Only then did Yan Liqiang enter the county’s martial arts academy with the metal plate in hand.

There was still around an hour left before the start of the exam and there were already six to seven hundred candidates assembling at the martial arts academy’s training grounds. Nine arenas had been set up in succession on the training grounds. On the largest arena in the center of everything hung a horizontal banner that read ‘Qinghe County’s Martial Arts County Trial Exam of Pingxi Prefecture’.

On the actual day of the examination, the candidates who entered the field were both feeling exhilarated and anxious. Candidates who came from the same region were all huddled together, each and every single one of them whispering to each other’s ears Some candidates were also performing various kinds of warm up exercises or warm ups on their fist arts.

Candidates coming from different towns had their own designated assembly area. Those areas would have a banner with the name of their town written on it on one side. Depending on where the candidates were from, they were required to assemble under their respective banners. Having the system set up in such a way not only made it easier to manage but it was also to prevent others from assuming a candidate’s name to take his place. Due to the reason that candidates from the same region would be familiar with each other since they had at least met before, should a stranger appear all of a sudden, they would immediately detect it. According to the Great Han Empire’s laws, for those who dared to impersonate a candidate and cheat in the martial arts examination, both parties would be charged with serious crimes. This would result in banishment and they would be sent away to serve a penal sentence.

Yan Liqiang swept his eyes over the training grounds and saw Liuhe Town’s banner. He then calmly walked towards the assembly area where the candidates of Liuhe Town were gathered.

The candidates from Liuhe Town had also caught sight of the approaching Yan Liqiang. Each and every single one of them whispered to another’s ear.

“Ah, Yan Liqiang is here...”

“Could it be that the injuries he sustained that time have already healed?”

“Perhaps it’s healed. Even if it didn’t, he should at least come and try!”

“It’s such a shame. If a tragedy hadn’t fallen onto Hong Tao’s household, Hong Tao definitely could beat the crap out of Yan Liqiang...”

Everyone saw Yan Liqiang but none of them came over to greet him out of their own accord. Back in Liuhe Town, Yan Liqiang wasn’t exactly popular.

Qi Donglai was also amongst them. When he saw Yan Liqiang, he wanted to head over but hesitated. In the end, he didn’t make a move and guiltily avoided Yan Liqiang’s gaze.

On the other hand, Yan Liqiang was staring at Qi Donglai as he walked over, coming to a halt before him.

Up until this point in time, Yan Liqiang already found out clearly how did the Hong Clan bribed Qi Donglai two months ago. As a matter of fact, it was both ridiculous and sad, all the Hong Clan did was to give a good piece of land of theirs in Liuhe Town to Qi Donglai’s family to open a rice shop. They seemed to have also waived Qi Donglai’s family a couple of years of rent. Qi Donglai sold himself away just like that.

Now that tragedy had plagued the Hong Clan, their clan members were fighting over the properties so Qi Donglai’s family’s rice shop was taken back. Two days ago, Qi Donglai’s parents even went to the county town office to file a lawsuit, complaining that the rice shop was promised to them a few months ago free of rent for ten years. Now that the Hong Clan decided not to rent it to them anymore, they wanted to reclaim it and had gone back on their words. However, Qi Donglai’s parents were incapable of showing solid proof and had no evidence to back up their story. In the end, the officers treated them as if they were trying to extort money so they were driven out of the county town’s government office.

“Donglai, it’s been a long while!”

Qi Donglai gave an unnatural smile, seemingly not used to Yan Liqiang’s imperious glare. “For the past few days, I have been staying in the prefectural city for the exam. My uncle found me a master to teach me a set of leg techniques. I was so caught up in training for these few days so I didn’t return. I only heard that something bad happened in your home after I came back yesterday. I’m truly sorry that I didn’t go and visit your father...”

With one glance alone, Yan Liqiang was able to see through Qi Donglai’s hypocritical show of cordiality.

Yan Liqiang smiled. “It’s alright. Su Chang stopped by already. If you came instead, I wouldn’t have been at ease!”

“What’s there to worry about?”

Yan Liqiang’s gaze suddenly turned incisive. “My father is recuperating now. He won’t be able to bear getting bitten by another ice ant that someone places on him!”

Qi Donglai’s complexion turned ghastly pale as his expression completely froze in place. “Liqiang... You... What’re talking about? How come I don’t understand what you’re saying?”

“I know you understand. You know clearly that I know why I lost terribly in the previous preliminary exam and who had secretly placed the ice ant on my body. You know it better than me!” said Yan Liqiang like it was a tongue-twister. Then he coldly added, “Placing consideration on the tiny bit of friendship that we shared before, Qi Donglai, I’ll forgive you this once. But from today onwards, we’re strangers. You don’t know who I am and I have no idea who you are. Bear in mind that there’s no next time. Lastly, let me offer you a piece of advice, there are witnesses everywhere. A lot of times, no matter what people do, God is watching them, so stop doing things that go against your conscience...”

After he finished talking to Qi Donglai, Yan Liqiang went off without sparing Qi Donglai another glance.

Qi Donglai’s complexion suddenly flushed multiple shades of green and red in an instant. Upon hearing their conversation, the people surrounding them also cast a thoughtful glance at Qi Donglai as though they had figured something out. In all of Liuhe Town,, there wasn’t a single person who didn’t know that the Hong Clan had hired an assassin to kill the father of the Yan family and his son. After listening in on what Yan Liqiang said, it seemed that in the preliminary exam last time, the reason as to why Yan Liqiang was crushed by Hong Tao was due to Qi Donglai playing tricks in the shadows.

Qi Donglai had always been Yan Liqiang’s friend. Having friend like this was simply too frightening.

Unknowingly, the gazes that everyone cast at Qi Donglai changed. Each and every single one of them put some distance between them and Qi Donglai until in the end, nobody was at his side. He was the only one standing alone on his own.

This was the price Qi Donglai had to pay. Since he could even betray his friend, then he shouldn’t wish to have any other friends in the future. Anyone would avoid someone like him. For this kind of person, could it be that he still had the duty of hiding his dirty secret for him?

If Yan Liqiang couldn’t pay back kindness with kindness and seek vengeance if there was enmity, then how different would he be from a salted fish?

Only now did the Hong Clan’s affairs completely come to an end.

Yan Liqiang finally felt invigorated...

As for the remaining amount of time, Yan Liqiang never intended to chat with the surrounding crowd, so he stood under the Liuhe Town banner as he waited silently.

After about forty minutes had, followed by the three beats of the drum, a group emerged from the martial arts academy, prompting all the training grounds to instantly be enveloped by silence...

Chapter 50: The Commencement of the Examination

Everyone in the group that came out of the martial arts academy was dressed in official robes. The person who walked at the front was the headmaster of Qinghe County’s martial arts academy. He was a middle-aged man who appeared to be in his fifties and had a tanned face, a thick beard, and also a seemingly dignified fortitude. Beside the headmaster was also a scholarly man in his forties with a fair and clean-shaven face. Both of them walked at the frontmost position. The two people behind that trailed behind them were some bureaucrats.

The exam candidates were quite worked up at the appearance of Qinghe County martial arts academy’s headmaster because this headmaster was a very famous figure in Qinghe County. His surname was Shen and he was known as Shen Hongbing. He was the clan head of the Shen Clan in Qinghe County and he was also the headmaster of the Qinghe County’s martial arts academy. Not only that but everyone also knew that he was a ‘great expert’ and was Qinghe County’s ‘legendary figure’ after he established his foundation and became a Martial Warrior. He managed to move another step further in his martial arts cultivation and successfully advanced into the realm of being a Martial Master.

The position of Shen Clan in Qinghe County was almost akin to the position of the Lu Clan in the Huanglong County. Both were large clans and were local tyrants with immense power within their respective counties.

He heard that this Shen Hongbing either cultivated or went out to visit his friends on normal days. Although he was the headmaster of the martial arts academy, it was almost impossible to see him in the academy. He might not even show up in the martial arts academy to host the examination during the martial arts examination period. Well, at the very least he had never shown up for a martial arts examination, including last year and the year before that. So this year, his appearance caused a commotion on the training grounds. Many exam candidates were indescribably excited as each and everyone of them craned their necks to catch a glimpse of Shen Hongbing who was making his way towards the arena in the center.

Yan Liqiang’s gaze was also affixed on this Shen Hongbing.

His powerful perception that was tempered from Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing cultivation allowed Yan Liqiang to instantly sense the formidable strength within Shen Hongbing’s body as soon as he came out. In Yan Liqiang’s perception, he could sense a different aura and might on Shen Hongbing which stood out from the commonfolk. They were akin to a ferocious tiger, extremely capable. When he walked past Yan Liqiang at a proximate distance, Yan Liqiang could feel the immense energy in his every step on the blue bricks. He walked at a normal pace and yet the strength from his feet was equivalent to how an average people would stomp on the floor with force.

He heard that one would be able to carry out internal cultivation after opening their dantian and establishing their foundation. Only people who cultivated internal cultivation would be able to possess immense power with their every movement. Not only that but they were also able to bring many martial techniques and secret techniques to their peak potentials.

Without a doubt, the people who managed to advance to become Martial Masters were definitely cultivating some sort of internal cultivation techniques.

Yan Liqiang was very curious about the internal cultivation technique that Shen Hongbing had been cultivating.

The person walking beside Shen Hongbing had a temperament that paralleled Shen Hongbing. He was refined. Shen Hongbing was like a scorching fireball while this man was like the wind. His feet landed on the ground extremely lightly.

The exam candidates that were present on the scene including Yan Liqiang seemed to have no idea who he was. However, the temperament of this person walking alongside Shen Hongbing wasn’t any inferior to him. Not only that, Shen Hongbing seemed to be very courteous towards this person. The two of them walked together but the strides that Shen Hongbing took wouldn’t exceed this person.

Yan Liqiang sensed that the realm of this person with a refined temperament was definitely not lower than Shen Hongbing. He couldn’t quite put his finger on why he even had a feeling that this refined man seemed to be slightly superior of the two.

The group passed through the training grounds and directly went into the arena in the middle and stood in a line.

Shen Hongbing, who was in the middle, took a step forward. With a solemn face, he spoke up in a loud voice. “To all the exam candidates. Before this Martial Arts County Trial Examination begins, I’d like to introduce someone to you all. Standing beside me is the academy tutor from the Pingxi Prefecture Martial Arts Academy, Shi Changfeng, Lord Shi. Today, Lord Shi has some good news to share with all the exam candidates...”

Standing in the arena, Shi Changfeng politely who stood on the arena told Shen Hongbing, “Headmaster Shen, you are being too courteous. It doesn’t matter if the headmaster is the one to announce this news!”

“Oh no, oh no, the news will be more exciting if Lord Shi is the one to announce it!” Shen Hongbing declined with a smile.

Both of them exchanged a few modest words with each other on the arena before Shi Changfeng stopped being courteous and took two steps forward. “Everyone, the Pingxi Prefecture Martial Arts Academy has always taken it up upon themselves to develop talented individuals in the Pingxi Prefecture. Qinghe County has always been a place where the talented individuals of the Pingxi Prefecture pour forth. This year, the Pingxi Prefecture Martial Arts Academy shall recruit fifty exam candidates from Qinghe County. This recruitment number far exceeds the number from previous years. This also means that more people among the exam candidates will have the chance to join the Pingxi Prefecture Martial Arts Academy. Not only that but any exam candidates that specialize in spear techniques and the art of archery may show them here today. The Pingxi Prefecture Martial Art Academy shall offer a special recruitment for these individuals...”

What? The Pingxi Prefecture Martial Arts Academy is going to recruit fifty people this year? Isn’t that almost twice the number compared to last year? This also means that the exam candidates who participate in this year’s martial arts examination will also have a higher chance of getting into the Pingxi Prefecture Martial Arts Academy.

After every exam candidate on the training field recovered from their daze, they immediately cheered. Quite a few were extremely excited and they were all eager to get into action.

Unlike the people around him, Yan Liqiang was neither smiling nor happy after hearing this news. He instead frowned a little as his brain spun quickly. He had learned from his experience in his past life that there was no such thing as free lunch in this world. Just when you thought a pancake had fallen onto your head, most of the time there wasn’t any second pancake behind that pancake but a bomb instead.

Shi Changfeng had announced that there would be an increase in the number of recruitments, but he didn’t explain the reason behind the recruitment. He had put it quite vaguely, and that was exactly where the problem was.

To imagine the ruling classes of an enormous country as too kind or too dumb would be a childish thing to do. Although Yan Liqiang was only fourteen years old in age, he was actually not that naive anymore. If there was a time that you thought a ruling class was being too kind or too dumb, chances were that you didn’t know what they were planning behind the scenes and you didn’t possess the information they had in your hands. The many impressions you had towards the ruler was a misconception that was simply caused by false information.

However, at this moment, Yan Liqiang equally didn’t understand why he had managed to make it to such a ‘good timing’...

On the main arena, Shi Changfeng retreated a couple of steps back after he was done speaking, leaving some space in front to host the martial arts examination. Shen Hongbing moved forward. “I shall announce that this year’s Martial Arts County Trial Examination for Qinghe County of the Pingxi Prefecture has officially started!”

After the commencement announcement was made, Shen Hongbing and Shi Changfeng retreated to the seats behind the main arena. Both of them sat down like invigilators and watched from an elevated position that overlooked the training field and all the arenas. Those who had followed them out here were already making their way towards each arena on the training field as they began to host the examination.

An academy bureaucrat came over underneath the Liuhe Town flag and then took a look at Yan Liqiang and the rest. “Is there anyone who isn’t from the Liuhe Town among the exam candidates here? Or is there anyone suspects another of posing under a false name?”

Everyone understood that this was a formality and usual practice prior to the examination. The objective was to verify everyone’s identity and verify if anyone was cheating with a replacement among them. Everyone looked at each other and shook their heads. This was a very great way to do it. Any suspicious individual would be ferreted out in front of everybody right now because no one could possibly bribe all the exam candidates in the entire town. Even if they could, such a large scale of cheating would probably be known by everyone in Qinghe County. Except for twins, 9,999 out of 10,000 cheaters would be exposed at this stage.

That academy bureaucrat waited for half a minute. He nodded when he saw that there wasn’t anything unusual going on with everyone. “Well then, please proceed to your own respective arenas according to the arena number plate you have with you and begin the examination!”

Yan Liqiang took a glance at that metal number plate in his hand. There was a ‘C’ at the topmost part of that metal plate and number ‘64’ in the middle. On the bottom was his name that was written by the person at the entrance just now.

He didn’t delay for a moment longer as he quickly strode over to the Arena C with the number plate in his hand. When he arrived at Arena C, he immediately put his number plate into the wooden box in front of the arena.

In just less than a minute, all the exam candidates that were assigned to Arena C had gathered here. Only four of these candidates were from the Liuhe Town while the rest were from other towns in Qinghe County.

The judge, the academy bureaucrat, and the rest also quickly got into their positions on the arena.

An academy bureaucrat stopped in front of the wooden box that contained the number plates. He picked up the wooden box and shook it vigorously for a moment before pulling on a small mechanism underneath the box, causing two number plates to fall out at the same time. The academy bureaucrat then held the two number plates high and showed it around for awhile. “Number 11, Su Zhihe, and number 75, Huang Xiaotian, please proceed to the arena...”

The two young men below the arena took deep breaths before walking out from the crowd at the same time and went up the arena. They stood outside on the two red lines that were three meters apart from each other and cupped their fists in their hands towards each other in greetings.

“START...!” The martial arts academy judge in the arena wasted no time and ordered for them to begin.

Chapter 51: I Must Win First Place!

The examination involved hand-to-hand combat. Every tournament round would roughly last around five minutes at most. Within this span of five minutes, they would have to either knock down the opponent and hit them off the arena or hold a clear advantage over the opponent during the course of the tournament. Either of these would grant them victory. Those who were evenly matched would then progressively move on to the next round of choosing new opponents to fight.

The five minutes alone was already sufficient to decide the victor for youngsters around Yan Liqiang’s age. In actuality, the most of the time needed to determine the victor in the arena would be within the span of two minutes. Half of the outcome could be determined within one minute alone. The strength of both parties such as reaction, speed, as well as the minute disparity in the capability of adapting to changes could determine the outcome of one battle in a split second.

The candidates who lost would immediately be disqualified. The judge hosting the arena as well as the martial arts academy personnel would take back the number plate from the losing party. This also meant that the loser had lost the qualifications to continue the examination. Although they could still remain inside the martial arts academy, they could only be spectators.

He heard that those who lost the martial arts examination before would usually be asked to leave the martial arts academy. However, due to the fact that for some of them left the martial arts academy during the early stages of the examination–when facing the onlookers’ scrutinizing gazes outside the martial arts academy–the stress brought by the immense setback would make them unable to face the overwhelming pressure, leading them to turn to suicide in the end. Thus, the rules of the martial arts academy were later changed. Those who lost could still remain to continue observing after they lost their qualifications and would leave together with the audience after the examination ended.

The tournaments in the nine arenas within the martial arts academy happened at the same time. A victor would emerge every minute and there would always be a candidate’s number plate being confiscated.

Yan Liqiang stood underneath the arena observing the tournament happening on it. Two years ago, he had felt that the tournament confrontation on the arena was considerably intense but after watching it again, he began to feel that everyone’s strength on the arena was too small, their speeds were too slow and their reactions were slightly rigid. In his opinion, there wasn’t any point in studying them.

‘BANG...’–A candidate in Arena C was sent a maneuvering kick in the chest by his opponent and was instantly knocked down from the arena. With this, the tournament also ended.

The candidate that was kicked down from the arena suffered some minor injuries but they weren’t severe. After he got back on his feet, he forlornly rejoined the crowd. The candidate in the arena received his own number plate back and proceeded to stand at the other side of the arena. The victor and the loser were already obvious.

Inside the wooden box underneath the arena, another two numbers were drawn out at random.

“The next group, number 64 Yan Liqiang and number 19 Guo Mingyi, please proceed to the arena...”

When he heard his name, Yan Liqiang immediately went up the stairs on the left into the arena. He stood properly on it, facing his opponent named Guo Mingyi. The man looked to be around the age of seventeen or eighteen, a young man who was older than Yan Liqiang by three to four years. The edges of his lips were already covered in a layer of light stuble. On top of that, Guo Mingyi’s body build was extremely sturdy. Among the many candidates in Arena C, his stature could be ranked amongst the top three.

The moment the fourteen-year-old Yan Liqiang stood along with Guo Mingyi on the arena, it was evident that their physiques were completely different. Guo Mingyi was taller than Yan Liqiang by half a head, and his figure was also more sturdy.

In the Martial Arts County Trial Examination, all youths aged fourteen to eighteen were eligible to enter upon passing the preliminary exams. This was Yan Liqiang’s first time participating while some of the candidates here had already entered more than once. This probably wasn’t Guo Mingyi’s first time participating. To true martial arts practitioners, when they turn eighteen, what determined the disparity in the strength between both parties wasn’t their natural born bodies but the hardships, the sweat, and the realm of their training. The further they went, the more unimportant the age became. But after they reached eighteen years of age, those candidates who were older would still have an advantage in terms of their physique.

There were also quite a number of candidates around Yan Liqiang’s age who entered the examination at fourteen years of age. But the majority of those candidates weren’t able to pass the preliminary rounds. Even if some of them managed to pass, the reason why they entered the examination in the first year was for the sake of accumulating their experience so they could prepare for the examination in the following year. Those who were similar to Yan Liqiang in being fourteen years of age were the youngest amongst all candidates. Beneath Arena C stood a total of three. As for the others, they were all basically youths aged fifteen to eighteen who were older than Yan Liqiang.

With a distance of three meters, the two stood outside the red line of the arena. They cupped their fists at each other.

A confident smile revealed itself on Guo Mingyi’s countenance when he gazed at Yan Liqiang.

On the other hand, Yan Liqiang’s face appeared extremely indifferent and calm.

Right at this moment, the scenes that flashed past in Yan Liqiang’s mind were the two devastating wounds King Cobra had left on Yan Dechang’s body as well as Yan Dechang living frugally and bearing bitter hardship for many years just for the sake of letting him concentrate on training martial arts...

I must win first place. In this martial arts examination, I must rank at the top in Qinghe County!

A voice resonated from within Yan Liqiang. It became louder and louder.

And this number one title was not for the sake of anyone else but for the sake of allowing Yan Dechang the chance to see the returns he made by investing in him for all these years.

Lions and tigers hunt for fame, but who takes pity on the moose? If a moose didn’t want to end up being a prey, then it should become a highly terrifying, revered lion and tiger...

Yan Liqiang’s expression became determined.

“START!” The judge’s voice sounded out. Standing from across Yan Liqiang, Guo Mingyi instantly rushed towards him without hesitation, striking out with a direct and efficient Black Tiger Yanks the Heart move, right at Yan Liqiang’s chest.

But just when Guo Mingyi’s fist was on the verge of hitting Yan Liqiang’s body, all of a sudden–‘AOO...’–a loud ferocious roar abruptly thundered across the entire training grounds of the martial arts academy, instantly enveloping the clamors in the arena. As the voice rang out, Yan Liqiang’s fist had already collided with Guo Mingyi’s fists without any little tricks. A loud horrifying scream erupted from Guo Mingyi, and his entire body was sent flying, heavily thrown three meters away. He was unable to get up already in just a short amount of time.

In the midst of the thundering tiger roar, a green illusory image appeared behind Yan Liqiang’s back which was the Dharmic projection of a vicious South China tiger.

In that brief moment, the judge of Arena C, the academy bureaucrat of the martial arts academy, along with the audience underneath the arena were struck dumb. Each and every single one of them was stupefied as they stared dumbfoundedly at the Dharmic projection which appeared behind Yan Liqiang’s body as though they had seen a ghost in broad daylight. All of them inhaled a sharp breath of cold air.

...

“Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist....already at the realm of the fourth layer...” Seated atop the audience seat above the first arena in heart of the training grounds was the current academy tutor of the martial arts academy of the Pingxi Prefecture, Shi Changfeng. His eyes flickered with extraordinary splendor as he watched the spectacle that unfolded in Arena C. Turning his head around, he shot a puzzling glance at the similarly stupefied Shen Hongbing. “Qinghe County is indeed a place propitious for giving birth to great men and has many men with concealed talents. I don’t know how long it has been since I last seen such an outstanding youth in the Martial Arts County Trial Examination. It is evident that this young man has attained the Horse Stance stage. On top of that, his accomplishments were not shallow. Based on this youth’s strength alone, he should already have been netted top three and could have been exempted from participating in today’s arena match. He should have instantly been competing with those candidates who had entered the top 100. May I know why that youth still fighting in Arena C?”

Even Shen Hongbing had a stomach full of doubts. He gestured and an academy bureaucrat from the martial arts academy swiftly ran to his side. After Shen Hongbing lightly whispered to him, the academy bureaucrat nodded his head before leaving posthaste.

...

“Can the outcome be announced now?” Yan Liqiang couldn’t help but issue a gentle reminder upon seeing that the judge in the arena was still in a trance. He drew back his fists and stood properly as the Dharmic projection of a vicious tiger gradually disappeared from his body.

The judge on the arena swallowed thickly as he gazed deeply at Yan Liqiang for a brief moment as though he wanted to etch Yan Liqiang into his memories. Then, he loudly announced, “Number 64, Yan Liqiang wins!”

Guo Mingyi grimaced in pain as he stood up shakily. The fist which had collided with Yan Liqiang just now was already swollen, burning with pain. On top of that, his entire hand from the arm to the fist was numb right now. However, he could still clench his fist and could still exert some force. This meant that the bones in his hand were not broken, there were only some bruises.

He stared at Yan Liqiang with surprise as well as terror. The Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fists of the fourth layer–if Yan Liqiang didn’t withdraw the force of his fist–it would be sufficient enough to shatter all the bones in his palm when they collided with that much force just now. The moment they hit each other, Guo Mingyi felt that Yan Liqiang had already been lenient on him by only making him suffer slightly and wasn’t cruel with his attack.

The difference in their strength was too wide so a defeat was well within expectations. Having suffered no fractures and serious injuries was absolutely a matter worthy to be rejoicing about.

“Thank you for showing mercy...” Guo Mingyi panted hoarsely. He kneaded his fist before cupping them at Yan Liqiang.

“You went easy on me!” Yan Liqiang wasted no time and cupped his fists courteously at Guo Mingyi. He then received his own number plate given to him by the judge and stood to the side where the victors of Arena C were.

The previous winners of Arena C were nervous when they saw Yan Liqiang approaching. After the battles ended in Arena C, there would be a showdown between them. With Yan Liqiang’s skills, none of the victors from Arena C were his match. Whoever met him later on could only resign themselves to the fate of being disqualified. Everyone could only pray and hope their luck was better.

An academy bureaucrat came over to Arena C and talked to a couple of personnel from the martial arts academy in the arena. After casting a glance at Yan Liqiang, he then left in a hurry.

...

The examination inside the martial arts academy was still in progress. The exception was that after Yan Liqiang’s performance just now, Arena C unexpectedly and instantly became the stage that attracted the spectators the most amongst all the arenas. It was unknown as to how many people were silently scrutinizing Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang continued to wait with a calm expression on his face.

He knew at this moment that not putting on a facade was the best course of pretension.

...

The first round of the tournament in Arena C hadn’t ended yet and a martial arts academy bureaucrat had already come to the arena to pass on the news to Yan Liqiang. After the discussion between the martial arts academy’s headmaster and the current academy tutor of the martial arts academy of Pingxi Prefecture, Yan Liqiang was exempted from entering the next few rounds of the tournament and could directly head over to Arena A to wait so he could compete in the last tournament with the other 100 outstanding candidates.

Chapter 52: Keeping An Eye Out

When all the exam candidates at the Arena C heard that Yan Liqiang wouldn’t have to stay there to continue in the competition, each and every one of them secretly breathed a sigh of relief. There were still a few rounds to go, if Yan Liqiang was going to stay there, that would be too much pressure for everyone else.

Soon after that, Yan Liqiang, under the lead of the academy bureaucrat and the envious and astonished gazes of countless exam candidates in the surrounding area, passed through the dense crowds and the few arenas that were currently hosting the fights at the side, and was directly led to the front of the audience seats in Arena A.

“Greetings, Headmaster Shen and Lord Shi!” Yan Liqiang bowed towards Shen Hongbing and Shi Changfeng neither humbly nor arrogantly.

Shen Hongbing and Shi Changfeng both looked Yan Liqiang up and down with their keen and sparkling eyes. While Yan Liqiang was in Arena C, they only saw him from the side and there was also some distance between them, so both of them couldn’t get a clear view of Yan Liqiang. Now that Yan Liqiang was brought in front of them, only then they realized that he was quite young and that surprised both of them. Yan Liqiang’s countenance was simply too young compared to the mostly sixteen or seventeen-year-old youths here today.

“How old are you this year?” Shi Changfeng immediately asked.

“Fourteen!”

“This is also your first time participating the martial arts examination?”

“Yes!”

Shi Changfeng laughed, extremely happy. “Not bad, not bad at all! I have been in Pingxi Prefecture Martial Arts Academy for many years and during the Martial Arts County Trial Examination every year, I have toured all around the counties in the prefecture. I haven’t met a fourteen-year-old who has already trained the Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist technique to that level for many years. Such a rare, rare opportunity indeed! It seems like Pingxi Prefecture Martial Arts Academy will be recruiting another young elite today from Qinghe County!”

“Thank you, Lord Shi, for your flattering compliment! Liqiang is only a little lucky. Qinghe County has many talented people and is a place where the elites gather. I will do my utmost in the competitions later and fight for the opportunity to be enrolled in Pingxi Prefecture Martial Arts Academy!”

Despite Yan Liqiang’s young age, he was still being modest and prudent at this moment without any signs of short temper or arrogance that young people had. He also knew how to speak appropriately and had the demeanor akin to that of an influential clan’s disciple. This made Shi Changfeng even more impressed by him as he inwardly nodded in approval.

“Judging from the maturity of the Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist technique that you used in the arena today, it’s evident that a lot of time has been devoted to it. Why were you kicked out of the arena so easily during the preliminary exam two months ago and even sustained heavy injuries? Could it be that you purposely yielded because you received benefits from someone?”

Shen Hongbing also spoke up. Within this short period of time, he had already sent people out to ask around about Yan Liqiang’s background and had found out about the incident during the preliminary exam. Because of this, Shen Hongbing couldn’t understand why Yan Liqiang was so weak during the preliminary exam.

Of course, the conversation between Yan Liqiang and Qi Donglai wouldn’t travel so fast to Shen Hongbing and Shi Changfeng’s ears. Shi Changfeng had the same question in his heart too, this was what astonished both of them the most.

Without a doubt, Yan Liqiang wasn’t going to tell anyone that his Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist technique had consecutive breakthroughs within these two months. If the truth was exposed, he reckoned that he would be dissected and by then maybe even the secret of the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Manual wouldn’t be safe. Fortunately, Yan Liqiang already had a plan in mind.

“On the preliminary exam day, I was ambushed. When I was fighting with my opponent, I got bitten by an ice ant and that ultimately led me to defeat and my serious injury!” When Yan Liqiang recounted the incident from two months ago, he didn’t even have to put on an act. He only had to slightly adjust his emotion and the anger shown on his face. His acting skill was so off the charts that it could even put Leonardo DiCaprio to shame.

“PREPOSTEROUS!” Shi Changfeng immediately flew off the handle. Despite his refined temperament, his eyes instantly blazed with anger, he was extremely furious. As the academy tutor of Pingxi Prefecture Martial Arts Academy, he was sent to patrol every county on the exam day. This was for the sake of invigilating the exam, to prevent any sort of tampering, bribery or fraud during the exam. Yan Liqiang’s misfortune was exactly what he was supposed to prevent with his utmost effort, yet it still befell him. “That person who fought you that day might be here. What is his name? I will get someone to bring him here to question on the spot. If it is really as you have claimed, the Pingxi Prefecture Martial Arts Academy shall ban him forever. Not only that, I will also report to the prefecture governor and get to the bottom of this!”

“That clan has fallen into a disaster over this period of time and he has gone mad a few days ago so he didn’t participate in the martial arts examination today!” Yan Liqiang answered.

Shi Changfeng was clearly taken aback while Shen Hongbing who was at the side seemed to have recalled something and leaned over to softly whisper something into Shi Changfeng’s ear. It was only then, the expression on Shi Changfeng’s face immediately relaxed while he quelled his anger. “This must be what they call divine retribution and just punishment. This is the end of these despicable people. You don’t need to be concerned about them, just do well today!”

“Yes!”

Shen Hongbing looked at Yan Liqiang and gave him a nod. “Go have a rest at the side. You’ll be joining the competition of the shortlisted one hundred candidates later!”

Yan Liqiang cupped his fist in salute towards Shi Changfeng and Shen Hongbing before retreating to take a rest in the audience area that was not too far from where they were, under the lead of the academy bureaucrat by his side.

There were already two other young men resting in the audience area. Both of them appeared to be around the age of sixteen or seventeen years old. One of them had a tanned and strongly built figure while the other looked a little like a disciple from a large clan. He was dressed in tastefully chosen training robes and was properly sitting upright. These two young men were those who had excelled and made it into top three along with Hong Tao during the preliminary exam so they had the privilege of skipping the first few rounds of fighting today. If there weren’t any accidents or dark horses, they would probably also be in the top three in this martial arts exam.

When the two young men saw Yan Liqiang come over, the gaze of their eyes landed on him almost at the same time as the expressions on both of their faces brimmed with interest.

“How do you do? I’m Shi Dafeng, from Langu Town...” That tanned and strongly built youth was the first to stand up and greet Yan Liqiang.

“I’m Shen Teng...” The youth that looked like a disciple of a large clan at the side also stood up and nodded at Yan Liqiang.

“Headmaster Shen is Shen Teng’s uncle...” Shi Dafeng grinned at the side, showing off his pearly whites as he supplemented some information on Shen Teng.

Shen Teng glared at him and snorted. “I got into the top three by relying on my strength and winning the martial arts competition in the arena. This has nothing to do with my uncle at all!”

Shi Dafeng laughed heartily and didn’t seem to mind.

Yan Liqiang smiled and then cupped his fist in greetings towards the two of them. “I am Yan Liqiang from Liuhe Town. I’ll have to ask both of you for guidance for today’s exam!”

“I’ve heard of you in the past, but I didn’t expect you to be this awesome!” Shi Dafeng was completely outspoken as he exclaimed without a care. “I have a relative in Liuhe Town, my younger male cousin. When I visited there with my father, I heard from my cousin that Blacksmith Yan of Liuhe Town has a very impressive son and that no other youths in the town can rival him. That person that he spoke of must have been you!”

“My father is indeed a blacksmith. I am only a little more diligent than the rest. Nothing really that impressive!”

“That’s enough. No need to be modest. Unimpressive individuals wouldn’t be sitting here!” Shi Dafeng wasn’t being modest at all. He gestured for Yan Liqiang to take a seat then sized him up again another two times. “I have only met that Hong Tao from before twice. To be honest, I don’t like that fellow in the slightest. I can’t shake off the feeling that the guy is shady. Even if he sat in front of you, he’d look at you out of the corner of his eyes. You can tell that he’s nothing good with just a glance. Little did I expect the Hong Clan to really reap what they sow in the end and got wiped out by King Cobra, though I think King Cobra has indeed done a good deed...”

“This must be their karma!” Yan Liqiang said calmly.

“Indeed. Just like what my father has always said, heaven isn’t blind...”

“That King Cobra isn’t a good person either!” In the end, the nature of his youth still prevailed. Shen Teng couldn’t help but speak up when heard Yan Liqiang and Shi Dafeng’s conversation from the side. “He isn’t doing a good deed in killing the people from Hong Clan but exacting his revenge. It’s a dog eat dog world. A person like him should be executed on the spot. He’s nothing but a calamity if left in this world...”

“Brother Shen is right. Someone like King Cobra should be killed!”

...

While the three of them chatted, the competitions in each arena were like raging wildfires. After merely two hours later, apart from Yan Liqiang and the other two, the other best ninety-seven young men who participated in this exam were also selected.

The final part of the competition was carried out in Arena A. The ninety-seven youths all gathered around; Yan Liqiang, Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng left the resting area to join the crowd of those young men and stood in front. Everyone’s number plates were taken away and once again put in a number-picking wooden box.

After a short moment, the final competition commenced.

Under everyone’s gaze, two numbers were pulled out for the first of the finals.

“B, number 25, Zhang Tianhua and D, number 91, Hu Yihu...”

Following the names that the academy bureaucrat had read out, two youths walked out of the crowd of a hundred people and went up the arena...

Chapter 53: Kind Disposition

At this very moment, the one hundred youths that had qualified among the exam candidates that participated in the martial arts examination from Qinghe County could be considered the most outstanding ones in this batch. The slightly inferior ones in strength had all already been eliminated during the previous matches. The strength of the remaining candidates was definitely above average among their peers.

This year, fifty of these one hundred candidates would be eligible to get into the martial arts academy of Pingxi Prefecture. So this had, in turn, led to the stark contrast of the outcome in the subsequent fifty matches. The victor would ascend to heaven while the loser would descend into hell.

Yan Liqiang quietly watched the match on the stage from below the stage. Since the start of the first round, he realized that the matches in the arena had suddenly intensified. The youths on stage seemed to start giving their all in the matches as if their lives depended on it.

In the midst of the young and immature, yells, cries, injuries, bleeding or even fractures became a common sight. Everyone had already become inured to such misfortune. In the next few matches, the losers ended up being directly carried to the medical hall of the martial arts academy.

The cheers below the stage ceased as everyone watched the battle on stage in silence.

Both Shen Hongbing and Shi Changfeng still remained seated together in the audience seats on the stage with unchanging expressions on their faces. The looks on their faces were solemn while they occasionally exchanged a few words with each other, commenting on the situation of the match.

A person’s destiny was most often determined by either a match onstage or a deadly fight offstage.

In just the blink of an eye, the matches on Arena A had gone on for more than half an hour and there were already outcomes for eleven pairs of candidates. Eleven victors had successfully advanced into the top fifty strongest candidates at the expense of the eleven losers, thus gaining the eligibility of entering the martial arts academy of Pingxi Prefecture.

Under the great difference of failure and success, the fight on stage grew even more intense.

On stage at this moment, the twelfth group of youths was fighting each other, already struggling against each other for two minutes. All of a sudden, one youth suddenly broke through the other’s defense, his punch had left the other with a fully bloodied face. However, with a strange movement of his hand at the moment the fist collided with his face, that person with his face bloodied suddenly grabbed ahold of his opponent’s arm and the place between his thumb and forefinger. He then leaned to the side and locked the body of that youth that had punched him, with both of his legs. Both of them fell on the arena at the same time...

“STOP!” Shen Hongbing who was watching the battle immediately stopped the fight. The judge also hurriedly went up to separate the two people who were on the floor.

“The winner of this match is G, number 17, Zhu Haolong!” Shen Binghong subsequently announced the victor. G, number 17, Zhu Haolong was the youth had been beaten until his face was bloody just now. Upon hearing of his victory, Zhu Haolong wiped away the blood on his face and smiled brilliantly.

“Headmaster Shen, I don’t agree! Our battle hasn’t ended yet, I can still fight! So why is he pronounced the winner? I request to resume this match!” The face of the other youth turned red while he yelled with his fists tightly clenched, he seemed very agitated.

“Zhu Haolong gave you an opening on purpose just now so that you would hit him and then he could armlock you. That technique he used was from one of the techniques from Small Grabbing Hand [1], Python Entanglement. If it wasn’t for Headmaster Shen, Zhu Haolong would have used the power in his waist to turn over and subsequently break your right arm. How would you continue fighting then?” Shi Changfeng explained with an indifferent tone of voice while looking at that red-faced youth, “In this arena, the match is not only about brute force but also wisdom at the same time. Since you have the courage to fight, you are expected to know how to fight too.

When the red-faced youth heard Shi Changfeng’s words then recalled the situation just now, he instantly paled and unclenched his fists. He shot a look at the youth that had been beaten by him until his face was bleeding. Half of his face was already obviously swollen by now. He cupped his fists, then clenched his teeth and descended from the arena. The victor didn’t go down the arena, instead, he went directly to the audience seat in the arena to take a break and continued watching the match.

Yan Liqiang managed to learn a lot of lessons from this kind of match, reaping great benefits out of it.

The matches continued. Two number plates were drawn once again in front of the arena.

“Next round, one of the top three of the preliminary exam, Shi Dafeng, and B, number 11, Jin Nanguo...”

“Hahaha, it’s finally my turn...” Shi Dafeng, who was beside Yan Liqiang, laughed loudly while he cracked his knuckles then patted Yan Liqiang’s shoulder. “I shall go ahead and wait for you in the winners’ area. We shall have a good fight after the top ten honor roll has been decided!” He said with much pride.

After finishing his sentence, Shi Dafeng briskly walked up the stage. On the other hand, his opponent, the youth named Jin Nanguo, went up the stage with a depressed expression.

Naturally, there was nothing to doubt about the strength of one of the top three in the preliminary exam. Being chosen as an opponent to Shi Dafeng, the chances of that youth being eliminated was nearly guaranteed. He might not lose if his opponent was someone else, but faced with Shi Dafeng, the possibility of his victory was simply too slim. This was luck and sometimes, luck was also part of a cultivator’s strength.

At the start of the match, Shi Dafeng made a beeline straight for Jin Nanguo.

Shi Dafeng flung out his fist. An explosive noise that sounded just like a loosened belt being snapped taut in a moment reverberated in the air. At the same time when Shi Dafeng flung out his fist, a brilliant light suddenly shone out from his body. Within that brilliance was an image of a black gibbon – it was evident that Shi Dafeng was cultivating the Full Arm Boxing technique. Not only that, it was a Full Arm Boxing technique that had attained the realm of the third layer, therefore giving rise to such phenomena.

Compared to Yan Liqiang’s Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist technique that only possessed the realm of the fifth layer, the Full Arm Boxing was at a higher level. This was a fist technique that possessed the realm of the sixth layer.

The Full Arm Boxing technique was a ferocious fist technique. It could be easily controlled and was flexible and ever-changing. Shi Dafeng unleashed the Full Arm Boxing techniques relentlessly within a single breath and mowed that youth down like a bulldozer. His every fist was unleashed at that youth named Jin Nanguo. He forged ahead without retreating, wearing out that youth who was warding off his attacks and leaving him with only one option, which was to evade his attacks. Finally, when the seventh fist was unleashed, that youth was forced to jump off the arena from Shi Dafeng’s attack.

Shi Dafeng ended this match directly and efficiently, claiming victory in just less than half a minute. However, the youth that was forced off the stage by him wasn’t really injured.

...

“Next round, F, number 34, Qi Donglai and H, number 87, Xiong Yihao...”

The fact that Qi Donglai managed to storm into the top one hundred during this examination was somewhat out of Yan Liqiang’s expectations. He had already seen Qi Donglai earlier, but he didn’t greet him and had instead treated him as if he was transparent. But Yan Liqiang was secretly quite baffled. Based on Qi Donglai’s past strength, Yan Liqiang thought that it was barely enough for him to qualify to officially participate in the martial arts examination. He wondered how Qi Donglai had managed to improve so much within such a short period of time.

Qi Donglai had an icy expression in the arena, he didn’t look at Yan Liqiang either. His opponent appeared to be a seventeen or eighteen-year-old youth, a year or two older than Qi Donglai. As soon as the match commenced, both of them were quickly tangled with each other.

Yan Liqiang watched Qi Donglai in the arena with his brows slightly knitted together. Qi Donglai had indeed undergone tremendous changes, regardless of speed or power. He was a completely different person from the one Yan Liqiang had known a few months ago. His current strength was more than double previously. Qi Donglai’s footwork was nimble, crafty and was not any inferior to his opponent. It was even rarer to observe another fierce power from within him. That youth who was older than Qi Donglai couldn’t gain an upper hand at all.

He had only managed to change wholly within this short two months because of the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Manual in his possession. Could it be that Qi Donglai managed to undergo a complete change because he encountered some sort of opportunity too?

Yan Liqiang was making conjectures in his heart. It wasn’t like he was jealous of Qi Donglai or anything. People like Qi Donglai put him on guard, so naturally, he’d pay closer attention to him. Qi Donglai had mentioned that he found a master to study leg techniques, but Yan Liqiang didn’t know if it was true or not. However, watching Qi Donglai’s current performance and the skill of his leg techniques, Yan Liqiang was certain that he had never seen that before. At first glance, it already exuded an icy cold aura.

Qi Donglai fought with his opponent on stage for more than three minutes. Both of them were evenly matched and they had both knocked each other down a few times, there was no sign of overwhelming dominance from either one of them. However, when more than four minutes had passed in their fight, Qi Donglai was beaten to the ground by his opponent’s elbow strike. But the moment he fell, his right leg violently slid out against the floor. His violent sideways kick collided directly with the opponent’s shin across from him.

“Kachaa...” A cracking noise rang out. From below the stage, Yan Liqiang could hear that person’s shin being broken from Qi Donglai’s kick.

The two of them fell down at almost the same time. Qi Donglai swayed as he got up, then wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and spat out two teeth. His opponent was, however, hugging his leg on the floor as he let out an agonized scream. Soon after that, he was taken away by someone from below the arena on a stretcher.

Qi Donglai’s technique from just now was extremely ruthless. It was a move that brought destruction on both parties, but since he was tougher than his opponent, that one move from him decided the outcome of the match.

“Winner, F, number 34, Qi Donglai...”

Qi Donglai accepted his number plate. He inadvertently looked at Yan Liqiang as a strange smile appeared on his face before he made his way towards the resting area of the winners with his head held high.

While Qi Donglai was full of himself earlier, he didn’t notice Shi Changfeng who was sitting in the audience seat behind him frowning slightly.

But Yan Liqiang did, and he couldn’t help but feel a stir in his heart.

...

More than twenty minutes after Qi Donglai’s match, it was finally Yan Liqiang’s turn.

His opponent this time was similarly a youth that was older than him by two or three years.

Upon discovering that he was matched up with Yan Liqiang, whose Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist technique had stunned everyone, a hopeless expression emerged on that youth’s face when he came into the arena. As soon as the match began, that youth steeled himself with determination and went for broke. He bellowed with rage and without waiting for Yan Liqiang to come over, he charged towards Yan Liqiang of his own accord. He waved his arms like car wheels and acted like a desperate man ready to bring Yan Liqiang down together with him.

Yan Liqiang was slightly surprised before he smiled.

When his opponent was rushing towards him, Yan Liqiang quickly retreated three steps. He waited until that person had stormed in front of him before unleashing the Turning Drill Punch of the Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist technique. He brought his left foot a step forward then rapidly did a hundred-eighty degree spin. With the light hook of his right leg and turning around to put his fist that had changed into a palm on that youth’s shoulder, he gave it a gentle push. Like a mad dog that threw itself to food, the feet of that youth left the ground as he was immediately pushed from the stage to below it.

The entire process was less than two seconds and it seemed like this was the shortest match in this martial arts examination.

The surrounding audience below the stage was silent for two seconds before they abruptly erupted into laughter when they saw the pathetic state the youth was in from being thrown off from the stage.

Shen Hongbing and Shi Changfeng glanced at each other before they both nodded at each other and smiles appeared on their faces. In their eyes, of course, they could see how Yan Liqiang had perfectly executed this technique. It was rare to see someone like Yan Liqiang who unleashed his attacks very appropriately. That attack that he used when he turned around was supposed to be a much more powerful drilling punch which targeted a vital spot in the middle of the opponent’s back. With Yan Liqiang’s attainment in the Roaring Tiger Consecutive Fist technique, if he had used his drilling punch normally, that youth would be heavily injured or maybe even lose his life. But instead when Yan Liqiang turned around, not only didn’t use any force in his hand but also changed his fist to a palm. All he did was transform the force used to attack the opponent by pushing him against his shoulder and it sent the opponent flying off the arena without injuring him.

Compared to certain people in previous matches, this Yan Liqiang really had a kind disposition. Despite his young age, he possessed the demeanor of a great expert.

Chapter 54: Tiger Among a Flock of Sheep

Yan Liqiang easily won over the opponent and entered the top 50 of the county trial examination, steadily obtaining the chance to enter Pingxi Prefecture’s martial arts academy.

In the remaining hour, the remaining youths completed the competition one after another. The top fifty rankings of the Martial Arts County Trial Examination was finally released. Although Shen Teng who was ranked amongst the top three had come out last, he similarly beat his opponent without expending any effort, leading him to join the ranks of the top fifty strongest candidates without a single hitch.

It was already afternoon, and while the scorching sun blazed atop of their heads the martial arts examination still continued on. Regardless of whether they were both Shen Hongbing and Shi Changfeng seated in the audience stands or the youths participating in the examination, each and every single one of them would be watching the following match without drinking and eating.

In the so-called examination, other than testing the candidates on their martial skills, it also tested their individual willpower, stamina, as well as their spirit which were within the scope of the exam. Apart from being allowed to use the washroom, no one was allowed to eat or drink. Nobody would be exempted from this to receive a special treatment. Under the circumstances where everyone was being favorably treated equally, nobody voiced out any complaints.

Amongst those fifty candidates who could enter the martial arts academy in Pingxi Prefecture, although eight of them had won their previous matches, they were also considerably hurt which prevented them from continuing in the competition. These eight candidates were then withdrawn from the following matches. As for the remaining forty-two candidates, they would continue to draw lots in accordance to the previous rules to determine the matches and finally entering the most exciting–battle of honor.

In the battle of honor, every martial arts examination would determine the top ten candidates. These top ten candidates would then appear in the honor rankings posted on the announcement board of the martial arts academy after the conclusion of the exam. This honor roll would then be delivered to every town in the county afterwards. The top ten candidates in this register would then instantly be basked in the limelight in the wake of the county trial’s honor roll which would be widespread over the towns.

The rules of the last battle of honor were vastly different from the previous matches. It was no longer a one to one match and was instead the most intense form of chaotic warfare.

On the empty field in the heart of the training grounds, a circle with a radius of almost thousand square meters had already been drawn. The forty-two candidates who were going to enter the last battle of honor would all enter the circle. Those who were either knocked out of the circle or knocked down unable to clamber up in five seconds would be eliminated. The last remaining ten candidates in the circle would be chosen for the honor roll. Soon after, these ten candidates would still need to continue fighting each other in the ring. The remaining three who prevailed would be ranked amongst the top three of this martial arts examination. Following which, from the top three, they would determine the position in the ranking of each candidate in the country trial examination.

In the preliminary exam, in order to take precautions against people who were injured and unable to participate in the official examination, candidates who entered the top three didn’t have their ranking positions determined and were all collectively considered the top three. Yet, as the saying goes, ‘there is no first place in literacy and there is no second place in martial arts’, the rankings amongst the top three would be decided ultimately this time around in the official examination.

The academy bureaucrat of the martial arts academy used limestone to draw out forty-two standing positions within the large circle in the center of the training grounds as fast as he could. Then the forty-two candidates drew their numbers before taking their spots at the respective positions in the circle.

Due to the fact that their positionings were different, when the battle royale began later, the results would be different as well. For instance, those positioned closest to the edge of the region would be easier to knock out of the ring. Or for example, those who stood adjacent to the top three strongest candidates would similarly be the first to cross paths with the strongest opponents and be eliminated as a result. Thus, the choices in positionings would be determined by drawing lots. This helped to ensure that it was fair and wasn’t a result of being manipulated by others. As for the rest, it depended on the candidates’ luck.

Yan Liqiang drew number 31. This number’s positioning was situated in the area closest to the edge of the circle. In a brief moment of time, all the forty-two candidates had entered the large ring.

Shi Dafeng’s position was closer to the heart of the circle, while Shen Teng’s position was to the left of the opponent across him. He was slightly closer to the center. As for Qi Donglai, he was not far away from Yan Liqiang’s left side. Only four men were between the two of them, who were less than ten meters apart.

Qi Donglai was slightly anxious, occasionally sizing Yan Liqiang up and down secretly while on the other hand, Yan Liqiang’s gaze never landed on Qi Donglai from the start.

“START...”

In the wake of Shen Hongbing issuing the order in a low voice, the last tussle commenced. In a flash, changes began appearing inside the ring.

The candidates next to Yan Liqiang, Shen Teng, and Shi Dafeng quickly distanced themselves from the trio, not allowing them a single chance to take to strike out at them first on their own accord. This was also a kind of tactic. And so, the Full Arm Boxing technique’s Dharmic projection of a gibbon once again emerged from Shi Dafeng’s body. Without saying a word, he immediately pounced onto a candidate closest to him. The moment he made a move, another explosive noise erupted once more to his side.

Shen Teng also revealed his ability. What made him different from Shi Dafeng was that the technique’s Dharmic projection that emerged from Shen Teng was a red-crowned crane. Also, what Shen Teng exhibited was not a fist technique; it was instead a set of palm techniques called the Flying Crane Palm.

Shi Dafeng was similar to a berserk bulldozer and would strike out with his fist the moment he saw someone beside him. He didn’t care about the present situation and would strike them down first before saying anything. On the other hand, Shen Teng’s figure was elegant and agile, akin to a red-crowned crane fluttering its wings as it danced amongst the crowd. Even when he hit someone, an indescribable free and easy spirit emanated from his movements. Their movements were extremely fast. In a brief moment, the two had already respectively overthrown two candidates, causing a total of four candidates to be instantly ousted by the judge outside the ring.

The strength exerted by the duo at this time was two times stronger than the time they fought in the arena. Judging from the situation, it seemed that they didn’t exert their full strength during the arena matches.

After Shi Dafeng struck down two candidates, there wasn’t anyone else near him anymore. He turned around and caught sight of Yan Liqiang who was still rooted in his original place. He was watching the battle royale unfolding before him in the ring. Currently, there was no one at Yan Liqiang’s side. There were supposed to be people near him in the beginning, but they had all run away immediately after.

“Damnit, Yan Liqiang! We’re working our asses off here and you’re lazing about on the sidelines. I’m sure you’ll be embarrassed to get into the top ten honor roll like this!” shouted Shi Dafeng loudly. But he didn’t charge towards Yan Liqiang. Instead, he once again darted towards another candidate next to him. Shi Dafeng also understood that Yan Liqiang was a formidable foe. Unless he was fighting for the top three rankings in the last moment, he would never duke it out with Yan Liqiang first to avoid others from taking advantage of it.

Shen Teng also glimpsed at Yan Liqiang but he didn’t say anything. His movements however, were slowed down in an instant.

When Yan Liqiang saw that, he realized what Shen Teng was thinking. Compared to Shi Dafeng’s outspoken character, Shen Teng was definitely more of a schemer. He actually believed that Yan Liqiang wanted to save his strength so he kept a contingency for himself too so that his stamina would not be consumed too fast. It was precisely at this moment that all three felt they would ultimately cross swords with each other.

Did he really need to save his strength? He was constantly brimming with energy for training the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing every day. In his opinion, the prior matches couldn’t even be considered as warm-up exercises.

Fine, he would start!

Yan Liqiang began to burst into laughter. In the midst of his laughter, his body acted out akin to a ferocious tiger, immediately charging towards two candidates who were caught in the midst of a duel not far from him.

The dueling candidates were plotting something so their fight wasn’t intense and was more reserved. Both of them seemed to intend on stalling time as they waited for others to fight it out and expend much of their energy so there was a chance for their rankings to rise further to the top.

Of course, it was evident that they weren’t the only candidates to harbor such intentions. In this final battle royale, every candidate’s martial skills were put to the test. At the same time, it also tested everyone’s capabilities in adapting to various changes as well as their mobility. Because on a real battleground, there was a possibility that whatever the candidates would face would be full of changes as what they were currently facing now.

Seeing that Yan Liqiang was rushing towards them, the two candidates were gobsmacked. Never in their dreams did they expect that Yan Liqiang would dare to make a move on the two of them at the same time.

Before the two candidates could react, a Dharmic projection of a ferocious South China tiger once again appeared from Yan Liqiang’s body, shocking the entire field to its core with a loud roar. Amidst the tiger roar, Yan Liqiang then shot out two fists with a move called the Tiger Pouncing Fist, assaulting the two candidates at the same time.

Since the two candidates were ranked amongst the top fifty, they would naturally be stronger than the average candidates. When Yan Liqiang struck out with his pair of fists, they used their palms to seal off Yan Liqiang’s attacks. Meanwhile, while they were exchanging glances with one another, they instantly were struck with the mutual understanding to target Yan Liqiang together.

If others were to come to attack these two candidates at the same time, the duo would definitely have the ability to seal their fist attacks. However, they never imagined that Yan Liqiang’s entire body strength would long exceed their expectations.

When Yan Liqiang attained the Horse Stance stage, he was enhanced with the strength of one horse. During the course of these few days, Yan Liqiang had been training relentlessly and diligently in the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing every day. Yan Liqiang already lost count of how much power he had amassed on his body. In any case, the strong bow of five piculs which he had difficulty in drawing before was becoming more and more effortless to use.

The sudden increase in his body strength made the formidable power of Yan Liqiang’s Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist technique increase by numerous folds without foundation. Even if Yan Liqiang’s Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist was only at the realm of the fourth layer, and this formidable force of the Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist that only at the realm of the fourth layer had long surpassed those who had trained the fist technique to the realm of the fifth layer.

This was what was meant by ‘one man with extraordinary strength can beat ten different men who know martial arts’. Different realms of the cultivation technique when exerted by different people would cause the exertion of completely different formidable forces.

In the midst of crying out in surprise, the two candidates were hit by Yan Liqiang’s Tiger Pouncing Fist technique in one strike. Akin to colliding with a stampeding rhinodrake steed, their feet simultaneously left the ground as they were thrown seven to eight meters into the distance by the immense power of Yan Liqiang’s strong fists. They heavily collapsed outside the large circle, to the extent where they felt dizzy and lightheaded from the impact. They were instantly ousted from the match.

Every other candidate that was observing the ring on the outside were dumbstruck by Yan Liqiang’s attack.

“AOOO.....” With a strike of his fist, another tiger roar erupted in the air. Another candidate next to him was again sent flying with Yan Liqiang’s fist, falling to the ground within the ring. Since he didn’t clamber up on his feet for quite a while, the judge then eliminated him from the match.

As for the fourth candidate, instead of being sent flying by Yan Liqiang’s fist, Yan Liqiang grabbed hold of his belt when he rushed to his side. With a casual swing, the candidate was directly flung out of the ring amidst his cries and gesticulating hands and feet.

In the next second, Yan Liqiang immediately rushed towards the fiercest battle in the inner ring. With each tenacious roar of the tiger, a group of candidates in the inner ring was caught in a scene of turmoil in a flash. In short period of time, Yan Liqiang had already knocked down seven to eight of them.

Shen Hongbing and Shi Changfeng were stunned in the audience area. Both of them never imagined that Yan Liqiang was this strong. Under his strikes, those candidates who had made it to the top fifty had all simply collapsed in a single blow. Shi Changfeng’s eyes glimmered when he stared at Yan Liqiang as he mumbled irresolutely to himself, “Tiger among a flock of sheep, tiger among a flock of sheep. This is truly a real tiger among a flock of sheep.”

Chapter 55: Taking the Lead

Countless onlookers outside the field gasped in surprise when they saw Yan Liqiang beginning to show off his might. Shi Dafeng burst into laughter, his attack power once again heightened to another layer. Every time he struck out with the Full Arm Boxing technique, it would emit an explosive noise which sounded like firecrackers, overturning the candidates around him in succession. After Shen Teng got over his initial surprise, he also increased his speed.

Momentarily, only the three Dharmic projects of a tiger (Yan Liqiang), a gibbon (Shi Dafeng) and a crane (Shen Teng) could be seen roaring and prancing about in the large ring. The gibbon cried as the tiger roared, the trio had actually completely stolen the limelight from others.

The number of candidates kicked out or overthrown from the ring kept increasing. In a short span of time, the numbers standing inside the ring had already been down to almost twenty. The birth of the top ten honor roll was imminent.

Yan Liqiang set his sights on Qi Donglai. Qi Donglai was extremely cunning in his tactics and had been relentlessly engaging in battle with another opponent of similar caliber to stall for time. Just when he intended to fling Qi Donglai out of the ring, Shi Dafeng unexpectedly rushed headfirst towards Qi Donglai. Without any explanation, he immediately engaged the two, throwing both Qi Donglai and his opponent out of the ring within record time, causing Qi Donglai to be ineligible for the top ten honor roll.

Apart from Yan Liqiang and the duo, the other strong candidates inside the ring had also each won against more than one opponent. Those with superior strength were gradually revealing themselves.

At this time, Yan Liqiang gradually stopped fighting. Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng also gradually did the same because there was no point for them to continue fighting any longer as there weren’t many people left in the ring. Should they continue to launch a blanket assault now to drive the other candidates who were only slightly inferior to them out of the ring and made the strong candidates lose their eligibility to enter the top ten honor roll, then it would be counted as offending others.

Although Yan Liqiang seemed unrestrained earlier on, in actual fact, every move he made was extremely calculated. His targets were all candidates with middle or lower strength among the fifty. The chances of those candidates being ranked among the honor roll were already bleak to begin with so it was normal for them to be thrown out of the ring by him.

“Hahaha, what a kick! So satisfying!” laughed Shi Dafeng heartily, moving towards Yan Liqiang. “Both of us should have a friendly competition later on. I’m excited to see whether your Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist or my Full Arm Boxing is stronger!”

“There is no relative superiority in fist techniques. Whoever moves first, wins!” Yan Liqiang spoke in a bullshit manner. The phrase was simple yet had a profound meaning, causing Shi Dafeng to be taken aback after hearing it.

“Well said!” Shen Teng also had come over, looking at Yan Liqiang with amazement. He couldn’t prevent himself from exclaiming in admiration, “The Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist is originally the most basic fist technique there is, but today when in your hands, you showed me an extraordinary might. Being graced the chance to fight with you today is certainly a pleasure in life!”

Smiling, Yan Liqiang said modestly, “Then I will request that the both of you show some mercy later on!”

“That won’t do! That won’t do...” Shi Dafeng’s head shook like a rattle-drum. “Although you’re younger than Shen Teng and me, the full might of your fist art is a force to be reckoned with. When we compete later, I will definitely exert my full strength. If I show any mercy, in the blink of an eye, you’ll probably beat me to the extent where I’ll piss my pants in terror! That would be too humiliating!”

“I am afraid to be lenient with you as well!”

The three of them exchanged a glance with each other before bursting into laughter.

It was also in the midst of the trio’s laughter that the last seven candidates were distinguished, winning the fights against their own respective opponents. Just like that, the list of candidates entering the top ten honor roll was decided.

“Candidates within each ring are to recuperate for 30 minutes. After 15 minutes, the fight for the top three will take place!” Outside the ring, a judge from the martial arts academy announced, then immediately lit up half an incense in the nearby censer.

Within the large ring, a candidate of the top ten honor roll with some bruises on his face was gasping hard, trying to catch his breath. He cast a glance at the calm and composed trio near him and abruptly raised his hand. “Report! I’m withdrawing myself from the fight for the top three!”

“You have thought it through?” A judge from the outer ring asked again.

“Yes!”

“Walking out of the ring on your own will be considered as forfeiting the match for the top three. After forfeiting the match, your ranking in the top ten honor roll will still remain!”

The candidate nodded his head and directly walked out of the ring. A smile eventually broke out on his face as he heaved a heavy sigh of relief.

This year, Yan Liqiang, Shi Dafeng, and Shen Teng were too strong. When pit against the strength of other contestants, there were completely of another caliber. In previous years, there would still be candidates who were willing to challenge the top three of the preliminary exams. However, there didn’t seem to be any possibility this year, especially when an unexpected winner like Yan Liqiang was around. So long as they were not blind, they could easily tell that rather than suffering a crushing defeat or being injured at the hands of the trio, during the fight for the top three before the eyes of many, it would be better for them to forfeit with dignity. Since they were already in the top ten and wasn’t utterly defeated, it would sound far more pleasant if word got out.

During the martial arts examination held every year, there were a lot of candidates who would forfeit during this segment. This wasn’t entirely something that was embarrassing to begin with.

The other candidates were no fools either, on seeing that someone took the initiative and withdrew, each and every single one of the remaining candidates made their choice as well, after mulling over and comparing the disparity between their own strengths and the trio.

“I’m also voluntarily forfeiting the match...”

“I’ll forfeit!”

“I’m withdrawing from the fight for top three!”

In the blink of an eye, apart from Yan Liqiang’s trio, all the other candidates who made it to the top ten honor roll walked out of the ring on their own accord. The match this time to determine the top three ranking was destined to be between these three.

“Do any of you still need to rest for the entire fifteen minutes before beginning the match?” The judge outside the ring asked.

“Hahaha! What rest? I don’t need it! I can fight again anytime!” Shi Dafeng was the first to answer. He then looked towards Yan Liqiang and Shen Teng. “What about you two?”

Shen Teng drew in a deep breath. “Then let’s start now!”

Yan Liqiang smiled. “I have no problems with that!”

The three of them went to the outer ring, and once again drew lots to decide the battle sequence.

There were only three rounds in total for the top three rankings. Everyone participating would respectively fight two rounds. Those with exceptional achievements would emerge as the victor. If their scores were the same, for instance, each of them won one match and lost in the other or they were at a draw for all three rounds, then the rankings would instead be determined by Shen Hongbing and Shi Changfeng based on the trio’s overall performance.

In the blink of an eye, the results of the draw were released. The first round would pit Yan Liqiang against Shi Dafeng while Yan Liqiang would be against Shen Teng in the second round. In the third round, Shi Dafeng would versus Shen Teng.

The three of them once again arrived at Arena A. The rules were exactly the same to the matches prior.

Under the countless eyes of the public, Yan Liqiang and Shi Dafeng went into Arena A at the same time.

Yan Liqiang stood next to the red line on the left side of the arena whilst Shi Dafeng stood next to the red line on the right side of the arena. The two of them cupped their fists in salute to each other.

“START!” the nearby judge gave the order.

The moment the judge finished giving the order, Yan Liqiang and Shi Dafeng strode forth and towards each other at the same time, each throwing a fist at the other.

Yan Liqiang’s tiger Dharmic projection, as well as Shi Dafeng’s gibbon Dharmic projection, appeared simultaneously.

The tiger roar and gibbon cry simultaneously erupted as their fists collided with each other.

Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist and Full Arm Boxing were strong and ferocious techniques. This simple confrontation instantly distinguished the relative superiority of the formidable might of the two fist arts.

Yan Liqiang’s body didn’t move a single jot whereas Shi Dafeng was forced back three steps from Yan Liqiang’s punch. His expression paled slightly but without waiting for Shi Dafeng to react, Yan Liqiang’s fist was already swinging towards him. He basically didn’t grant him the slightest chance to react to the situation.

In that moment, all Shi Dafeng could see were only Yan Liqiang’s fists everywhere. One followed by another, Yan Liqiang’s fists were akin to rapidly speeding wheels, more like a continuous and uninterrupted stream. Every punch was full of immense power. He didn’t give any time for Shi Dafeng to fight back and had sealed off Shi Dafeng’s attacks all at once.

When faced with the ceaseless assaults, Shi Dafeng did one thing based on his instincts.

DANG! DANG! DANG! DANG! DANG! DANG! DANG! DANG!...

When he blocked the eighth blow, all of a sudden, Shi Dafeng felt his legs were standing on nothing, losing balance in an instant as his body collapsed backward. Without waiting for him to catch onto something, Yan Liqiang struck out with another blow. Shi Dafeng blocked it, but by then his body had already left the stage and fell from the arena.

As he fell, Shi Dafeng did a somersault in midair and ended with both of his feet touching the ground. Lifting his head, he caught sight of Yan Liqiang smiling at him from the arena.

After he took another look at his feet and stared at Yan Liqiang in the arena, did Shi Dafeng only realize what had happened. He scratched his head and stared at Yan Liqiang dejectedly. “Consecutive attacks?”

Yan Liqiang smiled and cupped his hands at Shi Dafeng. “Thank you for the match!.”

“Consecutive attacks...”

“He actually used the consecutive attacks of the Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist...”

“Sure enough, this Yan Liqiang didn’t exert his full strength earlier!”

Every candidate who was watching the scene unfold abruptly broke into an uproar. What happened just now was too quick and the majority didn’t manage to clearly witness the events that had transpired. They only felt that the stage had been instantly covered in shadows of fists flying one after another and amidst the explosions and the reverberating tiger roars; none of them expected that the first round of the tournament ended just like that.

The most powerful part of the Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist wasn’t the tiger roaring but the consecutive attacks. If the practitioner exhibiting the fist arts had mastered it, the moment he struck out with the consecutive attacks, his iron fists would roll out consecutively like a boulder. It had the ability to completely overwhelm the opponent, causing them to passively defend against the attacks or keep sustaining heavy injuries. Those with an inferior strength would instantly be crushed.

Seeing that Yan Liqiang used the consecutive attacks of Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fists to win Shi Dafeng, Shen Teng’s expression also became gravely solemn.

In the arena, the judge announced that Yan Liqiang had claimed the first round victory. Following which, he proceeded to ask Yan Liqiang a question. “According to regulations, you may rest for 15 minutes before moving on to the next match. Do you need to rest?”

“No need. I just got into the flow. Bring it on!”

“Alright!”

Without stopping to rest, Yan Liqiang proceeded to face Shen Teng.

This time around, Shen Teng learned his lesson. After the judge announced that the battle had commenced, instead of charging towards Yan Liqiang immediately, he distanced himself.

And just like before, Yan Liqiang acted like a fierce tiger pouncing on its prey. He charged towards Shen Teng, taking the initiative to go on the offense.

The arena wasn’t big enough to begin with so there was limited space to maneuver. On top of that, apart from the immense power of Yan Liqiang’s fist arts, his reaction speed was not inferior to Shen Teng’s. Although Shen Teng made a supreme effort to avoid being entangled in Yan Liqiang’s Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist attacks, the longest he could last was barely a minute. After the two of them exchanged blows a few times, the surge of heavy fist assaults instantly engulfed Shen Teng.

Right after Yan Liqiang launched seven consecutive strikes, although the graceful Shen Teng appeared confident and at ease, he still followed in Shi Dafeng’s footsteps and was knocked out of the arena by Yan Liqiang...

Chapter 56: A Hometown Sensation

The sun was setting soon, yet the outside of the martial arts academy of Qinghe County was still crowded. Countless people were still waiting outside of the academy.

Among these people who were waiting, were the parents, siblings, grandfathers, and uncles of the martial arts examination candidates as well as their servants, stewards, and friends of the same age.

To the citizens of Qinghe County, the annual martial art examination was akin to a festival; a major event in the county. On normal days, as long as any family who had a son of appropriate age, the most commonly asked questions were along the lines of ‘is your child prepared to participate in the martial arts examination this year?’, ‘how’s his performance lately?’ or ‘has he been accepted by the martial arts academy of Pingxi Prefecture?’

This kind of situation was exactly like the college entrance exam in Yan Liqiang’s past life. Every college entrance exam affected the heart of every family.

Among the waiting, restless men that were gathered outside the martial arts academy, there were also a few women. They stood out like red flowers among green bushes. They were matchmakers within the county who were older in age but were still dressed in bright colors. These matchmakers were very sharp-eyed and were really glib. They were gathered here today to exchange news and information in their hands and also to get the results of the exam held in the martial arts academy while making preparations to seek out talented youths.

It was notable that these matchmakers were most busy after the martial arts examination every year because that was when business was at its best.

Apart from these matchmakers, there were also a few messengers dressed in red with their horses that had a gong hanging from the saddles. They stood a distance away from the crowds while they watched from the sidelines. These messengers usually accepted jobs in disseminating information or sending letters to others and were assembled here today for the same reason, to earn some quick money. If they were fast enough on their feet and were lucky enough, they might just be able to snatch the opportunity to disseminate the good news about the top three. The reward they would get from sharing the news might just be equivalent to their one week’s worth of hard work. If they happened to meet a large clan who was generous with their reward, it could even be as much as a month’s worth of their income.

Unknowingly, the crowd that was gathered around the main entrance of the martial arts academy was suddenly in an uproar.

“It’s here, it’s here! The result of this year’s martial arts examination is out...!”

Someone yelled.

Upon hearing this yell, countless people poured forth both consciously or subconsciously towards the entrance of the martial arts academy like tidal waves.

A group of academy bureaucrats from the martial arts academy walked out from the main entrance and formed a circle with experience, blocking the crowds that were pouring forth towards them. They protected the two people who had tools in their hands and were prepared to post up the honor roll in the middle of the circle. While making their way towards the announcement wall at the side, they were also shouting. “Make way everyone, make way! Don’t push, don’t push! The more you push, the slower it will be! Once we post up the honor roll, everyone will be able to see the result of this year’s martial arts examination!”

“Everyone, don’t push, don’t push...”

The people foremost of the crowd also started shouting and eventually, they got the surging crowd that was rushing towards the front to calm down.

The few academy bureaucrats of the martial arts academy finally managed to make it to the front of the announcement wall after squeezing through the crowds until they were hot and sweaty. The few academy bureaucrats and the crowds that were gathered in front spontaneously protected their grounds and stopped others from pushing while the remaining two academy bureaucrats climbed the ladders that had already been previously set up there with lightning speed. They unrolled an enormous red-colored announcement and swiftly pasted it on the wall, somewhere about two meters high from the ground.

As soon as they were done pasting the announcement, the people in the surrounding could no longer hold back and immediately flocked over before they could even remove the ladders. The group of academy bureaucrats hurriedly retreated from the space in front of the announcement to make room for the crowds that had been waiting.

Everyone’s gaze instantly ended up at the top of that honor roll.

“The Great Han Empire, the 12th year of the Yuanping reign, Zhou district, Pingxi Prefecture, Qinghe County, Martial Arts County Trial Examination’s Honor Roll”

Top Three in Martial Arts Examination, First Place: Liuhe Town, Yan Liqiang

Top Three in Martial Arts Examination, Second Place: Qinghe County Town, Shen Teng

Top Three In Martial Arts Examination, Third Place: Langu Town, Shi Dafeng

...

On the ranking list, the first three names were biggest and most conspicuous. After Shi Dafeng were the names of the other seven people who had made it into the top ten. Their names were slightly smaller than Yan Liqiang’s name and the other two. At the same time, they were not ranked but instead, their names were sorted according to the number of strokes in the characters of their names.

After the first ten names, the list was followed by the other forty exam candidate’s name and their place of origin.

Upon seeing this name list, some were happy, some were disappointed, some were so excited that they cheered, some sighed and shook their heads. But spontaneously, a question emerged in everyone’s heart –‘Yan Liqiang, who is Yan Liqiang? Since when did Liuhe Town have such an impressive youth?’

Discussions broke out among the surrounding crowds, especially the few matchmakers. As soon as they saw the top three names on the list, they all started asking the people around them for information on Yan Liqiang, Shen Teng and Shi Dafeng.

“Huh? I think I’ve heard about this Yan Liqiang before...” A middle-aged man in the crowd seemed to have suddenly recalled something when he saw Yan Liqiang’s name. Upon hearing his words, many people from the surrounding instantly flocked over and most pricked up their ears. “Did everyone happen to hear about that method of saving the drowning victims that came from Huanglong County?”

“Are you talking about that method of performing moxibustion on the belly button? Of course! A few days ago, four children drowned in my village. We used that method in the end and managed to save two seemingly hopeless children that had been drowned for many hours!” Realization dawned on that someone as he recalled what had happened.

“That’s right. That’s the method I am talking about. A few days ago when I went to Huanglong County to purchase goods, I heard someone talking about it at a restaurant in Huanglong County. That person was saying that a youth by the name of Yan Liqiang seemed to have known this wondrous method of performing moxibustion on the belly button method to save drowned victims because some deity had imparted the knowledge to him in his dreams. I wonder if this Yan Liqiang is the very same one here...”

“Oh? There’s such a tale...?”

“The surname Yan is a minority and there aren’t many people with the surname Yan in our Qinghe County too. It’ll really be too much of a coincidence if there’s someone else with the exact same name and surname...”

“True, true, true. It’s probably the same person...”

Another person chimed in, “I vaguely recall the son of Blacksmith Yan from the Liuhe Town seems to be called Yan Liqiang...”

The surrounding crowd was suddenly in an uproar.

The few messengers quickly and invariably got on their horses after getting a clear look at the names of the top three on the list. Then with their fastest speed, they hurriedly dashed in the direction of Liuhe Town, Langu Town, and towards the other side of the county town.

The messenger who was fastest on his horse took a shortcut through a small road halfway and made it first to Liuhe Town. As soon as he arrived on the streets of Liuhe Town, he picked up the gong that was hung on the horse. While still riding on his moving horse, he hit on the gong to attract the attention of the people around him. With his loudest and most resonant voice, he started to shout along the way. “Good news, good news! Young Master Yan, Yan Liqiang of Liuhe Town has made it to the honor roll of Martial Arts County Trial Examination as one of the top three today...”

“Good news, good news! Young Master Yan, Yan Liqiang of Liuhe Town has made it to the honor roll of Martial Arts County Trial Examination as one of the top three today...”

The good news swept across the streets like the wind. When the merchants along the streets and pedestrians walking on the street heard this news, many of them could hardly believe their own ears for a split second.

Naturally, everyone knew of Blacksmith Yan’s son, but none of them expected his son to actually be ranked among the top three in the martial arts examination today. It had been too long since any youth in the entire Liuhe Town made it to top three ranking in the martial arts examination.

“Big brother, do you know which way to Young Master Yan Liqiang’s residence? I intend to bring the good news to his family. There’s finally a top three candidate from Liuhe Town...” When that messenger who carried the good news saw a butcher standing on the streets in a daze, he stopped his horse in front of the meat stall and happily asked that butcher.

Butcher Liu, who was in a daze, suddenly jolted back to reality before he quickly plastered a smile on his face and pointed towards the bank of Willow River. “Y-Young Master Yan’s residence is by the river bank. There’s a blacksmith workshop at his residence, just look for the one with the tallest chimney...” Butcher Liu swallowed hard when he finished speaking. He then lifted his head up and cautiously asked, “Oh right... Well... you were saying that Yan Liqiang is on the honor roll. Are you sure you didn’t see it wrongly...?”

“Haha, Young Master Yan’s name and this place, Liuhe Town were written in the first place on the honor roll that had been posted outside of the martial arts academy. Everyone who saw it was talking about it. How could I possibly make a mistake? If I can even be mistaken about something like this, I should just gouge my own eyes out and quit being a messenger...” That messenger said, but without any delay, he once again squeezed the horse on its flanks and brought it to a gallop towards Yan Liqiang’s house.

“Good news, good news! Young Master Yan, Yan Liqiang of Liuhe Town has made it to the honor roll of Martial Arts County Trial Examination as one of the top three today...!” The messenger hit the gong as he loudly announced and vanished before Butcher Liu’s eyes in just a blink of the eye. Only the sounds of his gong and shouts could be still be faintly heard.

Although the sun was about to set and the temperature was gradually lowering, Butcher Liu looked as if he had lost his soul while listening to the sound of the good news that was growing distant, his face was pale and his eyes were lifeless. In just the blink of an eye, his gleaming and oily forehead was covered with a sheen of sweat. When he recalled how he had treated the father and son of the Yan Clan in the past, Butcher Liu’s hands trembled.

“Father... who was that shouting and hitting the gong outside just now...?” Butcher Liu’s son came out from the room behind the meat stall. He was holding a cooked pork leg in his hand and was chomping on it until his face was all oily.

When he saw his son at this moment, Butcher Liu was suddenly overcome with anger. He abruptly slapped his son and yelled at him. “You’re still eating? All you know how to do is eat. I’ve been telling you to practice martial arts since you were young but you’d whine for days as soon as you tried doing the Horse Stance. You can’t even hold it for five minutes. How could I have a son like you...”

Butcher Liu’s son was instantly stupefied from being slapped by his father. He only reacted after a few good seconds had passed and then started crying loudly.

...

In the Yan Residence, Zhou Hongda and his wife had already finished preparing a meal along with a pot of chicken soup and were waiting for Yan Liqiang’s return.

Yan Dechang and Steward Lu were in the courtyard, chatting with each other while waiting.

But instead of Yan Liqiang, it was a messenger with good news who greeted them.

“Clang... clang... clang... Good news, good news! Young Master Yan, Yan Liqiang of Liuhe Town has made it to the honor roll of Martial Arts County Trial Examination as one of the top three today...!”

As soon as both of them heard the voice, they looked at each other, both thinking that their ears were tricking them. However, this voice had drawn nearer to them, growing clearer all of a sudden.

“Clang... clang... clang... Good news, good news! Young Master Yan, Yan Liqiang of Liuhe Town has made it to the honor roll of Martial Arts County Trial Examination as one of the top three today...!”

Yan Dechang was still finding it a little hard to believe, but Steward Lu had already stood up with a very excited look on his face.

“Clang... clang... clang... Good news, good news! Young Master Yan, Yan Liqiang of Liuhe Town has made it to the honor roll of Martial Arts County Trial Examination as one of the top three today...!”

The voice had already reached outside of their residence. Soon after, a series of knocks on their main door was heard. Zhou Tiezhu had already hurried over to open the door without waiting for Steward Lu’s order.

A messenger who was holding a gong with a big smile on his face was already standing on the other side of the door. The neighbors around the Yan Residence had also gathered around to see what was going on.

“I am humbly here to announce good news on behalf of Young Master Yan. Young Master Yan is on the honor roll in today’s Martial Arts County Trial Examination as one of the top three. He will surely achieve meteoric success in the future with his brilliant future prospects!”

Seeing Yan Dechang excitedly reward the messenger who arrived with the good news with two taels of silver, Steward Lu immediately called over a guard from the Lu Clan and sent him off on a rhinodrake steed to Huanglong County to inform the Lu Clan...

Chapter 57: Thinking of Danger In Times of Peace

“All of you that are on the honor roll, your reputation shall be known in town and there will be a lot of social events at home. Relatives and friends will definitely visit. There is still more than two months until the reporting day at the martial arts academy of Pingxi Prefecture from now. In these two months, please don’t neglect your cultivation while you attend to all your social events. It’s vital for you to know that even if you have been admitted into the martial arts academy of Pingxi Prefecture, you are only halfway through the door of cultivation. You will only be recognized as a Martial Warrior after you have attained the Horse Stance stage, Stretching Tendon and Extending Bone stage, as well as Establishing Dantian stage. After then will you be considered as officially stepping through the main door of martial arts cultivation.”

Fifty exam candidates, including Yan Liqiang, Shi Dafeng, and Shen Teng were standing solemnly in the lofty main hall of the academy arts academy while they listened to Shi Changfeng’s speech. Each and everyone’s mind was surging with emotions and many of them were enormously proud of their success.

“Being a Martial Warrior is only standing at the starting point of martial arts cultivation. So everyone, avoid feeling complacent and come to a standstill thus ultimately destroying your own future prospects. Our Gan Province had always been the lower province [1] around the Western Frontier of the Great Han Empire. For the past few centuries, we have also been in the chaos of war. We can hardly compare to the other prefectures regardless of population, economy or martial arts lineage. Take the Martial Arts County Trial Examination of Qinghe County this time as an example. All of you here are already the most outstanding individuals among the younger generation, yet there is still a large gap between you and the youths of other provinces in terms of cultivation. Among all of you, the people who have attained the Horse Stance stage are still less than a tenth. I went to Lan Province the year before to personally oversee the Martial Arts County Trial Examination in Moxie County. In that county that year, about 120 exam candidates were recruited into the martial arts academy of the Moxie County. Among these 120 exam candidates, more than forty had attained the Horse Stance stage; that was nearly a third of the exam candidates. Can you all imagine how spectacular that was? That Lan Province is nothing but a middle province [2]. Among the other upper provinces [3], wealthy and powerful clans and formidable sects, youths that have advanced as Martial Warriors at the mere age of twenty can be found everywhere. They are simply innumerable...”

Yan Liqiang was secretly astonished in his heart when he heard Shi Changfeng’s words. If it wasn’t for Shi Changfeng, he wouldn’t know that there was actually such a great disparity between the Qinghe County that he was living in and the other provinces and prefectures. It seemed like the disparity in resources existed everywhere. Gan Province was probably an area where everyone was poor and it was incomparable with the other areas of the Great Han Empire.

After listening to Shi Changefeng’s words, the smug look on the face of each and every single youth that had been complacent with their own achievement earlier vanished as their facial expressions started to turn grave.

Shi Changfeng’s glance swept over every youth with satisfaction before he continued on with giving everyone a wake-up call. “And being a Martial Warrior only turns you into a gentry. If your objective stops here, then your vision is too narrow and your ambition in life is too low. That’s because even gentry is divided into many ranks, and there are also aristocrats above gentry. The position, wealth and rank of aristocrats vary too. Therefore, to enjoy greater honor and stand at a higher position, there’s no other way apart from continuing with your cultivation to obtain greater strength. There are more realms waiting for you all after you’ve become a Martial Warrior. Beyond Martial Warrior is the Supreme Martial Warrior. After the Supreme Martial Warrior, there’s Martial Master, then followed by Martial Grandmaster. There are even higher realms beyond the Martial Grandmaster. The path of cultivation is just beneath your feet. If you are fortunate enough to advance as a Martial King in the future, you can instantly be recognized as an Elder among the Empire’s Senate. The glory that you will be basking in by then is simply incomparable to what you have now. Although you are being recruited by the martial arts academy of the county, you’re not even the most basic Martial Warrior yet. So you have to continue working hard!”

Everyone, including Yan Liqiang, nodded after hearing this.

“The Silver Continent is a region of war which consists of a great number of countries where the weak are the prey to the strong. All of you are currently enjoying the peace and prosperity of Pingxi Prefecture. There are no weapons and soldiers in sight. But do you know that a few centuries ago, Pingxi Prefecture and Gan Province were still vulnerable to attack and were hardly an abode of peace? Even now at this very moment, wars and bloodshed still happen every day in territories outside of our Great Han Empire. Apart from us of Chinese ancestry, countless people are still living in a precarious state. They are constantly in fear and on edge, as their country may collapse at any moment. They can starve and women and children may be reduced to being slaves and toys to others in just a blink of the eye.”

“Just last year, the Silla Kingdom, which is just north of the Great Han Empire, was destroyed by the Chaman Empire. There was a massacre that lasted seven days in the captured city of the Silla Kingdom. Blood ran like a river; seventy million people in the Silla Kingdom were reduced to only a few million in just two years, and all of the survivors were turned into slaves. The entire race was nearly exterminated. The skull of Silla’s king was turned into a wine cup by the commander of the Chaman people, Geli. The king’s imperial concubines and children became slaves and toys to the others. All the ministers and aristocrats of the Silla Kingdom were leashed and chained to a horse like dogs, and were all dragged across the ground until they died.”

“After the people of Chaman destroyed the Silla Kingdom, Commander Geli of the Chaman people basked in the glory of his achievement. Last year, he had ordered a million cavalries to invade the border of our Great Han Empire’s Jin Province. In the end, we didn’t fight with them because a million troops from the Storm Army of our Great Han Empire were already fully prepared at the border of Jin Province. After the million cavalries of the Chaman people, the Thousand Pioneer Army invaded the Jin Province and destroyed a few villages at our border, killing thousands of villagers, the Thousand Pioneer Army was later wiped out by the cavalries of the Storm Army by the side of Xima Lake. Not even one soldier managed to escape. All of them were decapitated and their bodies were piled up into a mountain at Xima Lake as a display to the armies of Chaman people later. This was the reason why the great army of Chaman people didn’t invade the Jin Province in the end! The fact that we are still able to live somewhat peacefully right now is all thanks to the countless warriors at the border through their sabers, spears, and blood. So you all shouldn’t take everything for granted.”

The silence in the main hall of the martial arts academy was deafening. Shi Changfeng swept his glance across everyone. The voice of his tone suddenly grew grave as he spoke earnestly. “The Chaman may have retreated this time, but what about next time? What if next time, they didn’t come in with just a million but a few millions of armies? Do you think they will invade Jin Province? Apart from the Chaman Empire, there’s still the Xiongnu Empire to the north, the Shatu Alliance, the Dark Ram Tribe to the west and the New Crescent Dynasty from the south. These tribes and nations are all extremely formidable. Each and every one of them are preying on us Chinese like tigers and drooling over our lands and wealth. Over the past few centuries, wars of varying scales and intensity between the Chinese and the other tribes have never ceased. Just think about it, everyone. If a war is to break out again one day, do you think you can march into the battlefield with your current attainment in martial arts and protect your nation, your parents and friends from becoming the enslaved by the other tribes!?”

Seeing how everyone was deep in their thoughts, Shi Changfeng’s lecture finally came to an end. His final gaze rested on Yan Liqiang and the few who were standing at the forefront. The tone of his voice lightened, “Alright. When all of you go home, try to digest what I have just said today and you will know what to do in the future. As the saying goes, ‘Think of danger in times of peace, as thinking leads to preparation and preparation averts calamities.’ This world has never truly been peaceful. When you are at ease, the person who has the intention to kill you may be sharpening his knife. In two months time, that is on the twenty-eighth day of the eighth lunar month, everyone can report in at the martial arts academy of Pingxi Prefecture. I hope by the time I see you all again two months later, you will have improved compared to now!”

...

Chapter 58: Unexpected News

After both Shen Hongbing and Shi Changfeng each gave their lectures to the masses, the fifty youths who were admitted into Pingxi Prefecture’s martial arts academy stamped their fingerprints on the admission register. That would serve as a proof of identity once they report to the academy two months later. After completing all the subsequent formalities, everyone finally left the martial arts academy with the youths who had come to participate in the Martial Arts County Trial Examination together. They each respectively returned to their own homes.

As the main doors to the martial arts academy flung open, the youths flowed out at the same time. They either went home or met up with their friends and family who were waiting outside. Some of them were in high spirits while the others were silent and disappointed. The sorrow and the happiness they felt among them could only be experienced by themselves.

It was different from when he had arrived in the morning. During that time, Yan Liqiang had come alone, a stranger amongst the others. Apart from a couple of the youths in Liuhe Town, almost everyone didn’t know who he was. Yet now, even when he walked amongst the crowd, Yan Liqiang could feel many gazes from the youths who had participated in the examination from all around as their gazes were silently fixated on him. This was the treatment he would receive for taking first place in the examination.

After bustling about for a day without drinking even one drop of water, everyone was already exhausted and starving by now. Yan Liqiang felt that his own tummy had been growling in protest for a long time. He didn’t feel it at all when he was in the martial arts academy but now that he was done, he felt it was time for him to have a good meal.

Although his tummy was still growling in protest, Shi Changfeng’s words were still constantly replaying in Yan Liqiang’s mind. Based on Yan Liqiang’s experience and judgement from living two lives, he couldn’t help but feel that Shi Changfeng’s words had some kind of profound meaning to them. The words he had said were also the best form of motivation and encouragement to everyone that was present. To Yan Liqiang at least, Shi Changfeng’s words once again made him felt anxious and precarious. The exhilaration and the excitement he felt for seizing first place in the martial arts examination was then washed away.

Becoming a Martial Warrior only served as a starting point in this world, not to mention the fact that he had yet to become a Martial Warrior. ‘So, fight harder, youth...’

...

Footsteps sounded from behind him but Yan Liqiang did not turn around. He thought it should be Shi Dafeng from the sound of the footsteps alone.

Ever since he trained in Marrow Cleansing, Yan Liqiang discovered that his perception was becoming more and more acute.

As expected, a hand patted on shoulder from behind and out came Shi Dafeng. He walked along Yan Liqiang’s side. “Are you planning to head home now?”

“Yes, of course!”

“Do you have any plans for the next two months?”

“Plans? What do you mean?” Yan Liqiang gave Shi Dafeng a suspicious look.

“What I meant was, if you don’t have anything to do for the next two months, why don’t we travel outside together for a while to broaden our knowledge and experience? We could try our luck at Mount Azure Dragon within the borders of Lan Province and come back at the end of the eighth lunar month. Then we can head to Pingxi Prefecture’s martial arts academy to report ourselves since it’s boring to stay at home for two months anyway!” Shi Dafeng’s eyes were gleaming with eagerness. “I went to ask Shen Teng just now but he said his eldest uncle, who is the headmaster, told him to enter secluded training and train hard for two months. He’s not allowed to go out. Such a shame. I originally wanted all three of us to go so it would be more fun that way. I heard that there are a lot of secret dwellings where the senior experts enter secluded training atop Mount Azure Dragon. There are also experts who cultivate in secret up there all year round. If we were to meet one or two of the experts in the mountain, we can maybe revere the expert’s demeanor. If we get extremely lucky enough to find a dwelling left behind by the senior experts and stumble upon a couple of secret manuals above the tenth layer in the process, won’t we be super rich...”

Shi Dafeng was a man with a cheerful and outspoken personality. He was very carefree and didn’t mind in the slightest when he had lost to him and Shen Teng. He was over it in the blink of an eye. A man like this was a person who was worthy to be friends with in Yan Liqiang’s eyes.

Yan Liqiang smiled, “You go ahead. I still have things to attend to back home in these two months so I can’t leave!”

“What is it that requires you to stay at home? Don’t tell me that your family is arranging a blind date for you?” Shi Dafeng stared at Yan Liqiang dubiously.

“It’s not a blind date. It’s just that there won’t be anyone to look after my father once I go to Pingxi Prefecture two months later. I am worried about him. So, I’m going to make some arrangements during these two months to lessen my worries afterward!”

“You don’t have any brothers and sisters at home?”

“Nope. I’m the only child!”

“Then nevermind!” sighed Shi Dafeng. “I’ll go alone then...”

“Yeah. Then I’ll see you again at Pingxi Prefecture Martial Arts Academy!” As he said that, Yan Liqiang had already departed from the main gates of the Qinghe County Martial Arts Academy. He caught sight of the Lu Clan’s guard who was waiting at an area not far from the entrance, leading two rhinodrake steeds.

“Yan Liqiang has come out...”

“That fourteen to fifteen year old youth wearing blue clothes is ranked the first amongst the top three in this martial arts examination! Yan Liqiang from Liuhe Town!”

“I never expected him to be this young...”

“I’m sure he’s not betrothed yet...”

Before Yan Liqiang reached the guard from Lu Clan, gasps of amazement erupted in an instant. Taking a glimpse, he saw countless people still waiting outside the entrance, each and every single one of them were eyeing him with curiosity. The moment he came out, many of them looked like they were about to surround him. Amongst the crowd, a couple of them even seemed to be matchmakers. Such spectacle was no different than the scene in his previous life when the common folk would stand in a circle to gaze at the bright stars in the street.

Fortunately, the Lu Clan’s guard managed to lead the rhinodrake steed to him in the nick of the time. Yan Liqiang didn’t say anything further and immediately took over the reins. He nimbly mounted the steed before cupping his fists at his surroundings. Without saying anything more, he quickly left the martial arts academy together with the Lu Clan’s guard, making their return to Liuhe Town.

Although the guard from the Lu Clan did not utter anything throughout the journey home, Yan Liqiang could still tell from the guard’s eyes that his respect for Yan Liqiang had gone up another notch.

Upon returning to Liuhe Town, once he arrived on his rhinodrake steed, Yan Liqiang realized that the surrounding pathway area was abruptly bustling with liveliness. Numerous households on both sides of the path had come out of their homes to look at him as they cheered with noise and excitement. Wherever he looked, there were smiles plastered on their faces and what he heard from around him were gasps of amazement. A group of children were chasing after his rhinodrake steed while shouting, “The first place winner in the top three has returned! The first place winner in the top three has returned...”

Before he could even reach his home, Yan Liqiang had already caught sight of his own father. Yan Dechang and Zhou Tiezhu emerged from their courtyard and waited for him on the road outside.

Yan Liqiang dismounted the steed as fast as he could, leading it toward Yan Dechang. He smiled, “Father, I have returned...”

Yan Dechang’s eyes instantly reddened in a flash, looking a bit moist. He deeply sucked in a breath of air and wiped the corner of his eyes with his sleeves. A smile emerged on his countenance as he said, “It’s good you’re back. It’s good to see you home. Go and pray to your mother’s tablet. Then we’ll eat together. We’ve been waiting for you to come home... ”

He naturally savored every bite of the meal he had at home. Even Yan Dechang, who never seemed to take in a drop of wine, was also slightly drunk from drinking too much that night.

Once they finished their meal, the night had completely closed in. Yan Liqiang personally supported the drunk Yan Dechang back to his room to rest. After he tucked Yan Dechang in bed, he went to fetch warm water and personally helped wash Yan Dechang’s hands, face, and feet.

Lying atop the bed, Yan Dechang’s face was flushed red; his eyes were shut and he appeared to be slightly intoxicated. His mouth was still raving on nonsensically about something.

“Xuelian... did you see? Our son...ranked first amongst the top three... I promised you before...to nurture Liqiang...waiting for the day for him to have the ability...to...avenge you...Then I...can finally put my mind at ease and join you.... Wait for me...”

As he wiped Yan Dechang’s feet, when he heard the last of his words, Yan Liqiang abruptly froze mid-motion as though he was shocked by electricity.

Within moments, Yan Dechang finally dazedly drifted off to sleep, losing the capability to say anything anymore. After being stunned for a while, Yan Liqiang slowly shifted his gaze from Yan Dechang’s face. Once he was done wiping Yan Dechang’s feet, he carried the basin and left the room...

Chapter 59: Gradual Recovery

Yan Liqiang tossed and turned on the bed in his room for the whole night, finding it difficult to fall asleep. After having a little too much to drink, Yan Dechang’s words that sounded like he was sleep talking lingered around his ears.

Revenge... Revenge... Revenge...

Ever Yan Liqiang could remember, he didn’t have any memories of his mother in his mind. Yan Dechang told him that his mother had passed away from her illness when he was only half a year old. Yan Liqiang was brought up by the wet nurse that Yan Dechang had hired since then. For these past ten years, Yan Liqiang had never doubted the story Yan Dechang told him even once. However, his drunken words tonight were earth-shattering to Yan Liqiang. Could it be that his mother had passed away due to some other reasons? Or was she murdered by someone?

If that wasn’t the case, Yan Dechang wouldn’t have mentioned anything about revenge.

Yan Dechang must have known the identity of the culprit but was too powerless to exact a revenge. Therefore he was strict with Yan Liqiang since his youth. He had him practice martial arts every day for the sake of getting stronger. ‘Did he wish for me to become powerful and progress towards becoming a Martial Warrior so that I will be capable enough to avenge her?’

This explained everything he had experienced at home since his childhood.

Should he ask father about it tomorrow?

No, he would definitely not tell him when sober unless he could move forward as a Martial Warrior and show him the hope of avenging her. Otherwise, he figured he might never hear the truth from his father.

Yan Liqiang tossed and turned relentlessly for half of the night and didn’t feel sleepy at all. In the end, he decided that he might as well get up and start practicing the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing in his dark room.

The more he practiced this technique, the more Yan Liqiang could feel that his body seemed to gradually become addicted to the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing. He’d feel uncomfortable from head to toe as soon as he missed a day of practice. The more he practiced, the more comfortable his body would feel, and he would often be brimming with bursting light and fluttery energy.

As soon as Yan Liqiang started practicing, he went straight for no less than three rounds and only stopped after the sky had turned bright. He then exited his room and made his way to the backyard where he usually trained his martial arts to exercise his muscles and bones for a while. After practicing two rounds of Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist technique and seeing that it was about time for Zhou Hongda and his wife to finish preparing breakfast, he went into Yan Dechang’s room to help him with his morning routines.

By the time Yan Liqiang entered Yan Dechang’s room while carrying the water he had drawn, Yan Dechang was already awake and was slowly getting himself dressed.

“Father, your injuries have not healed yet. Take care to not reopen the wounds. Let me help you...”

“No need, no need. I’m slowly regaining my hand movements these past few days. I can already raise my arms up. Humans are like metal. If you don’t move, especially after an injury, you’ll get rusty and it’ll be even harder to heal. The old disorders won’t go but the new disorders will come. But by moving a little, the blood circulation in your whole body will improve and the body will also heal faster...” Yan Dechang refused Yan Liqiang’s help and insisted on doing things himself.

Seeing that Yan Dechang could already slowly get himself dressed, Yan Liqiang finally let out a sigh of relief as quite a lot of worries had been lifted from his heart.

As the saying goes, ‘joy puts heart into a man’. After getting a little drunk and emotional last night, Yan Dechang’s entire complexion suddenly improved significantly after a night of sleep. He seemed to be fully rested too. Although his movements were still a little slow, he could sit upright on the bed by himself and he could try to put his clothes, socks, and shoes on without Yan Liqiang’s assistance. After that, Yan Dechang refused Yan Liqiang’s help again and finished washing up himself.

Yan Liqiang could only stay in the room and watch Yan Dechang slowly finish every task.

In the end, when he saw that Yan Dechang was going to pour the water, Yan Liqiang hurriedly took the washbowl and pitcher from him. “Father, let me do it for you...”

“Alright...” Yan Dechang stopped insisting. However, he watched Yan Liqiang carry the washbowl outside with a complicated gaze. Just when Yan Liqiang reached the door, Yan Dechang suddenly called out to him again. “Liqiang...”

“Yes, father?” Yan Liqiang stopped and turned around.

Yan Decheng hesitated for a moment before asking a question. “Yesterday... after I got drunk, I remember you sending me back to the room. Did I say anything strange then?”

“You did, but it was nothing strange...” Yan Liqiang paled. “I remember you were very happy after you were drunk and you were telling me to continue working hard and cultivate diligently so that I can become a Martial Warrior soon...”

“Only that?” Yan Dechang stared closely at Yan Liqiang’s face. He seemed to be quite nervous.

“Of course!” Yan Liqiang laughed, the expression on his face was relaxed. “Father, your were slurring your words. If it weren’t for the fact that I’m your son, other people probably wouldn’t get what you were mumbling about!”

Seeing how the expression on Yan Liqiang’s face wasn’t strange at all, Yan Dechang finally let out a sigh of relief. “Yes, I had some wine yesterday and couldn’t even remember what I had said myself. I’m only worried that I might have acted a little crazy from having too much to drink and said something ridiculous. That’s why I had never touched a drop of liquor these past years. I made an exception last night out of joy. It seems like I really should hold back from drinking after this. Oh yes, Liqiang, I’ve really troubled you all this time!”

“Father, is there a need for a father to tell a son that?” Yan Liqiang made a face of resignation at Yan Dechang. “Father, you have raised me well. I’ve never told you that I’ve troubled you either. So are you implying that I have to tell you that a few times from now on? If you really want to hear that, then I can tell you that twenty or thirty times every day...”

Yan Liqiang almost made Yan Dechang laugh in amusement. There was a small smile on his face before he hurriedly put on a straight face again with a solemn expression. “What I mean to say is that my body is slowly recovering and I can already slowly take care of myself. We have Mother Wu, Zhou Hongda, and his wife to take care of house chores and cooking, so there’s no need for you to worry about them. From now on, you don’t need to stay around me so much and you can just focus on what you have to do like you did back then. Do what you are supposed to do and don’t slack on your cultivation, especially now that you are the first among the top three in the martial arts examination for the entire county. Countless people have their attention on you. It’s very important to strike while the iron is hot. Remain consistent in your cultivation, and don’t slack so that you won’t fall and become a laughing stock by the time you attend the Pingxi Prefecture martial arts academy and face many powerful opponents. Do you understand?”

“Rest assured, Father. I haven’t been slacking in my cultivation these days. This morning I even got up early to practice two rounds of fist technique. I will definitely become a Martial Warrior soon. I won’t let you down!”

“Good!” Yan Dechang nodded. “After breakfast, rest a little and then you shall continue your cultivation in your courtyard. From now on you don’t need to concern yourself with matters at home like in the past. You can’t afford to slack on your daily morning, afternoon, and evening training. You are old enough now, I’m not going to interrupt your training and I’m no longer capable of guiding you. You’ll have to plan yourself. However, you cannot drop the spear technique. I heard from Uncle Qian that you even managed to get a Horned Python Bow in the Weaponsmiths Quarter. If time allows, you should also practice archery...”

Yan Dechang seemed to have really recovered and also regained his Tiger Dad [1] demeanor as he started ordering Yan Liqiang again...

However, it seemed like Yan Dechang’s plan for today was destined to fail. When the father and son duo finished their breakfast, their home was instantly bustling with noise and excitement...

Chapter 60: A Lively Courtyard

What the Yan Clan’s pair of father and son least expected was that Butcher Liu and his son would be the first ones to arrive at the Yan Residence today.

Just when Yan Liqiang, Yan Dechang, Steward Lu, and Zhou Tiezhu were chatting in the room after their breakfast, there was the sound of someone knocking on the door. A guard from the Lu Clan who was outside the courtyard opened the door. That guard from the Lu Clan didn’t know who Butcher Liu and his son were. Butcher Liu and his son were driving a bullock cart and the cart was loaded with something at the back. Butcher Liu explained with a smile on his face that they were neighbors from Liuhe Town and were here to congratulate the Yan Clan. Hence, the guard from the Lu Clan allowed Butcher Liu and his son to enter and even led both of them into the room.

“It’s you?” When Yan Liqiang saw Butcher Liu and his son walk in, he thought the both of them had come to the wrong place. The smile on Yan Dechang’s face, who was initially in a great mood, slowly faded.

The smile on Butcher Liu’s face was so sweet that it could even trick the housefly that was flying outside the courtyard to come in. Together with his son, he nodded and bowed to greet everyone in the room, “I heard that Liqiang had been honored as first place among the top three in the Martial Arts County Trial Examination yesterday. I was so excited that I couldn’t sleep the whole night so I brought my son along with me to choose a good pig first thing in the morning and slaughtered it as soon as I could and washed it clean before sending it over here as a small congratulatory gift. Both my son and I had consumed too much lard back then that our hearts had been clouded [1] and even our eyes were blind. If we have offended Brother Yan and Liqiang before, please do not take it to heart. We are neighbors on this street. If Brother Yan needs help in the future, don’t hesitate to let me know!”

There was a saying that went: “One should be forgiving towards people who are willing to apologize for their crimes by kneeling and pressing their foreheads against the ground, even if their crime is murder.” Yan Dechang was not a petty person to begin with. However, at this very moment, when he saw Butcher Liu and his son acknowledging their mistakes and delivering their gifts, he couldn’t help but feel extremely delighted in his heart. With this, half of the conflicts he had with Butcher Liu in the past were instantly dissolved. Yan Dechang’s expression had also softened. Although the resentment he had for him had dissolved considerably, he couldn’t immediately change his expression and face Butcher Liu with a smile right then with his straightforward personality.

Yan Liqiang glanced at Yan Dechang who was at a loss for words. He knew his father wasn’t used to dealing with such a situation so he smiled and spoke to Butcher Liu, “That’s very kind of you, Uncle Liu! Dafu and I have been playmates since young. Who in the world would still take those little disputes that happened we were younger and those little conflicts between neighbors to heart after all these years. I don’t even remember any of it! Isn’t that right, Dafu?”

Butcher Liu’s son, Liu Dafu, had been hanging his head since he entered the room and was timidly looking at other people in the room. He didn’t expect that Yan Liqiang would take the initiative to talk to him. So all he could manage was nervous stammering while he nodded his head violently, “Oh yes... Yes....Yes....no one took it to heart, no one took it to heart....”

“Uncle Liu! Come, have a seat.”

If Yan Liqiang had held his head high right now or had even given him two slaps across his face, Butcher Liu would have felt more at ease. But instead, the more polite Yan Liqiang was, the more nervous Butcher Liu became. He had no idea why the smile he saw on Yan Liqiang’s face right now that was as refreshing as the spring breeze was even more fearsome and frightening than Old Master Hong who had glared at him when he delivered the meat to the Hong Residence back then.

Although Yan Liqiang called him Uncle Liu, Butcher Liu didn’t dare to really consider himself Yan Liqiang’s uncle. He still understood such propriety. He was also aware of the saying that went: “A biting dog doesn’t bark, and a man-eating tiger doesn’t look any fiercer than a cat before it consumes.”

“It’s alright, I’m fine. The gifts I brought here are still outside on the bullock cart. Let me move them inside....” Butcher Liu pulled his son along and left the room to move the gifts right away.

Yan Liqiang, Yan Dechang, and the others also exited the room.

The main entrance of the Yan Clan’s courtyard was opened and Butcher Liu immediately drove the bullock cart in. On the bullock cart was a whole fat pig and some bottles. It certainly looked like they had been prepared by Butcher Liu early in the morning.

“A whole pig is too much. We won’t be able to finish it either. As long as Uncle Liu is sincere, just a pork leg will do!”

“It’s not a lot, not at all. You can leave some of the meat to enjoy them fresh and marinate the rest for later. I also specially went out to buy some salt, wine, spicy noodles, pepper, as well as spice powder this morning. It only took Dafu and I a little while to get all this done. My culinary skill only goes this far!” Butcher Liu said while he promptly unloaded the gifts from the cart. Zhou Hongda and his wife hurried over to help at once.

Aside from slaughtering pigs, Butcher Liu was also very famous for his marinated meat in Liuhe Town. It could be preserved for a longer time and furthermore, the texture was also pretty good to chew. In this era, the common folks didn’t necessarily get to eat fresh meat every day at home. Some marinated meat and dried food could always be seen hanging in the kitchens of most homes.

Yan Liqiang didn’t say much and let Butcher Liu and his son deal with the things they had to do when he saw that Butcher Liu had indeed prepared everything as there was even a newly-bought hook for them to hang the marinated meat.

Seeing that Yan Liqiang no longer declined his offer, Butcher Liu and his son raised their spirits. After they carried the pork into the kitchen, they started to put in their utmost effort in preparing it.

Lu Wenbin was a wise person who handled matters maturely. He had more or less guessed the relationship between Butcher Liu and the Yan Clan’s father and son from that brief conversation from before. When Butcher Liu and his son were marinating the pork in the kitchen, he had even lingered in the kitchen for a while on purpose. Soon after that, he exited the kitchen, came before Yan Liqiang, and then whispered in his ear, “I have examined the meat and the ingredients and have also tasted them. There is nothing wrong with them. I’ve already asked Zhou Hongda to watch them in the kitchen!”

Yan Liqiang smiled, “Steward Lu, except for a pork leg, estimate the cost of everything including the labor and pay them later when they leave...”

“How thoughtful of Young Master Yan!” Steward Lu smiled too. The current Yan Clan indeed didn’t need to leave any topics for others to gossip about over such petty matters, “I have already sent someone to inform the Lu Clan when I found out that Young Master Yan had placed first among the top three in the Martial Arts Examination yesterday. Sixth Master will personally bring a congratulatory gift over to congratulate Young Master Yan soon!”

“That’s too kind of Old Master Lu and Sixth Master!”

“That’s the least we can do. Old Master Lu might have been even more ecstatic than Young Master Yan when he knew that you placed first yesterday. Since Young Master Yan’s reputation was suddenly spread around in Qinghe County yesterday, I presume that the matchmakers will be banging on your door in these few days time if they find out that Young Master Yan is still a bachelor!” Steward Lu appeared to be joking but there was actually some sort of hint in his words.

“Just send those matchmakers and whatnot away if they come, Steward Lu. I feel that marriage should still depend on fate. Matchmaking is a little too much for my taste...” Yan Liqiang smiled and exchanged a glance with Steward Lu. Both of them had a tacit mutual understanding. Yan Liqiang would be too dense if he still didn’t understand Lu Clan’s intention at this point. Steward Lu was also extremely pleased with Yan Liqiang’s response. This was the attitude that a potential son-in-law of the Lu Clan should have.

While Butcher Liu and his son were still busy in the kitchen, the other neighbors had already arrived. The great clans in Liuhe Town as well as those with high reputation from the neighboring town came in waves.

The Yan Clan’s father and son knew most of these neighbors, but there were also some whom they weren’t familiar with. Nevertheless, they still brought their gifts for the Yan Clan at this time.

Some of the neighbors brought fresh vegetables from the fields and their own courtyards. Some brought a bottle of well-aged wine. Some also brought few feet of long fabric, live chickens and duck, and even a basketful of chicken eggs and some dried fruits. A few of the villagers brought few auspicious calligraphy scrolls such as ‘First Among Top Three’, ‘Pride of the Town’, and others.

As for those great, generous and wealthy clans, they directly gifted quite a generous amount of either money, silver, or gold.

The people who came to give the gifts did not stop coming. In the end, the crowd which had gathered at the Yan Residence had gotten so large that even the living room wasn’t able to accomodate the guests anymore. Everyone instead moved to the courtyard and the entire courtyard was extremely lively.

Yan Liqiang wasn’t able to cultivate in such a situation. All he could do was accompany Yan Dechang to entertain the neighbors in the courtyard.

Surprisingly, the Shen Clan from Qinghe County had also ordered a steward to send fifty taels of gold and two different colored silks of the finest quality to Yan Liqiang as congratulatory gifts before noon.

When the neighbors who had gathered in Yan Liqiang’s courtyard found out that those gifts were from the Shen Clan of Qinghe County, they couldn’t help but gasp in surprise. Every single one of them gazed at the beautiful rolls of silk and the red packets delivered to the Yan Clan by the Shen Clan’s guard with envy.

But that was not the end of everyone’s gasps of surprise. By noon, Lu Peien from the Lu Clan of Huanglong County arrived along with Qian Su. The Lu Clan’s gifts were even more generous. There were a hundred taels of gold, a sword of the finest quality along with ten different colored rolls of silk.

Qian Su brought Yan Liqiang’s gift which was was an exquisite spear that was more than three meters long and made out of a variety of ashwoods by the blacksmiths in the Weaponsmiths Quarter.

With all these people around, the place had obviously become even more lively. And as expected...

A bunch of matchmakers also hurried here in the afternoon. Yan Liqiang directly let Steward Lu send those matchmakers away instead of doing it himself.

Yan Clan practically had a bustling courtyard in this entire day. The horse carriages and the different types of people that came and went from the Yan Residence had heavily congested the road outside the Yan Residence. Yan Liqiang felt like he was an usher and his whole face was sore from smiling.

After a hectic day, everything came to an end at night. Yan Liqiang could also finally catch his breath. He felt that dealing with all this for the entire day was even more tiring than participating in the Martial Arts Examination.

Inside one of the side rooms in the residence, Yan Dechang finally saw all sorts of congratulatory gifts piled up as high as a hill. He was dumbstruck by the sight of it.

Before he had fully came back to his senses, Yan Dechang asked, “How could it be this much?”

“There are still a lot of poultries and food that have not been placed in here!” Yan Liqiang passed a guest list to Yan Dechang, “The congratulatory gifts we received today were recorded by Steward Lu in here. Putting aside gifts like fabrics, silks, weapons, and armor, the money we received today alone was a grand total of 1,800 taels of silver and 220 taels of gold...”

“How can we fit all these things in our house? I’m too worried to keep all of this here too as they look inviting to thieves! Looks like I’ll need to get someone to build a few cabinets tomorrow...” Yan Dechang said while feeling both happy and worried at the same time.

When Yan Liqiang heard that Yan Dechang wanted to look for someone to build some cabinets, he finally voiced out the words he had been holding in for a long time, “I suppose we don’t only need to get a few cabinets. The rooms and the courtyard in the residence need renovation as well. It wouldn’t be safe to stash away all this money at home either since Steward Lu and the others are leaving in a few days and it’ll be a very easy target. It would be best to buy a land in town and two stores in the county. That way, no one would be able take them away.....”

Chapter 61: Fields and Houses are Indispensable

A bank is a product made when finance and economy have developed to a certain extent. On the Silver Continent, banks didn’t exist, but there were monetary houses.

On the Silver Continent, precious metals like gold, silver, and bronze were used as basic currency. In this world, they didn’t have a system that issued out and trusted in paper money. The main reason for the existence of monetary houses was to circulate metallic currency that would otherwise be inconvenient to carry around in large amounts. Take for example, a merchant who was traveling to a foreign land to obtain goods that were worth a thousand taels of silver. If monetary houses didn’t exist, then he would have to personally carry a bulky and enormous amount of wealth on his journey. This was not only inconveniently heavy, but also extremely risky. These circumstances had brought about the emergence of monetary houses to fulfill an age-old demand. Monetary houses enabled people to procure goods by carrying only golden and silver promissory notes of equivalent value.

Golden and silver promissory notes were items that were issued by a monetary house. To put it simply, neither the golden nor silver promissory notes were ‘paper money’. In fact, they were receipts that were issued out by monetary houses. This was also the main difference between a monetary house and a bank. A central bank that possessed the distribution rights to a currency could issue that currency based on trust. However, the purpose of commercial banks was not to facilitate the circulation of currency, but rather to convert the public’s unused money into the bank’s investments.

The people of the Silver Continent deposited their gold or silver currency into the monetary house mainly for the convenience of its portability and usage. The objective of a monetary house was to safekeep, transact, and circulate the money a person puts in the monetary house. For the people of the Silver Continent who stored their money in the monetary house, not only were they not given an interest rate, but they also had to pay the monetary house a fixed fee.

When passing money, a custodial and circulation fee was also required. This concept would be nothing but sheer fantasy back in Yan Liqiang’s past life. However in this world, this was deemed to be totally reasonable and fair. No one saw anything wrong with it. In reality, in his past life, everyone was actually paying a custodial fee as well when they used the bank’s services to store their money, and this custodial fee came from the balance of deducting the bank’s interest from inflation. It was just that no one actually noticed this fact.

When he received those five hundred taels of gold from the Lu Clan, Yan Liqiang had already thought of saving this big sum of money in the monetary house to earn the interest. But back then, Yan Liqiang was still making calculations. If the monetary houses here provided 5% interest, then by heavily relying on the five hundred taels of gold alone, he’d be getting twenty-five taels of gold as interest every year. With those twenty five taels of gold, Yan Liqiang and Yan Dechang would no longer have any financial worries.

However, the cruel reality of this world very quickly jerked Yan Liqiang awake from his wonderful dream of ‘earning money effortlessly’. After understanding how a monetary house operated, Yan Liqiang realized that if he were to store his gold in the monetary house, not only would his savings not grow, it would also reduce with time.

It went without saying that Yan Liqiang found this unacceptable.

Coming home, while thinking up how to resolve the threats of the Hong Clan, Yan Liqiang was already planning on how to use the gold at the same time.

Yan Dechang was getting on in years and he wasn’t cultivating. His stamina would gradually decline along with his age. Blacksmithing was becoming increasingly difficult to carry on as a trade. On top of that, Yan Dechang had sustained severe injuries. Even after his body recovered, he’d still have to take it easy for a very long period of time. For at least half a year, he shouldn’t be doing heavy work. He’d even have to put off swinging a hammer for a bit. Faced with such realistic issues relating to their survival, Yan Liqiang had no choice but to reconsider their future source of income at home. This source of income wouldn’t only affect his father’s livelihood in the future, but also how comfortably Yan Liqiang would live in this world.

Practicing martial arts might not be a necessity for everyone’s survival, but food, clothes and shelter were necessities in everyone’s life. And the latter items were all matters that required money to solve.

Lately, Yan Liqiang’s mind was frequently filled with questions on what to do with that money. He had thoughts of investing, thoughts of manufacturing four-wheeled horse carriages, thoughts of manufacturing a lighter that would be easier to bring and use than fire steel. In the end however, after doing some research, he realized that although his ideas were good, they weren’t really feasible and were hard for him to accomplish at this point of time.

First of all, the idea of stock-trading didn’t exist in this world. Those who ran businesses had partners too. However, looking for a partner to invest wasn’t a matter that could be accomplished overnight. Their clan currently didn’t have the necessary background and connections either.

Secondly, he had also thought about making use of the blacksmith workshop at home to make some small inventions or creations. The concepts of a four-wheeled horse carriage and a lighter were actually very simple. His house’s blacksmith store did in fact forge fire steels, so he could easily create a lighter or the main structure of a four-wheeled horse carriage. Unfortunately, registering to patent an invention wasn’t practiced in this world. If he were to modify fire steels into lighters or create a four-wheeled horse carriage, other people could just buy one, take it apart and be enlightened in just three seconds. The same object would then be mass produced by larger and more established blacksmith workshops. Hence, apart from earning a small amount of money through the items that he had painstakingly created from the beginning, he reckoned that they would later become common objects that were hardly worth any special attention.

After deliberating over every possibility, Yan Liqiang eventually realized that the best option available to him was buying land and stores.

He’d buy a piece of land and hire a farmer to take care of the plantation. After establishing a crop share rental arrangement with the hired farmer, he’d basically have a stable income as long as there weren’t any major natural or human disasters. He’d store some food for himself and sell the surplus for money. That way, his family wouldn’t need to worry about surviving in general.

With more money, he could buy another piece of land. The more land he owned, the faster his income would accumulate. Not only that, more people would be relying on him for a living, and his territory would grow. With land, money, and human resources, people would naturally sign on for a protection fee. When that time arrived, he’d have to hire guards. If he wished for stability and to avoid unnecessary attention, he’d have to improve his relations with the government and other parties of influence. This way, his connections would expand; he’d slowly and gradually gain power and influence over other territories. This was how a local tycoon or local tyrant came to be.

The Hong Clan, Lu Clan, and Shen Clan had used this method. The larger, wealthier clans were also using the same method. Countless heroes of ancient China had done the same. Since so many people were doing this, and he had no better options, Yan Liqiang had no choice but to do the same as well. There was no way he’d do nothing about that much gold and just live on his current capital.

A few days ago, Yan Liqiang had wanted to briefly mention his plan of buying land to Yan Dechang. However, during those few days, Yan Dechang hadn’t been doing well with his recovery and on top of that, Yan Liqiang had yet to complete the martial arts examination as well. So Yan Liqiang could only hold back from talking about it. He didn’t expect his home to suddenly be crowded with that many visitors. He’d gotten so many congratulatory gifts that they barely fit inside his room. And so Yan Liqiang seized the opportunity to share his idea with Yan Dechang.

Apart from buying land, it had been a few decades since any improvements had been done to his residence. It was already turning quite shabby so it was probably time for some maintenance.

After a moment’s consideration, Yan Dechang agreed.

Yan Liqiang instantly breathed a sigh of relief when he got Yan Dechang’s approval.

Shi Dafeng had invited him to go on a tour, but he didn’t join him. He wanted to use these two months of free time to settle the issues back at home before he went to report to the martial arts academy of Pingxi Prefecture. He wanted his father to be able to live a more comfortable life while he was away from Qinghe County. As his son, the least he could do was make sure that his father didn’t have to work so hard that his hair was disheveled and his face was dirty, that he wouldn’t have to scrimp and save every day.

Yan Liqiang wasn’t really knowledgeable about things like purchasing land, purchasing shops, and building houses. But that didn’t matter because there was someone at home who knew just what to do. Hence, Yan Liqiang decided that he’d simply leave this matter to Lu Wenbin.

Apart from saving fifty taels of gold and five hundred taels of silver as a reserve, Yan Liqiang was prepared to spend all the gold that the Lu Clan had given to him–and the congratulatory gift money he’d received–to buy land, to buy stores, and to build houses.

...

After settling these matters, by daybreak on the second day after the examination, Yan Liqiang had already immersed himself back into his training without a second thought...

Yan Liqiang didn’t hesitate because he suddenly realized that if time and energy could be investments, then he’d invest his time and energy on training. In this world, this was simply a good trade of small capital in exchange for a huge profit.

When he thought about it, training could give a person a healthier and stronger physical body, along with the formidable strength that would allow a person to protect themselves and their family. With these at hand, one could also repay debts of gratitude and revenge. Not only that, it also made it possible for one to obtain even more gold, silver, beautiful women, manors and a comfortable lifestyle. It allowed you to become a figure that was revered by others, and to be a member of the higher social classes. Where else could one possibly find a better deal...?

Chapter 62: Radical Changes in Two Months

Fine rain drizzled endlessly from the sky, causing the surface of the river to turn misty. The visibility of it had reduced significantly. The passenger ship which just moved out from the Qinghe County wharf also couldn’t help but decrease the speed at which they were traveling after they entered the Xi River from the Willow River.

A woman carrying a tightly swaddled infant was sitting on the hold of the ship by the window. The window’s bolt was already a little damaged so the window couldn’t be shut completely. The moment the rain poured, the wind and the drizzle on the river’s surface got tangled up with the wave of cold air that flew in through the small crack of the window. Coming into contact with it, the swaddled baby who was sleeping soundly began to cry loudly as a result.

The woman with the infant swaddled the baby securely to shelter the infant from the storm and cold, while attempting to amuse the wailing baby. The storm outside rattled the window which couldn’t be shut tight. The woman wanted to reach out to close the window but since she needed to carry and amuse her baby, she was momentarily at a loss on what to do. The baby’s cries also began to get louder and louder...

“Big Sister, if you don’t mind, why don’t we exchange seats...” At this moment, a voice suddenly emerged from behind the woman. The woman carrying the infant turned to look and took in the sight of red lips and white teeth – a pure-spirited handsome and bright young man around fourteen to fifteen years old. He stood up from his seat at the back and smiled at her.

The young man’s seat was directly behind the woman’s. There weren’t any windows at the side which happened to shelter the place from the wind and the drizzling rain outside.

“Thank you very much! Thank you so much...” The woman hurriedly stood up while she carried her child, thanking him as she exchanged seats with him.

The youngster moved to the front seat, placing the leather bag he carried on his back on his knees. His leather bag managed to shelter the majority of his body from the rain that was blowing in from the window; the rain was unable to touch his body. Then, the young man, calm and unruffled, tilted his head to enjoy the scenery outside on the river with interest.

This young man was Yan Liqiang. Today, it was already the 27th of the eighth lunar month in the 12th year of the Yuanping reign. Yan Liqiang had left both Liuhe Town and Qinghe County a day earlier to report himself at Pingxi Prefectural City’s martial arts academy.

The young man at fourteen to fifteen years of age was currently experiencing adolescent development. During these two months, Yan Liqiang had been practicing the Muscle Tendon Changing every day without fail. In a short span of two months, his body height had grown another inch more and his figure was stronger with increased strength potential. Even the aura he emitted appeared to be different compared to two months ago. His eyes were particularly clear and alert. Regardless of who saw the state he was in now, they would praise him in their hearts for such a graceful and handsome young man he had become.

Within these two months, apart from being immersed in cultivating, Yan Liqiang didn’t need to worry about the situation back at home.

Yan Dechang’s body was already gradually healing. Apart from some heavy tasks in forging ironware, he was able to move about at ease. A few days ago in the blacksmith workshop, Yan Dechang began to gradually impart his well-kept secret techniques of controlling the temperature as well as creating high-grade well-tempered steel to Zhou Tiezhu.

These techniques were originally unique skills that Yan Dechang had held back from divulging as a master so he wouldn’t easily impart the knowledge to his disciple. But Zhou Tiezhu had shown his character and he shouldered responsibility when the Yan Clan was faced with a crisis. He spared no effort to bear the hardships together with the Yan Clan. Yan Dechang had noticed everything in the tail of his eye. He was incredibly touched. Once they got through the crisis, he officially imparted his genuine techniques in smithing to Zhou Tiezhu.

Within the two months after Yan Liqiang received first place in the Martial Arts County Trial Examination, the reputation of the Yan Clan’s blacksmith workshop in Liuhe Town suddenly spread like wildfire. Not just in Liuhe Town, even the surrounding towns as the many residents in the county seat would flock over due to the name. The Yan Clan’s blacksmith workshop business instantly improved more than tenfold. There was an endless stream of customers who dropped in every day.

Under this circumstance, Yan Dechang went according to Yan Liqiang’s suggestion and extended the blacksmith workshop over the past two months. He then recruited six disciples who had always wanted to be his disciples in the workshop from the town and gave Zhou Tiezhu a thirty percent share in the Yan Clan’s blacksmith workshop. He allowed Zhou Tiezhu to begin training his junior brothers as a senior brother and become a master in his own right.

Thus, after imparting his well-guarded techniques to Zhou Tiezhu, Yan Dechang from then on became the Yan Clan’s blacksmith workshop’s shopkeeper and head while Zhou Tiezhu in turn became the master as well as the person in charge of specific tasks in the blacksmith workshop.

On top of that, under Yan Liqiang’s persistence, the business operations of the Yan Clan’s blacksmith workshop was revamped.

Prior to this, the Yan Clan’s blacksmith workshop was no different than other workshops and would accept almost any request, ranging from farming tools used daily to hoes, horseshoes, horse nails, locks, cleavers, sickles, axes, swords, breastplates to fire steels....and more. So long as the customers needed it, the Yan Clan’s blacksmith workshop would assist to forge it; but now they would only make one thing: blades, which were weapons.

Yan Dechang was also skeptical at first about making such a significant change in their business model. However, Yan Liqiang easily convinced him that since there were so many customers dropping in and requesting for a myriad of items, Yan Dechang wouldn’t be able to cope with it even if he recruited ten more disciples based on the scale of the blacksmith workshop now. When that happened, he would be pushing all his customers away and if he didn’t accept them, they would be offended. As a result, the Yan Clan would be insulted, and this would cause endless slander that would ultimately destroy their reputation. If he accepted everyone’s requests, then he would be offending the neighboring towns’ blacksmiths and would be resented by them because the other blacksmith workshops’ businesses were also involved in forging ordinary farming tools, hoes, horseshoes, horse nails, locks, cleavers, fire steels and the like. If he accepted requests from the neighboring towns, how would the other blacksmith shops and those of the same trade earn their keep? Under this circumstance, the Yan Clan’s blacksmith workshop would only focus the scope of their goods on weapons such as swords, they’d spread word that they specialized in this area to completely avert this issue...

When it came to weapons such as blades, they garnered high profits and had a wide range of demands. Furthermore, there was no direct competition with the blacksmith workshops in the neighboring towns. Thus, the decision for the Yan Clan’s blacksmith store to specialize in weapon crafting did not have any effect on the other blacksmith stores, wouldn’t destroy the livelihood of the surrounding workers of the same trade, and they would not be offending the customers that stopped by. It could even result in a good reputation. So long as the swords and blades crafted by the Yan Clan’s blacksmith workshop were up to par, they wouldn’t need to worry about the lack of sales.

As for the quality of the weapons produced, although Blacksmith Yan couldn’t forge a sword of the highest quality, he wouldn’t face any issues in forging a solid sword.

Exactly one week ago, a brand new shop sign was suspended in the expanded blacksmith workshop of the Yan Clan. The shop sign read two words, ‘Yan Blades’.

Yan Liqiang exhibited his painting skill and designed an artistic and unrivaled logo for their own blade products – a vicious tiger and a soaring dragon spiraling into an abstract and succinct circle. Within the circle was the character for Yan. Yan Liqiang told Yan Dechang that every blade forged by the Yan Clan would need to be sealed with this steel engraving, marked with this symbol to signify that this item was created by the Yan Clan.

The artisans in this era were still unfamiliar with the idea of a logo, let alone the concept of intangible assets. However, to Yan Liqiang who had lived two lives clearly understood the significance.

Prior to this, Yan Dechang wasn’t really impressed either. However, after he saw the Yan logo Yan Liqiang revealed, a sense of dignified glory rippled throughout his heart. He said to Yan Liqiang that since every blade would be sealed with Yan, the blades that did not pass his inspection would never be sold to anyone, so as to avoid tarnishing the reputation of the Yan Clan.

Regarding this, Yan Liqiang was naturally more than happy to oblige.

Besides the huge change that took place at the blacksmith workshop in the two months, the matter in which Yan Liqiang requested Lu Wenbin to purchase both a land and a store also returned with results.

Speaking of which, it was really a coincidence. The land and store that Lu Wenbin bought for the Yan Clan were assets belonged to the Hong Clan before.

After Old Master Hong passed away, the news of the Hong Clan hiring an assassin to deal with the Yan Clan was abuzz in Qinghe County. Almost everyone knew about it. Qinghe County immediately used the fact that the descendants of the Hong Clan were wicked and had brought chaos to the law as a reason to confiscate the Hong Clan’s two hundred mu of conferred fields.

Hong Clan had fallen apart, leading the outsiders to covet their assets. The more than four hundred mu of land that the Hong Clan had in Yuntao County, as well as the yellow noodles factory, was unexpectedly occupied by a couple of local tyrants using the IOU previously issued by Hong An in the end. The remaining members of the Hong Clan were useless. A couple of the younger folks in the Hong Clan went to the file a lawsuit at Yuntao County but they didn’t win it. It wasn’t possible for the land and the factory to be taken back so they were completely helpless in the face of crisis.

Without the assets in Yuntao County, the people of the Hong Clan was even more aggressive in fighting over the remaining farmlands and housing in Liuhe Town. The remaining people in the Hong Clan simply divided up the lands and distributed them equally. After the assets were distributed, the people were worried that there might be some others who would come to wrangle and occupy their properties by force with another IOU slip in hand. In addition to that, the Hong Clan’s reputation in Qinghe County and Liuhe Town was tarnished. And since Yan Liqiang won first place in the Martial Arts County Trial Examination, the status of the Yan Clan in Liuhe Town was different from before. Fearing that the Yan Clan would seek revenge against them, the people left in the Hong Clan were in a hurry to exchange the lands into money so they could reap the profits before taking the wealth with them to flee from Liuhe Town.

Under such conditions, after Steward Lu discussed this with Yan Liqiang, he would step in under the name of Lu Clan to directly purchase the 460 plus mu of lands, inclusive of the connecting first-rate fertile lands as well as six two-story loft storefronts and two yellow noodles factory from the descendants of Hong Clan at an extremely profitable price. He bought everything and transferred everything to the Yan Clan in the name of the Lu Clan.

Throughout the entire ordeal, Steward Lu did an impeccable job. Nobody was able to find even the slightest fault in it. When he was trading with the Hong Clan, Steward Lu had even called for a witness and a lawyer. Once he had obtained the deeds for the lands and the residence from the Hong Clan during the delivery, he went to the government office in Qinghe County to file it and have it recorded. After that, when the Lu Clan passed these items to the Yan Clan, they performed the procedures again.

In Liuhe Town, the Hong Clan’s old manor and the other scattered fields and properties had been bought out by other rich families.

After the assets were sold off, the people of the Hong Clan moved away one after another from Liuhe Town. The entire Hong Clan practically vanished like smoke in thin air in the blink of an eye from the town. They didn’t leave anything behind, except for Hong Tao who had gone insane, going about to babble nonsense every single day as the children ridiculed him.

As for the Yan Clan, they had also become a great family and landowner possessing numerous mu of good agricultural lands in Liuhe Town in one single leap. Those employed farmers who used to work for the Hong Clan had to now rely on the Yan Clan one after another. They signed a contract with the Yan Clan and became their employed farmers.

With the sudden growth in their family property, it would require manpower to help them manage and administer it. Under such circumstances, Zhou Hongda and his wife permanently stayed at the Yan Clan. Both husband and wife did their duty and were diligent in their tasks. Zhou Hongda’s wife and Mother Wu were responsible for the affairs at the residence and would perform chores such as cooking meals and cleaning every day. As for Zhou Hongda, he instantly became the Yan Clan’s first steward.

Now that there were more mouths to feed at home, both Zhou Hongda’s wife and Mother Wu were beginning to find it difficult to cope with. With no other choice, they fired a couple of maids and servants. As a steward, Zhou Hongda would occasionally need to claim rent and deal with the employed farmers. Sometimes, relying on glib talk was pointless as he wasn’t able to attend to the land tax dealings on his own. Thus, the Yan Clan hired another two guards.

With so many people to feed that were living in the Yan Residence, the small residence that the Yan Clan had before wasn’t enough at all. When Yan Liqiang left Liuhe Town, the new large manor of the Yan Clan located at the edge of the Willow River was undergoing construction like wildfire...

After the name ‘Yan Blades’ was widespread, Yan Dechang still felt anxious during that time because he was worried whether his blacksmith workshop could support so many disciples. Thus, before Yan Liqiang left, Yan Liqiang once again drew a new weapon diagram for Yan Dechang with ease and requested the Yan Clan’s blacksmith workshop to specialize in forging this item...

The weapon diagram that Yan Liqiang left behind was a Nepalese curved knife, commonly referred to as a ‘kukri knife’.

In his past life on Earth, although the Nepalese curved knife design was odd, it was a revered weapon that greatly conformed to the physics of the world.

Relying on this weapon would topple every practitioner and martial artist’s impression towards curved knives in this era. Yan Liqiang was absolutely confident that he could make a name for Yan Blades brand...

Chapter 63: Conflict

The traveling distance between Qinghe County to Pingxi City via water was a lot further than traveling to Huanglong County via water. The boat that Yan Liqiang caught in the morning only arrived at the Xi River Wharf of Pingxi City when it was nearly dusk.

At this moment, the wind and rain still showed no signs of stopping. Instead, it rained even harder. The entire Xi River was shrouded by the hazy rain.

The passenger ship docked at the wharf with a light shake. From the window, Yan Liqiang could see a few boatmen swiftly leap onto the dock. When the mooring lines at the boat’s bow and stern were tied around the iron bollards on the dock, only then the swaying boat gradually stabilize.

“Everyone, get off the boat, get off the boat. Check if you have all your belongings and luggage with you. Don’t leave them onboard...” In response to the shout of the boatmen outside, the passengers in the cabin stood up one by one. They gathered their own luggage and parcels before moving their feet and exiting the cabin. On the deck outside, they quickly got off the ship by crossing a few wooden planks on the dock.

Yan Liqiang also carried his own luggage on his back and slowly made his way outside along with the rest.

“Little brother, you haven’t eaten yet, right? Would you like to come to my house for a meal after we get off the boat? My house isn’t too far from Xi River Wharf...” The woman whom Yan Liqiang had given up his seat for on the boat swaddled her child on her and carried a cloth-wrapped bundle in her arm. She queued in front of Yan Liqiang and was even cordially inviting Yan Liqiang to her house for a meal.

“Sister-in-law, that was nothing. There’s no need for you to be so courteous...”

“Little Brother, you’re a really nice person...”

Both of them chatted while they exited the cabin. It was still raining hard outside. The deck was quite slippery from the rain. The boatmen laid a few shabby straw mats on the deck and wooden planks. Then they called for everyone to disembark the boat.

A man in his thirties with a stocky build was waiting on the dock with two umbrellas in his hands. When he saw the woman get off the boat, he quickly came over and held up one of the umbrellas while he inquired about her well-being with great care. He even hurriedly checked up on the child that the woman was carrying on her back. However, the woman gestured towards Yan Liqiang who was behind and softly said a few words to that man. That man immediately came before Yan Liqiang with a grateful expression on his face. “Little Brother, you have my gratitude. Something came up and I couldn’t accompany my wife and son back to her parent’s house this time in Qinghe County. Thank you for taking care of them during the journey!”

“Big Brother, no need to be so courteous. This is nothing!”

“Little Brother, it’s still raining right now. Take this umbrella and use it. Don’t get drenched by this rain and catch a cold...”

“No, it’s fine. I really don’t need it. Besides, if I take your umbrella, what about you then, Big Brother...?”

“If you don’t accept it then that means you mind it. My house is nearby, I can get there in just a few steps. You don’t have to worry about me...” That man directly shoved the umbrella he was holding into Yan Liqiang’s hand while speaking and then ran back to his wife and son. He took the umbrella from the woman’s hand to cover two and then left the wharf together with them.

Seeing half of the man’s big body being drenched in the rain and then looking at the oil-paper umbrella in his hands, Yan Liqiang’s heart was strangely warm and he was rather moved.

Over these past few months after he had reincarnated, many memories and feelings related to his previous life were slowly fading away. He was getting more and more used to everything in this world, and was slowly blending into his current identity as an ordinary Chinese youth in the Pingxi Prefecture of Gan Province in the Great Han Empire. The people who lived in this world were similar to many of the average people around him in his previous life. They were down-to-earth, kind, and hardworking. Most of the time, just a warm smile and a very simple ‘have you eaten yet’ greeting could win over any words.

When he glanced at the oil-paper umbrella he was holding, Yan Liqiang smiled. He pushed it open and held it up before making his way towards Pingxi City in the distance.

The Xi River Wharf wasn’t too far from the northern gate of Pingxi City; they were only more than a thousand meters apart. Standing at the dock, the Pingxi City’s northern gate tower could be seen towering in a distance like a gigantic beast in the midst of the hazy rain.

There was a market town at the wharf. Signboards of various trading stores and rows of warehouses could be seen everywhere in the town that seemed to be very flourished. Perhaps due to the rain, there were very few pedestrians at the wharf and town. Though some appeared from time to time, they all seemed to be in a hurry.

There were a few horse carriages at the roadside that were carrying passengers to Pingxi City. A coachman draped in a straw raincoat was sheltering himself from the rain under one of the trading stores’ roofs at the roadside along with his carriage. Yan Liqiang walked over to him to inquire about the price and found out that it cost one copper coin to travel from there to the northern gate of Pingxi Prefecture. That wasn’t really expensive as it was equivalent to the cost of a steamed bun. However, Yan Liqiang would have to stay there and wait until the carriage was fully loaded with six passengers before setting off.

Looking at this rainy weather, he wasn’t sure how long he would have to wait for another five people to appear. However, paying six copper coins for such a short distance would be a little too expensive. Since Yan Liqiang wasn’t that frail, he decided to pass on riding the horse carriage. He held his umbrella up and made his way towards the northern gate of Pingxi City on foot after finding his bearings.

As expected, the road at the outskirts of Pingxi City was very well maintained. It was a standard public road. Even during rainy days, other than feeling a little slippery, the public road wasn’t too muddy. Yan Liqiang walked from the wharf to the northern gate and his boots didn’t even have mud on them.

There were soldiers standing guard at the gate of Pingxi Prefecture. There was also a money collection box placed at the entrance. Anyone who wished to enter the city would have to pay an entrance fee of two copper coins.

When Yan Liqiang was lining up, a wave of chaotic noises suddenly rang out from behind. He turned around and saw a band of more than ten camels and rhinodrake steeds arriving before the gate.

Those camels were fully loaded with boxes and goods, while the strangely dressed riders that totally didn’t look Chinese were riding on the backs of those rhinodrake steeds. Their hair and eyes were of a pale red color, and their eyes were quite hooded. All of them had very thick hair and beards. Anyone could tell that these riders were from a different tribe at first glance. Each one of them had a scimitar hanging on their waist and a few of the riders even had a bow and a quiver of arrows hanging from the saddles of their steeds. All of them haughtily charged towards the city gate.

Even when they were already near the city gate, those foreign riders showed no signs of slowing down their rhinodrake steeds. A few pedestrians walking in the middle of the road who couldn’t evade in time fell into the muddy puddles at the roadside, looking extremely pathetic. The few foreign riders were still sitting high up on their rhinodrake steeds, not sparing even a single glance at those who had been knocked down by them. Two riders glanced coldly at the people who had been knocked to the ground. The corners of their lips were even curled up into a disdainful smile.

That band of foreign riders directly charged towards the city gate and ostentatiously passed through the gates on their steeds just like that without being examined by the soldiers at the entrance nor did they pay the entrance fee. Not only that, they even looked down upon the people standing on either side of the gate arrogantly and disdainfully.

One of the young soldiers clenched his fists and was about to step forward before he was pulled back by another soldier. “Have you forgotten about what happened to Commandant Gao? If these Shatu people cause a ruckus at the city gate and the ones in the city also get rowdy, the higher ups will only punish us. They won’t dare to lay a finger on the Shatu people...”

“But Leader, this...” The young soldier’s face was flushed with anger.

“Enough. Let’s just focus on our duty. You have only been here for a few days and probably don’t know this well yet. The Shatu people’ arrogance isn’t something new. Haa...” The leader who held that young soldier back let out a sigh and then gave a pat on the younger soldier’s shoulder while shaking his head.

Quite a number of people in the surroundings also sighed...

Yan Liqiang was just standing at the city entrance as he watched how the caravan of Shatu people charged through it without paying a single copper coin for the entrance fee or even getting off from their steeds. He simply couldn’t believe his own eyes. Even in a small place like Qinghe County, the only ones that could enter the city mounted on their steeds were the cavalries and soldiers of the Great Han Empire that were on duty, or the messengers of the authorities. Commoners were required to unmount from their steeds whenever they were passing through the city gates. Sometimes, the ones who had a lot of baggage with them would also have to be examined. So how could these Shatu people display such arrogance in the prefectural city of Pingxi Prefecture?

The most ridiculous part was that Yan Liqiang and the other Chinese people around him had to pay an entrance fee to enter the city. Yet these Shatu people had not only entered the city without paying, they were also given special treatment.

Even Yan Liqiang was under a wrong impression at this very moment as he watched these foreigners who had so swaggeringly entered the city on their steeds. He felt as if he wasn’t at Pingxi City of the Pingxi Prefecture. Instead, he felt like an outsider who was trying to enter the city of the Shatu people. How could he, as a Chinese, actually be deranked to a third-rate citizen on Chinese territory in front of these foreigners?

What kind of logic was this?

“Traitors that bring calamity to the country, traitors that bring calamity to the country...” An old man in front of Yan Liqiang also shook his head and sighed as he watched the Shatu enter the city on their rhinodrake steeds and camels without paying the entrance fee.

Just somewhere about four or five meters ahead of Yan Liqiang, a youth that seemed to be about twenty years old going into the city was glaring at those Shatu people who were riding on their camels and rhinodrake steeds. “Ptooey!” He spat on the ground in rage.

One of the bearded Shatu people on his rhinodrake steed happened to be passing by right in front of that youth. When he saw the scene, he raised the whip in his hand without any second thoughts and cracked it in the direction of that youth.

A cracking noise rang out, along with the blood-curdling scream from that youth. A deep welt was left on his face in just a split second and he was knocked to the floor from being lashed by that whip.

Just when that Shatu man who was riding on his rhinodrake steed was about to raise and crack his whip again, Yan Liqiang quickly moved and rushed to the side of that rhinodrake steed that the Shatu man was riding on. He reached out and grabbed a hold of the whip on the man’s hand.

That Shatu man forcefully jerked his hand back. When he realized that the whip in Yan Liqiang’s grasp didn’t budge an inch, his face couldn’t help but contort with rage. With one finger pointing towards Yan Liqiang, he instantly yelled in a language that sounded like gibberish. He then reached out for the scimitar that he had on him.

When Yan Liqiang saw this Shatu man was actually going to reach for his weapon, he jerked his hand forcefully without thinking any further. In just a split second, that Shatu man was dragged off his steed and he fell to the ground. His grip on the whip was instantly loosened as well.

The Shatu man who fell to the ground was also extremely agile. As soon as he fell off, he immediately unsheathed his scimitar and then got up with a roll. He then dashed towards Yan Liqiang with a loud yell.

Yan Liqiang’s gaze turned icy. At the wave of his hand, the whip’s shadow flashed in the air.

CRACK!! A cracking noise thundered.

“AHHHHHH!!!” That Shatu man let out a blood-curdling screech and instantly collapsed back onto the ground with his hands covering his face. Fresh blood seeped through his fingertips. He wanted to get up again, but Yan Liqiang instantly and fiercely whipped his body again for the second time. The clothes that the Shatu man was wearing were immediately ripped apart all the way from his shoulder to his chest. His skin was torn, revealing a bloody and brutal lash mark on his skin...

Chapter 64: Ruthless

From the moment the Chinese youth was knocked down by the Shatu rider’s whip to the point where Yan Liqiang rushed to snatch the whip and lash that Shatu man in retaliation, the entire process happened in the space of merely two breaths.

Regardless of the commoners who were queueing up to enter the town in the surroundings or the Shatu people that were at the side, by the time they managed to process what had just taken place, Yan Liqiang had already whipped that Shatu man down.

However, at this time, the difference between those with group and without group was evident.

The commoners lining up at the entrance gate were getting a kick out of the whole incident. Before they could even cheer, the countenance of the two riders in front and behind Yan Liqiang on their rhinodrake steeds became contorted. With an odd yell, they immediately unsheathed their scimitars. One of them rushed forward while the other turned his steed around. Both of them charged towards Yan Liqiang.

The sounds of the iron hoofs thundered from within the tunnel of Pingxi Town’s entrance gate, abruptly causing panic among many of the commoners. They were shrieking, and the soldiers standing guard at the town gate were also alarmed.

At that moment, Yan Liqiang didn’t know that fighting with the Shatu people at the town entrance would imply anything at all. He was only trying to defend the weak at the sight of injustice. As for those Shatu people who had unsheathed their scimitars and were charging towards Yan Liqiang, they were so used to being arrogant every day that they didn’t expect that drawing their weapons and causing chaos would lead to serious consequences either.

As fate would have it, a seemingly inadvertent conflict like this would more often than not silently have a great impact in the future.

Swooosh! The Shatu man’s scimitar narrowly brushed past the top of Yan Liqiang’s head.

In this short and narrow tunnel that was not enough for a rhinodrake steed to run in, Yan Liqiang easily evaded the first strike that the Shatu man attempted although the man had borrowed the advantage of his rhinodrake steed’s speed and momentum. Without waiting for that man and his steed to turn around, Yan Liqiang had already flung the whip in his hand.

The shadow of the whip broke past the air. Before it lashed the body of that Shatu man, a noise that was akin to fabric being ripped could be heard in the air. Yan Liqiang had never practiced any whip techniques. He had only used a whip to spin a spinning top when he was little. However, the force he had unleashed with this lash was already beyond imagination. Yan Liqiang had only exerted sixty percent of his strength in the previous two lashes. When the Shatu man lunged for his throat with his scimitar just now, Yan Liqiang didn’t hold anything back at all. Hence, he went all out in this lash.

Pa...! When the cracking noise rang out, that Shatu man howled in pain as if he had just been hacked by someone by a saber. He immediately fell head first off his steed and collapsed in a heap on the ground. From behind, a terrifying lash mark about one foot long immediately emerged from on the back of that Shatu man’s ear, running all the way to his back. His ear was instantly mangled by the whip, leaving only a little skin and flesh still intact on his head.

The third Shatu man charged towards Yan Liqiang on his rhinodrake steed with a sinister expression. Yan Liqiang ran five steps up the wall of the town gate’s tunnel, raising himself up in the air before he did a backflip and lashed out with his whip. That Shatu man screamed miserably when Yan Liqiang whipped him one more time on his face, and then the man fell off his horse. Before this Shatu man could get up again, Yan Liqiang had already taken a big stride forward. He stopped before him and connected his foot with the Shatu man’s jaw. That Shatu man was sent flying high up in the air by Yan Liqiang’s kick, accompanied by the sound of broken bone, before he heavily landed back on the ground.

Now, more Shatu people from the front and the rear of this group were in an uproar. Yan Liqiang also heard the sharp noise from the metal whistle from one of the guards at the entrance gate.

The first Shatu man who had just been whipped twice by Yan Liqiang had already drawn his scimitar. He charged towards Yan Liqiang with his bloodstained face. He raised his arms high up, as he was aiming for Yan Liqiang’s throat.

These Shatu people were ruthless in their attacks. They didn’t show any mercy at all. Each one of their strikes was directed at the vital parts of a human body. Anger flashed across Yan Liqiang’s eyes when he saw how ungrateful these Shatu people were, for not retreating but advancing instead. When this Shatu man raised the scimitar in his hand, before he hacked down, Yan Liqiang had already rushed in front of him and he grabbed his wrist. Next, he unleashed one of the attacks from Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist technique, Vicious Tiger Crossing Mountains. He turned his body around, twisting that man’s arm by ninety degrees and then beautifully threw that Shatu man over his shoulder. When the man landed heavily on the ground, Yan Liqiang held his arm up and placed his foot on his elbow. With an audible snap, the Shatu man’s elbow was instantly broken, leaving his bone exposed in the air.

In just a split moment, all three Shatu people had already knocked down by Yan Liqiang. Two of them had already been knocked out cold and the other one didn’t get up for a very long time.

All of a sudden, Yan Liqiang felt goosebumps on his back. He sensed a piercing chill and a wave of killing intent from afar. Without a second thought, he did a somersault and hid behind a group of rhinodrake steeds before he gazed into the distance.

A Shatu man outside the town gate had taken out his bow, nocked an arrow, and was targeting him. The bow was already half drawn...

Swoooosh... An arrow flew out of nowhere and directly pierced the Shatu man who had his bow and arrow out knocking him off from his horse with just a single arrow, causing that arrow of the Shatu man to miss...

“MOTHERF*CKERS!” A loud curse erupted from above the town gate. “All of you listen up, regardless of who you are, get off your damn steeds within the count of ten and drop all your weapons. Brothers, execute anyone who still has weapon after the countdown. I have your back if anything happens!”

As soon as the voice died down, synchronous footsteps and the clanking of armors rang out at the same time from the front and back of the town gate. A few hundred fully armed soldiers with spears charged down from the gate tower, fully surrounding all the Shatu people that were trapped within the town gate, including Yan Liqiang and the group of people who were waiting to get into town.

Some among the group of Shatu people let out a few yells. Soon after that, all the Shatu people dismounted from their steeds and camels. Every single one of them had a furious look on their faces and were grumbling. Even so, they still laid the weapons they carried on them like their scimitars, swords, and bows on the ground.

Seeing the large group of soldiers that had rushed to the town gate, Yan Liqiang naturally tossed the whip he was holding onto the ground. He then hurriedly retreated to a side with an innocent look on his face.

A black-faced commandant with a powerful body, a pair of thick eyebrows, fully dressed in armor and a helmet descended from the gate tower with a battle bow while swearing. “Xu Changshou, who blew the whistle just now? What is going on here?”

One the soldiers guarding the gate hurriedly went over and reported with a loud voice. “Reporting to Commandant Su. These Shatu people had a conflict with someone and started fighting just now. The Shatu people brandished their weapons within the town gate and caused a chaos, causing traffic at the town gate. I only acted according to the rules of guarding the town and blew the whistle...”

The soldier named Xu Changshou was speaking while pointing towards Yan Liqiang. That commandant with a darkened face also glanced in the direction he was pointing at...

Chapter 65: Deeply Disappointed

“You are the one who beat up all these people on the ground?” The commandant came over. When he looked at the three Shatu people lying on the ground, an amazed look flashed across his eyes before he looked at Yan Liqiang. After sizing him up from top to bottom, the tone of his voice was somewhat uncertain.

Indeed it was him. No one would believe a delicate youth of about fourteen or fifteen years old like Yan Liqiang to be capable of knocking these three powerful-looking Shatu men off their rhinodrake steeds in just a flash if they didn’t see it with their own eyes. On top of that, those few Shatu men were armed with weapons.

Yan Liqiang was acting as innocent as a baby at this moment, putting up a harmless facade. He only nodded when he heard the commandant’s question. “That’s right. I did that!”

“Why did you do that?”

“I saw them bully my fellow Chinese here. Therefore, at the sight of such injustice, I came to their defense!” Yan Liqiang replied calmly.

“Just what is going on here?” The expression of that black-faced commandant turned even darker, even his voice also deepened.

“Reporting sir, right after that Shatu man passed through the town gate, he suddenly lashed a young man standing by the side to the ground with his whip without any warning. Despite seeing that the young man had been injured, that Shatu man still continued lashing him. That was when this young hero ran up to him and immediately pulled the Shatu man off his horse and got into a fight with him. When the other two Shatu men saw this, they surrounded him and attacked him with their weapons here. I only lost my head when I saw these Shatu men brandishing their weapons here...”

The elderly man who lined up beside Yan Liqiang just now stepped forward on his own accord and gave an account of the incident with a clear summary. After he finished speaking, he gave Yan Liqiang a look of approval.

“That’s right. That’s what happened. All of us can testify to that...”

Everyone in surroundings started talking all at once. The youth who had just been whipped by one of the Shatu men on his face also stepped forward and rained curses on those Shatu men who were lying on the ground. Speaking of the scene that had just happened earlier, everyone in the area was extremely indignant.

At this time, someone who was not too far from the town entrance among the band of Shatu people suddenly yelled in Mandarin. “Let me through, I’m the leader of this caravan. Just what are the Pingxi City’s sentries thinking? Are you thinking of robbing the goods of our caravan in broad daylight?”

The black-faced commandant threw a single glance in that direction with a slight frown. “Let that person through!”

The soldiers standing guard at the town entrance stepped aside. A Shatu man that was more than fifty years old was making his way over there in big strides. He had a huge aquiline nose, grizzled hair, and a pair of sharp eyes. He wore a gorgeous Shatu hat, and his appearance stood out from that of the other Shatu people. After he came over, he assessed the injuries of those Shatu men who were on the ground before the expression on his face became twisted. He lifted one of the Shatu men who was still groaning on the floor, the very same one who had lost half of his ear to Yan Liqiang’s whip, and loudly asked him a few questions. He then suddenly shifted his sullen gaze on Yan Liqiang’s face.

“Your Excellency, our men were injured by this person! I request you all to immediately seize him and let us punish him with the way of the Shatu people!” The leader of the Shatu people pointed at Yan Liqiang with his finger and loudly exclaimed this with an overbearingly arrogant tone of voice.

As soon as the black-faced commandant heard his words, he was instantly furious. “MOTHERF*CKER! Why didn’t you ask him why he had beaten the sh*t out of your people? It was your people who injured the commoner who was entering the town first! This youth only raised his hand because he couldn’t stand watching it any longer!”

“Our people whipped that person because he spat on us. This is an insult to us, the Shatu people!” That Shatu man continued to speak loudly.

“I... Puiii...” That black-faced commandant threw the Shatu leader a glance, inhaled through his nose, and then directly spat out concentrated phlegm that landed on the ground right before the Shatu man’s feet. “This is Pingxi City, Chinese territory. We will spit however we want to spit. What has it got to do with you as long as we didn’t spit on you? Your father, I just spat. So how is it going to be? You guys wanna whip me too?”

The Shatu man’s countenance instantly twisted before he spoke with a sinister voice. “Don’t think you can just simply bully us who are from the Shatu Seven Tribes. If anything happens to us here, the hundred thousand people from our town will not respond well to that. If something bad really happens, can a mere commandant like you take such responsibility?”

Shatu leader’s words allowed Yan Liqiang to once again experience the so-called logic of gangster. To a gangster, if he couldn’t bully you, then it meant that you had bullied him. What f*cking logic...

Shatu Seven Tribes was a somewhat unfamiliar name to Yan Liqiang. He vaguely recalled hearing Yan Dechang mention it once in the past. But he didn’t know anything about it in detail. In the past, his entire life was filled with nothing but cultivation. Therefore, he had very little knowledge of other miscellaneous information. So right now, nothing came up no matter how hard he racked his brain. He only recalled that they were probably part of the Shatu people who had taken up residence at the inner Great Han Empire.

“Your father, I, would really love to take that responsibility today!” That black-faced commandant glared at the Shatu man as he flew into a rage. “If you Shatu people don’t respond well to it then it is the same for me! According to the laws of our Great Han Empire, weapons are prohibited fifty meters within the radius of every town gate and mountain pass. Any violators will be considered to be inciting a revolt and will be punished accordingly as the most severe case. Brothers, round up all these Shatu people and lock them up in the military barracks. Kill anyone who dares to put up any resistance!”

“YES SIR!” The surrounding hundred soldiers responded loudly and thumped the ends of their long spears they were holding into the ground. When all of them closed in on those Shatu men, two of them seemed to be thinking about resisting. Just when they were about to move, a few long spears jabbed towards them, directly hitting their thighs. Both of them fell to the ground with blood-curdling screams. A few soldiers in the surroundings instantly swarmed around them and quickly tied both Shatu men up.

All the Shatu people were tied up in an instant, including their leader. Even their all rhinodrake steeds and camels were detained in custody at a military barrack near the gate tower.

At the same time, Yan Liqiang, the Chinese youth who was whipped, and a few witnesses were also brought inside the military barracks by these soldiers. Compared to the Shatu people, the soldiers who led them to the military barracks treated them a lot better.

After arriving at the military barracks, Yan Liqiang was inquired for his identity, name, reason for visiting Pingxi City, and also an account of the incident from someone else. Yan Liqiang’s statement was recorded on paper so he gave all the facts. At the end, after seeing that the statement had no problems, he also signed the paper and put a thumbprint on it.

After settling everything, he was locked up all alone in a small room by those soldiers.

...

“Damn it, those Shatu dogs are really asking for trouble!” The commandant scanned those Shatu men whose upper bodies had been bound with their arms tied behind their backs along with a rope looped around their necks for a while before he left the field with his other few subordinates, cussing. “We will settle this ourselves so that even when town governor inquires about this, we can stand our ground. Ensure that the statements of those commoners are properly recorded as witnesses, especially the one that had been bullied by the Shatu. Make him insist that all he did was simply spit on the ground when he was going into town before those Shatu people created trouble out of the blue and were the first to hit anyone.”

“Captain, rest assured, I have already sent someone to settle this. There will definitely not be any slip-ups...” One of the low ranking military officers immediately assured him.

“Alright!”

The other low-ranking military officer exclaimed in anger, “These Shatu dogs actually dared to draw their weapons at the town gate. Are they not afraid that we would treat them all as enemies and kill them? I’m so angry when I think of it. It’s clear that they are ignoring our existence! If Captain gave us an order that time, I would definitely be the first to run up and kill those Shatu dogs!”

“Oh right, that youth named Yan Liqiang is quite good for his young age. He was able to fight three of them alone and even made a prompt decision to be ruthless to those Shatu people. In my opinion, I think he is an extraordinary youth. Have you gotten to the bottom of his identity?”

“I did just now! That Yan Liqiang was the first among the top three in the Qinghe’s Martial Arts County Trial this year. He happened to come to Pingxi City today to report to Pingxi City’s martial arts academy tomorrow!”

“No wonder!” Realization dawned upon the group of military officers in the surroundings.

“Don’t miss out on that Yan Liqiang. A capable youth with such valor is really a rare sight. If this youth joins the army in the future, he will definitely be a great fighter!”

“Yes, rest assured, Captain. We know what to do!”

While they were talking, a low ranking military officer hurriedly ran over. He even seemed to be slightly flustered. “Captain, we have just checked the goods that those Shatu people were transporting according to your orders. There are some problems with them...”

Commandant Su’s countenance slightly changed as soon as he heard the report before he hurriedly went to investigate, bringing the other officers with him.

At the military barracks, all the boxes, burlap sacks, and the like carried by the Shatu people’s camels had been removed. Among all the things, two of the boxes and burlap sacks had already been opened. Outside those two boxes were a few stacks of dried medicinal ingredients and beneath those medicinal ingredients was a bundle of blades and swords, wrapped with hay. The weapons were gleaming coldly, exuding a chilling, sharp aura.

Those two burlap sacks had also been cut open. There were some beast leathers outside the burlap sacks. However, wrapped within those beast leathers were bundles of arrows.

Just what were these Shatu people trying to do by secretly hiding these weapons among the medicinal ingredients and transporting them into town?

All the military officers on the scene were shocked. There was absolute silence.

The facial expression of that black-faced commandant really went dark this time. He stared at the arrows in the burlap sacks. Without saying a word, he walked in front of them and retrieved one of the arrows inside. He held it up and carefully studied it.

“Wang San, bring me one of your arrows from your quiver...”

That low ranking military officer hurriedly handed over an arrow from the quiver that he was carrying on his back. The two arrows were put together. Both of them were exactly the same, regardless of the workmanship or materials. However, there was only one difference between them.

The base of the metal arrowhead of the arrow from the military officer named Wang San had a special triangular symbol on it. Within that symbol was a Chinese character, ‘Gan’, that could be seen by the naked eye. Beside the ‘Gan’ character was a tiny number, ‘37’. This was an indicator that this arrow was a military weapon manufactured by Qigu Mountain Weaponsmiths Quarter of the Gan Province, specially supplied to the Gan Province army of the Great Han Empire. Its quality was definitely reliable. If anything were to happen to it on the battlefield, they could hold the blacksmith who had manufactured the arrows accountable.

On the other hand, the same spot on the tail section of the arrows’ metal arrowheads found within the burlap sacks of those Shatu people had been deliberately smoothened out with a file to cover up a symbol that was supposedly located there before...

The Shatu people had hidden too many arrows among the goods. Not every arrow could possibly look exactly the same on this same spot. So the commandant searched for a while with a sour face among the bundles of arrows before he finally found an arrow. The symbol on the base of that arrowhead had already been half-smoothed out. Even so, the character ‘Gan’ could still be vaguely seen...

The atmosphere around the commandant as well as everyone around him instantly turned coldly silent as a wave of anger that could hardly be concealed and dismay brought upon by disappointment washed over them...

Chapter 66: Punishment

Yan Liqiang was locked up in one of the small rooms in the military barracks. There were two soldiers standing guard outside the room. He initially thought that he would be allowed to leave as soon as they were done taking his statement since that shouldn’t have been a really big deal. Besides, it was those Shatu people who had rudely started the incident. He could justify his own actions with a clear conscience. But he didn’t expect that no one would come to visit him until nightfall; neither did they inform him of when he could leave. He tried to inquire the two soldiers, but they didn’t know either and told him that he’d have to wait for their superior’s orders.

Apart from going to the toilet accompanied by the two soldiers, he had to stay in the room for the rest of the time. He wasn’t allowed to go anywhere else.

The two soldiers were standing guard by the door. Out of extreme boredom, Yan Liqiang started resuming his cultivation on the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing.

Besides, this technique didn’t require any special place to cultivate, just a square meter of space would suffice. During the fight with those few Shatu men, Yan Liqiang had once again felt how formidable the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing was. He had been cultivating it consecutively for two months. Not only did his strength increase significantly, even his reaction speed had improved drastically. Most importantly, he had already attained the realm of the second layer for that secret manual, the ‘Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps’, that Qian Su had given to him before he even realized it. The body technique and footwork that he exhibited when running up the inner walls of the town gate earlier during the fight was from this ‘Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps’ that had been leveled to the realm of the second layer. If he could attain the next layer, then the Dharmic projection of this secret manual’s technique should emerge.

Over the past few decades, Qian Su had only managed to cultivate the ‘Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps’ to the realm of the second layer, whereas Yan Liqiang managed to achieve this point in just two months. Even Yan Liqiang himself thought that his cultivation speed was faster than expected. Although Qian Su never passed the Horse Stance stage which would be a little more challenging for him to cultivate this footwork, Yan Liqiang’s speed was still too shocking considering the fact that he had passed the Horse Stance stage. After pondering about it for some time, he concluded that this was probably the miraculous result brought about by cultivating the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing.

Having understood till this point, Yan Liqiang put in all his effort whenever he cultivated the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing.

Apart from the ‘Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps’, the technique that Yan Liqiang desired to cultivate the most right now was still that ‘The Golden Bell Divine Protection Technique’ which he found on King Cobra. ‘The Golden Bell Divine Protection Technique’ was basically the Golden Bell Shield technique that was described in the secret manual. However, according to the secret manual, one would need to pass the Stretching Tendon and Extending Bone stage before they could cultivate the Golden Bell Shield Technique.

Over the past two months, Yan Liqiang had been feeling gradual extension and expansion of the tendons and bones in his body. His body was also becoming more agile. He reckoned that he could probably pass the Stretching Tendon and Extending Bone stage very soon.

The two soldiers politely served him his dinner. His dinner consisted of rice, some meat, vegetables. and two apples. The food was quite decent, so Yan Liqiang didn’t feel shy either. He finished his meal along with the apples and then started walking around the room in circles so that he could digest better. After half an hour of exercise, he started to cultivate Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing again...

When he started the Fixed Body Diagrams in the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing this time around, loud chaotic noises from outside the military barracks suddenly reached his ears. He opened his eyes and stopped in his cultivation. Then he walked towards a window in his room. When he tried to catch a glimpse outside, he saw a sea of red lights that seemed like swaying flames on the other side of the perimeter wall. The source of the noises he heard also came from the other side of the perimeter wall. In the midst of those noises, he could make out some loathsome Shatu language that sounded like gibberish.

The noises grew even louder. From the sounds of it, there were at least ten thousand people.

At this time, he could hear urgent footsteps coming towards the door.

“Corporal, what is going on outside?” He heard a voice from the other side of the door. Yan Liqiang recognized this voice. The person who had spoken was one of the soldiers who had been guarding him.

“The Shatu people have come to create a disturbance! One of you stay here and stand guard. Zhao Feng, follow me! Bring your trusty weapon along. Xu Chun, you will take care of things here and act according to the circumstances!”

“Understood!”

Two sets of footsteps left in haste.

“RELEASE! RELEASE!”

The noises and clamor outside the military barracks slowly unified, turning into two words that even Yan Liqiang could comprehend.

However, after half a minute, the door to his room was unlocked and opened from the other side with a creak. The soldier guarding the door pushed it open and came in. He looked at Yan Liqiang with a grave expression on his face. “If things get chaotic later, someone barged in and I couldn’t watch over you. You may leave this place yourself. You’ll also have to protect yourself!”

“Alright. Thank you, Brother Xu!”

“How do you know my surname is Xu?” That soldier was slightly taken aback.

“I overheard the Corporal ask Brother Xu to stay here just now from inside...” Yan Liqiang laughed. Remembering someone’s name was totally the basic of the most basic things required in his line of work back in his previous life. This was because it had subtle psychological effects that could bring a stranger closer to one in the quickest way.

“Oh, so that’s why!” Xu Chun’s facial expression instantly relaxed. He looked at Yan Liqiang. “Do you need any weapons? I can go find one for you so you can protect yourself.”

“Thank you, Brother Xu. I have a knife in my bag. I will take it out when it is needed!” Yan Liqiang pointed at his own bag. There was a kukri knife that was forged in the blacksmith store back home in his bag, sheathed in a cowhide scabbard. He would naturally take it out in times of need. The people in this military barrack had been very kind to him. After he came in, they didn’t make things difficult for him and they didn’t even inspect his bag.

“Glad to hear that...”

...

At this moment, the voices of the Shatu people gathered at the main entrance of the military barracks were extremely loud. A few of the streets outside the military barracks were filled with the torches that the Shatu people were holding, swaying in the air. All the stores had already closed out of fear. There was no one else other than the Shatu people out on the main street. At a single glance, the estimated number of Shatu people who had gathered outside the military barracks was at least over ten thousand.

A few rows of soldiers fully donned in armor and weapons were already standing at the main entrance of the military barracks, facing the swarm of Shatu people who were bellowing agitatedly from more than ten meters away.

The Shatu had lined themselves up into a human wall, yelling for the release of their people while they pressed on towards the military barracks.

Lining up at the front of the Shatu party were some old, frail women and young children. Each and every one of them was extremely worked up as they were pointing and shouting at the soldiers in the military barracks with uncontrollable anger. They weren’t holding any weapons but they were pressing on to the military barracks with their chins up and chests out. Behind these old people were the young and strong Shatu people. The icy gleam of their weapons flashed from the crowd from time to time.

The black-faced commandant stood at the entrance of the military barracks while watching these Shatu people. A cold light flashed across his eyes. “Damn these f*ckers. Your father, I, am not buying any of this today. If worse comes to worst, I will just take off my armor and go back home to open a martial arts academy...” The black-faced commandant cursed a few times and then flung the helmet he wore on his head to the floor. He drew his sword and gave his order in a loud voice. “SOLDIERS! This Pingxi Town is still the Pingxi Town that consists of us, the Chinese, and the Great Han Empire! Kill anyone who dares to take a step inside my barracks today and has the balls to fight us, regardless of who it may be! I, Su Tianhao, shall bear all the responsibilities alone! Everyone, follow my command... HOLD YOUR SPEAR... AND STEP OUT!!!”

“AYE!” All the soldiers responded loudly as they immediately straightened their spears in their hands and took a loud step forward. Their awe-inspiring aura and the icy gleams of their spearheads instantly halted the Shatu people who were pressing on to the military barracks in their tracks as they were afraid to come any closer to them.

Upon seeing those Shatu people stopping in their tracks and only shouting, the black-faced commandant waved his hand at a squad commander beside him. When that officer came over, he gave his order in a soft voice. “Go check on the Shatu people we captured earlier today. If any of these Shatu people here dare to attack the military barracks later, kill them if any of us dies here, whether it is only one person or one hundred people. Have all our brothers kill every single one of the Shatu people we have tied up...”

“Understood...” That squad commander accepted his order, turned around, and quickly left the military barrack’s main entrance.

A military officer at the side leaned his head over and asked in a soft voice, “Sir, news has already traveled to the city governor and he’s already looking for the military governor. How come we haven’t heard anything from the higher-ups until now?”

“Goddamn it, how am I supposed to know? Let’s just focus on what’s going on here first...”

...

Meanwhile, two high ranking officers in Pingxi City, the Military Governor Huangfu Qianqi from the Military Governor’s Office of the Pingxi Prefecture and City Governor, Li Pingtao from the northern gate of Pingxi Town, were sitting on their chairs in one of the brightly lit halls of Pingxi Town’s Prefectural Governor’s Office, staring closely at the prefectural governor of Pingxi Prefecture who was seated behind his desk.

The tea on the table had already gone cold long ago. Although a full hour had passed, the prefectural governor of Pingxi Prefecture still had his head buried in the urgent report they had presented to him. He seemed to be carefully studying each and every word written on it, never lifting his head even once all this time.

The city governor, Li Pingtao, had already clenched and unclenched his fists about seven to eight times. Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore. He turned his head to the side and threw a single glance the other working military officer of Pingxi Prefecture who was sitting in front of him, Huangfu Qianqi.

“Ahem, ahem.” After restraining himself for another moment and seeing that the prefectural governor still showed no signs of lifting his head, Huangfu Qianqi, as a senior officer, finally couldn’t take it anymore either and slightly raised his voice. “Sir!”

The prefectural governor finally raised his head from the report he was reading, revealing his slightly swollen eyes. He rubbed his temple with one hand and threw a glance at the two high ranking officers among the Pingxi Prefecture standing there before he lightly tossed the report on the table. “So this is the urgent report that you spoke of? That a Shatu caravan had brought with them some weapons into town, and your subordinates went ahead and detained all of them in the military barracks? I also heard that some were injured?” There was displeasure in the tone of his voice.

“Sir, about this...”

“That’s enough.” The prefectural governor lifted his hand, cutting off Huangfu Qianqi’s explanation. “I know what you want to say General Huangfu, but don’t you think you are all a little too sensitive? Those arrows with the symbols erased may not mean anything. They just happen to look a little similar to the ones from the Gan Province Weaponsmiths Quarter. Whether or not they are manufactured there is another story. After all, there are quite a number of workshops that manufacture arrows among the people. Sometimes, for the sake of putting a higher price tag on the arrows that these private workshops manufactured, they would also carve the symbol of the Weaponsmiths Quarter to masquerade their products. There’s no need to make a fuss about this. I will report this incident to the Gan Province’s Military Governor’s Office so that they can investigate if any of their arrows are being smuggled out from the Weaponsmith Quarters. In our Great Han Empire, there have never been any laws that prohibit Shatu caravans from carrying weapons.”

At this moment, one of the Prefectural Governor’s Office’s servants hurriedly came over and softly whispered something into the prefectural governor’s ears. The expression on the prefectural governor’s face slightly changed. At the wave of his hand, that servant bowed and retreated.

“The Shatu people in town are causing another disturbance right now! I still need to settle this mess. All of you should quickly order that commandant to release the Shatu people he detained and return their goods to them. Compensate them and apologize to them accordingly. Pacify the people who had been injured by the Shatu people. It was only a lash, no big deal. Don’t let this problem get out of hand. The Provincial Governor will visit Pingxi City in two days, so don’t create any more problems for me. Alright, that’s it for now. I went to Rong County today for inspection and I’m quite tired...” The prefectural governor yawned upon finishing his sentence and immediately left, abandoning the two high-ranking officers in the middle of the big hall...

Chapter 67: Meeting Shi Changfeng Again

The ruckus outside of the military barracks went on for the whole night. However, from beginning to end, no orders to kill were heard. Things only calmed down after dawn.

Soon after that, Yan Liqiang saw a squad commander in the room. That officer first had him stay here for the night. He told him that it wasn’t safe for him to go out right now and that someone from the martial arts academy would come to pick him up tomorrow.

It wasn’t safe for him to go out right now? What did he mean?

Just when Yan Liqiang was still wondering about it, Xu Chun came in and secretly informed Yan Liqiang of some news.

“The people from the Shatu caravan have been released. When they were leaving, a few of them looked like they had some ulterior motives. I actually understand Shatu language, and a few of them were gathering information on you and said that they want to get even with you!”

“Those Shatu people beat someone up at the city entrance, brandished their weapons, and barged through the city gate. These alone were considered offenses. How could they be released this easily?” Yan Liqiang looked at Xu Chun in disbelief.

Xu Chun also had an indignant expression on his face. “I heard that the Prefectural Governor gave a direct order to prevent the Shatu people from causing trouble! The crowd of Shatu people who surrounded the outside only dispersed with the release of those people!”

Upon hearing this, Yan Liqiang wanted to curse out loud. Beating someone up at the city gate was the first crime that those Shatu people had committed. Brandishing their weapons and barging through city gate was their second crime. How could they actually let such serious offenses slide this easily? No wonder those Shatu people were this arrogant in Pingxi’s prefectural city.

After confirming that there was no one on either side, Xu Chun suddenly lowered his voice. “Brother, let me tell you something. Can you guess what we found among the goods of those Shatu people?”

“What did you guys discover?”

“They had actually hidden many weapons among their goods, and there were over ten thousand arrows...”

Yan Liqiang’s eyes widened immediately as he drew a sharp breath. Although transporting weapons such as bows and arrows were not illegal, the Shatu people were sneaky enough to hide them with their goods. They had to be up to no good since they were afraid to be discovered, and they probably had some sort of secret agenda behind this. “Even so, you all still released them?”

“It’s an order from higher-ups. We have to release them even if we don’t want to!”

“What about the weapons and arrows then?”

“We have returned them to the Shatu people too!” When Xu Chun saw Yan Liqiang’s countenance change once again when he was speaking, he gave him further explanation. “All these orders were from the Prefectural Governor. We have no choice either. However, before Commandant Su returned those goods to the Shatu people, he had our brothers in the barrack break all those arrows and also chip all the blades and swords...”

Yan Liqiang took a deep breath and slowly calmed down. “Thank you for telling me all this, Brother Xu...”

“No need to thank me. All our brothers in the barrack admire you quite a bit. If you hadn’t served them justice today at the city entrance, we would have had no idea just how ruthless these Shatu people can be. If Brother Liqiang is still going to stay at the Pingxi Prefecture martial arts academy after today, please be cautious of the Shatu people in Pingxi City. There are more than ten thousand of them here. They are rude, unreasonable, overbearing, cunning and ruthless people who are capable of doing just anything. You have really given those few Shatu people a beating today and two of them might be left handicapped. Maybe those Shatu people might really try to get even with you...”

“Alright, I will be mindful!”

“Alright, rest earlier today, Brother Liqiang. You can just lock the door from the inside when you sleep at night. There are toiletries in the room, use anything you need. I’ll be sleeping next door. You can call me if you need anything.”

“Sure!”

After Xu Chun left, Yan Liqiang paced around the room alone. Although his face was cool like steel, anger was brewing in his heart. However, his heart was colder than ice.

Yan Liqiang was fully aware that he had gotten himself into big trouble. Even if he was given another chance to reconsider his choices at this point in time, he would still choose to run up to those few Shatu people and teach them a lesson.

In his previous life, he had never practiced any martial arts. Even so, he had never been terrified of anything. There was one time when he was on his way home from work when he saw a few hoodlums ganging up on a lady on the roadside. After calling the police, he picked up a brick and went up against them. The price he paid for his first courageous act was a gash by a dagger on his left arm. Despite getting twenty-seven stitches, he had no regrets.

In this life, if he didn’t dare to go up against those Shatu people back then after practicing so many years of martial arts and instead was terrified instead of getting into trouble, then wouldn’t the martial arts he practiced turn out to be a joke?

The reason behind Yan Liqiang’s anger and disappointment wasn’t the plotted revenge from the Shatu. He just didn’t expect that they would be able to escape their punishment so easily after violating the offenses of beating someone and barging through the city gate, causing panic in Pingxi City. Other than taking a beating from him and the arrow that the commandant had released, those Shatu people didn’t really seem to bear any other consequences.

Just what the hell happened? Were the Shatu people were actually a cut above the rest? The Chinese had actually become third-rate citizens instead and were being bullied on their own land?

Perhaps it was because of this that the Shatu people had become fearless and were confident enough to be hooting about getting even with him. If he was an ordinary person without any real skills, he would probably have to reconsider living in Pingxi City in the future.

It would be a complete lie if Yan Liqiang could still remain cool-headed and calm at a time like this. At this moment, he felt as if he was on a grassy plain with countless alpacas jumping over his head.

After pacing a few rounds in the room, Yan Liqiang stood still and lifted his head, staring at the ceiling. The expression on his face became determined. A cold light flashed across his eyes as he muttered to himself. “Bring it on. Let’s see who can put an end to this. F*ckers...”

...

The rest of the night passed by uneventfully. The next morning, Yan Liqiang got up on time as usual before the sun was even up. After washing up, he practiced a round of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing. Just when he finished the first round and was about to open the door, there was a series of knocks on the door to his room.

Yan Liqiang opened the door but was instantly in for a great shock. That was because the person standing on the other side of the door was someone he had least expected – Shi Changfeng.

“Lord Shi, what brings you here?”

“So it really is you!” Shi Changfeng was fully dressed in white, looking graceful and casual. When he saw Yan Liqiang, he carefully looked at him from top to bottom. Upon seeing Yan Liqiang with no injuries or any damage on his body, and his face radiating with vigor on top of that, Shi Changfeng let out a breath of relief. He then turned his head to the side and spoke to that black-faced commandant who had accompanied him here. “There’s no mistake about it. This person is indeed the newly recruited student of our martial arts academy this year from Qinghe County, Yan Liqiang...”

Commandant Su nodded and replied with his deep and gruff voice. “If there’s no mistake, then I shall hand him over to you. There’s still a few Shatu dogs loitering around outside the military barracks who are unwilling to give up. This young man is not bad, he is worthy to be nurtured. There will be no problems if you are the one to bring him out. Blast it, if it weren’t for this uniform I am wearing, I would really love to strangle those few Shatu dogs to their deaths!”

“Don’t worry about it!” Shi Changfeng nodded then turned to Yan Liqiang. “Pack up your belongings and follow me!”

Yan Liqiang didn’t say too much either. He immediately returned to his room and carried his bag on his back. Then climbed up a horse carriage along with Shi Changfeng, leaving the military barracks...

By this time, the sky had just only slightly brightened...

Chapter 68: Shatu Seven Tribes

The carriage was still a two-wheeled horse carriage. The only difference was that Shi Changfeng’s two-wheeled horse carriage was more spacious than the one Yan Liqiang sat in previously. The arrangement inside the horse carriage was meticulously selected. There was even an incense lit within the horse carriage, emitting a dense fragrance which permeated the fragrance of sandalwood throughout the entire carriage. When people smelled it, their minds would be cleared in an instant.

“Ride...” The coachman sat in front of the carriage. He shook the reins and forcefully whipped the horse with the horsewhip. When they heard the loud crack from the horsewhip, the horse harnessed to the carriage broke into a faster gallop than before as they left the barracks.

At this time, Pingxi City seemed to have just woken up. The number of pedestrians on the street was few and far between while the stores hadn’t even opened yet. The horse carriage charged along the flat street in the city, without any worries of colliding into anyone.

It was uncertain as to whether it was due to the fact that he was in the carriage or they weren’t able to catch up to the carriage on foot, but Yan Liqiang did not see any Shatu people chasing the carriage.

In the midst of charging, the horse carriage rocked slightly so it wasn’t a smooth ride. This was probably a common problem with two-wheeled horse carriages. Yet Yan Liqiang had already figured what was going on the moment they left the barracks. It must be due to the fact that Commandant Su had sent personnel over to the martial arts academy and told them about him. Thus, the martial arts academy sent Shi Changfeng, whom he had met before, over at first light.

Today was originally the day he was to officially report himself to the Pingxi Prefecture Martial Arts Academy. Never did Yan Liqiang expect that he would actually be picked up by others.

Once he boarded the carriage, Yan Liqiang had this feeling that Shi Changfeng’s eyes had never left his body. He appeared slightly serious. This made Yan Liqiang mutter irresolutely and secretly deep down as he attempted to make a jab at Shi Changfeng’s current state of mind, wondering whether it was the same feeling the other Head Instructors felt who had gone out all the way to pick up other students?

“I know what happened yesterday!” Shi Changfeng stared at Yan Liqiang, opening his mouth to break the silence in the horse carriage. “Not bad. You did well. No wonder you placed first in the Qinghe County Martial Arts Examination and are a worthy student of our Pingxi Prefecture Martial Arts Academy!” Once he finished, a trace of a smile finally broke out on Shi Changfeng’s solemn countenance. Yan Liqiang also finally got to see a trace of admiration in Shi Changfeng’s eyes.

Yan Liqiang was more or less comforted to receive recognition from an academy tutor from the Pingxi Prefecture Martial Arts Academy. In this world, people had a natural sense of justice. “Thank you Lord Shi for your compliment. I only did what I needed to do!”

“Hahaha! From today onwards, you’re already considered a student at the Pingxi Prefecture Martial Arts Academy! So you don’t need to call me Lord Shi anymore. You should change your formalities. Just call me Teacher Shi...”

“Okay! Teacher Shi!” Yan Liqiang smiled. “I heard there are many courses in the martial arts academy. May I know what courses Teacher Shi teaching?”

“I’m responsible for the martial arts academy’s courses in sword art along with literature and history. Have you ever trained in sword art before?”

“I have never trained in sword art before but I have dabbled in some spear art, as well as the art of archery...” Yan Liqiang held his words back. His cultivation in the art of archery would be exposed one day, so he chose to slightly divulge the fact that he had trained in the art of archery to avoid others from being too surprised by it in the future. The Hong Clan’s incident had already become a thing of the past. Thus, his cultivation in the art of archery naturally didn’t need to be concealed perpetually...

“Oh, that’s good!” Shi Changfeng nodded. “Spear art and the art of archery are both the way of the battlefield. It would be extremely favorable for one to have these skills in the future. But sword art is also one of the martial practitioner’s Confucian Six Arts. It mustn’t be ignored in the favor of others. Once you master it, regardless of whether you’re traveling around the pugilist world or fighting in close-quarters on the battlefield, you can subdue the enemy in one move, incisive beyond measure!”

“Yes! I will definitely ask for guidance from Teacher Shi in the future!”

“Good!” Shi Changfeng nodded before abruptly asking a question. “Do you know that yesterday at the city gates, the moment you make a move, you are already in deep trouble? There’s a chance that the Shatu people might want to seek vengeance against you. Do you regret it?”

“I already fought them so what’s there to be regret? The only thing I regret is that if I knew firsthand that those Shatu men would be so vile, I would have struck out harder then!” Yan Liqiang replied while shaking his head. “It’s just that I don’t understand one thing and feel perturbed in my heart. I don’t know why those men were so arrogant and despotic in Pingxi City? They can ride horses into the city without paying tolls, and they can even escape the laws of committing crimes while causing disturbances in addition to hitting people? Is this Pingxi City still even our Chinese Pingxi City?”

“You’ve never heard of the Shatu Seven Tribes before?”

“I’m not afraid of Teacher Shi making fun of me. I focused all my attention in martial arts training before, and only heard of the Shatu Seven Tribes one time from my father back home. As for the details, I have no idea...” Yan Liqiang scratched his head as he replied awkwardly.

Shi Changfeng stared at Yan Liqiang for a few seconds before heaving a sigh of relief. He sighed, “No wonder you obtained first place in the Qinghe County’s martial arts examination. Turns out that you have spent all your efforts in training and paid no attention to outside matters...”

“I’m ashamed. I only realized that my knowledge is not up to par when I came out. Fortunately Teacher is here right now so it’s a good time for me to request guidance from you. May I know where the Shatu Seven Tribes come from?”

Shi Changfeng groaned for a while. “Eighty years ago, in order to vie over the Shatu Alliance’s Chanyu’s throne, a great civil war broke out between the Shatu tribes. The known Shatu Seven Tribes were the Shatu people’s tribes which consisted of the Dark Razor Tribe, the Dark Mountain Tribe, the Dark Wood Tribe, the Earthen Desert Tribe, the Coyote Tribe, the Stormy Plain Tribe, and the Stormy River Tribe. These seven tribes were defeated as well as the fortunate survivors during the Shatu Civil War. They were hunted by other victorious Shatu tribes. When they were at the end of their rope, the seven Shatu tribes brought along several million clan members to flee from calamity and they came to the border of our Great Han Empire. They expressed their willingness to submit to the Great Han Empire to become our empire’s subjects. They begged our empire to accept them. Due to this reason, the Shatu Seven Tribes existed within the borders of our Great Han Empire!”

Yan Liqiang was taken aback. He never realized that those overbearing, rude, unreasonable and tyrannical Shatu men were the descendants of the refugees who had escaped to the Great Han Empire. The contrast was too great.

“Since those Shatu men are refugees, they are no different than homeless curs. How can they still be so unbridled and are able to throw their weight about in Pingxi City?”

“This is what it meant by times have changed!” Lord Shi let out a sigh. “Back then when the Great Han Empire received the Shatu Seven Tribes, the empire permitted them to move to Mount Vast Cloud which lies in the common border between Gan Province and Feng Province as well as the Gulang Plains for settlement. The empire also offered a lot of assistance, hoping to make the Shatu people become a protective shield between us and the Black Ram tribe. Many years passed, and the Shatu Seven Tribes which only had several million men before now have a population that has expanded nearly tenfold. In addition, the man who highly supported accepting the Shatu Seven Tribes in the imperial court had already been the empire’s prime minister for a long time. That man treated the sheltered Shatu people as his own merits and achievements. A few years ago, he even issued the Writ of Grace, permitting the Shatu people within the Gan and Feng Provinces to enjoy preferential treatments such as minor offenses that would not be pursued, no tolls to enter the city, riding horses into the city, and such. As time went on, the Shatu Seven Tribes was already practicing insubordination and was dissatisfied with small gains. Thus, they began to seize the authorities and making noise, even to the extent of rebelling and vandalizing. And the upper echelons would side with the Shatu people every time during this time period. The situation in Pingxi City isn’t considered to be too serious yet. In some areas of Feng Province, the Shatu Seven Tribes territories are expanding day after day. In some rural counties, they are now completely under the rule of the Shatu people. Nobody dared to control them even when they committed a crime. The Chinese are instead being forced aside until they have nowhere else to stay. Quite a number of them have fled with their families in succession...”

“Those who are not our kin are sure to have different hearts. We are giving preferential treatment to another tribe as they suppress our own kin. With such a perverse way of doing things, enraging the people and the Heavens alike, wouldn’t great chaos brew in Feng Province and Gan Province sooner or later?” Yan Liqiang sharp inhaled a breath.

Upon hearing Yan Liqiang’s words, Shi Changfeng suddenly stared at him in astonishment as he was surprised beyond measure. “I never expected you to have such insight at a young age!”

This was also known as insight? Wasn’t it just common sense? Yan Liqiang almost blurted this out loud. However, the words that were about to left his mouth was then eventually forcefully swallowed by him back down....

It was at this moment that the horse carriage had arrived at a place, slowly coming to a stop. It was currently being interrogated at the main entrance...

“Teacher, is this the martial arts academy of Pingxi Prefecture?” Sitting inside the horse carriage, Yan Liqiang couldn’t tell from the scenery outside. In addition, it was his first time coming to Pingxi City so he was unfamiliar with the city itself. Thus, he naturally couldn’t tell where he was right now.

“This isn’t the martial arts academy. It’s the Pingxi Prefecture’s Military Governor’s Office. The military governor wishes to have an audience with you!”

Shi Changfeng’s words surprised Yan Liqiang once more...

Chapter 69: Blessings and Misfortunes are Neighbors

The Military Governor’s Office of the Great Han Empire was no different than the military region of all levels in his previous incarnation. The Military Governor of the Military Governor’s Office was equivalent to the commanding officer of the military region of all levels. If Pingxi Prefecture was seen as a municipal unit, then the Military Governor’s Office of Pingxi Prefecture was similar to that of the commander of the municipal unit.

Under the Military Governor’s Office, there was a standing army division as well as a good deal amount of staff. Usually, the standing army under the Military Governor’s Office was responsible for undertaking various garrison duties. In turn, the Military Governor’s Office was responsible for filling in every position in the staff structure.

Similarly, the Military Governor’s Office was also under the administration of the Prefectural Governor. The Military Governor of a prefecture’s Military Governor’s Office had to take responsibility for the Prefectural Governor.

While Yan Liqiang was recalling the little knowledge he had about the Military Governor’s Office from his mind, he entered the Military Governor’s Office with Shi Changfeng. At the same time, he was wondering deep down the reason as to why the Military Governor of the Military Governor’s Office would want to meet a nobody like him.

The inner walls of the Military Governor’s Office had tight security,; it was a large manor with high walls. They were soldiers that were decked out in gear standing guard everywhere and those who passed by were all military officers of different ranks. A military officer brought Shi Changfeng and Yan Liqiang into one of the drawing rooms in the Military Governor’s Office, requesting them to wait in this area for a while. He didn’t even offer them tea and left immediately after that.

Two soldiers stood at the drawing room’s entrance. A majestic painting of a vicious tiger roaring in the mountain was suspended in the center of the drawing room. The main seat of the drawing room was vacant. The other furnishings were pithy, simple and plain, and had a strong military design to it. Yan Liqiang sat next to Shi Changfeng. While he was checking out the surroundings, he caught sight of the painting of a vicious tiger roaring in the mountain, and he naturally thought of the scenario in the Water Margin where Lin Chong was tricked to go to White Tiger Hall. He laughed at himself on the inside. A nobody like him wasn’t worthy of being handled by an esteemed Military Governor. He cautiously eyed Shi Changfeng’s expression and discovered that he didn’t appear grim, and he didn’t look like he was concerned either. Only then did Yan Liqiang feel a little bit at ease.

“Teacher, why does the Military Governor wish to see me?” Yan Liqiang whispered to Shi Changfeng upon observing that no one was around.

“Do you have any idea of the scale of the commotion that those Shatu men caused yesterday in Pingxi City?” Shi Changfeng shot a glance at Yan Liqiang with a smile on his face. “And it was rumored that the one who caused this was the person that placed first in the Qinghe County Martial Arts Examination. So the Military Governor naturally needs to see it for himself!”

Yan Liqiang laughed dryly and rubbed his face. “I am not that capable! I was just at the right place at the right time. I couldn’t turn my back away at the sight of injustice and I shouted. That’s all...”

“Hahaha! Such a good ‘couldn’t turn my back away at the sight of injustice and shouted’...” A loud, hearty laugh traveled from behind them. As soon as he finished, the Military Governor of the Pingxi Prefecture Military Governor’s Office, Huangfu Qianqi, had already taken large strides with a majestic gait into the drawing room.

Upon seeing Shi Changfeng stand up, Yan Liqiang also stood up in a flurry.

“Sit! Sit! Sit! Don’t be courteous! This is neither the field headquarters nor the Military Governor’s Office’s court of law. We will just be casually conversing today. There’s no need to be reserved...” Huangfu Qianqi smiled, requesting Shi Changfeng and Yan Liqiang to sit down. Then, he also sat himself down on the main seat.

After Yan Liqiang sat down, he stole a serious glance at the number one character in Pingxi Prefecture’s military forces, sizing him up and down. Huangfu Qianqi had a majestic figure – he was dressed in durable maroon armor with thin scales, and he wasn’t wearing a helmet. To someone who was successful in cultivation, it wasn’t easy to determine the exact age. However, he appeared as though he was around fifty. The two locks of hair on his temples were slightly white. He had tiger-like eyes and thick brows, looking very mighty and awe-inspiring. From his aura, the realm that Huangfu Qianqi was at was undoubtedly above Martial Master Shi Changfeng. It was just that he wasn’t entirely sure what grade was he in.

After sitting down, Huangfu Qianqi also sized Yan Liqiang up and down. Yan Liqiang’s fourteen-year-old and handsome appearance had slightly caught him by surprise. If he hadn’t seen him personally this time, Huangfu Qianqi would have never believed that a handsome young lad like him could crush those three Shatu men at the city gates. He heard that two out of the three had even been left crippled by him.

A trace of amazement flashed past Huangfu Qianqi’s eyes. “You’re Yan Liqiang? The one who stood up bravely and soundly beat up those Shatu men?”

“Liqiang pays his respects to the Military Governor!” Yan Liqiang stood once more and bowed to Huangfu Qianqi. He then said modestly, “The ones who genuinely subdued the Shatu people to the point that they could not budge yesterday were the respective soldiers and officers from the Northern gates. I only did what I needed to do!”

Yan Liqiang’s modesty caused another eruption of laughter from Huangfu Qianqi. He gestured Yan Liqiang to sit back down and asked happily, “I have to go to Qinghe County for at least one or two times annually to inspect the armaments in the county. At times, I will pass by it and rest for half a day. Where is your home located in Qinghe County? What does your father do for a living?”

“My home is situated at Liuhe Town in Qinghe County. Only my father and I stay there. My father is the town’s blacksmith by trade and we have some field properties back home. My father is also operating a blacksmith workshop!”

“Blacksmith! Not bad. Not bad. You come from a good family. If that’s the case, then do you know how to forge ironware?” the Military Governor asked with interest.

“I was inspired since my youth so I know a meager amount!” Yan Liqiang naturally wouldn’t know only that little. It could be said that whatever Yan Dechang knew, Yan Liqiang knew it well too. As for those special skills that Yan Dechang had yet to impart to his previous disciple, Yan Liqiang had already mastered them. The only difference was that Yan Liqiang’s experience was still lacking compared to Yan Dechang’s.

“Judging by your skills, you must at least have passed the Horse Stance stage?”

“I have in fact already passed the Horse Stance stage!”

“Good. But I fear that those who passed the Horse Stance stage might not even have the capability to win first place in Qinghe County’s Martial Arts Examination!” Huangfu Qianqi nodded. “May I know if you have passed the Stretching Tendon and Extending Bone stage?”

“I have yet to pass that stage!”

“Yesterday, those Shatu men said they will seek you to exact their revenge. May I know how you are planning to deal with it?”

Yan Liqiang lowered his gaze and calmly replied, “I will just deal with it when the time comes. I train diligently and unremittingly every single day without fail to move forward. Should those Shatu men dare to approach me, I will definitely kill them!”

Huangfu Qianqi stroked his beard as he narrowed his eyes at Yan Liqiang. The more he looked at him, the more satisfied he was with his demeanor. He muttered to himself irresolutely for two seconds before opening his mouth to speak. “Among the bodyguards by my side, I’m still lacking a man to run errands and feed the horses. I wonder if you’re willing to work as a military personnel by my side in the Military Governor’s Office? Yeah, you’re still young, so even if you’re my bodyguard, you cannot be considered a main soldier. You can only start from the lowest-ranked position of an auxiliary soldier first. Give it some consideration!”

Working as the bodyguard of the Military Governor?

Huangfu Qianqi’s suggestion abruptly gave Yan Liqiang the shock of his life. As the saying went, an official of the seventh rank would guard a prime minister’s door. How could the post of a bodyguard of a prefecture’s Military Governor be held by average men? The position itself was on the same level as a leading secretary. Although an auxiliary soldier was the lowest military rank, this was mainly because he hadn’t come of age yet. Thus, it was just a title. Having lived for two incarnations, if Yan Liqiang still couldn’t figure out that the Military Governor wished to promote and cultivate him at this time, then he had truly lived in vain for his entire two lives.

Yan Liqiang’s little heart was thumping loudly. He shifted his gaze to Shi Changfeng and discovered Shi Changfeng to be stunned by the revelation as well. He didn’t appear to expect that Huangfu Qianqi would directly request him to be his own bodyguard. “Teacher, this...”

Shi Changfeng understood what Yan Liqiang wanted to ask. He smiled. “You’re free within the martial arts academy. The students themselves manage their own times. You only have one lesson a week. Quite a number of the students from the martial arts academy have their own duties and livelihoods. A few of the military officers and commandants are the martial arts academy’s students in Pingxi City. You can attend one of my classes in literature and history every half month. If you have the ambition to serve in the army, I’m sure the Military Governor will not give you too many tasks to attend to so it wouldn’t affect your lessons at the martial arts academy.”

“I only have four bodyguards by my side now. They have already advanced on as Martial Warriors. If you’re willing, you are only required to come to my office every week to help me look after the steeds before you advance as a Martial Warrior. Nobody would dare to lay a hand on you once you are appointed as my bodyguard in Pingxi City. Should the Shatu men dare to provoke you or even exact their vengeance on you, feel free to let go and kill...”

Since the Military Governor had said so to this extent, if Yan Liqiang still declined the request, then that would truly give birth to the consequences of defying Heaven for not accepting it. Without hesitation, he immediately stood up and saluted while paying his respects to Huangfu Qianqi once more. “Yan Liqiang pays his respects to the Military Governor!”

Huangfu Qianqi burst out into a hearty laugh and beckoned towards the doorway immediately. A highly-capable young looking commandant instantly walked in, who was around thirty years old. Huangfu Qianqi directly pointed at Yan Liqiang as he told the commandant, “This is Yan Liqiang, a newly recruited bodyguard. His military rank will temporarily be assigned as an auxiliary soldier. Hongjie, bring him along to do the formalities and get an army token. After that, take him for a spin around the manor and enlighten him. He will still need to study at the martial arts academy in the future...”

Chapter 70: Reporting In

Yan Liqiang was in a daze the entire time until he left the Military Governor’s Office. After his courageous act yesterday at the city gate, he had managed to make enemies with the Shatu people in Pingxi’s prefectural city. In addition, he was then abruptly chosen as a personal bodyguard of the Military Governor of Pingxi Prefecture, all in a day’s time. This experience itself was a rollercoaster ride – he was in an abyss and then suddenly high up in the clouds, which caused him to feel like everything was as unreal as a dream.

He touched the Military Governor Office’s bodyguard army token stashed in front of his chest. The icy and solid sensation of the metal tag finally calmed his racing little heart down from cloud nine and his mind once again returned to the swaying two-wheeled horse carriage that he was riding on.

Shi Changfeng advised Yan Liqiang on the carriage. “Two of the bodyguards of the Military Governor are outstanding Martial Warriors who came to the Pingxi Prefecture Martial Arts Academy back then. The fact that the Military Governor has chosen you as his bodyguard today could be regarded as bestowing protection upon you. Such an opportunity is hard to come by. Even I didn’t expect for you to be met with such an opportunity after bringing you to the Military Governor’s Office today. But you cannot feel too complacent about this. Seize the opportunity and definitely work hard so that you can advance as a Martial Warrior soon. With this, the kindness and high regard that the Military Governor has for you will not be in vain!”

“I understand. Thank you for the reminder, Teacher!”

“Very well then. The longest a student is allowed to study in the martial arts academy after they have joined is six years. Whether or not one advances as a Martial Warrior, they will still have to leave the academy after six years. You are fourteen years old, still a young man. As the Military Governor’s bodyguard who can walk his horse for him, no one will comment on it. But if you can’t advance as a Martial Warrior within the next six years, do you think you are still fit to walk the Military Governor’s horse for him at the age of twenty?”

Yan Liqiang shook his head. “Of course not. If that time really comes, even if the Military Governor doesn’t say anything, I wouldn’t have the face to stay by his side as his personal bodyguard and continue serving him either!”

“I am glad you understand!” Shi Changfeng nodded. His expression turned grave again. “Furthermore, those Shatu people are arrogant, unruly, cunning, and ruthless. If they really want to revenge, they will do it, even if they know you are the Military Governor’s bodyguard. They’ll at most just make sure that things are done meticulously so that no one can catch them. They will not even give you the chance to expose them to the Military Governor again. It is also impossible for the martial arts academy and the Military Governor to assign you a guard to protect you at all times, so you will still be on your own...”

Yan Liqiang suddenly felt a chill in his heart. “Teacher, are you saying that those Shatu people would dare to openly murder someone in Pingxi City?”

“I believe you have already witnessed what those Shatu people are like at the city gate. This is a vast city within the Pingxi Prefecture. The number of missing cases the Law Enforcement Office receives every year is unimaginable. If you mysteriously go missing one day, who would even think about them? So don’t forget what you said just now. Only people who continuously move on are capable of responding to spontaneous situations.”

Yan Liqiang nodded heavily.

“Also, consider this as a warning from me. In the martial arts academy, if you feel that you aren’t powerful enough, it’s better if you don’t let too many know your identity as the Military Governor’s bodyguard without reason. You should know that there are all kinds of people at the martial arts academy. So it’s inevitable that the good and the bad will be mixed. Not everyone is happy to see someone faring better than themselves. Jealousy can very often change someone into a very horrible person...”

“Understood. From now on, besides going to the Military Governor’s Office or only when needed, I will not groundlessly flaunt my status!”

“Good. Remember, the wind will always damage the flourishing trees in the forest [1]. Your identity as first among the top three from Qinghe County alone is eye-catching enough. Sometimes, there’s no harm in keeping a low profile at appropriate times!”

“Teacher, I have a question. But I am uncertain if I am allowed to ask...”

“Go ahead.”

“The Pingxi Prefecture Martial Arts Academy suddenly recruited a bunch of candidates this time. On top of that, there are also special recruitments for candidates gifted in cultivating the art of archery. Are we preparing for a war?”

Shi Changfeng stared without blinking at Yan Liqiang for a full ten seconds before he slowly nodded. “You are certainly a sharp one. The Great Han Empire and the Silver Continent are indeed growing restless. Last year, a war nearly broke out at the northern side with the Chaman people. Although it didn’t happen in the end, the Chaman people have been basking in the glory of their achievements so they definitely will not give up like this. We are predicting that they will make a move again after they have completely conquered the Silla Kingdom. The Dark Ram Tribe of the West has also been taking frequent action. The number of times their cavalries have trespassed the borders of the Gan Province and Feng Province is increasing. This is definitely not a good sign. Hence, the Feng Province and Gan Province have both increased their martial arts academy’s recruitment efforts this year...”

“So we are not allowed to initiate an attack on them and can only wait for them to invade us?” Yan Liqiang purposely pulled out a question that was very likely for a youth his age to ask.

Shi Changfeng smiled wryly, shaking his head before he let out another sigh. “Many things are not as easy as you think. To resist foreign aggression, we must first get rid of the enemies within. There is still a good deal of turmoil within the Great Han Empire. This isn’t something that can be resolved with just one word. Perhaps you will slowly come to understand this when you grow up. A century ago, the Chaman people and the Black Ram Tribe wouldn’t dare to bare their teeth against us even if we gave them ten guts. However, circumstances have changed. For now, it’s best for you to focus on your cultivation. There’s nothing you can do right now even if you know about the rest...”

In the middle of the conversation with Shi Changfeng, the horse carriage finally arrived at Pingxi Prefecture’s martial arts academy.

“You will go down there and report yourself according to process. I won’t be joining you as I still need to report back to Headmaster Long about your incident today...”

“Alright. Take care, Teacher!”

Bidding his farewell to Shi Changfeng, Yan Liqiang grabbed his luggage and quickly hopped off Shi Changfeng’s horse carriage.

The horse carriage immediately alongside another road at the side as soon as the coachman shook the reins. Yan Liqiang stood in front of the martial arts academy’s main entrance with his head lifted, staring at the magnificent entryway of Pingxi Prefecture’s martial arts academy that was more than three zhang in height.

The main entrance of the martial arts academy was located at the foot of a mountain. The courtyard walls were red and the glazed roof tiles were blue. There were pine trees everywhere on the lush mountain as far as the eye could see. Interesting, alluring, ancient-looking Chinese buildings were hidden among those forests. From the outside, this place looked like a national park or one of those luxurious holiday resorts. Putting the rest aside, just the fact that it could occupy a peaceful and quiet spot like this in the midst of the noisy bustle in the Pingxi City was enough to express the position and caliber of this martial arts academy.

The vermillion colored main door of the Pingxi Prefecture Martial Arts Academy was wide open. There was a table at the entrance and a relatively short queue was already forming in front of it. In line were youths between fourteen and eighteen or nineteen years of age. They seemed to be students who were reporting in today.

Yan Liqiang walked over and conscientiously queued up at the end of the line.

In just less than ten minutes, it was Yan Liqiang’s turn to be served.

“Full name? Hometown?” The receptionist at the entrance robotically asked two questions without so much as lifting his head.

“Yan Liqiang, from Qinghe County!”

After Yan Liqiang gave his answer, that person flipped through the register in front of him at lightning speed and found Yan Liqiang’s name in just the blink of an eye.

“Qinghe County, ranked first among the top three, Yan Liqiang?” That person only lifted his head in surprise when he saw the record on his register and sized up Yan Liqiang with his eyes. His attitude also suddenly improved significantly. “Right, please leave your fingerprint here.” He handed over a box of red ink to Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang was no stranger to this kind of procedure. He very quickly left his thumbprint at the end of his name. That person then compared the thumbprint that Yan Liqiang had just left to his previous one for a moment before he gave him a nod, passing the register to an old man beside him. The old man quickly scanned the two thumbprints again and then signed a few words at the end before he returned the register to the person in front of him again. He then retrieved a metal identity pass that was about the size of half a palm from the drawer and handed it over to Yan Liqiang. “This pass is for verification purposes at the martial arts academy from now on. If lost, you’ll need to pay ten taels of gold for a replacement. Lessons will officially commence on first of the ninth lunar month. The monthly schedule and lesson locations will be updated on the course bulletin board in front here. You may use these three days to find a place in Pingxi City to settle down.”

The token that he accepted was an evidence that he had reported to the academy. Everything was much simpler than Yan Liqiang had expected – the martial arts academy would only hold one class every week and students were free to use the remaining time however they wished. Arranging the students’ accommodations and meals were not part of the martial arts academy’s responsibilities, so the students would have to arrange everything themselves. After the six years, the ones who succeeded would soar high into the skies like a dragon while the ones who didn’t succeed would roam the fields like snakes. Everyone would resign themselves to their own fates.

Yan Liqiang was still in a daze when a voice suddenly rang out from behind him. “Yan Liqiang!!”

Yan Liqiang turned his head around and saw Shi Dafeng immediately leap off a rhinodrake steed, waving at him excitedly...

Chapter 71: A Place to Stay

The Pingxi Prefecture Martial Arts Academy was situated on Mount Thousand Pine of Pingxi City. Naturally, the ones eligible to enroll here were outstanding youths from all parts of the empire. The students who attended the martial arts academy were required to seek accommodation outside by themselves and take care of their own food, clothing, and other needs. Because of this, the hills on the other side of the Mount Thousand Pine not far from the martial arts academy had already grown into a lively street market. It was for the sake of meeting the demands of the audience, similar to how countless cyber cafes had opened up near high schools in his previous life.

The lively street market was known as Three Yuan Street. The entire Three Yuan Street was more than a thousand meters long, in the shape of a ‘Z’ on the hill of Mount Thousand Pine. There were all kinds of stores below the buildings that were built on either side of the street along the hill–weapon store, medicine store, blacksmith store, tailor, restaurants, eateries; they were all too much for the eyes to take in.

Similarly, there were also all kinds of inns and private houses for rental at the Three Yuan Street, mainly for students from the martial arts academy.

Through a broker who acted as their intermediary, Yan Liqiang and Shi Dafeng found two neighboring courtyards to rent together somewhere in the Blue Ox Alley close to Three Yuan Street.

The monthly rental of their courtyards cost them six maces of silver. The courtyard was a neat and airy self-contained unit which consisted of a small two-story house, a yard of several dozen square meters, and a basement which provided ample privacy for martial arts training. The broker told them that the previous tenants were wealthy students from the martial arts academy, and they had only left last month. A rental of six maces of silver was considered quite expensive in Pingxi City. There were other cheaper rooms and inns in Three Yuan Street which cost only a few copper coins. Quite a number of students from the martial arts academy would opt for those cheaper rooms and inns.

The courtyard was located in a very strategic location, less than a li away from the martial arts academy. Beyond the Blue Ox Alley was Three Yuan Street, which had all kinds of places that provided feasts and entertainment.

Shi Dafeng came from a wealthy clan, so the rental hardly affected them. Although Yan Liqiang wasn’t from a wealthy clan, he still chose this place for the sake of convenience. It ensured he could practice the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing without being interrupted by anyone. He could still afford to pay at least eight taels of silver a year. Even though Yan Liqiang was usually thrifty, he was never frugal when it came to things that were truly worth spending money on.

They immediately paid the rent for a whole year in advance. The broker who brought them here was so happy that he could hardly conceal his happiness. This was because the easier he could collect the rental, the more he’d receive for his commission.

After their accommodations were settled, both of them changed the lock for the entrance to their courtyard, swapping it for a new one. They then found a bedding store in Three Yuan Street and bought a bedding set along with some daily supplies. In the afternoon, they tidied up their courtyard and kept themselves busy until nightfall. By night, their small courtyard was finally ready to be lived in and they could now be considered as having settled down in Pingxi City.

After being occupied for the entire day, Yan Liqiang really felt like he was a new student reporting in at the university.

Yan Liqiang woke up early the next morning and practiced two rounds of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing. By the time he came out, the sky had only brightened slightly. When he was about to go out for breakfast, a series of knocks rang out on the door of his courtyard.

He went over to open the door and discovered that Shi Dafeng was standing outside.

“Hm, looking good. Were you training?” Shi Dafeng took a look at Yan Liqiang from top to bottom.

“Of course. Mornings are precious, so how can I afford to waste them? Weren’t you also practicing your Full Arm Boxing technique early this morning? Though you were in the basement, I could hear your movements from this side.”

“Hahaha, I had no choice. My Full Arm Boxing technique follows the strong path. So the movements take a lot of space. I didn’t expect your Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist technique to be this laid-back. Perhaps if I could someday train the Full Arm Boxing technique to its pinnacle, I’d be able to keep the noise down!” Shi Dafeng laughed. “Let’s go get breakfast together. The beef soup and steamed bun shop looks good. And after breakfast, maybe we can explore Pingxi City? I’ve only been there twice with my father before, and both trips had been short. There are a lot of interesting places in Pingxi City, like Chongsheng Temple, Jade Pearl Spring, and Nine Dragons Bridge. I’ve never been to all these attractions yet!”

Yan Liqiang was initially thinking of refusing the invitation and telling him that he wished to stay in his courtyard to train. But then he recalled how those Shatu people were hooting about taking their revenge on him. “Alright, let’s explore!” He nodded in agreement.

He had just arrived in Pingxi City, and as a newcomer, it was necessary for him to familiarize himself with Pingxi City rather than staying ignorant and clueless about his surroundings. He figured that he might as well find out the Shatu people’s current state of affairs in Pingxi City so that he could be a little prepared. After all, one could only escape unscathed through a hundred battles if he knew his enemies as well as himself.

After replying to Shi Dafeng, Yan Liqiang turned around and went upstairs to retrieve his money bag. He then locked the door of his small courtyard and left the Blue Ox Alley with Shi Dafeng.

After taking a left turn in the Blue Ox Alley, the steamed bun shop was around a hundred meters away. Despite the earliness of the morning, business was already rolling in the steamed bun shop. The fragrance of the shop’s steamed buns and its beef with pickle soup could be smelled from afar.

Upon arriving at the shop, they both ordered a basket of steamed buns each, took a bowl of beef with pickle soup, and then proceeded to savor the delicious food.

To be honest, the steamed buns served in this tiny shop by the street were better than the ones Yan Liqiang had eaten at a five-star hotel from his previous life. The flour of the buns here was simply flour and the minced meat inside it was just simply minced meat. Everything in the flour was authentic, without any bleaching agents or additives like bulking agents. The steamed buns were slightly yellowish with a natural aroma of wheat. The minced meat inside contained pork, mushroom, and some cabbage. The pork didn’t contain a leanness-enhancing agent, and the mushrooms and cabbages were all natural. The fillings were seasoned before they were stuffed into the bun, and they were neither too greasy nor too fatty. Upon biting into the bun, its aromatic fragrance exploded inside the mouth. And to go along with the steamed buns was a marinated vegetable soup that was stewed with beef bone broth and some vegetables. The experience of taking a bite of the bun and then drinking a mouthful of the soup was simply a pleasurable moment to enjoy...

After enjoying the steamed buns in the small shop, Yan Liqiang and Shi Dafeng left Three Yuan Street. With large strides, they hurried on to their next destination in Pingxi City.

The distance from the east side of Pingxi City to the west was less than ten thousand meters, and seven or eight thousand meters from north to south. It had taken many years for Pingxi City to build up to this size and scale. The history of Pingxi City wasn’t that long, only about five hundred years. The city’s population was less than 900,000. Compared to other magnificent prefectures and provinces in the Great Han Empire which easily had a history of a few thousand years, Pingxi City was nothing but an underripe entity.

Yet this city, which could hardly be considered large, was the best place to be among the entire Pingxi Prefecture. Its liveliness and the number talents gathered in the city far exceeded other county towns.

Yan Liqiang explored many places in the city within half a day, and the experience had been quite an eyeopener.

...

By evening, close to dinner time, Yan Liqiang and Shi Dafeng had arrived somewhere near the Nine Dragons Bridge in Pingxi City. They chose a four-story-high restaurant at the Nine Dragons Bridge, and picked a table by the window on the topmost floor to enjoy their dinner.

Sitting beside the window, they glanced outside. Somewhere not far from a bridge was the region where the Shatu people in Pingxi City were gathered.

The area was very huge, occupying about the size of a town in the eastern part of Pingxi City. From afar, one could see the buildings among the Shatu community were of a totally different style compared to the ones in Pingxi City. The Shatu people could also be seen walking around in that area.

That Shatu man at the city gate had claimed that there were a hundred thousand Shatu people gathered in Pingxi City, which had sounded like an exaggeration at the time. But now that he had seen the size of the Shatu community here, it was quite possible that there were at least seventy or eighty thousand of them here.

Yan Liqiang was planning to call for a horse carriage to bring them for a tour around the Shatu community. However, the coachman refused to take them there, even when Yan Liqiang offered to double the payment. In the end, the coachman was only willing to send them to the eastern side of the Nine Dragons Bridge but was unwilling to go any further than that.

With his talent and capability, Yan Liqiang was feeling confident, even though he had just offended the Shatu people a few days ago. Even though it had barely been a few days since the incident, he still dared to wander into the Shatu community to understand more about them. Yan Liqiang believed it might be true that the Shatu people did intend to take revenge on him, but it was unlikely that they’d be able to get ahold of his whereabouts in Pingxi City in such a short amount of time. Even in his previous life, it wasn’t easy to pinpoint someone’s whereabouts without the help of technology, let alone in this current situation.

Throughout the entire day he’d spent exploring Pingxi City with Shi Dafeng, Yan Liqiang hadn’t sensed anyone stalking or peeping on his movements either. Therefore, he felt at ease in taking a closer look at the Shatu people’s current condition here.

Situated at such a lively area around the Nine Dragons Bridge, the business of this restaurant should have been prosperous during the dinner hour, yet Yan Liqiang realized that this restaurant and a few others restaurants nearby weren’t doing so well. Among the dozens of tables in the entire fourth floor, only three were occupied, including the one he and Shi Dafeng were sitting at.

“Waiter, why is the business so slow in this restaurant?” Looking away from the gathering place of the Shatu people, Yan Liqiang asked the waiter as he served the dishes they’d ordered.

“It’d be strange for business to be good here, considering how close we are to the gathering place of those Shatu people!” The waiter sighed. “Our business was so much better before those Shatu people expanded their community all the way here to the Nine Dragons Bridge. But now, this is basically how things are around here. You’ll still see some people around during the daytime. But when nighttime comes around, you won’t see a single soul outside on the road!”

“Why is that?”

“Sir, are you a newcomer to Pingxi City?”

“Well, yes...”

“No wonder!” The waiter shook his head. “It’s still alright during the daytime, but when nighttime comes around, there’ll be quite a lot of Shatu people pretending to be drunk. They move around in groups and deliberately cause trouble by throwing bottles, yelling, and harassing the pedestrians and merchants on the street. Because of that, the number of people on the eastern side of the Nine Dragons Bridge will gradually thin out by nightfall, and our business becomes more difficult to run. All of this is just a ploy acted out by those Shatu people. They hope to slowly ruin our businesses until we can no longer sustain ourselves because no one dares to come. And then they’ll come to us with an offer, like renting our place at a cheaper rate or buying over our restaurant. If we refuse, they’ll just use more underhanded tricks, and become even more aggressive in the end. Everyone in Pingxi City knows about their dirty tactics...”

“The Law Enforcement Office didn’t bother to do anything about it?”

“Under the protection of the ‘Writ of Grace’, law enforcers usually let small mistakes slide. If they catch any Shatu people, then countless more will come out to cause trouble. Both the authorities and the Law Enforcement Office won’t dare to lay a finger on them. If any conflicts happen between us and those Shatu people, the authorities will just take their side and have us tolerate them, even though we’re getting the worst end of the stick from their outrageous behavior. The merchants on this street can only form our own association in self-defense, and prevent those Shatu People from expanding their territories to the eastern side of the Nine Dragons Bridge...”

“Has it been like this all these years?”

“Yes. Otherwise, those Shatu people wouldn’t have been able to use all their dirty tricks to get their way in Pingxi City this whole time, and they wouldn’t have dominated such a huge territory through their tricks...”

Upon hearing the waiter’s words, the expression on Yan Liqiang’s face gradually turned into a frown...

Chapter 72: A New Beginning

Dinner was only half done before there was a sudden clamor outside of the restaurant. Yan Liqiang heard someone yelling outside, “Some Shatu people have come to cause trouble!!” Upon hearing this, before Yan Liqiang and Shi Dafeng could even move, the waiters of the restaurant immediately rushed out of the restaurant.

“We should go and have a look too...” Yan Liqiang told Shi Dafeng. He nodded at his suggestion before both of them also followed the rest downstairs.

A few young waiters from the restaurant had already rushed into the kitchen before charging outside alongside the other few chefs with kitchen knives in their hands.

By now a huge crowd of people had already gathered in the same street where the restaurant was, somewhere fifty meters away close to the Nine Dragons Bridge. Most of the workers from the stores along the entire street came out with something in their hands and were making their way toward the crowd.

Yan Liqiang and Shi Dafeng also rushed to the crowd of onlookers. The moment they scanned the surroundings, they saw a group of Shatu people gathered at the entrance of a medicinal store, shouting loudly. There was another Shatu man who was so old that one couldn’t tell his age, and he was lying on a plank in front the medicinal store entrance. His body was covered by a piece of white fabric. His mouth was slightly agape and his eyes were closed, looking like he was already dead.

“Our medicinal store has never done any business with you Shatu people! This is simply an extortion!!” A person who appeared to be the shop owner of the medicinal store stood at the store entrance with a red, anxious face. He was furiously shouting at those Shatu people. “Everyone come and listen to this! These Shatu people have carried a corpse here! They claim he passed away from consuming the medicine from our store and are making demands to reimburse them with a thousand taels of gold! What kind of logic is this!? We requested to have them to show us our store prescription and receipt, but they aren’t able to provide any!”

“We don’t care! We’ve already thrown away the prescription and the receipt! This old man passed away after taking the medicine from your store. How are you going to compensate our loss?!” A Shatu man in his thirties was shouting in an equally loud voice along with the crowd of Shatu people around him. “PAY UP! PAY UP! PAY UP!” They shouted in unison and started to pound against the door of the medicinal store. A few of them even wanted to barge into the medicinal store, but were stopped by the shop owners from other stores who had rushed from the neighboring streets.

When both parties started shoving each other, a team of bailiffs who were patrolling nearby ran over and their brows were beaded with sweat. They hurriedly broke the two parties apart. After fully understanding the whole story, one of the young bailiffs spoke his mind. “I’m pretty sure a coroner will know if this Shatu person died from consuming medicine after an investigation.”

“Us Shatu people shall not be easily touched by others even in our deaths. Such action is blasphemy and an insult to us!” One of the older Shatu men in the crowd said this and then extended his hand to slap that young bailiff’s face so hard that his hat fell off. The young bailiff was taken aback for a moment before he reflexively drew his iron ruler [1] to retaliate. However, he was quickly held back by another older bailiff beside him. The old Shatu man who had just slapped the young bailiff immediately started yelling at the top of his lungs. “THE BAILIFF FROM PINGXI CITY HIT SOMEONE, THE BAILIFF HIT SOMEONE!!”

Upon witnessing the scene that had just unfolded before their eyes, Yan Liqiang and Shi Dafeng’s faces flushed with anger. “DAMN IT!” Shi Dafeng bellowed in rage and was about to rush up there before Yan Liqiang held him back by grabbing his arm.

“We can simply leave after hitting a person, but the owner of this medicinal store will be in a bad position. He cannot move his store. These Shatu people will definitely make him pay double for what they have suffered. You want the owner to take the consequences of our actions?” Yan Liqiang calmly reasoned.

“So we are just going to stand here and watch these Shatu people bully them?”

“We’ll see how it goes...”

The bailiffs had arrived, and the conflict at the scene didn’t continue on. In the end, the bailiffs brought the few Shatu people along with the medicinal store owner and his assistants back to the Law Enforcement Office.

The medicinal store was closed, and more than half of the crowd of onlookers dispersed.

“Old Fang won’t be able to keep this medicinal store. This medicinal store is at a good location and is also east of the Nine Dragons Bridge. The Shatu people have been hostile toward this medicinal store for a very long time. Even if Old Fang’s lawyer wins this case, those Shatu people will not leave the matter at that...” A discussion broke out among the onlookers in the surroundings. Quite a few people felt indignant at the injustice.

“If the Shatu people really take over Manager Fang’s medicinal store, then every business on this street will definitely be ruined by them. Regardless of what happens, we will need to support Manager Fang in keeping this medicinal store. Come, let us all go and support Manager Fang at the Law Enforcement Office from the outside!”

“Let’s go, let’s go!” The business owners on the street had a brief discussion for before they made their way towards the Law Enforcement Office altogether.

“Are we joining them?” Shi Dafeng asked Yan Liqiang.

“Now that this involves the Law Enforcement Office, the dispute with the Shatu people will not simply last for only ten days or half a month. Anyhow, the verdict of this case will not be released any time soon. Let’s head back!”

“How do the Shatu manage to put Pingxi City in such turmoil? Not only that, we are even bullied by them. F*ck! No wonder why my father never wanted to make business deals with them The Shatu people are really wretched!” Shi Dafeng still found it hard to stay calm.

Yan Liqiang could only shake his head in response. He had only been in Pingxi City for less than three days and he had already experienced the arrogance and unreasonable overbearance the Shatu people had within Pingxi City twice.

These circumstances were much more serious than Yan Liqiang had imagined. This no longer had anything to do with the ‘Writ of Grace’.

As a person who lived two lives, Yan Liqiang was very familiar with the reasoning behind the foundation of organized crime syndicates that empowered them in the peaceful era. It wasn’t so much that the organization was capable of cutting down, beating up, or killing anyone. It was because these organized crime syndicates were under a protective umbrella that had the authority to shield them. The same logic could be applied to the Shatu people. If they didn’t have the protection and connivance from a powerful authority within Pingxi City, it was completely impossible for them to be this powerful and unbridled.

Just whose protection were these Shatu people under?

Although the answer to this question might be a little difficult to accept, based on yesterday’s experiences, the person with highest authority in the Pingxi Prefecture was most likely the individual who was capable of supporting the Shatu people’s back.

Yan Liqiang had always doubted the integrity and moral standings of government officials. More often than not, the power of authority was like a magnifying glass. When such authority was bestowed upon someone, it would greatly zoom into that person’s greed, desire, and ugly side.

It was actually very easy to corrupt someone.

To be honest, Yan Liqiang wasn’t too pleased about his discovery. This was because he suddenly realized that the supporter of those Shatu people who were hooting about taking revenge on him in this city was true, colossal figure in an unshakable position.

At times like these, apart from quickly becoming powerful, Yan Liqiang couldn’t find any other methods that could be used to respond to the Shatu people’s threats.

In the following two days, although Shi Dafeng came to invite him out, Yan Liqiang never left the little courtyard that he rented again. Apart from going outside and buying some food to fill his tummy during meal time, Yan Liqiang stayed in the basement of his small courtyard for two consecutive days, repetitively cultivating the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing along with the Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist technique...

The first day of the ninth lunar month arrived in just the blink of an eye. It was officially the opening day of Pingxi Prefecture Martial Arts Academy. Yan Liqiang, who was filled with a sense of nervousness, welcomed his new identity and life today...

Chapter 73: Rapid Progress

There was only one lesson scheduled every week at the martial arts academy and every lesson lasted only one hour at most. The duration of the shortest lesson was shorter than you could even imagine.

No attendance was taken during every lesson as the martial arts academy never made any lesson compulsory for students. The students of the martial arts academy were free to choose any lesson they wished to attend!

Students were not grouped by grades or classes in the martial arts academy. All lessons were open to all students in the academy.

Most importantly, there were no reviews or examinations in the martial arts academy at all! Everyone would have to voluntarily leave after either fulfilling their stay in the martial arts academy for six years or advancing as a Martial Warrior.

Just these few points alone were probably enough to make Yan Liqiang’s acquaintances back in university in his previous life cheer excitedly. To those who were obsessed with skipping classes, picking up girls and playing games, this martial arts academy was simply heaven.

In other words, the Pingxi Prefecture Martial Arts Academy wasn’t like an academy but more like a martial arts club for youths.

Academy tutors like Shi Changfeng and the rest were more like the club presidents instead.

In the martial arts academy, academy tutors might impart some knowledge to you which was not easily learned by ordinary people out there. However, if those skills could be learned by just anyone, then perhaps those skills weren’t that valuable in the first place.

There was a huge library in the martial arts academy that allowed students to borrow all kinds of manuals for reading. However, all these manuals were literature and historical classics. In the entire martial arts academy, there wasn’t even a single martial arts secret manual available to borrow.

There was only one lesson scheduled every week in the martial arts academy. At first, Yan Liqiang found it a little strange because the number of lessons conducted in the martial arts academy was too little. It was not until the lesson had commenced, that he understood that attending a lesson once a week was not too little but too much instead. That was because, in martial arts cultivation, skills required practice and not only listening to lectures. Nearly all skills and techniques could only be achieved through diligent practice. As the saying goes, ‘the master teaches the trade, but the apprentice’s skill is self-made’. Very often, a word of wisdom from the academy tutor would require a few years of diligence and cultivation.

The first lesson Yan Liqiang attended at the martial arts academy was so short that it was beyond his imagination.

That lesson was conducted by an old man in a huge classroom within the martial arts academy. During the lesson, that old man only demonstrated the Horse Stance in front of all the seven hundred newly recruited students this year and told them three things.

His first sentence was, “The Horse Stance is the result of hard work and persistence over time. Do not be lazy, and make sure your tendons are taut when you assume the Horse Stance!”

His second sentence was, “You will need to be able to hold the stance until you can maintain your entire body in a relaxed manner along with a peaceful state of mind. Only with a relaxed body and tranquil mind, will you be close to passing the Horse Stance stage.”

The third sentence was, “I will not be coming in for future Horse Stance lessons. This skill will only succeed through practice and not words. My words will not do any good. Go on and practice it independently, spend a few years time. You will achieve a great outcome if you can endure the hardship. That’s all, you are dismissed!”

The entire lesson ended in less than three minutes. When the old man left the classroom, students were looking at each other in dismay, unable to believe that their first lesson in the martial arts academy had ended just like that.

Horse Stance was a lesson scheduled for the first week of every month. Since the old man wasn’t coming from now on, then there would actually be no more lessons during the first week of every month.

This was the lesson style at the martial arts academy. The academy tutors here would not care how many students had been recruited or how the students fared. They would only convey truly useful things to you with just a few words and end the lesson there. The rest was up to your own diligence instead of counting on someone else.

Yan Liqiang had only discovered later that the old man who taught them during the Horse Stance lesson was the dojo master of the renowned Dragon Flag Dojo in Pingxi City, Song Tianhao. This Horse Stance technique was one that Song Tianhao could openly teach everyone in public. If one truly wished to learn the more advanced Horse Stance technique from the Essence Unifying Post stance, then they would need to visit the Dragon Flag Dojo to be formally apprenticed to a master. It went without saying that an honorarium of at least a hundred taels of gold would be needed to be apprenticed to a master. This wasn’t an amount that simply anyone could afford.

The following few academy tutors conducted their lesson in precisely the same way as Song Tianhao. Their instructions were concise, clear and quick. After their lessons, it was up to everyone to independently practice.

That included Shi Changfeng’s sword technique lessons.

During the first two months upon Yan Liqiang’s arrival at the martial arts academy, Shi Changfeng’s basic sword technique carried on for four lessons. In those four lessons, each consisted of a lecture from Shi Changfeng which lasted less than ten minutes. In those ten minutes, he only taught two or three basic movements in sword techniques – splitting, thrusting, poking, pulling, snapping, intercepting, smearing, piercing, flicking, lifting, twirling and sweeping. He would dismiss the lesson once he was done with explaining and let everyone practice it by themselves.

In contrast, Shi Changfeng would speak more during literature and history lessons instead. His lecture would usually last almost an hour during every literature and history lesson. At the end of every lesson, Shi Changfeng would introduce a book title to everyone so they could look for it and read on their own time.

There were also other lessons available, for example, introduction to saber techniques, introduction to hidden weapons, lectures on the art of archery, lectures on Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist technique. However, these lessons were either very general or still emphasized on practicality. The things they taught were not really complex. After all, the educational objective of the top martial arts academy in the prefecture was only to nurture their students into a Martial Warrior. From certain aspects, a Martial Warrior was merely at the entrance of martial arts cultivation.

Perhaps the capability of the academy tutors here may not be limited to only this extent, but to obtain true skills, it was necessary for one to be apprenticed to a master. However, the requirements of being apprenticed to one were very demanding. Yan Liqiang heard that apart from Song Tianhao who ran a dojo, it was very rare for the academy tutors here to accept any disciples. The reason behind that was due to their origins from different clans or they were apprenticed under different masters. Hence, they weren’t allowed to casually accept any other disciples and also weren’t allowed to simply impart true skills and techniques to others.

The knowledge imparted at the martial arts academy wasn’t that in-depth and there were no secret manuals provided for reading either. However, the beauty of the martial arts academy was that they provided the most ideal environment for martial arts training to students. Such environment for martial arts training was unimaginable for most of them in the past.

In the martial arts academy, there was a dedicated archery range for those who wished to pick up bowmanship. There was also a horse arena in the martial arts academy if one wished to be trained in horsemanship. The steeds kept in the arena were all rhinodrakes. The martial arts academy also had a dedicated venue for spear technique training. It was even convenient if one wished to spar with someone as there were more than ten various kinds of arenas in the entire martial arts academy. There were no issues in a bare-handed battle or a fully dressed spar armed with weapons.

If one wished to practice the Horse Stance, the martial arts academy also had a clearing made in the pine forest, for students to practice. Yan Liqiang heard that practicing the Horse Stance together with many people could create good an atmosphere where everyone could supervise each other and improve each other while competing against each other in perseverance and endurance. The result was better than solo practice and one would find it easier to pass the Horse Stance stage this way.

Although Yan Liqiang felt that the things he learned in the martial arts academy were a little too simple, he never slacked. He remained diligent in his training every day at the martial arts academy.

Apart from cultivating Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Manual in the basement of his home every morning and night, Yan Liqiang spent the rest of his whole two months after the academy’s opening, either in the spear technique training field, the archery range or the sword technique training field at the martial arts academy. He refused to go home before his body was thoroughly worn out for the day every day.

In these two months, Yan Liqiang’s strength gradually stood out from the other seven hundred students among his batch in the martial arts academy, especially because he frequently sparred openly with Shi Dafeng in the academy’s arenas. They’d sometimes compete with their fists and legs or with weapons. Yan Liqiang would always manage to push Shi Dafeng into a corner. Sometimes, he would also invite some new students who were watching them enviously and were itching to challenge them, to spar in the arena. Yan Liqiang’s reputation gradually rose from nothing, to above the martial arts academy’s newest batch of recruited students. Someone even declared that Yan Liqiang was not only the first among the top three of Qinghe County’s martial arts trial but also the best among all the new students.

Of course, Yan Liqiang just smiled at the title given to him for being the best among all the new students. He didn’t mind it.

In just these two months, by the eleventh lunar month, Yan Liqiang had a feeling that he was about to pass the Stretching Tendon and Extending Bone stage...

Shi Changfeng had told him before, that he wished that Yan Liqiang could strive to pass the Stretching Tendon and Extending Bone stage within these two years. However, Yan Liqiang’s speed in cultivation had exceeded everyone’s expectations. Even he himself didn’t expect to pass this stage so fast...

Chapter 74: Trouble Comes Knocking

“A warrior has Confucian Six Arts – the art of archery, charioteering, swordsmanship, medicine, mathematics, as well as literature and history. A practitioner complete with the Confucian Six Arts will be able to go everywhere and do anything. The art of archery is the best weapon to use to kill during battles. Charioteering refers to the skill in riding any steed or driving any carriage. If one has fully grasped charioteering, traveling over a thousand li in a day will be child’s play. Regardless of whether on the battlefield or off it, one will be in difficult position without charioteering. Swordsmanship is the way of battle. As the saying goes: a warrior is nothing without his sword. The most basic requirement as a Martial Warrior is to be able to master a short-ranged weapon to attack as well as defend. Of course, swordsmanship is only a general reference. Almost everyone will cultivate this. Those who have chosen more unusual weapons also fall within this category...”

In the martial arts academy’s huge classroom, an academy tutor was on the podium explaining his lesson today with great enthusiasm. The podium was right in the middle of the classroom and there were rows of chairs arranged around it. The entire classroom was as huge as a wide concert stage and it could easily accommodate an audience of a thousand.

The academy tutor was an old man dressed in green garb. Yan Liqiang was no stranger to this old man because he was the shop owner of the biggest medicinal store, Auspicious Fortune, on Three Yuan Street. In just these two months, Yan Liqiang had already bumped into this old man more than once on Three Yuan Street.

A good deal of academy tutors from the martial arts academy had other businesses and professions aside from their status as an academy tutor. Take Song Tianhao for example, although the salary of an academy tutor wasn’t low and was enough to live by for an ordinary person, most people, especially those with talents weren’t satisfied by just living like a normal person. Money was required everywhere. Clothing, food, housing, transport, maintaining social relationships, wine, women, wealth, as well as buying a house and starting a family, all required money. Cultivation required even more money. Academy tutors were not immortals that lived above the common populace either. They had their own lives too so it was no surprise that they had other businesses and ways of earning a living.

Even a well-respected man like Shi Changfeng was a part-time private tutor to a few children from the influential clans of Pingxi City, not to mention the others.

Yan Liqiang was seated at the furthest spot in the classroom by the window without anyone else around him. Half of Yan Liqiang attention was on the podium, listening to the academy tutor’s lecture, while the other half was wandering outside the window.

At this very moment, snowflakes were already dancing outside the window!

This was the first snowfall ever since Yan Liqiang arrived in this world. As soon as he got up this morning, Mount Thousand Pine was blanketed with white snow. Snow was also piling up in the courtyard which he rented.

Before he realized it, it had already been more than two months since he arrived at the martial arts academy. A month ago, all the new students would fill up the seats during every lecture. But ever since last month, the new students had started to learn how to be more selective of the courses to attend and also to direct some focus on their cultivation. They had stopped flocking to every lesson. The new students who already had experience in this field or already knew the content which the academy tutor would cover today didn’t attend. There were only about five hundred students in the entire classroom, a few students among these were from previous intakes.

“Why don’t we go enjoy some lamb hotpot at Gathering Restaurant for lunch today? A pot of lamb soup will do us good in this weather. It’s on me!” Shi Dafeng, who was fully dressed in a gorgeous silver fox fur garb, whispered to Yan Liqiang beside him. He was completely distracted from the lesson.

“I need to go to the Military Governor’s Office this afternoon...” Yan Liqiang replied in a soft voice.

“Oh, I almost forgot about that...” Shi Dafeng knocked on his own head then gave Yan Liqiang an envious look. He reached out and jabbed Yan Liqiang below his armpit with his hand. “Remember to help recommend me if the Military Governor is recruiting bodyguards next time! I think I’m not bad too!” He said brazenly.

“I haven’t seen him for a month already. Do you think he will take the words of a little horse-brushing attendant like me seriously?”

“Well, at least it’s still better than not saying anything...”

“Focus on the lesson, focus!” Yan Liqiang chucked. Seeing that the conversation had stopped, he started concentrating on listening to the lecture.

Over these two months, he was with Shi Dafeng a lot. He had to drop by the Military Governor’s Office every once a week. He didn’t hide the fact that he had been recruited as a bodyguard by the Military Governor from Shi Dafeng. Shi Dafeng also knew the entire story and felt nothing but envy towards Yan Liqiang’s good fortune. In these two months, Yan Liqiang lived a simple yet fulfilling life. His daily life basically revolved around the martial arts academy and the small courtyard he rented. He had yet to see the Shatu people taking their revenge so the whole incident was gradually pushed to the back of his mind.

When Yan Liqiang was practicing Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing, he could feel the joints and the ligaments in his entire body heating up as well as a numbing sensation akin to electric, coursing through every tendon and vein in his body. With the emergence of such signs, he knew he was already close to passing the Stretching Tendon and Extending Bone stage.

“...The lesson for today is a basic self-rescue technique from the art of medicine of the Six Confucian Arts. What should you do if you sustain a wound from swords or blades out there and you are bleeding profusely without any appropriate medicine on you? And on top of that, you can’t buy the Blood Coagulation Pill from Auspicious Fortune even though you have the money?!”

When the students heard how the old man didn’t fail to advertise his own medicinal store even during the lesson, they all laughed in a good-natured way.

While speaking, the old man picked up a potted plant from the floor, placed it on the podium, then started to explain to everyone. “Everyone needs to first remember this type of herb. This is very commonly seen everywhere in the countryside. It’s a Lace Fern but also referred to as Black Bamboo, Black Leek, Cliff Cypress or Chicken Tail Grass. There are various names given to it, but its appearance will never change. This herb is usually about a foot tall, has short rhizomes and grows horizontally. There are fine brownish-red patterns on the leaves and they usually grow in a bunch. The stalk looks a little like the stem a rice plant. These grow in damp areas, like at the sides of a river, in bushes or in crevices. They are mostly seen at the foot of mountains. If you are injured and see Lace Ferns growing nearby, you may pluck them, chew the part above the roots thoroughly in your mouth, and apply it on the wound before bandaging with fabric to instantly staunch bleeding. It is effective against all external bleeding wounds. In fact, it is the main ingredient of many Jinchuang ointments and hemostatic drugs.”

...

This lesson went on for a long time, reaching slightly more than an hour. By the time the academy tutor was done explaining a few medicinal herbs on the podium, as soon as the class was dismissed, many flocked to the front to examine those herbs.

Yan Liqiang and Shi Dafeng joined the crowd too. After remembering the appearance of the few medicinal herbs, they left the classroom. Although the content of this lesson wasn’t in depth, it was very useful.

When they exited the classroom, the forest outside was covered in snow. The snow was still falling even now.

“Liqiang, where are you going now?”

“I’m about to return home to get ready. It’s about time for me to go be a horsekeeper!” Yan Liqiang replied.

“Well then let’s go back together. It’s too cold today so I don’t feel like moving around too much, otherwise, it will get really uncomfortable after being drenched in sweat. I wonder where Shen Teng has his private lessons today. He’s trying really hard to catch up to you...”

Yan Liqiang smiled while shaking his head. Shen Teng had challenged him last month, so both them had sparred with each other in one of the arenas in the martial arts academy. That was the second time they sparred against each other after a few months. Shen Teng was very well prepared and had shown a lot of improvement. His body technique had become even more agile and versatile, even so, he still couldn’t beat Yan Liqiang and was defeated once again. Since then, Yan Liqiang had not seen Shen Teng for days.

He heard that the Shen Clan had a manor with a courtyard in Pingxi City, so Shen Teng lived there instead of living anywhere near Three Yuan Street. Therefore he only saw him once in a while and he didn’t stick around Yan Liqiang or Shi Dafeng every day.

Both of them were about to walk downhill while still speaking before Yan Liqiang noticed about seven people gathered under a pavilion nearby. One of the people pointed towards Yan Liqiang, then all seven people came out together from the pavilion and made their way towards him.

These seven people were all strangers to Yan Liqiang. They were slightly older, around eighteen to twenty. From the looks of it, they seemed to be seniors from the martial arts academy.

The mountain path in the martial arts academy wasn’t wide to begin with, but it was enough to allow a row of four to five people walking side by side without any hindrance. However, when those seven people came towards them, they completely blocked Yan Liqiang’s path on both sides. Furthermore, when the few of them came towards them, their eyes were trained on Yan Liqiang’s face while they put up menacing looks.

Yan Liqiang’s gut feeling told them that these people had an ill-intentions towards him.

“Be careful...” Shi Dafeng reminded him softly from the side, while still walking together towards the few people.

The two parties stopped when they were about two meters apart.

“Excuse me...” Yan Liqiang said calmly.

“So you are Yan Liqiang?” A youth of about twenty years old standing in the middle of the seven people sneered in contempt before he critically sized up Yan Liqiang from top to bottom. “You’re just as arrogant as the rumors say!”

“A person from this kind of backwater place has never experienced much. You probably think if you can get some reputation in the Pingxi Prefecture Martial Arts Academy and advance as a Martial Warrior, you will be able to show off in front of the other country bumpkins back in your hometown then get a menial job at a government office and consider yourself at the pinnacle of your life!” Another youth jeered from the side, causing the rest around him to roar with laughter.

Chapter 75: A Love Rival Appears

When Shi Dafeng heard these people making fun of Yan Liqiang, he glared at them and was about to confront them when Yan Liqiang held him back by his wrist.

Yan Liqiang looked at these people and smiled. He was trying to identify these people in his head quickly but he recognized none of them. Damn it! Why were these people finding trouble with him? He didn’t offend anyone either at the academy. Could it be that they were related to the Shatu people? But that seemed to be unlikely as the influence of Shatu people shouldn’t be that powerful to this extent yet.

Although thoughts were swiftly running through Yan Liqiang’s mind, his mouth didn’t stop for a second. He stared at the person who was talking earlier and said, “I’m fourteen this year and have already achieved the first amongst the top three in Qinghe County’s Martial Arts County Trial Examination. For those who were laughing, if none of you have ever achieved such a ranking before the age of fourteen, then you are all trash who are no better than a country bumpkin. A trash alone would certainly have no courage to make fun of someone who is more powerful than him, but a group of trash together can boost each other’s courage. Or perhaps you are showing off your talent in reincarnating. Is that the case? Needless to say, your performances have really opened up my eyes!”

The laughter of that group of people came to an abrupt halt, like a duck that had been grabbed by its neck. Shi Dafeng were stunned too as he looked at Yan Liqiang in surprise as if it was the first time he met Yan Liqiang. It had never occurred to him that such harsh words would actually come from Yan Liqiang, who was usually so gentle and sophisticated.

“What did you say?” The youth from earlier yelled while he took a step forward with a flushed face.

“I just made myself loud and clear. Unless you need me to call you trash one more time?”

That youth couldn’t hold it in anymore and right away threw a punch in Yan Liqiang’s direction.

Without flinching, Yan Liqiang took a stride forward and similarly threw a punch towards him as well.

Both of their knuckles collided hard against each other.

Yan Liqiang didn’t budge an inch. However, the youth was sent flying backward, groaning from a single punch by Yan Liqiang instead, knocking into the wall his companions who were standing behind him had formed. Those who were supporting him were also knocked a step back at the same time by the force. Each and every one of their expressions contorted in no time.

Nobody had expected the strength of Yan Liqiang’s punch could be so powerful. From earlier on, it was evidently clear to everyone that those who had set their hands on Yan Liqiang were effortlessly thrown away by that unreasonable force from his fist.

Yan Liqiang only didn’t want to act on it. He had gained the upper hand by a show of strength in no time as soon as he acts on it and his aura itself had put these men down too.

“What are you doing?” a loud voice could be heard from a nearby distance. Along with this loud voice was a bearded man who was walking over from a near distance. With a strict gaze, he looked at everyone who was on the scene.

“Greetings, Teacher Xu...” Yan Liqiang and those who were blocking him greeted that man at once.

That man, who was an academy tutor from the Martial Arts Academy, taught spear techniques and had given Yan Liqiang two basic courses on it. Usually, when Yan Liqiang was practicing in the spear training field, Teacher Xu would always be at the side to point out on Yan Liqiang’s movements and basic techniques. Yan Liqiang had greatly benefited from his pointers.

“You’ve been in the Martial Arts Academy for so many years, don’t you know personal fights in the Martial Arts Academy are strictly prohibited, Wang Haofei?”

Wang Haofei?

Yan Liqiang’s heart skipped a beat upon hearing the name. He had vaguely guessed why these people had come to find trouble with him.

The person who had voiced out first among that group forced a smile, “We heard that there’s a stronger newcomer called Yan Liqiang from this new batch. So, we’re here to get acquainted with him today!”

“Through fists?” The academy tutor who taught spear techniques was not a fool. He gave Wang Haofei a glare as soon as he heard the explanation.

“Yes! Sun Yang was trying to spar with him just now. It wasn’t an actual fight....”

“Spar, my ass! Don’t try to find trouble here! I am very well aware of your cultivation. If you really want to fight, give Yan Liqiang a spear and come up to him in a line. You will only find yourself getting impaled to your death because none of you will be able to block Yan Liqiang’s spear when he lunges. What’s there to spar? It is only sensible to polish your own techniques when you have some time on hand. Do not waste your time on meaningless things!” The spear technique tutor waved his hand and spoke impatiently.

Everyone’s expression in that group turned unpleasant all at once when they heard what the spear technique tutor had said. They exchanged looks with each other as though they were still in disbelief.

“Teacher Xu, isn’t that... a little too exaggerated...?” Wang Haofei argued unconvincingly. “Regardless, we have been cultivating in the Martial Arts Academy all these years. I have already passed the Stretching Tendon and Extending Bone stage as well as the first level of basic sword technique...”

“So what if you have passed the Stretching Tendon and Extending Bone stage? It doesn’t mean you are invincible. You may have passed the first rank in the basic spear technique, but both your strength and speed are inferior to his. You think your sword technique will be able to block the attack of someone whose basic spear technique is about to pass the second level? How many lunges will you be able to block?”

What?! Yan Liqiang’s basic spear technique was about to pass the second level? Every single one of them who were in Yan Liqiang’s way was staring at him in disbelief. As a student in the Martial Arts Academy, they understood the strength of the second level of the basic spear technique. This second level basic spear technique shouldn’t be underestimated because just the two movements of blocking and slashing were incomparably firm, sharp, swift and violent. Killing a person would appear to be as simple as poking a hole through a piece of paper. In recent years, out of those who had advanced to Marital Warriors, there hadn’t been a lot of people who could cultivate up to the second level of the basic spear technique by the time they left the Martial Arts Academy.

“Teacher Xu...” Yan Liqiang smiled bitterly while he looked at the plain-spoken spear technique tutor. He didn’t expect Teacher Xu to actually spill such information at a moment like this.

“You’ve come to the spearing field to practice so many times and I’m not blind either. You think I can’t tell what’s your standard in the spearing technique? Yan Liqiang, you made me wonder where did you learn to be so tricky at such a young age. You even concealed your strength to look like you are not even someone who practiced with spears!” The man criticized Yan Liqiang.

What else could Yan Liqiang say?

“The strength of the spear is just like the strength of a fist. The technique of the spear is just like the technique of a fist. Didn’t any of you realize that the punch Yan Liqiang threw earlier on was just like a spear lunging forward? Yan Liqiang held back just now when he threw the punch. Otherwise, Sun Yang, your fist would now have been crippled. It wouldn’t be healed without taking half a year to rest. What else do you have to show off about?”

Teacher Xu kept on scolding them while the few of them who were at the side hung their head, losing their morale all at once. Right after he finished lecturing them, Teacher Xu left the scene.

In the end, Wang Haofei gave Yan Liqiang a hatred-filled glare, “I’m the one who Lu Beixin likes. Don’t think so highly of yourself that you can snatch Lu Beixin from me!” Wang Haofei and his men left the place right after he spat that out.

Frankly speaking, this Wang Haofei was indeed a charmer. With his pair of long, strong legs and his handsome appearance, he could easily charm a few girls without any problem. However, the hint of evil intentions in Wang Haofei’s expression when he left completely destroyed his charm. Yan Liqiang couldn’t help but frown.

As soon as these people left, the stare that Shi Dafeng who stood at the side had on Yan Liqiang seemed as though it was glowing. He suddenly burned with the flames of gossip. He grabbed on Yan Liqiang’s shoulder and asked impatiently, ” When did you pass the first level of the basic spear technique? And, what’s going on with that Lu Beixin? You didn’t even tell me that you have a babe now, to think that I have treated you like my brother, how dare you?”

“Certain things are simply too much of an unfathomable mystery that I don’t even know how to say it!” Yan Liqiang shook his head and took a deep breathe, “Let’s go! We should return to the courtyard first....”

...

It had been two months since Yan Liqiang came to the Martial Arts Academy. But Yan Liqiang had not seen Lu Beixin nor any other Lu Clan’s disciples. He had only known about Lu Beixin being grounded by Old Master Lu from the letter Qian Su had sent to him a few days ago.

He realized that Lu Beixin somehow seemed odd when he visited the Lu Residence for the arranged marriage with her last time so he indirectly alerted Lu Peien about it. Lu Peien was also a wise person, after Yan Liqiang’s warning, he quietly sent someone to Pingxi City to secretly investigate and track Lu Beixin down. In the end, they discovered that Lu Beixin was, in fact, seeing someone and that someone whom Lu Beixin was seeing was no other than Lu Clan’s archenemy in Huanglong County, one of Wang Clan’s disciples, Wang Haofei.

Upon receiving such news, Old Master Lu was furious. The Lu Clan’s disciples who were in the Martial Arts Academy were all summoned back to the Lu Residence during summer vacation and were harshly reprimanded. Needless to say, Lu Beixin was grounded in the manor by Old Master Lu and was unable to go anywhere at all. The other Lu Clan’s disciples got dragged into it as well for either not realizing the issue with Lu Beixin while they were in the Martial Arts Academy together or not reporting anything unusual that they had discovered to the Lu Clan in time. They too were grounded and forced to do manual labor work back in the manor at the same time. That was precisely the reason why not even one of the Lu Clan’s disciples were seen in the Martial Arts Academy now.

The one and only reason why Wang Haofei had come to look for trouble with him today, was because he had just found out about the arranged marriage between Lu Beixin and Yan Liqiang which Old Master Lu had set up. Hence, he pinned all his anger on Yan Liqiang and confronted him in rage to vent all his anger on him. But little did Wang Haofei expect that Yan Liqiang was not that easy to handle. He had rounded up a bunch of friends to pick a fight with Yan Liqiang this time but it ended up with them getting their stuffing knocked out.

The fact that Wang Haofei had come to look for trouble with Yan Liqiang today proved that he previously didn’t know what had happened between him and Lu Beixin. And now that he knew, what did it mean? It proved that either the Wang Clan had an insider in the Lu Residence and that insider informed the Wang Clan upon finding out the news, or Wang Haofei and Lu Beixin were still able to communicate. Perhaps the more accurate explanation was that although Lu Beixin had been grounded, she was still able to relay information to Wang Haofei through someone. And the possibility of the latter was reckoned to be slightly higher......

Or perhaps he should inform Sixth Master about this so that he could pay attention to it...

The thought flashed through Yan Liqiang’s mind, but after thorough consideration, Yan Liqiang shook his head and decided to leave it be. The last time he secretly alerted them caused all of the Lu Clan’s disciples to be grounded. If he were to alert them once more, Lu Beixin’s maids would probably be out of luck. Judging from the Lu Clan’s traditions and Old Master Lu’s temper, someone’s life might even be at risk.

When Wang Haofei came to cause trouble with him, he probably didn’t think about the consequences of the informant from Lu Clan who relayed the message to him would suffer due to his rash decision. Or maybe he had thought about it but couldn’t be bothered to care at all. If it was the former, then it proved that this person had no brains. If it was the latter, then it showed that this person had no conscience. No matter which of the two types of person he was, this person would never be worthy of Lu Beixin.

He had no regrets in separating this pair of lovebirds.....

He ran the whole scene from the beginning till the end in his head once more. After he understood the main point in his heart, Yan Liqiang felt relieved when he left the Martial Arts Academy. He descended the mountain and returned to his small courtyard in Blue Ox Alley.

Outside the small courtyard, Yan Dechang, who was travel-worn and covered in snow, stood under the eaves, waiting for Yan Liqiang’s return...

“Father...”

Yan Dechang turned around when he heard Yan Liqiang call out. He then saw Yan Liqiang, who was standing not too far away, staring at him blankly.

Chapter 76: A Visit

Shi Dafeng went off to eat lamb hotpot, so Yan Liqiang returned to the small courtyard he rented alone.

When Yan Liqiang saw Yan Dechang, he hurried towards him and dusted the snow off from Yan Dechang’s cape. “Father, why are you here?”

Yan Dechang looked at Yan Liqiang from top to bottom with a serious look before he broke into a smile. “I happened to deliver some goods to Huanglong County yesterday and thought that it has been cold these few days. Since Huanglong County is quite near to Pingxi City, I decided to come visit you and send you some clothes. I came searching with the address that was on the letter you sent last time... Three Yuan Street, into the Blue Ox Alley, the third courtyard on the left. I didn’t expect to really find it, you live here right?!”

“That’s right, I live here. Father, let me help you take your stuff. Let’s talk inside!” Yan Liqiang took the bag Yan Dechang carried on his back then took out his key, opened the door and led Yan Dechang in.

The courtyard Yan Liqiang lived in wasn’t that big, only about forty or fifty square meters. There was a grape trellis in the yard, a well, and a flower bed. There were some flowers and herbs planted among the flower bed and beneath the grape trellis was a relatively wide space, good enough for practicing martial arts. Although the yard was covered by a layer of piled up snow, one could still tell that the yard was very well kept.

Yan Dechang observed the yard when he came in and secretly nodded to himself. He was greatly relieved when he saw that Yan Liqiang had managed to take very good care of himself. “You’re living here alone?”

“Yes, I live here alone and my friend lives just next door. He can normally hear me if I shout!”

“You train in this yard too?”

“I usually practice martial arts in the basement. Sometimes it’s a little inconvenient in the yard if the movements are too big!” Yan Liqiang led Yan Dechang to the central room and placed his bag down, then scratched his head in embarrassment. “I usually don’t cook here and there’s no drinking water here too. Have a seat and wait for a while, I’ll go boil a pot of water and make some tea for you!”

“No need, no need! I’m just here to look around, you don’t need to serve me anything. You haven’t been slacking on your spear technique cultivation, right?”

“Not at all, those things are all in the basement. Would you like to take a look there?”

“Sure, let’s go see where you normally train!” Yan Dechang was about to sit down but stood up again when he heard Yan Liqiang’s suggestion.

The entrance to the basement was in the central room, below the staircase leading up. Yan Liqiang led Yan Dechang to the basement downstairs through a door.

The basement was about the same size as the yard above the ground. The floor of the basement was paved with rough limestone and the room was more than five meters high. Although it was underground, the basement had windows on two ends that allowed ventilation and daylight to come in. During the day, some light from above the floor could pass through so it wasn’t that dark in here, he’d only need to light a lamp at night.

In the basement, a wooden frame was placed near to a wall. A piece of rope was tied below the frame with some copper coins hanging down from it. Beside the wooden frame, there was a long spear of at least three meters, completely made out of iron.

Beside this wooden frame, there were also a few metal weights used for stamina training. The lightest metal weight was about twenty-three kilograms and the heaviest one was over two hundred kilograms.

After Yan Dechang came in and saw these things, his eyes instantly lit up. He approached the wooden frame, picked up the iron spear and weighed it in his hands. The iron spear was at least more than forty kilograms. He turned his head around and asked Yan Liqiang, “Why are you using an iron spear to train here? The body of this iron spear has no elasticity and is very heavy. Are you able to use it?”

“The importance of this iron spear is its weight. The teacher from the martial arts academy told us to use it to train basic spear techniques!” Yan Liqiang explained and took the iron spear from Yan Dechang’s hands. He then crouched and struck a pose

To hold up such a heavy iron spear single-handedly by its base so steadily, one could imagine the terrifying amount of strength Yan Liqiang had in his arm.

“Not bad, not bad at all!” Yan Dechang nodded his head in satisfaction and then tried out a few metal weights. However, he realized that he only managed to lift a few smaller ones with his current strength. He attempted to lift the other two metal weights that were more than a hundred kilograms and realized that he was unable to. In the end, he could only shake his head and laugh. “I guess I’m really getting old...”

“You just healed from your injuries, you shouldn’t exert too much strength!”

“Can you actually lift the heaviest metal weight?” Yan Dechang asked curiously.

Yan Liqiang put down the iron spear and walked to the heaviest metal weight which weighed two hundred kilograms. Using only one hand, he effortlessly picked up the metal weight then swung his arm, causing the metal weight to flutter by his side. He then switched the metal weight between his hands, flipping it to the front and behind his body, making it appear like a dancing butterfly. Yan Dechang could feel the air from the dancing metal weight blowing directly on the side of his face.

If it wasn’t for his own eyes, Yan Dechang wouldn’t dare believe Yan Liqiang’s strength had already attained such a level. The metal weight was two hundred kilograms, not twenty kilograms! Even if he wasn’t a Martial Warrior, Yan Dechang knew that the strength of his son was simply too astonishing. Yan Liqiang was only fourteen years old and he had no idea how he managed to train his strength. He recalled that his son didn’t seem to have such ridiculous strength before.

Yan Liqiang waved it around for no less than a minute before he stopped and set the metal weight down on the floor lightly, without making any noise. He was only slightly flushed, but his breathing was still very even.

“AMAZING! AMAZING! AMAZING!” Yan Dechang chanted in excitement. “You have definitely improved a lot by coming to this martial arts academy!”

The strength and capability he had now were basically from the huge transformation the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Manual had brought upon him, especially his physical strength and other aspect enhancements. Although the things they taught in the martial arts academy were useful, they couldn’t be considered as profound mysteries. It was nothing compared to the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Manual.

However, he couldn’t tell Yan Dechang all that. Yan Liqiang could only smile upon hearing his father’s praises and nodded his head. “Father, you are right about that. I have indeed learned a lot since I arrived at the martial arts academy. The teachers of the academy are really awesome too!”

“Seeing you like this has assured me. Let’s return upstairs....” Yan Dechang breathed out a long sigh of relief.

...

Yan Dechang only stayed at Yan Liqiang’s place for a total of less than an hour. He took another look around the small courtyard Yan Liqiang lived in. After inquiring about Yan Liqiang’s daily life, he then left some winter clothes he brought for him along with twenty taels of silver and told him a few things about the blacksmith store before he left. He also adamantly refused Yan Liqiang’s intention to see him off.

Over more than the past two months since Yan Liqiang arrived at the prefectural city, the business of their blacksmith store back at home had also gradually gotten back on track. Although Yan Blades couldn’t create any heavenly weapons, they were known for their products’ quality that was up to the mark and their affordable price tags. The Yan Blades brand had pretty much been established in Qinghe County, Yan Dechang only had to provide some guidance and do quality checks on the final products at the blacksmith store every day. The Yan Clan owned a land, a workshop, a store and also a blacksmith store in Liuhe Town. They had gradually earned a different reputation than before.

One thing that surprised Yan Liqiang was that the kukri knife that he had so meticulously created, shaped like a dog leg, didn’t attract much attention, let alone sold, despite the good business in the blacksmith store.

After Qian Su from the Weaponsmith Quarter saw the kukri knife and learned that it was designed by Yan Liqiang, his interest was piqued so he asked for one to bring back home a while ago so he could play with it. Two days ago, he sent a message to ask the Yan Clan’s blacksmith store deliver a hundred ‘Yan Curved Knife’– the name which was given to the kukri knife by Yan Liqiang, to the Weaponsmiths Quarter of Huanglong County. He told him that the knife was noticed by an officer who came to the Weaponsmiths Quarter to order a long spear. That officer was proficient in knives and thought the kukri knife that Qian Su had with him had a strange but interesting appearance, so he was very interested in it. In the end, he borrowed home the kukri knife from Qian Su to play with it for a few days. Unexpectedly, that officer came back looking for Qian Su a few days later and immediately ordered a hundred ‘Yan Curved Knives’, saying that he was going to give all of those to others as gifts...

Yan Dechang was overjoyed at the sudden ‘big business deal’ which had landed in his lap and personally set out on his steed to deliver the order of those one hundred curved knives to Huanglong County. Since he missed Yan Liqiang, he came to Pingxi City along the way to see how he was doing.

...

After seeing Yan Dechang off with complex emotions, Yan Liqiang composed himself and got changed before he set off to the Military Governor’s Office...

Chapter 77: Fleeting Glimpse

Being the bodyguard to the Military Governor was nothing more than a job to Yan Liqiang, which included walking and feeding steeds.

Huangfu Qianqi already had a horsekeeper. Hence, every time Yan Liqiang visited the Military Governor’s Office, the attitude of the horsekeeper towards Yan Liqiang immediately reminded him of the scene where Sun Wukong was assigned as the Protector of the Horses to watch over the stable [1].

However, Yan Liqiang wasn’t some delicate boy either. Following the principle of ‘how a man may find instructors for himself’ [2], he was always polite to that horsekeeper every time he saw him. He wasn’t ashamed to ask and learn from his subordinate too. In just these two months of being a bodyguard, Yan Liqiang had managed to learn most of the skills needed to take care of rhinodrake steeds from that horsekeeper. That in itself could be considered as quite an achievement.

The last time Yan Liqiang saw Huangfu Qianqi was the previous month. Every year, after early autumn, was the time when the Dark Ram Tribe’s cavalry caused the most incidents at the border of Gan Province and Feng Province, but the people of Dark Ram Tribe called it a ‘food hunt’ [3]. There was news that the extent of the disturbances that the Dark Ram Tribe had been causing was increasing. So when Huangfu Qianqi saw the weather had gradually started turning cold last month, he went on a patrol to White Stone Pass in the western part of Pingxi Prefecture, bringing along with him a few bodyguards and a group of cavalry.

The outskirts of White Stone Pass was close to Vast Cloud Mountain. Although there was no common boundary between the Dark Ram Tribe and Pingxi Prefecture and the number of disturbances from the Dark Ram Tribe over this period of time were few enough to be counted with just a hand, Huangfu Qianqi was still quite concerned. Since it was his duty, he could only personally take a trip there to check up on things.

Due to the fact that Yan Liqiang still had to attend martial arts academy, Huangfu Qianqi had a meeting with him before he left. He gave him some encouragement and had him stay back in the end.

Huangfu Qianqi had four rhinodrake steeds. During his trip this time, Huangfu Qianqi brought two along with him, leaving the remaining two in Pingxi City. Therefore, Yan Liqiang still had to visit the Military Governor’s Office once a week as always to take care of Huangfu Qianqi’s two other rhinodrake steeds.

“Since it was snowing last night, we will need to lay some hay in the stable today to keep the ground dry and clean so the rhinodrake steeds can sleep better. Ordinary horses sleep while standing. Rhinodrake steeds usually do the same too, but on cold days, they will lay down and sleep with their feet curled up like a rhinoceros. Close all the windows you can in the stable. If it snows heavily tonight, feed every rhinodrake steed about half a jin of small black beans soaked in white wine during night feeding. That way, the rhinodrake steeds won’t thin down over the winter and remain full of energy everyday...”

In the stable of Military Governor’s Office, Yan Liqiang was cleaning up together with the horsekeeper. They dressed the floor of the rhinodrake steed’s stables in dried rice straw and filled the feeder with their dinner. They then brushed the two rhinodrake steeds until they were shiny and smooth. The horsekeeper explained while working with Yan Liqiang, passing his knowledge on feeding the steeds to him.

Yan Liqiang dusted his hands when they were finally done with the two rhinodrake steeds and went to the pond at the side to wash his hands. He then took off the overalls he wore when he was doing all the manual work. “Uncle Hu, I’ll be calling it a day and going home. I’ll come again in a few days. Until then, please take care of this place!”

“No trouble at all...” The horsekeeper, Uncle Hu, gave him a sincere smile. “I have to thank Young Master for the beef and wine you gave me today. They must have been frightfully expensive!”

“Hahaha. It would have been improper of me to come empty-handed when Uncle Hu is imparting your valuable knowledge on feeding the horses with me. I’ll bring some better wine for Uncle Hu next time!”

“Young Master, you will definitely have a very promising future ahead of you if you follow the footsteps of the Military Governor...”

“Haha, thank you for your kind words, Uncle Hu...”

Yan Liqiang exited the Military Governor’s Office through the side door after bidding farewell to the horsekeeper. By now, the sky was already getting dark, but it was still snowing and the temperature seemed to be even colder compared to the daytime. The number of pedestrians on the streets had reduced considerably and quite a number of shops by the street had already closed. Only a few places like restaurants, eateries, and taverns were still open. The lanterns that still hung outside the shops made one felt a lot warmer on such a cold night.

Snowflakes drifted down from the sky, right into the collar of Yan Liqiang’s clothes. The iciness jolted Yan Liqiang wide awake all of a sudden.

Yan Liqiang pulled the dog fur hat onto his head and wrapped the scarf around his neck another couple of rounds, leaving only half of his face exposed. He took a glance at the streets on either side. During the daytime, the streets still had people pulling their rickshaws, but now not even one of them could be seen. There weren’t any pedestrians either. He figured he was only left with the options of walking back to Three Yuan Street.

Fortunately, it wasn’t that far walking in the Pingxi City. It would take only a little more than an hour at most for him to walk back to his home.

Yan Liqiang walked along the streets at an unhurried pace in the direction of his small courtyard.

...

After half an hour, the sky was completely dark and Yan Liqiang was already very far away from the Military Governor’s Office.

For the sake of returning home a bit earlier, Yan Liqiang took the shortcuts he rarely used. They were the smaller streets and alleys around residential areas aside from those few bigger streets in the Pingxi City.

As soon as Yan Liqiang had just passed through the small alley within the commercial area, he heard a horse carriage coming from behind him and automatically moved aside to give way to it.

The horse carriage passed by Yan Liqiang without stopping, as it continued moving forward to its destination.

Yan Liqiang took a glance at the horse carriage. It was quite old with a rather long carriage. It seemed like it was a wagon for transporting goods and a coachman was seated in front, speeding it up with the whip he was waving in his hand. He didn’t notice Yan Liqiang who was walking by the roadside in the blowing wind and snow either.

There was a small restaurant right ahead of the road. The row of lanterns hanging outside brightly illuminated the road outside of the restaurant. Yan Liqiang who was trailing behind the horse carriage abruptly stopped dead in his tracks when he felt stabbing pains from the piercing light and stared at the retreating silhouette of the coachman.

Right at that moment, he caught a fleeting glimpse of that coachman’s silhouette under the light of those lanterns hanging outside the restaurant. Just very briefly, he could clearly make out the silhouette at the back of that coachman’s head.

The coachman was also wearing a dog fur hat and a very thick cotton-padded coat. However, part of the coachman’s skin was showing in-between his hat and his coat.

The coachman had lost his right ear, the side of his hat laid flat against his face. A snake-like scar which hadn’t faded yet could still be seen on the few inches of exposed skin on his neck, around the area right below where his ear was supposed to be.

This coachman with a missing ear and sporting a scar on his neck... Wasn’t he the Shatu man who had lost his ear from being whipped by Yan Liqiang that day at the entrance gate?

Although he didn’t see the face of that coachman, with that person’s missing ear and the scar on his neck, there was no way he could make a mistake about it.

That Shatu man wasn’t wearing their normal attire right now, but was instead dressed in Chinese attire and had covered himself tightly. For him to be driving a horse carriage out this late at night to a district that was so far from where the other Shatu people lived in was nothing but fishy.

The first thing that came to Yan Liqiang’s mind was if this was a trap. On a second thought, he decided to deny that thought. That was because he was using a shortcut today and he had decided his most of the routes he took spontaneously. Even if these Shatu people knew he was going to leave the Military Governor’s Office today, they wouldn’t be able to predict which road he was going to take and set a trap in advance to wait for him.

The horse carriage drove past about fifty meters away from the small restaurant, then took a turn to the left, into another road at the side.

After a few ideas flashed rapidly across Yan Liqiang’s mind, he increased his pace and lightened his footsteps to exhibit the ‘Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps’ technique. Very swiftly and silently, he made his way to where the horse carriage had taken a turn and chased after it...

Chapter 78: Devoid of Conscience

The sounds of iron hooves could be heard very clearly in the silent night despite it was very far from Yan Liqiang. Yan Liqiang didn’t follow too closely, he only listened to the noises the horse carriage made and trailed behind it, passing through a few alleys of Pingxi City while keeping a distance between them.

That horse carriage seemed to take a few detours on purpose. Yan Liqiang realized that it had made another two small rounds, seemingly wanted to see if there was anyone following behind it. But in the end, Yan Liqiang was never discovered. Such sneaky behavior had piqued Yan Liqiang’s curiosity even more.

More than twenty minutes later, the horse carriage made a turn into a small alley behind the main street then stopped at the back door of a courtyard.

This area seemed to be in an upscale part of Pingxi City, filled with mansions and courtyards of influential clans. Every single of them was surrounded by very high walls and red-lacquered gates that were obviously distinctive from other common buildings.

The courtyard was enormous, the double-courtyard residence at the front faced the street across of it. There were stores somewhere along the street. From the look of the signboard, it seemed to be one of the finest boutiques in Pingxi City. However, at this time, the boutique had already closed for the day just like the rest.

It was pitch black in the alley and the visibility was very low.

Trailing behind the horse carriage, Yan Liqiang arrived at a turn in the alley. He looked around and realized that there was a courtyard beside him. There were neither lights nor any voices in the yard. He leaped and kicked against one of the walls in the small alley with his foot and hooked onto the top of the courtyard wall two meters high with one of his hands. He then exerted force in his hand and climbed on top of the courtyard wall and tread along it a few steps before he jumped onto one of the roofs. He bent down and scurried like a cat on the roof before hopping onto another and laid flat on his stomach against the roof tiles behind the roof ridge. He peeked his head out and silently watched the situation in the small alley.

That horse carriage was somewhere below him at the eleven o’clock position, just thirty meters away from the roof where Yan Liqiang was lying on his stomach. He had chosen this spot because he could have an overlook of everything happening in the small alley below him.

Half of that Shatu man’s face who had rushed here with his horse carriage was hidden by his hat, leaving only his eyes exposed. After stopping his carriage, he climbed down and took another look around, appearing to be very cautious. After making sure that there was no one else in the alley, he went towards the back door of that courtyard and banged on the door with the door knocker.

The Shatu man knocked a series of times. It sounded like there was some sort of rhythm to it – two short knocks and two long knocks, just like a secret code.

After he was done knocking, he waited by the door.

Not more than ten seconds later, a lantern lit up in the rear courtyard. A man in his thirties came out from a room nearby with his other two servants, carrying the lantern along with him. They came to the small door in the backyard then cracked the door open first to take a peek outside. They only opened the door and came out when they saw the Shatu man.

The shop owner who came out from the boutique leaned his head close to the Shatu man and they exchanged a few words. But since their voices were too soft and Yan Liqiang was so far away from them, he couldn’t catch a word of their conversation.

After they had finished speaking, the Shatu man opened the horse carriage door and beckoned to the shop owner. One of the two servants that came out along with him hopped onto the carriage and dragged out a big roll of beast leather from inside and then carried it with the help of another servant to a room in the textile courtyard.

The two servants came out again and carried another big roll of beast leather from the carriage to one of the rooms in the courtyard.

After that, the Shatu man closed the carriage door and left on his horse carriage without any further delay. The man who looked like the shop owner took another look around before he went back inside the courtyard and shut the back door.

In a glance, that Shatu man seemed to be just delivering goods to this boutique. It looked like it was a normal business trade and there wasn’t anything odd about it. However, Yan Liqiang still felt something was off.

First of all, both parties were being a little too sneaky and seemed like they were up to no good. Secondly, he couldn’t stop feeling that the Shatu man wasn’t a good and honest person who would just earn some money as a mere coachman. Also, when he left just now, the person who looked like the shop owner didn’t give him any money either. Lastly, Yan Liqiang couldn’t shake off the feeling that was something fishy about those two rolls of leather which the two servants from that boutique had carried into the textile courtyard.

Under normal circumstances, if those two rolls were just normal leather, the two servants would be able to carry each by themselves. Yet, just now when those two servants took the goods in, they had to lift them together. From an aerial view, the two rolls of beast leather appeared to be hollow in the middle with leather wrappings around it. Yet from the looks of their weight, something already seemed off. Furthermore, the two servants seemed to be extra cautious when they were carrying those rough leather. It didn’t seem like they were carrying beast leather at all.

The Shatu man drove his empty horse carriage away and left through the alley below Yan Liqiang. Yan Liqiang considered for a moment before he decided to stay instead of leaving with the horse carriage. When that horse carriage had traveled far enough, Yan Liqiang slowly slid down from the roof, and tread along the courtyard wall until he arrived at a small alley. There, he bolted towards the courtyard wall of the yard behind that boutique.

Yan Liqiang adjusted the hat on his head and pulled his scarf up so that his face would be completely covered. He then exerted some force beneath his feet and stepped on the wall a few times to climb to the top of the wall in a flash. He hung onto the courtyard wall with his hands and lowered himself quietly into the yard. It seemed like the secret manual ‘Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps’, which Qian Su had given to him had come in handy at times like this.

The lamp inside the house was still brightly lit. The shop owner, his two servants and the two rolls of goods were in there.

Yan Liqiang tiptoed to below one of the room’s windows. Just like a very common scene in Chinese movies, he wet a finger with his saliva then gently poked a small hole through the paper screen that was glued to the window frame in the lowest corner. He then leaned his head forward to observe the situation inside the room.

This room seemed to be used to store leather goods. It was filled with quite a number of tiger, bear, leopard, and fox leather. There were also some dazzling mink. All of them were displayed on a rack.

The goods that the Shatu man had just delivered seemed to be two big rolls of antelope leather and were placed on the floor. The shop owner stood at the side as he commanded his two servants to cut the ropes tied around the two rolls of antelope leather and unrolled the leather.

It didn’t take too long before one of the goods was spread open, and Yan Liqiang felt his heart suddenly convulse.

What he saw was a young lady of about seventeen or eighteen years old wrapped inside the antelope leather. When the leather was spread, she lay there on the floor.

That lady seemed to have lost consciousness. Her hair was quite messy and from her attire, she was most likely a Chinese girl from Pingxi City. Not only that, she had a rather beautiful face.

The other roll of leather was spread open, revealing a younger lady of about fourteen or fifteen years old, also similarly Chinese. Both ladies were unconscious.

One of the servants gulped loudly. He pinched the younger lady on her cheek then started to chuckle lecherously. “Owner, the goods that those Shatu people delivered this time are quite fine. These are so much better than the last time and they seem to be quite young. Young Master wasn’t too pleased with the last one. He only managed to play with her a day before she died. I’m sure he can have fun for a few more days with these two...”

“If you value your life then retract your dirty paw and stop your nonsense. A woman of such caliber isn’t someone you can play with. You won’t be able to bear the consequences if she loses even a strand of hair. Hurry and send them over. The young master is still waiting!” The owner sternly ordered and pushed the rack that had a tiger leather hanging on it to the side, revealing a hole in the floor.

“Alright, alright...” The servant who was chuckling lecherously earlier stood up, then together with the other servant brought over two huge wooden boxes. They placed both of the girls in each box and put a lid over them. Both of them then carried one of the boxes together and went into the tunnel entrance that had been revealed.

After both of them went off, the shop owner opened the other box instead and greedily stared at the woman inside it. He reached his hand into the box and fondled her body for a while. After four or five minutes later, footsteps were heard from the tunnel below. The shop owner swallowed his saliva and muttered to himself with a sigh. “Such a pity. Tragedy loves beauties...” He only retracted his hand and closed the box again after he finished speaking.

His two servants reappeared from the hole in the ground and carried the other box into the underground tunnel again.

Yan Liqiang’s hands curled into tight fists upon hearing those words. A murderous intent surged within him and his blood was already boiling. There was nothing he despised more than human trafficking in his previous life. In his opinion, a human trafficker caused even more harm than a drug dealer. He didn’t expect to run into an incident like this. From the tone of the shop owner and his servants, he guessed that the girls who had been sent into the underground tunnel would most likely meet a tragic end...

Thinking up to this point, Yan Liqiang’s heart immediately turned cold...

Chapter 79: Striking Out Mercilessly

The more furious Yan Liqiang was, the calmer he became.

After careful consideration, he didn’t barge in there hastily. Instead, he retreated away from the window of the room and observed his surroundings before he made a dash towards the front of the yard.

Two rooms were still brightly lit in the yard. Yan Liqiang took a look around but found out that there was no one in both rooms. One of the rooms seemed to be the bedroom of the two servants from earlier, while the other room was a sewing workroom.

Various clothes were hung inside the sewing workroom and there were also a variety of fabric cutouts in the room. The shop owner had come out from this room earlier.

Yan Liqiang was the type to go all the way once he started something. He immediately went inside the room, picked up the candle in the room and set a few dresses and long gowns ablaze. He then tossed the candle into a pile of fabric and dashed out of the room. He quickly went back to the outside of the other room and waited at the door then pulled out the kukri knife he had on him.

Lately, Yan Liqiang always carried a weapon on him whenever he visited the Military Governor’s Office, in case the Shatu people decided to take a revenge on him. As they say, preparation can avert peril. His kukri knife wasn’t that long, and he kept it sheathed in a cow leather scabbard and hung it on his belt. The scabbard pressed against the side of his thigh, completely hidden as long as he didn’t lift his clothes up.

Holding the kukri knife, Yan Liqiang slowed his breathing and calmly waited.

The room door was locked from the inside. He would cause a big commotion if he went in by breaking either the door or window. Moreover, he didn’t have a clue on the shop owner’s strength, therefore, the best method he could think of was to lure the shop owner out and finish him. The fire he started was also to notify everyone in the surroundings that there was a problem here. The more people that gathered here later, the safer he would be, and the scandal of that person here could be exposed easily.

The workroom, which was not too far from here, was filled with piles of very flammable clothes and fabrics. Hence, the flames in the room grew intense in just less than two minutes.

The light of the flames reached to the other room through the windows. When the shop owner in the other room sensed something was wrong, he hurried to the door and opened it, then cautiously poked his head out to observe the situation outside.

Unfortunately, what awaited the shop owner was the kukri knife in Yan Liqiang’s hands.

According to the laws of the Great Han Empire, human trafficking was considered thievery. Anyone had the right to kill such criminals without being charged by the law. Yan Liqiang had no mercy towards these wicked scoundrels and bastards who colluded with foreigners to devastate the lives of innocent Chinese girls.

His kukri knife came down sharply upon the neck of the shop owner. Before he could even react, his head had tumbled to the floor before his entire body followed suit. Blood from the severed neck flowed like a river, staining the floor crimson.

When Yan Liqiang saw chickens or pigs being butchered at the market, perhaps he might have felt sorry for them. Yet to people like this, he had not even an ounce of sympathy.

Ever since the time he eliminated the Hong Clan, Yan Liqiang realized that darkness and ruthlessness existed deep down in his heart. He didn’t feel fear at all decapitating someone with his own hands. Instead, he only took an icy glance at the corpse lying on the floor, before he stepped over it to open the door, and went inside the room.

The moment he arrived at the entrance of the underground tunnel inside the room, the footsteps of the two servants rang out from below.

Yan Liqiang didn’t rush downstairs but instead moved somewhere else. He waited at the spot behind the tunnel entrance on the ground. When the two people came up from below, the back of their heads would be facing him.

Soon enough, the footsteps drew nearer and as expected, the two servants emerged from below.

When the second person came out from the underground tunnel, the person in front of him had already noticed that the room door was open and had spotted the corpse of the shop owner lying on the floor outside the entrance.

However, Yan Liqiang didn’t give both of them any time to react. He instantly pounced on them from behind and plunged his knife into the back of the servant behind, piercing it through his heart. Before the first servant could even turn around, Yan Liqiang pounced on him like a leopard and slit his throat.

As the saying goes, ‘It is easier to dodge a spear out in the open than to avoid a stab in the dark’. In this situation where he was prepared to ambush them and his targets were unwary, even if those two servants had some skills, Yan Liqiang didn’t give them a chance to show it to him. In just the blink of an eye, the two servants collapsed at the underground tunnel entrance.

Yan Liqiang just had murdered three people in a row. The kukri knife in his hand was already fully coated with fresh blood by now. However, the hand he held the knife with didn’t tremble in the slightest.

He wiped the blood away from his knife on one of the servants’ clothes. Without a second thought, he entered the underground tunnel and followed the stairs to wherever it led.

The underground tunnel reached five meters below the ground and was very well constructed, with bricks lining up both sides. The tunnel was about a meter wide and two meters in height. An oil lamp hung seven or eight meters apart from each other on either side of the tunnel wall.

The entire underground tunnel was linear and deep. Two hundred meters ahead in Yan Liqiang’s line of sight, there was a turn which led somewhere.

Yan Liqiang clenched his jaws and made a dash to the other end of the tunnel. He ran for about two hundred meters and reached the turn. In another ten meters ahead after the turn, he saw an iron door which had just been shut.

An idea flashed through his mind. Without a second thought, Yan Liqiang banged against the iron door with force.

“What’s with you all? Didn’t you guys tell me there are only two chicks? They’re already here! Is there a third one?” An impatient voice rang out from the other side of the iron door. Right after this voice spoke, the iron door which had just been shut, subsequently opened in an instant.

A man in his thirties, fully dressed in black with an indolent look, stared in shock at Yan Liqiang’s unfamiliar and bloodthirsty face.

Before the man could reach towards the longsword that hung at his waist, Yan Liqiang had violently plunged his kukri knife into his chest.

Yan Liqiang’s other hand covered the man’s mouth, preventing him from making any noise and pushed him back towards the inside of the door.

The man’s eyes widened like saucers. One of his hands had already touched the sword’s hilt while his other hand grabbed onto Yan Liqiang’s wrist tightly, trying to push away the hand that covered his mouth.

Yan Liqiang gave him a death stare and pulled out the kukri knife from his chest before he forcefully plunged it into him again. Almost every time the man took a step back, he felt Yan Liqiang’s kukri knife sinking in and coming out of him between his chest and lower abdomen.

The man stumbled five consecutive steps backward. He didn’t manage to even pull the longsword at his waist by a foot when blood gushed out from his mouth, all over Yan Liqiang’s hand. The hand he grabbed Yan Liqiang’s wrist with gradually ran out of strength and the eyes he stared at Yan Liqiang with slowly turned glassy before he collapsed on the floor in a heap. Half of his body was already soaked in the blood that flowed out from between his chest and abdomen...

Chapter 80: Exploring the Tiger’s Den

Yan Liqiang panted heavily for more than ten seconds as he watched that man slump to the floor before his breathing evened out. Then, he slowly walked to the front.

This basement was like a palace. Thick camel fur rugs were laid on the floor. Both sides of the tunnel were decorated with lavish wall candle holders made of silver and even the surrounding walls were decorated with gold and silver borders. There were also various weapons that were hanging on the wall as ornaments. Walking along this tunnel didn’t feel like he was walking into the devils’ lair, but instead, it felt like he had just wandered into a high-class clubhouse.

Yan Liqiang’s heart raced even more wildly upon arriving at this area because he knew that people who were able to decorate such lavish basement were definitely not merely your average rich people. It seemed like the party he had provoked this time was of a different caliber. When he just entered the basement earlier, he thought it was some sort of dungeon. Even if there were people here, there would be only a few of them and he thought that he would be able to rescue those two girls by coming here. Little did he expect that the underground tunnel would actually lead to a place like this.

Judging from his current position, he was most likely right below the grand mansion with a big courtyard near the boutique.

In that exact moment, a warning flashed across Yan Liqiang’s mind – this place was too dangerous. It wasn’t a place he could handle by himself. It would be wisest for him to retreat for now and call for reliable backup later.

Just when that idea rose from Yan Liqiang’s mind, he suddenly spotted a Horned Python Bow hanging on the wall.

That Horned Python Bow was a lot more gorgeous than the one that Zhou Yong had given to him. Its azure frame was exuding an exotically beautiful. The bow was hanging on a bow rack on the wall, with a quiver of arrows next to it.

When Yan Liqiang laid his eyes on this bow, he couldn’t help but mutter under his breath that it seemed like lady luck was on his side after all.

To Yan Liqiang, the disparity in his battle strength between having no bow and a bow in his hands was ten folds apart. Seeing that Horned Python Bow was akin to seeing a powerful assistant for Yan Liqiang. He neared the wall and quickly plucked that Horned Python Bow off it. He felt the Horned Python Bow with his hands and realized that this one was sturdier than his own. It was probably a powerful bow of six piculs. At a time like this, a six-picul powerful bow was exactly what Yan Liqiang needed.

A quiver of arrows was next to this Horned Python Bow. At the first glance, Yan Liqiang discovered that there were exactly thirty-six arrows in it. The quiver that held the arrows was made out of high-quality deerskin specially made for archers. There was also a special belt for archers on its side. Beside the belt was a gleaming shortsword that was suitable for archers.

Yan Liqiang wasn’t going to be shy now that he had spotted these babies. After he sheathed his kukri knife into the scabbard at the side of his thigh, he instantly equipped the new weapons as fast as possible.

Perhaps the owner of these weapons left them here display purposes or for show only. If that person knew Yan Liqiang had already equipped them on him, he’d definitely regret leaving them here.

Different sets of armor were hung on the wall as decoration. If it were possible, Yan Liqiang desperately wished he could wear all these ten armor suits. However, at this moment, they weren’t something he could put on by himself. So Yan Liqiang had no choice but to give up on the idea of wearing the armor. He only took down the breastplate from the wall and strapped it in front of his chest.

After doing all this, Yan Liqiang mustered up his courage, took up the bow, nocked an arrow, and made his way deeper inside.

The passage was extremely quiet, without even a single soul in sight. Walking on the thick carpet, Yan Liqiang’s footsteps were silent. Due to such silence in the surroundings, the voices in a distance could be heard very clearly.

“Is that Yan Liqiang really this impressive? He’s just a new student in the martial arts academy...”

The voice came from somewhere ahead of the passage. When Yan Liqiang heard the voice, he wondered if his ears were playing a trick on him. How could someone be talking about him in this kind of place?

Yet almost instantly, another voice rang out and Yan Liqiang was able to confirm that he wasn’t imagining the whole thing.

“An academy tutor who teaches the spear technique at the martial arts academy told us personally that Yan Liqiang’s basic spear technique is about to pass the second level!” Yan Liqiang had heard this voice in the morning. It was Wang Haofei, who had blocked his way along with a few others. Compared to the arrogant bully he was this morning, Wang Haofei’s voice was filled with cautious flattery at this very moment. “Young Master Ye ought to know that person with surname Xu is a simpleton, he’s not going to deceive us at a time like this. I believe Young Master Ye has met Qu Long before too. His strength and fist technique can be considered the best among us. Even Qu Long was sent flying by Yan Liqiang with a single punch when they competed with their fists. His knuckles are still swelling while Yan Liqiang seems to be perfectly fine...”

While Wang Haofei was speaking, Yan Liqiang had already made his way to the outside of that room.

There seemed to be a large bath inside the room. Steam was rolling out from the inside and the sound of movements in running water could be heard.

Yan Liqiang stood right outside the room, eavesdropping in on the conversation of the two people in the room.

“That Yan Liqiang is nothing but a country bumpkin from Qinghe County. He isn’t even apprenticed to any master. How can he be that impressive? Can it be that he has some sort of secret manual technique on him?”

“That I have no idea. I’ve asked around about this person. He only had a small reputation back in Liuhe Town before the Martial Arts Examination. Within the entire county of Qinghe, not many have heard of him. He had only emerged as a new force to be reckoned with during the Martial Arts Examination, shocking everyone. However, prior to the Martial Arts Examination, this guy had already done something shocking in Huanglong County. I believe I have mentioned this to Young Master Ye before. It was about rescuing the drowned through the method of performing moxibustion on their navels. It was rumored that this method originated from Yan Liqiang.”

“Oh, now I recall you mentioned this incident to me before. I heard that the method has saved quite a number of lives in your Huanglong County this year and it has already spread all the way to Pingxi City?”

“That’s right!”

“Do you know who passed that life-saving method to him?”

“It’s quite an unusual tale in Huanglong County. People said the method was imparted to Yan Liqiang by some God in his dreams...”

“Tsk, who believes in God nowadays?” That man who was named Young Master Ye snorted disdainfully. “If there were really Gods in this world, why didn’t they go claim a throne for themselves or establish some sects instead of encountering by that Yan Liqiang of all people? This is obviously a lie that is good enough to fool only his fellow country bumpkins!”

“My thoughts exactly!” Wang Haofei agreed, trying to ingratiate himself with Young Master Ye. “Yan Liqiang must have learned that from someone else or perhaps he have got some inheritance. Otherwise, there’s no way a country bumpkin like him would able to advance by leaps and bounds in such a short time. I’m guessing he has some secret manual or treasure with him but wouldn’t tell anyone about it. However, I’m guessing his father will definitely know...”

“So, you looked for me in such a hurry this morning and asked me to send someone to capture his father because you wanted to make a move, starting with his father?”

Chapter 81: Making the Kill

Standing on the other side of the bathroom door while listening in on the conversation between the two people and the running water in the bathroom, Yan Liqiang’s body froze. He didn’t expect his father, who had just visited him today in the Pingxi City, to have actually been captured by someone else after parting with him.

Yan Liqiang tightly grasped the Horned Python Bow in his hands as his entire body quivered in anger. He wished so badly to turn around and barge in there to f*ck those two up inside. Yet his rational side was preventing him from taking such reckless actions in the heat of the moment. It would be wiser for him to gather more information from the mouths of these two people before making his decision on the best course of action.

Yan Liqiang’s body froze like a statue on the other side of that bathroom door while he motionlessly continued to eavesdrop on the ongoing conversation inside.

“My little idea isn’t nothing compared to Young Master Ye’s.” Wang Haofei chuckled mischievously, “I think if Yan Liqiang has any secrets, his father will most likely know. I heard that Yan Liqiang is a very filial son. He and his father relied upon one another for survival since youth. If Young Master Ye has Yan Dechang in your hands, you don’t need to worry about Yan Liqiang refusing to submit obediently. Even if he has no valuable secret manuals on him, you can at least make him obey your orders...”

“That’s right. That’s why we must lead an ox by the halter. Everyone has their own weaknesses. Since Yan Liqiang isn’t easy to deal with, to have his weakness in our hands would be the best way to force him into submission. Wait till I take good care of the Law Enforcement Office tomorrow so they will indict Yan Dechang with a few more criminal charges. In the future, the father and son can’t even meet one another without approval from me!”

“I have no idea if that old geezer from Lu Clan is senile already. He actually wholeheartedly wished to pair Lu Beixin up with Yan Liqiang right after meeting him for the first time!” Wang Haofei pointedly said, “As long as Young Master Ye can get Yan Liqiang to submit, there will be no problems if you wish to get Lu Beixin through him...”

“I wasn’t that angry until you mentioned Lu Beixin. You’re simply useless! You’re pretty good when it comes to dealing with other women so why are you acting so slow when it comes to Lu Beixin? You’ve been with Lu Beixin for so long, yet you cannot even seize an opportunity to get things done! Now, the hen has flown away and the eggs in the coop are broken [1]. Lu Beixin’s father has grounded her. It’ll be difficult for you to even see her from now on. What am I supposed to do about that?”

“Yes, yes, yes. Young Master Ye is right. I will definitely think of a way to help Young Master Ye get Lu Beixin by your side!” Wang Feihao smiled shamelessly.

Upon hearing the words exchanged between the two, Yan Liqiang found out that there was an ulterior motive behind Wang Haofei’s courting of Lu Beixin. Furthermore, the motive actually turned out to be something so filthy, ugly, and simply nauseating. Wang Haofei wasn’t in love with Lu Beixin. He only wanted to send Lu Beixin to this so-called Young Master Ye’s bed. He wondered what Lu Beixin would think if she found out about this side of Wang Haofei.

“When Lu Beixin came to Pingxi City for the first time, she had a pretty bad impression of me after only meeting me once. I couldn’t get close to her so I have to send you out. If that woman wasn’t from the Lu Clan without so many people watching her, I would have sent someone to tie her up long ago. That woman has already passed the Horse Stance stage and is a virgin on top of that – both her appearance and figure are top notch. She will be a good candidate as the cauldron [2] to my cultivation. One Lu Beixin is better than ten ordinary women. As long as I can refine that woman’s primordial Yin, I’m sure I will be able to establish my Dantian and thus successfully establish my foundation...”

“That’s for sure. With Young Master Ye’s aptitude, you will definitely advance as a Martial Warrior in the future!”

“Goddammit, I didn’t think that it would be this difficult to pass the Establishing Dantian foundation stage after losing my virginity a long time ago. If I knew things would turn out this way, I wouldn’t be banging those maids back home. Even consuming the Foundation Establishment Pill that I obtained with great difficulty after all these years didn’t help. In the end, I have to resort to relying on women to establish my foundation. But don’t worry, as long as I can advance as a Martial Warrior, my father’s position will naturally be passed down to me. When that time comes, I will be holding the Prefectural Governor’s title and Huanglong County will naturally be granted to your Wang Clan...”

“Then I shall thank Young Master Ye!”

“No need to thank me. It’s only natural for you to receive some benefits for helping me. When those two wake up after a while, I will deflower them. After that, you may pick one to play with a few days. The two women this time are a lot better than the ones that the Shatu people delivered last time...”

“Hehehe. Young Master Ye can grasp Yin Yang with the joyous, seductive technique and be able to use women to establish a foundation. Such enjoyment is yearned by many...”

“Hahaha, the experiences are indeed simply too wonderful for words. Those Shatu people seemed to have really put their utmost effort in doing this. It seems like the favors my clan has given them have not been in vain. Oh yes, speaking of the Shatu people, I suddenly recalled something. When Yan Liqiang first arrived at Pingxi City, he was involved in some drama with those Shatu people and that nearly destroyed the business deals we had with them. Now that his father is in my hands, if he refuses to listen to orders, I will hand his father over to the Shatu or let them find a woman to claim that she was raped by Yan Liqiang’s father. Let’s see if Yan Liqiang will kneel down when that time comes...”

Listening up to this point, Yan Liqiang felt as if there was a volcano simmering in his chest, about to erupt.

He finally could identify this Young Master Ye. The surname of the Prefectural Governor of Pingxi Prefecture was Ye. This Young Master Ye was undoubtedly the son of Pingxi Prefecture’s Prefectural Governor.

While Yan Liqiang was attentively listening by the bathroom door, a man in his forties suddenly came out from somewhere about twenty meters away, in the opposite direction of this bathroom door.

That person walked on the thick carpet, and the sounds of his footsteps were also muffled like Yan Liqiang’s just now. He turned around and saw Yan Liqiang standing by the bathroom door in a single glance. Yan Liqiang also spotted him at the same time.

“WHO...” that person shouted. Before he could dash towards the area, an arrow had already flown into his mouth and penetrated the back of his head. The man was sent flying with an arrow before he landed heavily on his back.

Naturally, the commotion outside had alerted those on the inside. Splashing noises could be heard in the bath.

Yan Liqiang barged into the bathroom without a second thought.

A screen faced the entrance. Behind the screen was a steamy, gorgeous, large bath of about forty square meters.

There was steam in the bath, but it wasn’t thick enough to affect visibility.

When Yan Liqiang barged in there, he saw two naked men. They had already rushed to the side of the pool, looking for clothes to put on.

Yan Liqiang released an arrow...

“AHHHH!!!” Young Master Ye, who was about to retrieve his clothes, let out a blood-curdling scream. His palm, which had just barely touched his clothes, was nailed to the clothes rack by the arrow that Yan Liqiang released. Fresh blood instantly splattered everywhere. His yell was akin to that of a pig that was about to be butchered.

“DO NOT MOVE!” Yan Liqiang bellowed in rage as the second arrow was knocked onto the bow with lightning speed before he aimed it at Wang Haofei.

Wang Haofei froze butt-naked while he stood by the side of the pool. Either water droplets or beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.

“How did you know that my father came to see me today?” Yan Liqiang shouted his question in an icy tone.

“Y-Your father...” Wang Haofei was tongue-tied, he wasn’t able to react in time.

Yan Liqiang suddenly remembered that his face was still covered by the scarf around his neck right now. No wonder Wang Haofei couldn’t tell who he was. With a finger, he pulled down the scarf that was covering his face and stared at Wang Haofei icily.

“You’re Yan Liqiang...!” Wang Haofei exclaimed in shock, as if he had just been electrocuted by high voltage. His entire body trembled.

“You haven’t answered my question. I shall count to three. If you refuse to answer, this arrow will claim your life.”

“I’ll tell, I’ll tell...!” At this moment, with Yan Liqiang aiming his bow and arrow while he was naked and seeing how he dared to even shoot Young Master Ye just now, Wang Haofei fostered no doubts towards Yan Liqiang’s words. “It was Qi Donglai... Qi Donglai who came to tell me...”

“How do you know Qi Donglai?”

“I knew Qi Donglai when he was still in Qinghe County. His uncle works for our clan, the Wang Clan. I knew that Qi Donglai knew you before, so I have him keep a close watch over you. He has also seen your father. When your father came today, he saw him and informed me...”

So that was the story. Seeing that Wang Haofei was done speaking, Yan Liqiang’s hand slacked and the arrow flew out like lightning, embedding itself directly in Wang Haofei’s chest...

Wang Haofei’s eyes turned bloodshot in an instant. He lowered his head to look at the arrow in his chest, and then looked at Yan Liqiang who was looking at him with a frosty gaze. “B-But you said...”

“I said I would claim your life if you don’t tell me. But even if you did tell me, I still want your life!” Yan Liqiang replied icily.

Wang Haofei spurted out a mouthful of blood after hearing his words. Then he fell backward into the piping hot bath, dying the water in the bath crimson.

At this moment, a set of frantic footsteps came from the outside...

Chapter 82: Fighting For Life

By the time the footsteps outside arrived at the door, Yan Liqiang had already retreated to the other side of the pool...

With a loud bang, the screen at the door was instantly pushed over by someone. Two guards barged in with weapons in their hands.

To Yan Liqiang, he could pretty much make an accurate shot with his eyes closed over a distance of less than twenty meters.

Swoooosh... A sharp noise resounded. The moment the screen toppled over, the bow in Yan Liqiang’s hands had already released an arrow. It penetrated one of the guard’s throats, shocking the other guard. With a snarl, he charged towards Yan Liqiang. Although he was fast, Yan Liqiang wasn’t slow either. He had already released the second arrow when the guard had just barely charged ten meters towards Yan Liqiang, almost piercing his throat instantaneously.

Both guards fell to the ground in just the blink of an eye, shot to death in close proximity by the Horned Python Bow in Yan Liqiang’s hands.

The noises outside of the door ceased. Yan Liqiang heard a woman’s scream before she fled in the direction she came from.

There was no way his bow and arrows could shoot through the walls so he spared the woman who had escaped. However, these two guards who barged in were on the side of the evildoer, so he had no choice but to kill them.

Young Master Ye was just a few meters away from Yan Liqiang. One of his hands was still nailed to the rack. When he heard the two guards rushed in, he thought he saw a ray of hope. He broke off the arrow shaft that had nailed his hand to the rack and he slid his injured hand from it. Before he could even try to run away, Yan Liqiang released another arrow. The second arrow nailed his uninjured left palm onto that rack again.

It only took a brief moment for Yan Liqiang to almost cripple both of his hands. Immobilizing both meant that Yan Liqiang had eliminated half of the possible threats that could come from his hands.

Young Master Ye’s blood-curdling scream was ear-splitting. Yan Liqiang walked towards him with a cold sneer.

“You’re going to be dead meat... How dare you kill my people here... despite knowing who I am...”

Young Master Ye seemed to be a profligate son who was used to being bossy and acting all high and mighty. Never was he bullied in his life. Even though he was in such a situation, he was still barking at Yan Liqiang like a stray dog even while he was in immense pain. His barking continued until he saw Yan Liqiang resolutely walking to his side emotionlessly before he started to panic. “W-What do you want?”

SLAP!! Yan Liqiang took two big strides forward and ruthlessly smacked Young Master Ye’s face.

The strength from Yan Liqiang’s arm was so powerful that one slap instantly knocked a tooth out of Young Master Ye. One side of his face instantly swelled up.

“YOU...”

Another hard slap rang out. The other side of Young Master Ye’s face was also swollen now and another one of his teeth was knocked out.

Yan Liqiang flicked his wrist after delivering the two slaps. At least Young Master Ye was finally more well-behaved and he shut himself up right away. His head was ringing and he felt as if all the tears and snot in his body had been flung out by Yan Liqiang’s two hard slaps.

“Do not open your mouth unless I tell you to do so. Do not shut your mouth when I ask you to speak. Consider those just now a friendly reminder. As for the rest, I will use my knife to make you learn from your mistakes...” Yan Liqiang put the bow on his back while spoke. He unsheathed the shortsword hanging at his waist and held the sword underneath Young Master Ye’s chin. The tip of the sword pierced Young Master Ye’s skin, drawing blood. Fresh blood ran alongside the blade of the shortsword before it dripped on the floor. Young Master Ye’s face was drained of color. He raised his head, trying to get away from that sharp, icy blade under his chin as his entire body trembled in fear. Yan Liqiang’s hand remained motionless and firm like steel. His gaze was extremely cold.

In reality, Yan Liqiang’s heart wasn’t as icy as his exterior appeared to be. In fact, his thoughts were all jumbled up right now and he was deeply worried, hoping for a slim chance of survival. He knew he definitely had stirred up a huge commotion today. Since he was already involved in this mess, there was no getting out of it now even if he wanted to. Even if he didn’t run into that Shatu man tonight, either he or this man in front of him would ultimately fall in the end. Regardless, it was simply an inexcusable act for them to lay a finger on his father. Yan Dechang was in their hands at this very moment and they were probably planning to use him in a few days time to force Yan Liqiang into submission. This was totally crossing the line for him, and thus it was impossible for him to take a step back at this point.

Tonight, Yan Liqiang had barged into an unexpectedly wrong place by mistake.

As for whether he and his father could leave Pingxi City alive this time, it would all depend on this Young Master Ye that was in his hands. He heard that he was the only son of the Pingxi Prefectural Governor. Hopefully this bastard could prove to be a little useful.

“Nod if you understand. If you don’t understand, I will teach you properly again...”

Young Master Ye nodded his head lightly. A young lord like him who had been treated like a prince every day was able to learn extremely fast under a death threat.

“Alright. I have no interest in your ass. Go put some clothes on first!”

“B-But my hands...”

Yan Liqiang didn’t say anything. His shortsword left Young Master Ye’s throat. With a light swing, he cut the shaft of the arrow which impaled Young Master Ye’s hand, freeing him from it. “On the count of ten, wear whatever you can. If you are still butt-naked when time’s up, then that will be your problem...”

Hearing Yan Liqiang words, Young Master Ye clenched his teeth and used his wrists to retrieve a loose bathrobe on the rack. He draped it on his body although his hands were bleeding profusely and he couldn’t even move a single finger.

“I-Is there any Jinchuang ointment...? I need to treat my wounds...” After putting some clothes on, Young Master Ye told Yan Liqiang this. His forehead was beaded with sweat.

Yan Liqiang wordlessly swung the shortsword in his hand, directly piercing Young Master Ye’s thigh. The tip of the sword sunk exactly two inches into his thigh, avoiding the main vein.

When Yan Liqiang pulled out the shortsword, Young Master Ye let out another miserable shriek once again. The fresh bathrobe he had just changed into was stained red again. His legs almost gave away with the wound on his thigh and he nearly fell down.

“You spoke when I didn’t give you the permission to. That was for you to keep it in your head. Whether I can leave this place in one piece today still depends on my luck. Similarly, your chance of survival today will depend on me. Therefore, there’s no need for you to treat your wounds since you might get more. If you dare to fall down right now, I will stab one of your eyes out next.” Yan Liqiang smiled.

Upon hearing Yan Liqiang’s warning, Young Master Ye could only clench his teeth and endure the pain. He tiptoed in front of Yan Liqiang, facing this person who wouldn’t hesitate to poke a hole in his body with a sword whenever he spoke. For the very first time, Young Master Ye stared at Yan Liqiang, his gaze filled with fear.

“What’s your name?”

“Ye Xiao...”

“Your father is the Prefectural Governor of Pingxi Prefecture?”

“Yes!”

“Do you hate me right now, and are you secretly thinking about how to kill me?”

“N-Not at all...” Ye Xiao let out another blood-curdling scream while his body trembled like a leaf and the beads of sweat on his forehead rolled down. The shortsword in Yan Liqiang’s hand had severed the pinkie on his left hand.

Yan Liqiang was still looking at Ye Xiao with a smile. “The second rule when speaking to me is honesty. If I feel that you are lying, you will instantly know the price you’ll have to pay...”

...

Chapter 83: Reversed

How did beast tamers manage to tame all those animalistic beasts that were difficult to to tame in a short amount of time?

The answer was actually very simple and very cruel – by whipping. Even if a wild beast couldn’t speak, it wasn’t immune to pain and suffering. As long as you let it know which actions would lead to pain and agony, even the less intellectual and ferocious beasts could be domesticated into obedient cats.

If that was possible for a beast, it was possible for humans too.

This was something Yan Liqiang had known in his previous life back when he attended an upper division management course. The lecturer related the principle of taming a beast to analyze the subtle psychological and sociological effects between human resource management in corporate systems and the Stockholm Syndrome.

It was all still fresh Yan Liqiang’s memory.

In such a pressing situation, Yan Liqiang had no choice but to treat the son of the Prefectural Governor like a wild beast. He needed to make this person submit completely to him and instill fear in him. Only with that would he have a chance of surviving today.

Ye Xiao was worse than a beast. However, he wasn’t only a hostage to Yan Liqiang right now, he was the key to his survival.

In the shortest amount of time possible, Yan Liqiang left four extremely painful wounds on Ye Xiao’s body which were no doubt etched deep into his memory. They had completely crumbled the last trace hope and resistance from him. At the same time, Yan Liqiang let Ye Xiao know that his insignificant life was completely in his hands. If Yan Liqiang wanted to kill him, he definitely would not have any second thoughts just because of his identity.

When he watched his finger detached from his palm, the terror that filled the heart of the Prefectural Governor’s young lord far exceeded the physical pain he felt.

Yan Liqiang quickly tied a leather belt around Ye Xiao’s neck. The leather belt was barely loose enough to let the young lord of the Prefectural Governor breathe and not suffocate to death. The other end of the belt bounded both of his hands and were twisted behind his body in an unsightly way, thus completely restricting his movements. Yan Liqiang grabbed the middle part of the belt with one hand and pressed the shortsword in the same hand against Ye Xiao’s back, maintaining it in a position where he could stab him at any moment. His kukri knife was in his other hand he and placed it on Ye Xiao’s shoulder so that the sharp tip of the blade was directly aimed at the main artery in his neck.

Then, with the same position, he effortlessly marched Ye Xiao out from the bathroom with the bow on his back.

The footsteps in the underground tunnel were chaotic and panicked. In just a flash, more than ten guards carrying swords and crossbows rushed out from the tunnel. When they saw Ye Xiao who had been held hostage by Yan Liqiang, each of their expressions became contorted. The few who were holding crossbows instantly crouched down and aimed their weapons at Yan Liqiang.

“Who are you? Release Young Master Ye! If you dare lay a finger on him, the Prefectural Governor will shred you to pieces!!” The person who seemed to be the leader of the group yelled at Yan Liqiang.

“Order them to lower their weapons...” Yan Liqiang gave the order to Ye Xiao. His back against the wall, slightly leaning to the side so that his body was almost completely shielded by Ye Xiao’s body in front of him.

“BASTARDS, QUICKLY PUT DOWN YOUR WEAPONS. DO YOU HEAR ME?” Ye Xiao yelled so loudly that his voice was hoarse.

The guards exchanged looks between themselves before they finally looked at the man who had spoken to Yan Liqiang just now. However, no one put down their weapons.

“Seems like the words of the Prefectural Governor’s young lord have fallen on deaf ears. Maybe they want to see you dead?” Yan Liqiang let out a small sigh and then slightly increased the pressure on the kukri knife that he was holding at Ye Xiao’s neck, instantly cutting into skin. Blood started to seep out from the wound.

Ye Xiao was terror-stricken. With a flushed face, he bellowed at those guards. Even his voice had turned high-pitched and extremely strident to the ears. “ZHAO SONGMING, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? WILL YOU ONLY BE HAPPY WHEN YOU SEE ME DEAD? IF I DIE HERE TODAY, MY FATHER WILL DEFINITELY SEE TO IT THAT YOU WILL BE BURIED ALONG WITH MY BODY. ALL OF YOU WILL BE MY MURDERERS!!”

The countenance of the leader of the guards who had yelled at Yan Liqiang earlier instantly became distorted. “Everyone, lower your weapons, lower your weapons!”

Those who were holding swords or powerful crossbows hurriedly placed the weapons in their hands on the floor.

“I don’t care who you all are, but you better listen carefully. Starting from now, stay five zhang [1] away from me. If anyone comes closer than that without my permission, I will chop one of Ye Xiao’s fingers off. If two people come five zhang near me, I will chop one of Ye Xiao’s hands off. Also, if I notice anyone holding a crossbow or a hidden weapon within a hundred meters, I will poke a hole through Ye Xiao’s body. If you want to kill me, I will definitely use Ye Xiao as a meat shield. So to those who want to perform in front of your master, I will advise you to reconsider. If anything happens to Ye Xiao because of you, or if he has any missing fingers or holes in his body, you will bear the consequences. Don’t risk your little life just because you want to do well. I can’t kill you, but there’s definitely someone who can!” Yan Liqiang revealed his face from behind Ye Xiao and spoke to those guards in an icy tone. “Alright, that’s all. Step back now and keep yourselves five zhang away from me...”

“DID YOU HEAR THAT? FALL BACK AND QUICKLY SPREAD THE WORD!” Ye Xiao shouted at those guards on his own accord without Yan Liqiang’s instructions. The blue, bulging veins on his forehead were clearly visible.

This time, all the guards hurriedly moved backwards without Zhao Songming saying anything. All of them feared that any sort of delay would turn them into scapegoats. Yan Liqiang was totally playing a mind game with them just now and his words hit the guards right in their weak spots. Under these circumstances, it would naturally be a good thing if one could rescue Young Master Ye – a high position and great wealth in the future would be waiting for them. However, if anything happened to Young Master Ye because of someone, even if he sustained a scratch on him, it would spell doom for that person...

Yan Liqiang watched in satisfaction as each guard retreated five zhang away from him.

“I’ll give you five minutes to bring me the two girls that were kidnapped just now...” Yan Liqiang told Ye Xiao.

“WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? CALL YE AN TO SEND THOSE TWO GIRLS HERE!” Ye Xiao shouted again at the guards.

In just a flash, the two girls that Yan Liqiang had seen just now were brought over.

They were already awake, but they were gagged, blindfolded, and also restrained by the ropes. When they were brought around five zhang away from Yan Liqiang, Yan Liqiang ordered the guards to undo the ropes and take off the blindfolds and the gags so that he could take another good look at the two ladies. Upon confirming that these two were the very same ladies he saw earlier, he let the frightened girls escape from the tunnel behind him and towards the exit at the back. At the same time, he also brought up the rear and slowly retreated into the tunnel that he used earlier when he came here with Ye Xiao.

Those guards were stuck in a difficult situation. They were only allowed to stay five zhang away from Yan Liqiang, and so they could only blindly follow him to the other end of the tunnel.

When Yan Liqiang arrived at the metal door of the tunnel along with Ye Xiao, he suddenly heard screams from the two ladies who were running in front of him. The scene he saw when he turned around made his eyes bulge and burn with anger. Just twenty meters away from him, the two young ladies had collapsed to the floor with crimson, bloody wounds on their fair necks. Their wounds were still wholly open. In just a flash, both young and beautiful ladies had withered away like roses, dying before Yan Liqiang’s eyes.

Unbeknownst to him, a man was already standing at the exit of the tunnel, fully dressed in black with gray hair, wearing a sinister face.

That man stared at Yan Liqiang with a malevolent smile. The expression on his face was then replaced by a solemn look in just a flash before he made a loud announcement to everyone. “Everyone, listen carefully here. This person who abducted Young Master Ye kidnapped two young girls in Pingxi City today and did some monstrous things to them. Fortunately, the Young Master discovered his strange act when he was out today and had the guards rescue the two girls, taking the three of them to the manor. He was about to report this to the authorities but he didn’t expect this man to be so cunning and evil to come up with such a trick. While waiting for an opportunity to flee, he killed these two girls, abducted the Young Master, and also killed a few guards in the manor while attempting to escape...”

Chapter 84: Driven Into A Corner

The man who just emerged directly and efficiently killed the two ladies off first before he poured dirty water all over Yan Liqiang with just a few words, instantly reversing the entire situation. Under such circumstances, even if Yan Liqiang could get out of here alive, he would become a wanted criminal in the Great Han Empire just like King Cobra, set to live in shame forever and be spurned upon. He’d probably be assassinated at any given moment.

Unless he could overthrow the Prefectural Governor of Pingxi Prefecture, he probably would never have the opportunity to prove his innocence in his entire lifetime.

It would be nearly impossible for a fourteen-year-old kid to overthrow a Prefectural Governor alone without any support or influential figures behind him, despite having some aptitude in cultivation. The difficulty of this situation was akin to that of a high school student from a key school [1] trying to oust the mayor in his previous world. Back in a modern society, if one had any information on hand, one might have a slim chance to fight for that through rallies or social media exposure. However, in an informationally-closed world like this, not many would bother to believe you even if you shouted at the top of your lungs.

Yan Liqiang glared at the man dressed in black in shock and anger. He could feel blood rushing to the top of his head. That man in black coldly stared at him with a smile on his face. He flicked the longsword in his hand, softly shaking off the blood that coated the blade. He then stepped over the corpses of the two ladies on the floor and made his way towards Yan Liqiang while giving him a death stare. “Release Young Master Ye and I will let you die with an intact corpse!” His tone of voice was very icy.

‘Keep calm, keep calm, I must keep calm!’

Yan Liqiang chanted to himself in his heart. He then moved his hands. The kukri knife in his hand danced in midair, immediately slicing Ye Xiao’s ears off. Both fell onto the floor.

“AHHHHHHHH!!!” Ye Xiao let out an ear-piercing scream. His neck and shoulders were instantly soaked in his own fresh blood while his entire body trembled. The pain was so intense that he almost couldn’t stand still. He only managed to barely stand due to Yan Liqiang’s grip on the belt that held him up. His scream reverberated throughout the passageway. Tears and snot came flying out.

“I might die, but before I die, I will definitely make sure that this person here will share the same fate as me. I know I’m not your match, but as long as you come anywhere near me within five zhang, I will definitely kill Ye Xiao before you kill me. Would you like to give it a try?” Yan Liqiang looked straight at that man in black.

The man in black abruptly stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes flashed with cold, icy gleams as he stared at Yan Liqiang.

“If this person wants me dead, then I want you dead too. You lost both your ears because this person acted without permission. Would you like to tell him something?” Yan Liqiang asked Ye Xiao.

“MASTER, MASTER... I DON’T WANT TO DIE... SAVE ME... SAVE ME...!” Ye Xiao wailed loudly. “If I die here, then it’ll be your fault! Even if you are my master, my father will not let you get away with this. Zhao Songming, hurry up and get my father to come. Ask him to save me...!”

It seemed like this man in black was Ye Xiao’s master. Yan Liqiang had only managed to make clear of his opponent’s identity through Ye Xiao’s wails.

The man gave Ye Xiao a single glance before he calmly spoke. “I’ve already sent someone to inform the Prefectural Governor. He should be here soon...”

“Now, I need to pass through here. Get out of my way!” Yan Liqiang said while seizing Ye Xiao as he inched his way towards the person dressed in black.

The man in black coldly stared at Yan Liqiang, still blocking his way.

The distance between the two parties quickly reduced to five zhang. Seeing that the man in black had no intention of retreating, he pressed the sharp blade of the kukri knife in his hand deeper into Ye Xiao’s neck. The wound on his neck started to grow in size, and blood started seeping out, running down. The clothes Ye Xiao was wearing was now already half-soaked with his own blood. Yan Liqiang looked straight into the eyes of the man in black without any fear. The hand that he held his knife with remained steady and the pace he moved at with Ye Xiao in tow showed no signs of slowing down at all.

“MASTER, I DON’T WANT TO DIE, I DON’T WANT TO DIE...!” Ye Xiao nearly went insane when he saw the two parties drawing closer to each other. They were reaching the five zhang mark. The wound on his neck was growing larger and he was losing more blood. He couldn’t help but yell in panic.

When the two parties were approaching the distance of five zhang, Yan Liqiang’s blade finally touched the main artery on Ye Xiao’s neck. Yan Liqiang didn’t stop and kept pushing Ye Xiao to the front, towards the man in black who unwaveringly glared at Ye Xiao’s neck and Yan Liqiang’s hand. In the end, he took a step backwards, so Yan Liqiang stopped pressing on the kukri knife in his hand.

He continued pressing on with Ye Xiao while the man in black continued to fall back. Both parties kept a distance of five zhang between them while they moved towards the underground entrance of the boutique.

In just a flash, Yan Liqiang made it below the exit that he that he had entered from with Ye Xiao in tow. The heat from the exit above was threatening and the firelight seeped through the cracks of the exit.

That exit had already been sealed off. Yan Liqiang could barely make out the shouts of someone from above. “This room is also on fire! Quick, bring down the walls of this room! Hurry! Don’t let the fire spread!”

A rumbling noise came from the tremor above ground. The underground exit had been completely sealed. It was no longer possible to exit from here.

The man in black sneered coldly at Yan Liqiang. “You are indeed a very smart one. You set the room upstairs on fire and exposed the tunnel so that if someone from outside barged into the room to put out the fire, they’d discover the three corpses you left in the room and the tunnel. Then they’d subsequently report it to the authorities. This would guarantee your safety and escape route, and also the reason why you dared to rush in here. Yet you have no idea the party you are messing with are the authorities themselves and also the highest official of Pingxi City at that. I was the first to rush in here when I saw the fire from the outside and I ordered the law enforcers to surround this boutique, preventing anyone from coming anywhere near here. The exit of this boutique’s tunnel was also sealed when I came here and I also set the room above on fire. Not only that, I’ve also ordered people to bring down the room to seal off the tunnel exit. If you wish to get out, you can only use the other exit...”

Yan Liqiang took a deep breath and wordlessly marched backwards with Ye Xiao, preparing to leave from the manor that Ye Xiao was at. With that, everything he was about to do now would really fall into the trap that the man in black had laid out for him to outsiders – that he had abducted Ye Xiao and escaped from his place...

However, he couldn’t afford to be bothered so much now. He needed to leave the basement first.

“How do we get above ground? Lead the way. If you think you still have enough blood to spare, you may go ahead and waste my time!” Yan Liqiang commanded and pressed a little harder on the knife, thus creating another wound on Ye Xiao’s neck.

“From that side... a-and you’ll get out immediately!” Ye Xiao replied through his clattering teeth.

Yan Liqiang marched Ye Xiao upstairs again. He was now surrounded on both sides, with people standing five zhang away from him. The man in black, or Ye Xiao’s master, was on one side and the guards on the other. One party advanced while the other went in reverse. In just flash, Yan Liqiang arrived at one of the courtyards in the lavish manor above the basement under Ye Xiao’s lead with a group of people surrounding him.

The moment Yan Liqiang marched Ye Xiao out there, the lavish manor was instantly turned upside down. The panic-stricken noises of the servants and the shrill screams of the maids rose and subsided in succession.

“Where’s the exit? Get me out of here!”

“Here... Here...” Ye Xiao was about to lead Yan Liqiang out of the room.

“Slow down. Let me remind you again. If I see anyone holding any crossbows or hidden weapons within a hundred meters from us, don’t blame me for putting a hole in you...”

“ZHAO SONGMING, DID YOU HEAR THAT?!” Ye Xiao had a nervous breakdown and shouted at the leader of the guards.

“Rest assured, Young Master. I have already sent someone to spread the word. No one will do anything that will put your life at risk...”

Yan Liqiang seized Ye Xiao, exited the lavish manor, and arrived at the main street outside.

The snowflakes were still fluttering in the air. Flames were raging at the boutique which was two hundred meters away. Not a soul could be seen within a radius of one hundred meters from the grand manor because this place had completely been sealed off by law enforcers and soldiers of Pingxi City. Those soldiers and law enforcers were holding torches which illuminated the road. Their eyes filled with hatred, disgust, and coldness when they saw Yan Liqiang come out from the manor, holding a knife at Ye Xiao’s throat.

Under the gazes of those soldiers and law enforcers alone, Yan Liqiang was certain that the words from the man in black earlier in the basement had already been circulated while he was on the move with Ye Xiao in captivity. He reckoned that story had become the truth for those soldiers and law enforcers. At this moment, he was nothing but a heinous criminal beyond redemption. His words were meaningless because at this point in time, he no longer had the power to defend himself.

Yan Liqiang’s heart was filled with bitterness. The coldness of the snowflake that had landed on the back of his hand that he was holding his knife with directly pierced his heart.

Even if he could get away from Pingxi City today, there was no escaping all the charges that would be laid on him. No one could save him now.

A middle-aged man dressed in the Prefectural Governor official uniform stood outside the main entrance with a group of guards beside him. He looked at Ye Xiao who had been seized by Yan Liqiang with a deep frown on his face.

“FATHER, SAVE ME!!” Ye Xiao immediately wailed loudly when he saw the middle-aged man.

“Release my son.” The Prefectural Governor coldly commanded Yan Liqiang.

“Ask the Law Enforcement Office to bring Yan Dechang whom they seized today and prepare a horse carriage for me.” Yan Liqiang calmly gave his orders to the Prefectural Governor of Pingxi City whom even Huangfu Qianqi had to lower his head to.

At this moment, there was no point in saying more. All Yan Liqiang had in his mind was to keep Yan Dechang and himself alive, and then escape from Pingxi City. Yan Dechang was still imprisoned in the Law Enforcement Office’s prison. If he chose to depart this place by himself, it would be impossible for Yan Dechang stay alive. Therefore, his only option was to bring Yan Dechang along with him and flee for their lives...

Chapter 85: Putting Up a Desperate Fight

In the morning, Yan Liqiang was still the rising star of Pingxi Martial Arts Academy, admired by countless people.

During the afternoon, Yan Liqiang still held the Huangfu Qianqi’s bodyguard token and he could still access the Military Governor’s Office of Pingxi City.

Yet tonight, in just a short one hour, Yan Liqiang was driven into a corner in Pingxi City within an instant...

In just the blink of an eye, the savior had turned into a murderous fiend who kidnapped young girls and couldn’t leave Pingxi City alive without a hostage. Yet the hostage he held was the true devil and murderer.

It wasn’t like he took the wrong script for the play. This was nothing but a common scene in this world.

This was the way of this world. More often than not, the so-called ‘righteousness’ was nothing before authority. The life of a peasant like Yan Liqiang without any background was less than that of an ant before the power of authority.

In the face of authority, it actually only took one word or gesture to distort any fact into fabricated stories, concealing the truth from masses.

Yan Liqiang leaned against the lion statue at the entrance of the splendid manor. This spot was safe from any projectiles from shooting weapons. He scanned the roofs in the surroundings and let out a sigh of relief when he confirmed that there were no archers there while Ye Xiao was shielding him. Young Master Ye, dressed in only a layer of clothes, was shivering in the snow. The guards who had surrounded Yan Liqiang and the Prefectural Governor of Pingxi City were staring icily at Yan Liqiang from more than thirty meters away.

The other ordinary guards and soldiers were all a hundred meters away, sealing off the road and they didn’t come anywhere near them. This situation made it impossible for Yan Liqiang to create any sort of distraction by crying out his grievances loudly.

Yan Liqiang could only smile bitterly. The other party had already planned everything, leaving him without any opportunities. The other thing which baffled Yan Liqiang was the reaction of the Prefectural Governor of Pingxi Prefecture. He only frowned at the sight of the half-crippled Ye Xiao who was riddled with scars since the beginning. Even when he verbally ordered Yan Liqiang to release Ye Xiao, his whole demeanor remained very calm, so unusually calm.

The torches in the surroundings crackled. The atmosphere was silent and stifling. Yan Liqiang didn’t have to wait too long before Yan Dechang was brought over.

Yan Dechang who came off from the tightly sealed prisoner carriage was shackled and handcuffed. He also had some bruises and scars on his face. When he just left the carriage, Yan Dechang reflexively squinted and raised his hands up to shield his eyes from the piercing firelight and the shadows of the crowd across from him.

“Reporting to my lord, Yan Dechang has been brought here!”

Upon hearing the voice of someone reporting beside him, Yan Dechang instantly widened his eyes to take a clearer look around him. He was so astonished by the sight of everything around him here.

“Father...!” Yan Liqiang called out.

There was a rattling noise when Yan Dechang tried to go towards Yan Liqiang, but he was unable to take a step further because the two law enforcers beside him pulled him back the handcuffs.

“Liqiang, what’s going on? What happened to you?” Yan Dechang asked loudly in shock.

“Father, I discovered that the Prefectural Governor’s son abducted and killed ladies from respectable families in Pingxi City by coincidence. In my attempt to rescue the victims, I fell into their death trap. The hostage I have in my hands is the son of the Prefectural Governor...”

Perhaps others wouldn’t believe Yan Liqiang’s claims, but that was not the case for Yan Dechang. He believed him without a doubt.

He struggled and the metal chain on him rattled. “Don’t bother about me, think of a way to escape yourself!” He shouted at Yan Liqiang.

“We’re leaving together!” Yan Liqiang shook his head and looked straight into the Prefectural Governor’s eyes. “Release my father from the chains that bind him!”

“Your father was only captured by the members of the Law Enforcement Office today due to his suspicious activities for an interrogation. There isn’t much of a problem at the moment and we have yet to determine if your father violated any laws. Hence I will release him right now!” The Prefectural Governor calmly watched the scene before him. “However, you have already violated the law today by committing murder and causing such a huge commotion. Should you feel that you have been wronged, feel free to appeal to the Law Enforcement Office. I will definitely investigate this matter thoroughly and do you justice. Release the hostage and we shall talk more.”

After hearing the Prefectural Governor’s words, people who didn’t know better would probably be tricked into thinking that he was handling this matter fairly and lawfully, and also that he was an upright and plainspoken individual. For Yan Liqiang who had lived two lives, he wasn’t going to fall for this kind of bullsh*t. On top of that, he already had suspected that Pingxi’s Prefectural Governor was colluding with the Shatu people. Based on everything he had seen and heard today, the extent of their collaboration might perhaps be beyond his imagination.

“Fine. I will bear the consequences of my actions alone. Let’s set aside my affairs for now. This incident has no relevance to my father. Since there’s no issue with my father, you will release him first and let him leave Pingxi City!” Yan Liqiang remained calm as he spoke.

“Release the hostage first and allow yourself to be arrested without any resistance. That will prove that today’s incident had nothing do to with your father – naturally, I will release him too. I cannot help but feel suspicious on how insistent you are over having your father leave first. Perhaps your father entered the city today because he made a prior agreement with you to commit a crime together. If this is the case then I naturally cannot release him because we still have to get to the bottom of this first!”

“Liqiang, don’t worry about me, you go first!” Yan Dechang yelled.

Yan Liqiang didn’t say a word – he only pressed a little harder on the kukri knife in his hand, creating a new wound on Ye Xiao’s shoulder. Fresh blood started seeping out and Ye Xiao wailed loudly again. “FATHER, SAVE ME... SAVE ME...!”

“Ye Xiao. Although you are my son, I cannot afford to violate the rules of our empire for your sake by bending the laws for selfish reasons instead of making a clear distinction between public and private interests and letting a criminal get away under my nose. I have always taught you to be loyal to the country. Now, this is the time to prove your loyalty!” The Prefectural Governor of Pingxi Prefecture looked around at his surroundings with dignity and his voice resonated like the great bell. It was as if he was the embodiment of Bao Qingtian [1]. “Everyone, listen to my orders. Take that person down immediately. If he puts up any resistance, execute him!”

The law enforcers and guards in the surroundings exchanged looks when they heard the Prefectural Governor’s order. They took out their weapons and inched towards Yan Liqiang together.

At this exact moment, Yan Dechang suddenly let out a loud roar. Like a mad bull, he slammed into the law enforcer beside him with his strong body and sent him flying before he pounced on the Prefectural Governor of Pingxi Prefecture with all his might. “RUN, LIQIANG! IF YOU CAN LEAVE THIS PLACE ALIVE TODAY, DON’T FORGET TO EXTERMINATE THE SHATU SEVEN TRIBES TO AVENGE YOUR MOTHER...!”

A sword gleam flashed by. Part of the shiny longsword protruded out Yan Dechang’s back, abruptly ending his shout.

In Yan Liqiang’s eyes, everything seemed to freeze at this very moment.

Yan Dechang turned his head around with great difficulty to glance at Yan Liqiang. Blood spilled out of his mouth endlessly. “H-Hurry... G-Go...” were the two words he could manage.

At the end of Yan Dechang’s last word, his head flew. His sturdy body slightly swayed, then collapsed in a heap.

The man in black, or Ye Xiao’s master, stood before Yan Dechang while he sneered disdainfully and coldly at Yan Liqiang.

“FATHER!!” Yan Liqiang screamed in anguish as his eyes widened like saucers and were instantly bloodshot. He exerted force on the shortsword which was pressed against Ye Xiao’s back, instantly driving the tip of the blade through his heart to the hilt. The blade protruded from Ye Xiao’s chest. Ye Xiao coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood; he fell to the floor and instantly died.

Yan Liqiang didn’t leave. He held the kukri knife in his hand and lunged toward the man in black. He was going to put up a desperate fight!

A guard from the Ye Clan rushed over and brandished his longsword at Yan Liqiang. His longsword clashed against Yan Liqiang’s kukri knife but it was knocked out of his hands due to the powerful force from Yan Liqiang. Yan Liqiang then hacked the guard’s head with his kukri knife. The guard’s head immediately split open like a watermelon. His brain matter splattered all over Yan Liqiang.

Another law enforcer charged towards him, but Yan Liqiang evaded his baton with a smooth footwork, then slashed down his knife. The law enforcer fell to the floor along with one of his severed arms, and he howled in pain.

Yan Liqiang was like a frenzied tiger. He had murdered two people and injured a person in just a split second. For a moment, the other law enforcers and guards in the surroundings were overwhelmed by Yan Liqiang’s aura.

In just the blink of an eye, Yan Liqiang had dashed to the front of the man in black.

The disdainful sneer never left the man in black. He was waiting for Yan Liqiang to come for him. With a flick of his longsword, the kukri knife Yan Liqiang brandished at him was knocked out of his hands.

Yan Liqiang let out another violent howl. The Dharmic projection of a vicious tiger from the Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist technique manifested behind him. As he flung his fist toward his opponent, the roar of a tiger erupted in the air.

When his fist was half way out, Yan Liqiang felt a cool sensation in his chest instead before there was a sharp pain in his heart. He lowered his head and saw that the longsword in that person’s hand had already pierced through his breastplate and his heart, freezing his movement. In this exact moment, every ounce of strength in his body was rapidly discharged from his body as though a floodgate had been opened.

He didn’t manage to complete even two techniques in the face of this person...

Am I dying...?

A thought suddenly emerged in Yan Liqiang’s mind.

“Perhaps you might manage to land a few more techniques on me in another ten years. However, at this point in time, you’re not even a Martial Warrior so you’re nothing but an ant in my eyes. Are you here to throw your life away?” The man in black looked at Yan Liqiang with his usual cold gaze.

“GAHHHH!!” Yan Liqiang suddenly snarled and pushed a step forward, letting the blade of the longsword completely pierce his heart. The moment the man in black was startled, Yan Liqiang’s hands had caught his wrists. He then suddenly lowered his head and bit the man’s right hand that was holding the sword with all his might. He almost bit off the man’s right thumb. The web between the man’s thumb and forefinger was ripped into two.

The man in black let out a blood-curdling scream and kicked Yan Liqiang’s chest. The terrifying snap of shattered bones rang out and Yan Liqiang was sent flying.

Chapter 86: Life and Death

His heart had been pierced through by the longsword. His breastbone and internal organs were also instantly crushed. The moment his body was sent flying by the man in black with a kick, Yan Liqiang could feel his body turning weightless. Before he knew it, he was suddenly floating in midair. The most intense pain he felt just now vanished without a trace...

What’s going on? Just what is going on? Why am I floating in midair...?

At this moment, everything was jumbled up in Yan Liqiang’s head.

In the midst of this confusion, he ‘saw’ a familiar figure flying across a distance of more than ten meters before it landed heavily on the ground. After rolling two times, the figure laid there motionlessly.

The unmoving body that landed hard on the ground was no one but Yan Liqiang himself.

“M-MY HAND... MY HAND... ARGHH!!”

The man in black cradled his right hand which was bleeding profusely and he screamed in agony beside Yan Liqiang...

In his recklessness, Yan Liqiang had bitten off the entire thumb of the man in black’s right hand. When Yan Liqiang was sent flying into the air from his kick, the flesh and bone of his thumb that had been bitten off fell to the ground. It was so mangled that it didn’t remotely resemble anything like a thumb anymore. Perhaps not even God could restore it back now. The terrifying strength Yan Liqiang gained over the countless days of practicing Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing could similarly be observed in the strength of his jaws. With just that, Yan Liqiang managed to inflict a serious injury on the man in black.

Losing a thumb meant that the hand was half-crippled. This was especially true for a sword user. Therefore, it was nearly impossible for the man in black to wield his sword with his right hand again from now on.

The man in black picked up his horribly mangled thumb from the floor and yelled like mad. He picked up the longsword with his left hand from the floor and ran towards Yan Liqiang’s body. He stabbed Yan Liqiang’s chest and neck with his sword as if he had lost his mind, then he chopped off his limbs. “HOW DARE YOU BITE ME? HOW DARE YOU!?”

Flesh and blood splattered everywhere throughout the entire process. In the blink of an eye, Yan Liqiang’s body was mutilated beyond recognition. Blood flowed from his body, staining the snow crimson which covered the ground beneath him.

Yan Liqiang was floating in the air during the entire process as he watched the man in black vent out his anger on his body like a spectator.

Watching your own body be wrecked by someone else with your own eyes was an extremely bizarre feeling.

Yan Liqiang lowered his head to look at his own hands...

The outlines of his hands were still very distinct, even though they had lost their physical form and appeared to be nothing but a layer of translucent white light. He extended out his hand. The snowflake that fluttered down from the sky passed right through his palm and continued falling...

Am I dead...? Is this... what happens when someone dies? Those people in the surroundings... can’t or sense me... Is this what they call a spirit or ghost in folklore...?

Countless thoughts ran through Yan Liqiang’s head. He lowered his head and spotted Yan Dechang’s corpse not too far away. His heart was suddenly overwhelmed by grief.

Countless soldiers and law enforcers came up from both sides and started to clean up the scene. He could no longer see Yan Dechang’s figure anywhere on the main street.

“FATHER, WHERE ARE YOU...? FATHER, WHERE ARE YOU...?” Yan Liqiang yelled loudly. Everyone in the surroundings didn’t seem to notice him as they carried on with their own tasks.

Yan Liqiang realized that he was as fast as lightning. He floated gently in the sky, his feet not touching the ground. It felt as if there was a powerful buoyancy on the ground which lifted him up. Just a single thought alone could propel him over a distance of hundred meters.

He shouted everywhere. In just a flash, he had already flown around a huge area and saw nothing but emptiness around him. Apart from the snowflakes that filled the skies and the intensely burning torches burning, there was no sight of Yan Dechang anywhere anymore.

Didn’t everyone have a soul after dying? Wouldn’t they become ghosts, just like him in his current state...? Why was he all alone here...? Why...? Father, where are you...?

“Where are you...? Where are you...?”

Heart-wrenching sobs wracked his body. Soft, glowing white tears fell from his eyes and disappeared into the void.

“I’LL KILL YOU...!” When Yan Liqiang saw the man in black still mutilating his corpse with a longsword nearby, he pounced on him with bitterness.

Yan Liqiang’s fists and body passed through the man in black. His opponent didn’t seem to sense him either. He tried another few attempts in a row and realized that nothing had changed. His current body was like a transparent shadow, unable to interact with any object.

“There are so many people watching. That’s enough!” The Prefectural Governor came over and whispered softly, “As the saying goes, a lion should also hunt a rabbit at full strength. You are a Martial Master who might advance to become a Martial Grandmaster in just a few years time. Yet you got one of your hands crippled during a battle with a youth who wasn’t even a Martial Warrior. To put it simply, you underestimated your opponent and you have no one to blame for that. You could have ended the battle with your second slash, yet you gave the youth an opening...”

The man in black instantly stopped and panted heavily.

...

The Prefectural Governor then came before Ye Xiao who had been finished off by Yan Liqiang. He looked at Ye Xiao’s pale face which was contorted in terror and his eyes which remained open even in his death, staring up at the heavens. He crouched down and placed his hand over them. He tried to shut Ye Xiao’s eyes with a gentle brush downwards, but Ye Xiao’s eyes still remained open when the Prefectural Governor lifted his hand. He tried two more times and realized that he couldn’t shut Ye Xiao’s eyes no matter what so he gave up in the end and stood up. He glanced at those guards who trembled with fear in the surroundings and let out a small sigh. “I’ll leave the Young Master to you...”

“Understood!”

...

Yan Liqiang drifted along the main street as if he had lost his soul. By the time he snapped back to reality, he didn’t know how long he had been standing there. The main street which was bustling with activity earlier was now left with only a few people. All the corpses had been carried away. The blood trails on the ground had been covered by stove ashes and then cleaned. Snow was still falling from the sky, concealing every single remaining trace, as if nothing had ever happened.

The fire at the boutique in the distance had been extinguished. The flames were gone, only a pile of ruins remained along with the remains of brick walls and the broken roof tiles were still emitting smoke. The soldiers that came out just now had all withdrawn from the place, leaving only a few law enforcers guarding the ruins, preventing anyone from coming any closer.

Only the entrance of the lavish manor before him was still wide open. The honor guards of the Prefectural Governor were still standing next to the entrance outside. Officials who seemed to be in a hurry and nervous-looking law enforcers were passing through the entrance...

Yan Liqiang lifted his hands which were glowing white and observed them. Right at this moment, he wasn’t sure if he was dead or still alive. Was he a human or a ghost?

Everything before his eyes was no different than what he had seen and heard back when he was still alive. Except for the fact that he had become a strange being which couldn’t be sensed by others, he was just like a transparent shadow.

Yet the hatred and agony ingrained deep in his bones were still surging in his heart.

Yan Dechang’s dying words which he struggled to say still lingered in Yan Liqiang’s ears.

He shut his eyes in agony...

When a person was still alive, all they could see was darkness when they shut their eyes. However, Yan Liqiang saw an odd-looking huge rock instead when he shut his eyes.

The huge rock assumed the form of a mountain in one minute, and turned into a meteor the next minute, as well as various flying birds, fishes, or bugs. There were also various silhouettes of mythological beasts which Yan Liqiang had never seen before. The myriads of changes were an enigma to behold...

The huge rock drifted in the sea of consciousness within his mind as it kept changing its shape endlessly. A soft, milky white ray of light emitted from the huge rock then gently and warmly enveloped Yan Liqiang’s entire consciousness. At the same time, it also formed this incorporeal body which was visible only to Yan Liqiang himself.

...

Chapter 87: Human Realm

In the hall of that lavish manor, Ye Tiancheng, the Prefectural Governor of Pingxi Prefecture, sat in front of his desk with an icy expression on his face. A few officials in Pingxi City stood below with their heads lowered while they quivered in fear. Quite a number of them had beads of sweat on their foreheads. The young lord of the Prefectural Governor had just been murdered by someone outside of this lavish manor today and this made them feel apprehensive. They weren’t sure just what kind of flame was burning in his heart at this moment...

“That Yan Liqiang is from Qinhe County’s Liuhe Town. He’s currently a student at the Pingxi Prefecture Martial Arts Academy and s-seemed to also be the bodyguard of the Military Governor...” The official made the report with his head lowered. He secretly wiped his cold sweat as he spoke.

“How did such an atrocious person manage to get into the Pingxi Prefecture Martial Arts Academy and even be chosen as a bodyguard by Huangfu Qianqi?”

“Sources claim that Yan Liqiang is ranked first among the top three in this year’s Martial Arts County Trial Examination in Qinghe County...”

“No wonder why!” The Prefectural Governor’s gaze flickered. “What’s Yan Liqiang’s family background? Does he have any other relatives or siblings?”

“There are only two people in Yan Liqiang’s household, him and Yan Dechang. He has no other siblings and no one has heard of his relatives...”

The expression on the Prefectural Governor’s face relaxed slightly. “Yan Liqiang and Yan Dechang are guilty of terrible crimes. They have been executed and all their properties shall be confiscated...”

“Understood...”

“It is unfortunate for such terrible event to happen in Pingxi City. Please appease the clans of the two girls who were murdered by Yan Liqiang as well as the family of Wang Zhaofei who died for his courageous act in Huanglong County as much as possible. You may distribute part of the properties seized from Yan Liqiang as financial support to them...”

“How merciful of you, Sir...”

“The Pingxi Prefecture Martial Arts Academy isn’t some haven for criminals. Have the Law Enforcement Office investigate the martial arts academy to see if there are still any questionable individuals who collude with Yan Liqiang in there. If there are, have the martial arts academy expel them and ban them for life.”

“Understood.”

“The incident from tonight caused quite a huge commotion that will provoke discussions. To prevent the rise of such discussions and turmoil in people’s hearts, I expect to see announcements posted everywhere in Pingxi City to reassure the public before the next sunrise...”

“Yes...”

...

Next, the Prefectural Governor continued giving out his orders one by one. Those officials who accepted the orders left the hall in a hurry and began mobilizing the legal parties in Pingxi City to settle various matters related to the aftermath of the incident.

The Prefectural Governor only left the hall after settling all public affairs and slowly made his way towards a courtyard behind the lavish manor.

Upon seeing the arrival of the Prefectural Governor, all the servants and guards in the courtyard withdrew with their heads lowered, so silently that not even their breaths were audible.

There was a room in the courtyard and the room had already been arranged. A few white candles were lit in the room and there was a long table placed in the center. Ye Xiao laid there, and his lifeless body was covered by a piece of white fabric.

Ye Xiao’s master, the man in black, was also there. His injured right hand had already been wrapped up. However, anger and unwillingness were still evident on his face.

Ye Tiancheng walked to the center of the room and uncovered the white fabric. He took a single glance at Ye Xiao who was covered beneath the cloth.

Ye Xiao’s corpse was pale and stiff. It had already been cleaned up by the coroner in the Law Enforcement Office in the city in the shortest amount of time. Even the wound on his neck and chest, as well as his detached ears had all been stitched up. No one could really tell afterward as they were covered up by a layer of powder.

Since Ye Xiao’s eyes couldn’t be shut, two copper coins tied up with a red string were placed on top of them.

“I’ve taken care of you like my own son for more than twenty years since you were only three months old. I believe that you have already enjoyed all the glory, splendor, wealth, luxurious lifestyle and women over these years. An ordinary person might not necessarily enjoy all the pleasures you experienced in these twenty years even over three lifetimes. Today marks your death, but you shouldn’t hold any regrets either. Even if you didn’t die today and Yan Liqiang escaped from here, this matter would also have been exposed. Perhaps even I would not have the power to cover it up for you by then. Therefore, don’t blame me for not rescuing you today. Think of it as a retribution...” There was no sign of sadness on Ye Tiancheng’s face, let alone any tears in his eyes. He only looked at Ye Xiao’s corpse calmly and spoke softly using a tone that did not suit a father. After he finished speaking, he gently covered the body again with the white fabric.

The man in black spatted vehemently, “This stand-in is nothing but useless thrash. He lived in such great conditions yet he couldn’t even advance as a Martial Warrior after all these years. He couldn’t even keep his foolery with a few women down and caused so much trouble.”

“Mo Leng, I guess you can only train yourself to use a sword with your left hand from now on.” Ye Tiancheng took a single glance at the man in black. “You shall leave Pingxi City tomorrow and find a place to recuperate. When your injuries have recovered, get a new identity for yourself and look for Xiao’er. In the previous letter he wrote home, he mentioned that he already advanced as a Supreme Martial Warrior in the Divine Sword Sect and is able to cultivate in the inner sect. Not only that, but he has also captured the attention of an elder in the Divine Sword Sect and has a bright future ahead of him...”

“Understood!” The man in black looked down at the floor. “If the Young Master ever returns, his identity...”

“The current situation is already chaotic as it is, so we shall leave matters of the future when the time comes. We no longer need to hide anything now. The entire Gan Province is ours.” The Prefectural Governor’s eyes lit up.

“Right!”

“Bring Zhao Songming in...”

The guard captain of the lavish manor kneeled at the entrance the moment he arrived at the room. He was completely drenched in sweat and didn’t dare to even lift his head.

The Prefectural Governor stared at him coldly and wordlessly. He then suddenly lifted a finger and a red fiery snake shot out from the tip of his finger. It penetrated into the crown of the guard captain’s head and went into his body. The guard captain who was kneeling on the floor only let out a blood-curdling scream and immediately collapsed onto the floor. His body was set ablaze along with his hair and clothes. In just a moment’s time, all that remained of him was only a charred corpse. The entire room was filled with a waft of a pungent odor.

The Prefectural Governor and the man in black left the room soon after that. Someone was then sent in to dispose of the charred corpse.

However, no one was aware that Yan Liqiang was in this room too.

Yan Liqiang had been following the Prefectural Governor of Pingxi Prefecture since he left the hall, and he had witnessed everything with his own eyes.

He finally understood why the Prefectural Governor seemed to be unaffected by the death of his ‘son’. It turned out that this Ye Xiao was merely a stand-in the Prefectural Governor kept by his side while his real son was cultivating in Divine Sword Sect under another identity.

The Divine Sword Sect was one of the four major sects of the Great Han Empire, and it was also a renowned sect.

Much like the attention and sensitivity Yan Liqiang had observed in his previous world towards the children of public figures and government officials, it was the same for the children of an official in this world, especially those who had a certain ranking. Most often, the emblem of the sect they carried and their connections to others sects were similarly a very sensitive topic for many people. That was because this signified a certain level of affiliation. Perhaps this was the exact reason why the Prefectural Governor of Pingxi Prefecture had gone through so much trouble to find a stand-in for his son to stay by his side.

After the birth of his son, the Prefectural Governor of Pingxi Prefecture had already found a stand-in for his son. Even the stand-in didn’t know he was living under someone else’s identity. This was simply a very terrifying scheme. Another thing that Yan Liqiang didn’t expect was the strength that the Prefectural Governor possessed. The power he released from his single finger was too great of a shock to Yan Liqiang. He had no clue as to what heights the Prefectural Governor’s cultivation realm had reached. However, he did not have a single doubt that the Prefectural Governor was much more powerful than the man in black whose name was Mo Leng.

The room was already empty by now. Yan Liqiang stayed in the room for a moment before he passed through the wall of the room like an invisible ghost. He came to the main street outside then flew towards the Law Enforcement Office.

...

As expected, announcements from the Law Enforcement Office were pasted in every corner of Pingxi City.

The announcement reported that Yan Liqiang and Yan Dechang were heinous criminals who abducted girls from respectable clans while Ye Xiao and Wang Haofei were courageous youths who had discovered Yan Liqiang’s suspicious activity, rescuing the girls whom Yan Liqiang had abducted in a joint effort. They then brought the three of them to Ye Xiao’s residence and were about prepare a report for the authorities. However, they didn’t expect Yan Liqiang to be so powerful, sinister, sly, and cunning. He waited for an opening to escape from Ye Xiao’s residence and then murdered the girls he had abducted along with Wang Haofei. Not only that, he also held Ye Xiao hostage and murdered a few guards in the manor. In his attempt to flee the scene, he was finally intercepted in the main street outside Ye Xiao’s residence. Yan Liqiang and his father had stubbornly put up a stiff resistance but were finally ordered to be executed on sight by the Prefectural Governor, a man of complete integrity. Ye Xiao was unfortunately murdered before Yan Liqiang’s death and consequently the Prefectural Governor lost his beloved son in the process of upholding the laws and ridding the empire of evil...

The announcement sent shockwaves across Pingxi City. Countless people praised the Prefectural Governor for his virtue and integrity. Yan Liqiang and Yan Dechang on the other hand were disrespected and reviled by countless people...

Shi Dafeng, who was at the Pingxi Prefecture Martial Arts Academy, was forcefully expelled from the academy the next day since he was close with Yan Liqiang.

...

When news traveled to Liuhe Town of Qinghe County, Butcher Liu and his son grew angry.

“I knew it all along that the father and son from the Yan Clan were no good, especially that Yan Liqiang. First among the top three my ass. He didn’t even use his little talent the right way and turned out to be a heinous criminal. Murders and arsons, he had done them all! He never really fit in with the rest since young. This must be karma. Luckily they were exposed in Pingxi City this time. Otherwise, Liuhe Town will suffer a calamity one day...” Butcher Liu stood at his pork vendor stand and repeated the same story every time someone came to buy meat...

...

When all of Pingxi City was holding a mourning ceremony for the courageous young lord of the Prefectural Governor, people at the mortuary of the Law Enforcement office were deliberately making things difficult for Qian Su and Zhou Tiezhu who had come to claim the corpses of Yan Liqiang and Yan Dechang. In the end, Qian Su only managed to retrieve their bodies after paying someone for their assistance in settling the matter. He then secretly cremated the bodies somewhere outside Pingxi City...

...

A few days later, Yan Liqiang watched Qian Su and Zhou Tiezhu secretly bury Yan Dechang and his ashes underneath two pine trees in a jungle on Mount Hundred Zhang in Qinghe County.

“Both of you can only find peace if I bury you here. If I buried you in Liuhe Town, your graves would probably be destroyed at any moment by the clans of the two victims from Pingxi City...” Qian Su muttered to the two urns. He couldn’t stop his tears from falling.

Zhou Tiezhu who had always been a manly man was sobbing profusely right at this moment.

...

“Take it away and burn it...” In the Lu Residence of Huanglong County, Old Master Lu looked sadly at the portrait of King Cobra that Yan Liqiang had left on a wooden board before he let out a sigh in the end and handed the portrait to Lu Peien. “How is the Yan Clan now?”

Back then when Lu Peien sent someone to bring over the portrait that Yan Liqiang had drawn, Old Master Lu had viewed it as a wondrous object at first glance and meticulously kept it as a collection. At this point in time, Old Master Lu had no choice but to take it out and burn it. He didn’t dare to keep it any longer, in case it would invite trouble.

“Qian Su already buried their ashes. The Yan Clan’s properties have already been confiscated, leaving only an old woman by the name of Mother Wu. I have already made some arrangements for her to be sent to the Temple of Gratitude...” Lu Peien replied.

“Alright, I guess that’s the least we can do!” Old Master Lu raised his head towards the heavens and let out a long sigh.

Chapter 88: Desire to Live

For the next seven days, Yan Liqiang was like a spectator in a cinema. He stood at the side and silently watched the series of events after his death.

He was there when Qian Su tried to retrieve his body at the Law Enforcement Office.

He was there when Shi Dafeng furiously tore up the announcement posted in the martial arts academy...

He was there when his lifeless body was reduced into ashes by the fire...

He was there to see Butcher Liu putting on an air of complacency at his pork stall...

He was also there when Old Master Lu handed over the portrait he had drawn of King Cobra to Lu Peien in the Lu Residence to burn...

He even personally followed Mother Wu to the Temple of Gratitude. He was only completely relieved when he saw Mother Wu living very comfortably there.

The sorrows of his friends and the people close to him, as well as the smug faces of the wretched, flashed before Yan Liqiang’s eyes.

At this very moment, a clear line was instantly drawn between comradeship and snobbery.

He was being reviled by countless people in Pingxi City. Even after his ashes had been buried by Qian Su and Zhou Tiezhu on Mount Hundred Zhang, there were still people asking around for his resting place in Liuhe Town – everything was as Qian Su had expected.

Ye Xiao and Wang Haofei had already become young heroes of righteousness. People sang praises everywhere in Pingxi City and Huanglong County at the mention of their names while he himself had become a heinous criminal beyond redemption.

Pingxi Prefecture’s Prefectural Governor’s reputation also reached new heights after this incident.

The Prefectural Governor had a courageous son who acted heroically in a just cause and the Prefectural Governor was faced with a very difficult choice during that crucial moment. In the end, he would rather sacrifice his son than let a criminal escape. His integrity was simply a blessing to the residents of Pingxi Prefecture.

Although Yan Liqiang had lived two lives, the emotions he felt over these few days was nothing like he had ever experienced before.

Such was life and the fickleness of human nature.

Only in movies and fairytales would good prevail over evil and survive until the end. Yet in reality, oftentimes, evil would triumph and prevail over good. While the evil happily enjoyed all the wine and beauty to their heart’s content, most of the good who had fought them with overflowing righteousness were already long dead while the weeds on their graves had already grown three feet tall.

‘A man as straight as a bowstring often meets a tragic end while a man as crooked as a hook is revered instead.’ [1] – it seemed like human nature, as summed up by the ancestors, remained unchanged over these thousand years.

Its implication was, ‘People who stand as straight as bowstrings will not meet good endings; meanwhile, people who are as crooked as hooks, who like to ingratiate themselves and live without morals will instead be revered, thus able to enjoy a life of glory and splendor’. The saying was used to expose and satirize the corrupt officials of feudalism and bureaucracy.

After witnessing the twisted truth, Yan Liqiang felt as if he had been baptized. It was as if he had achieved supreme enlightenment all of a sudden– that was if he could still be considered a living person in his current circumstance.

Yan Liqiang had no idea what he was right now. He couldn’t say he was alive because his body had been cremated to ashes. Yet he couldn’t say he was dead because he was still aware of everything around him and he could still experience emotions... He had a hunch that the strange state he was in right now was somehow related to the strange huge rock in his sea of consciousness.

As soon as he closed his eyes, that huge rock would automatically appear before his eyes. When he opened his eyes, everything would return to normal and the huge rock would disappear. Yan Liqiang tried countless times and the results were always the same.

He had no idea just how this huge rock had appeared in his sea of consciousness. He was guessing that it might’ve been the meteor that had hit him in his previous life because that mysterious huge rock would sometimes turn into the shape of a meteor and shuttle about in his sea of consciousness.

Yan Liqiang was aware that this huge rock was something extraordinary and it was most certainly something he wouldn’t dare to imagine. However, he didn’t know how to interact with this huge rock either.

The huge rock was ever changing yet it remained silent all the time. Even if he shouted at the top of his lungs, the huge rock didn’t give him any response at all no matter what he said to it.

A month after his ‘death’, Qian Su left the Weaponsmiths Quarter of his own accord, claiming to have resigned to return to his own hometown. He left Pingxi Prefecture and it was not known what became of him after that.

At first, Yan Liqiang didn’t know why Qian Su left. He only knew that he had left when he flew to the Weaponsmiths Quarter one day and overheard the discussion of the people that were there.

A clever person like Qian Su already knew about the possible risks when he took the initiative to take care of the funerals for Yan Liqiang and Yan Dechang. He also discovered that this incident had involved the Prefectural Governor. Hence, Qian Su fled Pingxi Prefecture on his own accord before the Prefectural Governor could make any moves.

Zhou Tiezhu opened a new blacksmith store in Liuhe Town. With a few of his own apprentices, he managed to establish his brand, Zhou Blades, and carried on forging weapons. Although the Zhou Blades brand wasn’t as well-established as the Yan Clan’s blacksmith store, the quality of the blades that Zhou Tiezhu forged were reliable and there were still some customers who would stop by to purchase his blades, especially the kukri knife Yan Liqiang had left behind. Sales gradually grew and Zhou Blades’ business slowly became established as it flourished; thus gaining some reputation.

The group of disciples from the Lu Residence and Lu Beixin were no longer suspended and once again returned to the martial arts academy...

Shi Dafeng had also left Pingxi Prefecture. His father found a master who ran a dojo in Canggu Prefecture of Gan Province with the help of someone so he could resume his martial arts studies.

...

Everyone carried on with their lives and were back on track. Yan Liqiang was the only who couldn’t return.

Half a month after Qian Su left Pingxi Prefecture, Yan Liqiang also did the same.

The flames in his heart still burned intensely. He wasn’t content with drifting around Pingxi Prefecture like a lonely, homeless ghost. He had to avenge Yan Dechang and himself. He needed a human body.

He believed that his current state could definitely be changed and that this wasn’t his end. If he couldn’t change the current state he was in right now, then it couldn’t have been possible for him to have lived through two lives. Otherwise, he should have been drifting on Earth ever since he was struck by a meteor in his previous world. Hence, he was convinced that there was definitely a way for him to change this – he just hadn’t found the key yet.

The first thing that popped into Yan Liqiang’s mind was reincarnation.

He was guessing that the rock in his sea of consciousness was probably protecting his consciousness, allowing him to reincarnate again to live another time. It just didn’t tell him that. Yan Liqiang didn’t know how to reincarnate either. The only way was through trial and error.

If he was going to reincarnate, Pingxi Prefecture was naturally out of the question. That was because the Prefectural Governor held the highest power in Pingxi Prefecture. If he was going to be reborn again, he would naturally lose if he had to live under Ye Tiancheng’s reign. Therefore, if he was going to be reborn, it’d be better for him to select a clan outside of Pingxi Prefecture. It’d be best if it were a powerful and influential clan. That way, at least when he was born, he would have a head start over others.

Holding onto this mindset, Yan Liqiang started his endless attempts. However, these endless attempts over a very long period of time totally turned Yan Liqiang into a ‘home-invading peeping tom’...

After leaving Pingxi Prefecture, his figure flashed like lightning as he roamed across a thousand miles and visited those particularly huge cities, searching for clans that appeared to be well-off and influential. At night, he would invade the bedrooms of those lavish manors by passing through the walls. Then he watched couples carry out the rituals of making a baby, in hopes that he could somehow trigger the requirements for reincarnation.

The number of sexual activities Yan Liqiang witnessed in just these two months far exceeded the amount of porn he had watched on Earth in his previous life. It was to the extent where even Yan Liqiang was worried he might grow a stye in his eye the moment he was successfully reborn.

In the end, Yan Liqiang realized that no matter how he watched or studied everything, nothing ever came out of it.

Since this approach didn’t work, Yan Liqiang tried to purposely stay close to pregnant women only to discover that it didn’t work either.

In the end, Yan Liqiang even tried to follow some midwives around, trying his luck every day around the places where babies were born. He spent the next few months doing this until even he felt like he could become a qualified midwife himself and it still didn’t work out for him.

Could it be that he could only reincarnate if he died?

With that thought in mind, Yan Liqiang started trying to commit suicide with various methods – getting struck by lightning, leaping into fire, jumping off the cliff, drowning in the river... He tried everything he could think of, but still, none of it worked. That was because all matter in the world was pretty much non-existent to him. When he chased the lightning during a heavy rain, the lightning passed through his body like air. In an attempt to burn himself, he found a blacksmith workshop and stood inside the furnace for one whole day. When he tried to jump off the cliff, his body floated in the air. Similarly, when he tried to drown himself in the river, he found himself floating on the water’s surface. He couldn’t even injure himself...

He struggled for seven or eight months and had lost count of the places he had been to. He made countless attempts but none of them worked. At this point, Yan Liqiang almost felt like he was going insane...

Chapter 89: Reincarnated

Smoke from chimneys, old trees, crows in the dusk...

Mountain village, small temple, a faraway place...

When Yan Liqiang came out from the temple, he felt as though he had an empty void in his heart. Despite the hurdles and countless attempts he made over these seven to eight months, he could still only wander around everywhere like a lonely, homeless ghost. He couldn’t feel coldness or hunger, and he did not need to eat or sleep. He wasn’t dead, and yet he wasn’t alive. Under such circumstances, even the mentally strongest person would inevitably feel the despair and hopelessness of the situation...

Yan Liqiang had no idea where he currently was. In any case, this place was already very, very far from Gan Province of the Great Han Empire.

The small temple on the hill of this mountain was named the Temple of Purity. There was only an old temple attendant who didn’t seem like a real monk in the temple. When Yan Liqiang left, the old temple attendant with graying hair was dozing off on the recliner by the door. He was drooling and seemed to be uncomfortably asleep. Hanging above the old temple attendant’s head was the Temple of Purity’s signboard which had been discolored since long ago. On both sides of the temple door were two lines of a Buddhist quote with peeling paint.

–Void the self of greed and be purified,

Free the self and turn from foolishness.

Looking at the two lines of Buddhist quote by the entrance of the temple, Yan Liqiang smiled wryly.

Yan Liqiang wasn’t a devoted believer of materialism [1] in his previous life, much less in this life. Therefore, since two months ago, Yan Liqiang couldn’t help but go inside any Daoist temple or shrine he came across on his journey to pray to the Gods and Buddha for another chance at reincarnation.

Although drifting around like this every day seemed to be fun, Yan Liqiang felt a suffocating fear as time went on. He was afraid that he would stay like this forever, as a mere floating spectator of the world who was drowning in loneliness despite being in the midst of ten million people.

There was a village at the foot of the mountain where the small temple was. The glow of the sunset filled the sky. This was the time when every family was preparing for dinner. Smoke could be seen rising from chimneys everywhere in the village, and it was a rather tranquil sight to behold.

Yan Liqiang glanced down the mountain but didn’t descend the mountain. A few months ago, he still enjoyed poking his nose into different households in the village to observe people’s everyday lives. But now, watching those people live on as a spectator had become torture to Yan Liqiang because it made him even more aware of the fact that he was a lonely homeless ghost that had been abandoned by the entire world.

Following the small mountain path behind the small temple, Yan Liqiang arrived at the summit before long. He sat alone on a boulder beneath a pine tree on the summit and he silently watched the sun set in the west as the dusking sky turned into nightfall.

He didn’t want to walk, make any attempts, or run today. All he wanted to do was just stay a night here all alone on this nameless, small mountain. Over these past few months, his body felt like the wind and he seemed to never feel any exhaustion. Yet, his heart had long worn out.

When the sun had set completely, Yan Liqiang extended his hands under the starry skies. He stared at his shadowless arms under the moonlight and shook his head helplessly before he shut his eyes.

As soon as Yan Liqiang shut his eyes, the familiar yet strange huge rock appeared before him again.

Even when watching a movie, no one would enjoy staring at the same scene forever. For the past seven or eight months, the longest amount of time Yan Liqiang spent staring at this strange rock with his eyes shut was more than ten hours. He even tried using different methods to interact with this stone but they were to no avail. However, after shutting his eyes today, he stared at that strange rock downheartedly and never opened his eyes after that. He also stopped himself from drifting everywhere.

An hour passed... then five... then ten... then twenty-four...

When the sun set and the starry skies emerged once again, Yan Liqiang, who had been staring at that rock for more than twenty-four hours, sensed that the strange, huge rock was suddenly shining with boundless radiance and it assumed a form he had never seen before. Just when Yan Liqiang was in shock, the huge rock emitted a brilliant, rainbow-like ray of light and it shined on Yan Liqiang’s body. Before Yan Liqiang could react, he felt that the strange, huge rock seemed to have suddenly turned into a huge magnet. It was producing a powerful, attractive force that was hard to resist. His entire body and consciousness turned into a ray of light in an instant and merged with that huge rock.

–Could this be reincarnation? Hehe, how he wished he could look a bit handsomer in his next life...

That was the last self-deprecating thought in Yan Liqiang’s mind before he lost his consciousness.

In the wake of that, Yan Liqiang felt as though he had a long, sweet dream.

...

“ACHOO!!” Feeling the itch on his nose, Yan Liqiang uncontrollably let out a sneeze. Then opened his eyes and woke up.

What came into Yan Liqiang’s line of sight was the first glimmer of light and a few remaining stars in the sky, along with the pine tree hanging above his head. His face was right next to some grass with dewdrops hanging from its tips. His single sneeze had caused the dewdrops to splash onto his face and he could feel the coolness.

Yan Liqiang blinked his eyes. Was he dreaming?

He raised his hands in a daze and put them before his eyes. It was a young pair of hands full of vigor. The luster of his skin was as shiny as ivory and his fingers were long and slender. They were brimming with an amazing yet somewhat strange aesthetic.

Looking at his hands, Yan Liqiang’s mind was blocked for a few seconds, unable to process what had just happened. His eyes widened like saucers after a few seconds had passed and leaped up from the floor as though he had been electrocuted.

Only after leaping up did Yan Liqiang realize that he was still currently on the summit of that same familiar nameless small mountain.

The pine tree was still the very same one from last night, as well as the boulder beside it. He looked down from the summit and spotted that the Temple of Purity wasn’t too far away.

What was going on? Wasn’t he reincarnating? Why was he still here? Was that all a dream...?

The mountain wind blew and Yan Liqiang couldn’t help but sneeze due to the coldness. “ACHOO!!!”

Then, he finally realized that he was completely butt-naked. He lowered his head to assess his body. It seemed like it was slightly different now but fortunately, it still had the same junk down there...

Yan Liqiang couldn’t restrain himself from yelling in excitement on the summit, causing a few birds in the forest nearby to fly away in shock. He then abruptly went silent.

After getting excited, he took another look at himself. Yan Liqiang suppressed the excitement in his heart and cautiously descended the mountain while grasping his way through the dark along the mountain path.

The mountain path was rough to walk as it was paved with some crushed rocks, dried up branches, and dead leaves. This was extremely uncomfortable and it was quite painful to walk barefooted on it. Before Yan Liqiang could make it far, the skin on the soles of his feet had already been torn by the dead branches and crushed rocks on the ground – they stung.

However, he wasn’t bothered by it. At this moment, the ability to feel bodily pain once again was simply a blessing to Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang, who was naked, made it to the Temple of Purity with the quickest speed possible. He flipped himself over the walls and entered the monastery. It turned out that there was no one in this temple at night, including the old temple attendant. Yan Liqiang immediately found some old clothes that barely fit him in one of the storage rooms and he put on a pair of old shoes.

–For the clothes I borrowed today, I’ll repay in hundreds of folds someday!

After leaving his words on the wall of the storage room, Yan Liqiang left the Temple of Purity dressed in the old clothes.

When he arrived at the main street at the foot of the mountain, Yan Liqiang finally couldn’t hold it in anymore and howled wildly while he basked in the first glimmer of dawn. “I’M ALIVE, I’M ALIVE...!!”

Chapter 90: A Brand New Face

In Yan Liqiang heart, he felt revitalized. The joy of being reborn and the fact he could once again plant his feet firmly on the ground made him feel like he was walking like on wind – extremely swift.

People who had never died wouldn’t know the value of life and how precious one’s body was. Only after dying for real once did Yan Liqiang deeply realize that it was truly good to be alive; he understood the real difficulty in obtaining his body.

While he was making his way, Yan Liqiang carefully sensed and realized that his new body was completely the same as his old one in terms of strength, speed, and reflexes. This body had similarly passed the Horse Stance stage and its bones and tendons had already been considerably stretched out. It was close to passing the Stretching Tendon and Extending Bone stage, and his cultivation realm actually remained exactly where it was before.

Even if he were reborn and possessed a brand new body, Yan Liqiang wasn’t completely knowledgeable about what had happened or what the entire process was like. The only thing he was certain about was that everything had to be related to that mysterious huge rock.

Recalling the experience from earlier, everything was simply so surreal as though it were a dream. Yan Liqiang had traversed over countless mountains and rivers, searching for a way to be reincarnated. He had also devised every possible method to interact with that mysterious huge rock in his sea of consciousness. After countless failures, he only realized in the end that the method to communicate with the mysterious huge stone was incredibly simple. He only needed to shut his eyes when he was nothing but a soul and silently gaze at that huge mysterious rock. Given a day’s worth of time, a reaction would naturally happen between him and that mysterious rock, bringing about an unexpected result.

This was completely in accordance with the saying, ‘You can wear out iron shoes in fruitless searching, but by sheer luck, you may find the thing lost without even searching for it.’

While walking alone on the road, Yan Liqiang’s mind gradually became clearer and he was able to get a clear picture of his own situation and the reality around him. From the looks of it, he probably couldn’t return to Pingxi Prefecture and Gan Province for the time being. It would be unrealistic for him to return for revenge with the measly strength he possessed because he would just be courting death as he wasn’t even a Martial Warrior yet. Ye Tiancheng, the Prefectural Governor of Pingxi Prefecture was incomparable to the Hong Clan of Liuhe Town. It could be said the former was totally up in the heavens while the latter was on the ground. Putting aside Ye Tiancheng’s absolute power and authority in Pingxi Prefecture which was capable of deceiving the masses, just his cultivation alone was as he had witnessed– incredibly powerful. His strength was not at the height that Yan Liqiang could strive for in just a short period of time. Although he decently skilled in archery, it would barely pose a threat to Ye Tiancheng.

Therefore, his most important mission now was to think up of a way to survive and find a place to settle down. Only then he could he slowly plan everything out and continuously improve his cultivation and strength to realize the possibility of exacting his revenge.

Yan Liqiang walked with long strides on the road. By noon, he had already covered a distance of a few dozen li. A flourishing town finally appeared before Yan Liqiang whose stomach was already rumbling with hunger.

During his journey, Yan Liqiang found something strange. Since dawn, he had already seen other travelers and horse carriages along the way. However, all those travelers would stare at him as if a flower had bloomed on his face, including the coachmen who couldn’t help but do a double take when they passed by Yan Liqiang on their horse carriages.

As he was nearing the town, the number of people on the road increased. Yan Liqiang realized that more people were taking notice of him. Men, women, elderly, youths – they were all staring at him. While he was walking on the street, the percentage of people turning their heads around was close to a hundred.

Was it because of what he was wearing?

Yan Liqiang lowered his head to apprehensively look at the clothes he was wearing. The clothes he had borrowed from the Temple of Purity was of a dusty gray color and showed signs of age. Yet it was still considerably clean. Although they were not aesthetically gorgeous clothes, they were good enough to be worn and provided ample coverage.

Yan Liqiang touched his face and head. His facial features felt normal and it wasn’t like he had an extra eye or a missing nose. There didn’t seem to be any horns or scales on his head either. So why were these people behaving so strangely around him?

An elderly woman in her forties or fifties carrying a basket was walking towards Yan Liqiang. When she saw Yan Liqiang, her eyes were instantly fixated on his face too and she turned her head to the side to continue staring. Her distraction caused her to accidentally bump into the person in front of her, and the basket she carried crashed onto the floor. The few eggs in it instantly broke and their yolks came leaking out of their shells.

Yan Liqiang couldn’t take it any longer after witnessing this scene. He looked around and spotted a store selling bronze mirrors nearby so he immediately went into the store.

The walls and counters in the store were decorated with many polished, bronze mirrors of various designs. The store owner was entertaining two female customers inside. Yan Liqiang wordlessly came before one of the bronze mirrors and took a good look at himself.

He was instantly petrified at the sight of the face reflected through the bronze mirror and his mind went totally blank.

The reflection in the bronze mirror still seemed to be a fourteen to fifteen-year-old youth. Yet it was no longer what Yan Liqiang looked like. It was an indescribably handsome face. The skin of that face was fair and had the luster of ivory. The pair of eyebrows on it were silky back and ended towards his temples, brimming with a heroic aura. Below them were eyes which were as deep as the night sky with a wonderful glow in them. Between his eyes was a sharp and straight nose which exuded the masculine aura of a manly man...

His eyes, nose, lips, brows, forehead, and ears – all the facial features and profile of his face were to the golden ratio. It looked like the most meticulously carved piece of art in the entire universe.

In terms of attractiveness, this face was simply heaven-defying. He was divinely handsome. He was radiant no matter where he was.

Even Yan Liqiang himself was dumbstruck at the sight of this face. Although he did realize that the skin and palms of his brand new body were different than his previous body, he didn’t expect the disparity to be this large. If he were to say that his face was only slightly handsome, then his current body and face would be insanely handsome. No wonder why he was attracting so much attention during his journey.

How could things turn out like this?

Yan Liqiang then instantly recalled the thought in his mind before he lost his consciousness last time – he wished he could look a bit handsomer in his next life.

Could it be that the profoundly mysterious huge rock sensed his thoughts and granted him this body according to his wish upon reincarnation?

WTF, he really was too handsome. Compared to this face, the teen idols on television in his previous life were nothing worth mentioning!

“Young Master, are you interested in buying a bronze mirror?” Unbeknownst to him, the owner of the bronze mirror store had come out and he asked him a question with a smile on his face.

Although Yan Liqiang was plainly dressed, his appearance and temperament gave off an aura to others that he had to be taken seriously. Therefore, the bronze mirror shop’s owner hurriedly came over to serve him.

A few young ladies who were selecting bronze mirrors were all secretly checking Yan Liqiang out. When they saw Yan Liqiang’s gaze turn on them, both their faces were tinted with an indescribable red as they shyly lowered their heads.

“No, I’m just browsing around!” Yan Liqiang shook his head. “Oh right, can you please tell me where is this place?”

The owner of the bronze mirror store was amused. “Young Master, could it be possible that you don’t know where you are?”

Yan Liqiang let out a sigh. “A few days ago, I accidentally lost my bag and then I also got lost. So I don’t know where I am either right now!”

In an era without GPS where a complete map didn’t even exist, it was an extremely common thing for travelers to get lost on a long journey. Yan Liqiang’s made-up excuse was perfect.

However, the truth was towards the final few months when Yan Liqiang was wandering around like a lonely homeless ghost: he was zooming around everywhere as quick as lightning every day. In just a day, he was able to traverse counties and provinces. Since he travelled too far, he was basically lost in the end. The only thing he remembered was he had been traveling east after leaving Gan Province.

“Oh, I see!” The owner of the bronze mirror store gave Yan Liqiang a look of sympathy. From the look he gave him, it seemed like he was treating Yan Liqiang like a young, wealthy lord in trouble. “This is Longkou Town in Fangshan Prefecture of Hu Province. If you exit here and follow the main road southeast for sixty to eighty li, you will reach Hu Provincial City...”

“Oh, alright. Thank you, Boss...” Yan Liqiang smiled. His smile instantly brought light to the humble dwelling. The eyes of those ladies who were silently watching him were already brimming with infatuation.

“You’re welcome, you’re very welcome...” The bronze mirror store owner replied humbly as though he was overwhelmed and flattered.

Yan Liqiang then exited bronze mirror store. He walked while trying to search for any memories of Hu Province he had left in his mind. Thanks to the fact that he had gone through countless books in the martial arts academy of Pingxi City over those few months, he was able to immediately pinpoint the location of Hu Province on the Great Han Empire map in his mind. Hu Province was located at the heart of the south-central region of the Great Han Empire and was one of the upper provinces in the empire. From the distance, this place was probably more than 20,000 li away from Gan Province.

Before he realized it, he had already walked a long way.

Yan Liqiang was like a walking signboard. No matter where he went, he was attracting the attention of everyone on the street. After realizing what was going on, Yan Liqiang no longer felt bothered about the attention. Since this was his first experience at being at the center of attention for looking too handsome, it was inevitable that he’d feel quite strange in his heart.

Yan Liqiang didn’t make it too far before his stomach growled. Yan Liqiang rubbed his stomach and his pocket which didn’t have a single copper coin in it, instantly feeling the harshness of being away from home. He salivated at the sight of steamed buns which cost two copper coins each that were sold by the street vendors and all kinds of snacks in the shops, but all he could do was swallow his saliva into his stomach. He trekked on along the street, trying to not glance at either side of the road until a decent-looking restaurant called the Cloud Crane Restaurant came into view by the street. Yan Liqiang then held his head high and stuck his chest out as he walked into the place with an indifferent expression on his face.

A waiter was serving customers at the entrance of the restaurant. Initially, he was thinking of stopping Yan Liqiang when he saw the clothes he was wearing. However, upon seeing Yan Liqiang’s handsome face and the cold temperament he exuded, the waiter hesitated for only less than 0.1 seconds before his face broke into a smile. He then immediately bowed and guided Yan Liqiang into the shop.

“Table for one, please sit here...”

Chapter 91: Dine and Dash

At noon, there weren’t really a lot of customers in restaurants. Only one-third of the seats were occupied and there were many empty tables. Yan Liqiang scanned the restaurant’s environment the moment he went in and picked a seat closest to the window on the first floor.

“What would you like to order, Sir?” The waiter’s attitude was rather pleasant, but his eyes couldn’t help but wander a few times to the old clothes that Yan Liqiang was wearing.

How could Yan Liqiang be clueless about what the waiter was thinking?

“No need for trouble. Just bring me the Eight Treasures Feast and some stir-fried vegetables on the side...” Yan Liqiang said this causally on purpose, activating his innate, pretentious talent to the max.

“What is the Eight Treasures Feast..?” The waiter looked at Yan Liqiang in bewilderment.

“Huh, don’t you serve that here?” Yan Liqiang frowned.

The waiter put up a smile. “Well, why don’t you enlighten me about that so that I can tell our chef in the kitchen? Perhaps he might be able to make that for you!”

“It’s very simple. The Eight Treasures Feast includes Chunao, Chunmu, Baotun, Daozhen, Zi’ao, Sangan, Gaobao and Panggai [1] which are served in a set by using ingredients from oxen, goat, elk, deer, river deer, pigs, and dogs...”

The waiter’s face went stiff. “Oh, I’m afraid our humble shop might not be able to prepare all these ingredients on such a short notice. Would you like to order something else, Sir?”

“Alright, I will change my order to a new one!” Yan Liqiang pickily scanned around the shop before he spoke as though he lacked better options. “I guess the Matsutake Fish Maw Soup, Double Flavored Prawn Balls, Snow Flake Fish Casserole, Bird’s Nest Autumn Pear Soup, Assorted Goose Web Duck Tongue Dish and the Dragon Snake Hundred Sparrow Soup will do then.”

The waiter stared at him blankly. He had practically never heard of these dishes before. Even if he could guess the ingredients of a few of the dishes Yan Liqiang mentioned, he didn’t know how to cook them. The waiter’s stature instantly shrunk three inches as the smile on his face intensified. “Sir, our humble shop does indeed have goose webs and duck tongues. Can you enlighten me on how to make this Assorted Goose Web Duck Tongue Dish that you speak of?”

“It’s very simple. Just boil the goose webs and duck tongues thoroughly, debone them, then cook it again with chicken soup that has salt and hundred-year-old wild ginseng in it. Scoop it out and then serve it with wine sauce or fermented rice oil. It’s simple to prepare yet it’s so delicious...” Yan Liqiang had never eaten this dish, but he had read it before. It was one of the dishes from Jia Manor in the novel, ‘A Dream of Red Mansions’.

“T-This... I’m afraid our humble shop can’t deliver this dish!” The waiter wiped the cold sweat on his forehead, not daring to further inquire about the other dishes.

“Forget about it then. Just bring me the signature dishes of this shop. I’ll see what suits my taste...” Yan Liqiang said without a choice.

The waiter then went off with his shoulders hanging while secretly muttering to himself about young lords from those wealthy clans dressing up in old clothes to deliberately look poor – it seemed to be the latest trend over these few years and those lords thought it was funny to prank people like that...

The waiter went to the back and explained the situation to the shop owner. The shop owner didn’t dare to take this incident lightly and he hurriedly ordered the kitchen to whip up their best dishes. They served Yan Liqiang attentively and brought a table full of food.

Yan Liqiang ate slowly while he silently watched the situation outside on the street through the window and eavesdropped in on the conversations of other patrons in the small restaurant.

A father and son sat at the table not too far from him. Both of them were chatting while eating. From the content of their conversation, Yan Liqiang discovered that the father was sending his son to Hu Provincial City to participate in the recruitment of disciples in Soul Mountain Sect’s Hu Provincial Branch, which was one of the major sects.

As one of the major sects in the world, the main branch of the Soul Mountain Sect wasn’t located in Hu Province, but Ling Province [2] of the Great Han Empire. World-renowned major sects like these had branches or institutions in many provinces of the Great Han Empire. In Hu Province, the Soul Mountain Sect had a branch here which specifically recruited local disciples that had potential in Hu Province. The outstanding individuals among their disciples would then be given an opportunity to cultivate at the main branch of the Soul Mountain Sect in the future.

Yan Liqiang was tempted upon hearing this piece of information. He recalled the instant effect of the pill that the Soul Mountain Sect had given to Old Master Lu. Compared to the official martial arts academy of the Great Han Empire which could only nurture one to meet Martial Warrior standards, the standards of institutions of these major sects were higher and they were much more influential. As a disciple of these major sects, becoming a Martial Warrior might merely be only the beginning...

If he wished to get revenge, he’d need to learn some skills. If he wished to learn some skills, he’d need to find a reliable support...!

Maybe he could give it a try there!

Yan Liqiang was instantly fired up.

There was a very busy main street just outside the Cloud Crane Restaurant. In the middle of the street was a bridle path where people would occasionally gallop through on their rhinodrake steeds or other mounts.

When Yan Liqiang unhurriedly ate the meal until he was about 70% done, he suddenly dropped his chopsticks and stood up at the sight of someone dashing through on his rhinodrake steed outside. He stared at the rhinodrake steed that sped off and his eyes widened into saucers. “STOP RIGHT THERE, XU SAN, DON’T YOU DARE RUN...!” He shouted loudly.

As soon as Yan Liqiang finished yelling, he directly jumped out of the restaurant from the window that was the street. He then broke into a sprint and chased that rhinodrake steed at lightning speed...

The person on the rhinodrake steed didn’t hear Yan Liqiang’s shout and didn’t even know who Xu San was. He just continued galloping away on his steed and didn’t realize that Yan Liqiang was running behind him. However, even if he did, he probably wouldn’t care either. There were so many people walking along the street that no one would care about who was running.

The moment Yan Liqiang jumped from the window, the waiter of the restaurant couldn’t react for the longest time. By the time he did and chased him out of the shop, Yan Liqiang was already a few hundred meters away. The waiter shouted while he chased him. “SIR, SIR, YOU HAVEN’T PAID YET...!” Yan Liqiang pretended he didn’t hear that and ran even faster.

After chasing him for a while, the waiter realized that the gap between him and Yan Liqiang was growing farther and farther apart. Yan Liqiang’s speed left him so far behind that all he could see was dust. In the end, the waiter could do nothing but helplessly watch Yan Liqiang chasing ‘Xu San’ who was riding on his rhinodrake steed as he vanished from his line of sight...

By the time he returned to the shop and explained to the owner about how Yan Liqiang had outrun him, the owner wasn’t sure if Yan Liqiang was someone who dined and dashed or if he had really gone off to chase someone. In the end, he could only take it as his rotten luck and ordered the waiter to clean up the remaining dishes from Yan Liqiang’s table.

“Owner, I will pay for the young man who left earlier. Keep the change...”

Just when the shop owner was sighing and calculating his loss, one of the customers came before him, took out a jiao of silver, and lightly placed it on the counter.

The shop owner was extremely happy and he lifted his head only to find out that it was an elderly man dressed in blue who was standing in front of the counter. This old man was also one of the customers in the shop who sat in one of the corners on the first floor of the shop. He had ordered a pot of wine, a plate of deep-fried peanuts along with two side dishes, and he had enjoyed the wine all by himself.

...

After the elderly man made the payment, he left the restaurant. He looked towards the direction where Yan Liqiang had disappeared off to with a strange smile on his face.

...

Yan Liqiang ran about five or six kilometers out of this town in one breath. When he saw a bamboo forest by the road, he turned into it and took half hour break there. He came out from the bamboo forest again only after making sure that no one had chased him all the way here. Then he made his way towards Hu Provincial City.

Since he had to dine and dash today, he’d naturally pick the best place to do it. Only then he would have enough strength to continue on with his journey. If he had snatched two steamed buns by the roadside, it wouldn’t be called a ‘dine and dash’. It would be called ‘a disgrace’ instead.

At dusk, the majestic Hu Provincial City finally appeared before Yan Liqiang...

Chapter 92: Hu Provincial City

“Young Master Yan, this is Hu Provincial City. The city gate is just a little beyond this place. It stays open throughout the day and there’s no curfew. The Soul Mountain Sect’s Hu Provincial Branch is in the city. You’ll be able to find it easily if you ask around in the city...”

“You have my thanks, Uncle Zhao!”

Yan Liqiang leaped off the horse carriage which was transporting some wood and thanked the uncle who drove the carriage. He had run into this horse carriage while he was in the middle of his journey. When the coachman saw Yan Liqiang hurrying along all by himself, he immediately asked him if he was making his way to Hu Provincial City and offered him a ride. Hence, Yan Liqiang hopped onto the horse carriage in the middle of his journey, saving his stamina from walking. He chatted with the coachman during the entire journey here.

It seemed like the saying, ‘A handsome person is loved by everyone who sees him and will be offered a ride if seen by car’, wasn’t an exaggeration at all.

“You’re very welcome. At any rate, it was on the way!”

The coachman smiled with compassion and waved at Yan Liqiang. He then whipped his horse with a yell and went toward another direction. The wood on his carriage was to be delivered to another manor outside of the city, so he had to part with Yan Liqiang here.

Yan Liqiang observed the city before his eyes before he marched towards the city gate in the distance.

The provincial cities of the upper provinces rarely experienced war turmoil. Therefore, they were able to flourish and magnificently develop over the history of more than a thousand years. Each of them could be considered huge cities. The walls of Hu Provincial City standing before Yan Liqiang in the distance seemed to reach the height of forty or fifty meters. The height of the city walls alone exceeded a ten-story building. The gate tower situated above the city wall was also about seven or eight stories high. Just the gate tower alone was so much more majestic and glorious than Osaka Castle, which Yan Liqiang had visited in Japan during his vacation back in his previous life.

Braziers were placed spaces apart from each other on the gate tower. The sky had only darkened and a fire had been lit in those braziers. The flames burned intensely, illuminating the entire city wall. In the light of the flames, rows of soldiers could be seen patrolling the gate tower.

Yan Liqiang had gotten quite a lot of useful information from the chat he had with the coachman on his way here.

The most astonishing piece of information to Yan Liqiang was the current time period. Apparently it was already the tenth lunar month of the 16th year of Yuanping’s reign in the Great Han Empire.

Yan Liqiang still clearly remembered that when he went up to that small mountain where the Temple of Purity was at ‘yesterday’, it was still the tenth lunar month in the 13th year of Yuanping’s reign in the Great Han Empire. He had no idea how he came to possess this body. It just felt as if he had slept and thought only a night had passed. Little did he expect what felt like merely ‘a night’ to him was actually three whole years. It seemed like obtaining this new body was not an easy feat, at least in terms of time because it actually took more than a thousand days and nights.

Over these three years, the Great Han Empire didn’t seem to be very peaceful and there were some undercurrents in it. Uncle Zhao, the coachman, seemed to know that the northern part of the Great Han Empire seemed to have fought two wars with the Chaman people. Things had also been tense between the Gan Province, the Feng Province and the Dark Ram Tribe. In these two years, four or five vassal states broke their ties with the Great Han Empire one after another and joined the New Crescent Dynasty. The White Lotus Society in a few of the provinces to the south rose from the dead and seized two county towns, wiping a few major clans out in the process. They claimed to be building some sort of White Lotus Heaven, causing turmoil in a few places...

However, Hu Provincial City, which was before his eyes, seemed to be unaffected by the storms happening tens of thousands of li away. The entire city still seemed to be quite normal. The city gate was bustling with activity and the traffic going in and out of the town was endless.

Arriving at the city gate, Yan Liqiang initially wanted to enter the city; however, he soon found himself unable to advance due to the entrance fee of three copper coins.

Touching his empty pockets, Yan Liqiang turned around and left the city gate. You would only truly understand the saying, ‘A man without money is no man at all’, when you were left with empty pockets.

Since he had to walk quite a distance, he didn’t dare to eat until he was too full during his free lunch from earlier. In addition to Yan Liqiang’s increased appetite ever since he started cultivating Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing and the fact that this body before him was still completely the same as his previous body, he was already hungry after one long afternoon considering the stamina he had exhausted while traveling.

The predicament of having no money had already instilled a deep sense of crisis in Yan Liqiang.

Getting into the city required money, eating required money, clothes required money, accommodations required money, and even getting some toilet paper to wipe your butt required money. Having no money was akin to having broken limbs, putting one in an extremely difficult position.

Although he could dine and dash once or twice, there was no way he could do that every day. Similarly, living accommodations, traveling, and daily necessities all required money.

No, he really needed to think up of a way to earn some money. Otherwise, he wouldn’t even be able to get inside the city gate at all and surviving would become a big issue.

Yan Liqiang pondered while making his way towards the marketplace nearby.

An old and big city like Hu Provincial City was already packed with people. Therefore, many places outside the city were very lively too with many living there and there were also a few busy marketplaces. By nightfall, when the red and orange lanterns were lit in those marketplaces, that was the most lively time of the day.

As a proletariat without any means of production or connections, it was definitely not easy to find money in an unfamiliar place. Yan Liqiang tried to come up with ways to earn money while walking.

He reckoned that it probably wouldn’t be very difficult for him to find an ordinary job or labor work to earn money like an ordinary person if he wanted to. However, this wasn’t a path Yan Liqiang desired as this type of job wasn’t very rewarding and it was so slow that it was only enough for one to scrape by with meager living conditions. It wouldn’t be able to resolve the desperate situation he was facing right now. All he wanted to do now was to take an exam at the Soul Mountain Sect’s Hu Provincial Branch. He heard that there were only three days left in their disciple recruitment period. If he missed this round, he had no idea how long he’d need to wait for the same opportunity to appear again.

Apart from this path, he had inherited his father’s trade. He still possessed a little knowledge on smithing. However, smithing would require a blacksmith store and this was something he lacked right now. Even if he could find a blacksmith store, no one would allow a newcomer to hold a hammer in the blacksmith store due to the nature of the industry. Even if he had money to rent a place, it wouldn’t work as he feared the weapons he created might offend some customers which would end up ruining the blacksmith store’s reputation.

After much consideration, Yan Liqiang finally thought up of a method which would allow him to earn money within the shortest amount of time with the least amount of resources – by painting portraits!

He didn’t expect for the first trade that got him into society from his previous life to come in handy at a time like this.

Only a few people had seen his portrait of King Cobra, and that had turned into nothing but ashes by the Lu Clan instead of being given away to someone else. The place he was currently at was millions of miles away from Gan Zhou, so he didn’t need to worry about his identity being exposed through his drawing. Even if it did, he had nothing to fear because that Yan Liqiang in the past had already died...

...

Just when Yan Liqiang settled down into his new lifestyle, he arrived at a marketplace that was outside Hu Provincial City. Due to his heaven-defying attractiveness, he attracted quite a lot of attention of the people at the marketplace as they turned their heads.

Since he was under the surveillance of too many gazes from the surroundings, he didn’t realize that one of them was quite ‘unusual’...

To be able to paint portraits for someone else, he’d at least need to have the tools to do it. Yan Liqiang, who was walking in the midst of the marketplace, was thinking of where to find things like charcoal cores, planks, or hard paper and how to launch his business when a person unexpectedly came before him, blocking his path.

It was a gaudily dressed middle-aged man in his forties. Yet the brocade robes he wore on him did little to conceal the wretched aura he exuded. The person came before Yan Liqiang and smiled, flashing his disgusting yellow teeth.

“Young man, is this your first time here in Hu Provincial City?”

The moment this man opened his mouth, he instantly reminded Yan Liqiang of those pimps he saw outside train stations in a few cities back in his previous life who acted as agents and ‘introduced girls’ to others.

Yan Liqiang casted a single glance at the man and frowned slightly. “So what?”

“Young man, are you looking for a job that can earn you a lot of money quickly? An annual earning of a few hundred thousand taels of silver will surely be a cinch...” The man sized Yan Liqiang up along with the old clothes he was wearing with an earnest face.

“No I’m not...” Yan Liqiang shook his head and directly walked past him. The nonsense this man was spouting might work on other naive youths, but Yan Liqiang never believed that a pie would fall into your lap out of the blue [1]. In this situation, the bigger the pie was, the deeper the dangerous pit was behind it.

The man was shocked. He didn’t expect Yan Liqiang to turn down his offer so bluntly. He quickly chased after him again and prattled on persistently. “I’m just offering this to you as goodwill. Seeing a striking young man like yourself, I can tell that you have just left home to make a living. You are all alone here and unfamiliar with the place, why don’t you join me for some tea at the restaurant over there?”

The man immediately grabbed one of Yan Liqiang’s hands while speaking and wanted to pull him over to the restaurant on the other side.

“Unhand me...” Yan Liqiang stopped walking and looked at the man with a frown.

“Hehe, don’t be so unapproachable, young man. Your parents never told you the importance of having more friends when you are away from home?” The man laughed like a sly fox. His hand was still firmly grasping Yan Liqiang’s wrist while he completely ignored Yan Liqiang’s words. “Come, come, come. Big Brother will treat you to a good meal there. Let’s have a nice chat...”

Yan Liqiang wordlessly jerked his hand free, instantly escaping the man’s grasp. He and continued walking away.

“Sigh, why must you be so unreasonable, young man? Big Brother just wanted to treat you to a meal...” The man was still smiling and he reached out towards Yan Liqiang’s wrist.

Yan Liqiang was aware that this man was bullying him for his young and inexperienced demeanor. Under normal circumstances, a real fourteen or fifteen-year-old greenhorn probably wouldn’t know how to handle such a situation. If they really treated this man as a warm-hearted person and followed him for a meal, only God knew what would happen to them afterwards.

Before that man could touch Yan Liqiang’s wrist, he had already lifted his hand up and delivered a slap across his face.

SLAP!! Yan Liqiang’s slap landed squarely on one of the man’s cheeks. He had only exerted a little force and the man was knocked to the floor, dazed from Yan Liqiang’s slap.

“SCRAM!” Yan Liqiang berated him coldly.

It took that man almost half a day to get up. He touched his swelling cheek and glared daggers at Yan Liqiang’s figure in the distance. “Just you wait...” he vehemently said before he pathetically crawled to the other side of the marketplace and vanished...

Chapter 93: Ruthless

“Young Master, that man just now was Wu Tao. He’s a broker from the Rising Moon Tower in Hu Provincial City who’s an unreasonable hoodlum. Now that you’ve hit him, you should hurry and run before you get into trouble. That person will definitely send someone after you. Wu Tao is a vicious, merciless, and sinister man. You can’t fall into his hands. Countless young men who had just arrived at Hu Provincial City have already become his victims...” Before Yan Liqiang had managed to go too far, a kind old man approached him from behind on the street. He whispered a warning to Yan Liqiang to look out for that man who might come back for revenge.

“Thank you for the information, Old Man. May I ask what sort of place is the Rising Moon Tower?” Yan Liqiang blinked in curiosity.

“Some men don’t fancy women, but men instead. The Rising Moon Tower is a place where these kinds of men may seek pleasure. There are many beautiful male escorts in the tower. In Hu Provincial City, the people from the Rising Moon Tower mustn’t be offended...”

Beautiful male escorts?

Yan Liqiang almost choked when he heard that word. These so-called ‘male escorts’ were selling their bodies and actually cross-dressed to please their male patrons.

That person named Wu Tao from earlier had probably laid down a trap and tried to deceive him into becoming one of those male escorts who would sell a piece of their ass to others at Rising Moon Tower!

What the f*ck!

This was actually the first time something like this had happened to Yan Liqiang over his two lifetimes. He couldn’t believe he would get into this kind of trouble just for being too handsome.

After giving Yan Liqiang a soft warning, the kind-hearted old man parted ways with Yan Liqiang when he saw an intersection in the marketplace ahead of them, probably afraid that someone from the Rising Moon Tower would have arrived to take their revenge.

Just a few minutes ago, Yan Liqiang was still thinking about how to earn a living from painting. In just the blink of an eye, a hoodlum had managed to get him into a mess like this.

At this very moment, Yan Liqiang recalled the Blue Faced Beast, Yang Zhi, from ‘Water Margin’ who sold his precious saber [1]. Oftentimes, even if you didn’t seek for trouble, trouble would come looking for you.

However, the plot had been altered so he could only act according to the situation. Besides, Yan Liqiang wasn’t Yang Zhi.

Yan Liqiang walked while contemplating. He slowly squinted his eyes, giving off a sharp and heated gaze.

The marketplace was very lively with all the food and drinks. There were quite a number of vendor stands lined up by the roadside. Yan Liqiang couldn’t even shop for more than a few minutes before he felt a few piercing gazes on him. When he tried to linger in front of a candy seller’s vendor stand, Yan Liqiang stole a glance at the crowd behind him. He discovered two men in their thirties already trailing behind him in the distance. Though the marketplace was crowded, the two men tried to blend in with the crowd and pretended to shop around. The distance between them and Yan Liqiang was only seventy or eighty meters, but Yan Liqiang still managed to detect their strange behaviors.

Both of them were fully dressed in trendy black training garbs. Their faces were pale and their gazes were sinister. Anyone could tell from just a glance that they were not kind people.

Yan Liqiang deliberately went for a few rounds on the streets of the marketplace. Both of them continued following him too. No matter where Yan Liqiang went, they followed. With this, Yan Liqiang was very certain about one thing.

He guessed that it was probably because the marketplace was too crowded and busy, so these people didn’t dare to openly lay a finger on him in fear of arousing public anger. Therefore, they were sent to stalk him first.

Yan Liqiang spotted an exceptionally prosperous roasted meat stall with quite a number of people crowded in front of it picking their food. The boss seemed to be awfully busy so Yan Liqiang joined the crowd and watched for quite a while before he left.

There were a few exits in the marketplace. After touring the marketplace once, Yan Liqiang came back to the entrance he entered from earlier. The moment he exited the marketplace, he immediately broke into a sprint towards the road he had taken on a horse carriage outside the city.

Half a minute later, Wu Tao, with his swollen face, quickly appeared at this entrance of the marketplace along with those two men at the same time.

“Where is that little bastard?” Wu Tao seethed through his teeth while fiercely scanning the surroundings. “Once I get that little bastard in my hands, I’ll show him my true colors!”

“Master Wu, look...!” The person in black training garbs beside him pointed into the distance. “That guy escaped...!”

Wu Tao lifted his gaze and saw a figure sprinting in the distance roughly more than 200 meters away under the moonlight. Who else would it be if it wasn’t Yan Liqiang?

“GO AFTER HIM!” Wu Tao wasted no time in leading the other two to chase after Yan Liqiang.

When he caught up to Yan Liqiang, he simply did not want to only take revenge and make Yan Liqiang regret it, the most important thing was still money. How could Wu Tao let such a treasure like Yan Liqiang slip away from him? Fortunately, this wasn’t the first time Wu Tao and the other two had to do something like this. The three of them ran after Yan Liqiang as hard as they could.

Under the starry skies, Yan Liqiang sprinted in the opposite direction, leading the three people behind him towards the road he had come from during the day.

...

At this moment, the crowd in front of the roasted meat stall back at the marketplace had thinned out a little. The boss of the stall only realized now that one of the meat hooks he used to hang his roasted meat on was missing.

...

The further away they were from Hu Provincial City, the less travelers there were on the road. After running five or six thousand meters away, the travelers basically disappeared as the brightly lit village disappeared past the roadside. The scenery on either side of the road grew more bleak and the fields became scarce while weeds and wood became a common sight.

“STOP RIGHT THERE, YOU LITTLE BASTARDDD!” Wu Tao yelled while chasing along with the other two. At this point, the distance between the three of them and Yan Liqiang had been reduced by more than half. Initially, they were more than 200 meters apart, but now they were only a little more than 100 meters away from him. This motivated the three of them and they refused to give up so easily.

Needless to say, Yan Liqiang wasn’t going to stand still. He continued running towards the place in his memory.

The sprint lasted about thirty to forty minutes. They kept running until they were at the foot of a hill which was more than ten kilometers away from Hu Provincial City. Under the gaze of the three men behind him, Yan Liqiang quickly ran into the forest next to the roadside.

By now, the three people behind him were already panting hard like tired dogs. Fortunately, they still had the stamina to go on. When they saw Yan Liqiang entering the forest at the side, the three of them followed suit without any second thoughts.

At this point, there weren’t many people on the road anymore, much less in the forest.

“Be careful...” Wu Tao was already all pale from all the running. He couldn’t speak without panting. “Be careful in case that little bastard is trying to pull something...”

“Master Wu, he’s outnumbered since there’s three of us. What is there to be afraid of? What can a fourteen-year-old child possibly do? I can easily strangle him single-handedly. It will be fine as long as the three of us stick together. That child is most likely tired and found somewhere to hide...” The person beside Wu Tao said this while panting. He pushed away the branches in front of him and walked in front. The person behind him thought for a moment and decided to unsheath the dagger hanging at his waist.

All the three of them entered the forest.

The inside of the forest was poorly lit, especially during nighttime. The shadows of the trees were dense, causing the illumination of the moon and the stars in the sky to appear as if it had been cut into pieces. This greatly affected one’s visibility. Only the buzzing noises of bugs and the sound of running water from the river nearby could be heard.

...

Wu Tao and the rest ventured a few hundred meters into the forest in just a flash. The three of them opened their eyes and searched for Yan Liqiang’s figure in the forest with their jaws clenched.

All of a sudden, a noise erupted near the bushes below a tree that was nearby. The three of them instantly rushed over without thinking and split open the bushes.

However, there was nothing hiding in the bushes...

Just when the three of them were baffled, a dark shadow emerged behind them silently, hanging upside down from one of trees beside them – Yan Liqiang was hanging from the tree by his legs, and his head and torso dangled from the tree. His eyes gleamed coldly and he was holding an iron hook that was of more than a foot long.

“Strange, could it have been a rat or rabbit just now?” The moment the man in black that was holding a dagger turned his head around, his eyes met Yan Liqiang who was hanging upside down. The distance between them was less than a meter.

Before that person could even scream, Yan Liqiang had already struck out with the iron hook in his hand. The sharp end of the hook almost instantly penetrated his eye and pierced into his brain. That man collapsed before he could even utter a word in time.

Yan Liqiang then jumped off the tree with a roll. The moment the other man in black heard movement behind him and abruptly turned around, the hook in Yan Liqiang’s hand had already pierced his throat. The man let out a blood-curdling scream and he placed his hand over his throat before he collapsed on the ground.

Yan Liqiang’s unexpected appearance and the blood-curdling scream of the man in black had frightened Wu Tao who was at the side. He let out a terrified scream and wasted no time in dashing towards the exit of the forest, abandoning his other two companions.

Yan Liqiang flipped to get up, but since he wouldn’t be able to chase after Wu Tao in time, he conveniently picked up a fist-sized rock from the ground and powerfully hurled it at Wu Tao.

The distance between them wasn’t that huge, so the rock hit Wu Tao’s leg, knocking him down with his miserable shriek.

Fresh blood flowed out like water from the neck of the man dressed in black who wasn’t dead yet on the floor. He covered the wound on his neck with his hand as he watched Yan Liqiang who stood before him in panic. Yan Liqiang raised the ice-cold and sinister-looking hook high up in the air under the moonlight, looking like a butcher who was walking in the dark.

“No...”

For uttering that word, the hook Yan Liqiang was holding ruthlessly came down again, right into his chest...

Yan Liqiang flung the weapon in his hands firmly and coldly. Every downward stab was merciless and the sharp tip of the hook was aimed at the man’s vital parts – his neck, his head, and his chest...

Once... Twice... Thrice... Four times... Ten times...

Blood splattered everywhere from the man’s neck and head, covering Yan Liqiang’s entire face.

After getting stabbed more than ten times, the person on the ground had stopped breathing and his body been terribly mutilated.

Yan Liqiang wiped the blood which had splattered on his face and turned around, making his way towards Wu Tao who was just nearby.

Wu Tao had crawled a few meters away. The rock Yan Liqiang hurled at him earlier had instantly broken his shin and he couldn’t even stand up right now.

Hearing the movement coming from behind him, Wu Tao, who was crawling on the ground, instantly turned his head around. The sight of Yan Liqiang and his blood-smeared face had instantly frightened him stiff. It was only at this moment that Wu Tao realized how terrifyingly cold Yan Liqiang’s perfectly handsome face was. It was almost demonic.

“I am from the Rising Moon Court. If you dare to lay a finger on me...” Wu Tao screamed.

Yan Liqiang remained silent. He went over to Wu Tao and wordlessly raised his hand before bringing it down mercilessly. The hook landed squarely on the crown of Wu Tao’s head, stuffing the rest of Wu Tao’s sentence right back into his stomach.

Wu Tao’s body twitched and twisted in pain. Yan Liqiang stepped on Wu Tao’s back with one foot and then once again lifted his hand. The icy hook was repeatedly brought downwards in a merciless manner. Every time it did, another deep, bloody hole opened up on Wu Tao’s body.

After about ten times, Wu Tao stayed motionless...

The gloomy forest reeked of blood...

Chapter 94: Battle of Wits and Courage

Yan Liqiang tightly gripped the hook in his hand as he panted violently while watching the three bodies on the ground.

He hadn’t eaten anything since noon. A run of more than ten kilometers with three people chasing behind him and an intensive workout within a short period of time on top of that – killing three people in a row was indeed extremely exhausting for a youth who wasn’t even a Martial Warrior yet.

The commotion from the cold and violent killing earlier seemed to have frightened the bugs in the forest. The buzzing noises around Yan Liqiang faded instantly in just a short amount of time. A few birds that were perched on the tree were also startled and had flown away. The forest was in complete silence.

The moment Yan Liqiang picked up the hook he had conveniently stolen from the roasted meat stall in the marketplace, he had already chosen this place as the location to send his pursuers to hell.

He saw this forest by the roadside on his way here a few hours ago when he was riding on a horse carriage. It was the most suitable place for killing people. There was also a rapid river nearby which was an ideal place for dumping corpses.

If Wu Tao and the rest didn’t chase him all the way here, he wouldn’t have murdered them so violently. Yet the three of them did that, so there wasn’t much room left for negotiation anymore. It didn’t take a genius to figure out the consequences of falling into the hands of a group of people who leeched off the flesh of male escorts. Therefore, the moment this chase began, Yan Liqiang clearly understood that either he or these guys would have to die.

Perhaps even Yan Liqiang himself didn’t realize the fact that he had become even more apathetic and skillful in scheming after his reincarnation this time.

After panting for two minutes, Yan Liqiang’s breathing finally evened out.

He flipped Wu Tao’s body over and started searching.

Wu Tao wore a golden ring on his finger. Yan Liqiang took a single glance and didn’t touch it. A ring was too much of a personal item. Whether he kept it with him or pawned it off, it would leave some sort of trail pointing back to him as others would be able to recognize the ring. Yan Liqiang didn’t wish for himself to end up like King Cobra.

The next thing Yan Liqiang found was the dagger hanging from Wu Tao’s waist. Wu Tao didn’t even manage to take it out just now, or perhaps he thought there was no need for him to do that. Yan Liqiang took a look at it and then left it on Wu Tao’s body. This item wasn’t useful to Yan Liqiang right now. What he needed the most now was money.

Finally, Yan Liqiang discovered a money pouch on Wu Tao. He opened it and found seven or eight taels of silver along with a few dozen copper coins.

There weren’t any seals on the silver and copper coins so Yan Liqiang emptied the money pouch, took all the money, and shoved the empty money pouch back on Wu Tao.

He felt around again. Upon discovering there was nothing else on Wu Tao, Yan Liqiang shifted his gaze towards the other two men dressed in black.

Perhaps there were a few men who would forget to bring their brains along with them, but reality had proven that when men were away from home, hardly any of them would forget to bring their money pouches. The other two men in black were probably some sort of hired thugs at the Rising Moon Tower, but they also carried money pouches on them.

They didn’t carry a lot of money on them. Each of them only had two or three taels of silver and a few dozen copper coins. Needless to say, Yan Liqiang wasn’t hesitant to take all the money.

When Yan Liqiang was done taking his spoils of war, he picked up his hook and hooked it on the back one of the men in black. He dragged him like a dead dog to the riverside, then turned around to drag Wu Tao and the other man in black with the same hook in a similar fashion.

The river before him was very wide, more than fifty meters in width, which was situated at the edge of this forest. The river water flowed rapidly and the sounds of rushing water could be heard. When he passed by this place during his journey earlier today, the coachman told him that the name of this river was the White Waves River. It was connected to Yilong Lake and was one of its tributaries. The water of this river surged between the mountains for more than two hundred kilometers before it entered Yilong Lake. Hu Province[1] was named this way because of Yilong Lake as it was one of the largest lakes in the Great Han Empire...

There were rocks by the riverbank. Yan Liqiang picked one that was about the size of a dog’s head and then ruthlessly smashed the three corpses’ faces on it. After disfiguring all their faces to an unrecognizable extent, he proceeded to throw them into the White Waves River one by one.

The three corpses bobbed up and down in the rapid stream a few times before they completely vanished. The fate that awaited them from now on was either to become food for the fish and prawn in the river or be discovered. Even if they were discovered, it would probably be many days later. Based on the efficiency of information dissemination in this era, it was practically impossible to verify the identity of these three people. Attempting to solve this murder case would be nothing more than just a joke...

When he was done with all that, Yan Liqiang tossed the hook into the river too. He then moved to the shallow parts of the river and washed the blood off his hands and face. Next, he messed up his hair so that it covered his face. Then he gathered some dirt from the riverbank and smeared it all over his face and clothes. He ripped open some parts of his clothes too so that he would appear to be dressed in tatters. In just a flash, Yan Liqiang had turned himself into a remarkably convincing beggar.

Soon after that, he broke a wooden branch of about a meter long in the forest and held it in his hands as though it were a stick used to defend himself from dogs. He then exited the forest, returned to the main road, and he unhurriedly made his way back to Hu Provincial City.

...

A short moment after Yan Liqiang left the forest, the natural light in the forest dimmed and a figure silently emerged at the place where he had killed Wu Tao and the other two earlier as if he had just materialized from thin air.

This person was the old man in blue who had paid for Yan Liqiang’s meal at the restaurant today when he dined and dashed.

The elderly man in blue observed the surroundings and broke into a strange smile. “How decisive and merciless. You really killed three people without even blinking. When I saw you steal a meat hook at the marketplace earlier, I didn’t expect you to use it like this. Are all the youths this fierce nowadays? How interesting...” He murmured to himself.

At the change of natural light in the forest, the elderly man in blue disappeared without a trace in a flash, as if he had never appeared in the first place.

...

Yan Liqiang didn’t head directly to Hu Provincial City again upon leaving the forest. After traveling about five or six kilometers, he spotted a small town not too far away and immediately made his way there. He spent a few copper coins at a steamed bun shop for a couple of steamed buns. After he ate the buns, he didn’t pay for a room either. Instead, he found shelter that could shield him from the wind right behind a storehouse of an inn which stored firewood. He spent a night huddled in a corner like a beggar...

...

Yan Liqiang had made a right decision. It hadn’t been an hour since he arrived in the small town and three rhinodrake steeds had barged into the town. The burly men who were riding the steeds carried swords and inquired every person they came across if they’d seen a handsome youth and three men passing by here. Upon getting a negative answer, the three of them left the town and returned to the road outside.

Five other fierce-looking burly men were waiting on their rhinodrake steeds there.

“Big Brother, Wu Tao and the rest didn’t stop by this town...”

“Then they must’ve gone ahead. Let’s go!” One of the men who sported a scar on his forehead snorted coldly. He raised his horsewhip and led the group forward.

Chapter 95: Entering Hu Provincial City

“KILL!!!!!!” Yan Liqiang howled in rage and charged towards Ye Tiancheng, the Prefectural Governor of Pingxi Prefecture and Mo Leng, whose finger had been bitten off by him, as well as a group of Pingxi City law enforcers...

Countless arrows pierced Yan Liqiang’s body. Instead of feeling any pain, he only felt the fury burning within him...

Yan Liqiang held a kukri knife in one hand and shortsword in the other, vanquishing everyone who stood in his way. Each and every single law enforcer and guard fell before him.

However, the silhouettes swarming around him were endless. The moment he killed one, another two instantly emerged.

Yan Liqiang snarled, his eyes bloodshot. There was only one thing on his mind– to rescue his father!

Yan Liqiang didn’t know how long he been charging in to kill. Just when he was about to reach Mo Leng, the Pingxi Prefectural Governor Ye Tiancheng’s thunderous laughter was heard. His figure instantly leaped off from the ground and transformed into a three-headed, six-armed monster. “You are nothing but a powerless peasant; the son of a blacksmith. How dare you fight against me. I am the Prefectural Governor of Pingxi Prefecture, an important figure of the Ye Clan from Gan Province. The entire Gan Province shall be the possession of our Ye Clan in the future. Killing you and your father will be as easy as crushing an ant if I wish to do so. Your actions today have brought about your own destruction. I shall start with your father first. Mo Leng!”

At Ye Tiancheng’s yell, Mo Leng gave Yan Liqiang a sinister smile before he slashed Yan Dechang with his sword.

When Yan Dechang collapsed, he yelled at Yan Liqiang, “RUN...!”

Everything was instantly stained crimson...

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

...

Yan Liqiang screamed and instantly snapped open his eyes. When he woke up, he realized that he was already completely drenched in sweat, panting heavily and curled up beneath the eaves of the firewood room. The sky had just barely turned brighter and the air was still chilly...

It turned out to be just a dream!

However... Yan Liqiang touched his face, tears were already streaming down his face. The pain he felt in his heart was still so real and suffocating.

The pain of Yan Dechang’s death would haunt Yan Liqiang forever. No matter how much time had passed, Yan Liqiang couldn’t help but to sink deeply into the self-blame and regret every time he remembered about all that had transpired on that fateful day...

If only his sense of righteousness wasn’t so strong for him to pick a fight with those Shatu people... If only he didn’t take those shortcuts that day... If only he wasn’t that nosy that day... If only he didn’t venture into that tunnel upon discovering it...

Would the final outcome be different? Would Yan Dechang still be alive now?

There were simply too many ‘if’s in Yan Liqiang’s mind. However, all those ‘if’s had no place in reality.

This was the most heart-wrenching fact.

If he could choose again, Yan Liqiang was willing to do anything as long as Yan Dechang would still be alive.

Unfortunately, this was nothing but Yan Liqiang’s wild wish.

“What are you yelling for, you damn beggar?! I was startled by you! I’ll beat you up if you wake the guests! Now, hurry up and scram!”

The staff of the inn woke up early and had started working. He was about to start a fire to prepare hot water in the kitchen for guests who woke up early. When that staff came to the firewood room to gather firewood and heard Yan Liqiang screaming in his dream outside, he couldn’t help but come out from the rear exit to yell at him and even threaten to beat Yan Liqiang up.

Yan Liqiang wiped his tear-stained face. He stood up wordlessly then made his way towards the main street.

He had to become more powerful, only then there was hope to fell his enemies under his blade...

Yan Liqiang clenched his fists tightly...

The entire town had already woken up and people were getting ready for a day of work to earn a living. Yan Liqiang followed the path he took yesterday and left the small town. When he arrived at the main road outside, he used his tree branch as a walking cane and slowly walked towards Hu Provincial City.

The road between the small town and Hu Provincial City was only six to seven thousand meters at most; not too far. Yan Liqiang kept walking for about two hours before he found himself outside of Hu Provincial City once again by the time the sun had completely risen.

The city gates of Hu Provincial City were wide open, with endless traffic flowing through it. Vegetable sellers and traders were lining up at the city entrance, ready to enter the city.

Unexpectedly, Yan Liqiang noticed a few others dressed similarly like himself– their clothes were in tatters. The beggars with dusty faces were also queueing up to get into the city, It seemed like they were going in to beg for food. They’d probably get more food in the city than outside.

Apart from a group of soldiers at the city entrance, two other men in their thirties were scanning each and everyone who entered the city with their bloodshot eyes.

The clothes they wore were completely the same as the other two men who were in Wu Tao’s company last night. Not only their attire but even their auras were similar. These two men who stood guard at the city entrance exuded a similarly brave and ruthless aura as those thugs at the marketplace.

It took Yan Liqiang only a glance to figure out that both of them who stood guard at the city entrance were either waiting for himself or another three people. He was guessing that these people from the Rising Moon Tower were probably panicking because Wu Tao and the other two never returned since last night.

When Yan Liqiang followed the rest into the city and came face to face with them, both of them only took a single glance at Yan Liqiang before treating him like air and continued their conversation in a soft voice.

“You think Wu Tao will be alright with Laoshu and Zeimao? I heard Master Zhu had personally led others to search for them over hundred li but there were still no sights of them...:”

“Who knows? Putting aside Wu Tao, Laoshu and Zeimao are both good fighters. They have never blinked when they stabbed someone and never failed in carrying out those kinds of tasks. With both of them around, it’s unlikely three adult men can be outmatched by a fourteen or fifteen-year-old youth...”

“To hell with this! I’ve already stood here for more than a few hours. My feet are going numb...”

“I heard the youth from last evening was someone Young Master Fu had seen by coincidence at the marketplace yesterday. He was at a restaurant that time when he instantly spotted the youth downstairs, so he sent Wu Tao over to approach him. This was the first time he failed to get the person Young Master Fu requested for. I heard he flew into a terrible rage later that evening...”

“Young Master Fu is the most important patron of our Rising Moon Tower. How can anyone afford to offend him?!”

...

While eavesdropping on the conversation of those thugs behind him, Yan Liqiang stopped in front of the city entrance fee collection box and produced three copper coins from his sleeve. He deposited the coins into the box and then entered Hu Provincial City unhindered.

The city before him was quite a risky place. However, compared to the risks he might face, he was much more unwilling to pass up the opportunity to join the Soul Mountain Sect.

If he didn’t join these major sects and get the backing of these influential parties, how would it be possible for an ordinary person without anything like him, to learn advanced martial skills and secret techniques? Without advanced martial skills and secret techniques, his so-called ‘revenge’ would remain nothing but a dream forever...

For the sake of this chance, Yan Liqiang was willing to take the risk.

...

The moment he passed through the city gates of Hu Provincial City, Yan Liqiang was greeted by a very crowded and lively street. Both sides of the street were filled with richly ornamented grand buildings at least seven stories high. On the streets, pedestrians and horse carriages used separate lanes. The wide traffic lanes were enough to fit ten horse carriages side by side. The merchandises sold in the shops by the roadside were a dazzling array of beautiful exhibits which contained everything anyone possibly needed. Quite a number of merchants hired performers to put on various kind of sideshows at their shop entrances for the sake of attracting customers.

The prosperity of Hu Provincial City exceeded Pingxi City by nearly tenfolds.

Yan Liqiang wandered around Hu Provincial City without attracting any attention. His appearance convinced everyone that he was nothing more than a beggar so no one spared an extra glance at him.

...

After an hour, Yan Liqiang found himself in a relatively quiet street in Hu Provincial City and spotted a boutique which sold various ready-made clothes, shoes, and hats for men.

There were no other customers in the shop except for a fat shopkeeper who stood by the counter beside the shop entrance. He was anxiously watching the pedestrians on the street.

Yan Liqiang took a single glance at the goods in the shop before he walked in.

“Get out, get out, get out...” The moment the fat shopkeeper saw Yan Liqiang came in, his face twisted in disgust. He instantly came out from behind the counter and chased Yan Liqiang outside in annoyance. “It’s still early in the morning. Not even a customer has come in and you are already here to beg for food. You’re bringing bad luck!”

“Who said I am here to beg for food?” Yan Liqiang shot the shopkeeper a glare before he took out a few taels of silver and slammed them loudly against the countertop. “I am here to shop for clothes.”

Upon seeing the few taels of silver, the shopkeeper’s face instantly changed. A smile immediately appeared across his face and his anger had completely dissipated. “Well then! Welcome, welcome! Everyone is a customer, everyone is a customer...”

A variety of ready-made clothes were available in the store, ranging from those made with low-grade coarse materials to high-grade silk gowns. High, medium, low quality– they had them all.

It took Yan Liqiang only a short while to pick a set of outfit for himself from head to toe.

“How much for everything?”

The shopkeeper calculated with his abacus noisily. “These clothes, shoes, socks, and headwear are finest in our humble little shop. If you are buying them all, I will give you a discount and waive the little remainder of 17 copper coins. Therefore, that will make a grand total of three taels, nine maces and six candareens of silver for everything.”

Three taels, nine maces and six candareens of silver. Although it didn’t sound that much, it wasn’t cheap but very pricey instead. In this era, five or six taels of silver were quite enough for an average family of four to live for a year. The cost of this outfit Yan Liqiang had picked was enough for an average family to live for half a year.

“Can I change in this shop?”

“Of course you can. There are two changing rooms right behind there...” The shopkeeper replied promptly.

“Good, I shall pay you four taels of silver, you may keep the change. I need only two buckets of water to be sent to the changing room as I will take a bath and freshen up here.”

“W-Well... I’m afraid our humble little shop cannot provide that much hot water under such a short notice...”

“Cold water will do...”

This much water was hardly worth any money as it could easily be obtained from the well in the backyard. When the shopkeeper thought about how he was able to earn a few candareens of silver just by delivering two buckets of water without going through much trouble, a smile instantly broke into his face as he immediately nodded to the request.

...

Chapter 96: Dashed Hope

In just less than half an hour, Yan Liqiang, who had just taken a bath and changed into his new outfit, almost couldn’t recognize himself when he saw his reflection in the mirror.

Yan Liqiang looked like a whole new person in the mirror. He wore a purple hat, fastened to his head with an amber feather copper hairpin and a blue long gown made of silk with matching trousers. Beneath the gown was a complete set of a vest, shirt, and undershirt. The waist of the gown was tied up by a silver belt decorated with red turquoise stones. His feet were covered with a pair of thick deerskin boots.

With this transformation, the reflection of an exceptionally graceful and handsome youth appeared before Yan Liqiang’s eyes. Putting aside everything else, even if the late Wu Tao was brought before Yan Liqiang, he probably wouldn’t be able to recognize that this was the very youth he saw yesterday in the marketplace.

It seemed like the saying that goes, ‘a person depends on their apparel, a buddha depends on gold’ [1] was true after all.

Yan Liqiang was very satisfied too when he saw his reflection in the mirror.

When Yan Liqiang emerged from the room again, the way that the fat shopkeeper stared at him was as though he had just witnessed a magic performance He was completely stupefied and hardly able to believe that the beggar from earlier and this young lord was actually the same person. He took a look at Yan Liqiang then went to open the changing room’s door and was rendered speechless.

“Shopkeeper, you may burn or throw away those old clothes. I shall take my leave now!”

Yan Liqiang cupped his hands in salute towards the shopkeeper then exited the store.

“How odd. Did this young lord perform a trick...?” That shopkeeper mumbled to himself as he watched Yan Liqiang leave.

...

When he returned to the main street outside, Yan Liqiang found someone and asked for clear directions to Soul Mountain Sect’s Hu Provincial Branch. Once he did, he immediately hurried towards his destination.

...

After an hour, Yan Liqiang arrived at the outside of Soul Mountain Sect’s Hu Provincial Branch.

As expected of Soul Mountain Sect, which was one of the four major sects in this world. Just its Hu Provincial Branch alone occupied an area of at least four hundred mu on the extremely prestigious land of Hu Provincial City. From a distance, Soul Mountain Sect’s Hu Provincial Branch looked like a palace. Beyond its high walls and red roof tiles were lush trees so tall that they seemed to touch the heavens. Tall, lofty and grand buildings and pavilions were hidden among the green shadows of those trees.

The entrance to Soul Mountain Sect’s Hu Provincial Branch was like a mini version of Hu Provincial City’s city gate, it faced a wide public square. At this very moment, more than a thousand youths had gathered outside the entrance. They formed a long queue which further split into multiple rows, waiting to apply for the recruitment.

Yan Liqiang had only witnessed a similar situation like this, during the registration days for the civil service examination in his previous life.

There was a registration area on the other side of the queue, with a few hundred people lining up there. The registration process was the first round of the selection process. The qualified candidates would receive a token from the registration area and proceed to the next round of the selection process. The unqualified candidates were all filtered out during the registration.

Yan Liqiang came to the registration area, he queued up at the back of the line and was ready to sign up.

The moment Yan Liqiang arrived, he had attracted a lot of attention among the crowd gathered at the registration area. Quite a few of them were silently checking Yan Liqiang out. The eyes of a few young ladies among the registering crowd, in particular, lit up at the sight of Yan Liqiang.

“Greetings, Brother. Let us introduce ourselves to each other. I am Lu Wengang. I am here today to sign myself up for the disciple recruitment of Soul Mountain Sect’s Hu Provincial Branch. How do I address you, Brother?”

The person who queued up in front of Yan Liqiang was also a youth of about fifteen or sixteen years old. He seemed like a simple and honest youth, yet he was quick

“Greetings, I am Yan Liqiang!” Yan Liqiang gave him a smile.

“Brother, you’re not from Hu Province, are you?”

“I’m not...”

“Oh, I’m not from Hu Province either. I’m from Xiaoshan Prefecture of Guan Province. I especially rushed here because I heard Soul Mountain Sect’s Hu Provincial Branch will start recruiting the selected disciples this year...”

“Is it usually very rare for Soul Mountain Sect’s Hu Provincial Branch to accept disciples?”

“Of course. The last time they did was three years ago. An opportunity like this is very hard to come by. Brother, have you passed your Horse Stance stage yet...?”

“Yes, I already passed...”

“That’s good then. Did you see the few who left just now? They couldn’t even get through the registration because they haven’t passed the Horse Stance stage. It takes special talent for one to join Soul Mountain Sect’s Hu Provincial Branch. Otherwise, the bare minimum prerequisite for registering is passing the Horse Stance stage!” Lu Wengang turned his head to speak with Yan Liqiang, then blinked. “Actually, I’ve only passed that stage two months ago. However, my motive in joining Soul Mountain Sect isn’t to learn martial techniques from them...”

“What is your motive in joining Soul Mountain Sect if it isn’t for the sake of learning martial arts from them then, Brother Lu?” Yan Liqiang asked curiously.

Lu Wengang lifted his face and spoke with admiration in his voice. “The current commanding officer in Soul Mountain Sect’s Thousand Engineering Hall, Zhang Yourong, is the best engineer in the world. At the mere age of thirty, he had already managed to invent a flying wooden bird which can fly up to a few hours in the sky without landing. That was simply a marvelous achievement. If I can join the Soul Mountain Sect, perhaps I may be able to join the Thousand Engineering Hall someday and learn from the best engineer in the world. That will be so much more interesting than cultivating martial arts...”

If emperors who loved carpentry and locksmithing existed, then a youth who joined Soul Mountain Sect just because he was passionate about engineering wasn’t strange at all. Yan Liqiang gave him an understanding smile. “I wish Brother Lu all the best. Hopefully, you can get into the Thousand Engineering Hall of Soul Mountain Sect in the near future...”

“Thanks. My dream is to be able to invent a wooden ox someday. If wooden oxen which don’t require food can work for people in the fields and transport goods, it will be able to lessen the workload of people and allow the poor to become wealthy, thus having enough to feed themselves. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?”

“It does sound quite wonderful. It’s a great idea!” Yan Liqiang smiled. He didn’t tell Lu Wengang that those wooden oxen of his dreams weren’t too difficult to create. All he needed was only a steam engine. However, all machinery could only improve work efficiency and productivity. It was impossible for them to change the nature of socio-economic relations and social class conflicts. Even with the invention of the wooden ox, the poor would remain poor while the rich would remain rich.

Upon hearing Yan Liqiang’s praises to his idea, Lu Wengang seemed as though he had met someone who clicked with him. He was suddenly in high spirits and started babbling about engineering which he was obsessed with...

...

They had been queueing for more than half an hour. Some of the people in front who passed the registration and moved to the other queue after receiving a token, some who didn’t manage to pass sighed and left dejectedly.

When it was Lu Wengang’s turn, he gave personal details like his clan, hometown, and address then revealed some of his knowledge in engineering. The person who handled the registration examined his fist strength then nodded. He had Lu Wengeng leave his handprint and told him to queue up at the other side after passing him a token.

“Brother Yan, I shall wait for you on the other side!” Lu Wengang waved the token in his hand cheerfully before he ran to the other side to line up.

...

After Lu Wengang, it was Yan Liqiang’s turn next.

“Name?”

“Yan Liqiang...”

“Age?”

“Fourteen...”

“Hometown, address, your parents’ name and job?”

Yan Liqiang hesitated for a moment...

Upon observing Yan Liqiang’s hesitation, the man at the registration area of Soul Mountain Sect stared at Yan Liqiang. “Let me remind you, the moment you become a disciple of Soul Mountain Sect, the sect will send people to the address you provided today for verification purposes. Any false information provided is enough to expel you from Soul Mountain Sect and be severely punished as a spy. You will be beheaded immediately without exception...”

Yan Liqiang went silent for a moment before speaking up. “I’ve regarded everywhere as my home and have been roaming around without settling down since young. I have never seen my real parents either...”

“Who raised you then?”

“An old beggar. He passed away a few years ago!”

The people from Soul Mountain Sect at the registration area exchanged whispers with each other in discussion then shook their head at Yan Liqiang with an indifferent expression on their faces. “Soul Mountain Sect never accepts disciples of unknown origins. Therefore, you may leave. Next!”

Chapter 97: On Mount Longhu

Yan Liqiang left the registration dejectedly, he did not expect to fail to secure even the right to be enlisted in Soul Mountain Sect. His dream of becoming stronger was shattered by the harsh truth of reality in the blink of an eye.

Before his attempt, Yan Liqiang did not expect Soul Mountain Sect to have such tight regulations when it came to the background of their candidates.

Yan Liqiang grimaced. The Soul Mountain Sect was not the one at fault here, he was the one who took things for granted and overlooked such an important fact.

There were multiple major sects just like Soul Mountain Sect, and it was the norm for them to do a strict background check before recruiting a disciple. Only in retarded dramas that he used to watch in his last life would a situation where a disciple could easily enter a major sect exist.

Despite his change in appearance, it was impossible to fabricate a viable background for himself out of thin air. His deception would easily be exposed once Soul Mountain Sect sent someone to find out the truth and he would definitely not be able to stay in Soul Mountain Sect. He might not even be able to leave the place alive.

Yan Liqiang was presumed dead in the eyes of many. Was he really expected to tell Soul Mountain Sect that he was reborn? And that his hometown was Liuhe Town, situated in Qinghe County that was part of Pingxi Prefecture in Gan Province?

“Brother Yan, how did it go? Did you get the badge?” Lu Wengang ran up to Yan Liqiang with concern written all over his face.

Yan Liqiang shook his head, a smile still remaining on his face. “Liqiang wishes Brother Lu good luck in joining Soul Mountain Sect. May you realize the dreams you have. Go queue up Brother Lu, we’ll meet again.”

As Lu Wengang stared agape at Yan Liqiang, the latter cupped his hands in salute and left the Hu Provincial Branch of Soul Mountain Sect alone.

At that moment, the flourishing Hu Provincial City no longer intrigued Yan Liqiang.

There has to be a way... There must be one...! If he was unable to join the Soul Mountain Sect, there were other sects out there as well...

That was what Yan Liqiang told himself. He could still remember the words of the cart driver the day before. There was another sect within Hu Province: the Longhu Sect, which was situated on the Mount Longhu. He could try his luck with them...

...

Mount Longhu was ten thousand square kilometers wide and was situated eight hundred kilometers away from Hu Provincial City. It extended continuously across the horizon and was one of the largest mountains in Hu Province. It was the only sect in the entire province that could stand toe to toe with the Soul Mountain Sect’s Hu Provincial Branch. If the Soul Mountain Sect was said to be the dragon of Hu Province, then the Longhu Sect was the tiger of Hu Province.

Five days later, Yan Liqiang arrived at the main gate of Longhu Sect.

...

“Longhu Sect will be recruiting disciples during the third lunar month of every year, but disciple candidates are required to have a clear background. Those who are unable to prove their identity will be rejected. Such has been the practice of Longhu Sect for hundreds of years, it’s the same for all the other sects. Young man, I think you should just leave...” The words of a receptionist at the main entrance of Longhu Sect was like a bucket of cold water splashed onto Yan Liqiang, snuffing out his spirit.

Such a rule was the same for Soul Mountain Sect, Longhu Sect, as well as all the other prominent sects. The inability to provide a clear origin was a barrier which blocked Yan Liqiang out of all the sects.

With bitterness in his heart, Yan Liqiang left the entrance of Longhu Sect with heavy steps as he headed down the mountain.

Is there really no other way? Yan Liqiang shouted in his heart.

In this world, all the martial arts and secret techniques were mastered by the major sects as well as noble families. The secret techniques of the nobles were never meant to be learned by outsiders. With his entrance into the martial arts sects denied, where else could he learn martial arts from?

Despite his unwillingness to resign to his fate, the martial arts sects at that time had very strict rules, and the rules of this world were not something Yan Liqiang could challenge or change.

...

The scenery on Mount Longhu was utterly stunning, with trees and rocks doting the face of the mountain. Yan Liqiang was in a daze as he walked down the mountain. In his eyes, the beautiful scenery was as uninteresting as a piece of plain paper.

As he was on his way, a sound caught Yan Liqiang’s attention.

“Aiyo... Aiyo...”

It seemed to be a person moaning in pain, and the person was not far away from him. Blinking quickly, Yan Liqiang made his way in the direction of that person. Right after turning a corner, Yan Liqiang spotted an old man with white hair, dressed in rags carrying a basket on his back. The old man sat at the side of the road, moaning in pain.

Judging from his clothing, the old man was from a poor family and was there to gather herbs.

There was a cliff on the left side of the road, dotted with rocks of various shapes and sizes. Watermelon-sized rocks were scattered all around the mountain road. The part of the old man’s leg, below his left knee, was twisted at an odd angle. His leg must have been broken.

The old man’s face was deathly white and sweat dripped down his forehead profusely. He seemed entirely incapable of standing up.

“Ah! Sir, what happened to you...?”

“I came to Mount Longhu today to gather herbs. A damned rock fell all of a sudden when I just got here and just happened to hit me on my leg. My leg is broken, and I can’t stand anymore..” replied the old man as he took in the cold air. His entire body was trembling.

Mount Longhu was a scenic place. Other than the Longhu Sect that was at the top of the mountain, the beautiful scenery would also often attract visitors. There were herbs and various exotic plants growing on the mountain as well. As Yan Liqiang made his way to the Longhu Sect, he even saw tourists and people who were there to gather herbs. They were not headed in the same direction as him, and went their separate ways, taking different routes. This old man did not appear to be lying at all.

Yan Liqiang knelt and inspected the old man’s injury. His leg was swollen and from the shape of his bones, the injury was very real.

“Sir, are you alone? Do you have any companions nearby? If you have somebody accompanying you, I’ll go get them for you right away...”

“I’m here alone, there’s nobody else with me...” the old man shook his head.

“Where is your house, sir?”

“I live in a small town not far away from Mount Longhu. We’ll only need to travel a few miles after descending the mountain. Can you do me a favor, young man? Please carry me down the mountain...”

Despite the roads, it was very hard to traverse the rugged terrain of Mount Longhu. It would be even harder to carry an injured old man down the mountain through a distance that was at least twenty miles long.

“Alright. Please be careful sir, I’ll carry you down the mountain...” Without even giving the matter much of thought, Yan Liqiang offered to carry the old man down the mountain.

Chapter 98: Impending Danger

Yan Liqiang knelt in front of the old man and directed the old man to tightly hold onto his shoulders. With the old man’s upper body leaning against him, he carefully grabbed the old man’s thigh and slowly stood up...

“Sir, are you alright? If you feel pain, just let me know...”

“Young man, you’re such a kind soul. Sorry for troubling you...” The old man was touched.

“It’s alright, it’s alright. Let me bring you down the mountain...”

“Okay. The road is slippery and steep. Be careful, young man...”

“Don’t you worry Sir...”

For Yan Liqiang, carrying an old man whose weight was not even seventy kilograms was a simple task. He did not even feel fatigue as he walked carefully down the mountain.

“Young man, where are you from...”

As they traveled down the mountain, the old man struck up a conversation with Yan Liqiang.

“I don’t have a home. The four corners of the world is my home...” Yan Liqiang smiled sadly.

“You’ve been drifting about at such a young age. What about your parents...”

“They’ve passed away...”

“Ay, young man... You’re such a fine looking gentleman. I did not know that you were facing such hardship.” The old man let out a sigh.

“Hehe... There are a lot more out there who are more unfortunate than I am. At least I still have my limbs with me. I can stand on my own feet. Sometimes when I think about it, I realized that I shouldn’t wish for too much!”

“Young man, you’re quite optimistic. You’re even more mature than me!”

“It’s nothing. I’m simply trying to enjoy life. I can’t drown myself in misery all day long can I? It’d annoy the people around me and cause suffering for myself anyways. We as humans must not dwell in the sorrows of our past. We should look forward and strive for a better tomorrow...”

“Yes! We must always strive for a better tomorrow when we’re alive in this world!” the old man laughed, “Just look at me. I’m still a poor man with no family despite my age, but I will still gather herbs in the mountains every single day. It does not earn much, but those herbs can save lives. This is how I’ve managed to press on everyday!”

“Sir, is there nobody else living with you?”

“Nope. I live alone. Fate is what brings people together. You can’t insist to get something that was destined to not be yours. It’s futile...” The old man let out a sigh.

“Yes, it’s all up to fate!”

It was a rare chance to come across a person that he could get along with, and Yan Liqiang was able to open up to the old man even though they did not share a close relationship. He finally was able to vent his frustrations ever since the day he had reincarnated into this world.

“Oh yes, I remember that the road you came from led to the Longhu Sect, you must be one of their disciples...”

“It was my intention to join the Longhu Sect, but I was rejected as my background was unknown...” Yan Liqiang let out a sigh..

“That’s right. All the major sects will investigate the background of their disciples. They are usually wary of drifters like you with no clear background, as you might be a spy assigned to infiltrate their center. Sects like these would have enemies and people who are jealous of their wealth. To safeguard their secrets, each sect would usually have very high standards for their disciples, and would normally only accept disciples with good family backgrounds...”

Yan Liqiang remained silent. The old man’s words reflected the despair he felt. The rules set by the major sects meant that he would never be able to join any of them in his quest to learn some advanced martial arts. His journey of vendetta was hopeless.

At that moment, a thought surfaced in Yan Liqiang’s mind – in the worst case scenario, he could just go back to Pingxi Prefecture of Gan Province and try his best to get close to that corrupted official surnamed Ye. When the time was right, he would do what had to be done.

“Young man, don’t give up just yet! Heaven never bars one’s way. Even if you ran into a wall here, it does not mean that it’s the end for you!”

Taking the old man’s words as a form of consolation, Yan Liqiang smiled, “Thank you sir. I will never give up! Not until the end!”

As the two conversed, Yan Liqiang had already covered a distance of almost seven miles and was already halfway down the mountain.

“Ah!” The old man let out a sudden cry.

“What is it, sir?”

“Young man, I’ve forgotten something. My keys, I think I left them at the place where you ran into me earlier. Without the keys I won’t be able to go home...” The old man said in an embarrassed tone, “Young man... Can you... Can you head back and help me look for the keys...”

“Sir... About that... Why don’t we just break the lock? I’ll get you a new one...”

The old man let out a sigh, and with a tone full of sorrow he said, “My late wife bought the key. She said that if there’s a lock and a door, then there’s a home. The lock came with a pair of keys, and I have been using it for years now. It’s very meaningful to me, and I don’t wish to damage it...”

For any other person, it would already be a charity for them to be bringing the old man down the mountain. Nine out of ten of them would definitely be disinclined to help the old man retrieve his keys. But after listening to the old man’s words, Yan Liqiang merely nodded, “Alright sir. I’ll leave you here while I head back and look for the keys.”

With that, Yan Liqiang set the old man down on a rock by a tree at the side of the road. After asking the old man about the shape and any other characteristics of the keys, he backtracked his way up the mountain road.

Before Yan Liqiang was even fifty meters away from the old man, the old man cried, “Snake! Snake!”

Yan Liqiang turned around and spotted a snake with a triangular-shaped head, and white stripes dotted its black body that was two meters long. The snake slithered out from a bush not too far away from the tree, extending its tongue as it approached the old man.

Alarmed, the immobile old man threw dirt and tiny pieces of stone at the snake, hoping to drive it away.

Yan Liqiang was shocked as well. Without hesitating, he snapped a branch from a nearby tree and dashed toward the old man.

Maybe it was because of the stones that were thrown by the old man, or Yan Liqiang’s movement, but the snake was scared away and it disappeared back into a bush at the side of the road.

As he parted the bush with the branch in his hand, Yan Liqiang could no longer spot the snake. The snake had already disappeared into the gulley and mountain streams hidden behind the bush.

When Yan Liqiang turned around, he could see that the old man’s face was completely pale, and fear lingered on his face.

“Sir, what was that snake just now?”

“That was a black-scaled snake. Even a single bite can be fatal!”

“Are there a lot of snakes on Mount Longhu?”

“Of course! The ‘Long’ of Mount Longhu refers to the snake population on this mountain. There were a lot of vile beasts and poisonous creatures in this mountain, but their populations were drastically reduced when the Longhu Sect was formed. Many of them were either driven away or slain by the people from the Longhu Sect. However, a large population of venomous snakes remained on this mountain. I would not be afraid of such snakes if my legs were in good condition. But with how I am now...”

After listening to the old man’s words, Yan Liqiang studied the thick forest surrounding them and looked at the old man’s injured leg. He then knelt in front of the old man. “Sir, here, I’ll carry you up the mountain. I can take care of you if you’re with me. I can’t be at ease if I leave you alone here. What if the snake comes back after I’m gone? I’ll be committing a grave sin...”

“Sorry for troubling you...”

Yan Liqiang did not see the weird smile on the old man’s face as he knelt in front of him.

Yan Liqiang began to ascend the mountain once again after carrying the old man on his back.

Yan Liqiang would’ve been exhausted after carrying a person up and down the mountain had he not practiced Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing before. Despite that, his back was dripping with sweat, and his clothes were already soaked. Even his face was a shade of red.

After carrying the old man up the mountain for almost seven miles, Yan Liqiang had finally reached the spot where he had run into the old man. He found a key in a nearby bush where he had found the old man.

After returning the keys to the old man, Yan Liqiang proceeded to carry him down the mountain.

As they arrived at the foot of the mountain, a man with a scar on his forehead appeared and blocked their path.

The man waved his hand, and a group of eight other men appeared from the side of the roof. They surrounded Yan Liqiang and stared at him with cold gazes.

The clothes the men wore were similar to the ones that Wu Tao’s thugs were wearing that were killed by Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang’s heart raced as the men appeared, but he was able to keep up a calm appearance while carrying the old man on his back. “Are you guys trying to rob me? This is the Longhu Sect’s territory. Aren’t you a little too shameless?”

“You can stop with the act, asshole!” the man with the scar sneered coldly, “You did quite a number on our guys...”

Chapter 99: Desperate Fight

Yan Liqiang looked around and calmly said, “I have neither met nor offended any of you. Did you mistake me for someone else?”

“Hahaha, how can my eyes possibly make a mistake!?” Following those loud laughs, three more people came out from behind the thickets and stood behind the thugs dressed in black.

Standing in the middle between those three people who had just come out was a young lord who was gaudily dressed in silk. He had sunken cheeks and bulging eyes which made him look like he suffered from hyperthyroidism at first glance. However, upon looking more closely, his bulging eyes were boring holes into Yan Liqiang as though he were a hungry ghost. His gaze shined with disgusting obscenity.

“I saw you the moment you emerged at the marketplace that day. I never expected such a beautiful man like you to still exist in this world, hehehe...” The gaudily dressed young lord smiled wretchedly at Yan Liqiang. “When Wu Tao and the rest chased you that day, none of them returned. I thought I would never see you again. Little did I expect to run into you again the next day during registration at Soul Mountain Sect’s Hu Provincial Branch. I almost couldn’t recognize you when I was queuing up because you changed your clothes. Fortunately, even if clothes can be changed, you can’t change yourself. I have a few men with me who went to search for you over these few days, and we finally found you here...”

Yan Liqiang squinted his eyes at this disgusting man as he recalled the situation that day during registration at Soul Mountain Sect’s Hu Provincial Branch. He vaguely recalled that he had seen his face. However, there were just too many other people staring at him from all directions at that time. This person was in the queue with the crowd and he didn’t expect for him to be the person behind the series of troubles which befell him upon his arrival at Hu Provincial City.

“Who are you?” Yan Liqiang asked coldly.

“Hahaha. I’m from Fu Zixiang from the Fu Clan. There’s no one in Hu Provincial City who doesn’t know my name!” The gaudy man looked at Yan Liqiang in arrogance with complacency written all over his face. “The largest Thousand Treasures Merchant Group in Hu Province is the Fu Clan’s. My grandfather is one of the Hall Masters in the Soul Mountain Sect. My father is a high official at the Hu Provincial Governor’s Office. The Fu Clan is pretty much an influential and great clan in Hu Province. Now that I have joined the Soul Mountain Sect, getting to the main branch in the future will be as easy as turning over my hand. If you follow me, you definitely won’t regret it...”

Someone like this was nothing more than a pile of turd. To hear this pile of turd boasting so shamelessly, Yan Liqiang was so annoyed that he nearly puked. “Your clan’s background has nothing to do with me and I don’t care which sect you are in either. I’m leaving now, so get out of the way!”

“Brat, you think you can still leave now?” The man with a scar between his brows leaped out and fiercely glared at Yan Liqiang. “I haven’t broken even with you for Wu Tao and the rest. Tell me, what have you done to them? Why did they never return after they went to chase you that night? We haven’t seen any of them alive or their corpses. Did you kill them and bury their corpses somewhere?”

“I don’t know Wu Tao or that Liu Tao you speak of.” Yan Liqiang replied with an indifferent expression on his face.

The man with a scar in the middle of his brows laughed sinisterly. He cracked his knuckles and the cracking noises from the bones were audible. “It seems like you won’t tell us unless we do something. I would really love to see just how long your bones can stand this.”

“Zhu An, don’t injure him too badly and don’t leave any scars on his face...” Young Master Fu worriedly reminded him from the side.

“Rest assured, Young Master Fu. We, the Rising Moon Tower of Hu Provincial City has never met anyone that has not been our match. Let me show you how I will handle this brat...”

“Why are you guys doing something so completely uncalled for in broad daylight? Do you not fear the law?”

“The law?” The people who surrounded Yan Liqiang were slightly taken aback before they roared in laughter together as if they had just heard a funny joke. The person named Zhu An laughed so hard that he teared up. “The laws are only effective against peasants like yourself. If you are disobedient, we will hold you against the law. So what about laws? They are nothing but our words. You really took them seriously?”

Yan Liqiang laughed deprecatingly at himself. He had done everything perfectly and he thought that by doing so, no one would be able to get ahold of any evidence that could be used against him. Yet he had forgotten the fact that logic and reasoning never worked in this world; it had always been violence. Now that the other party had already identified him, evidence and the law didn’t matter to them. The only thing they wanted was nothing more than to bring him down and humiliate him.

Yan Liqiang was a good law-abiding citizen in his previous life. Under imperceptible influence, his subconsciousness in this life had made him consider every action he took in accordance to the law, like when he murdered the Hong Clan in the past as well as Wu Tao and the rest. Although he knew he was committing a crime, he still didn’t want his actions, which violated the law, to be exposed. However, Yan Liqiang was finally woken up now. In this world, laws were merely words for the disadvantaged social groups. Great clans like the Ye Clan of Gan Province and the Fu Clan of Hu Province would never view the laws in the same way. The so-called law was nothing more than a tool in their hands.

From this moment onwards, the word ‘law’ was completely reduced to nothing in Yan Liqiang’s heart.

Upon seeing his opponent getting ready to begin, Yan Liqiang took a deep breath and then stared at Zhu An and Fu Zixiang. “This old man I am carrying on my back is someone I just met on the mountain. He injured his leg when he was picking herbs there. I only helped him descend the mountain. He has never known me prior to this and likewise, I didn’t know him either. I’m going to set him down now. Please don’t make things difficult for him. If you want to do anything, just come at me!”

Fu Zixiang cast a single glance at the old man whom Yan Liqiang was carrying and then spatted, “Who cares about that old geezer?”

The old man who had picked herbs seemed to be intimidated by these people from the Rising Moon Tower. Ever since they appeared, he had been completely silent.

Yan Liqiang took a look around at his surroundings and then walked to the roadside to set the old man on his back down. “Old Man, this is as far as I can send you today. Please take care of yourself!”

After setting the old man down, Yan Liqiang turned around and stared at the group of people who surrounded him. The expression on his face slowly hardened. With a whisk, he pulled out a sharp, short knife from his waist, squinted his eyes, and clenched his jaw. “Come,” he said coldly.

“A brat who isn’t even a Martial Warrior is going to fight with his life?” Zhu An looked at Yan Liqiang and laughed disdainfully. “I will let you know today that children shouldn’t be playing with knives!”

While Zhu An was speaking, his figure flashed. He seemed to have come before Yan Liqiang with just a stride and then he flung his palm towards him...

Chapter 100: A Fight of Life and Death

Zhu An drew near to him. The palm he flung towards Yan Liqiang was extremely powerful, quick, and violent. Yan Liqiang shifted his body to the side without thinking and similarly took a step forward. The dagger in his hand was aimed at Zhu An’s neck. He seemed as though he was courageously risking his life...

Nine out of ten ordinary people would choose to defend and evade if faced with Zhu An’s attack. On the contrary, Yan Liqiang neither defended nor evaded his attack. He instead chose to fight it out with Zhu An. If you are going to slap me, then I’ll stab you.

To date, Yan Liqiang never fought anyone beyond Martial Warrior realm. The moment Zhu An struck out, Yan Liqiang already understood that he was definitely no match for Zhu An. There was no doubt that Zhu An was not only a Martial Warrior, but also a very powerful one among them. His strength considerably exceeded his own. Under such circumstances, it was meaningless to choose the conventional way of fighting. The disparity between their strengths was simply too obvious. If he wished to escape, he could only fight for a chance by going all out.

Yan Liqiang’s attacks were extremely fierce and confident. Zhu An was secretly startled in his heart too. He realized that Yan Liqiang had nimble footwork and sharp reflexes. The aura and force behind the stab seemed to be rather experienced, somewhat akin to that of a Martial Warrior and unlike a youth that was fourteen or fifteen who hadn’t advanced as a Martial Warrior.

A slapping sound rang out. Zhu An had changed his technique at the last minute when Yan Liqiang’s dagger drew near him. He flung his palm out and performed an unarmed technique, directly slapping the blade of Yan Liqiang’s dagger. Then he kicked Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang sensed only a wave of powerful force coming at him. The dagger in his hand shook and almost slipped from his grasp. His entire arm was numb and it was nearly knocked away. Upon seeing Zhu An’s kick coming towards him, Yan Liqiang immediately performed the ‘Nine Palace Steps’ along with the force on his arm. With that technique, he flipped over with a step and was able to instantly evade Zhu An’s kick, putting some distance between them. He then held his dagger downwards, adopting a defensive stance while he locked his eyes onto Zhu An.

“This brat is quite a troublesome one. His attacks are ruthless and cruel. Wu Tao and the other two probably fell into the clutches of this brat. Everyone be careful, don’t let him get away...!” Zhu An yelled. When the other thugs in the surroundings heard him, each and every one of them unsheathed their weapons, simultaneously surrounding them by forming a tight ring and trapping both of them in the middle.

This time, Yan Liqiang initiated the attack without waiting for Zhu An to come at him. He didn’t charge towards Zhu An. He instead turned around when he saw those thugs in the surroundings closing in on him, getting ready to pounce on one of the thugs closest to him from behind.

Zhu An snarled, then pounced on Yan Liqiang like a hawk preying on a rabbit.

However, he didn’t know Yan Liqiang was feinting.

When Zhu An leaped towards him and the thugs who surrounded him closed in on him at the same time, he lowered his body and immediately did a quick roll on the ground. He went behind Zhu An who had soared into the sky from below his feet. Then he leaped up and pounced on one of the thugs that was closing in on him.

Seeing Yan Liqiang pouncing towards him, the thug in front hacked towards Yan Liqiang with the long knife in his hands without a second thought.

Both parties’ weapons clashed against each other with a sharp and clear clank.

Although Yan Liqiang was holding a dagger in his hands, the strength he possessed far exceeded the thug’s. The moment their blades clashed against each other, Yan Liqiang made sure he blocked his opponent’s long knife with his dagger at a spot close to its hilt, instantly repelling it. Without giving the thug any time to react, another dagger suddenly slid out from Yan Liqiang’s left sleeve and that dagger was impaled into the thug’s chest in just a split second...

Yan Liqiang carried not only a dagger on him, but two...

The thug let out a blood-curdling scream, coughed out a mouthful of blood, then collapsed on the ground as he was killed by Yan Liqiang with just a single stab.

No one expected Yan Liqiang to be able to fool these people under such circumstances and even kill someone. Seeing Yan Liqiang who was much like a frenzied tiger, the two bodyguards standing beside Young Master Fu took a step forward together at the same time, shielding that gaudily-dressed fellow behind them.

Zhu An, who was behind him, reacted with a speed beyond Yan Liqiang’s expectations. All Yan Liqiang could feel was a burst of wind behind his back. If he continued charging to the front, he might’ve been able to break out from the ring. However, he would have to fully take the blow from Zhu An when he charged to the front, and this blow would most definitely heavily injure him and even leave him immobilized. Could he possibly escape from this bunch of people after sustaining this blow? Most definitely not.

While his thoughts flowed like electricity, Yan Liqiang had already made his decision. He clenched his teeth and leaned his body to the side. He did a roll on the ground, once again evading Zhu An’s attack.

Although the Lazy Donkey Roll technique didn’t seem all that graceful, it was oftentimes the most effective technique for evading enemy attacks.

Zhu An didn’t expect for Yan Liqiang to not only be able to murder one of his men right under his nose, but he also actually successfully evaded his attacks twice. At this point, he was infuriated by Yan Liqiang. “BRAT, YOU ARE COURTING DEATH!” Zhu An bellowed in rage. A red light shone from his body, and a Dharmic projection of sinister crimson venomous snakes instantly materialized.

The moment the Dharmic projection of venomous snakes appeared, Zhu An’s palms turned red. At the same time, he spread his thumbs out from the other fingers, turning both of his hands into the shape of a snake head. When he threw his hands out, the hissing noises, akin to venomous snakes flicking their tongues, could be heard in the air.

Both Zhu An’s hands were like two venomous snakes; one on the left and one on the right. They intertwined together and dove towards Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang had barely jumped up from the ground when he realized Zhu An’s hands were already right before his eyes. But, he wasn’t bothered by his hands. One of his daggers made for Zhu An’s throat, while the other stabbed towards his chest.

Shortly after a few techniques, Yan Liqiang swung his daggers when he saw an opening and hacked towards both of Zhu An’s hands.

WhenYan Liqiang’s daggers were about to chop off Zhu An’s hands, Yan Liqiang felt his sight waver. Zhu An’s hands changed, and he spread his fingers apart like a wide, open mouth. Both of his hands immediately gripped the backs of Yan Liqiang’s daggers.

“OPEN!” At Zhu An’s yell, Yan Liqiang felt his hands shake. A forceful, powerful wave surged forth, causing him to lose his grip on the daggers which then flew out of his grasp.

Yan Liqiang snarled and hurled his fist towards Zhu An. A tiger roar was heard in the air.

Zhu An smiled coldly when he faced Yan Liqiang’s punch. One of his hands transformed strangely like a snake and reached upwards from below Yan Liqiang’s arm. His five fingers then instantly dug into the depression on Yan Liqiang’s right chest, right above his armpit.

With this, Yan Liqiang felt as though he had just been stabbed by a steel knife through his chest. The pain first radiated from the bone marrow before half of his body instantly turned numb. As soon as he coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood, he was sent flying by Zhu An’s attack. He tumbled over a few meters on the ground before he came to a stop...

Chapter 101: Returning From Death’s Door

Seeing Yan Liqiang sent flying by Zhu An, one of the thugs at the side thought Yan Liqiang had already lost his fighting strength. Thinking that he could exploit the situation, he rushed forward without thinking and tried to restrain Yan Liqiang.

When he was about to lift his leg and step on Yan Liqiang, his leg was suddenly encircled by Yan Liqiang’s left arm. Yan Liqiang only exerted some force on his single arm to flip that thug over onto the ground before he hammered his face with his fist. He punched so hard that the thug was left with a bloodied face...

Right after that, Yan Liqiang’s left hand passed underneath that person’s armpit, and he locked his arm around the thug’s neck with his hand that was holding a weapon from behind. This position only allowed that thug to kick his legs against the ground as he struggled to no avail.

“RELEASE HIM!!” Zhu An and the other thugs in black yelled.

Yan Liqiang was wearing a chilly expression on his face. He was half-kneeling on the ground, coughing up blood while smiling mournfully like an injured wolf. His gaze was sharp like the blade of a sword, exuding boundless rage and murderous intention as he glared fiercely at the people around him. He exerted force on his arm and immediately broke the struggling thug’s neck single-handedly with a snap.

The thug’s body went limp and collapsed on the ground like mud.

This was the second person Yan Liqiang had finished off.

He picked up the knife in that thug’s hand with his left hand and watched everyone in the surroundings with a bloodthirsty gaze while he was half-kneeling on the ground.

When Yan Liqiang was about to stand up, he realized that he had completely lost sensation along the entire right side of his body, starting from his right shoulder to his right hand and all the way down to his right leg. He couldn’t even stand up. Other than pain and numbness, half his body couldn’t perceive any other sensations.

The surrounding area instantly fell silent. Most of the thugs who closed in on Yan Liqiang earlier retreated a step back due to fear.

When Yan Liqiang’s sharp gaze swept past Young Master Fu, Fu Zixiang’s countenance paled slightly. He was quivering lightly and didn’t even dare to meet Yan Liqiang’s gaze.

“Young Master Fu, you cannot keep this person. He is different than those from before. The moment you give him room to breathe, he will break your neck. You can’t possibly tame a carnivorous, violent wolf into a rabbit. Young Master Fu, if you insist on wanting him, he might just kill you any moment...” Zhu An stood somewhere not far from Yan Liqiang while watching him. He took a deep breath and warned Young Master Fu.

Although some men might have been trained by them to become a male escort through threats, promises, and torture, Zhu An could tell right away from the look in Yan Liqiang’s eyes that a man like him would never yield to anyone, not to mention a male escort. Keeping someone like this by your side was akin to hanging a knife right above the bed you slept in.

He also couldn’t understand why a handsome youth like Yan Liqiang would have such a violent and vicious side to him. The innermost being of this youth and his exterior were two polar opposites.

After making an enemy with this kind of person, one definitely couldn’t afford to keep him around.

“If you agree to follow me today... and obey my orders, I will let them spare you! What do you think?” Young Master Fu swallowed nervously, and then shouted at Yan Liqiang from outside the ring.

“Go f*ck yourself!” Yan Liqiang bloodily spat at Young Master Fu, then pointed at him with his knife. “If I, your father, cannot kill a thrash like you in this lifetime, I will make sure to behead you in my next life!”

“Zhu An, I’ll... leave everything up to you...” When Young Master Fu saw Yan Liqiang’s expression, he shook his head and let out a reluctant sigh. Then with a sweet voice he said, “I didn’t expect you to be someone so ungrateful. For such a beautiful man like yourself, why make life so difficult for yourself? Such a pity!”

“There’s no need to feel pity for him, Young Master Fu. You will probably meet better ones in the future!” Zhu An smiled and extended his hand. The thug beside him immediately handed over a knife to him. With the knife in his hand, Zhu An inched slowly towards Yan Liqiang.

He didn’t actually expect to get into trouble thanks to his handsome face during this reincarnation. If he knew things would turn out this way, he’d rather his appearance to look like how it was in his previous life. Yan Liqiang smiled bitterly in his heart and tightly gripped the dagger in his hand as he watched Zhu An coming towards him. There was only one thought running through his mind right now and no one could have guessed it – would he still be given another chance to reincarnate after dying this time?

Zhu An wiped the blade of his knife with a cruel smile on his face as he drew nearer to Yan Liqiang, step by step. When he was two meters away from Yan Liqiang, he squinted his eyes and was about to end Yan Liqiang’s life. Yan Liqiang’s entire body stiffened, ready to pull another scapegoat down with him before his death...

A faint sigh was suddenly heard by everyone.

“I have traversed the world for a few decades before I finally stumble across a satisfying potential disciple. Now, who dares to kill my disciple before me...?”

Everyone turned their heads around together in shock and discovered the old herb gatherer with a broken leg whom Yan Liqiang had just set down by the roadside earlier. Unbeknownst to anyone, he was standing and looking at those people who surrounded Yan Liqiang with an apathetic gaze, as though they were nothing more than ants.

Yan Liqiang blinked and stared at the old man’s supposedly broken leg. He thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. The bone of that old man’s broken leg was protruding outwards at a strange angle earlier and his leg was extremely swollen. Yet the very same leg had returned to normal before anyone realized it. At the same time, the aura around the old man had also become different.

“You’re nothing but a herb gathering old fart. What are you bluffing about accepting a disciple! You scared me...!” One of the thugs yelled indignantly right after recovering from his shock. He charged towards the old man with his weapon without thinking twice.

“BE CAREFUL, OLD MAN!” Yan Liqiang yelled in urgency.

The old man gave Yan Liqiang a smile. Before he even had to move, a golden light ray flew out of his sleeve. It went into the ear of that thug who was charging towards him at lightning speed, and then came out from his nose...

At first, Yan Liqiang thought the speed of that golden light was blazing fast. However, he only knew what ‘fast’ truly meant in the next second. Compared to the speed earlier, that was like slow-motion. His eyes widened like saucers as he was unable to follow that golden light anymore. He could only catch the sight of that golden light making a round at lightning speed with his naked eyes before all the thugs around him, including Zhu An and the other two bodyguards by Young Master Fu’s side, collapsed limply on the ground in the following second...

In the end, Young Master Fu was left alone standing there in a daze as if he had just seen a ghost. Seeing everyone around him collapse one after another, he shrieked, “GHOST...!!” and was ready to flee...

Yan Liqiang saw the old herb gatherer pointing a finger at Young Master Fu from twenty or thirty meters away. A speck of white light shot out from his finger like a meteor, hitting Young Master Fu. In just a split moment, Young Master Fu was unable to move his body, as if he were under a paralysis spell.

The old man then came to Yan Liqiang’s side. He looked at him and smiled, “Luckily that person has only trained his Hundred Venomous Snakes Hands to the third layer realm, which barely scratched the surface. Had it been above the seventh layer and hit you, I would have had to spare a little more effort...”

The old man spoke and then reached out to slap Yan Liqiang’s right shoulder. At that moment, Yan Liqiang felt a warm current pouring forth from his shoulder to the inside of his body. The pain and numbness on the right side of his body instantly vanished and he felt just like a defrosted fish when he regained the ability to move.

Yan Liqiang immediately jumped up. He then wordlessly rushed to Young Master Fu who was holding the knife in his hand. Young Master Fu watched in terror as Yan Liqiang lifted the knife in his hand and brought it down. Young Master Fu’s head was sent flying before it fell and tumbled on the ground...

“Marvellous, simply marvellous. You remind me of myself in the past...” At the sight of Yan Liqiang beheading Young Master Fu without any hesitation, the old man laughed heartily while clapping his hands from the side.

In just matter of a few seconds, those corpses which had been circled by the golden light on the floor earlier started to soften up as they slowly melted into puddles of blood....

Yan Liqiang couldn’t help but feel a chill in his heart when he witnessed this scene.

When he realized that the old man was staring at him with a smile, Yan Liqiang threw away the knife in his hand and immediately came up to the old man. He kneeled down and directly bowed down to him three times; he bowed so low that his forehead touched the ground. “Greetings from Yan Liqiang to Master!”

“Hahaha!” The old man laughed loudly, then pulled Yan Liqiang up. “My good disciple, someone is coming. We shall talk more in the sky.”

When Yan Liqiang was still wondering what he meant by ‘talk more in the sky’, a whooshing sound raced beside his ear. His heart nearly leaped out from his chest because his body bounced upwards as though he were bungee jumping, soaring up to more than a hundred meters above the ground in just a flash. The moment Yan Liqiang nearly screamed in panic when he felt his body falling back towards the ground, a blue, gigantic eagle with two pairs of wings with a wingspan of twenty meters flew towards them at lightning speed. That old man then helped Yan Liqiang sit securely on the back of that gigantic eagle...

The screech of the gigantic eagle reverberated through the skies. It then spread its wings, raised its altitude, and soared into the skies. All Yan Liqiang could feel was the powerful gust of wind blowing against his face which was so hard that his face started to hurt. He could barely even keep his eyes open. In just a few seconds, he felt his mind going blank as it became harder to breathe. His body grew heavy, and then all he could see was darkness.

“Oops, I almost forgot that this disciple of mine doesn’t seem to be a Martial Warrior. He might not be able to endure Blue Luan’s speed in the sky...”

These were the last words Yan Liqiang faintly heard before he lost his consciousness...

I... &*#$%%...&...

Chapter 102: Sect Guardian

The past few days seemed to have been very exhausting for Yan Liqiang. As soon as he lost consciousness, he felt as though he had fallen into a deep slumber. Uncertain of how much time had passed, when Yan Liqiang woke up, he found himself lying in a mountain cave. The first thing that came into his view when he opened his eyes were stalactites which were hanging from above the cave ceiling like gigantic bamboo shoots. Water droplets dripped to the ground from the stalactites, forming a small pool about ten meters away from him.

A ray of light shined through the crack in the ceiling of the cave. The entire cave appeared to be extremely silent. Only the dripping sound of water droplets reverberated in Yan Liqiang’s ears.

Yan Liqiang’s thoughts froze for two seconds before everything came flooding back to his mind again. He recalled the battle at the foot of Longhu Mountain, the old herb gatherer, and the scene before he lost his consciousness...

He then jumped up all of a sudden.

Yan Liqiang tried moving his body first and discovered that he was perfectly uninjured, save for the little sore and bruise on his right shoulder, at the spot right above his armpit. That was probably an external wound Zhu An had left on his body, but it was nothing serious.

Yan Liqiang let out a long sigh and walked out of the mountain cave.

The cave was located halfway up on a tall mountain, with a forest right outside of it. The clouds below the mountain stretched on as far as the eyes could see and he was shrouded by the clouds and mist. The faint fragrance of orchid in the fresh air was soothing to one’s senses.

Watching such scenery made one feel as though they had left the secular world.

The old man sat cross-legged below a pine tree. He looked at Yan Liqiang who had just exited the cave with a smile.

Yan Liqiang went over to him and bowed to the old man. “Greetings, Master!”

“Come, have a seat. I’m sure you must have a lot of questions. We can have a good chat now. There are some things I ought to let you know too!”

Seeing the kind face in front of him, Yan Liqiang totally couldn’t imagine how this old man looked when unblinkingly used a golden light to kill more than ten corpses without any traces left behind during that time.

“Although I’ve already addressed you as Master, I still don’t know your name or your hometown!”

“I’m from the Liu Clan and my full name is Liu Guiyuan. I’m one of the Elders in the Divine Sword Sect, one of the four major sects!”

Divine Sword Sect? He was actually from the Divine Sword Sect?! The three words shook Yan Liqiang’s mind to its core.

Although Yan Liqiang could pretty much guess that his master had an unusual background, he didn’t expect he would actually be an Elder from the Divine Sword Sect, the leader of the four major sects.

The so-called four major sects in the world were the Divine Sword Sect, Wise Ruler Sect, Jade Luo Palace, and the Soul Mountain Sect.

The four major sects were all unique in their own ways. The Soul Mountain Sect was well-rounded with countless individuals of special talents. Apart from martial arts, the medical group within Soul Mountain Sect was similarly world-renowned. The Wise Ruler Sect was known as the advocate of manslaughter. Their disciples loved battles the most as they were often seen enlisting themselves in the army and participating in deadly battles on the battlegrounds. Within the army of the Great Han Empire, the influence of Wise Ruler Sect far exceeded the three other major sects.

Jade Luo Palace on the other hand, was the most mysterious amongst them all. To date, no one knew the exact location of Jade Luo Palace. The members of Jade Luo Palace usually kept a low profile however, they would make an appearance every ten years or so and do something earth-shattering.

The Divine Sword Sect was known as the leader of the four major sects. Every sword technique in this world originated from this sect. Within the sect, a legion of ten thousand swordsmen could be easily gathered with just an order, crushing anyone who stood in their way. Apart from sword techniques, the riding techniques from the sect had always been world-renowned.

Pingxi Prefectural Governor, Ye Tiancheng’s son was in the Divine Sword Sect. He had already advanced as Supreme Martial Warrior, and thus he gained the rights to cultivate in the inner Divine Sword Sect.

If he joined the Divine Sword Sect, he’d end up in the same sect as Ye Tiancheng’s son. The road was indeed narrow for enemies[1].

At this moment, Yan Liqiang could only sigh at the wonders of fate, which he revered. Little did he expect that after his reincarnation and wandering about, he actually managed to get into the Divine Sword Sect, become a disciple to one of the Elders there, and end up in the same sect as the son of his nemesis.

Liu Guiyuan thought his identity had stunned Yan Liqiang. After allowing some time for Yan Liqiang to process the information in silence, he continued speaking. “In the Divine Sword Sect, my public identity is an Elder and my duty is managing the medicinal pill valley of the sect. However, I have another secret identity and job there. I am the Sect Guardian of the Divine Sword Sect...”

“Sect Guardian?” Yan Liqiang gave Liu Guiyuan a bewildered look upon hearing the two words for the first time. He had never heard of that before. “What are the duties of a Sect Guardian?”

“Every major sect has a Sect Guardian. The Sect Guardian is the most hidden guardian within the sect. At peaceful times, they conceal themselves well and blend in with the rest. However, when a great catastrophe befalls any sect, the duty of a Sect Guardian is to guard the most important secret techniques of the sect and ensure that they don’t fall into the hands of any outsiders. At the same time, he will also have to find separate location and ensure that the sect’s lineage continues on...”

“I understand now. So this ‘Sect Guardian’ that Master speaks of is protecting something akin to the seed of a sect. During a critical situation, Master can bring this seed you have been protecting elsewhere to let it grow so that it can once again become a big tree which will touch the sky.”

“That’s exactly right!” Liu Guiyuan nodded with an extremely solemn expression on his face. “My identity as the Sect Guardian is top secret even within the Divine Sword Sect. Before today, apart from myself and the Sect Master of Divine Sword Sect, no third person in this world knows of this. Not even the group of Elders in Divine Sword Sect, my family, and my other few disciples know about this identity of mine. You are prohibited from exposing my identity to anyone else. Otherwise, you will face the wrath of the sect laws. By then, not even the Gods can save you!”

“If Master’s identity as a Sect Guardian is a classified information in the Divine Sword Sect, then why did you tell me?”

Liu Guiyuan looked at Yan Liqiang serenely. “You are a smart one. Why don’t you guess why I let you in on this secret?”

Yan Liqiang swallowed hard and racked his brain before he gave an uncertain answer. “Master... you aren’t thinking about cultivating me into the next Sect Guardian of the Divine Sword Sect, are you?”

“Hahaha, that’s my plan!” Liu Guiyuan laughed heartily.

“Why me though? Didn’t you just mention that you already have other disciples in the Divine Sword Sect, Master?”

“Although my few other disciples in the Divine Sword Sect can inherit my other areas of studies, none of them are able to succeed my position and duty as a Sect Guardian. The secret technique that the Sect Guardian is required to grasp in the end isn’t something any ordinary disciple can inherit. In order to become the Sect Guardian of the Divine Sword Sect, the candidate’s physical aptitude doesn’t only have to be the best of the best. There are also unusually high demands for their morality and character. One cannot become the Sect Guardian of the Divine Sword Sect without a good balance between toughness and kindness, one-of-kind physical aptitude, great perseverance, courage, and intelligence. In this world, sects leave their main doors open and mass recruit disciples. There are disciples all over the world searching for a master. However, in the case of a Sect Guardian, only the master can search for their own disciple. It actually took me a few decades to find someone like you!”

“I only met you once on Mount Longhu. Even if I was kind enough to carry you down the mountain, how can you be sure that I am a suitable candidate?”

Liu Guiyuan looked at Yan Liqiang with a smile. “I was the one who paid for your meal when you dashed after dining in Cloud Crane Restaurant. You may think that we’ve only met once, but I’ve been following you around for a long time. That night, when you killed Wu Tao along with the other two in the forest and mutilated their corpses to get rid of the evidence, I was right beside you, but you didn’t notice me. Over the past few days, I’ve been watching your every move. I already predicted that the people from Rising Moon Tower were going to mess with you. The incident on Mount Longhu was merely the final test I put you through to assess your character. It wasn’t difficult for you to carry me down to the mountain’s foot; the difficult part is how you went through the trouble of carrying me up the mountain again just to find a key. No one out of a million would do what you did. If you were willing to turn around with me on your back to find the key I’d lost, then you are my fated disciple; the next Sect Guardian of my Divine Sword Sect. If you had abandoned me and left, then that merely meant you were not the one I was searching for. That also meant that whatever happened to you next would not concern me...”

Upon hearing such revelation, Yan Liqiang rejoiced, but at the same time, he couldn’t help but break into cold sweat too. His first joy was that his kindness that day on the mountain path had allowed him to stand against the final test that Liu Guiyuan had set for him. His second joy was the fact that his secret wasn’t exposed because he had always been on the move these few days, and thus he had no time to cultivate Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing.

“So are you going to bring me back to the Divine Sword Sect now, Master?”

“Hahaha. If I were to bring you back directly now, our identities would be too obvious to skeptical people!” Liu Guiyuan shook his head. “We are already in Lai Province. The main branch of the Divine Sword Sect is just two hundred li away from here, on Mount Sword. All you have to do is just go to Mount Sword and request for admission to the Divine Sword Sect...”

Yan Liqiang hesitated for a moment. “I have been wandering around all these years without ever settling down. Will the Divine Sword Sect still accept me despite my inability to clarify my background?”

“Under normal circumstances, they definitely won’t. But with this, the Divine Sword Sect will definitely accept you!” Liu Guiyuan took out the very same key he was looking for on Mount Longhu with Yan Liqiang carrying him on his back that day and put it in Yan Liqiang’s hands. “When you arrive at the Divine Sword Sect, show them this key and tell them you would like to join the sect!”

Yan Liqiang astonishingly looked at the key in his hand. He simply couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that this tiny key held such a great ability. It was just a metal key which looked very normal; it was not that different from any other ordinary key. At most, it only had some patterns imprinted on it. How was it possible that he could join the Divine Sword Sect just by relying on it?

“Master, is this key a keepsake of the Divine Sword Sect?”

“Indeed it is. If anyone ever helped an Elder from the Divine Sword Sect in times of need when they were out on a job, they would leave this key with that person. This is so that if anyone ever brings this key back to the sect and requests any sort of assistance from the Divine Sword Sect, the sect will try to help that person to the best of its ability as a way of repaying the favor that the person has done for the Divine Sword Sect in the past! This key was something that was left behind by one of the Elders in the sect a few years ago in Hu Province. At that time, the Elder was heavily injured and fell into the water during an intense battle with someone else in Hu Province. In the end, he was rescued by a wandering physician. Hence, the Elder left this key with that wandering physician and told him to come search for him at the Divine Sword Sect if he ever faced a difficult situation in the future...”

“Will I get into trouble for holding this key?”

“That will be up to the will of the Heavens!” Liu Guiyuan sighed. “That elder had passed away a few years ago. Before his passing, he asked me to look for that wandering physician in Hu Province and pay him a visit to see how he was doing. Two years ago, I arrived at Hu Province and found the wandering physician, but he also had similarly aged. When he realized I was there to visit him on the behalf of someone, he returned this key to me and then passed away not long after. Take this key to the Divine Sword Sect and identify yourself as the grandson of that wandering physician. Just tell them that the wandering physician had passed this key onto you before he passed away and told you to come to the Divine Sword Sect...”

“What happens after I go to the Divine Sword Sect?”

“You shall cultivate like any other disciple in the sect. I won’t give you any preferential treatment. You will have to rely on yourself for everything. Do not reveal our relationship to anyone. I will wait until you advance as a Supreme Martial Warrior before I officially accept you as my disciple when the time is right, and then I will secretly pass on the lineage of Sect Guardian to you!”

“Master, have you never doubted my background?”

“To me, just knowing what kind of person you are is more than enough. Your background is not a concern.” Liu Guiyan looked at Yan Liqiang. His gaze was filled with wisdom and benevolence. “A youth your age should still be at home, filial to your father and mother while enjoying the warmth of family. Yet you are wandering alone outside, experiencing all kinds of hardships. For you to so painstakingly try to join a major sect despite being unable to clarify your own background, you are most likely from a broken family and wish to become competent enough to take revenge against your enemies. Am I right?”

Yan Liqiang’s eyes slightly reddened. He bit his lips and nodded.

“Cultivate well when you are in the Divine Sword Sect then. The only factor that can stop one from exacting revenge is their own incompetence. By the time you are competent enough, killing your enemy will be no different than killing a chicken. Nothing can stop you from taking any sort of revenge.”

Yan Liqiang nodded at his words...

Chapter 103: Divine Sword Sect

Two days later, Yan Liqiang stood outside the mountain gate of the Divine Sword Sect. Staring at the gate, he couldn’t shake off the amazement that filled his heart...

Within a radius of more than two thousand kilometers from him, lofty mountains which touched the skies filled his field of vision, the summits of the mountains were like sword tips. The steep mountains were amazing sights to behold. They rose steeply from the ground and penetrated through the blue dome of heaven. The summit of the highest mountain was invisible. Clouds and mist shrouded the mountain at its waist and waterfalls could be seen cascading down from the summit. The view around him was like a paradise. Even the shortest mountain stood about a thousand meters. They were scattered about like the stars in the sky, imposing and magnificent.

Yan Liqiang simply couldn’t imagine just what kind of extraordinary workmanship it took to create such a marvel.

The entire mountain gate of the Divine Sword Sect was made up of nine towering gates connected together. There was a flight of staircase with no less than a total of three hundred and sixty steps leading towards the gate. Yan Liqiang ascended the steps slowly and saw a wide and spacious field akin to a public square in front of the mountain gate of the Divine Sword Sect. The mountain gate faced that public square.

Countless youths were passing through the mountain gates, carrying a longsword on their back. Each and every one of them seemed to be in high spirits. Under the sunlight, the reflection of sword blades shone from time to time on the distant mountain peak. It seemed like many people were practicing swordplay on that peak.

Seeing Yan Liqiang standing outside of the Divine Sword Sect’s mountain gate, quite a number of youths passing through the mountain gate glanced at him out of curiosity. They were secretly amazed by Yan Liqiang’s attractiveness.

“Wow, this guy is really handsome. Is he a new disciple in our sect? Why have I never seen him before?!”

“Perhaps he wishes to join our sect!”

“But the sect isn’t recruiting right now...”

“Maybe he’s just here to take a look around...”

The discussions among the people in the surrounding area traveled to Yan Liqiang’s ears from time to time.

Two rows of swordsmen stood outside the gate. All of them were dressed in black swordsman attire and exuded powerful auras. Each of them had a hand placed on the hilt of their sword which hung by their waist as they stood watch, looking steadily forward.

Yan Liqiang took a deep breath, fondling the key he held in his hand before he walked towards the Divine Sword Sect’s gate with large strides.

Liu Guiyuan wasn’t at the Divine Sword Sect currently. He was only going to return after a few months, deliberately picking a different time from Yan Liqiang’s arrival at the sect so that no one would suspect the connection between them. Even when Liu Guiyuan returned, he wasn’t supposed to notice a normal disciple like Yan Liqiang who wasn’t even a Martial Warrior yet. Therefore, before Yan Liqiang advanced as a Supreme Martial Warrior which allowed him to enter the inner Divine Sword Sect, he might not be seeing Liu Guiyuan for a long time or even a few years. He would have to rely on himself for everything. From Liu Guiyuan’s perspective, this was merely a small trial for him to join the Divine Sword Sect. The Sect Guardians of the Divine Sword Sect were also once disciples of the sect before becoming Sect Guardians.

Every Sect Guardian of the Divine Sword Sect came with heavy responsibilities of protecting the key people who could ensure that the lineage of the Divine Sword Sect was passed on at crucial moments. People holding this kind of role were definitely not flowers in a greenhouse. They were powerful candidates destined to be rigorously trained by the Divine Sword Sect through various ways and methods. Only the most excellent disciples of all could earn the right to undertake such heavy responsibilities.

Yan Liqiang knew very well that if he wished to take revenge, then this sect before his eyes, this very platform, was his biggest hope. If he could earn a reputation in the Divine Sword Sect, only then was there a possibility for him to exact his revenge.

“Halt! The mountain gate of the Divine Sword Sect is an important place!”

When Yan Liqiang neared the entrance of the Divine Sword Sect’s gate, a swordsman in his thirties raised his hand, stopping Yan Liqiang dead in his tracks. He exuded an intense aura and was fully dressed in a purple-colored swordsman attire, with a longsword hanging by his waist.

Yan Liqiang recalled the briefing Liu Guiyuan had given to him before. The people wearing purple swordsman attire were the official gatekeepers of the Divine Sword Sect’s mountain gate. As soon as he saw one of them, he could take out that key and loudly state his purpose in coming here.

“I am here to return a key from the Divine Sword Sect. Please unlock the Lock of Requital!” Yan Liqiang announced loudly and raised the key he had taken out high above his head so that everyone in the surrounding area could see.

Upon hearing Yan Liqiang’s announcement, quite a number of disciples who were passing through the gates abruptly stopped in their tracks. The official gatekeeper who was dressed in purple swordsman attire came towards Yan Liqiang with large strides. When he stopped in front of Yan Liqiang, he didn’t take the key. Instead, he took a good look at that key and then at Yan Liqiang before speaking in a deep voice, “Please come this way...”

Seeing the reaction of this swordsman dressed in purple, Yan Liqiang could guess that although cases like this were rare, they had happened before. Hence, even though this swordsman in purple before his eyes was a little surprised, he was still quite calm and collected.

Under the astonished gazes of everyone in the surroundings, the swordsman in purple immediately led Yan Liqiang through the mountain gate of the Divine Sword Sect. After walking a few hundred meters past the mountain gate, they arrived at a building surrounded by bamboo. A maid deftly served Yan Liqiang a cup of tea and the swordsman told Yan Liqiang to wait here patiently before he quickly left.

Yan Liqiang was left waiting for more than half an hour before the swordsman returned with two other people.

One of them was an elderly man with a long and narrow face, a pair of sharp eyes and a dignified demeanor. The other was a young man who followed behind that elderly man, holding two wooden boxes.

“Elder Jiang. This is the youth who brought the key with him!” The swordsman bowed towards the elderly man and reported to him.

“Alright, I will take over from here. Wuxin, you may attend to other matters!” The old man waved his hand lightly at the swordsman in purple.

“I shall take my leave then!” The swordsman then excused himself.

Elder Jiang came over and took a seat beside Yan Liqiang. His eyes were staring at Yan Liqiang’s face before he took a careful look at him from head to toe. Yan Liqiang stood up respectfully and bowed to the old man. “Greetings, Elder Jiang!”

“Let me have a look at the key...”

Yan Liqiang handed over the key. Elder Jiang picked up the key and carefully studied it. After caressing it a few times, he finally nodded rather emotionally. “There’s no mistake about it... The pattern on this key has the secret seal of our Divine Sword Sect. Tell me, where did you get this key? What are the orders of the person who gave you the key?”

Yan Liqiang recited the script that had been prepared for him by Liu Guiyuan, which was naturally flawless– Yan Liqiang was the grandson of a wandering physician. The wandering physician had handed over this key to him before he passed away and told him to take this key to the Divine Sword Sect to search for an Elder there with the surname Shi.

After listening to Yan Liqiang, Elder Jiang made a gesture for the young man standing beside him to open one of the wooden boxes he was holding up. There were bronze locks inside the wooden box, and each of them had a different inscription on them. The inscriptions were the names of people. Elder Jiang picked up a bronze lock with ‘Shi Yunfei’ engraved on it and inserted the key he was holding. With a slight twist, the bronze lock was unlocked with a snap.

Elder Jiang nodded. The young man put away the key and the bronze lock before he opened the other wooden box, revealing a rather aged book within. Elder Jiang picked up the book and flipped through it, then shut it and put it down again. He nodded to Yan Liqiang, the tone of his voice was a lot more friendly, “This key was indeed Elder Shi’s. The Elder had also reported to the sect about being rescued by a wandering physician at Hu Province so he bestowed upon him a key. Unfortunately, Elder Shi had already shuffled off this mortal coil a few years ago. I’m afraid you won’t be meeting him. Please do not hesitate to let me know if there’s anything you wish for the Divine Sword Sect to help!”

Yan Liqiang took a deep breath before he spoke, “I wish to join the Divine Sword Sect and become a disciple. I’d appreciate your assistance, Elder Jiang!”

Elder Jiang took a single glance at Yan Liqiang but didn’t seem to think that his request was too outrageous. “Let me take a look at your hand...”

Yan Liqiang extended his hand. When Elder Jiang grabbed his outstretched hand, a wave of icy cold energy instantly scurried from the meridian in Yan Liqiang’s wrist and then into his body like a little mouse. It coursed through Yan Liqiang’s entire body for two rounds before it returned.

Yan Liqiang knew that Elder Jiang was checking if he had learned any internal cultivation of the other sects, or if there were any Gu [1] or poison within his body, or if he was under control by someone else. Liu Guiyuan had already mentioned this procedure to him previously and told him that this was one of the methods to screen for spies from other sects.

“Wait here for a moment ...” Elder Jiang left with the young man who was holding the boxes as soon as he finished speaking.

Yan Liqiang instantly breathed out a sigh of relief at Elder Jiang’s departure because he knew that he had successfully joined the Divine Sword Sect. However, there was still some work to be done before he could get into the inner sect. Elder Jiang had to make some arrangements so all he needed to do was to just wait here. He would get an update in a moment’s time. Based on his age and strength, even if he managed to get into the Divine Sword Sect, he would be nothing but an ordinary external disciple [2]. For the caliber of the Divine Sword Sect, recruiting an external disciple wasn’t that much of a big deal as the number of external disciples the sect recruited annually through connections was already quite staggering...

Chapter 104: Odd Jobs Disciples

Yan Liqiang had to wait slightly longer this time round. Almost an hour had passed before a man in his forties dressed in a light blue gown entered the room. He stood by the entrance and stared at Yan Liqiang.

“You are Yan Liqiang?”

Yan Liqiang stood up. “Yes, I am!”

“Come with me. I will guide you through the admission procedures!”

“Alright, thank you!” Yan Liqiang expressed his gratitude and followed the person out of the room.

“There are rules I must explain to you before you join the Divine Sword Sect!” That person spoke to Yan Liqiang with a stoic face and a businesslike manner while they walked, however, his attitude was pretty arrogant. “Every disciple the Divine Sword Sect recruits is one in a million and every single one of them are outstanding individuals. For an ordinary person to join Divine Sword Sect is an achievement as challenging as ascending the Heavens. For you to be able to join the sect today is a blessing you have raked up over your past few lives. You didn’t manage to get here on your own, but by relying on that key you have brought with you to unlock the Lock of Requital instead. The sect has only allowed you to join as a favor because a drop of water shall be returned with a burst of spring. Now that the sect has already returned the favor, you will have to act like all the other disciples in the sect. Do not expect any special treatment. You will do whatever the others are doing, eat the same food, use the same things and dress the same way as them. As to whether you can achieve anything here, it will all depend on you. From now onwards, the key you have brought with you will have nothing to with anything. The sect will definitely not tolerate any mistakes and violations of the sect’s law. Understand?”

“Understood. I am just an ordinary disciple after joining Divine Sword Sect, so I will have to behave according to the rules of the sect.” Yan Liqiang nodded and spoke calmly.

“I’m glad you understand. There were also people who joined the Divine Sword Sect like you in the past. Those greenhorns were from small places and were ignorant of the rules. They didn’t know their place here and were ungrateful enough to expect special or preferential treatment everywhere they went. They didn’t work hard, had neither aptitude nor strength and made no progress during their stay in the sect for a few years. Until now, they are just going around with their label of being the Divine Sword Sect’s external disciple, spending their entire lives being measly stewards who mingle with peasants at a few manors under the Divine Sword Sect!”

“Every person’s path is their own choice. They have no one to blame for the consequences!”

“Hm!” The man in light blue gown snorted. “That’s good if you think that way...”

After hitting Yan Liqiang with the last two lines, the man didn’t say anything else. He lowered his head and continued leading Yan Liqiang along the mountain path in the Divine Sword Sect compound. After walking for about twenty minutes, they arrived at a big courtyard.

The big courtyard occupied a land of more than ten mu. A signboard– Juying Courtyard [1] hung above the entrance of the courtyard. There was a building seven stories high within.

The man in the light blue gown led Yan Liqiang into that building. An elderly man dressed in gray came over hurriedly and swept his glance across Yan Liqiang before he put on a humble smile on his face. “Steward Xue, did we recruit another new disciple again today?”

“Yes. Help him with the admission procedures...”

“Understood...”

The admission procedure wasn’t that complex. All they needed was to register Yan Liqiang’s full name, age, clan, birthplace and obtain all Yan Liqiang’s fingerprints to build a simple profile for him. He took a look at Yan Liqiang’s body, then distributed two same sets of gray clothes, socks, shoes, and book titled “The Rules of the Divine Sword Sect”.

Soon after, Steward Xue left Juying Courtyard with Yan Liqiang and continued walking. After more than twenty minutes of walking, they arrived at another big courtyard with a sign which read ‘Commandment Courtyard’, then led Yan Liqiang to a row of rooms at the back of the courtyard.

Among the rows of rooms in the big courtyard, the faint recitation of a few youths could be heard.

“The Commandments of the Divine Sword Sect. The first commandment, you shall not betray your master and ancestors and disrespect your master... The second commandment, you shall not divulge techniques and help outsiders while living in the sect... The third commandment, you shall not kill those in the same sect and dishonor your clan...”

Steward Xue pushed open the door to the room where the recitation came from and led Yan Liqiang inside.

The room was a huge living quarter which could fit eight beds side by side. In front of every bed was a desk and a chair. When Yan Liqiang entered the room, there were four youths between fifteen and twenty, dressed in gray and seated on the chair in front of their bed. Each of them was reciting the “The Rules of the Divine Sword Sect” in their hands aloud while nodding.

All the four people stopped at the same time when they saw Steward Xue enter the room. They hurriedly stood up and stood respectfully beside their respective desks.

Steward Xue pointed at one of the beds in the room. “You will sleep there. For half a month, stay here and learn “The Rules of the Divine Sword Sect”. When you have learned the rules and know how what you can or cannot do in the sect, only then will we arrange your next destination!” After he finished his explanation to Yan Liqiang, Steward Xue took a single glance at one of the young men standing at the side. “Ma Liang...”

“Here!” The oldest among the four hurriedly took a step forward in response.

“He’s a newcomer. Teach him the rules!”

“Understood! Leave it to me, Steward Xue...”

After Steward Xue snorted, he turned around and left without saying anything else.

As soon as Steward Xue left, the gazes of the four people in the room instantly fell on Yan Liqiang. Every single one of them looked at Yan Liqiang up and down in curiosity. The other three kept quiet as Ma Liang came over with his head lifted and looked at Yan Liqiang arrogantly. A look of envy flashed across his eyes. He was quite annoyed by Yan Liqiang, regardless of his age or extremely handsome face. “What’s your name?”

“Yan Liqiang!”

“From where?”

“Hu Province!”

“It’s not easy to get into the Divine Sword Sect. We were all selected from the different branches of the Divine Sword Sect. How did you make it here?” Although the youth by the name Ma Liang had a smile on his face, Yan Liqiang wasn’t sure what he was thinking.

Yan Liqiang gave him a small smile and his talent in pretension once again exploded. “Oh, it was nothing. My grandfather happens to know one of the Elders of the Divine Sword Sect. It took only a word from that Elder to get me in here. Two hours ago, I wasn’t even part of the Divine Sword Sect...” He replied casually as if it was nothing.

Ma Liang’s countenance contorted, immediately looked as though he was choking. Yan Liqiang ignored him and walked to his bed, holding the clothes in his hands. He came before his bed without consulting anyone and placed his stuff on the desk before he started to tidy everything up.

“Um... which Elder recommended you here?” Ma Liang wasn’t willing to give up and continued pressing harder on the topic.

“Sorry, Steward Xue just ordered me to avoid mentioning the name of that Elder or try to earn myself any special treatment in the sect. I was told to keep a low profile and act like an ordinary disciple of the Divine Sword Sect. Brother Ma, you can just treat me like any other ordinary disciple. Please don’t give me any special treatment either, otherwise, Steward Xue will be upset if he knew!”

“W-Well, I only asked out of curiosity...” Ma Liang’s face was all smiles. His attitude towards Yan Liqiang instantly took a 180-degree change, as he was suddenly brimming with enthusiasm. “Brother Liqiang, if you have any doubts, you can ask me anything! Oh right, now that you are part of the Divine Sword Sect, you will have to get changed. Only the core disciples, Elders and above can wear whatever they like. There are dress codes for everyone else within the mountain gate of the sect. We can’t just wear whatever we please...”

“Fine, I will get changed now...” Since it was all men in the room and he reckoned that he would be staying with the same bunch of people for the next few days, Yan Liqiang didn’t bother to hide anything. He stripped in front of everyone and changed into the gray clothes he had just received earlier.

The gray clothes were of made of cotton fiber. Although the quality of the fabric wasn’t that great, it wasn’t too bad either. After getting dressed and tying a gray belt around his waist, Yan Liqiang was in the same attire as Ma Liang and the rest.

“Hahaha, as expected of Brother Liqiang. A handsome man indeed looks good in anything!” Ma Liang didn’t forget to flatter Yan Liqiang from the side.

“Does wearing this attire make me a disciple of the Divine Sword Sect?”

“These gray clothes are the attire for external disciples of the sect, or more accurately, the ‘odd jobs disciples’. In a few days time, we will leave and take up odd jobs on the mountain...”

Chapter 105: Newcomer to the Sect

Much like how a newly recruited staff to a company had to be trained, Yan Liqiang treated his first few days’ experiences at the Commandment Courtyard as joining the Divine Sword Sect’s orientation. And at the core of his training was that little book he received – ‘The Rules of the Divine Sword Sect’.

Every commandment, rule and the behavior every disciple in the sect had to conform to in the Divine Sword Sect, and various matters ranging from major things like cultivation and apprenticing to a master to minor things like dress code and meals were all stated in that book. The first mission of every disciple upon joining the sect was to drill the contents of that book into their heads. If one were to compare the Divine Sword Sect to any armed group, that book was pretty much like the military regulations for the Divine Sword Sect.

The few days he spent in the Commandment Courtyard was monotonous, difficult and dull.

Every morning at five o’clock, Yan Liqiang had to get up together with the other four people he stayed with. After washing up, they had to start cleaning and tidying around the Commandment Courtyard before taking their breakfast around eight or nine o’ clock.

Breakfast was brought to them by the servant disciples of the Commandment Courtyard. They had the same food for breakfast, lunch and dinner– steamed buns.

Two steamed buns for breakfast, two steamed buns for lunch and two steamed buns with some salted vegetables for dinner. So the standard daily meal for everyone was six steamed buns along with some salted vegetables. Every morning, they would receive their meal for the day. Those steamed buns were still slightly warm for breakfast, but by noontime, they had already gone cold and hard. Even so, they had no choice but to continue eating the stone-cold steamed buns for both lunch and dinner.

After breakfast, there would be a lawyer from the Commandment Courtyard to explain to the five of them the various taboos in the Divine Sword Sect or the etiquette for different situations for half an hour. They would then stay in their room to self-study and memorize those contents.

The lawyers in the Commandment Courtyard naturally weren’t like those lawyers who helped others file lawsuits in his previous life. Although the two share the same title, they weren’t the same. To put it simply, the lawyers in Commandment Courtyards were like the police or military officers in the Divine Sword Sect. They were professionals in charge of upholding discipline as well as disciplining in the sect. The people who served as lawyers in the Commandment Courtyard were all outstanding disciples within the sect and were at least at the rank of elite disciples.

After lunch, another lawyer would bring them around for a walk within the Divine Sword Sect’s monastery, allowing them to familiarize themselves with the peaks as well as the locations of courtyards and halls in the sect. After that, they would return to the Commandment Courtyard and continue with their self-study on ‘The Rules of the Divine Sword Sect’.

By nighttime, after dinner, they were allowed to exercise for a bit in the backyard of the Commandment Courtyard, practice their fist techniques, do physical training, laundry or such. About nine o’clock at night, the lights would be out on time for bedtime.

They’d then repeat the same cycle the next day...

The Divine Sword Sect’s monastery spanned a vast area of not less than a few thousand square kilometers. Everywhere in the sect was densely filled with mountain peaks of various sizes which penetrated the blue dome of heaven. At the foot of those mountains were deep ravines and valleys of different sizes and shapes. Since there happened to be 36 mountain peaks, the Divine Sword Sect named them after the 36 Heavenly Spirits among the Stars of Destiny. Since there were also numerous valleys, Divine Sword Sect gathered 72 of them and then similarly named them after the 72 Earthly Fiends among the Stars of Destiny.

Tiankui Peak, Tiangang Peak, Tianji Peak, Tianxian Peak, Tianyong Peak, Tianxiong Peak, Tianmeng Peak, Tianwei Peak...

Dikui Valley, Disha Valley, Diyong Valley, Diejie Valley, Dixiong Valley, Diwei Valley, Diying Valley...

There were a total of 108 locations and names. It was a no easy feat for a newcomer to be able to recite all the names, let alone recognize them. In addition to the ten great courtyards and the various halls within them among these peaks and valleys, if no one showed the disciples their way around to get them familiarized with the routes, it would be no joke if they got lost within the Divine Sword Sect. It wouldn’t be worthwhile if they got decapitated for wandering into the forbidden areas by mistake because they were lost.

...

After repeatedly eating cold steamed buns for a week, Yan Liqiang’s stomach started cramping whenever he saw steamed buns and it was actually the same for the rest. Even so, everyone just gritted their teeth and persevered. No one dared complain about anything because everyone had to make it past this stage.

Even though the process was quite difficult regardless of how others looked at it, at least to Yan Liqiang, he felt like the training and studies he had done over this half a month at the Commandment Courtyard was vital. That was because this kind of training and study could allow him to sufficiently understand the Divine Sword Sect in the shortest amount of time and understand the ‘game rules’ here. He was no longer in the dark or had to follow the crowd.

Yan Liqiang had been very serious about his studies. So as time passed by, his knowledge and understanding of the Divine Sword Sect deepened too.

The entire Divine Sword Sect followed a strict hierarchy. For each rank, the things they could do, the privileges they could enjoy and the obligations they had were made extremely clear to them. Nothing was left ambiguous.

The eight ranks within the Divine Sword Sect in ascending order were external disciple, inner disciple, elite disciple, direct disciple, core disciple, elder, grand elder and sect master. Among the five disciple classes, each was divided into upper, middle and lower class. Rumor had it that the ranks above elder, which were the grand elders and the sect master, were equal. However, since the grand elders cultivated in seclusion all year round, they didn’t get involved with the affairs of the sect. Thus, the Sect Master wielded absolute authority over the entire Divine Sword Sect.

With that, everyone in the Divine Sword Sect was categorized into a rigidly-stratified hierarchy of 18 levels. Disciples like Yan Liqiang who had just joined Divine Sword Sect’s main branch were all categorized in the lower class of the external disciples, at the bottom of the pyramid.

The Sect Master of the Divine Sword Sect stood at the pinnacle of the pyramid. Nicknamed the Sword King, rumors had it that Luqiu Mingyue’s cultivation had already advanced to a Martial King thirty years ago and he became a senator in the Great Han Empire’s Senate.

The number of grand elders among Divine Sword Sect was classified information. Not only Yan Liqiang, even the core disciples had no knowledge of such information.

Under Luqiu Mingyue were the 17 elders of the Divine Sword Sect. Each of them had their own respective duties and power of authority. Among the many ranks of disciples below the 17 elders, a few most outstanding disciples were renowned within the sect. It had only been less than two days since Yan Liqiang’s arrival and he had already heard about the title given to those most outstanding disciples– they were known as the ‘Seven Heroes, Three Braves and The Unrivaled’.

The Seven Heroes were well-known individuals among the elite disciples and direct disciples of the sect. The Three Braves were the three most outstanding figures among the core disciples while The Unrivaled was publicly recognized by millions of disciples as the top candidate of the sect. That person was claimed to have the most potential to take over the duties of the Divine Sword Sect’s Sect Master in the future. She was a woman named Ni Wushuang [1].

In just the blink of an eye, Yan Liqiang had stayed 15 days in the Commandment Courtyard. He learned all there was to learn, knew and memorized all the things he was supposed to know and memorize...

In the early morning of the 16th day, Steward Xue, whom Yan Liqiang had not seen for half a month, showed up once again. He handed him a metal waist tag with his name engraved on it, which symbolized his identity as a disciple in Divine Sword Sect.

Half a month ago, Yan Liqiang didn’t even know the meaning behind the light blue garb Steward Xue was dressed in. But now, he knew that the color Steward Xue wore indicated his position in the Divine Sword Sect– a middle-class elite disciple of the sect.

“Keep this waist tag. Next time you will need to use it to access particular locations within the Divine Sword Sect. I believe you know what consequences you will face if you lose this waist tag!”

“I do! Thank you, Steward Xue!”

Yan Liqiang cautiously put away the waist tag.

Today Yan Liqiang was the only person left in the Commandment Courtyard. Ma Liang and the rest had been there four days earlier than the day Yan Liqiang joined the Divine Sword Sect. Hence, they had completed the ‘training orientation’ four days earlier than him and had already left the Commandment Courtyard.

In those days, Ma Liang’s attitude towards Yan Liqiang had switched from arrogance to deference. He had been indirectly trying to pry information on the ‘connection’ that Yan Liqiang had in the sect. But, of course, Yan Liqiang didn’t divulge any information.

“Come with me.” Steward Xue said emotionlessly.

Yan Liqiang carried the small bundle he had packed on his back and left Commandment Courtyard with Steward Xue.

Half an hour later, Steward Xue directly sent Yan Liqiang to the Gray Hall at Dimo Valley then left after giving him a brief explanation.

...

The Gray Hall was a dedicated unit of the Divine Sword Sect tasked to make arrangements for the external disciples of the sect. All the external disciples were dressed in gray, thus this place was named the Gray Hall.

After Steward Xue left, one of the staff members dressed in black with the surname Huo from the Gray Hall looked at Yan Liqiang with a fake smile on his face. “You are Yan Liqiang?”

Yan Liqiang nodded.

“Are you familiar with what the Gray Hall does and the rules here?”

Yan Liqiang gave him another nod. Apart from cultivation, the external disciples in the main branch of the Divine Sword Sect were responsible for a large quantity of daily odd jobs in the sect. They were pretty much half a laborer in the main branch of the Divine Sword Sect.

“Good. From tomorrow onwards, you will be responsible for all the toilets on Tianqiao Peak.”

Yan Liqiang was stupefied. He never expected the first job he received upon coming to the Divine Sword Sect would actually be ‘a toilet chief’. What the f*ck? Just how rotten was his luck?

“What’s that? Didn’t you hear what I just said? Or are you being picky about dirty jobs like cleaning the toilets and refusing to do it? You still dare to be picky?” The expression on Servant Huo’s face instantly hardened, as if he was waiting for Yan Liqiang to jump up and say ‘no’.

A thought flashed through Yan Liqiang’s mind and his face immediately broke into a smile. “I heard you, Servant Huo. I will start cleaning the toilets on Tianqiao Peak tomorrow!”

“This is the key to your living quarters. It’s just beside the farmland at the foot of the mountain, right below Tianqiao Peak. There’s a room number on the key, you will find the room when you reach. If I hear anything about you not cleaning the toilets properly from any dissatisfied seniors on Tianqiao Peak, I believe you know the consequences!”

Yan Liqiang accepted the key and bowed to that bullsh*tting servant before he left without saying anything else...

Chapter 106: Sabotaged By A Scumbag

Yan Liqiang held on to the key and left the Gray Hall gloomily. To be honest, even if he was aware of the fact that external disciples of Divine Sword Sect were required to do some odd jobs, he didn’t expect he’d be given the task to actually clean toilets.

That shitty Servant Huo was already an inner disciple and his position in the sect was a lot higher than his own, Yan Liqiang had never seen him before or had much contact with him either. He couldn’t understand why he was targeting him like that.

Even when he had exited the Gray Hall, Yan Liqiang felt as though he could still hear that shitty servant’s cold laughter behind his back.

Not even two minutes after Yan Liqiang left the Gray Hall, when he was walking on the path towards Tianqiao Peak, three people suddenly appeared at the fork ahead of him and walked towards him.

The trio was dressed in the same gray clothes as Yan Liqiang, tied with a gray belt. They were between eighteen and twenty years old. It took only a glance to tell that they were external disciples of the lowest rank among Divine Sword Sect. Ma Liang was standing right in the middle.

When Ma Liang saw Yan Liqiang, he seemed to still harbor malicious intentions towards him.

“How’s it going, Brother Liqiang? That’s not a bad job Servant Huo has arranged for you today, right?” Ma Liang pouted and looked at Yan Liqiang mockingly. “I thought you knew some elder from our sect. Hurry up and whine to him!”

One look at Ma Liang’s countenance could tell Yan Liqiang that Ma Liang had most definitely investigated his background around after leaving the Commandment Courtyard. He must have flown into a rage out of humiliation upon discovering he had been fooled and tried to get even. Being assigned the task of cleaning the toilets today was probably the work of Ma Liang in the background. He had deliberately made Yan Liqiang’s life difficult to humiliate him.

There were all sorts of open conflict or infighting during his career in his past life. Hence, such thing was also inevitable upon his arrival at the Divine Sword Sect in this life as well. There’s a saying that went, ‘Where there are people, there is politics’.

“Thank you for your concerns, Senior Martial Brother Ma. The job Servant Huo has arranged for me is indeed quite decent!” Yan Liqiang smiled elegantly, his demeanor refined and cultivated. He knew that Ma Liang had chosen to pop up at a time like this probably because he wanted to look at his humiliated face to satisfy his sadistic tendencies. The more he wished to see it, the more Yan Liqiang would ensure that things wouldn’t go his way and stifle him. After all, there was boundless joy in fighting with someone!

“Hahaha, indeed it is decent. Since the toilets on Tianqiao Peak will be cleaned by Brother Liqiang, guess you’ll be staying in the toilets every day from now on. An odd job like this is indeed a rare opportunity for most external disciples!” Ma Liang and the other two people beside him roared with laughter.

“Well, someone has to do this kind of job anyway. It’s no surprise that it was assigned to me!” Yan Liqiang was still smiling.

“Hahaha. Senior Martial Brother Huo came from the Divine Sword Sect of Cang Provincial Branch, I become acquainted with him back then. How about if you beg me, I’ll help you say something nice to Senior Martial Brother Huo so that he will arrange another easier job for you instead of that dirty job on Tianqiao Peak? What do you think?” Ma Liang crossed his arms and waited for Yan Liqiang to open his mouth and beg him.

There was no way Yan Liqiang would fall into a trap like this. He knew that if he really begged him, only more teasing and humiliation awaited him. Ma Liang would definitely never help him. This was where low people like Ma Liang derived their pleasure from.

“Why would you say something like that, Senior Martial Brother Ma?” Yan Liqiang gave Ma Liang a look of surprise, his natural talents in pretension once again exploding. Since it was impolite to not reciprocate, he gave Ma Liang a label so that he could show him a thing or two if the opportunity ever arose in the future. “Every Senior Martial Brother on Tianqiao Peak are skillful artisans of the Divine Sword Sect. Everyone on Tianqiao Peak has made significant contributions towards the Divine Sword Sect for it to get to where it is today. Their contributions must not go unnoticed. To be able to service everyone on Tianqiao Peak, even just by cleaning the toilets, is no big deal even if it’s a little dirty and tiring. For Senior Martial Brother Ma to say something like that, are you insinuating that serving everyone on Tianqiao Peak is a humiliation and torture that one should avoid like the plague?”

Ma Liang’s countenance contorted the moment he heard Yan Liqiang’s response. A sheen of cold sweat broke out on his back. He didn’t expect Yan Liqiang to actually twist his words. If Yan Liqiang managed to pin this sort of impression on him and word about this got out, the future prospect of an insignificant external disciple like him would be done for.

“What are you blabbering on about?!” Ma Liang paled. He was flustered and exasperated as he hurriedly tried to wash his hands of this. “I was only giving you a reminder. When did I ever utter any bad things about our Martial Brothers on Tianqiao Peak? Don’t you slander me!”

“You’re still a young lad, do not make any irresponsible remarks!” The countenance of the person beside Ma Liang also contorted. He waved his fist and warned Yan Liqiang. “If I catch wind of this out there, you will see how I’ll take care of you!”

“Forget about it. Since this person is so ungrateful, we will drop the subject here. Let’s go, hmph!” Ma Liang only snorted coldly and didn’t dare to make any further comments. He swung his sleeve and left, albeit rather pathetically, not daring to get involved with Yan Liqiang any further here.

Yan Liqiang smiled as he watched Ma Liang and the other two people retreated. He then continued making his ways towards Tianqiao Peak.

...

Yan Liqiang saw other Divine Sword Sect’s disciples when he was on his way. When he crossed path with the other disciples, he’d take the initiative to step aside instead of getting in their way. The rules of the Divine Sword Sect stated that disciples of lower ranks should always be modest and polite towards disciples of higher ranks. When those disciples of the sect saw Yan Liqiang, they couldn’t help but sneak a few more glances at Yan Liqiang. After all, a handsome and beautiful youth like Yan Liqiang was a very rare sight, even in a place like the Divine Sword Sect where the elites gathered.

...

Tianqiao Peak of the Divine Sword Sect was a little similar to the renowned Thousand Engineering Hall of the Soul Mountain Sect, except it was not as extensive as the latter. Tianqiao Peak appeared to be much more simple because the only thing they did here was metalworks!

It was said that there was some sort of unusual flame within the mountain of Tianqiao Peak. It was best suited to refine various types of metal and forging different types of metal wares, weapons or ornaments. Therefore, the entire Tianqiao Peak had turned into the manufacturing base of the Divine Sword Sect. As one of the world-renowned leaders of the four major sects, the people gathered at Tianqiao Peak were naturally very capable and talented individuals. From certain perspectives, the strength of Tianqiao Peak was top notch among the Great Han Empire. Among every sect, dynasty and even influential clan in the world, only less than seven could rival the metalworks of Tianqiao Peak.

In the Divine Sword Sect, Tianqiao Peak was the easiest to locate. As soon as one lifted their head, they’d notice a mountain peak with rising white smoke during the day, and flickering red light during the night. That mountain peak was none other than Tianqiao Peak...

When Yan Liqiang arrived at Tianqiao Peak, he didn’t ascend the mountain immediately. He first found the place he would be staying, at the foot of the mountain instead.

The place Yan Liqiang was to stay in was relatively remote, at the mountain basin at the foot of Tianqiao Peak. That basin occupied a land of three to four hundred mu; the size of a small farm. The basin was sheltered and surrounded by forests. On the mountain basin, there was a vegetable field of a few hundred mu and two orchards. On the hill beside the orchard were small courtyards adjacent to each other. Yan Liqiang stayed right in one of those courtyards.

Right beside the vegetable field, close to the slope of Tianqiao Peak, were two huge manure pits. All the trash and waste on Tianqiao Peak were discharged into those two huge manure pits through sturdy underground tubes made of clay. They were as wide as a water bucket and were directly connected to the inside of the two huge manure pits.

The moment Yan Liqiang arrived there, he understood that the basin was basically the waste disposal area of Tianqiao Peak, which at the same time, was also the base for food and vegetable production...

When Yan Liqiang arrived at his courtyard, he saw a few chickens running around in the yard. At the sight of Yan Liqiang entering the yard, a huge rooster instantly flapped its wings and flew onto a persimmon tree outside the yard from the ground...

It was already within Yan Liqiang’s expectation that Ma Liang and that shitty Servant Huo wouldn’t arrange a nice place for him. However, when he saw this place, he was elated. In Yan Liqiang’s eyes, this place was just like an isolated little mountain village, looking exactly like a farm. There were no villas or high buildings, but it was secluded enough and away from disturbances. A natural reserve like this was suitable for his cultivation. He had been living with a big group of people every day lately so he couldn’t find any opportunity to cultivate Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing, causing his cultivation to abruptly come to a halt. This place was just ideal for him.

It was no easy task if one wished to find a place like this in his previous life. People would have to spend money to experience a so-called organic farm tour. However, the environment of those organic farms were far inferior to this. The two manure pits were about two hundred meters away from this courtyard, but since there were vegetable fields and orchards in between, it was definitely not a problem...

Chapter 107: Brothers In The Same Boat

The key Yan Liqiang was holding had ‘Tianqiao 3’ inscribed on it. Similarly, there was also a wooden sign with the word ‘Tianqiao 3’ hanging outside this small courtyard. Hence, Yan Liqiang entered the courtyard.

There was a small two-story wooden house in the small courtyard. The lowest story of the wooden house was supported by four wooden pillars that were so thick a person could wrap both arms around each one. There were no walls between the pillars and the area was open to the air. The four pillars were surrounded by a meter-high mud wall on three sides, leaving a gap in between them. Two chicken coops piled with rice straws were placed in the enclosed area in the middle of the yard. Beside the chicken coops were a big pile of tools such as brooms and wooden buckets. Beside those four pillars were stairs that led to the second floor of the small wooden house.

At first glance, this small wooden house appeared to be quite similar to a stilt house.

Although the stairs of the wooden house creaked under the feet, it was quite sturdy. At least one wouldn’t sway on the steps. Yan Liqiang went up to the second floor with his keys. Just about two steps on the left side of the stairs was a locked door. Yan Liqiang used the key to unlock the door and he went inside the house.

The house seemed to have been abandoned for quite a very long time. The floorboards inside the house were covered by a layer of dust. When Yan Liqiang crossed the room, his footprints were left on the floor. All the furnishing and displays of the house were extremely basic: there was only a bed, a table, a chair, and a wardrobe in the room. Even the wooden house itself was built out of the cheapest pinewood. Since the windows of the house were tightly shut, the entire house was filled with the distinct scent of pinewood.

The bed frame was very bare – there was a dusty board laid on top of it. There wasn’t even a cup or teapot on the table; only a lamp. The oil in the lamp had dried up a long time ago, leaving only a charred cotton wick.

Yan Liqiang could only smile wryly at this extremely simple accommodation. However, the only thing that comforted Yan Liqiang was that the wooden house wasn’t leaking and the inside of the house wasn’t humid; therefore, the smell of mold was completely absent. There shouldn’t be any issues in resting or sheltering from the rain here.

Yan Liqiang opened the wardrobe and took a look in it first. The upper part of the wardrobe was empty, but there was a set of bed sheets, a blanket, a mattress, and a mosquito net on the bottom. Although they looked a little worn out, they were still relatively clean and were neatly put away.

“Yan Liqiang, you will be staying here for quite a long while from now on. Do your best!”

He encouraged himself aloud before he put down the sack he was holding. Then he enthusiastically rolled up his sleeves and started tidying the room up.

The first thing Yan Liqiang did was open one of the tightly shut windows to ventilate the room. He then went downstairs and found a broom and dustpan among the pile of tools left there. He returned upstairs, swept all the dust away, then went downstairs again to find a mop and fetched some water with the wooden bucket. His bed, wardrobe, table, chair, and everything in his sight were wiped clean. When he was done and the room was dust-free, only then did he open the wardrobe to retrieve the mattress, bed sheets, and blanket that were sitting in there. He took them downstairs and hung them up on the bamboo poles used for hanging laundry, spreading them out to bask in the sun, including the mosquito net.

If he had enough time, he could’ve taken out the bed sheets and washed them before use. But since he would be officially ‘assuming the new post’ tomorrow, time didn’t allow him to do all that so he had no choice but to put up with this for now.

When Yan Liqiang found a wooden stick to slap the bed sheets and blanket he was airing out, two people came into the courtyard he was staying at. One of them greeted Yan Liqiang as soon as he entered the yard.

“Junior Martial Brother, are you the newcomer?”

The two people who had walked into the yard were around sixteen and seventeen years old. They were polar opposites of each other in terms of height and skin color. The taller of the two had fair skin and was quite handsome. On the other hand, the shorter of the two was tanned and well-built. Both of them were dressed in gray robes with gray belts tied around their waists. They were similarly the sect’s lower-ranked external disciples. When Yan Liqiang arrived here earlier, he vaguely recalled that both of them seemed to be doing their jobs of shucking corns by the field.

It was the tall and fair youth who spoke. There were two dimples on either side of his cheeks when he smiled, causing him to appear very friendly.

“Yes, I have just been assigned here.” Yan Liqiang stopped to reply.

“Haha, Junior Martial Brother, you are indeed unlucky! It has been a long time since anyone has lived in this courtyard. All the ones who stayed here were assigned to clean the toilets on Tianqiao Peak. That’s the dirtiest and most tiring job in the entire Divine Sword Sect. I didn’t expect you to get that. Did that Huo Bin bastard assign you here?!” That youth squinted his eyes.

“Yes, it was indeed Servant Huo of Gray Hall who assigned me here!”

“There’s no mistake about it, it’s the same bastard. There’s only one person from the Huo Clan in all of Gray Hall and that bastard is responsible for assigning the jobs on Tianqiao Peak. What did you do to offend him for him to actually do this to you, Brother?”

“I didn’t offend him. However, I kind of did something to someone in the Commandment Courtyard over those few days and he happened to know Servant Huo. That’s how I was assigned here. Oh, did both of you end up here because you offended Servant Huo too?”

“Of course. Otherwise, why would we call him a bastard?!” The fair youth seethed, “That day, I saw a quite beautiful Junior Martial Sister at Gray Hall so I couldn’t stop myself from approaching her to chat her up. I was only joking with her when that Bastard Huo saw me and that was how I ended up here. He even accused me of indecent behavior and told me to reflect on it. What the f*ck? He should really get a mirror for himself. He accused me of indecent behavior for only chatting with the Junior Martial Sister. He should look at the way he ogled at her. That f*cker was almost drooling!”

“What about this Senior Martial Brother?”

“Well, he’s just a blockhead. The other disciples from the same batch who joined the sect with him were talking about giving that Huo guy twenty taels of silver each but he refused to give even a copper coin. In the end, his overweening attitude got him assigned here by Bastard Huo!”

“That’s twenty taels of silver we are talking about, I’m not that rich! Besides, I’ve come to the Divine Sword Sect to learn abilities, not to learn how to flatter anyone. There’s no way I’m giving him anything even if I have the money. What can he possibly do to me?” The short and well-built youth huffed with a look of defiance on his face.

It seemed like those who had the same misfortune would sympathize with each other. Yan Liqiang laughed. “I am Yan Liqiang. What are your names, Senior Martial Brothers?”

“I am Gu Zexuan...” The fair youth introduced himself, then pointed to the person beside him. “He is Zhao Huipeng. He doesn’t speak much, but he likes to listen. If you are with him and you realize that he hasn’t spoken to you for a few hours, please don’t misunderstand. It isn’t like he has something against you. That’s just how he is...”

“Yup...” Zhao Huipeng gave a word of acknowledgement and didn’t say anything else.

“Oh right, Senior Martial Brother told me that it has been a long time since anyone lived here. Does that mean the toilets on Tianqiao Peak haven’t been cleaned for a long time?”

“How could that possibly be?” Gu Zexuan laughed. “Most of the time, the external disciples will take turns doing this kind of job so it’s kind of like a temporary task assigned by drawing lots. The longest period is usually only seven days while the shortest is three days. Since it’s just a temporary job, the external disciples who have to take on this task usually won’t move all the way here. There are a lot of external disciples in the Divine Sword Sect. Even if a different person is assigned the job for one day, many won’t even get their turn in several years. That Bastard Huo and the other servants don’t dare to offend some external disciples from clans with certain backgrounds, so they will never be assigned this type of dirty and tiring job either!”

“So who stayed in my house before?”

“I heard that it was a very old Senior Martial Brother who stayed in your house in the earliest days. He violated some sect rules a long time ago, causing his cultivation to be stripped away from him. He was imprisoned in the Divine Sword Sect for seventy or eighty years, only to be released when he was old and still an external disciple. Upon his release, that Senior Martial Brother moved into your current place and was responsible for cleaning the toilets on Tianqiao Peak every day. The house was left empty after that Senior Martial Brother passed away from old age until a few years ago when another Senior Martial Brother who had just joined the sect seemed to have also offended someone and was assigned here too. That guy stayed here to clean toilets for nearly five years until a year ago. He advanced as a Supreme Martial Warrior, rose above the external disciple rank, and finally moved away! Tiaoqiao 3 is not a good place...”

“I see!” Yan Liqiang finally clicked. This kind of thing wasn’t something he could understand a few days ago in the Commandment Courtyard.

Speaking to this point, Gu Zexuan looked at Yan Liqiang. The tone of his voiced turned sincere and earnest. “Junior Martial Brother, I’d advise you to find an opportunity to give that Huo guy some money if you can afford to. Give in to him and say something nice to him. That way, you’d be able to rid yourself of this job sooner. Otherwise, you won’t be left with much time to cultivate since you will be hanging out around the toilets every day here. It’s going to be hard for you to improve. A few years of setbacks will greatly impact your future prospects in the Divine Sword Sect and cause you to miss out on a lot of opportunities. It’s really not worth it...”

“Why didn’t Senior Martial Brother Gu submit to that Servant Huo?”

“Hmph, even if my clan isn’t some wealthy and influential great clan, my clan has quite a reputation! A few seniors in my clan hold certain authority within the military. That Huo guy knew of my background so he didn’t dare to overstep his boundary in delaying my future prospects. I won’t be staying here too long. I will leave in just a few months or more at most. As long as I don’t lower my head, there’s no way that Huo guy can press me down forever.”

Yan Liqiang smiled. “To be honest, I’m in a similar situation as Senior Martial Brother Zhao Huipeng. I’m pretty poor too. All I have is only a few taels of silver in my pockets. Even if I wanted to give money to that Huo guy, I couldn’t possibly offer anything. Although cleaning toilets may be a little dirty and tiring, it’s nothing to be ashamed about. I actually want to test myself to see if I can do this job well and take it as an opportunity to train myself.”

“Brother, that’s so impressive!” Gu Zexuan gave Yan Liqiang a thumbs up with a look of disbelief on his face. “I’ll be convinced if you can still think the same way after two months...”

Chapter 108: The Path of Diligence

Affinity played a role in the relationship between humans. When Yan Liqiang first joined the Divine Sword Sect, out of the four he became acquainted with in Commandment Courtyard, that Ma Liang already saw him as an eyesore the moment he stepped inside. The other three were quite indifferent towards him. Apart from knowing each other’s names, they basically didn’t interact much with one another.

Ma Liang and the other three came from different Divine Sword Sect branches in different provinces. They were accepted to sect’s main branch due to their exceptional performance or various reasons. Yet, Yan Liqiang immediately joined them the moment he got into the Divine Sword Sect. In addition to Yan Liqiang being younger in age, he pretty much didn’t have many common topics to share with them. The topic the few of them talked about the most together was their experiences back in their respective provincial branches. Yan Liqiang didn’t have such an experience and thus he was naturally excluded by the rest when the conversation became lively.

However, Yan Liqiang already become close with both Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng though he had only arrived at the foot of Tianqiao Peak for a day.

That was because there was someone whom they could curse at together– Huo Bin, and they also shared the same experience of being persecuted. Therefore, the three of them very quickly got along well together.

But of course, Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng were not the only ones doing the odd jobs in this mountain basin at the foot of Tianqiao Peak. There were a few other external disciples in their fifties or sixties who had been farming here over the long-term. They were imprisoned for a few decades for violating the sect’s commandments and got their cultivation stripped away from them. They weren’t released until they were old in age and were abandoned here by the Divine Sword Sect. All they did was farm all day long. The nice way of putting this into words was ‘to let them enjoy their remaining days instead of dying of old age in prison’. To put it bluntly, they were left to perish on their own, bound to the Divine Sword Sect until their deaths.

Although they were still wearing the gray clothes like any other external disciple, these people were ripe in age and were unable to cultivate martial arts anymore. The current life they led was no different than old farmers in the mountains. The mountain basin, vegetable fields, and orchards before Yan Liqiang’s eyes consisted of their world.

Apart from those old men, many other external disciples would usually also be arranged to take on some temporary odd jobs here, such as plowing the fields, plowing the fields, fertilizing the soil, watering, weeding, harvesting, fruit-picking, and planting vegetables. These farm activities could be as long as short as a day or two, and three to five days at most. To the disciples of the Divine Sword Sect, doing this kind of odd job would allow them to gain some field experience and gain some knowledge so that they wouldn’t become idiots without any common sense or physical capabilities.

There were only three people like Yan Liqiang, Gu Zexuan, and Zhao Huipeng who were thrown in here for the long-term in all of Tianqiao Peak.

After Yan Liqiang was busy for the entire morning, he had finally tidied up the house he was going to stay in. At noon, he ran over to one of the marketplaces in the Divine Sword Sect and bought a few more sets of gray clothes that the external disciples wore for himself. He also purchased some cheap cotton fabrics, linen, needles and threads, scissors, a towel, a porcelain cup, salt, a toothbrush, and other daily necessities...

Yan Liqiang also bought a small clock that could be used to keep track of time and this clock was the most expensive purchase, costing Yan Liqiang more than two taels of silver. After buying all the necessities, Yan Liqiang was only left with less than a tael of silver.

Although the rules in the Divine Sword Sect were strict, they weren’t inflexible or rigid. This place was also a small community. Here, apart from the most basic two sets of gray clothes, an identity pass, free accommodation, and two daily free meals, the external disciples would have to settle and prepare everything else for themselves. If they didn’t have anything, then they’d have to fish out their own money and buy them in the marketplace.

The external, inner, and elite disciples of the Divine Sword Sect were not given any subsidies or income. Situations where one got to study the secret martial techniques of the Divine Sword Sect while freeloading and being sponsored by the sect would never happen in this world unless they attained the direct disciple rank. Only when they had made enough contributions towards the sect would they be eligible to receive a monthly payment of ten taels of silver from the sect. If they could advance their rank to become a core disciple, then they would be paid thirty taels of silver.

Therefore, except for those disciples who originated from wealthy and great clans without any financial burdens, most of the disciples in the Divine Sword Sect had to cultivate in the sect and think of a way to earn money at the same time. If you had no money, you’d find yourself facing difficult situations in the sect.

This was also the reason behind Servant Huo’s obsession with money from Gray Hall.

After he purchased the items, Yan Liqiang seized the time he had to make a face mask, a kerchief, two pairs of gloves, two arm sleeves, and two overalls with the fabric he bought and his clumsy needlework. Fortunately, he possessed a decent painting skill. To make those items, he only needed to spread the fabric out on the table and draw vague outlines on them with charcoal coal. After cutting things up according to the outline and sewing the cutouts together, they were basically ready for use.

That night, Yan Liqiang retired earlier than usual to bed. He glanced at the clock. When it was almost nine o’clock at night, he fell asleep.

On the very next day, Yan Liqiang got up before four at dawn. After he swiftly washed up and before he even cultivated Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing, he took the items he had prepared and went downstairs. He then picked up two wooden buckets which were filled with cleaning tools and left the small courtyard.

Stars filled the skies outside. Only the buzzing of insects and croaking of frogs could be heard in the mountain basin. Even people who practiced martial arts in the morning hadn’t woken up yet. The mountain path of the entire Divine Sword Sect was silent.

Holding his stuff, Yan Liqiang ran swiftly towards Tianqiao Peak.

When he had only run halfway there, a cold voice traveled to Yan Liqiang’s ears. “Hold it right there! Who are you?”

Following the cold shout was a figure who suddenly leaped off from a big tree by the road like a flying panther. With a whoosh, he stood before Yan Liqiang with the tip of his sword pointed at him.

The person who landed before Yan Liqiang was about twenty years old. He had a rather heroic appearance and was dressed in black swordsman attire which signified that he was an inner disciple. His gaze was aimed at Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang was startled the moment this person landed. However, Yan Liqiang let out a sigh of relief upon getting a clearer view of this person’s attire. He identified this person as one of the disciples who was on night duty as a sentinel on Tianqiao Peak.

“Senior Martial Brother, I am just a servant disciple who is on my way to clean the toilets on Tianqiao Peak.”

“You said you are a servant disciple, but where’s your waist tag?” That person didn’t relax even for a bit and kept staring at Yan Liqiang.

“The waist tag is stashed away in my chest. I’ll show it to you!”

The person coldly said, “Do not use your right hand, use your left. Slow down, don’t give me any wrong impressions or else, the sword in my hand might slip...”

Yan Liqiang didn’t expect this person to be this prudent so he didn’t dare to joke around anymore. With his left hand, he slowly fished out his waist tag. The person got a clear view of it under the moonlight. Yan Liqiang only put his waist tag away when he saw the person sheath his longsword back in his scabbard.

The person glanced at the various cleaning tools Yan Liqiang was holding and frowned. “Why are you here to clean so early?”

Yan Liqiang smiled. “I have just joined the Divine Sword Sect and this is my first time doing this kind of job. I fear I cannot do a good job and I do not want to displease every Senior Martial Brother on Tianqiao Peak, so I came earlier to have more time to clean and strive for cleaning the toilets better!”

That person’s expression instantly relaxed. “Alright, you may go!”

“Thank you, Senior Martial Brother!”

Yan Liqiang went past the sentinel on duty and quickly continued making his way towards Tianqiao Peak. That person silently watched Yan Liqiang’s retreating figure. Then with a flash, leaped onto the big tree beside him.

Tianqiao Peak wasn’t really a tall mountain. It was only about 500 meters from the ground to the summit. He only needed to walk about two li on the mountain path to reach the toilets which were located in the bamboo forest, outside Tianqiao Hall at the summit. Fortunately, there weren’t any women on Tianqiao Peak. Therefore, these toilets were only used by the male population on Tianqiao Peak. The toilets were public, very spacious, and attentively designed. For a sect of such caliber like the Divine Sword Sect, they naturally wouldn’t be stingy when it came to things like this. The interior of the toilets was paved with white marble. There were two urinal troughs and about thirty squat toilets. Every squat toilet was surrounded by wooden partitions and a door.

Naturally, the air in the toilets couldn’t be considered as good, and it was no doubt smelly in there.

There were two huge water jars in the toilet, but the water level was almost at the bottom. There wasn’t much water left.

After seeing the state of the toilets, Yan Liqiang set his tools down in the bamboo forest outside the toilets. He then picked up the two wooden buckets and ran down the mountain to fetch two buckets of water from the stream at the foot of the mountain. He then lifted the water buckets, turned around, and ran back up the mountain.

While running, Yan Liqiang also cultivated his ‘Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps’. Since the mountain path was craggy and he was lifting two buckets of water, it was a good opportunity to practice the ‘Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps’. The objective was to quickly deliver the two buckets of water onto the mountain with minimal spillage. This tested Yan Liqiang’s coordination of his body technique, footwork, vision, arm strength, and willpower.

During his first trip up the mountain, Yan Liqiang tripped over a step around the area with very low visibility due to the tree shadows. A good amount of water spilled out from his buckets. In addition to how bumpy the road was, the bucket was already half empty by the time he reached the top of the mountain to transfer the two buckets of water into the two jars outside the toilets.

After his first trip, Yan Liqiang ran down the mountain again. During his second trip, he felt that the two buckets of water were lighter this time around. On his way back, he recalled how those martial monks from the Shaolin Temple carried water in the films he had watched in his previous life. Hence, he immediately straightened his arms to lift the two buckets on the same level, then he dashed up the mountain...

The moment he straightened his arms, the weight of the two buckets of water instantly grew a few times heavier. Since his arms were straight and the water buckets were lifted high, it was even easier to spill the water if his body and pace were unstable during his run.

Thus, the amount of water Yan Liqiang delivered during his second trip actually ended up being considerably less than his first trip.

After transferring the little amount of water left in the buckets into the water jar, Yan Liqiang continued running down the mountain once again without a word...

Chapter 109: Setting the Course of Your Destiny

It took Yan Liqiang about an hour to make more than ten trips up and down the mountain to fill those two jars of water in the toilet to their brims.

Over the past hour, he had spilled quite a lot of water on the mountain path. Since Yan Liqiang had lifted those buckets of water up the mountain with his arms straight, the muscles and tendons on either side underneath his armpits were burning; they were sore and painful despite the fact that he had passed the Horse Stance stage and cultivated Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing. He could barely even lift his arms.

Upon seeing the two water jars filled to their brims, Yan Liqiang didn’t rest for even a moment. He immediately wore his face mask, gloves, kerchief, and put on the overall he had sewn for himself. With a pile of tools, he started to clean the toilets with utmost effort.

He swept the floor first before he washed it with water. He then applied some force on his brush to scrub before he finally washed it with water again. Then he scrubbed again...

Yan Liqiang took this extremely seriously. He went through every nook and cranny and he did not miss even a speck of dust. He cleaned the place as best as he could.

Servant Huo from Gray Hall probably thought that assigning Yan Liqiang to clean the toilets here was a punishment for him, but little did he know in Yan Liqiang’s previous life, the people who inspired Yan Liqiang to further his career were actually two individuals with stories related to toilets.

Many probably heard of Seiko Noda’s story. Seiko Noda’s first job upon graduating from university was a bathroom janitor in a hotel. Yet in the end, she was appointed as the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications for Japan at the age of thirty-seven. The turning point in her life and destiny started from a toilet. The tale of a person who dared to actually drink from the toilet she had cleaned herself was actually her.

The second toilet-related inspiring figure to Yan Liqiang was Hans Wall, the founder of Wall AG company in Germany. Was it possible for a person to earn money by managing free, public toilets? Prior to Hans Wall’s achievement, no one in the world would probably expect that managing a free-of-charge public toilet could generate any profit. Yet, Hans Wall proved everyone wrong. This was the person who had changed everyone’s mindsets about seeing public toilets as dirty and messy places. The public toilets he operated were all ingenious works of art which showed great creativity. They became advertising platforms that famous international brands and luxury brands would fight over for space, thus easily generating an annual profit of 300 million dollars.

Ever since Yan Liqiang heard about the tales of Seiko Noda and Hans Wall who did things to the very best of their abilities, their stories shook Yan Liqiang to his very core and had a long-lasting impact on Yan Liqiang. The success in the later stage of his career was all thanks to the inspiration he had drawn from their spirits.

Both of them made Yan Liqiang understand one of the most important principles of life– the success of a person hinged not on their job but on their performance. Oftentimes, the former might be beyond most people’s control and destiny might just sneer at you in your face. However, everyone had control over the latter in their hands. Even if it was cleaning toilets, if one could clean the toilet so well that one could scoop the water out from the bowl and drink it with no shame, then destiny’s sneer would surely turn into a smile; a broad and hearty one at that. When that happened, one would be able to grasp the uncertainty of the future in their hands.

An uneducated woman from a poor family who could only make salted vegetables could end up becoming The Godmother [1]!

A man from a royal family with the most affluent empire in the world and millions of people in it might just become Emperor Huizong of Song [2] in the end!

The Godmother and Emperor Huizong of Song, who was the more successful individual?

Therefore, a person’s job was not important. The truly important thing was how you did it. Regardless of how lowly and boring a job may be, if you handle a job to the point where everyone would admire and respect you, then you would be successful, even if you weren’t striving for that. This was how one should set the course of their destiny in the right direction.

Yan Liqiang planned to set the course of his destiny in the Divine Sword Sect within these toilets on Tianqiao Peak!

...

By the time Yan Liqiang finished cleaning the entire toilet area before daybreak, he was completely drenched in sweat and feeling a little exhausted. When he was about to leave, he even wiped away his footprints with a linen cloth, leaving no trace at all.

When Yan Liqiang left Tianqiao Peak with his tools, he could feel his footsteps becoming lighter. This job, where he had to work for a few hours continuously like a robot, was indeed more tiring than the average person’s job for a day. Yan Liqiang was probably the only person who could turn a toilet cleaning job into an intense physical work activity.

...

When Yan Liqiang returned to the mountain basin at the foot of Tianqiao Peak, Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng were practicing their fist techniques and training their bodies in the ‘Tianqiao 2’ courtyard they stayed in. Both of them instantly stopped when they saw Yan Liqiang return with his tools as he passed by the path outside their courtyard, looking exhausted.

“Hey, Liqiang. Don’t tell me you have already finished cleaning the toilets on Tianqiao Peak.” Gu Zexuan approached the fence of their small courtyard and looked at Yan Liqiang curiously. “A moment ago, I was just asking Zhao Huipeng why you weren’t awake to practice yet. It seems like you already left long ago...”

“Yes, I just finished cleaning...”

“This early?! What time did you go?”

“About four in the morning...”

Gu Zexuan’s jaw dropped at his response. “That early?! It’s not like there are any rules stating that the toilets on Tianqiao Peak have to be cleaned this early. Isn’t it fine as long as you get it done before noon? As long as no one tells on you at Gray Hall, you should be fine... ”

“Haha, I’ll have a peace of mind the sooner I finish cleaning them so that I can squeeze out some time later in the day to do something else!” Yan Liqiang smiled and waved at Gu Zexuan. “I’m all sweaty so I’ll go take a bath first and get a fresh change of clothes...”

Not far from Yan Liqiang’s courtyard were a clear small stream and a small lake which were convenient places for a bath. Although the water was quite cold, Yan Liqiang’s body was able to withstand it.

...

Just as Yan Liqiang returned to the mountain basin, someone on Tianqiao Peak arrived at the toilet that Yan Liqiang had just cleaned. The moment he went in, his eyes widened in surprise. The entire toilet had suddenly turned extremely shiny and clean overnight. It was so outrageously clean that it wasn’t even smelly in the slightest.

The person hesitated for a moment. He’d feel extremely bad, or even guilty, if he destroyed such a clean and neat environment. Someone must have spent a lot of energy to clean this toilet so flawlessly. Could it be that the Sect Master and the other Elders were coming to Tianqiao Peak for an inspection...? That person secretly wondered while standing at the toilet entrance, struggling to decide whether or not he should enter...

Shortly later, a few others also came. Like the first person, they were also stunned by the sight of the toilet which was so clean that it was brand new. Some of them were stupefied and started to hesitate at the entrance.

“What are you guys hesitating about?” Just when the few of them were wondering if they should enter or not, a cold shout came from behind them. The few disciples on Tianqiao Peak who were gathered at the toilet entrance secretly winced upon hearing the voice.

A bald but bearded man who appeared to be in his fifties came over with his eyes wide like saucers. He was dressed in a casual yellowish-brown gown, with half of his tummy jutting out and exposed to the air. “Are you guys too free? If you are, then go to the cave down there and make a few hundred more jin of Pear Blossom Steel for me...”

“Hall Master, well... is the Sect Master or the Elders coming to Tianqiao Peak today for an inspection?” One of the guys who stood at the toilet entrance asked with a smile on his face.

“Nonsense!” The bald man immediately exploded, spraying his spittle on their faces. “If the Sect Master and Elders were coming, why wouldn’t I know about it? Sun Weizhen, what are you blabbering about?”

“Look at this then, Hall Master. I remember when Elder Gao came to visit Tianqiao Peak, he beat us up and told us that even though only men live on Tianqiao Peak, we shouldn’t be too sloppy either. Elder Gao also mentioned that he will check on us again next time...”

The few of them stepped out of the way and let the bald man enter the toilet. The moment he saw the state of the toilet, the bald man was also stunned for a good few seconds. He then came back to his senses and waved his hands. “Don’t worry, the Sect Master and Elders aren’t coming in for an inspection today. The person who is responsible for cleaning today must have come in earlier and cleaned a little extra cleaner. Stop making a fuss over nothing. Just use it as how you would...”

After finishing his sentence, that man went in first. The other disciples outside the bathroom looked at him and followed suit...

Chapter 110: Partners

Yan Liqiang wrapped up his morning tasks by taking a clean bath in the lake and putting on a fresh change of clothes, washing the clothes, gloves, and other things he had worn to clean the toilets, and dried them.

He wasn’t particularly a germaphobe. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to take on this assignment. However, the clothes he wore earlier reeked of some odor after he cleaned the toilets. Yan Liqiang didn’t want to be ‘viewed in a new light’ wherever he went, so he naturally wanted to change into a new set of clean clothes. This was also the reason why Yan Liqiang had prepared a few sets of clothes for himself.

“Brother Liqiang, catch!” When Yan Liqiang had just finished drying his clothes, Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng came over to his courtyard while nibbling on their corn. They tossed one of the cobs they had cooked and a boiled egg to Yan Liqiang.

The corn was still a little hot but not scalding to the hands. Yan Liqiang caught the corn and as soon as he peeled the leaves, the sweet aroma of corn instantly wafted into his nostrils. After working the entire morning, his tummy had been growling since long ago. Hence, Yan Liqiang who had just received some corn wasn’t shy to start gobbling down his food.

The Divine Sword Sect only provided two meals. For external disciples like Yan Liqiang, those meals merely meant going to a few designated meal collection points at Gray Hall to collect their meals which consisted of nothing but six steamed or salted vegetable buns. The treatment an external disciple received was no different than when they were in the Commandment Courtyard. All the sect had to do was ensure was they were not starved to death.

Yan Liqiang had never tasted salted carrots in his steamed buns before; he experienced it yesterday for the first time in his entire life. The food from Gray Hall could simply be rated as the most exotic.

There weren’t any issues if the external disciples wished to treat themselves to better food. As long as you could afford them, there were luxury restaurants among a few marketplaces which served lavish meals.

The practice of the Divine Sword Sect was to force external disciples to either clench their teeth and bear the hardships, or clench their teeth and work towards becoming stronger so they could break away from the external disciple rank as soon as possible.

In actuality, Gu Zexuan, Yan Liqiang, and the rest weren’t allowed to eat the corn in the fields here as all of the harvests belonged to the sect. But there’s a saying that goes, ‘If there’s a will, there’s a way’. After Gu Zexuan offered some silver to a few of the older residents here, he usually bought some eggs from the old men to boil and eat them, but the few chickens here were considered to be private property reared by the same bunch of old men. The old men just pretended they didn’t see anyone picking a few corn cobs from the fields and conveniently cooking them with the eggs.

“How did it go? Is your work easy to do? Just let us know if you need help. Zhao Huipeng and I are willing to help you out.” Gu Zexuan told Yan Liqiang while nibbling his corn.

“It’s not that bad, there’s no need to trouble both of you. It may be a little tough, but I can do it alone.”

Yan Liqiang wasn’t sure if he was famished or if he had gotten too sick of eating steamed buns these days, but the corn he was eating right now that was only boiled with plain water had an exquisite sweet taste to it.

“Your speed in cleaning the toilets is pretty fast. Some of the external disciples who came to Tianqiao Peak to clean the toilets in the past took half a day to carry the water from the foot of the mountain up there, let alone the rest...”

“Perhaps there were more people on Tianqiao Peak’s mountain path in the morning so it took a little longer to get the water up there. I went before the sun rose and ran while carrying the water since there was no one else on the mountain path, so it was faster!” Yan Liqiang humbly answered. However, the current physical strength and stamina of his body were incomparable to those ordinary external disciples. He could complete the process of lifting water alone a few hours less than other the other disciples, which significantly reduced the time it took for him to complete his work.

“Haha, seems like Brother Liqiang will have your entire morning freed up to properly cultivate. Seize the opportunity to advance as soon as you can to spite that Huo guy!”

“I have no idea when I can advance either. I have only passed the Horse Stance stage. There’s still a long way before I can advance as a Martial Warrior, let alone Supreme Martial Warrior!”

“Don’t worry too much. You can’t rush into things like cultivation, just take it slow and steady. As long as you persevere, success will follow naturally when the conditions are right. But bear in mind that there’s one thing you mustn’t take slow– earning money!” Gu Zexuan sighed. “Without money, life is tough in the Divine Sword Sect before can you attain the direct disciple rank. Even enjoying a meal would be a problem. Although my clan isn’t that poor, I can’t have my clan send someone to deliver money to me forever. A man should stand on his own feet out here. Do you have any ideas on how to earn money, Brother? If you do, we can do it together. After all, it’s always easier to do that with three people rather than just one. We all pitch in whatever we can offer, be it money, ideas or efforts. Let’s see if we can find a way to earn money...”

“What have Senior Martial Brothers done before to earn money? Let’s hear it!”

“Well... My clan was involved in stonemasonry before. A few months ago, Senior Martial Brother Gu bought me some tools and the both of us tried to create a few mortars and pestles for crushing medicinal herbs to sell at the marketplace. But none of them were sold...” Zhao Huipeng blushed and explained in embarrassment.

“Sigh, let’s not bring that up. Everything’s great at home but not when you are outside. Brother, you saw it too when you went to shop at the marketplace yesterday. Whatever that can bring in money has already been done by someone, and even the ones that cannot bring in money has already been done by the others. It’s definitely not easy to find ways to earn money without impacting our cultivation...”

An idea suddenly popped up in Yan Liqiang’s mind. Although Yan Liqiang had done his very best in cleaning the toilets today, there was still something he was unsatisfied with– he wasn’t able to completely get rid of the odor in there even after he had done the cleaning. When he was bathing, he kept pondering about how to perfectly carry out this task. There were already a few plans brewing in his mind. It just so happened that when Gu Zexuan mentioned making money, he immediately recalled one of the easiest plans that they might as well give a try.

“Well... I have a plan, but I am not sure if it will be successful!”

“Let’s hear it then!” Gu Zexuan’s interest was instantly piqued.

“I also thought of this idea when I was cleaning the toilets today. Hmm... My grandfather used to be a wandering physician. He knew of a way to dispel the odor in toilets. Senior Martial Brother Gu, if we can create something that can dispel or significantly reduce the odor in toilets, do you think it will be a hit?”

“Are you talking about perfume sachets? But those already existed long ago.”

“Not perfume sachets. Those sachets will only cover up the odor in the toilets instead of getting rid of it. I am talking about something else...”

“Then is this thing you are talking about that’s easy to make? How much silver do we need to invest to see the result?”

“It’s very easy to make. If you are asking about investment, then probably a few candareens of silver would do. We can make one sample batch to try first...”

“Just a few candareens of silver?!” Gu Zexuan’s eyes widened like saucers. “That cheap?!”

“It doesn’t cost a lot to make them, but it’s a little time-consuming. If we start making them now, we will have the finished products in about two or three months!”

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s do it!” Gu Zexuan immediately slapped his own thighs and yelled enthusiastically. “It’s just a few candareens of silver which hardly worth anything. It will be gone right after a good meal. But this is a long-term business investment we are talking about here. It definitely worth a try! How about this– since this is your idea, Zhao Huipeng and I will contribute in terms of money and effort. You’ll just have to tell us what to do and we will do it for you. If these things can be sold for money, we’ll let you have half of the profit while Zhao Huipeng and I will share the remaining half. Sound good?”

“Sure, that’s settled then!” Yan Liqiang smiled.

Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng were both quite excited and were eager to get started. “Brother, tell us what are the necessary ingredients to make this thing you speak of?”

“We need a few huge clay jars used for marinating salted vegetables...”

“Huge gray jars for marinating salted vegetables?” Gu Zexuan was a little dumbfounded. “Alright, I will go buy them...” He then agreed without any questions.

Chapter 111: Improvements

When the sun was about to set, about ten huge clay jars were placed by the mud brick wall below the wooden hut that Yan Liqiang stayed in. The grayish-brown clay jars were arranged neatly into multiple rows and stored downstairs.

After Gu Zexuan and Yan Liqiang carried the final clay jar with its contents over and placed it down, Gu Zexuan wiped the sheen of sweat on his forehead and finally exhaled. “We’re finally done with this goddamn thing...”

Yan Liqiang, who had been working the whole day, was also exhausted and sweating along with Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng.

Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng’s task for today was to remove the stalks of the corn they had harvested yesterday from the cornfield. After Gu Zexuan bought these huge clay jars, Yan Liqiang followed both of them to the field and started working.

Under Yan Liqiang’s instructions, the three of them first pulled the corn stalks out from the ground. Next, they crushed those freshly collected corn stalks with mortars and pestles to extract the sweet juice from those stalks. Then they poured about ten jin of juice which contained extremely high sugar levels into each of those huge clay jars before adding plain water into them. More corn stalks, carrot skins, and other things like rotten vegetables were chopped and then mixed into all the clay jars as they were left to sit in there with the liquid mixture. The clay jars were then finally covered with their lids and moved to a place in the courtyard where they could easily catch some sunlight. That was all there was to do.

Though it sounded easy, the process was quite difficult, especially squeezing the juice out of those corn stalks. It really tested one’s patience.

“Um... what is the end product called?” Zhao Huipeng asked Yan Liqiang.

Throughout the process, Yan Liqiang didn’t conceal anything from the both of them. He allowed them both to participate in it and it was precisely after participating in the activities that Zhao Huipeng found something strange. He realized that this thing Yan Liqiang was making didn’t seem like salted vegetables or vinegar. They didn’t know the name of it either.

“This thing is called earth vinegar!” Yan Liqiang explained with a serious tone. He contemplated in his mind and gave this thing a new name which would easily roll off the tongues of the people in this world. Yan Liqiang was an environmentalist in his previous life. Naturally, making this kind of thing was no challenge for him.

“Earth vinegar?” Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng looked at each other. Both of them had never heard of this name before.

“Yes, it’s called earth vinegar!” Yan Liqiang nodded seriously. “My grandfather named it. It’s something he discovered by chance when he was brewing decoctions. Earth vinegar can’t be consumed by humans, but it has exceptional effects when used for cleaning. Apart from dispeling odors, doing laundry and washing the dishes can result in better cleanliness if some is added during the process. They can also be added to plants by diluting water in it and then be administered to plants as fertilizer. The yielded effects are quite good! Originally, making this actually requires brown sugar, but since sugar is too expensive and those corn stalks contain very high amounts of sugar, they can be juiced as a substitute for the brown sugar...”

“Oh, I see. Brother Liqiang, your knowledge is impressive!” Gu Zexuan rubbed his palms in excitement. “If this thing is truly so multi-functional, then we have nothing much to worry about in selling these. We’ve probably found a way to earn money!”

“Well, even if this can really sell well, we won’t be earning much. But at least it will allow us to earn a small amount of money over a short period of time. As time passes, given the simplicity of making this, people will eventually learn how to make it. When everyone learns how to easily make these, the ones we make won’t be special anymore!”

“Let’s not worry about it. As long as the three of us keep this a secret and not expose the method of making this thing, we can buy as much time as possible...”

“Yes. The only thing we need to pay attention to is these clay jars that we need to uncover to allow some air into them. Also, don’t let this ring of water outside the lid dry up...”

“Can we talk about something else? We should eat first. I’m really starving...” Zhao Huipeng rubbed his stomach and complained miserably.

“Hahaha, let’s eat then!” Yan Liqiang and Gu Zexuan both laughed.

The relationship of this trio who had just become acquainted with each other yesterday had grown significantly closer again after their cooperation today. The mutual trust and understanding between them had also increased.

Dinner was simple as usual– apart from the steamed buns, there were also corn and eggs. Even so, Yan Liqiang still relished his meal.

After dinner, Yan Liqiang chatted for a while longer with Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng. They and took a few minutes to walk together to digest their food. Yan Liqiang was back in his bedroom before the sun had even set and started cultivating Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing. After two rounds, he immediately hit the sack.

...

The next day, Yan Liqiang woke up around three o’clock in the morning as usual. When he was about to get up from bed to wash up, he suddenly recalled something.

When he carried the water yesterday, some sections along the mountain path were dark. Since his eyes couldn’t even clearly see the path, it was easy to stumble and trip over the steps or other things along the way. This caused a considerable amount of water in the buckets to spill out. At the end of that Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Manual in his mind, there was a section labeled ‘Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Subsidiary External Cultivation Collection’. This collection section included external techniques like the mind, body, head, face, ears, eyes, mouth, tongue, teeth, hands, feet, shoulders, back, waist, stomach, kidneys, heart, spleen, liver, and lungs. It covered nearly all the methods of training every external and internal organ...

Yan Liqiang had never bothered with the external cultivation collection in the past. He was originally planning to only give those a try when he was almost done with Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing. But a thought suddenly emerged in his mind– should he give the eye external cultivation technique a try and see if it could improve his vision after practicing it?!

With that thought, Yan Liqiang laid on the bed and cultivated according to the instructions of the eye technique. He tightly shut his eyes and started the warm-up for the eye technique by rubbing his eyes with his thumbs fourteen times...

After warming up, the eye technique included various eyeball movements and coordination with the eyes and various acupoints on the head for a massage before finally ending it with the ‘Tiger Vision’ technique. The entire process only took a few minutes to complete.

After Yan Liqiang was done practicing the eye technique, there weren’t really any obvious effects for now. He quickly got up, washed up, tidied up, and ascended Tianqiao Peak to start working.

When Yan Liqiang went up there yesterday, he was intercepted along the way and he was questioned by a Senior Martial Brother who was a sentinel of the Divine Sword Sect. When he went up today, the sentinel hiding in the dark along the pathway didn’t jump out to stop Yan Liqiang.

Everything was the same as yesterday. Yan Liqiang ran down the mountain to fetch water and he carried the water back up to the mountain with his arms straight. When he was running, he also trained his stamina, body technique, and footwork. After he fetched enough water, he started to meticulously and earnestly clean the toilets on Tianqiao Peak with his utmost effort.

He worked until the sky brightened and then descended the mountain. As usual, his entire body was almost drenched in sweat after he reached the foot of the mountain. He then took a bath, changed into fresh clothes, washed his clothes, and ate some food...

However, the difference between today and yesterday was that Yan Liqiang had a lot more time this morning. He was able to cultivate Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing.

Starting from the second day, Yan Liqiang’s daily schedule in the Divine Sword Sect was set with a regular pattern. After meticulously cleaning the toilets every day, he’d spend his remaining time training at the mountain basin. Sometimes, he would also help Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng with their farm work...

Apart from the few disciples who lived in the small mountain basin, almost no one else in the Divine Sword Sect noticed there was another youth by the name of Yan Liqiang living in this mountain basin at the foot of Tianqiao Peak. He trained diligently every day and he always maintained his highest standards even with a dirty and exhausting job like cleaning toilets.

As this dull yet rich life passed by, Yan Liqiang gradually felt the changes in his body too...

The first thing he noticed was that his arms had gained more strength. Initially, after filling the two buckets of water on Tianqiao Peak to their brims with his arms straightened, he still felt the strain in his arms. He felt pain and was sore every day; it was as if his arms were going to break off. However, after only half a month, things started to gradually become easier even if he filled the two tanks of water to their brims with his arms straight. Those full water buckets felt lighter in his hands and he was able to run faster along the mountain path. The time needed to fetch water also became shorter and shorter. Along his way, the amount of water he spilled also became lesser and lesser...

What made Yan Liqiang even more pleasantly surprised was the fact that after he had trained the eye technique in the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Manual for more than a month, he realized that he could gradually see the outlines of the steps along the mountain path which had initially been pitch-black in his eyes. The outlines grew clearer with every passing day...

Chapter 112: Establishing Foundations

The weather outside the small wooden hut was bleak, with icy winds gusting past. Snowflakes fell from the sky, silvering the Divine Sword Sect with snow. The small valley beneath Tianqiao Peak was also cast into a rare spell of peace and quiet...

The snow had started falling during the day yesterday, lightening towards the twilight hours. However, it started to fall again during the morning today. At twilight, after an entire day of snowfall, the sky grew even more cloudy and the snow fell even harder.

The Divine Sword Sect was located within the boundaries of the Great Han Empire’s Lai Province, towards the south-east area of the empire. Normally, the weather during the year was warm and humid and they had gone through several decades of winter without a single snowfall. However, after only a month into this year for some reason, when it was meant to be a chilly spring, the weather had taken a strange turn and it started snowing instead, becoming even colder than winter.

It was amongst the flurry of heavy snow that Yan Liqiang sat inside his small wooden hut, completely drenched in sweat, skin reddening as if his entire body was on fire. Following his movements, gusts of hot air poured out from the eighty-four thousand sweat glands that covered his body, almost unwittingly lifting the temperature inside the wooden hut by a few degrees as well...

Yan Liqiang had been inside his hut cultivating Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing for the entirety of the afternoon. The first time he started cultivating, it was the same as usual, but from the second time onwards, Yan Liqiang felt that it was different from normal. His body started to warm up – in the beginning, it was just the palms of his hands, the soles of his feet, and the top of his head that felt warmer. Afterwards, those gusts of hot air wove through his entire body: his palms, the soles of his feet, and his head amongst his five cores. They were like five fire dragons that erratically wound themselves along the muscle and bones of his entire body.

That feeling of comfort was incomparable. Yan Liqiang felt like his entire body was submerged in a hot spring. At the same time, with this feeling, Yan Liqiang’s entire body was also sweating buckets: his shirt and trousers had long since been soaked through. He was forced to strip off his shirt, his trousers, and his shoes, leaving him wearing just a pair of shorts as he continued cultivating Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing inside that small hut without pause.

Yan Liqiang felt that this sort of phenomenon was as if his cultivation was finally about to hit a peak and break through the barrier.

Under these circumstances, Yan Liqiang completely forgot about the time as he instinctively allowed his body to continue cultivating Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing again and again.

An indefinite amount of time later, after Yan Liqiang felt those five gusts of hot air pass throughout his body numerous times, they all suddenly gathered at the very base of his spinal cord. Combining into one and together, they started travelling up his spine. His spinal column spasmed – every single vertebra popped off like fireworks. From the bone at the very bottom of his coccyx upwards, each vertebra started making a crackling noise, coming alive. Afterwards, all the joints and ligaments in his body, along with each large tendon, followed suit as they crackled and spasmed.

This type of feeling was both overwhelming and powerful at the same time. While all the joints, ligaments, and large tendons in his body were twitching involuntarily, Yan Liqiang felt as if his entire body had offloaded an extremely heavy burden. This gave him an indescribable, relaxed feeling, especially around each of his joints, ligaments, and tendons. They all suddenly felt alive, like a rusted nail soaked in engine oil, suddenly losing all the rust and becoming smooth like new. The feeling of having his entire body abruptly become nimble was indescribably refreshing.

A ray of red light appeared on Yan Liqiang’s body. In the next moment, a large amount of Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth appeared next to his body, gathering to form five red curved bows.

Yan Liqiang had no recollection of the breakthrough from last time when he had passed the Horse Stance stage. However, he clearly saw everything this time. Out of the five curved bows, there was one big one and four smaller ones. After orbiting his body a couple of times, those four out of the five bows flew into his legs and arms at the same time. The final bow, which was the bigger one, sank into the middle of his spinal cord.

This was obviously the breakthrough vision of passing the Stretching Tendon and Extending Bone stage. The imagery of this technique was similar to the imagery produced by advancing in the art of archery. But this bow was not the same as the other bows, these five bows were the body bow, the hand bow and the foot bow which meant that the hands and the feet could use the power gathered by the entire body. Having five bows prepared was a must-have for martial practitioners in order to reach a higher martial class and greater combat techniques. Without this sort of foundation, even if a high-level martial combat technique was taught to you, the most you could do was look the part. In a real fight, you’d be exposed, unable to withstand a single blow.

Yan Liqiang was extremely delighted; he didn’t expect to pass the Stretching Tendon and Extending Bone stage. He originally thought that after the stage pass phenomena had vanished, everything would stop. However, what surprised him was that just as the stage pass phenomena for the Stretching Tendon and Extending Bone vanished, that irresistible force was still burning in his spine. Moreover, it rushed brutally towards the dantian and Qihai acupoint like a wild, fiery dragon after weaving around his chest area for a few brief turns.

With a loud whoosh , that fire dragon exploded where Yan Liqiang’s Qihai acupoint was located.

Yan Liqiang instantly felt that a targeted bomb had hit the volcano on top of his Qihai acupoint, causing it to erupt. Before he could even start to understand what had happened, the energy generated from the explosion at his Qihai acupoint shot upwards, passing his chest and his throat as it headed straight for the top of his skull... ...

Yan Liqiang only felt like something had briefly shocked his mind. Following that, he felt as if all the power in his body and all the heat from his Qihai acupoint that had gone up to his skull was sucked away by that something inside his mind.

Before he lost consciousness, Yan Liqiang vaguely seemed to witness that the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth had gathered itself again next to his body, forming a strange image of a giant, crude cauldron with four legs. It caged his entire body within itself and then sank into the midst of his dantian Qihai acupoint.

This was the sign success establishing dantian. Could it be that he had passed both the Stretching Tendon and Extending Bone and establishing dantian stages? Was he now a Martial Warrior?

This hard-to-believe idea appeared in Yan Liqiang’s mind. However, following that, without giving him the chance to think about it more or verify it, the heated air that had just appeared from his Qihai acupoint and all the power in his body were suddenly sucked away almost entirely. His vision grayed out and he abruptly fainted.

...

An indefinite amount of time later, Yan Liqiang woke up, finding himself lying on floor of the small wooden hut.

Remembering the way he had just fainted, Yan Liqiang braced himself against the floor, straightened his waist, and then jumped upright in one swift move.

It was just a single movement, but Yan Liqian was already able to feel that his movements were much more agile than normal and it seemed to be easier to exert force. He hurriedly checked his own body and discovered nothing much out of the ordinary. He only had the faintest feeling of something slightly different than usual somewhere in his lower abdomen.

Remembering the strange phenomena that happened right before he passed out, Yan Liqiang gulped and carefully closed his eyes. He directed his consciousness to sink towards the location of his Qihai acupoint on his lower abdomen.

When he previously did this, there was no use as all he could feel was utter darkness. But at this moment, when his consciousness sank into the Qihai acupoint on his lower abdomen, Yan Liqiang felt like he had entered the midst of a hazy blue ruin. Within that ruin, he could see tiny, minuscule red lights spinning silently but steadily, like little lanterns.

The foundation had been established... he had apparently progressed into a Martial Warrior...

Yan Liqiang gaped, eyes were wide and his mouth was open, almost unable to believe what he could feel. He tested it multiple times and found the sight that he could sense and see was exactly like the descriptions he had heard of countless times that described the Martial Warrior realm after establishing the foundation.

Other people would still require a very long time to establish dantian after passing the Stretching Tendon and Extending Bone stage. He had heard from a few of the disciples from the Divine Sword Sect who had exceptional level cultivation speeds that they still needed at least another six to twelve months of cultivation before they could establish dantian and finish the final foundation step. There were even some who couldn’t pass this stage throughout their entire lives, unable to finish the last step before foundation. How could he possibly have passed two stages in succession over the course of one day? That was too outrageous. Who would ever believe him if he said anything?

Yan Liqiang was frozen for quite a while. He did not dare to believe that he had apparently established his foundation and had somehow become a Martial Warrior.

Could this also be a manifestation of how great the Stretching Tendon and Extending Bone technique was? In his mind, Yan Liqiang asked himself this repeatedly as this was the only possible answer.

Remembering that strange devouring power that was in his mind just before he passed out, Yan Liqiang hesitated for a moment and then hurriedly went to check to see if there was anything abnormal in his own mind.

Yan Liqiang saw it...

That caused him to be utterly surprised. The thing that he originally thought he would never see again while he was alive was currently floating inside his mind’s eye and he could now perceive it clearly.

That thing immediately transformed into a star, glittering at him within his mind, giving off a light that was both mysterious and had a hidden depth.

...

It was pitch-black outside the window. After staring intently at that thing inside his mind for a while, Yan Liqiang finally opened his eyes, his heart racing a little.

There was no light in the hut, but Yan Liqiang could still vaguely see the things inside the room with his two eyes. He turned to look towards the water clock within the room and discovered that the water clock was showing past three in the morning. It was getting close to the time when he usually woke up and prepared to go to work.

Seeing the time, Yan Liqiang smoothed out his emotions and hurriedly put on his clothes, socks, and shoes. After cleaning himself up in the room, he picked up a lantern and opened the door...

As soon as Yan Liqiang opened the door, a flurry of snowflakes bound by the icy wind blew straight into his face.

The snow still hadn’t stopped falling, but Yan Liqiang would not let himself stop either. He would not lower the expectations he had for himself.

He packed up the tools he used daily and put some cleaning solution into the bucket. Just as Yan Liqiang was about to walk out of the yard, another lantern along with two familiar silhouettes appeared before him.

Gu Zexuan had wrapped himself firmly – he stamped his feet and breathed warm air into his hands. “Let’s go. All the mountain roads are blocked off by the snow. If we don’t help you with the task today, then you can work until tomorrow evening and you still won’t be done. Zhao Huipeng and I will come with you today to see what the toilets are really like on Tianqiao Peak with our very own eyes. Ah, I never expected the day to come when someone as handsome and charming as myself would have to get up in the middle of the night to clean toilets.”

The slightly inarticulate Zhao Huipeng didn’t say anything. He merely smiled at Yan Liqiang awkwardly.

Yan Liqiang’s heart melted. He didn’t say much else, as it didn’t need to be said. He led the two straight up towards the mountain...

Chapter 113: To Part the Clouds and See the Sun

The three of them walked along the mountain path, carrying their lanterns. The surroundings were pitch-black, and the weather was so cold that even the ground was frozen. The steps along the mountain path were almost fully covered in pure white snow, making it basically impossible to discern the shape of the step itself. It was only under the faint yellow light of the lanterns that one could vaguely see a few of the markers for the mountain path. It was extremely hard to move forward; every step taken left an imprint that was half a foot deep in the snow.

The sky was empty of both the stars and the moon, leaving a lead-like layer of clouds. In the forest on either side of the mountain path, there were no sounds from any of the insects. The only thing one could hear was the cold whistle of the wind.

Today’s job was clearly going to be much more difficult than before. Even just bringing water up the mountain was not going to be an easy task.

Yan Liqiang and his two companions had each brought along a farming shovel from their own yard. As they went up the mountain, they shoveled the snow off the mountain path, creating a narrow path that could lead someone up or down the mountain.

Yan Liqiang was at the very front, leading the way. Using his brute strength, he would thrust his shovel deep into the snow and then push sideways with one side of the shovel pressed against the step. Like that, a large pile of snow would be lifted and the snow would fall onto the side of the mountain. With Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng on the sides using their shovels to clear the rest, people would basically be able to walk on that step. Following that, Yan Liqiang would move up another step and they would clear the next step up. The three of them moved upwards, step by step, heading towards the mountain peak.

“Wait til I get famous within the Divine Sword Sect, that Bastard Huo will regret it! I won’t forgive him...” Gu Zexuan cursed under his breath as he worked. “At least you’re good-natured Liqiang, being able to continue doing this for the past few months. If it were me, I don’t think I would last seven days...”

“The mountain path is a little difficult to navigate today, it’s usually not this bad...” Yan Liqiang said calmly as he used his shovel to messily push the snow aside. Since he had just entered the Martial Warrior rank, Yan Liqiang felt like there was an endless amount of strength in his body. The coordination between his body, hands, and eyes was without peer and this task of shoveling snow while they went up the mountain felt as easy and effortless as shoveling leaves. The change he had undergone in a day was exactly like the one he had undergone when he just passed the Horse Stance stage; he wasn’t the same person anymore.

Yan Liqiang’s biggest achievement after these few months of cleaning the toilets was discovering that the so-called cultivation could completely be absorbed into day-to-day life. As long as one had the will, there were all sorts of ways to improve oneself.

For example, his task of bringing water up the mountain. After these few months, Yan Liqiang felt like his strength, reaction time, pacing, and body composition had all improved by a large margin. Both his Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps and Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist had improved by another level, and his eyes, hands, legs, and body were even more harmoniously coordinated. Even when he was sweeping out the toilets, Yan Liqiang could, little by little, let go of the anxiety in his heart to become incomparably calm and focused.

This type of work was technically miscellaneous, but Yan Liqiang viewed it as cultivation.

Just like now when Yan Liqiang was shoveling snow, he used the stabbing stance of the spear technique when he pushed his shovel into the snow. When he pushed the snow to the side, he used outward parry stance of the spear technique. These were the three basic moves of the spear technique. As he worked, he could cultivate, and as he cultivated, his heart could be enlightened.

Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng both didn’t find anything strange about Yan Liqiang. They also did not know that after only a day, Yan Liqiang had already become a Martial Warrior. The two of them followed Yan Liqiang, and only felt that Yan Liqiang’s strength at hand was almost extraordinary. Every time he cleared a step, Yan Liqiang’s movements were smooth and sharp, like a free-flowing stream or a floating cloud. There was actually a pleasant sort of rhythm to the entire thing.

Just like this, the three of them shoveled out a path up and down the mountain in the middle of the dark night.

When they arrived at the toilets on the top of the mountain, all three of them all had ice-coated eyelashes. When Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng both saw the toilet, they were completely astonished. This was because that toilet was definitely not the same as they had imagined; it was way too clean. Clean enough that the two of them suspected that maybe someone had already cleaned it.

That toilet was not only clean; it also did not have any strange smells around it.

“Did someone already clean this toilet?” Gu Zexuan looked at Yan Liqiang with surprise. “Did the older martial brothers from Tianqiao Peak take pity on how hard you were working and they cleaned it themselves?”

Yan Liqiang smiled a little. “It has not been cleaned yet!”

“Then why is it so clean?”

“If you want to know why, then come with me down the mountain to get water. I’ll tell you on the way!” Yan Liqiang laughed heartily. He put down the pile of tools he had in his hand and picked up two buckets with a lantern hanging from them before heading down the mountain. Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng followed suit, each with their own bucket in hand.

With Yan Liqiang’s current eyesight, he felt that even without a lantern, he would still be able to see the mountain path clearly. However, since he didn’t want to expose his skills, he would still bring a lantern with him as a tool to keep up the façade, especially if the weather wasn’t good.

“Liqiang, tell me, why is the toilet so clean?” Zhao Huipeng, who rarely ever spoke, asked this curiously after he caught up. Gu Zexuan was also paying attention, wanting to hear Yan Liqiang’s explanation.

“When my grandfather was a wandering physician, he traveled from the north to the south, and he once came across a very interesting situation. He was at a small town and he saw that the inn he was staying at had two different horse carriages parked next to each other. One of the horse carriages was in new condition, clean and tidy, but the other one was a little old, and there was even a hole in the window that hadn’t been repaired...” Yan Liqiang thought for only a brief moment before he explained the classic ‘broken window theory’ [1] from his previous life to Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng using words and examples that they could understand.

After explaining the broken window theory, Yan Liqiang summarized, “Therefore, if I wanted the toilets to be this clean, then the easiest way is for me to make it cleaner than it was before. Then if someone uses the toilet, they will automatically pay attention at all times to not dirty it. If the toilet was originally dirty, then the people who use it won’t even pay attention, not caring if it gets dirtier. This is human psychology...”

Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng thought that Yan Liqiang’s explanation was very interesting and they were enthralled while listening to him, loudly exclaiming their interest. Afterwards, Gu Zexuan clapped his hands together joyfully. “I know now, it’s how the strong grow stronger and the weak get weaker. Is it that sort of philosophy? For strong people like the Divine Sword Sect’s direct and core disciples, they were already like the Seven Heroes and Three Braves. Still, everyone around them are trying to curry favors, offering them the best resources and the best conditions for cultivation, which is why they will naturally grow stronger and stronger. However, for others like us external disciples without any sort of background, we can be put down and trodden upon at anyone else’s whim and therefore, we’ll just get weaker and weaker...”

“Your reasons are sound, but we’re not exactly broken carriages!” Yan Liqiang smiled a little. “If a carriage is broken, then a carriage cannot repair itself and piece the broken parts. We’re people. Therefore, we can constantly strive to be stronger, and strive to improve oneself. Just like how that Huo guy sent me here to clean toilets, if I had bemoaned my fate and did my task perfunctorily to a base standard each day, then the toilets at Tianqiao Peak’s would’ve become the first broken window for me here at the Divine Sword Sect. Seeing this broken window would’ve meant that in the future, anyone would be able to look down on me. But, if I repaired that broken window by using every single resource and all the money I had at my disposal to fix it, then tell me, who would dare to go out of their way and pick on me without any reason?”

“I’m quite amazed by you!” Gu Zexuan sighed. “I never imagined that you would be able to spout so much logic and reasoning over a simple little task like cleaning a toilet. Previously, I wondered why you would put in so much effort into cleaning a toilet, but now I realize that you, Liqiang, have your own way of thinking about things. I feel ignorant...”

Zhao Huipeng glanced at Yan Liqiang with an admiring gleam in both of his eyes, seemingly moved on an emotional level. After Zhao Huipeng heard Yan Liqiang’s words, he felt like his heart had lit up and he felt like he was enlightened all of a sudden.

...

When they came down to the small stream where the water buckets were usually filled, because the stream flowed slowly, there was ice on the surface. Yan Liqiang used a rock to chisel through the ice before they could successfully get the water.

The three of them filled up their buckets and then carried them up the mountain together. Rinsing and repeating...

With the three of them fetching water, it was obviously faster than Yan Liqiang doing it by himself. Within half an hour, after a couple of trips up and down, they had already managed to successfully fill up the water tank for the toilets. And, after only thirty minutes, that tank already had a thin layer of ice that was frozen across the top.

The three of them broke the ice and continued their work.

Even though it was the first time that Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng had come to clean the toilets, the two of them were deeply moved by Yan Liqiang’s story and thus their enthusiasm was at a high as they worked alongside Yan Liqiang. Following Yan Liqiang’s example, they cleaned all the toilets until they sparkled like new, laughing and chatting all the while. Even if all three pairs of hands had been chilled red by the freezing water, no one really cared.

While using the earth vinegar mixed with water to wipe the floor of the toilet, Gu Zexuan said in sudden realization, “Liqiang, I feel like Zhao Huipeng and I both fell for your trap. After we finished mixing that earth vinegar you had us make to remove the strange smells from the toilet, it was only you who ended up using it. We took the earth vinegar to the local market recently and couldn’t sell a single bottle...”

“Hahaha...” Yan Liqiang laughed loudly. “If you want to sell earth vinegar, you’d have to do some advertising for it...”

“Eh, what advertising?”

“It means it needs to be widely publicized. Just wait and see, you can’t rush this...”

...

It was already getting a bit dark once the three of them completely finished cleaning up the toilets and exited the area. However, just as they were walking out, Yan Liqiang found that someone had already been standing outside.

That person was bald, with a full beard across his face and he looked like he was in his fifties. Even though it was a cold day, he didn’t seem cold; he was casually wearing a short shirt with his chest bare outside the toilets. His gaze swept keenly across the three of them as they were walking out before it finally landed on Yan Liqiang’s face, his eyes flashing brightly.

Just when Yan Liqiang was still guessing who this person was, Gu Zexuan’s face had already changed beside him, hurriedly saluting with extreme politeness. “Greetings to Hall Master Su from Gu Zexuan, external disciple....”

Hearing that this person was a Hall Master in the Divine Sword Sect, Yan Liqiang and Zhao Huipeng didn’t dare to tarry, making their salutes as well.

The man smiled a little, looking at Yan Liqiang. “It’s been a full one hundred days since you started cleaning Tianqiao Peak’s toilets, and you haven’t slacked for a single one. Every day, you clean the toilet so very thoroughly. Don’t you feel like it’s a dirty, tiring task?”

“Tianqiao Peak’s older martial brothers aren’t dirty at all in my eyes. Therefore, I don’t feel dirty or tired to be of service to the older martial brothers on the peak. I only want to be able to do what I can do well.” Yan Liqiang said evenly.

“Hahaha, nice choice of words...” Hall Master Su laughed loudly. “From tomorrow onwards, you’ll have a new task. Tianqiao Peak still needs a servant, and that’s you. Go to Gray Hall this afternoon to complete the paperwork...”

Chapter 114: Lucky Break

“My god! Serving at the Gray Hall, actually being able to serve at the Gray Hall...”

“And to serve within Tianqiao Hall’s Gray Hall, am I dreaming?”

“That’s the Tianqiao Hall, and being handpicked no less by Hall Master Su...”

“Just then, Hall Master Su also paid attention to the earth vinegar that we created...”

On the way down the mountain, Gu Zexuan was having a complete breakdown, mumbling to himself the entire way like a broken record. His steps were light as if he was floating on cloud nine and he didn’t stop repeating those few sentences to himself. Zhao Huipeng though looked sideways at Yan Liqiang and then at Gu Zexuan, standing to one side and laughing as he scratched his head.

Even though Yan Liqiang was already prepared to clean the toilets on Tianqiao Peak long term, but, he still didn’t expect that after over three months of doing this job, at exactly one hundred days, his first job with the Divine Sword Sect concluded in a rather spectacular fashion, drawing to a close.

One hundred days wasn’t long but nor was it short, it was just that today when Hall Master Su recounted the exact number of days, it meant that from the very first day, Hall Master Su had already been silently paying attention to him.

At this time, Yan Liqiang congratulated himself on being careful and conscientious every single day of the past hundred days, for being meticulous and not relaxing even half a requirement. He had done everything possible every day to clean that toilet on Tianqiao peak until it was sparkling clean and there were no faults to be found.

On the day he had finished making the earth vinegar, a few days back, he had immediately used it. After using the vinegar, the cleanliness standard of the toilet on Tianqiao Peak had immediately risen a rank and then after Yan Liqiang had finished cleaning, all the strange smells in the toilet seemingly vanished.

And then on nights like tonight, when the snow was falling thick and fast and the floor was frozen over, Yan Liqiang’s tireless perseverance and diligence had finally paid off by bringing him a chance for change.

At this time, Yan Liqiang was also slightly excited internally. He knew that change would have definitely come to pass, but he hadn’t expected that Tianqiao’s Hall Master Su would actually directly come and promote him into service with Tianqiao Hall.

Gu Zexuan had been excited for good reason; within the Divine Sword Sect, only inner disciples normally went into service with the Divine Sword Sect itself. It wasn’t to say that there were no external disciples in service, but they were definitely a rarity. Out of ten thousand external disciples, only five or six would be in service.

Those who were still external disciples when they went into service naturally would have their place and name elevated greatly within the Divine Sword Sect itself. For example, the Seven Heroes and Three Braves whose fame was currently spreading like wildfire throughout the Divine Sword Sect were ones who had gone into service while still being external disciples back in the day, rising up within the ranks of the sect.

Yan Liqiang, having just progressed into a martial warrior yesterday and was now, as of today, going to go into service to the Gray Hall on Tianqiao Peak, felt as if his luck was just about to change for the better.

“Be careful...” When they were almost halfway down the mountain, Gu Zexuan, who had been walking next to Yan Liqiang, slipped on something underfoot and almost fell over. Yan Liqiang hurriedly grabbed him.

Gu Zexuan suddenly seemed to wake from his somewhat dreamlike state. He took Yan Liqiang’s conveniently offered hand and looked at him with warmth in his gaze. He used an overly sweet tone to say, “Brother Liqiang, moving forwards, Huipeng and I will rely on your care. If you’re in service to Tianqiao Hall, then with a simple word, you can transfer the two of us over to Tianqiao Hall to work. That Huo guy from the Gray Hall won’t be able to say a thing. Your brother, I, am almost going moldy planting those vegetables in the gully. And also look at Huipeng, he’s such a good young man and he’s definitely got a good basis for martial cultivation. Liqiang, can you bear to watch as Huipeng’s bright future is held up? Can you bear to watch the two of us eat nothing but plain bread and gnaw radishes all day?”

“Within the Divine Sword Sect, each person in service can choose two followers. If you’re willing, when I go to the Gray Hall, I’ll request for you and Huipeng to come, all for one and one for all...” Yan Liqiang said smiling. This so-called follower was a helper-like position for the person in service. As soon as Yan Liqiang took up service with Tianqiao Hall, then he would have the right to pick two followers. According to the Divine Sword Sect’s rules, as long as they weren’t female disciples, he could pick anyone he liked from the Gray Hall’s disciples.

“Hahaha, good brother...” Gu Zexuan started laughing heartily, slapping Yan Liqiang’s shoulder with force.

“Huipeng, what do you think?” Yan Liqiang asked Zhao Huipeng.

Zhao Huipeng nodded frantically, scratching his head. “Oh... from now on, I have to call you Senior Martial Brother Yan...”

“That’s right, that’s right, from now on we need to call him Senior Martial Brother Yan. In future, we’ll follow Senior Martial Brother Yan...” Gu Zexuan also started referring to him like so, not minding a whit.

The seniority hierarchy within the Divine Sword Sect was sorted first and foremostly by cultivation status and standing, if both status and standing were the same, then seniority would go by age and experience. Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng had both known Yan Liqiang for a few months, but no matter what they were doing, be it making vinegar or just general day-to-day interactions, both of them thought that Yan Liqiang was someone with a strong sense of self. Yan Liqiang was also diligent and hardworking when it came to cultivation and both of them admired him a bit for that under normal circumstances. In addition to that, today, when Yan Liqiang was all of a sudden put into service within Tianqiao Hall, his position was also suddenly quite a bit higher than the two of them. So using senior martial brother to address Yan Liqiang was quite a natural thing to do.

The three of them, in the midst of laughing joyfully in high spirits, went down the mountain......

It was only when they reached that little valley that the sky was slowly brightening. Seeing that Yan Liqiang had stripped off his clothes and jumped straight into the stream to bathe, both Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng also followed suit, stripping naked and jumping in.

It was only when he hit the water that Gu Zexuan felt the cold, yelling out loudly. He wanted to climb out but was held back by Yan Liqiang and Zhao Huipeng and in the end, he could only clench his teeth and bear it, bathing in the cold water with both Yan Liqiang and Zhao Huipeng.

On a snow-swept day, the sound of cheerful laughter and chatter filled the little valley beneath Tianqiao Peak.

...

After finishing the bath, they then washed and cleaned their clothes before roasting a few sweet potatoes and eggs to eat. They cleaned up their living areas, got ready some things in preparation to move. Then, when it became afternoon and the snow stopped, the three of them directly went to the Gray Hall to do their paperwork, all in high spirits.

Walking down from Tianqiao Peak towards the Gray Hall, along the way, they passed many external disciples in gray clearing away the snow lining the path.

It was quite a coincidence that when Yan Liqiang and company just arrived outside the Gray Hall, Ma Liang, who they hadn’t seen for a few months, walked up from another path. The four of them met up in this fashion outside the Gray Hall.

Seeing Yan Liqiang, Ma Liang’s face showed a sliver of surprise but following that, he used a commanding expression to look down on Yan Liqiang, smiling with an expression that didn’t reach his eyes. “Long time no see, Liqiang. You look good. It seems that your duties on Tianqiao Peak suit you well, hahaha...”

Chapter 115: Service Identity

Hearing that person mock Yan Liqiang, Gu Zexuan glanced towards Yan Liqiang and the two of them exchanged a look. Gu Zexuan almost immediately knew that this person was the one who Yan Liqiang had mentioned previously who wasn’t easy to deal with.

“Hahahaha...” Yan Liqiang hadn’t even opened his mouth before Gu Zexuan started laughing loudly. He winked at Yan Liqiang, deliberately asking in a loud voice, “Senior Martial Brother Yan, could this person be the external disciple with the surname Niu or Ma [1], who recommended you to Tianqiao Peak for menial labor?”

“Yes, that’s right!” Yan Liqiang nodded his head.

“What did you say, did you just call him Senior Martial Brother Yan?” Ma Liang gaped, watching Gu Zexuan and Yan Liqiang’s double act. He looked like he was in disbelief as if he had heard wrong, Gu Zexuan was clearly older than Yan Liqiang and they were all external disciples. Was Gu Zexuan unaware of the Divine Sword Sect’s rules, and that’s why he was randomly using the Senior Martial Brother honorific?

Gu Zexuan basically ignored Ma Liang, merely glancing at him disdainfully before he turned his head around and smiled in an exaggeratedly goofy manner towards Yan Liqiang. “I hope that Senior Martial Brother Yan won’t lower himself to this asshole’s level. Without this asshole’s recommendation, how else would Senior Martial Brother Yan be given recognition by Hall Master Su and become the Divine Sword Sect’s youngest servant within Gray Hall? Assholes always seem to scheme and think they’re smarter than everyone else, but they never know to expect the unexpected. Your prospects will be boundless in the Divine Sword Sect, Senior Martial Brother Yan, so you can slowly plan your revenge on this type of asshole. Let’s just see if you can’t ruin him...”

Yan Liqiang suppressed his laughter, not expecting Gu Zexuan’s acting skills to be so good, merely watching how Gu Zexuan was humiliating Ma Liang in front of him.

“Who are you cursing...” Ma Liang, who was standing to the side, got mad as Gu Zexuan called him an asshole to his face. He couldn’t suppress his fury and instead, rushed directly over, fist heading straight towards Gu Zexuan.

Before Ma Liang could even rush over, there was someone else who was even faster from Yan Liqiang’s side. They stepped out without a sound, like a bullet, slamming up against Ma Liang with their fist.

Thud... thud... thud...

Three muted thuds sounded and Ma Liang grunted, taking three steps back directly, his expression changed immediately. Zhao Huipeng, on the other hand, stood tall and unmoving, merely glaring coldly at Ma Liang. Looking at it now, his short and stout figure was as firm and unyielding as a stone wall.

Ya Liqiang was also slightly surprised. He was just about to make a move, but he never expected for Zhao Huipeng to already make a move a step ahead of him. He never thought that the usually inarticulate and introverted Zhao Huipeng would have such a raging fire of a temper within. Looking at the way that Zhao Huipeng had just rushed out, it definitely wasn’t a spur of the moment reaction, but rather, the move was planned in advance.

Yan Liqiang glanced briefly at and then through Ma Liang, who was standing in place, gaping with a disbelieving expression. He didn’t speak at all, instead, he headed straight towards the direction of the Gray Hall and entered. Gu Zexuan laughed coldly at Ma Liang once and after swearing by calling him an asshole once more, he also followed Yan Liqiang inside. Zhao Huipeng also turned to follow as well.

Watching Zhao Huipeng walk up, Yan Liqiang asked quietly. “Huipeng, what style of boxing are you practicing? Those moves before were really too strong...”

Zhao Huipeng scratched his head, an embarrassed expression written across his face. “I’m practicing Cannon Fist...”

“Oh, no wonder...”

“Hehe, you might think that Huipeng normally doesn’t get angry, but his temper is quite violent...” Gu Zexuan said, giggling.

...

Ma Liang stood outside the entrance to the Gray Hall, frozen in place for a few seconds. After he watched Yan Liqiang and the others walk inside, he clenched his teeth, shaking out his slightly painful hand and also followed them in – until now, he was still unwilling to believe that Gu Zexuan spoke the truth. When he was still at the Commandment Courtyard, he had fallen for Yan Liqiang’s lie before, fooled by Yan Liqiang’s one barely described sentence. He had always thought that Yan Liqiang was full of tricks, and was unwilling to easily believe anything he said.

Even if Yan Liqiang was merely acting with someone before, the fact that Yan Liqiang suddenly had two extra helpers by his side, made his heart uneasy. He wasn’t too clear on what exactly Gu Zexuan was actually capable of, but the silent youth who had rushed out before had actually made Ma Liang a little fearful.

...

The Gray Hall was within the Divine Sword Sect’s Dimo Valley, the entirety of the Gray Hall was just one large yard. Inside the yard there was a circle of tall lofts, each loft was functional, surrounding the large yard. There were external disciples, all dressed in gray, walking in and out of the Gray Hall. Occasionally there was one or two people wearing black that appeared and the external disciples wearing gray would all politely clear the way, standing to the side, waiting until those black-clad disciples passed before resuming their movement. You could see how strict the segregation of the Divine Sword Sect’s ranks was and how important the rules were from this.

Ma Liang had come to the Gray Hall today because his Senior Martial Brother Huo had gotten someone to request his presence, he didn’t know what it was for. As he entered the Gray Hall, Yan Liqiang and the other two were walking in front of him, and after walking for a little while, Ma Liang saw Senior Martial Brother Huo come out from within a loft from over there. He strode down the stairs, walking towards Ma Liang with a warm and welcoming smile.

Senior Martial Brother Huo’s warmth made Ma Liang feel flattered. Just as Ma Liang was about to hurry forward, he suddenly saw that Senior Martial Brother Huo had already stopped in front of Yan Liqiang’s group, grasping Yan Liqiang’s hands in excitement.

“Hahaha, Junior Martial Brother Yan, I have been waiting for your arrival for ages. This morning, we here at the Gray Hall received the official document from Tianqiao Peak. Hearty congratulations on Hall Master Su personally requesting Junior Martial Brother Yan into service with Tiaoqiao Hall. When our attendant heard this, they specifically requested for me to wait here for Junior Martial Brother Yan to do your paperwork when you arrive...”

Even though he wasn’t standing in front of Senior Martial Brother Huo, the smile on Senior Martial Brother Huo’s face and the words that he spoke were all seen and heard by Ma Liang. They were just like a lightning storm in clear skies, striking him so hard that his mind buzzed loudly and his vision blurred with static. Ma Liang almost couldn’t even keep his balance, screaming internally – how was it possible, how was it possible, how was it possible? It was just a job cleaning toilets, how was it possible that it had managed to attract the attention of Tianqiao Hall’s Hall Master and end up being promoted to Tianqiao Hall’s servant......

“How gracious of you, Senior Martial Brother Huo. It’s just a little thing, how could we trouble you to personally come and welcome us. I don’t deserve this honor...”

“Come, let us speak inside...”

“Please, Senior Martial Brother Huo first...”

In Ma Liang’s eyes, Yan Liqiang and his Senior Martial Brother Huo were both smiling brilliantly, each of them even more polite than the other. They were like birth brothers who hadn’t seen each other in years, each of them clasping their hands together, entering the loft.

As he walked up the steps, Senior Martial Brother Huo had glanced back towards Ma Liang casually. That one glance caused Ma Liang’s heart to sink like a stone, the look was extremely freezing cold.

...

Inside the loft, Servant Huo seemingly used the fastest speed possible to help Yan Liqiang complete his paperwork. Afterward, servant Huo was all smiles as he held out a platter in front of Yan Liqiang – on top, there was a black belt and a pretty bronze waist tag. The waist tag had the image of Tianqiao Peak imprinted in the middle and beneath the tag there were bunches of bright red silk strands, making it look quite beautiful.

The Divine Sword Sect’s external disciples all wore gray – but the lower, middle and upper classes were denoted by different color belts. The ones with gray belts represented lower class disciples, the ones who wore brown belts were middle class disciples and finally, the ones with black belts were upper class external disciples.

And that bronze waist tag was the physical sign of their representation of the authority of servant disciples.

Yan Liqiang changed to the black belt and then tied the waist tag to the side of the belt. The red silk strands on the waist tag fluttered and all of a sudden, he looked completely different. Or at least, in the eyes of servant Huo, Gu Zexuan, and Zhao Huipeng, Yan Liqiang suddenly felt like a different person.

“Good, good, Junior Martial Brother Yan, you indeed to seem much more extraordinary once you put on this belt. From today onwards, Junior Martial Brother Yan, you’re the youngest Gray Hall servant of the Divine Sword Sect. Congratulations...” Servant Huo stood to one side, complimenting him endlessly and loudly, completely disregarding the strange looks that Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng were directing at him.

“Thank you for your assistance, Senior Martial Brother Huo!” Yan Liqiang held his hands together politely towards Servant Huo. There wasn’t even a hint of arrogance, it was as if he had completely forgotten the unhappy feelings from his first meeting with Servant Huo.

“No need for such words, this was just part of the job!” Servant Huo said seriously. He suddenly paused before changing the subject, looking at Yan Liqiang with narrowed eyes. “As Junior Martial Brother Yan goes into service today with Tianqiao Peak, we should definitely celebrate. It was fate that Junior Martial Brother and I met as soon as you entered into the Divine Sword Sect. If Junior Martial Brother Yan doesn’t object, tonight I’ll host a banquet in your honor at Dihui Valley’s Meteor Tower and introduce a few friends to you as well. I don’t know if Junior Martial Brother Yan is amenable to the idea?”

“If Senior Martial Brother Huo is hosting, then I’ll definitely be there...” Yan Liqiang said, smiling.

Servant Huo’s squinted eyes immediately opened, and he suddenly looked happier, laughing loudly. “Then that’s set, I’ll see Junior Martial Brother Yan there tonight...”

“Okay! There’s just one thing I want to trouble Senior Martial Brother Huo with.”

“Please speak!”

Yan Liqiang looked towards Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng. “If I’m to serve on Tianqiao Peak, then I’m still short of two helpers. If I could trouble Senior Martial Brother Huo to help do the paperwork for the two of them as well, so they can transfer their menial labor tasks to Tianqiao Peak...”

“It will be merely a small matter, just a small matter indeed...”

...

After finishing all the paperwork for himself and both Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng as well, as Yan Liqiang was exiting the loft, servant Huo was still politely guiding them out. Ma Liang, who had been in the yard previously, was long gone, hiding himself away somewhere, not even able to show his face.

“Senior Martial Brother Huo, there’s no need to see me off!”

“Alright, then I’ll see you tonight. See you later...” Servant Huo was full of smiles.

...

Walking through Gray Hall, there were countless people who were quietly checking out the black belt tied around Yan Liqiang’s waist and that servant waist tag. Each of the looks was of astonishment and envy. As Yan Liqiang walked past, he gathered an entire swathe of attention.

Exiting the Gray Hall, seeing that there were much fewer people on the road, Zhao Huipeng, who had been fuming silently this entire time, finally spoke out, “Yan... Senior Martial Brother Yan, since that man named Huo is so hateful, why were you still so polite to him and why did you accept his invitation at night?”

“He was only hateful before. Huipeng, did you see how cute servant Huo was today? Anyway, the nicer I am to him today, the more he won’t dare to look down on me and the more he’ll fear me. On the other hand, if I had been arrogant and high handed today, he would actually feel more secure and safe...” Yan Liqiang smiled slightly, looking at Zhao Huipeng. He saw that Zhao Huipeng was still not quite understanding so he helpfully explained, patiently, “Tonight is Huo Bin’s apology banquet, if I don’t go, then from today onwards, we can only be enemies until the bitter end, standing against each other. At this moment, our status within the Divine Sword Sect isn’t firmly set yet, we haven’t learned any real skills and we also don’t have any reliable supporters so it’s really not a good idea for us to be enemies with those internal disciples. Speaking of which, any resentment we have with servant Huo isn’t exactly a huge thing; in the end, it’s merely some trivial matters that made us suffer a little bit of indignity. In this world, there’s really no step we can cross over. If he’s willing to swallow his pride, then why shouldn’t we give him some dignity and see how he apologizes tonight. Then in the future, we’ll all be friendly and polite and it will all be okay so it’ll be easy to just have a chat when we’re face to face. It might turn out that we might be able to use each other as well, there’s no need to be quite so absolute in this...”

“Isn’t it just one inner disciple, him? How did it become ‘disciples’?” Zhao Huipeng scratched his head, wondering.

“Just then, Servant Huo already showed his hand, didn’t you hear, Huipeng?”

“What hand?”

Yan Liqiang could only patiently explain it through.

“Ah, that Huo guy is a tricky one, he had words within words, how can there be so many different meanings...”

“Then what did you expect...”

“Senior Martial Brother Yan, are you really only fourteen?” Gu Zexuan sighed. “All these interpersonal rules, you’re like an old hand at it all. I’m really quite impressed...”

Yan Liqiang smiled, Gu Zexuan’s ‘Senior Martial Brother’ suddenly sounded much more earnest than before...

Chapter 116: Writing Off At One Stroke

Around evening, Yan Liqiang brought Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng into the Divine Sword Sect’s Dihui Valley.

The marketplace of the Divine Sword Sect was in Dihui Valley. The entire Dihui Valley was bustling like the liveliest bazaar and the main streets in big cities, except that the ones who shopped here were all disciples of the sect. Standing at the entrance of Dihui Valley, the entire valley was filled with people as far as the eyes could see, dressed in clothes of various colors and busy doing their own things. The clothes they wore were obvious and could easily be distinguished at a glance, setting each other off nicely.

The ones dressed in gray were the external disciples, dressed in black were the inner disciples, dressed in purple were the elite disciples and dressed in blue were the direct disciples. Basically one could easily tell the position of someone on the street just by looking at their attire. Among every disciple rank, their upper, middle or lower classes were each represented by a different colored sash. One would be able to know each other’s class after meeting face to face.

It stopped snowing from morning to afternoon, but by evening time it had started snowing again.

The last time Yan Liqiang came to Dihui Valley was more than three months ago. Back then, the weather was still quite pleasant. Many vendor’s stalls were set up on either side of Dihui Valley’s marketplace, the ones managing the vendor’s stalls were all disciples of the sect. The merchandise sold there were an eye-opening, dazzling array of beautiful exhibits of all sorts. Among them were a multitude of medicinal pills, weapons, medicinal herbs, handicrafts which were feasts to the eyes. Yet today, these vendor stalls were gone due to the weather. Only the shops and restaurants on either side of the marketplace were still operating.

These restaurants, shops, and buildings in Dihui Valley’s marketplace were all properties of the Divine Sword Sect. The people who managed these properties were from one of the ten major courtyards of the Divine Sword Sect – the Four Seas Courtyard. However, the ones who ran the stores and restaurants were disciples of the sect. As long as one could offer the highest bid, they’d get the rights to run the stores and restaurants. As to whether they could earn or lose from the business, that would depend on their own ability.

Everywhere in the Divine Sword Sect followed a strict hierarchy, except in Dihui Valley where rank didn’t really matter. Everything here followed business rules – with money, one could be worthy of becoming a boss and call upon the wind and summon the rain in Dihui Valley, even if they were only an external disciple. They could stay in towering big courtyards, enjoy exotic delicacies, have beautiful women in their arms while listening to fine music and lead a godly life.

That’s right, there was not only one, but multiple brothels operated by the Divine Sword Sect in Dihui Valley. The girls in those brothels all came fully packaged with looks and talents. Anything you could do in other brothels, you could do it in the brothels in Dihui Valley too. Among the many commandments of the Divine Sword Sect, none prohibited disciples from enjoying the service of a brothel. There were no issues as long as one could afford to pay and if the girls were willing.

There were a few dozen brothels in Dihui Valley and Meteor Tower was one of them. When Yan Liqiang and the rest arrived at the entrance of Meteor Tower, a staff was on a ladder, lighting up the row of lanterns at the entrance.

As soon as Yan Liqiang and the other two entered Meteor Tower, they already saw Huo Bin walking towards them with all smiles before they even needed to ask anyone where his room was. “Hahaha, Brother Liqiang is indeed punctual...”

As the host, of course Huo Bin would need to come earlier. However, Yan Liqiang wasn’t late either. As good manners, he had come slightly earlier than the appointed time they had both agreed on.

“Senior Martial Brother Huo, you are too courteous. How can we possibly make you wait here? You could have just told your staff to show us around. Hahaha...”

Yan Liqiang and Huo Bin proceeded to exchange a few pleasantries before Huo Pin led the three of them towards a corridor inside Meteor Tower.

“Brother Liqiang, what do you think of Meteor Tower?”

Yan Liqiang looked around in the surroundings. Meteor Tower was complete with pavilions, a rock garden, and even a gentle flowing stream. Although it was an eatery, it very well decorated. He nodded. “The place which Senior Martial Brother Huo has picked is naturally great!”

“This Meteor Tower is the property of Luo Tianyu, one of the seven heroes in the Divine Sword Sect. The title given to Senior Martial Brother Luo is Meteor Sword. Hence, this place is named after his title. I happened to know Senior Martial Brother Luo over my years in the Divine Sword Sect and he has taken good care of me so we will usually prefer to gather in Meteor Tower when needed...” Huo Bin appeared to be introducing Meteor Tower, but he was actually showing off his connections.

When Yan Liqiang heard that, he merely laughed. Yan Liqiang didn’t doubt the fact that Huo Bin knew one of the seven heroes in Divine Sword Sect, Meteor Sword, Luo Tian Yu. However, he wasn’t convinced when Huo Bin claimed that he was close to him. Over his career in customer relations from his previous life, he had heard and seen too much bullsh*t like this. Many would frequently claim to know some secretaries, mayors or executives. These words were meant to go in and out of your ears. If both parties were indeed that intimate, people would usually not show off their relationship while those who loved to show off their relationship with someone was actually not that closely acquainted with them. Yet many still fell for it.

Under Huo Bin’s lead, the three of them very quickly arrived at the entrance of a private room on the second floor of Meteor Tower. Yan Liqiang followed behind Huo Bin who had pushed the door open and went in, he saw three other people who had arrived earlier than them in the private room. Ma Liang was one of them. The other two were dressed in black clothes and seemed to be an inner disciple of the sect, just like Huo Bin.

When Yan Liqiang and the rest came in, the other three people stood up, including Ma Liang.

“Brother Liqiang, let me introduce you. This is Senior Martial Brother Hu Tiande, from the Winged Tiger Hall. This is Senior Martial Brother Li Kaihe, an officer from Commandment Courtyard. Both of them are fellows from our Cang Province...”

Hu Tiande and Li Kaihe were both in their twenties. For them to advance as Supreme Martial Warriors at their age, they were definitely elites no matter where they were. Hu Tiande was an extremely burly man with an intimidating figure. On the other hand, Li Kaihe was a smiley man with a round face and small eyes, seemingly amiable yet he appeared to be more schemingly calculative.

“Greetings, Senior Martial Brother Hu and Senior Martial Brother Li!”

“Hahaha, Brother Liqiang is indeed a fine looking man. No wonder you are able to go into service at such a young age. How enviable!” Li Kaihe said smilingly.

“Not at all, please guide me well in the future, Senior Martial Brothers!”

After being courteous with Hu Tiande and Li Kaihe, Yan Liqiang seriously introduced Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng, who came along with him, to both of them. After the greetings, only then did Hui Bin find an opportunity to speak.

“This is Junior Martial Brother Ma Liang, also one of us from Cang Province. Since you are already acquainted with Junior Martial Brother Ma, I will skip the introduction!”

When Huo Bin introduced Ma Liang, Ma Liang stiffened and gave Yan Liqiang an awkward smile.

“Oh yes, I am already acquainted with Junior Martial Brother Ma, back at the Commandment Courtyard. Junior Martial Brother Ma treated me very well back then, how could I possibly forget him?”

When Huo Bin, Hu Tiande, and Li Kaihe heard Yan Liqiang, they exchanged looks with each other before everyone took a seat together.

The dishes hadn’t been served so the table was still empty.

“Ahem, ahem...” Huo Bin cleared his throat then reached out to retrieve a square box from under the table and placed it on the table. He took a deep breath and pushed it towards Yan Liqiang. “Here’s five hundred taels of silver. It’s a little congratulatory gift from me and Junior Martial Brother Ma. Congratulations on your promotion at Tianqiao Hall, Liqiang! May your future prospects in the Divine Sword Sect be brilliant!”

Despite Huo Bin’s sugar-coated words, the meaning behind it was that these taels of silver were an apology to Yan Liqiang from him and Ma Liang.

Five hundred taels of silver was not a small amount. The amount of money was enough to purchase a courtyard in the city. When Huo Bin pushed the box towards him, Yan Liqiang could almost feel the pained look on Huo Bin’s face. He wondered how much he had forked out for his portion.

The room instantly went silent.

Everyone’s gaze fell on Yan Liqiang. Yan Liqiang didn’t accept the silver. He only had an indifferent smile on his face as he calmly looked at Ma Liang. “I have been questioning myself why have Junior Martial Brother Ma seemed to be so against me all the time and deliberately made things difficult for me ever since I joined the Divine Sword Sect, despite the fact that I have never known you before, gotten involved with you, or offended you before. Have I owed you money, or snatched your woman away in my previous life?”

Under Yan Liqiang’s tranquil gaze and Hui Bin’s cold and intense stare, Ma Liang stiffly stood up with a slightly pale face and slapped himself hard twice across his own face. “I, Ma Liang, was blind and petty and have offended Senior Martial Brother Yan. Please allow me to make it up to you here today!”

“How do you plan to make up to me?”

“Please wait a little while, Senior Martial Brother Yan...” Ma Liang clenched his teeth and went out.

Ma Liang returned shortly after with two servants of the shop behind him. One of them was holding a big jar of white wine which was still sealed. The other was carrying a big tray of wine cups.

The servant holding the wine cups quickly arranged them on the table neatly while the other one unsealed the white wine and filled each cup on the table to the brim.

The servants left, leaving the table in the private room filled with wine cups full of wine. Half of the white wine in that big jar was already gone.

“There’s a hundred cups of wine on this table. I shall use these one hundred cups of wine to apologize to Senior Martial Brother Yan!” Ma Liang said while he picked up one of the cups and instantly downed the contents in one gulp, not leaving even a single drop. He then picked up the second cup and drank it in one gulp...

Under everyone’s gaze in the room, Ma Liang tipped his head backwards and gulped down cup after cup of the strong white wine as though he was drinking water.

As expected of a white wine, the moment the wine jar was unsealed, the room was filled with the smell of alcohol. Although the wine cups on the table weren’t that big, the amount of a hundred cups of white wine added together was a terrifying mass of at least three kilograms.

Ma Liang downed his first thirty cups of wine each in a gulp. After his fortieth cup, his face was burning like a branding iron. Yet, he continued on drinking. By his fiftieth cup, his eyes were bloodshot and he was panting like a bull. By his sixtieth cup, he was dripping with sweat, unable to remain standing still. By his seventieth cup, Ma Liang was completely drenched in sweat, barely able to even hold his wine cup and couldn’t stand without propping himself up with one hand on the table. His eyes were burning like they were about to explode into a bloody mess...

After more than ninety cups, Ma Liang couldn’t drink the remaining three cups. By now, the color of his face had already turned completely green. He used one hand to cover his mouth tightly, swallowing back the contents that had surged up to his throat from his stomach. This action was so disgusting that Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng nearly retched at the sight of it. Ma Liang’s eyes were already losing focus. He couldn’t even see the wine cups on the table clearly and had to fumble for the remaining wine cups on the table with his trembling hand.

At this moment, Yan Liqiang suddenly stood up and pressed down on Ma Liang’s hand. He then reached out to pick up the wine cups on the table, downing contents to their last drop. After drinking three cups consecutively, he smashed the last cup on the floor to pieces, then turned to Ma Liang. “From today onwards, any grudge and resentment between us shall be written off at one stroke.”

“T-Thank you Senior Martial Brother Yan...” Ma Liang gave Yan Liqiang a dumb-looking smile before he collapsed under the table...

Chapter 117: Stimulating the Mysterious Rock

By the time they left Meteor Tower, the sky had grown completely dark. The meal had lasted for more than two hours before everyone left.

It was snowing heavily outside. Everywhere in Dihui Valley marketplace had lanterns hung up. In the darkness, the lanterns gave a slight mysterious warmth to the night.

Huo Bin’s exhilarated face was glowing red as he felt extremely proud. Hu Tiande and Li Kaihe politely bid farewell to Yan Liqiang and dropped their ostentatious act as Senior Martial Brothers. After only a meal, the relationship between Yan Liqiang and the few of them was as though they had sworn brotherhood with each other, causing Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng to raise their eyebrows.

Even Ma Liang who had been so drunk that he was hardly conscious slapped his own chest towards Yan Liqiang before he left, and with a mouth reeking of the smell of alcohol, he said “Se-... Senior Martial Brother Yan, from now on, your concerns are I, Ma Liang’s, concerns too. As long as it’s a word from Senior Martial Brother, I, Ma Liang will not frown at even the sight of a mountain of daggers or a sea of raging flames...”

“Haha, go back and have a good rest...” Yan Liqiang chuckled.

“I-I’m fine... Don’t worry, Senior Martial Brother Yan...”

Huo Bin then signaled to the restaurant servants at the side with his eyes. The servants immediately came up to support Ma Liang, who could barely stand, and helped him onto the horse carriage which then left.

Although there was no transportation service provided at Meteor Tower, as long as one had the money, the servants in the restaurant could similarly look for a carriage to send the drunk guests back to their residence.

“Junior Martial Brother Yan, about the earth vinegar...” Huo Bin looked at Yan Liqiang with a burning gaze as he couldn’t help but rub his hands together.

“Rest assured, Senior Martial Brother Huo. As long as you can prepare the ingredients and place, I will come and make it together with you. This thing is only good for money over a short term hence, time is of the essence. We need to produce them and snatch the first sales before others figure it out. Once the heat is gone, we won’t be earning as much later...”

“No problem at all. I will send people to inform Junior Martial Brother Yan when the preparations are done. I just need two days at most...”

“Alright. Well then, Senior Martial Brother Huo, Senior Martial Brother Hu and Senior Martial Brother Li, I shall take my leave now...”

“Take care, Junior Martial Brother Yan, Junior Martial Brother Gu and Junior Martial Brother Zhao. We shall meet again next time...”

Yan Liqiang slowly led Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng away in the direction of Tianqiao Peak, with Huo Bin and the others seeing them off.

Huo Bin waited until the silhouettes of Yan Liqiang and the other two vanished in the fluttering snowflakes from the other end of the marketplace. Only then did he turn to look at Hu Tiande and Li Kaihe. Both of them could understand the meaning behind the look in his eyes even without an explanation.

Li Kaihe’s eyes were squinted until the silhouettes of Yan Liqiang and the others had completely disappeared, he never once averted his gaze from Yan Liqiang. He only turned his head towards Huo Bin when he felt his gaze. “Junior Martial Brother Yan is indeed terrifyingly shrewd and unscrupulous. We should avoid offending a person like him and be an ally to him if possible instead of an enemy. That Ma Liang is really blind to think that he can step on anyone. Some people are like mud; nothing will happen if you step on them. Some are like a rock; sending a jolt when stepped on. But this kind of person is like a caltrop buried in the soil; impaling your foot if you step on it. Today’s outcome was the best for him...”

“Yes, my thoughts exactly. It’s really hard to figure out Junior Brother Yan!” Huo Bin let out a faint sigh and shook his head. “We were supposed to apologize to him today, but I didn’t expect to be pulled in by him to do earth vinegar business in the end. After hearing his analysis in the room just now, even I have a hunch that it’s impossible for it to not make any money. Ma Liang, that bastard almost dragged me down with him. I never expected an ordinary external disciple who cleaned toilets can actually make his mark...”

“That’s how impressive Junior Martial Brother Yan is! The future prospects of Junior Martial Brother Yan will not stop at just this. We must preserve our connection with him at all cost...”

“Yes!”

“Do you all think Junior Martial Brother has really only passed the Horse Stance stage?” Hu Tiande, who had been silent, suddenly asked this question, causing Huo Bin and Li Kaihe to be slightly taken aback...

...

“Senior Martial Brother Yan... why do we need to make the earth vinegar along with Huo Bin?” When they exited Dihui Valley’s marketplace, Gu Zexuan who had restrained himself for half a day, finally couldn’t hold back any longer and asked.

Although Gu Zexuan had some experience, compared to Yan Liqiang in terms of his business mind and skill, he was only at the kindergarten level. The challenges that Yan Liqiang had been through in his career from his previous life and the knowledge and insights he had gained was way beyond Gu Zexuan’s imagination.

“Regardless of the business nature, one can’t monopolize a business if they wish to expand and must learn to share and cooperate with others. Even if that earth vinegar is something that’s only in our hands, we can’t hold it for long and won’t earn too much from it before it loses its value. If we cooperate with Huo Bin’s group and utilize their resources and connections, we will be able to maximize the value of this earth vinegar. It’s just like making steamed buns. If the three of us can only make one steamed bun at most after trying desperately, even if the steamed bun belongs to only us, we don’t have much to share with each other and it won’t be enough to fill us. But if we cooperate with Huo Bin’s group, we might be able to make a basket of steamed buns. Even if we only get half a basket of the steamed buns, it is still a lot more than our own single steamed bun. That’s a win-win situation for them and for us. We will even able to resolve any conflicts between us through this collaboration...”

“I’m just a little not used to it all of a sudden...”

Yan Liqiang laughed. He could totally understand why Gu Zexuan couldn’t ‘get used to it’. For Gu Zexuan the resentment and grudge he held for Huo Bin had taken over too much of his emotions. Huo Bin was pretty much his only ‘sworn enemy’ in the Divine Sword Sect. Yet, this amount of resentment and grudge, which could barely even fill a cup, was hardly significant in Yan Liqiang’s eyes. It was nothing compared to the hatred he harbored towards his father’s killer and the obliteration of his clan.

One of the effective methods the Great Ancestor [1] used in his quest to dominate the world was the ‘united front’. Although Yan Liqiang had no ambitions in any sort of world domination and becoming a king or overlord, he still knew the idea and essence of a united front. If he wished for revenge, he would need to unite any forces he could find around him. Otherwise, he’d have nothing to fight against a Prefectural Governor.

“Hahaha, you’ll get used to it soon. If you wish to live comfortably in the Divine Sword Sect, sometimes you have no choice but to fight with others. But that doesn’t mean you can only fight all the time. You will also need to learn how to unite. We must know how to fight and also how to unite. Fighting is a strategy to unite, and uniting is the objective behind the fighting. Unity is achieved through struggle and destroyed by concessions...”

Yan Liqiang walked while he casually explained. After walking over a distance, he realized the other two beside him had stopped following him. He turned around and realized that Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng had already stopped walking and were staring at him with dumbfounded expressions. Only then did Yan Liqiang realize all of a sudden that his casual words were simply too advanced and shocking to both of them– that was the most classic and wise saying of the Great Ancestor, summing up the experience of internal and external struggles of China over 5,000 years through dialectic.

“Leader, Huipeng and I shall be your loyal followers from now on...!”

...

Yan Liqiang bid his farewell to both of them before they reached the mountain basin at the foot of Tianqiao Peak and returned to the small house where he stayed.

After washing up, he took off his shoes and climbed onto his bed. However, Yan Liqiang didn’t lie down to rest. He instead sat in the lotus position on his bed and settled himself. He shut his eyes and focused on the sea of consciousness within his mind.

In just the blink of an eye, the huge ever-changing mysterious rock emerged in Yan Liqiang’s consciousness.

Yan Liqiang did nothing aside from focusing his gaze on that huge rock, just like how he did on the small hill at Temple of Purity.

An hour passed... Two hours passed... Three hours passed...

All of a sudden... Yan Liqiang heard an explosion in his mind. The mysterious huge rock suddenly produced a powerful attractive force akin to that of a black hole. In just a flash, Yan Liqiang’s entire consciousness was sucked into the mysterious stone...

Chapter 118: The Mysterious Realm

In just a flash, Yan Liqiang found himself in an extremely mysterious place.

Above his head, beneath his feet, in front, and behind him, spinning galaxies were everywhere. It was as though he was in the deepest void watching the universe.

The spinning galaxies collided with each other in the void. Countless stars and planets were destroyed in the splendid explosion. New galaxies were then born in the midst of destruction and fusion...

The gigantic black hole was like a whirlpool in a rapid river, hidden in the darkest place in the universe, swallowing up celestial bodies one after another...

Countless meteors streaked across the skies, rushing from one galaxy to the other as if they were a ‘hi’ from one galaxy to the other...

Every comet carried its own mysterious message as they spun around the mysterious orbit of every galaxy...

Some of the mysterious space-time expanded, some shrunk, some were perishing, some were regenerating. It was as though the universe was breathing.

Billions of starlight interweaved and converged around him. Among the starlight, the figures of beasts, birds, bugs, snakes, dragons, and horses manifested and vanished from time to time. These beasts and birds manifested from the colorful starlight were running and orbiting around Yan Liqiang. Some were flying, some were running. There were fantastic oddities of all kinds. Yan Liqiang even saw a small divine dragon, manifested from golden starlight...

The galaxies were spinning, with a myriad of life forms thriving within them. The stars were like grains of sand, forming a big path beneath his feet.

Yan Liqiang was stunned by such magnificent, majestic, mysterious and unfathomable scenery. He stood there blankly for quite a while before he finally realized that his current body was not his real body. He was currently in a nearly transparent soul-state like the one after his death last time.

Where is this place? Why am I here? Countless questions filled Yan Liqiang’s mind.

“Is there anyone here? Where is this place?” Yan Liqiang shouted loudly into the void that surrounded him.

Neither anyone appeared nor answered Yan Liqiang’s questions. But Yan Liqiang’s shout caused the silhouettes of the various birds and animals revolving around him to instantly vanish and a white projection suddenly appeared in front of Yan Liqiang.

The light projection was round, like a big circular door. Within the light projection was an empty gray space. Just when Yan Liqiang’s alertness was heightened, he realized that some human figures had started to form within that empty space. Everything that happened before his eyes seemed so surreal...

...

A youth was collapsed on the ground with a crowd of other youths surrounding and staring at him. Only one little fattie with some pimples on his face crouched in front of the youth who had collapsed on the ground and anxiously slapped his face. “Liqiang, wake up...! Liqiang, wake up...!”

When Yan Liqiang saw the face of the youth collapsed on the floor, he thought he seemed quite familiar. The moment he heard the name of the youth being called, Yan Liqiang jolted as his old memories suddenly came flooding back to him – he was that youth lying on the floor. The other youth who was slapping his face was Su Chang. The scene replaying before his eyes was the memory of his consciousness when he had woken up for the first time back then.

“Everyone, please give way. Don’t surround him. Let’s get him to the medical hall first...”

A middle-aged man came before Yan Liqiang. After checking his body, he had people carry Yan Liqiang away...

Scenes of the past replayed before Yan Liqiang’s eyes. Right at this moment, he was watching everything from the perspective of a spectator watching a movie.

Yan Liqiang saw himself being deliberately dropped from the stretcher. After lying on the medical hall for a very long time, he once again heard the familiar yet indistinct voice...

“My son! Where is my son, Yan Liqiang...?”

At the sight of Yan Dechang’s appearance in the ward, his forehead beaded with sweat, tears suddenly cascaded down Yan Liqiang’s cheeks...

Everything that ensued was the experience Yan Liqiang had personally gone through. He followed Yan Dechang home on a bullock cart, met the steward from the Hong Clan in the middle of their journey, fled to Hualong County for safety, then started to cultivate Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing, and then coincidentally saved someone from the Lu Clan... Murdered King Cobra, eradicated the Hong Clan... Followed by his glorious achievement in taking the first place among the top three in the Martial Arts County Trial... Then arriving at Pingxi City and finally meeting a tragic end with his father in that city...

The moment Yan Liqiang died, everything in the light projection froze. A second light projection then fell in front of Yan Liqiang. In it, he saw himself lying beneath a pine tree, stark naked. He had woken up after a sneeze, then ran to the nearby Temple of Purity and borrowed some clothes. “I’m alive, I’m alive...!” He then yelled at the road at the foot of the mountain... Hu Provincial City appeared before his eyes next... In the small forest, he had murdered Wu Tao along with two others... Finally, in Longhu Mountain, he ran into Liu Guiyuan and was brought to Lai Province by him and joined the Divine Sword Sect... Then he was cleaning the toilets on Tianqiao Peak before he finally gathered in the Meteor Tower today with Huo Bin and the rest... He then returned to his small wooden hut, took off his shoes after washing up and climbed up his bed and sat in lotus position... The frame then froze...

Weakness from the sensation of his mind being sucked empty suddenly overcame him, everything before his eyes turned black...

...

Yan Liqiang opened his eyes and found himself still seated in lotus position on the bed in his small wooden house. Everything in the room was still. Only the vague sounds of the howling wind outside the house could be heard.

He took a glance at the clock placed on the table by the bed and discovered that only about three hours had passed since he climbed onto his bed. The time seemed to be the moment when his sea of consciousness was being sucked into that rock. Then why did he feel as though he had stayed a very long time in that mysterious place, even though time seemed to have been frozen outside?

Yan Liqiang had too many questions in his mind. Yet he wasn’t able to ponder about it at this moment because his mind seemed to have just been emptied out by someone, even his thoughts had grown numb. Exhaustion and drowsiness assaulted him. He immediately fell backward into a slumber...

...

By the time Yan Liqiang woke up again, light from outside had already flooded into his small wooden house through the windows.

This was probably the latest Yan Liqiang had woken up over the past few months. He took a look at the time the clock was showing at the head of his bed and was shocked. He didn’t even have the time to practice his eye technique and clambered out of his bed. With the quickest speed possible, he washed up, dressed up and tidied himself up. He then opened the door and left his room.

This morning happened to be the first day he had to report to Tianqiao Hall. If he had woken up half an hour later, he would have been late.

The snow outside had stopped, but the snow piled up on the ground had grown a few inches thicker since yesterday. The moment the cold wind outside blew against Yan Liqiang’s face, which had been washed with cold water, Yan Liqiang was roused back to reality from his thoughts on the mysterious void last night.

“Ha, Leader, I was about to come over and wake you up with Huipeng. Today is our big day!” Gu Zexuan winked at Yan Liqiang. He and Zhao Huipeng had already arrived at Yan Liqiang’s small courtyard. “Knowing that Leader actually sleeps in from time to time, Huipeng and I can finally let out a breath of relief. That proves you are still a human and there are times you can doze off too!”

Yan Liqiang didn’t explain anything. He just laughed and led both of them up Tianqiao Peak...

Chapter 119: Two Doors

As a new servant on Tianqiao Peak, Yan Liqiang’s assigned duty was storekeeping. He was responsible for managing an ore warehouse.

Compared to cleaning the toilets, this work couldn’t be any easier. The only thing Yan Liqiang had to do was handling the paperwork of every ore coming in and going out of the warehouse.

There were fixed times for the ores to come in and go out of the warehouse on Tianqiao Peak. The ores were delivered there by a specific person and the Senior Martial Brothers on Tianqiao Peak would produce a receipt to retrieve them. The ores went out from the warehouse every morning between seven and nine o’clock and came in between one and three o’clock in the afternoon. Apart from these two intervals, Yan Liqiang basically had nothing much to do for the remaining time. Therefore he had a lot of time to cultivate or do whatever he wished.

This job was definitely a privilege for Yan Liqiang.

Following Yan Liqiang, Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng were promoted as servant followers, thus becoming Yan Liqiang’s assistants and legitly freeing themselves from the chaotic farm work.

On the second day of their promotion on Tianqiao Peak, the three of them moved away from the small mountain basic at the foot of Tianqiao Peak to a courtyard on Tianqiao Peak. With this, their standard of living was instantly significantly upgraded and their meals were no longer salted vegetables and steamed buns or steamed buns and salted vegetables every day. They were finally able to start enjoying the privileges on Tianqiao Peak.

On Tianqiao Peak, Yan Liqiang’s superior was a servant with the surname Huang. On top of Attendant Huang was the manager and on top of the manager was Hall Master Su of Tianqiao Hall.

Apart from being obligated to abide by the various commandments and rules of the Divine Sword Sect on Tianqiao Peak, there was an additional taboo which no one had ever dared to violate– using Hall Master Su’s real name. This was because Hall Master Su’s full name was Su Xiaoai [1]. Hall Master Su would most definitely flip if anyone dared to call him by that name and it was guaranteed that said person would get into trouble, extremely big trouble.

This was a warning Attendant Huang had eagerly given Yan Liqiang upon his arrival at Tianqiao Peak.

Yan Liqiang didn’t expect that Hall Master Su of Tiaoqiao Peak– a bearded, coarse manly man, to have such a girly name either. He had to restrain himself from bursting out in laughter and nodded seriously when he heard Attendant Huang’s warning for the first time.

Attendant Huang was an old man who seemed very amiable and decent. He was one of the seniors among the Divine Sword Sect and had worked for the sect for a few decades. He was still only an external disciple in his sixties. Ten years ago, he had only progressed into a Supreme Martial Warrior by relying on medicinal pills when he was in his fifties. Due to his work abilities and his attentiveness, he was noticed by Hall Master Su and promoted as an attendant on Tianqiao Peak.

One was a young servant age fourteen, the other was an old attendant in his sixties. There was only a level of rank difference between them, yet the disparity in their age was a few folds. One had boundless future prospects ahead of him, the other was already almost at the end of his time. Due to this, Yan Liqiang was even more respectful towards Attendant Huang. He was polite and never dared to overstep his boundary even in the slightest. Ever since arriving at Tianqiao Peak on the first day, Yan Liqiang had truly committed to asking for tasks every morning and then reporting back to his immediate superior at the end of the day. He was never ostentatious and Attendant Huang was extremely satisfied with him.

The heavy snow continued on for three days before it finally stopped. Such weather was extremely rare in Lai Province and the Divine Sword Sect. Even so, it didn’t cause any damage or loss for the Divine Sword Sect. However, quite a number of people did find this phenomenon odd. After the snow stopped, the unsold earth vinegar which Yan Liqiang, Gu Zexuan, and Zhao Huipeng had previously made, gained fame overnight within the sect.

There was no such thing as an impenetrable wall in this world. News about Yan Liqiang being promoted into service spread within the sect after brewing for a few days, suddenly causing quite an uproar among the external disciples of the sect.

Following this news, the earth vinegar that Yan Liqiang produced also spread like wildfire. Through rumors and information, it was said that Yan Liqiang had managed to clean the toilets on Tianqiao Peak extremely well with the earth vinegar he had made, thus drawing the attention of Hall Master Su of Tianqiao Hall, who later promoted him into service on Tianqiao Peak.

With this, the price of the earth vinegar which initially couldn’t even be sold for a measly 20 copper coins suddenly skyrocketed in just two days – to a bottle for 50 copper coins, to a bottle for 100 copper coins... then 500 copper coins for a bottle... causing a shortage of supply to meet the demand. This made Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng grin from ear to ear.

Although meals and daily necessities were inevitable, the earth vinegar at 500 copper coins a bottle was a lot more expensive than most fine wine. Yet, the Divine Sword Sect never lacked wealthy people. As the saying went: ‘martial arts is to be practiced by the educated and the wealthy’. Those who could truly focus on training martial arts were often from clans of a decent background. At the same time, all toilets of various sizes in the sect had a huge demand for the earth vinegar. Putting aside the external disciples who wished to copy Yan Liqiang’s ‘success story’, even high-ranking officers like the Elders and the Sect Master would wish to live in a cleaner environment. Therefore, they didn’t have to worry about the earth vinegar not selling.

At this point in time, Yan Liqiang had completely handed over the entire business of the earth vinegar to Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng. He instructed Gu Zexuan to slowly sell them; just selling a few bottles every day would suffice. They had to try their best to slow down the speed of pushing out the products, so he established a quota for Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng. Regardless of how the both of them planned to sell or how many people wished to buy, they had to slowly sell the batch of earth vinegar they had made together so that the stock could last for three months until the earth vinegar they made with Huo Bin and the rest were ready to be sold.

“The three of us could only make so much earth vinegar. The amount was too little to earn anything. The earth vinegar we made with Huo Bin’s cooperation is the one that will truly earn us money. Over this period of time, the ones we made were merely to create a topic of discussion and draw others attention, so we can control the number of sales when the price is rising. Zexuan, go find Huo Bin tomorrow for a discussion. Have him find a few shillabers to ramp the price up for earth vinegar...”

“Um, what do shillabers and ramping mean?” Gu Zexuan stared at Yan Liqiang in slight embarrassment. Prior to his meeting with Yan Liqiang, he never felt dumb, he could at least be considered a little smart. However, after meeting Yan Liqiang, Gu Zexuan had started to question his own intelligence because he couldn’t understand or even heard of the many terms that Yan Liqiang had mentioned.

Yan Liqiang briefly explained to him about shillabers and ramping prices, then enlightened him about some marketing strategies. When Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng heard about those rotten business marketing tricks people used in later generations, they were dumbstruck. The way they looked at Yan Liqiang was as though he was an alien.

...

After handing over the earth vinegar business to Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng, Yan Liqiang no longer had anything to do with it. Apart from working at fixed hours, Yan Liqiang now mostly spent all his remaining time every day on doing one thing– exploring the secret of the strange rock in his sea of consciousness.

At this point in time, cultivating Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing had pretty much become a way for Yan Liqiang to recover his stamina and mind.

As the saying went: ‘Something that stays in your mind will someday spring up in your life!’

Yan Liqiang kept exploring every day without rest and gradually felt that he had seemed to discover a way to interact with that mysterious rock. At the same time, he also uncovered many secrets the rock held...

‘Interacting with a rock’. No one would believe it if word got out. They’d probably think Yan Liqiang was mad. Yet everything was real.

The key to interacting with that rock was not through any verbal language or written text, but the heart. To put it more precisely, pure consciousness and spirit energy.

Every time Yan Liqiang closed his eyes and concentrated his attention towards that rock in the sea of his consciousness for nearly three hours, his entire consciousness would be sucked into a mysterious and boundless void by that rock.

It was the same mysterious and boundless void Yan Liqiang had seen during his first time.

The first time he went in, Yan Liqiang didn’t even know how to exit. He later discovered that he only needed to shut his eyes when he was in that void and think about his physical body at the same, he’d exit from there in a flash and regain his movement. If he didn’t try to exit on his own accord, then he’d eventually be ‘kicked out’ by the rock when he was extremely exhausted, just like what happened during his first time.

Every time he got forcefully kicked out by the rock, Yan Liqiang would feel as though he had pulled all-nighters over a few consecutive days to work on tender documents in his previous life. His entire body felt extremely fatigued, just like he had just been thoroughly drained. Other than sleeping, he wanted to do nothing else.

After a few tries, Yan Liqiang realized that whenever he passed through that rock and stayed in there, it seemed like some sort of formless spirit energy in his mind would be depleted and that spirit energy was the bridge which facilitated his communication to the rock.

Within the mysterious void, Yan Liqiang tried many times and even used different methods to keep track of time. He then realized that no matter how long he stayed in the mysterious void, the time in the outside world seemed to be completely frozen the moment he entered. Sometimes, when he felt like he had stayed inside there for a few hours when the time he exited he realized that the time outside seemed to have stopped the moment he entered the mysterious void.

Yan Liqiang was clueless on this situation either. With his not-so-profound scholarly knowledge and self-cultivation, this situation only reminded him of a line he had read from a book in the past–’To a line, a dot would always be stationary; to a surface, a line would also always be stationary. To a living being, a surface would also equally be stationary.’ In our living world, as long as you didn’t move a rock or a table, they would forever stay stationary. From this, we know that if one watched everything in the lower dimension from a higher dimension, everything in the lower dimension would forever be stationary.

Yan Liqiang simply couldn’t figure out just what sort of place was that mysterious space within the rock, but at the same time, he didn’t care either. The only thing which bothered him the most was whenever he entered that mysterious place, he would always be able to watch the scenes from his past on those two magical light screens which would appear inside.

One of the light screens would always play everything he had experienced when he was in Pingxi Prefecture and freeze after the scene where he was murdered.

The other light screen would be playing everything he had experienced in his current body up to this point. The contents of the light screen would always increase every time he came. The additional content were things he experienced between the last time and up to the point when he entered this place again.

Everything playing on those two light screens was like separate documentary films– one of them had already finished recording while the other one was still in progress.

Could it be that apart from being able to let him reincarnate, the rock in his sea of consciousness was also a self-recording video gallery and QQ photo album created by some sort of unimaginable existence? – this thought flashed across Yan Liqiang’s mind. But after seriously thinking about it, he realized just how ridiculous and hilarious his line of thinking was. Such creativity and invention probably only existed in silly films like ‘From Beijing with Love’ starring Stephen Chow; impossible in reality.

Therefore, he believed that those two light screens were definitely not just boring films. They must have some other reason for appearing that he had yet to realize.

With this question in mind, Yan Liqiang spent more than a month repetitively entering and exiting that mysterious space, studying the ‘documentary films’ playing in those two light screens over and over again.

The more he watched those two documentary films, the more he realized those light screens, which were playing different documentaries in them, were like two doors. It seemed as though he only had to push against it gently and his entire body would be able to fly into it...

Every time he entered the mysterious space, it seemed to be waiting for him to fly into one of the light screens. This seemed to be an extremely important choice he had to make.

Yan Liqiang had no idea what was behind those light screens and didn’t know what would happen if he chose any one of them. That was because the more he observed, the more he felt the foggy void behind those light screens was filled with the unknown and uncertainty. He kept observing, lingering around, hesitating and pondering for nearly two months.

Over these two months, Yan Liqiang would always be overwhelmed by grief and agony every time he saw the scene in the first light screen where Yan Dechang died.

If one wished to know the taste of pears, then he’d have to personally try a taste of it...

Finally, one night after two months, Yan Liqiang clenched his jaw, stamped his foot and barged headfirst through the first light screen...

Chapter 120: Returning To The Past

“Little Brother, can I exchange seats with you...?”

When Yan Liqiang opened his eyes, he found himself sitting on a ship. A woman who held a swaddled infant in her arms turned around in her seat in front and looked at Yan Liqiang with a pleading gaze. It seemed like this woman was the one who had given him two pats on his shoulder just now, rousing Yan Liqiang from his dreams.

The passenger ship was traveling along the river, shrouded by the mist because it was raining. Raindrops were pounding against the canopy of the ship, and the pitter and patter of the rain sounded like beans being stir-fried. The woman was sitting in front of Yan Liqiang, next to the window. However, the window’s bolt was already damaged so the window could only be half-shut. Since it was pouring outside, the wind and drizzle on the river’s surface got tangled up with the wave of cold air that flew in through the small crack of the window, hitting the face of the swaddled infant.

This ship, this scene, this woman... Was he dreaming?

Yan Liqiang zoned out for a moment there.

“WAAA... WAA.... WAA...!!” The swaddled infant in the woman’s arms started crying loudly. The woman hurriedly rocked the infant to coax him, and then gave Yan Liqiang a difficult look. “Look, Little Brother, the wind is coming through here and my young child here...”

“No worries at all, let’s exchange seats, Big Sister.” Yan Liqiang agreed. When he stood up, he secretly pinched himself hard on his thigh. The pain was piercing and very real.

“Thank you, thank you very much!” The woman in front gratefully stood up with her child in her arms and exchanged seats with Yan Liqiang who was holding his luggage.

The cold wind and drizzle flew onto Yan Liqiang’s face through the window. This sensation was unforgettable in Yan Liqiang’s entire life. His face suddenly flushed red as he clenched his fists tightly and turned around. “Big Sister, I was sleeping just now and got a little muddle-headed. What day is it today?”

“Today is 27th of the eighth lunar month in the 12th year of the Yuanping reign!” An answer immediately came out from the woman’s mouth.

That was right, today was...

Yan Liqiang’s head was buzzing as he secretly swallowed hard. He slung his leather sack on top of his legs and placed it against the window, instantly reducing the amount of wind and drizzle blowing in from the window. However, his emotional state was in a spectacular mess.

What is going on? Just what is going on?

Yan Liqiang calmed down and tried to jog his memory– he clenched his jaw, stamped his foot, and barged through the first light screen headfirst. The inside of the light screen was like an endless tunnel. Rivers of stars were flowing on either side of the tunnel. Countless smaller light screens appeared before him like meteors, spinning around him. In those smaller light screens were still pictures from the fragments of his previous life.

He realized that one of the light screens which flew before him was showing the parting moment between him and his father before he went off to Hu Provincial City for the first time by ship. Without any second thoughts, he barged head first into that light screen. Before he could even react, he felt as though he was falling rapidly from the highest point of a rollercoaster ride...

...

Little did he expect to be woken up by someone soon after that as he really was on that ship!

Had he returned to the past? Had he returned to Gan Province before the tragedy had struck?

Although this answer seemed outrageous, when he looked at the group of people riding on the same ship and the river outside, the reality before his eyes was silently telling Yan Liqiang that this was the true answer. He had indeed returned to the past...

If everything before his eyes was real, then what about just now? What about his other self in the Divine Sword Sect? What happened to him?

Yan Liqiang’s mind was all jumbled up. He shut his eyes and focused his attention on his sea of consciousness. After a long while, he realized that it was pitch-black in his sea of consciousness; he couldn’t feel anything at all.

Yan Liqiang thought for a moment and understood the reason why. Although his consciousness and soul had traveled to the past, this body was no different than it was before. It was still the very same body that had yet to progress into Martial Warrior status. Hence, he still couldn’t sense that mysterious rock in his sea of consciousness. Based on his past experience, he could only sense that mysterious object in his sea of consciousness after his death or after he progressed as a Martial Warrior.

In the past, Yan Liqiang wouldn’t be able to predict how long it would take before he could progress into a Martial Warrior as everything was unknown to him. However, at this point in time, he was aware that reaching the Martial Warrior realm was completely within his reach. As long as he diligently cultivated Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing, it would take him at most half a year to consecutively pass through the two stages and easily advance as a Martial Warrior.

Yan Dechang’s face flashed across Yan Liqiang’s mind. Emotions suddenly welled up in his heart and tears silently fell from his closed eyes. He clenched his fists tightly as he secretly swore in his heart. This time, he wouldn’t allow the tragedy to repeat itself again no matter what...

...

Yan Liqiang’s thoughts and emotions surged while he was on the passenger ship. He only regained his composure when the passenger ship reached Xi River Wharf in the evening.

“Everyone, get off the boat, get off the boat. Check if you have all your belongings and luggage with you. Don’t leave them onboard...” In response to the shout of the boatmen outside, Yan Liqiang followed the other passengers off the boat. The husband of the woman whom he had given up his seat to was waiting for her at the dock. Everything still seemed to be the same.

Upon the woman and her husband’s courteous insistence, Yan Liqiang accepted the warm oil-paper umbrella and then watched the family of three vanish from his sight.

Holding the oil-paper umbrella, Yan Liqiang took a deep breath and gazed at Pingxi City’s northern gate tower which towered like a gigantic beast in the midst of the hazy rain at more than 1,000 meters away. A few thoughts rapidly flashed across his mind before he quickly made his way toward Pingxi City’s northern gate tower.

By the time he reached Pingxi City’s northern gate tower, the rain had subsided significantly. Yan Liqiang saw a naked child of eight or nine years old who didn’t fear the drizzle, fishing by the river outside the city with a small fishing rod. Yan Liqiang fished out a handful of copper coins from his chest and approached him.

“Little Brother, do you want to earn some money?” Yan Liqiang asked and weighed the copper coins in his hand noisily.

The little boy’s gaze instantly fell on the copper coins in Yan Liqiang’s hand and swallowed a mouthful of saliva. However, he was still quite wary of him. “What do you want me to do? Let me get this straight first, I’m not doing anything bad!”

“It’s nothing bad. I have a friend who will be coming over in a while. I need your help in relaying a message to him!”

“That easy?”

“Yes, it’s just that easy. Just wait for my signal later...”

Taking another look at the few copper coins crashing against each other noisily in Yan Liqiang’s hand, the little boy immediately gave him a nod.

...

Seven or eight minutes later, a Chinese youth in his twenties emerged from the small road on the left of the city gate. Yan Liqiang spotted him when he was about a hundred meters away from the city entrance. At the appearance of this Chinese youth, Yan Liqiang immediately signaled the little boy with his eyes, whom instantly dashed towards that Chinese youth.

“Excuse me, are you Lin Hua?”

That youth was taken aback for a moment. “I am. How can I help you?”

“A friend of yours asked you to wait for him for at Three-Arch Bridge, he has something he wishes to pass to you...” The little boy pointed towards a small bridge about two hundred meters away and told the youth in a serious manner.

“Who is it that asked me to wait for him there?”

“I’m not too sure, he only told me he’s a friend of yours and that you will instantly recognize him the moment you see him. He said he had a big surprise for you!”

“Alright then, thanks!”

In just the blink of an eye, the little boy vanished from his sight like a wisp of smoke.

The youth by the name of Lin Hua glanced at the Three-Arch Bridge nearby and pondered for a moment before he turned around and made his way to the bridge. That place wasn’t that far anyway, and curiosity filled his heart. A few of his friends’ names popped into his mind. He wondered who was the one who wanted to give him a big surprise at Three-Arch Bridge Bridge.

Right after Lin Hua made his way towards the Three-Arch Bridge, a caravan of Shatu people, made up of a few dozen camels and rhinodrake steeds, appeared. Under the complicated gazes of everyone gathered at the city entrance, the caravan of Shatu people charged through the city gate haughtily and entered the city...

Although that youth by the name of Lin Hua was a few hundred meters away on the bridge, he saw the caravan of Shatu people too and angrily spat at them.

“Ptooey...!”

With that, the caravan of Shatu people entered the city without any incidents or conflicts.

Yan Liqiang stood beneath a willow tree by the river near the city entrance. He slightly squinted his eyes and watched those Shatu people enter the city with a cold gaze that did not have a single trace of warmth in it.

After those Shatu people entered the city, Yan Liqiang didn’t go in. He instead turned the other way and moved west from Pingxi City...

Chapter 121: A New Beginning

Yan Liqiang didn’t enter Pingxi City. He kept walking until he reached a place called Wuyang Village, which was west of Pingxi City.

The village was located halfway on the hill, with a population of about only three hundred clans. Below the village was a public road which connected the other two counties in the western Pingxi Prefecture. This public road could lead to White Stone Pass as its furthest location, which was the town of military importance out of the entire Gan Province. Beyond White Stone Pass was Mount Qiyun. All of Mount Qiyun was located at the border between the Great Han Empire and the Black Ram Tribe’s control. The Shatu Seven Tribes had settled down in the long and narrow area east of Mount Qiyun.

Since there were no big cities on the other side of this public road, there were significantly lesser caravans and pedestrians traveling on the path. Therefore, the villages and towns to the west of Pingxi City were obviously less flourished compared to the villages and towns in the east and the south. According to legend, this village only had a total of five rams when it was at its poorest state, and it was thus named Wuyang Village [1].

Wuyang Village was not just poorer than other places; the feng shui of this village was also less than desirable in many people’s eyes. It was simply too inauspicious since the biggest mass grave of Pingxi City was right on the other side of the hill of where Wuyang Village was located.

Unclaimed corpses which had died from various reasons in and around Pingxi City were usually all dragged to that mass grave where they were carelessly disposed of and buried. Sometimes, they’d even be thrown into the valley of the mass grave.

Who in the world would want to settle down next to this mass grave? Hence, people who were slightly more capable or those who had managed to earn some money all moved away. Due to this, there were many abandoned houses in Wuyang Village.

Apart from Yan Liqiang, no one knew the reason why Yan Liqiang had chosen to come here.

By the time he arrived at Wuyang Village, the sky was already completely dark.

There were two inns and restaurants in Wuyang Village, near the public road. Yan Liqiang got a room in one of the inns and stayed there.

After settling down, he had a casual meal at the inn and called the waiter over.

“How may I help you, Sir?”

“Are there any empty houses nearby?”

“Of course, both for rent and for sale!”

“Well then, find me a broker and have him guide me around Wuyang Village tomorrow afternoon!” Yan Liqiang told the waiter this and handed him twenty-seven or twenty-eight copper coins.

The waiter beamed joyfully and stuffed the copper coins in his chest. “No problem. Why are you interested in renting or buying a house in Wuyang Village, Sir? This place isn’t all that great!”

“It’s peaceful here and the cost of living is low!” Yan Liqiang then had a serious look on his face. “To be honest, I’m going to report to the martial arts academy tomorrow in Pingxi City and I will probably spend a very long time there. The cost of living including the daily necessities are so much more expensive in the city compared to outside, so I might as well find a suitable place outside of town. That will save me a lot of money in the long run!”

“Ah, pardon my disrespectfulness, Sir. I didn’t expect you to be a student at the prefecture’s martial arts academy despite your young age!” The waiter praised Yan Liqiang, but he didn’t seem to be that surprised. In rural areas of different counties within Pingxi Prefecture, it was indeed not easy to find a student from the martial arts academy. However, in Pingxi Prefecture, it was very normal to bump into a few students from the martial arts academy. “To be honest, you are right to choose Wuyang Village if you are looking for cheap accommodation, Sir! Students from the martial arts academy have rented here in the past because it’s cheaper to live here. Apart from the longer journey which requires some stamina to travel to the martial arts academy, everything is great here. You can practice martial arts in your own courtyard or on the mountain. No one will ever bother you!”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m thinking!”

...

After the waiter left, Yan Liqiang practiced four rounds of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing in his room at the inn before he slept.

Yan Liqiang’s endless thoughts hit him like the tides tonight, causing him to toss and turn restlessly on his bed. After finally falling asleep with much difficulty, Yan Liqiang’s sleep was intruded by his dreams. He had a bizarre dream in which countless messages came pouring into his mind like visions.

He dreamed that the rock in his mind was called the Heavenly Stone and the space he entered was called the Heavenly Realm. Inside the Heavenly Realm, there were countless parallel worlds and universes alongside reality. When he returned to the current present time, an opening was left for him in the Heavenly Realm. Beyond that opening was the world that he had experienced in the Divine Sword Sect...

...

Yan Liqiang woke up the next day before daybreak. He laid on the bed and spent a long time recalling those bizarre dreams he had last night. He wasn’t sure if those dreams were real or if they were just figments of his imagination born from the subconsciousness of his mind.

After thinking for half a day, Yan Liqiang realized that he was going nowhere so he started to practice his eye technique. After he was done with that, he thought for a moment before he practiced another round of the ear technique. He only got up and washed up after doing both of those things, and then he practiced three consecutive rounds of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing. After ensuring that both his body and mind were at their peak, only then did he leave the inn which was at the border of Wuyang Village. He bought two steamed buns at the roadside and made his way towards the western city gate of Pingxi City while eating the buns.

Yan Liqiang entered Pingxi City after paying a toll of two copper coins, then continued walking until he reached the martial arts academy located on Mount Thousand Pine in Pingxi City.

The students who were supposed to report in today had already formed a line in front of the martial arts academy entrance. Yan Liqiang automatically lined up at the end of the line.

Since Yan Liqiang arrived a lot earlier than the ‘last time’ Shi Changfeng had sent him here to report in, the students in queue were naturally different than those he met last time. However, the procedure was still the same – along with the receptionists from the martial arts academy.

Yan Liqiang reported his name, had his identity and fingerprints verified, and he finally received a student identity pass, thus completing his sign-in.

When he turned around and was about to leave, someone suddenly came into his sight– Qi Donglai!

Qi Donglai had also come to sign-in, but he didn’t expect to run into Yan Liqiang here.

After the expression on his face stiffened slightly, Qi Donglai turned his face to the other side and averted his gaze from Yan Liqiang.

Both of them didn’t speak and they brushed past each other as though they never knew each other in the first place...

Yan Liqiang calmly took a deep breath to ease the raging, murderous intent in his heart because he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to restrain himself from slaughtering that despicable bastard, Qi Donglai.

The first time Qi Donglai betrayed Yan Liqiang was for the Hong Clan. His betrayal made Yan Liqiang severe all ties with him. By doing that, he thought it would serve as a warning to Qi Donglai and he would take it as a lesson to be learned. Yet he didn’t expect Qi Donglai to once again become an accomplice to the young lord of the Wang Clan in Huanglong County, Wang Haofei, after they arrived at Pingxi Prefecture’s Martial Arts Academy.

If it wasn’t for Qi Donglai who gave Wang Haofei the information, his father wouldn’t have fallen into Ye Xiao’s clutches when he came to visit him that time. Then, maybe he wouldn’t have been so impulsive and many things that happened later could have been avoided...

Therefore, Qi Donglai was the most wretched person who deserved to die the most.

Unfortunately, although he murdered Wang Haofei and Ye Xiao last time, Qi Donglai still managed to slip away in the end. After his mishap, Qi Donglai instantly vanished from Pingxi City and he never returned to the martial arts academy or his home. Even his parents had no ideas of his whereabouts...

...

After reporting in at the martial arts academy, Yan Liqiang bought some daily necessities in Pingxi City and hired a horse carriage to transport all his stuff back to Wuyang Village. If he wished to live in Wuyang Village, then he’d have to prepare all these things for himself.

The waiter already found a broker for Yan Liqiang. Under the broker’s lead, Yan Liqiang took a tour of Wuyang Village and looked at all the empty houses that were available in Wuyang Village before he finally selected one to rent out.

The house he chose came with a courtyard, occupying about one mu of land. It was at a location in Wuyang Village that was nearest to the mountain and at the highest position. The family who previously lived here had moved to Pingxi City, thus abandoning this old courtyard. It had been a very long time since anyone had lived here.

After haggling with the broker, Yan Liqiang rented this courtyard with the annual payment of a tael and four maces of silver which included the broker’s commission. The broker assisted Yan Liqiang with settling all the paperwork in the afternoon of the same day. He then tidied up the courtyard and moved in everything he had purchased from the city.

Chapter 122: Racing Against Time

On the 28th of the eighth lunar month in the 12th year of the Yuanping reign, Yan Liqiang, who was staying in Wuyang Village, woke up very early and started preparing for the busy day ahead of him.

Last time, he spent the day with Shi Dafeng. Both of them made plans to walk around Pingxi City for nearly the entire day. Since Yan Liqiang deliberately reported in at a different time than Shi Dafeng this time, both of them never met yesterday and they naturally didn’t end up as neighbors to each other. Shi Dafeng probably still lived near Three Yuan Street while Yan Liqiang lived in Wuyang Village which was outside the city. Therefore, today was completely free for Yan Liqiang. No one would come to disturb him. He had the entire day to himself today.

The first thing Yan Liqiang did when he woke up was practice his morning regime.

The so-called morning regime was the cultivation content that Yan Liqiang had set for himself from now on every time he woke up in the morning. For now, it included practicing one round of the eye technique, one round of the ear technique, and three rounds of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing. He was to strictly adhere to this plan.

For the sake of progressing into a Martial Warrior in the shortest amount of time possible to possess powerful strength, Yan Liqiang had to speed up his Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing cultivation.

Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing cultivation didn’t have any requirements on the place and time; just a room of about two square meters would suffice. Yan Liqiang had already gotten used to discreetly practicing this secret technique in a dark room or his own room. Before every practice, he would first settle down in the room, shut his eyes, and take some time to carefully sense if anyone was spying on him through his spiritual perception. He would only begin practicing Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing after ensuring that was no one around.

Yan Liqiang’s past experience proved to him that his prudence was not superfluous; it was extremely essential. For an unknown youth who was never an apprentice to a master and had no expert guidance, he first saved a drowning person’s life in Huanglong County through a method unknown to anyone. He claimed that the saving method was imparted from a God in his dreams, and then he snatched the first position among top three in Qinghe County’s Martial Arts County Trial; such tale might not mean anything much in some people’s eyes. Even if they were a little suspicious, they couldn’t really do anything about it. However, such tale might spell trouble if it traveled to someone else’s ears.

There was another very important reason behind Wang Haofei from the Wang Clan of Huanglong County and Ye Xiao scheming against Yan Liqiang that time aside from Lu Beixin of the Lu Clan. The strength Yan Liqiang exhibited, which far exceeded his peers, had made both of them suspect if Yan Liqiang was cultivating some sort of secret manual. Hence, they attempted to unscrupulously get their hands on the said item from Yan Liqiang’s possession.

Judging from the current point of time, Wang Haofei definitely wasn’t aware of the relationship between Yan Liqiang and Lu Beixin yet.

The official opening of Pingxi Prefecture Martial Arts Academy was on the first day of the ninth lunar month, which was a few days from now. Lu Beixin had already been grounded by Old Master Lu back at home and was unable to contact Wang Haofei, so Wang Haofei still thought nothing was out of the ordinary. Even if he had heard of Yan Liqiang’s name in Huanglong County, he wouldn’t relate him to Lu Beixin in any way. Therefore, at this point in time, Yan Liqiang was nothing but a stranger to Wang Haofei, whom he had occasionally heard of.

Since Wang Haofei found trouble with him last time, Yan Liqiang would at least have to wait until the end of the tenth lunar month. Wang Haofei had only started to notice Yan Liqiang about a month after his arrival at the martial arts academy and after he received the information Lu Beixin that had secretly sent to him on Old Master Lu’s plan in pairing her up with Yan Liqiang. That was when he started assigning Qi Donglai as his lackey who would periodically report to him, which in turn led to a series of incidents afterwards.

Yan Liqiang carefully made a few conjectures. Had he not discovered the shady business between the Shatu people and Ye Clan that night, and had he not barged into the basement to rescue the girls, could his father and his tragic end be avoided?

All his conjectures pointed to the same final answer – No!

That was because the most important source of conflict between him and Ye Xiao was not the fact that he had discovered the shady business he had been doing in the basement; it was the fact that he wanted to get his hands on Lu Beixin so that he could use her as a cauldron in the Yin Yang and joyous secret technique he had been cultivating to establish his foundation. Therefore, Yan Liqiang was an obstacle to the Prefectural Governor’s young lord in his quest to obtain Lu Beixin. Not only that, this obstacle of all people might have some sort of attractive and drool-worthy divine secret manual in his possession. Regardless of Lu Beixin or the possible existence of secret manual or the secret technique Yan Liqiang had with him, there was no way that Prefectural Governor’s young lord would let him slip by. Yan Liqiang might be able to delay the explosion, but it would still eventually explode. Ye Xiao would still be able to use his position along with his authority and capabilities to easily crush an insignificant character like himself without much background and ruin his family.

Wang Haofei was definitely a key figure between Yan Liqiang and Ye Xiao.

If it wasn’t for his dirty deed in supplying the information, it would be impossible for Ye Xiao to catch wind of him and Lu Beixin in such a short period time and he wouldn’t have put his attention on such an insignificant new student in the martial art academy like Yan Liqiang.

According to the original timeline, Yan Liqiang’s peaceful life in the martial arts academy would be shattered in two months. As a new student who had joined the prefecture’s martial arts academy with his status as the best among top three of Qinghe County, he might have seemed glorious on the outside with great future ahead of him. Yet, an imminent crisis was already brewing beneath the surface. In just a few weeks time, his clan could be ruined in the blink of an eye.

Yan Liqiang was currently racing against time, wishing to defer or even defy the crisis that would strike him in two months and the first step in achieving this was to eliminate Wang Haofei.

Qi Donglai was the easiest target to kill. However, he was merely a lackey. Killing Qi Donglai wouldn’t do any good for now as it would inadvertently alert the enemy instead. Since the conflict between him and Qi Donglai was publicly known, if Qi Donglai were suddenly murdered without rhyme and reason, Yan Liqiang would be the primary suspect.

Ye Xiao, Mo Leng, and that goddamned officer, Ye Tiancheng, deserved to be murdered the most, yet they were also the hardest targets to kill. Mo Leng was extremely powerful. On the other hand, the depth of Ye Tiancheng’s strength was obscure and unknown. Yan Liqiang would have to plan and prepare well to just kill Ye Xiao alone, as he was always surrounded by a bunch of guards. Even Mo Leng was always by Ye Xiao’s side. It was definitely not easy to find an opportunity to murder Ye Xiao.

Therefore, killing Wang Haofei was the most pressing matter on hand and a choice which had the highest possibility of success. If he could kill Wang Haofei, then he would be nothing but an insignificant stranger to Ye Xiao and the others behind him for a very long period of time. With this amount of time in his hands, he would be able to progress into a Martial Warrior, thus changing everything.

However, it wouldn’t be so easy to kill Wang Haofei. Putting aside his strength which was almost on par with Yan Liqiang, as the outstanding youth among the younger generation of the Wang Clan in Huanglong County, Wang Haofei was also always in the company of two guards. Under such circumstances, it wouldn’t be possible for Yan Liqiang to kill him if he openly rushed up to him with his weapon. Hence, he had no choice but to come up with an alternative method.

If he had the Horned Python Bow in his hands, murdering Wang Haofei who wasn’t even a Martial Warrior wouldn’t be too much of an issue. However, Wang Haofei was always in Pingxi City and the Horned Python Bow was too big. Bringing the bow out would be akin to carrying a flag – too eye-catching and impossible to conceal even if he wanted to. There was no way he could hide his activities in Pingxi City this way. Therefore, he still had to think about another method to use to kill Wang Haofei.

Coming up with an alternative method might be very difficult to others, yet for Yan Liqiang, it was not a challenge. If the Horned Python Bow was too eye-catching, then all he had to do was to replace it with another less eye-catching object.

After completing his morning regime, Yan Liqiang went out and descended the mountain. At a small noodle stall in Wuyang Village, near the public road at the foot of the mountain, Yan Liqiang ate a bowl of noodles and then bought six steamed buns. He brought the buns which were wrapped with paper and returned to the small courtyard he was staying at.

On his way out and back, Yan Liqiang met quite a number of villagers living in Wuyang Village. These villagers had already started their busy days. Most of them were headed off to the fields on either side of the hill with their farming tools. Some elderly men pulled their cows and shepherded their goats to graze at the plains. The small roads in the village were extremely narrow. At most places, if someone was pulling their cow or donkey along, the other person would have to give way by leaning to the side of the road.

The roads in the village were dirt roads paved with a lot of stones. They were bumpy with a lot of weeds and trees along the sides. Some families also plowed small patches of vegetable fields on the empty lands in front and behind their houses. Balls of goat manure and turds of cow dung could be seen everywhere along the roads. There were also a few stray dogs running along the roads. This place was filled with rustic charm.

When the villagers saw an outsider like Yan Liqiang on the road, some of them took an extra glance at him with curiosity. However, these people already knew his identity. After all, Wuyang Village wasn’t that huge. News about properties being rented or sold in the village traveled very fast among the villagers.

“Did you see that? That’s the new student from the martial arts academy who just moved into the village...” Yan Liqiang could hear quite a number of tongues wagging behind his back along his journey.

When Yan Liqiang returned to his courtyard, he put away the steamed buns which would be his lunch and dinner. He took out the pile of items he had bought while he was buying his daily necessities yesterday and started working on his murder weapon.

Yan Liqiang set a goal for himself– he’d send Wang Haofei to hell before the end of the ninth lunar month...

Chapter 123: Various Preparations

The supplies that Yan Liqiang purchased the day before included things like mattresses, cutlery, three chicken feather brushes, twenty odd large sewing needles, a box of gum, a roll of paper, and a pair of scissors.

Nobody would ever think that these things could be made into weapons capable of taking human lives. But when Yan Liqiang returned to his small courtyard, he carried the pile of supplies he bought yesterday into a room on the first floor and began crafting his murder weapons with the items.

The handles of the three chicken feather brushes were made of golden bamboo. They were not thick; instead, were tough and long. Golden bamboo could only typically grow to as thick as a human’s thumb, with each of its nodes as long as sixty centimeters. The nodes of the golden bamboo were protected by a very thick and extremely tough layer of skin. Therefore, they were very hard to snap. The surface and the interior of the bamboo were smooth, making it the most ideal type of material for fishing rods or chicken feather brushes.

Yan Liqiang selected one of the chicken feather brushes first, then cut off both ends of the handle with a knife. With that, he immediately obtained a long, forty-centimeter hollow tube in his hands.

After shaving both ends of the bamboo tube and making sure that they were flat, Yan Liqiang blew air into the bamboo and studied the interior to make sure that it was indeed hollow. The inner wall of the bamboo tube was smooth, devoid of any foreign objects. In just less than three minutes, Yan Liqiang had completed the first component.

He then picked up a pair of scissors and cut a small piece of paper. He then rolled it into a cone-like shape and inserted a thick sewing needle at the cone’s tip with the point of the needle facing outwards. He then affixed the sewing needles to the conical-shaped paper roll and reinforced them by using gum and threads. With that, the second tool he needed was complete.

It took longer than the first one, but the second tool took less than five minutes to complete. Maybe it was troublesome to make, but the object that Yan Liqiang crafted looked like the pitot and radar attached to the front of a modern-day fighter jet. The part made of paper was the radar dome while the sewing needle was its pitot.

When all preparations were complete, Yan Liqiang headed out to test the firepower of his tools.

The courtyard was very spacious, and there was a pomegranate tree in the courtyard full of fruit. The fruits were next to worthless in the wild, and these pomegranates were one of the benefits that came with the house Yan Liqiang had rented – they were free of charge.

Yan Liqiang inserted the needle into the bamboo tube and stood fifteen meters away from the pomegranate tree. He raised the bamboo tube to his mouth, aimed it at the trunk of the pomegranate tree, and blew into the tube with force, sending the needle flying to the trunk of the tree. The needle, however, did not bury itself into the trunk and instead fell to the ground...

...

That was right, the object that Yan Liqiang made was a blowpipe. It was the simplest and most ancient hidden weapon that was the easiest to create and master. The weapon itself possessed unprecedented firepower as well.

In his previous life on Earth, no one even knew how long the history of the blowpipe was. A tiny projectile fired from a hollow tube could deal an unbelievable amount of damage to its victim. From the native tribes in the Amazonian rainforests to the special forces of multiple countries as well as assassins and hired killers, the blowpipe was a weapon that would never let its user down. It was a weapon that was very, very easy to craft, master, and operate.

Yan Liqiang witnessed with his own eyes what a new colleague at his company did to an aluminum can in the office with a pencil lead and a piece of A4 paper rolled into a tube reinforced with cellophane tape. A simple blow from fifteen meters away was enough for the pencil lead to pierce through the aluminum can.

Yan Liqiang was deeply impressed by the firepower of the blowpipe ever since. According to his colleague, his brother, who was a ranger, was able to subdue beasts such as lions, tigers and even elephants and rhinoceros by using a handmade blowpipe with projectiles laced with anesthetics. If the pencil lead were replaced with a sharper projectile fashioned from the spoke of a bicycle wheel and a longer pipe, the weapon would have no problem punching through a two-centimeter wooden plank or even shattering a beer bottle from twenty meters away.

Just the blow dart alone wouldn’t be able to inflict a wound deep enough to kill anyone. However, if the blow dart was laced with the poison of antiaris toxicaria, then killing someone with this weapon would be as easy as turning a hand. It would be impossible to effectively defend against it since the speed of the released projectile was not only high; it was also silent.

Using hidden weapons like throwing knives and spears would require at least three to five years time to make some progress. On the other hand, it would only take about three to five days to master the blowpipe technique.

...

Yan Liqiang wasn’t too satisfied with the first blowpipe. He thought the blow dart was a little shaky after it flew out for more than ten meters. He picked up the blow dart, made another one with some adjustments to the ratio of the exposed needle tip and the conical-shaped paper roll behind it, then tested it out again. After that, he picked it up again, made another blow dart and tested it again...

If the size of the fletching was too small, then he’d make it bigger. If it was too big, he’d cut it smaller... If the length of the exposed needle tip was too short, he’d make it longer for the next blow dart. If it was too long, he’d push it back in a little again... If it was a little too light, he’d coil some of the flaxen thread he bought at the end of the sewing needle to increase the overall weight... If it still didn’t seem right, then he’d keep shifting the position of the bobweight on the blow dart.

Yan Liqiang kept trying to determine the most ideal parameters for the blow dart as though he were conducting a scientific experiment in a laboratory. When it was nearly afternoon after he was busy working for the entire morning, he finally found the best parameters for the blow dart after repeating the experiment a few hundred times.

...

In the evening, when the sun was about to set, Yan Liqiang stood twenty meters away from that pomegranate tree in the courtyard. He loaded the blowpipe with the newly-crafted blow dart and took a deep breath. The pressure inside his expanded lungs instantly transformed into kinetic energy that then pushed the blow dart out of the blowpipe.

The blow dart which flew out of the blowpipe was akin to the launch of a mini rocket. At the same time, it also seemed like a bolt of lightning which was so small that it could easily go undetected. Even Yan Liqiang’s eye which had been staring at it wasn’t able to catch its trajectory in midair. The moment he blew into it, that blow dart almost immediately stuck itself to the tree trunk like a little black flower.

For the sake of achieving the most accurate and realistic result, Yan Liqiang had already dyed those yellow paper rolls into black for use.

He walked to the pomegranate tree and discovered that the tip of the blow dart had sunk more than two centimeters into the tree trunk. Like a nail which had been hammered into the tree, it had very securely pinned itself on it. He had to exert a little extra force on his fingers to pull it out.

After being occupied for nearly the entire day, Yan Liqiang’s face finally broke into a smile...

With such firepower, this would be enough to pierce through a few layers of clothes and make the target bleed as long as they were not wearing any armor.

Yan Liqiang crafted another ten blow darts which conformed to standard in one go for practice.

At night, Yan Liqiang continued practicing under the illumination of the moon and the stars. The accuracy of his blow dart was also rapidly improving.

After he had practiced enough, Yan Liqiang performed a round of his night regime – he cultivated three rounds of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing before he called it a day.

...

The next day, on the 29th of the eighth lunar month, Yan Liqiang changed into a set of old clothes which he rarely wore after completing his morning regime. He deliberately covered his face with a bit of dirt, put on a hat, and found a useless and worn out burlap sack from the storage room of his rented house before he went out and left Wuyang Village.

He walked along the public road outside Wuyang Village for more than ten kilometers before he finally arrived at the biggest bazaar in the northern parts of Pingxi City.

The bazaar in the northern parts of Pingxi City mostly sold things like fur, leather, mountain products, and medicinal herbs. The sellers here were mostly hunters, herb gatherers, and peddlers that specialized in selling mountain products while the customers who usually came here were the staff or shop owners of medicinal stores and restaurants in Pingxi City. Many Pingxi City citizens also came to shop here for the things they would rarely buy on ordinary days because the mountain products were cheaper here.

As soon as the sun rose, the entire bazaar started to grow lively and bustled with activities.

Yan Liqiang walked around the bazaar and scanned the mountain products which were on sale there.

Among those mountain product peddlers, quite a number of them were selling snakes which had either been captured by the hunters or the herb gatherers from the mountains nearby. Quite a number of people in Pingxi City enjoyed the taste of snake meat, so some restaurants would serve various kinds of snake soups and snake dishes. Some medicinal stores also purchased snake guts and various snakes alive. Since such demands existed, there were also people who were willing to capture snakes for a cheap price.

There were more than ten species of snakes on sale. All of them were contained in a bamboo cage. Some were venomous, some weren’t venomous, and some were slightly venomous while some were highly venomous.

After touring for one round around the bazaar, he discovered that there wasn’t only one merchant selling the species of snake he needed, and it wasn’t rare for people to sell that kind of snake. So he finally walked to a stall which seemed to be doing well.

“Shopkeeper, how much for this black-ringed viper?” Yan Liqiang spoke to the seller with local Pingxi City accent.

The seller glanced at Yan Liqiang and replied, “The price of this snake is one mace and four candareens of silver. Little Brother, what do you plan to do with this snake? Are you going to eat it?”

“No, no, I can’t possibly afford to eat it. The medical prescription a physician gave me requires this black-ringed viper to treat my father’s eye condition...” Yan Liqiang gave the seller a troubled look. “A mace and four candareens of silver is too expensive, can you give me a little discount?”

When the seller heard Yan Liqiang’s explanation, he stopped questioning him. “Since Little Brother is so filial, I will reduce it to a mace and three candareens. ”

“That’s still too expensive, can you give it to me for a mace of silver?”

“A mace of silver? I’m going to make a loss...”

After bargaining with the seller, Yan Liqiang bought the black-ringed viper at the price of a mace and two candareens of silver. He picked up the bamboo cage which contained this snake and left the bazaar. When he was outside, he covered the bamboo cage with the burlap sack he brought with him and then took a big detour. After ensuring that no one was following him, he went to a river, washed his face, tidied himself up, and returned to Wuyang Village with the snake.

Chapter 124: What Was Happening?

The black-ringed viper was an unusual venomous snake. The first time Yan Liqiang witnessed the might of this kind of snake venom was during one of the lessons at the martial arts academy last time. That day, the lecturing academy tutor specially brought a horse there for the experiment and obtained a sample of the venom from the fangs of a live, black-ringed viper. He then dipped the tip of a needle into the venom and pricked the horse with it.

The moment the horse was pricked by the needle, its body instantly stiffened along with its limbs before it loudly crashed onto the ground like a wooden carving that had been pushed over.

The venom of a black-ringed snake wasn’t fatal, but it would paralyze its opponents when it came into contact with their blood, immobilizing them. Compared to the ice ant which had bitten Yan Liqiang before, the paralyzing effect from the toxicity of the black-ringed viper was at least ten times more than that of an ice ant.

Of course, Yan Liqiang didn’t buy this snake for consumption or for its snake bile. Instead, he wanted its venom.

Yan Liqiang once again returned to Wuyang Village before lunchtime. After shutting the door upon returning to his small courtyard, Yan Liqiang went into his room, pinched the black-ringed viper at where its heart was, and took it out from the bamboo cage. He then retrieved a small porcelain bottle he bought the other day, pried open the black-ringed viper’s jaw, and pressed its venomous fangs against the rim of the porcelain bottle. Yan Liqiang exerted some force and the black-ringed viper’s venom was squeezed out of its poison glands, dripping from the sides of its fangs.

This black-ringed viper probably never had its venom extracted while alive. Hence, its venom reserve was extremely full and Yan Liqiang was able to squeeze many drops out of it in one go before the flow of its venom gradually slowed down.

Yan Liqiang put the snake back into its bamboo cage. Then he carefully wiped the snake venom he had collected in the bottle on the four blow darts he had created. After he applied a few layers and emptied the venom he had collected, he carefully stashed the blow darts away.

When he was done with all this, Yan Liqiang changed into a fresh set of clothes and then descended the mountain for a bowl of noodles. He returned with a couple of steamed buns that had he bought and then started practicing blowing darts.

When it came to cultivation, practical experience was much more effective than theories because practice makes perfect. The result of an hour’s worth of practice would be completely different than a day’s worth of practice. If one could practice up to ten days, the result would greatly vary.

Yan Liqiang was aware that he only had one chance in using his blow dart if he wished to kill Wang Haofei. If he messed up the first time, then it would be very difficult for him to find a second chance. Therefore, he had to ensure he wouldn’t mess up the only chance he got. If he didn’t wish to slip up, there was no other way than diligent practice.

The scorching sun hung above his head. Yan Liqiang’s mouth was dry and he was drenched in sweat. Even so, he still persevered in his practice.

He carried a wooden bucket full of water from the kitchen. If he was thirsty, he would scoop a bowl of water from the bucket and drink it. If he was hot, he would pour a bowl of water on his head.

Through constant practice, Yan Liqiang grew increasingly familiar with using the blow darts. Eventually, he seemed to become familiar with coordinated feeling between his mind and hand like he did when he first practiced archery every time he blew a dart. The accuracy of the blow darts he shot out also became increasingly high...

By evening when the clouds in the sky were tinged with sunset hues and Yan Liqiang had already lost count on how many practice rounds he had done, a red light emerged around him all of a sudden. Before he could even react, a strange, surging wave of force suddenly poured into his body from the crown of his head. The strange force that entered him instantly split into three inside his body. One of them rushed towards Yan Liqiang’s eyes, instantly causing an indescribable and pleasingly cool sensation in his eyes which felt as though someone with a high fever was suddenly doused in cool springwater. Another wave of force rushed to his hands, causing the tendons and veins of his hands to pulse irregularly as if they were electrocuted. The third wave enveloped his lungs and entire thoracic cavity, making Yan Liqiang feel as though his lungs were instantly cleared. At one point, Yan Liqiang almost felt as though his lungs had become bellows made of metal which wouldn’t be spoiled no matter how much they expanded...

The red light around him became increasingly intense. Slowly, the silhouette of a gigantic hornet manifested itself from the red light.

After awhile, the silhouette of that gigantic hornet suddenly went into Yan Liqiang’s body, wrapping itself around the energies in Yan Liqiang’s eyes, hands, and lungs before it gradually vanished.

Yan Liqiang was completely stunned. He simply couldn’t believe everything he had just experienced.

The red light which had just shone around him was exactly the same as his many experiences in attaining advancements in the realms of his cultivation techniques. This wasn’t a strange phenomenon. However, he wasn’t practicing any cultivation techniques just now. He was only blowing darts. Not only that, the silhouette of that hornet which had manifested in the red light was unseen and unheard of by Yan Liqiang. He had never heard of any cultivation technique advancement phenomena to include strange creatures like the hornet.

More importantly, when Yan Liqiang sensed the current state of his body, he realized that it felt very light and airy. It was a sensation that was hard to put into words.

The moment the silhouette of that hornet went inside Yan Liqiang’s body, Yan Liqiang suddenly felt his body growing lighter as though his weight was greatly reduced all of a sudden. Truth be told, Yan Liqiang had only experienced an improvement in his physical state from having the silhouette enter his body once and that was when he first passed the Horse Stance stage. He had crouched until the silhouette of a rhinodrake steed manifested itself. When the silhouette of that rhinodrake steed entered his body, Yan Liqiang felt an enormous amount of energy surge into his legs. When the silhouette of the hornet fused into his body just now, he felt the similar sensation as last time. He gained strength previously, but this time, he felt his body becoming more agile.

Not only that, Yan Liqiang also discovered that his eyes, hands, and lungs seemed to have undergone some changes.

When Yan Liqiang looked towards that pomegranate tree again, he suddenly seemed to be able to see it much clearer. Before this, his vision was akin to a pair of three megapixel camera. In just the blink of an eye, the three megapixel camera had instantly been upgraded into five megapixel camera. When he was staring at the pomegranate on the tree, it seemed as though he had instantly zoomed in on the pomegranate.

It was shocking to be able to experience such vision.

Yan Liqiang tried to fling his arm. He wasn’t sure why, but he could feel the speed of his arms significantly faster and more agile than usual. Compared to his current state, the state of his arms before felt as though all the joints weren’t lubricated, and his muscles were powerless while his tendons were not flexible.

Yan Liqiang quickly flung his arms about a few more times. The reflex speed and agility of his arms were simply too fast.

Then his lungs too. Yan Liqiang took a deep breath and realized that he could draw his breath longer and deeper...

What was happening?

Chapter 125: Becoming the Founder

The first of the ninth lunar month was the first day of lessons at Pingxi Prefecture Martial Arts Academy in the current term. This also meant that it was the first lesson the new students of the martial arts academy would attend and the venue was the huge classroom in the academy.

Apart from the old students, most of the new students had already arrived and filled the seats of the classroom, leaving only a few empty seats. The entire classroom was filled with excitement. All of the people were whispering to the people beside them rather excitedly while some couldn’t help but look everywhere. The sight before Yan Liqiang’s eyes was no different from those university students in lecture halls during their first day of lessons at the university.

Yan Liqiang still came even though he already knew the subject of the first lesson and had even ‘gone through’ it once.

There were almost no new students who didn’t attend the first lesson. Yan Liqiang didn’t wish to attract too much unnecessary attention either which is why he came. There was another important reason for it. Yan Liqiang had been clueless about everything that had happened to his body over these two days. Living in Wuyang Village, he couldn’t find anyone he could ask. Therefore, he was hoping that he could seize the opportunity to find an academy tutor and ask his question today.

Yan Liqiang held his student identity pass and entered the martial arts academy. By the time he arrived at the huge classroom, most of the seats were already taken.

“Yan Liqiang! Here! Here!”

While Yan Liqiang was scanning the surroundings, someone had already stood up from the last row of seats at the back of the classroom. He was yelling Yan Liqiang’s name and waving at him.

The person who stood up to greet Yan Liqiang was none other than Shi Dafeng.

Upon seeing Shi Dafeng’s face brimming with enthusiasm, a mysterious warmth filled Yan Liqiang’s heart. He smiled at Shi Dafeng, then made his way towards him.

Due to the incident from last time, Shi Dafeng furiously ripped the announcement that the academy had published. He simply couldn’t believe the words which tarnished Yan Liqiang’s reputation. In the end, he was forced to withdraw from the martial arts academy, so he ended his studies in advance and was later sent elsewhere by his father.

Yan Liqiang might not have a lot of friends, but Shi Dafeng definitely counted as one. Passionate, loyal, and responsible; that was who Shi Dafeng was.

“So he’s the first among the top three in Qinghe County’s Martial Arts County Trial...”

“Wow, so young. He’s probably fourteen or fifteen years old at most...”

Due to Shi Dafeng’s yells, many people in the classroom spontaneously directed their gazes on Yan Liqiang in unison. The lively classroom instantly quieted down for a moment. As newcomers at the Pingxi Prefecture Martial Arts Academy, many new students paid a lot of attention to the top three new students from different counties. Although Yan Liqiang hadn’t appeared at the academy over the past few days, his reputation had already spread like wildfire.

As the youngest amongst the top three new students, it was difficult for Yan Liqiang to avoid the attention.

Under the scrutiny of many gazes, Yan Liqiang walked to the row Shi Dafeng was sitting in.

Shen Teng was also seated beside Shi Dafeng. There was still another seat on the other side of Shi Dafeng, so Yan Liqiang went over there.

Previously, Yan Liqiang came to this lesson with Shi Dafeng, so they sat together. When Shen Teng came, he sat a few rows away from them. However this time, the seating arrangement for three of them had completely changed and they were gathered together again.

“It’s been a few months. You seem to have made progress in your cultivation again, Liqiang. How admirable!” Shen Teng, who lacked youthful vigor, turned his head to face Yan Liqiang and greeted him with a smile.

Unlike Shi Dafeng who was passionate and outspoken, Shen Teng was always elegant, poised, gentle, and refined. One would have a favorable impression of him after they exchanged a few conversations with him. Yan Liqiang had some fortuitous encounters these few days, so his physical state was at its peak. Naturally, his complexion was quite different than before and it didn’t escape Shen Teng’s keen observation.

Yan Liqiang’s heart was thumped and raced wildly for a moment. After his senses told him that there was no way for Shen Teng to know what was going on with him, and that his words were most likely praises and courtesy, Yan Liqiang smiled. “Please don’t ridicule me, Brother Shen. My menial improvement over these two months is nothing like Brother Shen’s. If we are going to spar next time, please go easy on me!”

“To be honest Liqiang, since you suddenly appeared and snatched the first position among top three, squeezing me into the second position. I have indeed been forced by my uncle to shut myself in and cultivate painstakingly. I thought initially that I would be able to relax for two months after the martial arts examination and do something I enjoyed, but I didn’t expect my plans to be ruined because of this...” Shen Teng sighed and said miserably.

“Fine, fine, let’s leave the past behind. Who cares about which position in the top three as long as we tried our best with no regrets? What good will come out of harping about it?” Shi Dafeng interrupted Shen Teng then looked at Yan Liqiang. “I’ve been searching for you for these two days...”

“Oh, why were you looking for me, Brother Shi?”

“I wanted to ask if you found a place to stay. Out of all of Qinghe County, I think I hit it off the best with you and Shen Teng and we can get along well. These few years in martial arts academy will be fun if the three of us can stay together. We can cultivate together, supervise each other, and spar together...” Shi Dafeng chuckled.

Yan Liqiang gave him an apologetic smile. Before he relieved himself of his crisis, he didn’t wish to involve anyone whom he considered a friend. “Well... I’m really sorry. I’ve already found somewhere to stay outside the city!”

“Oh, you’re not staying in Three Yuan Street too?” Shi Dafeng asked in great disappointment. “The courtyard beside the house I rented is still empty. Never mind that Shen Teng is not living anywhere near the martial arts academy, why did you have to go so far too, Liqiang!?”

“Well first, it’s very peaceful there and it’s convenient for cultivating. Second, it’s cost-effective. Renting a courtyard on Three Yuan Street for three months is probably enough for me to stay outside the city for a year!”

“Where are you staying, Liqiang?”

“In one of the villages near the public road, east of Pingxi City...” Yan Liqiang replied vaguely. There were more than ten villages on that side of the public road that was east of Pingxi City. With this reply, it was enough that he had given Shen Teng and Shi Dafeng a vague idea about where he lived.

Qi Donglai was seated in front of Yan Liqiang, in the nine o’clock direction. He was only ten meters away from Yan Liqiang. Yan Liqiang cast a glance at Qi Donglai and realized that he appeared to be very relaxed, leaning against the back of the chair as far as he could. However, his ears were probably already perked up since long ago.

Looking at Qi Donglai, Yan Liqiang secretly and coldly sneered.

Yan Liqiang got the worst of it last time for not taking Qi Donglai seriously. This time, he would definitely not repeat the same mistake again.

The trio who had not seen each other for a long time managed to chat for a while before the academy tutor for the first lesson arrived.

The person who entered was an old man who had an air of arrogance around him and a rather stern expression. After coming in, he stood on the platform and clasped his hands behind his back. He lifted his chin slightly and looked down at the bunch of new students. The entire classroom instantly grew quiet.

“The Horse Stance is the result of hard work and persistence over time. Do not be lazy, and make sure your tendons are taut when you assume the Horse Stance!” This was the first sentence the old man said after the classroom went completely silent.

When he saw a number of students being drawn to his words with thoughtful looks on their faces, he spoke again. “You need to be able to hold the stance until you can maintain your entire body in a relaxed manner along with a peaceful state of mind. Only with a relaxed body and tranquil mind will you be close to passing the Horse Stance stage.”

His two sentences caused all the student’s attention to be focused on him. The classroom was so silent all of the sudden that one could hear a pin drop.

Seeing so many students around him with their full attention on the old man as they waited for him to continue, Yan Liqiang could only smile wryly in his heart. That was because he knew that the first lesson from this old man would end with another final sentence.

And as expected...

“I will not be coming in for future Horse Stance lessons. This skill will only succeed through practice and not words. My words will not do any good. Go on and practice it independently, spend a few years time. You will achieve a great outcome if you can endure the hardship. That’s all, you are dismissed!”

After finishing that sentence, the old man lifted up the hem of his robe, turned around, and exited the classroom. The students in the classroom looked at each other in dismay, unable to believe that their first lesson at the Pingxi Prefecture Martial Arts Academy had ended just like that because it only lasted for less than three minutes...

“Damn, so that’s the end of it...?” Shi Dafeng had a look of disbelief...

The classroom was silent for about half a minute. After seeing that the old man wasn’t coming in again, everyone in the classroom only realized that the first lesson had indeed already ended.

The new students in the classroom were then in an uproar...

“Who was that damned old man?”

“No idea, but he seems to be very strong..”

“He seems to have some very impressive knowledge, but he didn’t share all of it...”

The new students broke into discussions.

“Liqiang, let’s have lunch together!” Shi Dafeng invited Yan Liqiang.

“Brother Shi, I have something to do in the afternoon. I’ll pass this time...” Yan Liqiang gave Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng a smile before he stood up and quickly made his way to the exit of the classroom.

“What about you?” Shi Dafeng looked at Shen Teng. Shen Teng looked at Yan Liqiang with unswerving determination. “I can’t slack either. I need to get back to my training...”

“Damn, that makes me sound like I’m here to have fun!”

...

Ignoring the noise in the classroom behind him, Yan Liqiang exited the classroom and looked around the path outside. When he spotted the old man who was leaving martial arts academy and making his way to the foot of the mountain, he quickly chased after him.

“Sir...!”

The old man stopped when he heard Yan Liqiang’s voice and turned around to look at him. He sized up Yan Liqiang seriously. After realizing that the clothes Yan Liqiang wore was just of ordinary quality and he didn’t seem like some noble young lord either, that old man’s face was instantly filled with arrogance. The expression on his face became stern once again. “I’ve already said what I needed to say. The rest will depend on your own diligence in practice. Anything you don’t understand, you may sign yourself up to study at the Dragon Flag Dojo!”

Song Tianhao, the dojo master of Dragon Flag Dojo, was a famous person in Pingxi City. With his capability which helped many to pass the Horse Stance stage through the Essence Unifying Post secret technique and concocting Essence Nurturing Pills, the business of his small dojo thrived and many people in Pingxi Prefecture sought his help. Aside from the secret techniques of Essence Unifying Post and Essence Nurturing Pills, there were another three reasons behind Dojo Master Song’s fame. First, he was avaricious and worshipped wealth like his life. Using the money he earned from running his dojo, he bought quite a bit of land in Pingxi City and ran different businesses. It could be said that he was a rich and powerful person in the region.

Apart from being avaricious, the second reason which made Dojo Master Song a hot topic among others was the fact that he had eighteen wives. His youngest wife, which he just married last year, had only turned eighteen this year. The third label Dojo Master Song had on him was not a positive one in many people’s eyes. Many claimed that he was a snob...

“Sir, I have already passed the Horse Stance stage. But I still have a question in mind. When you mentioned the Horse Stance today, I suddenly recalled something which I wish to ask you...” Yan Liqiang scratched his head and acted like he was an obedient student.

Song Tianhao was slightly taken aback upon hearing that Yan Liqiang had passed Horse Stance stage. He thought about Yan Liqiang’s age before he softened the tone of his voice. “What is it?”

“After passing the Horse Stance stage, I realized that my body can receive the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth’s blessing which significantly enhanced my strength by the strength of one horse. I asked around and most people told me that passing the Horse Stance stage is the only chance a person can receive the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth’s blessing. From that point onwards, no matter what technique one cultivates or how many stages one passes, one can only resonate with the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth to allow the cultivation technique’s phenomena to emerge but they cannot receive the blessing of the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth. I wonder if this is really true?”

“Yes, of course.” Song Tianhao replied emotionlessly.

“Oh. Is there no other exception? Are there any cultivation techniques from which I can obtain the blessing from the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth upon passing it...?”

“Of course there are exceptions. But you can forget about those other ‘exceptions’.” Song Tianhao casted Yan Liqiang a glance and spoke with a slightly mocking tone.

“Why?” Yan Liqiang deliberately made an unconvinced expression. “If others can do it, why can’t I? I’m sure you know the saying, ‘don’t discriminate a poor young man’ [1], Sir!”

“HAHAHAHA!!” Song Tianhao roared with laughter, seemingly amused by Yan Liqiang. “It may be possible to use the saying, ‘don’t discriminate a poor young man’ somewhere else, but not here. If we do, then we truly do not know the immensity of Heaven and Earth. Do you know what kind of people are these ‘exceptions’?”

“What kind of people are they?”

“People who can once again obtain the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth’s blessings after passing the Horse Stance stage are the founding fathers of various sects, secret techniques, and battle techniques.” Song Tianhao had a look of reverence on his face. “These founders are the people who open up the way of cultivation and comprehend the Great Dao. When they first create an unprecedented secret technique or battle technique, they would resonate with the Heaven and the Earth and gain their approval, thus obtaining the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth’s blessings when passing the stage or advancing onwards. This blessing is known as Heavenly Bestowment. Heavenly Bestowments may vary, depending on the different secret techniques or battle techniques. The highest number of realms a secret battle technique may possess is already decided the moment these founders create them. The maximum number of Heavenly Bestowments these founders can obtain when they establish it will be the highest realm to his secret battle technique. This is how the realms of various battle techniques came about and are what the later generations can only imitate. Figures who can enjoy Heavenly Bestowments like founding fathers haven’t appeared in the entire Great Han Empire for a few centuries. They don’t even exist among the four major sects. What makes you think you can compete with these founding fathers who have obtained Heavenly Bestowments?”

“Oh, I see. Thank you for enlightening me, Sir!”

“Young man, do not overestimate yourself just because you have passed the Horse Stance stage. Cultivate diligently from now on and strive to become a Martial Warrior. It is much more sensible to aim to get some high-grade conferred fields which can support your family...” Song Tianhao glanced at Yan Liqiang for one last time and left after passing on his final piece of advice.

Yan Liqiang watched the Song Tianhao’s disappearing silhouette and swallowed a mouthful of saliva. Although he seemed calm on the surface, his heart was already racing like crazy. Blood rushed to his head, causing Yan Liqiang to suddenly feel a little dizzy.

Did no one ever think about the possibilities of creating things like blow darts in the Silver Continent? Although the blow darts he made seemed a little wretched and sinister, he was actually the first to create it in Silver Continent...

It was him... He had actually become a founder who could receive the Heavenly Infusion– the founder of blow darts! He had actually blown his way to his title of a founder as well as Heavenly Infusion with his mouth [2]!

As expected... His mouth was indeed unrivaled!

Chapter 126: Ready to Begin

For Yan Liqiang, this feeling of inadvertently becoming the Silver Continent’s blow dart founder was utterly the same as someone who was down to their last dollar and winning the lottery with it, sweeping the jackpot.

On the way back from the martial arts academy to Wuyang Village, Yan Liqiang’s felt like his entire person was completely on cloud nine, his head spinning enough to make him dizzy. The phrase ‘Heavenly Bestowment’ made his little heartbeat in excitement the entire way back.

According to what Dojo Master Song said, the number of times the founder of any battle technique or secret technique received the Heavenly Bestowment was that battle technique or secret technique’s highest level. For example, if they were cultivating the Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist technique, the highest realm of this fist technique was only the fifth layer. That is to say, the founder of this fist technique had received five Heavenly Bestowments. Another example was the Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps– the highest realm was the sixth layer, which meant that the founder of this step had, in total, received six Heavenly Bestowments.

As for those even higher-leveled secret techniques and battle techniques, it was due to the high number of times that the founders received the Heavenly Bestowments and it was also why those people were so formidable as founding fathers. For every Heavenly Bestowment received, it meant that they were given an extra opportunity to increase their power level. The extra opportunities they had were the reasons why each of those founding fathers was able to rise above others to distinguish themselves and become heroes for the entire Silver Continent to look up to.

How many realms would this blow dart technique reach? Yan Liqiang didn’t know. All he knew was that if he wanted to change his fate, to avoid those tragic issues in the future, then he had to grasp this opportunity before him....

Yan Liqiang returned to Wuyang Village at noon. After eating a bowl of noodles and buying a few steamed buns, Yan Liqiang returned to his own little yard. He grabbed his handmade blow dart and went up the mountain to find a place to practice.

After passing through the first realm in blow dart techniques, Yan Liqiang’s lung capacity underwent a major upgrade. No matter if it was breathing air in or breathing air out, it would have a longer duration, especially when he was expelling air: his lung strength was explosive. This meant that any blow dart he blew out would able to reach further distances. With tremendous power, it could even travel farther than twenty-five meters. He wouldn’t be able to improve with the length of his small yard, so he went up the mountain by himself to find a place to practice.

The area behind the hill that Wuyang Village was on was a mass grave. Therefore, if you stood on the top of the hill, you could see the side that had all the mass graves. Even during daytime, the villagers who chopped firewood or tended to livestock were unwilling to get close. In addition to the thick woodlands on the hilltop, wild grass grew everywhere. It was the perfect place to practice blow darts.

...

After merely one day, on the second day of the ninth lunar month, upon the hidden section of that small hilltop, Yan Liqiang once again was surrounded by red light and he accepted the second Heavenly Bestowment...

Four days later, on the sixth day of the ninth lunar month, the third Heavenly Bestowment came as expected.....

...

On the seventh day of the ninth lunar month, Yan Liqiang woke up early. After he finished his morning regime and ate breakfast at the small noodle shop, he retreated back to his small courtyard.

Yan Liqiang did not practice after he returned to his courtyard. Instead, he brought out the black-ringed viper that he bought and milked it again for snake venom. Then he spread the viper venom once again over the blow darts that he had made, maintaining the poisonous effects.

After the snake venom on the blow dart was dry, one could see that the needle head that poked out from the dart would have an extra blue-black layer that would faintly shine under the light.

Out of cautiousness, Yan Liqiang had already tested the black-ringed viper’s venom a couple of days ago on a wild boar in the forest on the hilltop. The boar had only been pricked slightly by the dart that he had blown and its body ended up being paralyzed for the entire night. It only recovered the ability to move the next day.

After milking the snake for venom, Yan Liqiang went up the hill and let the black-ringed viper go. He only brought back the bamboo cage and burned it to ashes right there in the small courtyard’s kitchen, destroying all the evidence.

Following that, he used waterproof oilcloth to wrap up his pre-prepared blowpipe and blow darts, securing them in several layers of material. After wrapping it all up, he placed it along with a change of clothes and a dagger into the leather luggage bag he carried along with him to Pingxi City. After he carefully tidied up everything, he picked up the luggage and left Wuyang Village, heading into Pingxi City.

Yan Liqiang did not go to the martial arts academy; instead, he headed straight to the Plum Gardens within Pingxi City and wandered through.

The Plum Gardens were a sacred place within Pingxi City. It was close to the Lake of Longevity and within the Plum Gardens, the flourishing flowers were like cotton, and there were waterside pavilions everywhere. It was an extremely elegant place within Pingxi City, and many of the young men and women within the city, namely the poets and artists, all loved to walk through here. Of course, the cost of things in the Plum Gardens were also exorbitantly high; normal people definitely could not afford anything. The most they could do was stroll through and admire the plum flowers and scenery....

After wandering through the Plum Gardens once and checking every place that he needed to, Yan Liqiang walked out of the Plum Gardens and arrived at the large street on the other side of the Lake of Longevity.

There were inns and restaurants on either side of this large street and this was also a popular area within Pingxi City. Yan Liqiang wandered up and down this street twice and at noon, he had lunch before he walked straight into an inn on the side of the street called Vista Paradiso.

“Welcome, welcome. Are you here to book a room or to take a meal, sir? Our inn’s fish is guaranteed to be fresh, all caught from the Lake of Longevity...” After Yan Liqiang walked in, the inn’s waiter greeted him with a smile on his face.

“I’m here for a room. Do you have any rooms with a private entrance that is close to the lake?”

“Yes, yes, yes, of course we do. The small yard that is close to the lake is not only serene, you can also admire the Lake of Longevity’s picturesque scenery, especially at night when the lights from the Plum Gardens on the other side reflects across the lake. It’ll look like the sky and water have become one, and you can see it clearly from here. It definitely sets it apart from the norm, and it can be considered the best in Pingxi City. I’m not just boasting this, but along the entire edge of the Lake of Longevity, there are hundreds of inns with different rooms, and it’s only ours that stands out from the rest. It is the best and it lets people get a feel for the lake’s beautiful view. It’s only that the price for the rooms along the lake is slightly more expensive than a normal room and they require eight candareens of silver a night. But this isn’t that expensive – it’s our off-season pricing. During the peak season, the price will be at least one mace and one candareen of silver...”

Yan Liqiang pretended that money was no problem. “Yes, if it’s eight candareens of silver, then it’s eight candareens of silver. I heard that the view here at night is very good, so I came to experience it. Take me to have a look at the rooms...”

“Of course, please come with me, Sir....”

The waiter of the inn led Yan Liqiang to have a look at a couple of rooms that were located along the lake. Yan Liqiang picked one of the rooms and happily paid the money. He settling into the room and waited for nightfall...

Chapter 127: Undercover

In the afternoon, Yan Liqiang took a long, luxurious nap in his room within the Vista Paradiso inn to conserve his strength. After waking up, he practiced Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing twice in his room and then like a normal guest, he left the inn and wandered once around the streets and markets. He only returned to the inn after eating dinner as the night was about to fall.

After returning to his room, Yan Liqiang stood in front of the window, looking out towards the clear, gleaming reflection of the Lake of Longevity, patiently waiting for the sky to completely darken.

After an hour, the sky was completely dark, and Yan Liqiang faced the other side of the Lake of Longevity. The Plum Gardens were about a thousand or so meters out and it was at this time that the many pavilions within the Plum Gardens started lighting up with rows of lanterns. Looking from afar, the clear, gleaming lake reflected the multicolored and multi-shaped lanterns upside down, making it seem like it was truly something out of the norm.

It was then that Yan Liqiang finally moved. He pulled out his leather bag, took out the dagger, and cut through a piece of material inside the leather bag. He pulled out a mask that was in between the layers of the leather bag.

That mask was the one that King Cobra had used. After he wore this mask to destroy the Hong family, Yan Liqiang had carefully packed it away. He originally thought that he would not have much use for it in the future, but he didn’t expect to use it in Pingxi City this time. Not long after its last use, it would again be time for King Cobra to rise and make a disturbance again.

Yan Liqiang carefully put the mask on his face in the room. After a mere moment’s effort, King Cobra appeared in the room with an icy expression, slanted eyes, and a visible black beauty mark on his left cheek.

After changing, Yan Liqiang took off all of his clothes in his room. Wearing only a pair of shorts, he hung the blow darts that were wrapped in a waterproof oilcloth on his body with a thin string. He picked up the dagger, and after making certain that there was no one around paying him any attention, Yan Liqiang quietly opened the back window of his room and climbed outside.

The window was over two meters from the ground and just beneath the window were two rock embankments that were each a foot wide. Next to the embankments was the Lake of Longevity. If one stood beneath the window, one could hear the sound of people eating and drinking from the nearby restaurants as well as the sound of the lake lapping gently against the embankment.

Yan Liqiang took a deep breath and then slid into the water without a ripple, just like an eel. He then dove headfirst into the water, swimming underwater towards the dimly lit Plum Gardens in the distance.

In his previous life, one of Yan Liqiang’s favorite sports was swimming and snorkeling. Even though his swimming and snorkeling standard wasn’t quite at the professional competition level, within the amateur crowd, he was one of the best.

In his previous life, Yan Liqiang could swim out over forty meters on one breath of air. However, today, when Yan Liqiang raised his head above the water for a breath, he was already two hundred meters out...

After training, his powerful legs and arms let him move faster in the water, and after three heavenly possessions, his lungs made him feel like a fish in water. The amount of time he could spend underwater with each breath surprised even Yan Liqiang himself.

The night wind blew across the Lake of Longevity, raising little waves. However, these waves did not affect Yan Liqiang at all as he sped through the water; in fact, because of these waves, Yan Liqiang was even less likely to be seen when he raised his head above water for a breath. On a night like this, unless someone was within ten meters, if anyone saw Yan Liqiang’s head pop up from the lake, they wouldn’t think it was a person. Rather, they would have mistaken his head for a fish or a turtle in the Lake of Longevity.

After using about ten or so minutes, Yan Liqiang only came up to breathe less than ten times and was already about across the Lake of Longevity. He had reached the waters of the Plum Gardens.

...

Within the Plum Gardens, near the Lake of Longevity, there was a four-story-high turreted loft. At this time, the loft was brightly lit and filled with people. From within the loft, there was the sound of traditional instruments as well as the mellow sound of female voices. From time to time, there was also the sound of cheers coming from the entire room. This was the busiest place in the Plum Gardens: the Plum Gardens Theater. It was the place in Pingxi City where all the famous actors, actresses, martial arts specialists, as well as all the theater groups came to perform a few times each night.

In this entertainment-deprived age, watching theater performances had become the biggest recreational activity for many people. The performances and plays within the Plum Gardens Theater made even the richest men in Pingxi City rush for tickets. The theater was packed every night with hardly a seat to spare.

“Oh, Manager Li, you’ve arrived. My manager kept your reserved seat for you. You’re so late tonight, the performance of”Taming of the Princess” started over a quarter of an hour ago...” Out at the entrance of the Plum Gardens Theater, the doorman greeted a portly man with his face wreathed in smiles. The man was walking over while chewing on a big meat bun.

“You don’t say. I closed the shop just now, and came here straight away without dinner just to catch the show. I didn’t expect for my cart to break down along the way, which delayed me a bit. Quick, take me inside. From what I can hear, that voice, Little Yulian has already come out, right...” The portly man walked toward the entrance whilst stuffing the rest of the bun hastily inside his mouth.

“She’s already onstage...”

“Then hurry...” the man said, not even bothering to continue eating the bun in his hand. There was still a bit left which was about half the size of a palm, so he casually threw it into the nearby lake and wiped his mouth and walked into the theater.

Splash. As Yan Liqiang was listening to the conversation above, that half-palm sized bun landed squarely in the water not even half a meter away from where he was. Droplets of water splashed upwards, and some even hit Yan Liqiang on the face, briefly scaring him.

At this point in time, Yan Liqiang had already arrived beneath the pier next to the theater. Next to him were stone support struts that stood in the water. The bridge part of the pier stretched above and across. His current position was a blind spot for anyone that was standing above.

Yan Liqiang stayed in the water, unmoving, not even breathing, until he figured out that the thing that had been thrown in the water was merely half a bun. He only let out a breath after he realized that no one had discovered him – damn!

The half-bun floated on the surface of the water, bobbing up and down with the waves. Yan Liqiang waited until there were no more sounds from above before he followed the curve of the pier, submerging himself and swimming towards a small island about one hundred meters away from the Plum Gardens Theater.

That small island was only about one-fifteenth of a hectare big. On the island, there was only one pergola which was surrounded by trees and rocks, containing the heavy scent of flowers. In the middle of the night, this was an unexpectedly quiet location.

Yan Liqiang remained beneath the pier in the water, unmoving, waiting silently.

Lu Beixin and Wang Haofei had been in contact with each other for about half a year. Within this timeframe, as a woman in love, as long as she was in Pingxi City, Lu Beixin would come to the Plum Gardens on the seventh, fourteenth, twenty-first, and twenty-eighth days of the month. She’d use the excuse of going to the theater, to clandestinely meet with Wang Haofei.

This was something that Yan Liqiang discovered only after his ‘last death’. Today was coincidentally the seventh of the month. If everything went according to plan, and if Wang Haofei still didn’t know that Lu Beixin was forbidden to go out by the Lu family, then Wang Haofei would definitely come here to meet Lu Beixin tonight. It was the perfect opportunity to kill Wang Haofei.

Yan Liqiang didn’t really know if Wang Haofei would really come, but either way, it was still a chance and it was worth a try. If it didn’t succeed, then he would make other plans.

After approximately thirty minutes, the sound of footsteps sounded above Yan Liqiang’s head. Listening to it, he determined that there was one person in front, two people behind: in total, three people.

“Alright, the two of you can wait over there. If other members of the Lu family are lured here tonight, then the two of you will follow the plan. You know what to do right?”

This voice was one that Yan Liqiang would recognize in his very dreams. It was that bastard Wang Haofei’s voice.

Hearing the sound of this voice, Yan Liqiang, who was still in the water, suddenly found himself energized.

Feeling that there was no one nearby and whatever he said would go unheard, Wang Haofei’s words held an indescribable tone and was slightly hard and cold.

“Yes, don’t worry Sir, we know what to do!” The two guards responded in a rough tone. “Today this Forgotten Sorrow Pergola has been occupied by our young master. If other members of the Lu family are lured here, then we’ll block them and not let them step onto the pier...”

“I’ll go and row the small boat over. We’ll get that Lu woman to sit on the small boat and then take her to Mingquan Courtyard. Wang Fu has already prepared everything over there. Tonight, we definitely won’t let that woman escape your grasp, Young Master...”

“Good, if nothing goes wrong tonight, then it’ll be the last night. If your performances are good, then when we go back I’ll ask my father to handsomely reward you both...”

“Thank you, Sir!”

“Go, stay sharp. Oh, right, get someone to remove all the incense burners from this island. You need to change it to green sandalwood, that woman doesn’t like any other scents...”

“Yes!”

The sound of the two guards’ footsteps faded even as Wang Haofei stepped onto the island.

Yan Liqiang silently drew in a breath when he heard this conversation in the water from below. Listening to what Wang Haofei meant, he had prepared a trap here tonight – Wang Haofei was to meet Lu Beixin here and then deliberately lure people from the Lu family here as well. Under those circumstances, Lu Beixin would definitely be worried and she would not want to face them here. Wang Haofei would then organize for the little boat to take Lu Beixin away from here to avoid having her meet anyone from the Lu family. If Lu Beixin got on the boat, she would be taken to Mingquan Courtyard and be at their mercy...

It was good that old man Lu had forbidden Lu Beixin from leaving. If Lu Beixin actually did come out, then what would happen to her after tonight would be hard to predict.

Not even a minute after, while Yan Liqiang was still in the water, the soft sound of a guqin could be heard from the pergola on that little island...

Listening to the sound of the guqin, Yan Liqiang’s eyes grew colder and colder...

...

Chapter 128: Eliminating the Lurking Danger

Yan Liqiang once again submerged under the water. After going half a round under the bridge and reaching the rear of the small isle, he quietly surfaced out of the water.

Looking at the isle from the water surface, he could only see the green glazed roof tiles at the top of the pavilion behind the shade of those willow trees.

The melody of a guqin reverberated through the night from that pavilion. Just by hearing the melodies of the guqin alone, no one could have guessed the person playing it was a scum who was worse than an animal.

This isle was indeed a great spot, especially at night when it was filled with an air of romance, accompanied by the moon, water, flowers, and trees. No wonder Wang Haofei and Lu Beixin chose this place for their weekly meeting.

There were semi-circular stone steps on the isle, by the lakeside, which extended into the lake. Beside the steps was a wooden platform where a small boat could dock. The ripples in the lake made soft sounds as they crashed against the stone steps by the lakeside. Yan Liqiang slowly inched to the shore along with the ripples.

Yan Liqiang crouched in the water, by the stone steps. He took out the oilcloth bundle he had on him and held it above the water surface. Breaking off the rope which was tied around the oilcloth bundle with his teeth, he gently opened the bundle and retrieved the complete set of blow darts from within. After examining the blow dart once and ensuring that it wasn’t damp, he got up quietly to the isle, barefooted with the blow dart in hand.

If Wang Haofei was an expert or a Martial Master, Yan Liqiang wouldn’t be certain if his movements would be detected by him. However, through the last time he fought with Wang Haofei, he discovered that although Wang Haofei’s strength wasn’t bad among the youths, he still wasn’t much stronger than Yan Liqiang. This encouraged Yan Liqiang to become gutsier.

In the dark night, Yan Liqiang was like a water ghost who had crept up from the water. Bare naked with a blow dart in hand, he silently went behind a thicket of willow trees and drew nearer to the pavilion.

After tiptoeing his way past a few willow trees, Yan Liqiang spotted Wang Haofei.

A few lights were lit inside the pavilion. Wang Hao Fei sat upright and still in the middle of the pavilion as he played the guqin on the platform before him with full concentration.

Wang Haofei’s original demeanor had been quite decent and he had a striking appearance. In addition to the fitting lavish sapphire blue long gown he wore, the sight of him playing his guqin in the dimly lit pavilion on the isle in the middle of the lake before Yan Liqiang was enough to make a bunch of little schoolgirls scream in his previous life.

In contrast, all Yan Liqiang wore was only a dripping wet underwear. Together with King Cobra’s evil face mask and the black blowpipe in his hands, the way he hid behind a willow tree and peeked at Wang Haofei became indescribably sinister. If there was a powerful hero here and saw both of them, there was no doubt he would immediately come for Yan Liqiang with his sword without a second thought.

Wang Haofei was completely oblivious to the impending danger. Even if he had ten more brains, he wouldn’t have known. Why would someone he had never known or even seen before, be plotting on taking his life at this moment?

At this moment, Yan Liqiang wasn’t bothered about it being wretched as long as it was effective. He squinted at Wang Haofei a few times, then lifted his black blowpipe to his lips and launched a blow dart at Wang Haofei, who was about twenty meters away.

The black blow dart was like a tiny black flower which flew out from the blowpipe and blended into the darkness of the night. With a speed so fast that it wasn’t even visible to the naked eye, it bloomed on Wang Haofei’s neck, right behind his ear. There was a meridian in the human body at that spot so it would spread the venom on the dart in the shortest amount of time.

The melody of the guqin came to a halt as Wang Haofei instantly stiffened like a stone sculpture, suddenly unable to move a muscle.

The moment the guqin melody stopped, Yan Liqiang quickly dashed towards the pavilion with the speed of a cheetah. His feet carried him over the distance of twenty meters and with a leap, he jumped inside the pavilion and revealed himself before Wang Haofei.

Wang Haofei was already immobile and couldn’t speak, but his eyes could still see Yan Liqiang, who had appeared before him. A look of extreme shock and terror filled his eyes. He seemed to be trying to say something, yet he only managed to slightly open his mouth wordlessly.

“Trash!” Yan Liqiang spat softly. Without any hesitation, he moved behind Wang Haofei and reached out to grab his head with both of his hands. Twisting it forcefully, he broke Wang Haofei’s neck with a snap. His head was twisted nearly 180 degrees before it hung limply.

Next, Yan Liqiang pulled the dart out from behind Wang Haofei’s ear and quickly stowed it away. The spot which had previously been pierced by the blow dart was only left with a red dot which was as tiny as a mosquito bite. On the red dot was half a drop of fresh blood.

After Yan Liqiang wiped the blood away with his finger, that red dot behind Wang Haofei’s ear was barely noticeable.

Yan Liqiang, who had just killed Wang Haofei didn’t leave straight away but waited instead. He was wearing King Cobra’s face mask to commit the murder this time, it would be completely meaningless if he left without being seen. He needed someone to witness the fact that it was the ruthless King Cobra who had murdered Wang Haofei of the Wang Clan from Huanglong County. Only then would his following plans be able to unfold.

The reactions of the two guards accompanying Wang Haofei were indeed very slow. The halt of the guqin melody didn’t mean anything to them, they probably thought Wang Haofei merely got bored so they never came to check up on him.

Yan Liqiang waited for about three minutes before he searched Wang Haofei’s corpse and found a money pouch. By then, he spotted two delicate ladies coming to the isle with incense burners.

When those girls arrived at the pavilion, Yan Liqiang unsheathed the sword Wang Haofei left on the table. Changing his tone of voice, he bellowed in a low voice. “EAT THIS AND DIE!”

The sword directly impaled Wang Haofei’s heart, nailing him to the back of the chair he was sitting on. He was so dead that he couldn’t be even more dead.

“AHHHHHHHHHH!!!” The expected screams of the ladies and the sounds of their incense burners crashing to the ground were heard from behind.

Yan Liqiang abruptly turned his head around and shot the two ladies a fierce glare. After ensuring that those ladies had taken a clear look at his face under the light in the pavilion, he fled from the pavilion with lightning speed to the lakeside and dived into the lake headfirst...

By the time the two guards accompanying Wang Haofei rushed to the pavilion, there was no one on the isle beside the lifeless young master of Wang Clan and two ladies who were pale from extreme shock...

One of the guards immediately rushed to the lakeside but saw nothing except for the gleaming water rippling in Lake of Longevity under the moonlight. He widened his eyes and stared hard at the surface of the lake as though he was expecting a figure of someone in the lake. Unfortunately, he didn’t see anyone coming above the lake’s surface in the end.

...

The blowpipe which was used as a murder weapon had now turned into Yan Liqiang’s tool for breathing underwater. He didn’t poke his head above the water surface even once, as he snorkeled his way back to the courtyard of Vista Paradiso.

After climbing back to his bedroom through the window, he quickly took off the mask and dressed. He put away the things he should put away and destroyed any evidence he had to destroy. Only then, did he sit on the reclining chair in the room, watch the Lake of Longevity through the window and truly started to relax, revealing a smile on his face as though a heavy burden had been lifted from him.

Two hours later, a clamor was heard outside the courtyard. The officers from the Law Enforcement Office came for room inspections, causing chaos in the inn...

“Sir, I am extremely sorry. I am not too sure what is going on, but a few officers have come for room inspection. I would appreciate it if you can cooperate and step out from your room for a moment...” The staff in the inn apologetically knocked on the door to Yan Liqiang’s courtyard and could only laugh sheepishly as he requested for Yan Liqiang to grant them access to his room.

“No worries at all. We are all good, law-abiding citizens who should cooperate with officers who are on duty...” Yan Liqiang answered very reasonably and immediately stepped out from his room...

A few officers with unpleasant expressions on their faces shot Yan Liqiang a glance and didn’t even bother to inquire his identity. They checked around in the courtyard Yan Liqiang stayed in, took a look under the bed and inside the closet to make sure that no one was hiding in there before they left...

Tonight, many people probably didn’t manage to sleep well in the entire Pingxi City. On the contrary, Yan Liqiang slept very soundly tonight...

...

Chapter 129: An Uproar In The City

Taking out trash like Wang Haofei meant that he would become nothing but an insignificant stranger, a transparent person, an ordinary new student of the martial arts academy in the Ye Clan’s eyes for a while. He probably wouldn’t have anything to do with the Ye Clan for the time being as he had already removed his most imminent crisis for the time being, thus giving him more preparation time. It was also for this exact reason that he was able to sleep extremely soundly tonight. This was probably the best sleep he had ever since he woke up from that surrealistic experience...

The next morning, Yan Liqiang woke up early as usual. He opened the window in his room to welcome the fresh breeze from the Lake of Longevity and began his morning regime.

The Lake of Longevity still looked the same. It was still very early in the morning and the sky was still dark. A few specks of lights were floating on the lake’s surface, shrouded by mist.

Yan Liqiang’s eyes had undergone some strange changes after being enhanced three times through Heavenly Bestowments. His eyesight was still the same as before when he was looking at things in close proximity, albeit slightly clearer. However, his eyes would exhibit abnormality as soon as he focused into the distance, his pupils in his eyes would instantly shine brighter. As they shone, his vision would be akin to that of a hawk, he could clearly see objects which were even ten thousand meters away. The few specks of lights in the distance on the Lake of Longevity, which was shrouded in mist, instantly grew clearer in his focused gaze...

Those were lanterns which hung on the pleasure boats sailing on the Lake of Longevity. However, the passengers on the boat were no longer travelers, but soldiers from Pingxi City. They stood on either side of the deck with powerful bows and crossbows in their hands while they watched attentively over the lake’s surface. Quite a number of them were also holding long bamboo poles which they used to poke around in the water. From the look on their faces, these soldiers had probably stayed up half the night on the pleasure boats. Most of them appeared to be quite exhausted, but they didn’t let their guard down for even a second...

Without a doubt, these soldiers were most likely deployed to the Lake of Longevity to search for King Cobra.

At the Lake of Longevity, there were also a few more small isles and some places filled with reeds. A thorough search of the area would definitely require quite a lot of time and effort.

King Cobra had very prominent features on his face. After being seen by those two ladies last night, the officers from the Law Enforcement Office immediately knew they were talking about the wanted criminal, King Cobra as soon as the portrait was drawn.

A serious wanted criminal, who had just committed a crime not long ago in Qinghe County by massacring many, had actually managed to slip into the prefectural city and even murdered a young lord from an influential clan. News like this would no doubt send shockwaves. While instilling terror to a great number of people, it also infuriated some, like the Prefectural Governor from the Ye Clan. As the individual holding the highest authority in Pingxi Prefecture, it went without saying that he couldn’t possibly allow an infamous criminal to run amok in Pingxi City, even if only for the sake of his pride and reputation as an official.

After Yan Liqiang was done with his morning regime and saw the pleasure boats which were still drifting along the lake surface while the sky had already brightened, Yan Liqiang’s face broke into a strange smile.

After he had his breakfast in the inn and settled the bills for his room, Yan Liqiang left Vista Paradiso.

The patrols on the streets of Pingxi City had obviously increased compared to yesterday, along with officials who abused their power. They were gathered around places like the alleys and street corners. Crouching on the floor or below the eaves, they had grassroots or toothpicks sticking out at the side of their mouth as they eyed the pedestrians, especially those who were wearing hats, bamboo hats or face masks.

Shortly after Yan Liqiang left the inn, he saw an old man wearing a bamboo hat come out from an alley by the roadside. He was walking normally in front of Yan Liqiang until two thugs suddenly rushed out from a corner of the street and came towards him. One of the thugs then deliberately bumped into the old man and pretended to fall down. The other thug knocked the bamboo hat off that old man’s head in the process, revealing his head full of gray hair and wrinkled face hidden beneath the hat.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” The old man flew into a rage.

“I’m sorry, my brother here is drunk...” One of the thugs said, then they both escaped into the alley in a flash and vanished.

The two thugs completely ignored Yan Liqiang, who was behind the old man.

They walked for less than two hundred meters before the old man was stopped by a patrol of several men who demanded that he take off his bamboo hat...

Yan Liqiang looked straight ahead and walked past the patrol and the old man. After walking for half an hour, he arrived somewhere near the Nine Dragons Bridge in the east of Pingxi City.

As the oldest business district in Pingxi City, the street to the east of Nine Dragons Bridge was still bustling with activity during the day. However, the western side of the bridge was where the Shatu people usually gathered, therefore, it appeared to be deserted.

On the lively street east of Nine Dragons Bridge, however, one place was an exception – the medicinal store. The entrance was shut and the store was out of business. The door and windows outside the store were quite damaged and seemed to have been deliberately smashed. At the entrance of the store, a few Shatu people sat on rugs with their scimitars hanging at their waist. They were blocking the entrance and part of the road. The walls on either side of the main entrance had been splashed with ink along with two lines of messy scribbles–’ If you kill someone, you pay with your life! If you owe money, you pay your debt!’

“What are you looking at!” The few Shatu people sitting on the floor didn’t seem to be bothered by the stares they got from the passersby. They’d occasionally snap back at them violently and fiercely like a hungry man-eating wolf. However, those Shatu people weren’t able to conceal the greed in their eyes when they turned around to look at the bustling street and stores.

Yan Liqiang was very well aware of the incident here. When he passed by the medicinal store, he only threw those Shatu people a single indifferent glance and moved on.

Not far from the Nine Dragons Bridge and right behind this bustling main street, there was an old Chinese residential area. Due to the fact that this area was closer to the Shatu community, separated by only a river, it was still alright during the daytime. However, by nightfall, many Shatu people would frequently stir up trouble and clamor at the Nine Dragons Bridge. Since the matter had gotten worse over the past two years, quite a number of residents in this residential area moved away one after another over this period of time. The room rentals in this area were pretty much the cheapest in Pingxi City.

After wandering around the residential area for a while, Yan Liqiang spotted a small courtyard with a rental sign. Without wasting much effort, Yan Liqiang immediately paid for a year’s worth of rental at an affordable price to the couple who made tofu, renting the small courtyard which they no longer lived in without going through any broker.

Upon renting the courtyard, he went off to shop for some daily necessities. After a busy morning, he finally settled into his first lodging point in Pingxi City.

Yan Liqiang had lunch in the city and exited the city in the afternoon.

King Cobra’s wanted poster had already been put up at the west entrance of Pingxi City and there was a big crowd looking at it. Yan Liqiang squeezed into the crowd and heard a scholarly person in front of the poster speak while nodding his head. “Anyone who can capture this wanted criminal, King Cobra, dead or alive, will be rewarded with a hundred taels of gold. Anyone who can tip off on the hiding place of this criminal will be rewarded ten taels of gold...”

The crowd of onlookers in the surroundings gasped at the mention of the reward of a hundred taels of gold, then broke out into discussions.

“What’s going on? What crime did this person commit?”

“Don’t you know this person is a criminal who can kill without blinking? Awhile ago he nearly wiped out an influential clan in Qinghe County. Last night, this King Cobra murdered a young lord from a wealthy clan in the city’s Plum Gardens. The Law Enforcement Office of the city is currently in a chaotic state...”

“How did he manage to slip inside the city?”

“Who knows?”

The King Cobra on this portrait bore more resemblance to the one drawn in Qinghe County. King Cobra’s sinister face, his slanted eyes and black mole were drawn with a standard close to those facial composites. It seemed like the skill of the Law Enforcement Office’s artist in this prefectural town was a lot higher than the one in Qinghe County. Even so, these line portraits drawn with calligraphy brush and ink were not that much different compared to real portrait sketches, especially those by Yan Liqiang, which could be said to be done with the standard of a professional composite artist.

Yan Liqiang secretly smiled while listening to the heated discussions going on around him, then withdrew himself from the crowd. He easily went past the inspection at the city entrance and returned to Wuyang Village.

In the afternoon of the same day, Yan Liqiang ascended the mountain again and wasted no time in practicing his blow dart technique.

After receiving three Heavenly Bestowments, Yan Liqiang could sense that the highest realm of this blow dart wasn’t only the third layer. He had a feeling he could make another breakthrough happen...

Chapter 130: One Technique To Many More

While King Cobra brought an uproar to Pingxi City, Yan Liqiang immersed himself in diligent training every day in Wuyang ViIlage...

On the 11th day of the ninth lunar month, which was the fourth day after Yan Liqiang eliminated Wang Haofei, Yan Liqiang’s blow dart finally attained the fourth layer.

The first two layers of blow dart technique allowed Yan Liqiang to take out his enemies from a further distance away. The third layer allowed Yan Liqiang to hit moving targets accurately while moving. The fourth layer allowed Yan Liqiang to better perceive the airflow around him, thus turning the blow darts he released into living beings that could resonate with him. The moment the blow dart was shot out from the blowpipe, he could move the blowpipe to exert an additional force on the blow dart, allowing it to fly in a strange curved trajectory in which his opponents wouldn’t be able to effectively guard against.

When the realm of his blow dart technique was at the third layer, the trajectory of the blow darts he released had always been straight. After attaining the fourth layer, to put it simply, Yan Liqiang could even hit a target within a forty meter range behind him if he willed for it.

Four days later, on the 15th day of the ninth lunar month, the realm of Yan Liqiang’s blow dart technique had attained the fifth layer.

The realm of the fifth layer had not only caused more the blow darts to have more variations, but also enhanced its offensive power and range. Yan Liqiang’s control over the blow darts had also reached an entirely new level. In this realm, Yan Liqiang seemed to have a deep comprehension towards everything related to blow darts in his mind. As soon as he saw a blowpipe, he would know which type of blow dart would work best with that blowpipe, to the details of the length of its needle and weight of its fletching, how much force to exert with his mouth and hands when blowing and how many variations it could take... Similarly, when he randomly created a blow dart, he would know which blowpipe would launch that blow dart most efficiently, to the details of its appearance, length, diameter of its opening and he could also predict the number of variations the blow dart could take form in midair... All the data and feelings would emerge in his mind...

When the realm of his blow dart technique advanced from the third layer to the fifth layer, Yan Liqiang received the Heavenly Bestowment twice. At the same time, upon attaining the fifth layer, Yan Liqiang could precisely sense that this was the highest realm he could attain for the blow dart technique by using blowpipes. From now on, regardless how hard he trained, as long as he was still using a blowpipe, his technique would not be further improved. If he wished to improve his technique, he would need to discard the blowpipe and break free from conventional methods. Only by doing so he could continue on towards another breakthrough.

This feeling wasn’t told to him by anyone, but rather an enlightenment that had suddenly rose in his heart upon receiving the fifth Heavenly Bestowment.

From the 16th day of the ninth lunar month onwards, Yan Liqiang no longer used a blowpipe during his blow dart practices. He instead tried to launch the blow darts using his hands.

The new approach was indeed very difficult in the beginning. However, with the comprehension never leaving his mind, Yan Liqiang was able to grasp the key to launching blow darts without a blowpipe in just two days. This key could be summed up in just a sentence–’to visualize the pipe in your mind even without one in your hands’.

When he launched the blow dart, he visualized his own hand as a long blowpipe. His fingers, palm, arm, skin, muscles, bone, meridians were all parts which made up the blowpipe. The energy which surged forth from every inch of his flesh on his arm was akin to the energy which surged forth from his lungs. Through the appropriate amount of control and estimation, he managed to achieve things he could with a blowpipe through his arm, including even more variations to the blow darts he released.

On the 23rd day of the ninth lunar month, Yan Liqiang’s blow dart technique had broken through the sixth layer. The sixth Heavenly Bestowment came as expected.

Yan Liqiang guided himself as he pursued the next breakthrough.

By this time, he was already completely wrapped up in his training. Apart from cultivating Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing and the two other external cultivations every day, he spent his remaining time cultivating the blow dart technique. Unbeknownst to even him, he had already quietly gotten into a positive yet mysterious cycle of abilities. After every Heavenly Bestowment, his arms, eyes, body, lungs were enhanced. These enhancements, in turn, laid the foundation to his next breakthrough, which would bring about another wave of enhancements...

Starting from the 24th day of the ninth lunar month onwards, Yan Liqiang removed the ring of empennage-like fairing which he had made out of paper as the fletching of the blow dart, leaving only an unaltered sewing needle in his hands for further training by hand. Yan Liqiang applied the past experience he had in his new training. He visualized the sewing needle without its fletching in his hand as a blow dart with a fletching so small that it could be disregarded. Through this method, he tried to continuously adapt and adjust his body and hands.

And reality had proven that this method was effective.

In merely six days later, on the 30th day of the ninth lunar month, Yan Liqiang once again welcomed his seventh Heavenly Bestowment.

Since his right hand could launch a flying needle and allowed so many variations to it in midair, then his left hand should be able to do the same...

Therefore, from the first day of the tenth lunar month onwards, Yan Liqiang started practicing releasing flying needles with both hands.

Soon enough, his left hand became just as agile as his right hand. Whatever his right hand could do, his other hand could do as well. Not only that, Yan Liqiang also discovered another change in the flying needles he released with both hands– apart variations caused by using both hands, unexpected variations would also happen to the flying needles from colliding or brushing against each other.

On the seventh day of the tenth lunar month, the eight Heavenly Bestowment came again.

By this time, Yan Liqiang had already managed to release flying needles with both hands. Yet, he was still unsatisfied.

Smaller and lighter objects were actually harder to control. Since he could easily control object as tiny as a sewing needle, it shouldn’t be too challenging for him to increase the size of the flying needles and replace it with something else altogether, like throwing knives.

On the eighth day of the tenth lunar month, Yan Liqiang replaced the sewing needles he had been training with to two throwing knives. When he held those throwing knives on his hand, he visualized them as sewing needles of a larger size...

A few days later, he was able to control the throwing knives in his hands as well as he could with sewing needles. Not only that, since the weight of the throwing knives were heavier and thus easier to control, he could launch the flying knives over longer range with more formidable force. Even without dipping those knives in venom, they could easily take someone else’s life.

By the 13th day of the ninth lunar month, Yan Liqiang’s throwing knives became as fast as lightning and as invisible as ghost lights within the range of a hundred meters. The ninth Heavenly Bestowment came...

At this point of time, not only throwing knives but also anything Yan Liqiang could hold in his hands, be it as small as a rock or as big as an axe, he could almost instantly find the best way to handle and control them in order to launch them as soon as he weighed them in his hands.

After the ninth Heavenly Bestowment, Yan Liqiang could sense that his hidden weapon technique had already reached a very high point now. Beyond this point was an invisible ceiling which seemed to have a final realm behind it. However, Yan Liqiang couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was that final realm. He only had a hunch that he would require some kind of opportunity or comprehension to break through this ceiling and that he couldn’t rush into this.

With this comprehension, Yan Liqiang put down the training of hidden weapons and got started with his other techniques.

On the 14th day of the tenth lunar month, Yan Liqiang chopped nine pine trees on the mountain then drove nine wooden stakes two meters high into the ground in the small courtyard he rented, arranging them into a nine palace square. These nine wooden stakes were necessary tools for advancing the Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps to the realm of the third layer as one would need to train the third layer of Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps on wooden stakes two meters above the ground.

From this day on, Yan Liqiang started cultivating Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps and Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist technique in his courtyard.

After nine rounds of Heavenly Bestowments, the strength, agility, and speed of reflex in Yan Liqiang’s arms had reached an inhuman level. Similarly, through the great enhancements brought about by the nine Heavenly Bestowments, the current agility and speed of his body compared to before was like the difference between day and night. Whenever he ascended or descended the mountain, he felt as though he was breezing through the journey and his footsteps felt light and airy.

Agility and reflex speed of the hands were exactly what the Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist technique required as they were the essence of the word ‘consecutive’ in this technique’s name. Similarly, for the ‘wind and shadow’ in Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps, this technique required an agile body.

With enhancements from both Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing and nine Heavenly Bestowments, Yan Liqiang’s two external cultivations went very smoothly the following few days and the speed of his advancements was so fast that even Yan Liqiang found it hard to believe.

After cultivating for merely two days, by the 15th day of the tenth lunar month, Yan Liqiang’s Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist technique had already broken through the fourth layer, attaining the highest realm of this fist technique– the fifth layer.

On the 16th day of the tenth lunar month, the Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps, which had been stagnant for over a long time, had also broken through the second layer, reaching the third layer.

In the following days, Yan Liqiang spent only nine days, with the speed of breaking through one layer every three days, and trained in the Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps secret manual which Qian Su had given him to the highest realm– the sixth layer.

The sixth layer of Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps didn’t only allow Yan Liqiang to move so fast that his figured was blurred on the nine palace stakes, but also enabled Yan Liqiang to achieve the speed of a running horse when he ran.

Although the secret manual that Yan Liqiang trained wasn’t really that powerful and the Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist technique was the most common fist technique everywhere, the speed of his cultivation was enough to shock many if word got out.

Spending more than a month to diligently practice, Yan Liqiang successfully made an unimaginable transformation to his strength with the most unimaginable speed.

A youth nearly fifteen years old possessing flying needles, a hidden weapon technique of the ninth layer, Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist technique of the peak fifth layer and Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps of the peak sixth layer was enough to make a bunch of people’s jaw drop. Even Yan Liqiang didn’t expect his diligent training for just more than a month could improve himself to such extent.

By now, it was almost time for him to return to Pingxi City again...

Chapter 131: Returning to the City

The next time that Yan Liqiang stood at the western entrance to Pingxi City was already in the morning of the 28th day of the tenth lunar month!

After over a month of not entering the city, even though it was early morning, the western entrance to Pingxi City was already bustling. The entire western entrance was full of people coming and going, both in and out of the city. Due to the weather cooling down, the coal usage had increased. Ox-drawn carts full of coal ready to sell were crowded around the city gate, lined up in a long queue, almost like a train.

Watching the crowds bustling around him, Yan Liqiang had the feeling that he was once again returning back to civilization. The most important thing though, was that at this moment, his feelings and emotions were not the same as they once were a month ago.

After paying the entrance fee for the city and entering, Yan Liqiang looked towards the announcements posted at the city gate. The arrest warrant for King Cobra was still stuck there, but after over a month of wear and tear, the picture on the warrant had become very worn and there wasn’t anyone crowded in front of it to check it out. A gust of cold wind blew past and the edge of that worn picture begun to waver, almost like a yellowing leaf that wanted to fall from the tree at any moment.

After over a month of not being able to find King Cobra, the alert level of Pingxi City had long since lowered. Both the city bailiffs and mercenaries were tired. Even the guards at the city gate had lowered their guard. Though the hundred gold taels was a large temptation, if they wanted to find a person that didn’t exist, after a while, anyone would lose interest.

Everyone seemed to think that after King Cobra had made a run for it after committing murder.

Looking at the fluttering arrest warrant, Yan Liqiang smiled a little, walking directly in the direction of the martial arts academy.

There was a swordsmanship lesson by Shi Changfeng today. Thinking about how he had not been to the martial arts academy in a long time, Yan Liqiang couldn’t help but go to have a look. Last time, Shi Changfeng had looked after him. This time, from starting until now which was about a period of two months, he had yet to see Shi Changfeng and he was a little embarrassed just thinking about it.

According to his experience from ‘last time’, it was around this time when many of the new students were starting to awaken from the first flush of excitement, and getting to know that everything within the martial arts academy wasn’t as perfect as they had previously imagined. The county’s top martial arts academy’s higher purpose was to produce martial warriors and you couldn’t really learn any high leveled martial techniques or secret techniques. When the teachers taught lessons, they were all taught accordingly and were all foundations to advancing to martial warrior. In this stage, no matter how much of it was told or described, it wasn’t as important as hard work and practice. The martial arts academy was that it was the best place to enable people to practice hard, therefore those students who assumed that they could come into contact and learn wonderful, advanced martial techniques within the martial arts academy would be sorely disappointed.

Not only that, to many young, inexperienced people, Pingxi City was a busy, bustling place. In a place like this, even the county’s martial arts academy students were a normal sort of existence. It didn’t have that sort of shine about it like there was previously when they were in their hometowns, in front of their villagers. The students around them were basically the same as they were and their abilities were not something they could boast about anymore...

Even more people would discover that in a place like this, your actual personal abilities were hardly as important as another classmate’s family background and the money they had on their person. Each person’s life and social circle would slowly show a huge gap. Some people could already live like a king, passing their days with beautiful women. However, people like you still needed to calculate how much money you could save by eating one less mantou every breakfast this month. While you spent each day squatting in a horse stance, there were other students who had already found masters at the martial arts academy and were learning other, better techniques and eating high-class medicinal pills. They weren’t working as hard as you but their improvements far outstripped yours and they were much more likely to reach martial warrior status.

This huge difference and disappointment were unable to be accepted by many people. They could even fall into a daze and become suspicious. Those who could pass this test would work and sweat even harder during the time they spent in various practice arenas at the martial arts academy. Those who were unable to pass this test would slowly sink into alcohol and prostitutes, and would gradually become useless and just end up as another one of the crowd.

Under this sort of circumstance, many people had already learned to choose between the classes held once per week at the martial arts academy. Some new students had already learned to skip class. As to the reason why, it was because some had found their goal and learned to choose; for others, it was because they had lost their direction and unknowingly had already given up.

Stepping back into the martial arts academy again, there were not many people who saluted Yan Liqiang with their gaze anymore. In these last two months, apart from the first day at the beginning of school, Yan Liqiang hadn’t shown his face at the martial arts academy at all, let alone do anything impressive in the martial ring of the academy. Without many people observing and without any new topics of conversation, the shine of being number one of the top three in Qinghe County’s Martial Arts County Trial had slowly worn off. Both Yan Liqiang and Guang Tongcheng had absolutely become one of many passing students within the martial arts academy.

This was also the result that Yan Liqiang had specifically created. In a lot of cases, being normal was the best defense.

After arriving at the large classroom, he found that Shi Changfeng had yet to arrive and there was neither hide nor hair of Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng. To Yan Liqiang’s knowledge of the past, the basic sword technique that Shi Changfeng was teaching had already been taught to the two of them before at home. The one who had taught Shen Teng basic sword technique was his uncle. Shi Dafeng’s old man had spent money to hire a teacher to pass on their techniques to him. It was a pity that Shi Dafeng had no interest in basic sword technique, his preferred weapon was the saber as he thought that using the saber was smoother.

After waiting a while in the classroom, Shi Changfeng arrived.

Shi Changfeng’s gaze swept across the classroom. When he saw Yan Liqiang, his gaze paused slightly before he started the lesson.

This was the second time that Yan Liqiang had attended this same class. In this class, Shi Changfeng only spoke about the snap movement within the basics of sword technique. He took less than twenty minutes and then the class was dismissed.

Just as he stepped out of the classroom, a voice sounded next to Yan Liqiang’s ear.

“Yan Liqiang...”

Yan Liqiang turned his head and saw that Shi Changfeng was looking at him, standing beneath a tree that wasn’t far from the classroom exit, his hands behind his back. Yan Liqiang hurried ran over.

“Greetings to you, Teacher Shi...”

Shi Changfeng carefully looked at Yan Liqiang from head to toe. His expression was slightly serious and without humor. “I remember that you were number one in this year’s Qinghe County’s Martial Arts County Trial. A couple of months ago, it was me who called you here to try out for the Trial...”

“Yes, I didn’t expect that Teacher Shi would still remember!” Yan Liqiang said smiling.

“This is the first time that I’ve seen you in the martial arts academy in two months, ever since the start of class. Normally, I don’t see you go to class, nor do I see you in the practice arena. Now, I don’t know what you’re busy with, but you must know from the moment you entered this county’s martial arts academy, any achievements you made prior are not enough to prove your worth. You must not become complacent or arrogant. Even though the things taught in this martial arts academy isn’t deep, but it is the basics of becoming a martial warrior. It is only after you have this foundation and advance into a martial warrior that you can move further in the future. You might deeply regret your current moments of leisure in the future!” Shi Changfeng told Yan Liqiang, words both meaningful and heartfelt.

Yan Liqiang hadn’t actually expected Shi Changfeng to be so mindful of himself. The last time, it was only because he was righting a wrong at the city gates that Shi Changfeng had seen him in a new light and was slightly admiring of him. However, this time, he hadn’t done a single thing, but Shi Changfeng had been unexpectedly concerned about him, noticing that he had not come to class for about two months. It looked like that this teacher was quite concerned about him. If he wasn’t concerned, then who would care if he lived or died.

“Thank you, Teacher Shi, for your honest advice!” Yan Liqiang said politely.

“Are you currently living near Three Yuan Street?”

“I’m living outside the city, in a village on the west. It’s cheap to live and eat there, and no one bothers you when you cultivate...”

Hearing Yan Liqiang’s words, Shi Changfeng paused slightly. “I remember that your family’s not badly off, with a smith’s forge to garner a living. Why...”

“Oh, about that, I feel that I’m not a child anymore. Even if I’m to study at the Prefecture Martial Arts Academy, I will still need to slowly learn to fend for myself and reduce the burden of my father a little. Even tael less that I spend here, means that my father can toil less at home...” Yan Liqiang looked every inch the studious student who was striving for self-improvement.

Shi Changfeng’s expression had softened quite a lot. He nodded lightly. “To be able to fend for yourself is not a bad thing, but don’t push yourself and miss the bigger picture. As long as you can achieve Martial Warrior status as soon as possible, then fortune will follow. There’s no need to worry about it like that!”

“Yes, I’ll remember!”

Shi Changfeng only left after encouraging Yan Liqiang with a few more words. Yan Liqiang was initially going to search for Shi Dafeng, however, he reconsidered. It was better for him to keep a distance from Shi Dafeng before he had completely gotten rid of the impending crisis upon him, to avoid getting Shi Dafeng involved. With that in mind, Yan Liqiang directly descended the mountain.

Just as he walked out of the front door of the martial arts academy, a horse-drawn carriage coincidentally stopped before the door. The curtain on the carriage drew apart and a person disembarked. Yan Liqiang and that person looked at each other, both startled into pausing.

“Sixth Master!”

“Liqiang!”

The person who stepped down from the carriage was actually Lu Peien...

Chapter 132: If The Mountain Spins, The Water Will Run

Yan Liqiang walked up to Lu Peien and politely asked, “Sixth Master, what business do you have in Pingxi City?”

“Haihh, it’s a long story!” Lu Peien shook his head and smiled wryly before he cheered up again. “It’s been two long months! Liqiang, you seem to be in better spirits and you look good. From the looks of it, you have made some progress again in your training. The day you become a Martial Warrior is probably just around the corner!”

“Hahaha, I don’t have any burdens unlike important people such as Sixth Master who is always busy!”

“You are really good at flattery!” Lu Peien laughed too, feeling comfortable every time he spoke with Yan Liqiang. He couldn’t help but forget his age and treat him like an adult. Qian Su already told him that this precocious nephew of his was too mature for his age. It seemed like he wasn’t wrong about it at all.

“I still have a lot to learn from Sixth Master!”

“Ah, let’s leave it at that. I need to pay a visit to the martial arts academy first. I’ve got some business with the academy’s headmaster. Go busy yourself with your own things first Liqiang, then we’ll have lunch together at Lingbo Pavilion here in Pingxi City...”

“I have nothing much to do now. Just let me know if you need any help, Sixth Master. I will definitely do it as long as it is within my capabilities!”

‘The last time’ a tragedy befell his clan, the Lu Clan did everything they could for him and Yan Dechang until the very end. Yan Liqiang still remembered that it was Old Master Lu who sent the Sixth Master to Pingxi City to face a great deal of pressure. He had to personally make use of his connections in the city to claim Yan Liqiang’s corpse and he helped settle the funeral. Although the Lu Clan was an influential clan in Huanglong County, they had indeed done as much as they could for him.

As the saying goes, ‘misfortune tests the sincerity of friends’. It was certainly remarkable for the Lu Clan to be able to do that for them. To Yan Liqiang, regardless of the future between him and Lu Beixin or the possibility of them being together, the Lu Clan was definitely worth making friends with.

Seeing how ardent and thoughtful Yan Liqiang was, Lu Peien stole a few serious glances at him again. When he realized that Yan Liqiang was calm and didn’t seem to be insincere, he couldn’t help but be moved. He secretly murmured to himself that it seemed like the Old Master still had pretty impressive eyes for people. When Yan Liqiang, who had come to Pingxi City for two months after winning the first place among the top three in Qinghe County, saw him again, not only was he not conceited or arrogant – he was more respectful and courteous than ever. And what was that? That was the moral of a person. A person like this would certainly achieve meteor success in their life when an opportunity presented itself.

“Although this matter is indeed a vexing one, there’s no need for Liqiang’s help for now. We shall talk more during lunch...”

“Alright. Please attend to your matters first, Sixth Master. We shall talk more over lunch...”

After speaking with Yan Liqiang, Lu Peien immediately headed towards the main entrance of the martial arts academy. The guards who stood by the entrance stopped him. Lu Peien then fished out a gilded name card and handed it over to them. The two guards took a good look at the name card before they courteously stepped aside to let Lu Peien in. One of them even guided him to the mountain.

Yan Liqiang initially planned to return to the Nine Dragons Bridge, but since he had bumped into Lu Peien here, he decided to stay and wait for Lu Peien to come back instead of going elsewhere.

Judging from Lu Peien’s countenance, the Lu Clan had probably run into some kind of trouble or difficulty that wasn’t easy to resolve, and thus he showed up in Pingxi City. However, no matter how hard he racked his brains, Yan Liqiang simply couldn’t come up with any problems that the Lu Clan could have possibly run into that required Lu Peien to come running to the martial arts academy.

“Big Brother, if I may ask, what is your name?” Seeing that Lu Peien had gone inside, Yan Liqiang started a conversation with his coachman. From the attire the coachman was wearing, he was probably from the Lu Clan too.

“Oh, you are too polite! I am Lu Dayou. If Young Master Yan thinks highly of the humble me, you can just call me by my name!” The coachman was overwhelmed and shocked after Yan Liqiang treated him with respect.

“Haha, Brother Lu, you know about me?”

“Of course I do. The method which Young Master Yan passed down to rescue those who drown in water at the Lu Residence is simply amazing. A few months later, that method saved the lives of a few children in just Huanglong County alone. Since that method was propagated by our manor, we are also basking in the reflected glory and are being praised by the others. Now, there’s no one in the Lu Residence who hasn’t heard of Young Master Yan’s name. Everyone talks about how merciful you are and that you will definitely be rewarded for your good will. When Young Master Yan won first place among top three in the Martial Arts County Trial of Qinghe County, everyone in the Lu Residence knew as well and we were happy for Young Master Yan...!” The coachman smiled earnestly while he praised Yan Liqiang.

“How has the Lu Clan been lately?”

“Not bad!”

“Is Old Master Lu still healthy?”

“Yes, he is. The Old Master can play with huge stone weights of more than a hundred jin every day for up to two hours...”

“Glad to hear that. Did Sixth Master come to the prefectural city’s martial arts academy because he ran into some kind of trouble?”

“Well... It’s not my place to tell!” Lu Dayou hesitated for a moment before he shook his head with a troubled expression on his face. “Please forgive me, Young Master Yan. If I am to tell you now, the Sixth Master will reprimand me for not knowing my place. If Young Master Yan wishes to know, you will just have to personally ask the Sixth Master later...”

“Understood, I will ask Sixth Master personally later. Sorry for making things difficult for Brother Lu!”

“Don’t worry about it...”

“Oh right, how long has Brother Lu been a coachman...?”

“Almost two decades!”

“What’s the difference between driving a carriage and riding a horse? Is there some sort of trick to it?”

...

As the saying goes, ‘When I walk along with two others, they may serve me as my teachers.’ [1] Since Yan Liqiang had nothing to do anyway, he used the time to talk about the tips and tricks of driving a carriage with Lu Dayou, how to take care of horses and rhinodrake steeds, the qualities of various fodders, and how to take care of sick horses... At first, Lu Dayou thought that Yan Liqiang didn’t know how to take care of horses. After talking to him, he realized that Yan Liqiang was actually very knowledgeable. He even had better experiences than him in certain aspects and Lu Dayou was actually able to gain a lot of knowledge from him here. He also reciprocated by sharing various pieces of information and experience he had gained from driving carriages to Yan Liqiang over these years.

Nearly two hours passed since they started talking.

By the time Lu Peien came out from the martial arts academy, both of them still seemed to have much to talk about. The coachman, Lu Dayou, admired Yan Liqiang so much that he wanted to bow down to him in admiration and he so badly wanted to proclaim Yan Liqiang as his close friend. After driving a carriage for so many years, his chat with Yan Liqiang today was most pleasurable. But of course, he was oblivious to the fact that socializing and building up networks through communication was a special skill that Yan Liqiang had earnestly studied during his career in his past life. In addition to this skill and the various ‘past’ experiences and gained knowledge, what Yan Liqiang gathered from the dedicated coachman of the Military Governor was enough for Yan Liqiang to chat with him for an entire day without any issues.

“Sixth Master!”

“Sixth Master!”

“What were you guys talking about? You two seemed like you were having a lot of fun!”

“I’ve learned quite a lot about taking care of horses from Young Master Yan. I am really impressed by him...” Lu Dayou managed to reply first.

“Oh? Liqiang, you know how to take care of horses too?”

“I have them back home, so I know a little. Actually, I was asking Brother Lu about how to drive a carriage just now. He was just being too humble...” Yan Liqiang said humbly.

Lu Peien smiled and gave Yan Liqiang a deep, meaningful stare. Perhaps most would scorn at people like Yan Liqiang who mingled with people of a lower social class. However, to a worldly man like Lu Peien, he would value Yan Liqiang instead and secretly admire him. “Liqiang, you didn’t leave?”

“No, I didn’t. I waited here for Sixth Master to bring me to a good meal!”

Why would someone like Yan Liqiang be bothered about a good meal so much that he waited for him here instead of leaving? He was probably sincere about finding out what help he could offer. Of course, Lu Peien understood just how valuable his intention was. He let out a hearty laugh. “HAHAHA. Good. It’s about time for lunch anyway so let’s go now. We’ll go there on the horse carriage. Feel free to order whatever you wish to eat today, Liqiang!”

“Hehe, I hope I won’t put too many expenses on Sixth Master!”

Both of them got on the horse carriage. Lu Dayou immediately drove the carriage towards Lingbo Pavilion without even waiting for Lu Peien’s order.

Lu Peien didn’t really talk about anything too important to Yan Liqiang in the horse carriage. He only inquired about Yan Liqiang’s his studies in the martial arts academy out of concern, which Yan Liqiang responded appropriately to.

The traveling speed of the horse carriage was indeed quicker than walking. It was obvious that this wasn’t the first time the coachman, Lu Dayou, had visited Pingxi City. He was very familiar with the routes in the city. In just a flash, the horse carriage had arrived at Lingbo Pavillion.

Lingbo Pavillion was the most famous restaurant in Pingxi City. It was located in the Plum Gardens at the Lake of Longevity.

Yan Liqiang would more or less have a strange feeling in his heart every time he was at the Plum Gardens, even though he didn’t show it on his face. That was because the last time he was here, he was here to kill Wang Haofei.

They reserved a private room on the third floor of Lingbo Pavillion all to themselves. After the dishes were served, both of them had two cups of wine in the room. When Yan Liqiang once again brought up the question of why Lu Peien was here in Pingxi City, Lu Peien drained the contents of his cup in one gulp and then placed his wine cup down on the table. With a frown, he spoke to Yan Liqiang gloomily. “The Lu Clan is in big trouble this time...”

“What kind of trouble? Please tell me in detail, Sixth Master!”

Lu Peien pointed to the Lake of Longevity beyond the window. “Liqiang, did you know that King Cobra murdered someone in one of the isles in the Lake of Longevity last month, on the night of the seventh day of the ninth lunar month?”

“Yes, I do!” Yan Liqiang thought carefully for a moment. “I didn’t think King Cobra would still be in Pingxi City. I heard that the person whom he killed was one of my senior martial brothers in the martial arts academy, with the surname Wang. I think the city was in an uproar for quite a long while back then...”

“The victim’s name was Wang Haofei. Liqiang, do you know who he is?”

“Well... I heard he was the son of a wealthy clan...” Yan Liqiang had an endearing, silly look on his face.

“That’s right. Wang Haofei was indeed the son of a wealthy clan. He was the young lord of the Wang Clan in Huanglong County. The son of Wang Puge, the head of the Wang Clan, who was very dear to the Old Master of the Wang Clan. He was the future hope of the Wang Clan. In Huanglong County, the Lu Clan and the Wang Clan never really got along well with each other, nor have they been on good terms. Now that Wang Haofei is dead, the Wang Clan is planning to blame it on the Lu Clan. They thought it was the Lu Clan who contacted King Cobra to assassinate him...”

Yan Liqiang’s jaw dropped in shock. He didn’t expect that after all the twists and turns, this matter would shift to the Lu Clan...

Chapter 133: Lu Clan and Wang Clan

“How did this have anything to do with the Lu Clan? King Cobra is a wanted criminal who has taken countless lives as a lone wolf. Despite the fact that the Wang Clan is not on good terms with the Lu Clan, they can’t possibly shift the blame on the Lu Clan just because someone died in their clan. It could be that the Wang Clan offended someone themselves or Wang Haofei offended King Cobra. There’s also a possibility that maybe King Cobra killed him for wealth!”

“You may be right about that, but you are missing a key point!”

“Which key point?”

“Now that things have turned out this way, there’s really nothing to hide from Liqiang!” Lu Peien shook his head and smiled wryly. If Yan Liqiang was an ordinary youth, it would be fine if he didn’t tell Yan Liqiang. However, Yan Liqiang was a shrewd boy. Things had blown up between the Wang and Lu Clan. If he didn’t tell Yan Liqiang now, there might be misunderstandings and rifts between them by the time Yan Liqiang found out for himself in the future. Hence, it was better to clear things up with him now. After all, this was also one of the reasons behind his visit to Pingxi City. “This matter is also related to Beixin!”

“What has it got to do with Miss Lu again?” Yan Liqiang asked, despite knowing the answer already. Deep down, he suddenly managed to connect all the dots.

“Beixin also studies at the martial arts academy and she previously became acquainted with Wang Haofei. She then got into some sort of relationship with him and kept it a secret from the clan. Don’t overthink this, Liqiang. Although Beixin was in a relationship with Wang Haofei, she had to scrupulously abide by the rules and she didn’t go overboard. Heaven and Earth can testify to this...”

“Yes, I have met the Ninth Lady. She is indeed rational and well-behaved. I believe she wouldn’t do anything that is over the top either. I am guessing that Wang Haofei initiated the relationship between him and the Ninth Lady, possibly with some impure intentions...”

“Exactly!” Lu Peien slapped his thigh. “But the Old Master still found out about this in the end and he was extremely furious. When the academy reopened during the ninth lunar month, he grounded Beixin. As punishment, he shut her up and made her reflect on her mistake. He also forced her to promise that she wouldn’t have anything to do with that Wang guy from then on. But Wang Haofei didn’t know about this. The night he was murdered, he was actually waiting to meet Beixin on that isle. Unfortunately, he was killed by King Cobra instead. What do you think the Wang Clan would think about this?”

The Wang and Lu Clan had always been sworn enemies. A man from the Wang Clan seduced a woman from the Lu Clan and was murdered by someone at the place where he was supposed to meet the woman. Of all places, the two of them had chosen a very obscure place to meet. Apart from the both of them, no one else would really know about the place. What would the Wang Clan possibly think of this...?

“This is indeed hard to explain!”

“Indeed. In Huanglong County, we, the Lu Clan, have never feared the Wangs even in the slightest. When push comes to shove, we will just deal with it when the time comes. If we are going to fight, there are fighters in our clan. However, the Lu Clan has really been falsely accused over this incident. It is not worth it for us to take the blame either. If the Wang Clan really decides to take revenge for this incident, then it’s inevitable that there might be casualties, even among our younger generation. Even if we can avenge them, we can’t avoid turning this into an armed battle. Right now, things are extremely tense between the Wang Clan and the Lu Clan in Huanglong County. The younger ones are growing wary when they are outside, fearing that the Wang Clan will come for revenge...” Lu Peien explained, his eyebrows tightly knitted together.

“How does Old Master Lu plan to handle this?”

“Old Master Lu doesn’t wish to turn this into a conflict with the Wang Clan without rhyme or reason. Therefore, he personally wrote a letter to the Old Master of the Wang Clan. But according to the messenger, the Old Master of the Wang Clan tossed the letter into the brazier in which they burnt paper money for Wang Haofei without even reading it...”

“That means that the Wang Clan isn’t willing to leave this matter alone!”

“Yes, Wang Haofei was always deemed as the most outstanding youth among the younger generation in the Wang Clan. He was even a potential candidate to succeed as the next Wang Clan head. Now that he was murdered just like this, the Wang Clan definitely won’t take this while lying down.”

“How are the preparations coming along in the Wang Clan?”

“Naturally, they are eager to get into action and are already rounding up people who can fight with them!”

“Just let me know if you need my help, Sixth Master!”

Lu Peien smiled. With haughtiness in his tone of voice, he said, “Just concentrate on your studies in the martial arts academy, Liqiang. Although the Lu Clan didn’t wish to be involved in this incident without rhyme or reason and have to put up a life or death struggle against them, we definitely are not targets for the Wang Clan to bully either. If the Wang Clan can round up people, so can we. Besides, this isn’t the first time we have fought with them. Anyhow, even if we are not the ones who ordered someone to assassinate Wang Haofei, he deserves to die. He definitely had some impure intentions in approaching Beixin. I went to the martial arts academy this time to look for two academy tutors I know because I wish to find out if Wang Haofei had any enemies, if he offended anyone in the academy, or if anyone had deliberately framed the Lu Clan because they wanted us to fight the Wang Clan...”

“Did you find out anything?”

“They said the young lord of the Prefectural Governor is the only person Wang Haofei was close with. He rarely appeared at the martial arts academy and didn’t offend anyone either.”

“Rest assured, Sixth Master, I know a few people in the martial arts academy too. My friends and I will keep an eye out for things. I will inform Sixth Master immediately if we have any information!”

“Good!” Lu Peien nodded and glanced at Yan Liqiang again before he laughed. “Liqiang, don’t be a stranger. Stop calling me Sixth Master. Call me Sixth Brother like Beixin does. Being called Sixth Master makes me feel old!”

If Yan Liqiang got together with Lu Beixin, then he’d really have to call Lu Peien his ‘Sixth Brother’. For Lu Peien to ask Yan Liqiang to change his form of address meant that Yan Liqiang had won his approval and he was about to treat Yan Liqiang as his younger brother-in-law.

“It is an honor, Sixth Brother!” Yan Liqiang stood up and gave Lu Peien a solemn bow.

Lu Peien smiled and quickly pulled Yan Liqiang up. He then fished out a shortsword and handed it over to Yan Liqiang. “I didn’t prepare anything for this visit to Pingxi City. This shortsword is something I got a few years ago by chance, and I named it ‘Black Scale’. Rumors have it that this was tempered with by an expert with some sort of unusual flame. I shall give you this today, Liqiang!”

Unusual flame? This was the second time Yan Liqiang had come across this term. He heard it for the first time at the Divine Sword Sect – that there was a type of unusual flame within Tianqiao Peak.

Yan Liqiang accepted the shortsword Lu Peien handed over to him without declining, and then immediately unsheathed it.

The sheath and grip of the shortsword were made out of ordinary wood while only the guard and the pommel were made out of steel. It didn’t really have that many decorative designs on it. It was a simple and non-flashy weapon. When Yan Liqiang drew the sword out, he was slightly stunned by the sight of the dark and swarthy blade.

Lu Peien smiled beside him and grabbed a pair of chopsticks on the table. Without exerting much force, he lightly tapped the chopsticks on the edge of the blade. The chopsticks instantly split cleanly in half.

The sharpness of this shortsword was simply beyond imagination.

“Ah!” Yan Liqiang gasped in surprise.

“It has been said that the unusual flame will be able to draw in the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth, mixing it in with the item that is being tempered with during the process. Hence, items that have been tempered by these unusual flames contain outstanding qualities!”

“Sixth Brother, this is much too expensive for a gift!”

“This thing isn’t too useful to me since I am not a Martial Warrior. If the Lu Clan really needed someone like me to draw my sword and fight, then it must be at the end of its line. Liqiang, you have boundless future prospects ahead of you. As the saying goes, ‘a great gift is for a great man’. You are the more fitting owner of this shortsword!”

“Thank you, Sixth Brother!” Yan Liqiang put away the shortsword in his hands. “What exactly is that unusual flame you speak of?”

“That unusual flame? I have never seen it so I don’t know too much about it either. All I know is that the unusual flame seems to be a mysterious matter born from Heaven and Earth. The ores and weapons tempered with the unusual flame are extremely sharp. Refined objects that are tempered with it will also possess some strange attributes. By the time you progress into becoming a Martial Warrior and get to know more people, you will probably find out more about it...”

“Alright...”

...

After finishing their meal, Lu Peien left on his horse carriage. Before he left, he reminded Yan Liqiang to visit the Lu Residence when he had the time.

After seeing Lu Peien off, Yan Liqiang held the Black Scale shortsword close to his chest and went off in the direction of the Nine Dragons Bridge.

On his way there, he kept thinking about Wang Haofei. He couldn’t help but feel astonished. He didn’t expect that by killing Wang Haofei in advance, thus changing history and dispelling his imminent crisis, would in turn aggravate the relationship between the Lu Clan and the Wang Clan. After coming back full circle, he was once again indirectly involved in this matter. The will of Heaven was indeed hard to fathom...

...

Yan Liqiang stayed for two consecutive days in the room he had rented near the Nine Dragons Bridge. During the day he wandered and strolled around to observe and shop a little like someone who had nothing better to do. Apart from cultivating Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing in his room, he frequently went out at night and didn’t return until the wee hours of the night. Two days later, on the 30th day of the tenth lunar month, the moment Yan Liqiang had been waiting for finally arrived...

Chapter 134: Operation

Since it was already winter, the sky turned dark very early. By nine o’clock at night on the 30th day of the tenth lunar month, the streets of Pingxi City were pretty much deserted. In this world, which lacked night entertainment, most people were already asleep by eleven o’clock at night. By one o’clock after midnight, the areas that were still brightly lit throughout the entire city could be easily counted with one’s fingers. By the Ox Zodiac Hour, all of Pingxi City would basically be in total darkness.

According to the time system that used in Yan Liqiang’s previous life, the Ox Zodiac Hour was between one and three o’ clock after midnight.

Yan Liqiang napped in the afternoon today at the house he had rented at Nine Dragons Bridge to rest up. At night, he cultivated Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing in his bedroom. By the Ox Zodiac Hour, he had just cultivated five rounds of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing. Thus, Yan Liqiang’s body and stamina were at peak state.

Unsure of whether it was due to the Nine Heavenly Bestowments he had received or the fact that he had been cultivating Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing more diligently these days, Yan Liqiang sensed that he was about to breakthrough the Stretching Tendon and Extending Bone stage. Based on his past experience, when he passed the Stretching Tendon and Extending Bone while cultivating Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing, his dantian would also be established at the same time – these two stages would pass together at the same time. This also meant that he was going to progress into a Martial Warrior way earlier than he had predicted.

Yan Liqiang was quite excited about it, but of course, he hadn’t given up on his own plan. Putting aside the Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist technique, just his hidden flying needle technique at the ninth layer and his Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps which he had cultivated to the peak were enough for Yan Liqiang. He was confident that he would be unstoppable in Pingxi City and that he was capable of achieving a lot of things. As such, that was what ‘the talented and skilled are bold’ saying meant. With proper insight, Yan Liqiang was suddenly able to see the light and the path open up before him. Things he had never dared to think of doing were now popping into his mind one after another as his thoughts gushed forth.

He killed Wang Haofei in self-defense so that he could buy himself more time. Today was the official beginning of his final showdown with the pair of father and son from the Ye Clan.

Yan Liqiang changed into the black clothes he had prepared earlier and also changed into a pair of warrior boots with softer soles. Carrying a black sack on his back, he once again put on King Cobra’s mask. Before he set out, he checked his equipment one last time.

There was a row of flying needles dipped in venom, a row of ordinary darts, an ordinary but sharp shortsword, and a firestarter – a firestarter that could start a fire faster than a fire striker because a fire could be ignited as soon as it was pulled out!

Although the Black Scale shortsword Lu Peien had given to him was sharp and easy to use, its distinctive feature stood out a little too much. Hence, it was not suitable for this occasion because if someone recognized the shortsword, they might be able to trace it back to Yan Liqiang. So in the end, Yan Liqiang left the shortsword behind in his room.

Yan Liqiang predicted that he might even be able to get his hands on some precious items if his operation succeeded tonight because he had already wandered around the location countless times while he was in his soul state. Hence, he knew about the extremely well-hidden items around there.

After equipping all his items, Yan Liqiang closed his eyes and sat in the pitch black room in silence as he waited. He slowed his breathing down at the same time and relaxed his heart.

Finally, after sitting for more than ten minutes in silence with his eyes closed, the sound Yan Liqiang was waiting for finally rang out from outside the window of his rented room.

Clang... Clang... Clang... Clang...

Four long gong beats rang out in the silence of the night. The fourth of the five night watch periods signified that it was already the Ox Zodiac Hour. As the saying goes, ‘the first of the five night watch periods is for the people, the second of the five night watch periods’ gong resounds in the silence, the third of the five night watch periods is for the ghosts, the fourth of the five night watch periods is for the thieves, and the fifth of the five night watch periods is for the roosters’. The fourth of the five night watch periods at the Ox Zodiac Hour was during the deepest part of the night when people slept most soundly. This was also when most nightwalkers started to roam about.

“The night is bitterly cold and dry, beware of fires and thieves...” The old night watchman’s voice resounded across the alley outside.

After waiting for three minutes when the footsteps of the night watchman and the sound of his bamboo clapper faded away, Yan Liqiang’s eyes which had been shut all this while suddenly snapped open. A light flashed across his eyes.

He gently pushed open his window halfway. With his palms gently pressed against the window sill, he instantly leaped out of the half-open window soundlessly like an agile raccoon dog. His body did a 360-degree flip in midair before he landed on the ground of the alley outside without making any noise.

The clouds tonight were as dark as lead; the stars and the moon were dim. In a night without electricity or street lamps, the visibility in the surroundings so low that it was as though the night had sunk into a dark forest. Without a light source, the visibility range for most people was less than a meter.

Yan Liqiang had waited in the city for over two days just for tonight.

During this period of time, he persistently cultivated the eye technique from the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing External Cultivation. In addition to the blessings he had received for his eyesight through the Nine Heavenly Bestowments, his eyes had already gained a terrifying night-vision ability before he even realized it. Nothing within the radius of a hundred meters could escape his eyes. Although objects which were a hundred meters away from him were a little blurry, he could still vaguely make out their outlines.

Yan Liqiang leaned close to the walls of the alley. He moved quickly and demonically, swift like a running horse yet soundless, exhibiting the ability of Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps’ highest realm. Without any lights, if Yan Liqiang ran in front of a person at a meter away, that person would probably just feel a gust of cold wind and would probably even categorize him as a ghost.

In just a flash, Yan Liqiang reached the end of another bridge near the Nine Dragons Bridge.

The street which bustled with activity during the day was pitch black and completely deserted at night. The buildings on either side of the street had no lights and were in total darkness, creating an indescribably eerie atmosphere.

Yan Liqiang crossed the bridge like a black shadow in a flash, arriving at the Shatu community to the west of the Nine Dragons Bridge.

At this hour, the Shatu community was similarly in total darkness. After all, the Shatu people were also humans who needed to sleep at night. Almost everyone was already sound asleep. The only difference between here and the Chinese community east of the Nine Dragon Bridge was that the Shatu community had no night watchman. Instead, they assigned people that were armed with weapons to patrol the area.

The Shatu people had turned their community into a military barrack. But since they had already settled down into an easy and comfortable life in Pingxi City for a few decades, even if they had patrols, the Shatu people had long been lax.

Yan Liqiang had already met two teams of Shatu people patrolling the area with lanterns in their hands on the street, but he easily managed to slip past them.

Yan Liqiang was extremely familiar with the streets and alleys in the Shatu community. In just a few minutes, he was able to pass through two streets and a few alleys, arriving at a place in the northeastern part of the Shatu community.

Before Yan Liqiang was a huge warehouse which occupied up to a hundred mu which was used to store various merchandise: fur, medicinal herbs, and some precious wood types for most of the Shatu businesses in Pingxi City.

Although they appeared to be Shatu people’s goods on the surface, this warehouse was actually also the Shatu people’s arsenal in Pingxi City. Various munitions and weapons they had secretly transported inside Pingxi City were all kept here. They were so well hidden that even ordinary Shatu people wouldn’t realize that there were many important goods hidden in there.

The gate outside the warehouse was tightly locked. The walls on either side of the entrance were more than three meters high. Yan Liqiang dashed towards the wall and quietly listened for sounds before he did a half-squat and leaped two meters high. He landed quietly with one foot on top of the wall, and like a sparrowhawk, Yan Liqiang’s black silhouette flipped over to the other side of the wall.

Within the walls, one of the houses was still brightly lit. The few Shatu guards inside were responsible for keeping watch of this warehouse during the night.

The light in the room was lit to keep people away, just like the scarecrows in the rice fields. This was requested by the leader of Shatu people. Since things had been quiet for many years, the Shatu people had already grown bored.

Yan Liqiang had already determined that there were actually four Shatu people living in the house without even going near. Based on the practice here, two of the four Shatu people would come out together to do a round every two hours while the others continued to sleep in the house. But in reality, the Shatu guards here were already accustomed to patrolling the area alone so that the others could sleep longer.

Yan Liqiang quietly approached the entrance of the house. After waiting for less than ten minutes in silence, he heard some gibberish Shatu language, then the sound of someone getting up from the bed, grumbling as he got up. Just about ten seconds later, the door of the house creaked open from the inside. A Shatu man came out yawning with a lantern in his hand.

Yan Liqiang suddenly reached out to cover that Shatu man’s mouth. Then he plunged his knife into him from behind, piercing his heart.

That Shatu man collapsed limply onto the ground. Before his lantern even hit the floor, Yan Liqiang grabbed it and then immediately charged into the room.

There were four beds in the room. The other three Shatu men shielded themselves from the light outside the window and were sleeping soundly with their heads covered. Their snores filled the room. No one even sensed that Yan Liqiang had already made his way inside the house.

Yan Liqiang moved with lightning speed and quickly circled around the other three beds. With a few waves of his shortsword in the air, the three Shatu people were murdered in their sleep from being stabbed in their hearts. The snoring in the room ceased instantly and the scent of blood permeated the room. In just the blink of an eye, the four Shatu people guarding this place were dead.

Yan Liqiang blew out the lantern in his hand and put it away. He opened the door and dragged the other Shatu man at the entrance back inside. He then stabbed each of them twice again. After ensuring that these Shatu people who might even have hearts on their right side too were totally dead, Yan Liqiang picked up a key that was hanging on the wall by the door and left the small house. When he left, he didn’t forget to properly shut the door too.

Chapter 135: Lighting up the Entire City

Using the key he had retrieved from the room, Yan Liqiang easily opened the small side door to the warehouse which inspectors specifically used to enter the warehouse.

Although it wasn’t his first time seeing the stockpile in the warehouse, seeing it again still made Yan Liqiang silently gasp in surprise.

It was inside this warehouse that all sorts of extremely expensive leathers and furs were stacked in mountain-high piles. There were bear skins, tiger skins, and leopard skins, all of them heaped in a pile as tall as a mountain. In the midst of the pile, there were quite a few rare beast leathers and furs. Among those, the rarest beast of them all was called the cloud antelope. The cloud antelope pellet was both soft and light – it could even repel snow. A coat made with the pellet of a cloud antelope was thin enough to pass through a ring. It was said that one cloud antelope pellet was worth its weight in gold, and within this warehouse, there were over a hundred cloud antelope pellets heaped in piles.

Apart from the leathers and furs, there were all sorts of medicines and several types of expensive and rare woods.

The Shatu people brought all of these leathers, furs, medicines, and those extremely expensive woods from Mount Qiyun and the Gulang Plains. All of these things were also a big part of the trade between the Shatu people and the outside world.

Each of these items were all stacked in mountain-high piles within the warehouse.

Originally, the entities that the Shatu people partnered with was no one else’s business. However, in the last couple of years, the Shatu people had become more and more overbearing and arrogant in Pingxi City. They prohibited others from doing the same types of businesses that they were doing, especially in the wood trade as well as the leather and fur businesses. Previously, in Pingxi City, apart from the Shatu people, there were some other local shops and traders who were in the wood, leather, and fur business, Yet in the end, they were forced to stop by the Shatu people as they showed up to smash their stores and cause trouble. The local magistrates weren’t able to prosecute the offensive Shatu people due to the Writ of Grace, which basically condoned their actions. Eventually, the only people left in the wood, leather, and fur business in Pingxi City were the Shatu people.

In regards to the medicine business, the Shatu people were unable to monopolize it. This was because the Shatu people didn’t really understand the medical field and there were limitations to the type of medicines that Mount Qiyun and the Gulang Plains could produce as they were unable to completely fulfill the needs and requirements within the city. Besides, this also affected the lives of all the people within Pingxi City. There was quite a large amount of people in the medicinal herb business across the entirety of Pingxi City, and amongst those, there were a few big families and corporations with quite large powerbases who did not fear the Shatu people. After the Shatu people tried their tricks a few times without any fruitful results, they retreated and quieted themselves down.

Yan Liqiang weaved through the warehouse with familiarity, and after just a moment, he arrived in an area behind the warehouse.

Yan Liqiang pushed aside the pile of random objects such as wooden boards and gunny sacks off the floor. Beneath the pile of wooden boards and the like, a metal ring appeared. He pulled the metal ring up and a tunnel entrance heading below appeared before Yan Liqiang’s eyes.

Within Pingxi City, there weren’t many Hua tribe people who knew that the Shatu people had silently dug out a massive underground warehouse below the heaping stockpiles.

In this underground warehouse were piles full of weapons, armor, longswords, spears, bows, and arrows all in rows, piles, and bundles. The warehouse was filled to the brim, and the piles were neatly arranged. It was probably safe to say that the amount was on par with the armory within the Military Governor’s Office. It could probably easily outfit over ten thousand people.

Yan Liqiang randomly picked up a long sword next to himself. Near the hilt of the sword, there was a special branded symbol that you could barely see.

That symbol had been slightly smoothed over by someone, but you were still able to pick out the symbol, which was a ‘Gan’. This meant that this item was made within Weaponsmiths Quarter of Gan Province and was a weapon made for the state. These weapons were originally used to supply the Han Empire’s army stationed within Gan Province. However, for some reason, they had ended up in these Shatu people’s hands and they had quietly been collecting them here.

It wasn’t just this longsword; you could mostly find some traces of marks that had not been fully smoothed over on the other weapons.

Even though he had long known what these items collected here were, looking at them, Yan Liqiang couldn’t help the cold feeling rising within his heart. He also knew what these items represented.

The last time, when the importation of weapons into the city by the Shatu people was exposed, the entire thing faded into nothingness in the end as if it had never been exposed. The people who worked with the Shatu and protected them were definitely not limited to Pingxi Prefecture’s Prefectural Governor, Ye Tiancheng. Rather, they had already involved the military officials within the Great Han Empire’s Gan Province and other important personnel in the court. These personnel were highly ranked and important, but it was clear to see that they had long since been rotten from the inside.

Yan Liqiang weaved through the piles of weapons and in the blink of an eye, he arrived before the bow holder rows which the military longbows were hanging from.

Hundreds of longbows hung on those bow holders, and those longbows were also made for the military by the Weaponsmiths Quarter of Gan Province.

Within those longbows, from one stone all the way up to four stones, the strongest longbow was limited to four stones. To the troops who could use longbows, if they could pull a four stone bow, they would already be considered one of the strongest.

Yan Liqiang picked out a four stone longbow and two full quivers of arrows, slinging them onto his back. He then arrived at the underground warehouse’s back area.

At the very back of that warehouse were hundreds of closely stacked, sealed large pots. Seeing these pots, Yan Liqiang immediately grabbed one in each hand and brought it up to the upper warehouse with great haste.

Yan Liqiang walked to the front of the warehouse and smashed opened the seals on the pots. A strange, strong rosin scent immediately wafted into the air.

What the pot held was pine oil!

This was the most strictly controlled military substance in the Han Empire. In the Han Empire, apart from the military, no ordinary citizens were allowed to use pine oil. This was because pine oil’s only use was to create fires. It could be lit with a match and it was hard to put out. No one except the military could use it. Also, the cost of pine oil was exorbitant. It was hard to make, and all the pine oil refineries were controlled by the military, not to be sold in the market.

Looking at all this pine oil, if you wanted to say that the Shatu people wanted to use the pine oil to barbeque and warm themselves up in winter, who would believe you?

Yan Liqiang for one didn’t believe it.

After opening up the pine oil, Yan Liqiang acted as if he was at a water pouring festival. He poured those two pots of pine oil everywhere in the warehouse: on all the goods and on the floor, he spread it everywhere.

After the two pots were emptied out, it still wasn’t enough. So Yan Liqiang hurriedly ran back down to the underground warehouse and brought up two more pots of pine oil. He resumed by opening them up, spreading and sprinkling it everywhere.

All in all, Yan Liqiang used a full twenty minutes to bring up over thirty pots of pine oil, coating the warehouse above the ground. In the end, he finally went ahead and smashed all the pots of pine oil in the underground warehouse, causing all the pine oil to leak out. He picked up a pine oil pot and as he poured it out, he backed himself out of the underground warehouse, joining the pine oil trails across the two floors.

At this point, the entire warehouse was filled with the smell of pine oil and it was choking enough that not even a mouse could continue on.

Yan Liqiang once again retreated to the warehouse’s side door, He smashed the pine oil pot in his hand and then pulled out the firestarter he carried on his person. Opening up the firestarter, he threw it onto the floor of the warehouse. In an instant, the flame flickered and ignited the floor. Within just a few seconds, that flicker had already traveled tens of meters like a row of dominos, igniting the entire floor of the warehouse...

Looking at the burning warehouse floor, Yan Liqiang turned and rushed to the yard’s side wall. Like an owl, within a blink of an eye, he flipped over the wall and disappeared into the darkness.

Yan Liqiang sped through the alleyways and within just two minutes, he was already far away from that warehouse, over a kilometer out. He turned his head to look in the direction of the warehouse, seeing red reflecting up into the sky. It had completely gone up in flames.

Before him was a big residence and there were a few leafy citrus trees with heavy foliage on the street side not far from it. Like a monkey, he climbed onto one citrus tree branch and hid himself.

Finally, just a moment later, the light of that fire which reached towards the sky could be seen by the entirety of Pingxi City. The entire Shatu community also started to make a ruckus. The long awaited and intense sound of the gongs started to sound in the silence of the night...

Chapter 136: Creating a Diversion

Yan Liqiang didn’t have to wait too long at the top of the tree. In just a flash, light flooded the courtyard in front of him. Countless Shatu people started yelling and shouting.

He squinted his eyes and observed the situation inside the Shatu people’s big courtyard through the gaps among the lush leaves of the tree. Everything was going according to plan. Soon after that, a bearded and strong-looking Shatu man in his fifties came out from one of the rooms inside the courtyard with his clothes draped over his shoulder.

That Shatu man seemed to have been woken up by someone from his sleep. The moment he roared, everyone else in the courtyard suddenly went silent.

When that Shatu man who came out saw the blaze over at the warehouse in the distance, his countenance instantly contorted. After yelling in his gibberish-sounding Shatu language for a while, that person led a big group of Shatu people in the courtyard carrying water buckets and other tools to put out the fire without even getting properly dressed. They charged towards the warehouse that was on fire in the distance.

With this, apart from the five or six Shatu people who remained in the entire courtyard to stand guard, most of the other Shatu people rushed toward the warehouse.

The Shatu man in his fifties from earlier was the leader of the Shatu people in Pingxi City. His name was Aligujin. 99 percent of the Chinese people in Pingxi City would find this name to be unfamiliar because most of them thought that the Shatu people in Pingxi City had no leader. They were under the misconception that they were all from their respective caravans in the Shatu Seven Tribes and weren’t subordinates to each other.

A few decades ago, when the population of Shatu people in Pingxi City wasn’t as high today, they were indeed like that. The Shatu people in the city were from their respective caravans of the Shatu Seven Tribes.

The Shatu people from the Dark Razor Tribe of the Shatu Seven Tribes were the most influential ones in Pingxi City since they had the highest number of people. In the end, they treated Pingxi City like their home ground and all the Shatu people who came to Pingxi City lived under the rule of the Dark Razor Tribe.

This was a pact and compromise made internally among the Shatu people, unbeknownst to outsiders. This Aligujin was an aristocrat of the Dark Razor Tribe of the Shatu Seven Tribes.

The Shatu people in Pingxi City formed a very detached community. It was impossible for any Chinese in the city to step inside their social circle. Not only that, the Shatu people also put in effort to maintain the secrecy of their internal affairs. Therefore, the understanding and impression that ordinary people in Pingxi City had ofn those Shatu people still remained the same as more than a decade ago.

Pingxi City’s Prefectural Governor, Ye Tiancheng, knew a little about the situation regarding the Shatu people within the city because the wealthy Ye Clan of Gan Province was involved in many shady businesses and illegal dealings with the Shatu Seven Tribes. And Aligujin just so happened to be the person in Pingxi City that facilitated the talks between the Shatu Seven Tribes and Ye Tiancheng.

If it weren’t for those secrets he discovered while roaming around Pingxi City as a soul, Yan Liqiang wouldn’t possibly have known about the internal affairs of the Shatu people.

He also finally understood one thing in regards to the Ye Clan and Ye Tiancheng – the most dangerous entity to a nation and its people were not those fiendish and sinister enemies who openly carried out their evil deeds, but those corrupt officials and the filthy rich influential clans hiding within the country. They held great responsibilities in their hands, yet they sold their countries and their people out for selfish reasons. These corrupt officials and so-called wealthy and influential clans were the abscess and cancer cells of the country. So long as they weren’t removed, they’d completely devour the life of the country and push its people into the fire pits of eternal damnation sooner or later.

...

When Yan Liqiang saw Aligujin rushing in the direction of the warehouse with a group of Shatu people in tow and figured that they had probably arrived there by now, he finally moved. He slid down the tree like an agile cat and bolted a few dozen meters across the street at lightning speed. Arriving at the courtyard’s wall, he immediately flipped over to the other side like a huge bird.

When Yan Liqiang was still in midair, his hand had already made its way to his waist. The instant his body flipped over, he released four darts in succession from his hand. The four guards in the courtyard Yan Liqiang’s darts pierced their throats and they collapsed to the ground before they could even make any noises.

Without stopping for even a moment, Yan Liqiang bolted inside the manor.

He passed through a corridor. Around the corner at the end of that corridor, the murmured voices and footsteps of two Shatu people rang out from twenty meters away.

Yan Liqiang grabbed two flying needles and flung them out from his hand. After traveling over a distance of twenty meters, the two flying needles made an odd curve around the corner. The conversation between the two Shatu people instantly ceased...

When Yan Liqiang launched the two flying needles, he continued charging forward without stopping. By the time he went around the corner, the bodies of the two Shatu guards had stiffened up as they rigidly fell flat on their faces. It turned out that the two flying needles Yan Liqiang shot out had pierced into the area between their chests and abdomen.

He quickly pulled out the two flying needles from their bodies and then sliced their throats with the blade of his shortsword, instantly ending the lives of those two Shatu guards.

There was a house not too far ahead of this corridor. Yan Liqiang rushed towards the house, pushed open the door, and barged into the room without a second thought.

He found himself in place which looked like a lounge with a bedroom further inside the house.

When Yan Liqiang went in, a sexy Shatu woman was seated in front of her dressing table, clad in a thin layer of pajamas. When she heard the sound of her door being pushed open, she turned around and found herself staring at Yan Liqiang...

Before the terror in the eyes of this Shatu woman could turn into a scream, Yan Liqiang charged towards her and gave her neck a chop with his palm, instantly knocking her out in front of her dressing table.

Yan Liqiang reached his hand beneath the bed in this bedroom and fumbled around before he finally found a switch. He pressed on it as hard as he could and opened a secret compartment beneath the bed.

He pulled open the secret compartment and found a wooden box that was about two feet long and a foot wide. He opened the wooden box to reveal a dazzling sight before his eyes.

Inside the wooden box was a bunch of various pearls, jewels, and thick stacks of silver notes. Yan Liqiang emptied the contents of the box into the sack he carried on his back without any hesitation.

After he was done with that, he knocked the bottom of the wooden box and fumbled around with it for a moment before he pulled open yet another compartment at the bottom part of the wooden box.

Inside that compartment was a black porcelain bottle about the size of a palm sealed with wax, a book wrapped with silk cloth, two translucent crystals about the size of pigeon eggs that were glowed with a strange luster, and a metal cylinder about half a foot long...

Yan Liqiang didn’t know what they were either, but he figured that anything stored inside the hidden compartment of this wooden box was definitely more valuable than the pearls, jewels, and silver notes stored in the compartment above. Without thinking, he packed all these items inside his backpack too.

In just less than two minutes, Yan Liqiang managed to empty out everything that was hidden inside the secret compartment under the bed.

He gave the room a final scan before he quickly left the room with his sack. Half a minute later, Yan Liqiang had already flipped over to the other side of this big manor’s wall again and was back outside.

“HU LENG...!?” A group of about ten Shatu people holding various tools to put out the fire and lanterns just came out from the corner nearby. They seemed like they were on their way to put out the fire. When Yan Liqiang flipped over the courtyard wall, he coincidentally bumped into this group of Shatu people.

‘Hu leng’ meant ‘who’ in the Shatu language.

To answer that Shatu man, Yan Liqiang let loose an arrow.

The arrow went through the Shatu man’s open mouth and pierced through the back of his head. The impact sent the Shatu man flying backwards.

The Shatu people beside him started yelling. Some of them pulled out the scimitars they carried around and charged towards Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang stood unmoving on the street. Using the fastest speed possible, he drew his bow and released about two to three arrows every second. In just five to six seconds, he shot everyone dead in the group on the main street. Not even one of them managed to escape. The formidability of archery was undoubtedly revealed at this moment.

The commotion on the main street immediately caused more clamor in the surroundings. Before the appearance of more Shatu people, Yan Liqiang’s silhouette had already blended into the darkness long ago as he bolted towards the Nine Dragons Bridge like a black shadow.

When Yan Liqiang was close to the Nine Dragons Bridge, he heard the gallops of rhinodrake steeds behind him. Some Shatu people had already come to their senses and were giving chase on their steeds, coming at him from all directions.

Yan Liqiang crossed the river and arrived at the eastern part of the Nine Dragons Bridge. He climbed up the roof of a house and after waiting in silence for a moment, he saw a group of Shatu people chasing him all the way here on their rhinodrake steeds.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

In the darkness, the longbow in Yan Liqiang’s hand was like the harbinger of death. Before any Shatu man could even ride past the Nine Dragons Bridge, all of them were already in a complete mess as Yan Liqiang shot everyone off their steeds.

After Yan Liqiang shot all the remaining twenty arrows in his quiver and ended the lives of over twenty Shatu people, he threw away his longbow and quiver. With a different voice, he laughed loudly on the roof. His voice resounded in all directions. “Grandchildren of the Shatu, your grandfather, I, King Cobra, am here! Come chase me if you don’t want your life, hahahaha!”

Upon hearing his words and the pile of corpses ahead of them, none of the Shatu people at the back dared to charge past the Nine Dragons Bridge.

Yan Liqiang leaped off the roof and disappeared into the dark alley behind the Nine Dragons Bridge like a shadow. In less than two minutes, he found himself somewhere around the small building that he was renting. After ensuring that no one was around, he hopped over the fence and landed in his courtyard.

He went into the building, closed his windows, changed his clothes, and took off his mask. Yan Liqiang almost couldn’t hold his own laughter back...

He put away the black backpack in his room and climbed onto his bed...

In just a short while, he heard the military horses in the city gallop towards the Nine Dragons Bridge.

It seemed like things would get lively again...

Chapter 137: Great Harvest

For the rest of the night, the clamor outside the window never died down.

While lying on his bed, Yan Liqiang could still hear the sounds of people running past the alley outside from time to time. He slept extremely soundly on his bed, not worried about being discovered in the slightest.

In an era without any cameras, big data, tracking dogs, or even a complete criminal investigation method, everything could only be done by relying on manpower. It was nearly impossible to track a non-existent individual in a city as large as Pingxi City.

Putting aside this era, even in his previous life, one would know if they referenced the Elisa Lam incident. In the country which was known as the ‘Light of the World’, in a hotel where cameras were installed everywhere and the suspect was definitely among the limited selection pool of people, a Chinese girl had died just like that while her murderer got away with the crime. This was true reality.

And what was the main point about this? Everyone knew the person who had done these deeds was the wanted criminal, King Cobra. When he was still a penniless brat, King Cobra was already roaming around, committing crimes everywhere and earning his infamous reputation. Not only that, even his own father was one of King Cobra’s victims. Who would possibly think that this ‘King Cobra’ was actually Yan Liqiang?

...

Therefore, as long as he wasn’t stopped by anyone at the scene when he was leaving last night, he wouldn’t have anything to worry about. With just the few bailiffs in Pingxi City, it was impossible for them to find him even if they morphed themselves into Sherlock Holmes.

Clues and logical reasoning were vital for Sherlock Holmes to solve cases. However, there was no logic to the things that Yan Liqiang had done and they couldn’t be logically explained. Up to this point, he was still nothing but a stranger to those Shatu people and the Ye Clan; he was merely an irrelevant and insignificant individual.

As usual, Yan Liqiang woke up before sunrise. After training his eye and ear techniques along with his morning regime in peace, Yan Liqiang took out the stuff he raked in last night, placed them on his bed, and started doing an inventory check.

Yan Liqiang was quite impressed by his own patience for being able to leave these in the house alone for an entire night before checking on them the next day.

When he opened the black sack, the most dazzling items of them all were still those colorful jewels and pearls. Each and every single one of them was of the finest quality. Each of those red and blue jewels about the size of a dragon’s eye. Those diamonds and the pile of extremely expensive-looking and exquisite jewelry could really bedazzle one’s eyes.

Although Yan Liqiang wasn’t sure about the market price of these jewels and pearls, he was certain that the value of these jewels and pearls before his eyes were worth at least ten thousand taels of gold if their worth were to be measured in gold.

Even though Yan Liqiang wasn’t particularly an avaricious person, his eyes couldn’t help but shine as his face involuntary broke into a dumb smile while he drooled at the sight of these precious treasures for the very first time in both his previous and current lifetime. He wasn’t sure how these Shatu people managed to get these items in their hands, but it no longer mattered because from now on, these items belonged to the Yan Clan.

If the values of things like jewels and pearls were very difficult to estimate, then the value of those thick silver promissory notes would be a lot more straightforward as the amount of silver which could be exchanged for every silver promissory note was written on them.

A silver promissory note had two face values – five thousand taels and ten thousand taels. These were the most commonly seen denominations of silver promissory notes issued by the monetary house. After Yan Liqiang was done checking, there were 42 pieces of 5,000-taels silver promissory notes, totaling 210,000 taels of silver and 28 pieces of 10,000-taels silver promissory notes which totaled 280,000 taels of silver. With these two combined, the value of all silver promissory notes made up a grand total of exactly 490,000 taels of silver.

490,000 taels of silver was an astronomical figure. After Yan Liqiang recounted another two rounds and verified the amount, he couldn’t help but be stunned.

All the silver promissory notes were issued by Datong Monetary House. Hence, there was no need for any ciphers. They were the most widely circulated and best trusted promissory notes which were exchangeable on sight. The Datong Monetary House was also the most famous monetary house in the northwestern provinces of the Great Han Empire. Even the government and military funds in the northwestern provinces were all handled by the Datong Monetary House.

Although Yan Liqiang didn’t know what was inside the black bottle which had been sealed with wax, he didn’t hastily unseal it either. However, he saw three small words at the bottom of that black bottle –’Soul Reaping Poison’.

Yan Liqiang didn’t know what Soul Reaping Poison was, but if those Shatu people had especially hidden this bottle of poison in the hidden compartment of that box, then it must be an extremely important item.

That black metal cylinder that was half a foot long was quite heavy on the hand, and Yan Liqiang had no idea what it was either. He examined it for a moment and found a mechanism that could be pressed at the bottom of that metal cylinder. On the other end of that metal cylinder was a sieve which had a hole about the size of a soybean in it.

The ring of patterns beside the mechanism could be also be pressed. Within the patterned ring was an inscription of three Chinese characters – Dragon Demon Island.

Dragon Demon Island? Where was that place? Yan Liqiang had no idea either. But of course, he wasn’t stupid enough to press that mechanism to see how that metal cylinder would react. He pondered about it for half a day and came to a conclusion that this metal cylinder appeared to be a weapon, a hidden weapon or the like. Since he couldn’t figure out what it would do, he could only set it aside for now.

Yan Liqiang picked up the two items which were about the size of pigeon eggs. They glowed with a strange luster, and he examined it for a long while. Similarly, he couldn’t figure what they were. At this point in time, Yan Liqiang finally realized that he was still too ignorant and inexperienced. Within this pile of items, there were actually three items he couldn’t identify.

Yan Liqiang raked his brain, then set those two pigeon egg-like items down again.

Out of everything in there, there was only one remaining item – the thing which looked like a book that had been wrapped in a red silk cloth.

Yan Liqiang unwrapped the layers of silk cloth, revealing a blood-soaked manual before his eyes.

The impact of that manual was too shocking, especially with those bloodstains on it. It felt as though half of the entire manual had been soaked in blood. Yan Liqiang couldn’t help but feel a chill in his heart.

On the cover of that once blood-soaked book was a discolored title –’Five Elemental Poison King Divine Technique’.

This manual had once again corroborated Yan Liqiang’s ignorance and inexperience. However, upon seeing the manual’s title, Yan Liqiang couldn’t stop himself from skimming through the contents to satisfy his curiosity.

The moment he started it, he could no longer tear his gaze away from the manual as a world beyond his imagination unfolded before his eyes...

Chapter 138: An Uproar In The City

Yan Liqiang spent half an hour to finish reading the ‘Five Elemental Poison King Divine Technique’ manual.

Thanks to his highly retentive memory, Yan Liqiang’s memory was nearly photographic. Therefore, after reading the ‘Five Elemental Poison King Divine Technique’ manual once, the content of the manual was completely imprinted in his mind.

He never thought that such a technique could even exist in this world.

The ‘Five Elemental Poison King Divine Technique’ was a bizarre technique. The biggest difference between this technique and the rest was the fact that it was an overpowered support technique.

Only Martial Warriors who have established their dantian could cultivate this technique. If a practitioner wished to cultivate this technique, he would have to swallow and harmonize with core crystals of poisonous beasts which represented the gold, wood, water, fire, and earth elements as foundation. Upon succeeding in this technique, a mysterious Five Elemental Poison King Core Crystal would form in the practitioner’s dantian. When this Five Elemental Poison King Divine Core Crystal integrated itself with the practitioner’s inner strength, the practitioner would mysteriously be imbued with the power of poison and would gain the ability to use poison.

Such a technique was unheard and unseen of. The fact that such a profoundly strange secret technique existed in this world was beyond Yan Liqiang’s imagination.

According to the ‘Five Elemental Poison King Divine Technique’, after a Five Elemental Poison Core Crystal formed in the practitioner’s dantian, he would become immune to hundreds of types of poisons and any sort of venom. At the same time, as the practitioner’s cultivation rank would increase, and the poison derived from the Five Elemental Poison King Core Crystal in the practitioner’s body would become increasingly pure and powerful. The Five Elemental Poison King Core Crystal would also continuously fuse with the core crystals of other poisonous beasts through the Five Elemental Derivation, thus deriving the poisons of other poisonous beasts.

Most importantly, the practitioner capable of forming the Five Elemental Poison King Core Crystal wouldn’t turn into some kind of ‘poisonous being’ or ‘monster’. All their bodily functions would still remain normal and there would be no noticeable changes in their outward appearance. Therefore, as long as the practitioner didn’t exhibit this technique and activate the Five Elemental Poison King Core Crystal in their body, no one would even notice the practitioner’s cultivation of this technique.

Damn, this technique could really turn a person into a portable chemical weapon manufacturing factory! Not only that, this factory could also progressively and constantly update its poison manufacturing mechanisms.

After he finished reading the secret manual, Yan Liqiang couldn’t help but be amazed in his heart.

Thinking about it, if he could master this technique, he wouldn’t need to waste that much effort in looking for poisonous snakes and snake venom to help coat his flying needles. He had a hunch that adding poison to his flying needles through this technique was not the only thing he would be capable of: he’d also be able to use different types of poisons. This was because as soon as soon as the Five Elemental Poison King Core Crystal formed, he would be able to handle five different types of poisons.

It was also after reading the ‘Five Elemental Poison King Divine Technique’ secret manual that Yan Liqiang finally understood what those two strange, glowing pigeon egg-like things were that he had discovered at the bottom of the wooden box. If he wasn’t wrong, those two items were most likely the core crystals of poisonous beasts.

From their colors, the gold one was probably the core crystal of an earth-elemental beast while the azure one was the core crystal of a water-elemental beast. Since Yan Liqiang hadn’t cultivated his inner force, he didn’t know what kind of beasts these two core crystals originated from. If he had cultivated his inner force, he would be able to find out by channeling his inner force into those core crystals.

The ‘Five Elemental Poison King Divine Technique’ wasn’t a secret technique that was passed down by the Shatu people. Therefore, they must have obtained this secret technique from somewhere else. Not only that, there was a high possibility that the Shatu people had obtained this secret manual and those two beast core crystals at the same time.

The color of the bloodstain on the secret manual still seemed to be quite fresh. It would appear that it was soaked in blood not that long ago, perhaps no older than two years ago. Though Yan Liqiang had no idea how the blood got on there in the first place, just by using a little bit of imagination, one would be able to figure out that the secret manual did not peacefully fall into the hands of those Shatu people.

The ‘Five Elemental Poison King Divine Technique’ was extremely extraordinary and formidable. Yan Liqiang felt a rush of excitement just by reading the content. However, since he wasn’t even a Martial Warrior yet, he could only swallow his saliva and read. Even if he progressed into a Martial Warrior, he still wouldn’t be able to cultivate this technique without the corresponding core crystals.

Since core crystals had always been rare, the poisonous beast cores crystals were even rarer to come by, especially those with properties of the five elements. Yan Liqiang had no idea where to even start looking for them.

After repetitively examining the contents of his sack for a while, Yan Liqiang put everything back inside. He then picked up the sack, made a leap, and latched onto one of the pillars in his room Like a big frog. With another backflip and twist of his body, he made it onto the beam which was about four meters above the ground. He then treaded along the beam to the upper part of the room’s wall. He felt around on the partition wall, then took out a dagger and inserted it into a crack in the wall. With a light pry, he removed two bricks and then shoved that black sack into the empty space behind the bricks.

After putting the bricks back into their original positions, Yan Liqiang jumped off from the beam and dusted his hands with a smile on his face. With this, even if someone came to search the place when he wasn’t around, it would be impossible to find that the things he had hidden in the partition as long as his identity wasn’t exposed.

He purposely even left some clothes and silver fragments along with some copper coins in his closet to satisfy any thieves who might sneak in.

Just when he was done with this, a commotion could be heard coming from the alley downstairs. Shortly after that, someone banged loudly on the main entrance of his courtyard.

Yan Liqiang straightened his clothes and scanned his bedroom once. After ensuring that everything was in place, he went downstairs to open the door to his courtyard.

A few people stood at the entrance. One of them was the old man who had rented this house to Yan Liqiang. Beside the old man was a bailiff, a paunchy middle-aged man, and a few other busybodies.

“Look, Captain Wu. This is the young man who is renting my place. He’s not a bad person. He’s actually a student from the martial arts academy in the city!” The old man immediately turned to the paunchy middle-aged man and told him when he saw Yan Liqiang come out.

“Master Xue, is something wrong?” Yan Liqiang asked the old man.

The old man smiled, “Oh it’s nothing. The captain and this bailiff came early in the morning and wanted to check every house in our alley to see if there were any fugitives hiding in here. I just followed them to look around...”

That bailiff asked Yan Liqiang, “You are a student from the martial arts academy?”.

“Yes!”

“Which year did you enter?”

“This year!”

“What’s your name?”

“Yan Liqiang!”

“I believe you have a student pass?”

“Yes, please have a look!” Yan Liqiang took out his martial arts academy identity pass and handed it over.

The bailiff examined Yan Liqiang’s identity pass carefully before his expression softened a little. Students from the martial arts academy really shouldn’t be offended unnecessarily because by the time these people left the martial arts academy, they just might be at a better position than him in less than two years time.

The bailiff returned the identity pass to Yan Liqiang. “This place is quite far from the martial arts academy, why didn’t you choose to live in Three Yuan Street?”

“The rent here is a lot cheaper than Three Yuan Street. I should scrimp and save my family’s money as much as I can. Besides, the distance isn’t too much of a hassle. Young people still have strength in their legs!”

“So, you live here alone?”

“Yes, it’s just me here!”

“Can I have a look inside?”

“Please come in...”

The bailiff, landlord, and captain entered the courtyard together. The bailiff made a few rounds in a few of the rooms. He opened and checked the cabinets. He even laid down on his stomach to check underneath the bed. After inquiring the old man if they had any places like basements or the like in the house and getting a negative response, the three of them got prepared to leave. The captain was going to lead them to search the next house.

“Excuse me, Sir. Did something happen? Why is every house being searched? Are you looking for someone...?”

When the few people were about to exit, Yan Liqiang ‘finally’ couldn’t help but ask. “King Cobra has committed another crime. He killed quite a number of Shatu people last night and also set a warehouse on fire over at the Shatu community...” The bailiff answered casually while walking.

“I thought King Cobra did a great thing instead. Some should have finished off those damn Shatu people a long time ago. Look at those Shatu people at the western side of the Nine Dragons Bridge, they all wilted overnight...” The landlord disagreed and started laughing mischievously.

“Ahem... Ahem...” The captain cleared his throat and put on a serious face. “Old Xue, stop your drivel...”

“Even if I didn’t point it out, everyone else is saying the same thing too...” The old man muttered under his breath.

“What’s wrong with saying that? Everyone who heard the news is happy to see those Shatu people out of luck. That King Cobra has really done a great thing for Pingxi City!” Someone immediately shouted from the crowd.

The bailiff and captain could only pretend they didn’t hear anything.

Half an hour later, Yan Liqiang went to the main street and realized that the street was filled with patrolling soldiers. The moment he went inside the noodle shop, he heard a few customers talking about the incident from last night with great interest over their noodles. Everyone else around them instantly perked up their ears. Some were listening so intently that they had forgotten about their noodles.

“Did you hear? King Cobra burned down the Shatu people’s warehouse in the city last night. Those Shatu people must have suffered a great loss! They said everything in the warehouse was burnt to ashes with nothing left behind. The loss was estimated to be at least over several thousand taels of silver!”

“I heard quite a lot of Shatu people died?”

“At least forty to fifty of them...”

“I heard up to a hundred. One of my brothers works at the Law Enforcement Office. He told me that all of them were killed by King Cobra! Quite a few of them were also burned to their deaths in their sleep at the warehouse. Those Shatu dogs really got it this time! Haha!”

“That should have happened long ago!” An uncle exclaimed delightfully while slapping his thigh. “If there were a few more King Cobras, the Shatu people in the city wouldn’t dare to be this arrogant!”

“True. If the government can’t manage them, then they should just leave it up to King Cobra...”

Yan Liqiang didn’t expect the commoners in Pingxi City to actually get a kick out of last night’s incident.

Before he could even finish his bowl of noodles, a bailiff came in and immediately posted up a wanted poster of King Cobra in the noodle shop.

The wanted poster of King Cobra was still the same King Cobra. However, the bounty had suddenly increased to a thousand taels of gold. Compared to before, that was at least tenfold more...

Chapter 139: Getting Lively

On the 30th day of the tenth lunar month at night, the fire Yan Liqiang had started in the Shatu community had once again caused an uproar in Pingxi City.

People who initially thought that King Cobra had left long ago only realized now that King Cobra had never left. Not only that, he once again committed a crime which was a hundred times crazier than the last when he had killed Wang Haofei at the Plum Gardens.

King Cobra had burned most of the important supplies in the Shatu people’s warehouse to the ground in Pingxi City. The amount of silver that those Shatu people lost was difficult to calculate. Not only that, King Cobra continued his massacre on the Shatu people’s territory with a warbow.

King Cobra might have only killed a few dozen Shatu people, but along with the different rumors that were appearing, the figure was rapidly shooting up. In just a short two days, the number of Shatu people he had killed had already risen to more than three hundred from the version he had heard.

One of the most outrageous rumors said that when King Cobra set the warehouse on fire, there were actually more than two hundred Shatu people sleeping in there and none of them managed to escape the fire.

As supporting evidence to this rumor, it was said that when the guards in Pingxi City realized that the Shatu people’s warehouse was on fire that night, there was already a battalion of guards rushing somewhere near the burning warehouse in the Shatu community. However, they were stopped by those Shatu people who didn’t want the guards in Pingxi City anywhere near their burning warehouse. Even when they were finally cleaning up the warehouse in the end, they still didn’t allow the guards to come close. The reason behind their action was that they didn’t want others in Pingxi City to know that King Cobra burned more than two hundred Shatu people to death in the warehouse.

This rumor was so vivid and realistic that many people in Pingxi City actually believed it. However, Yan Liqiang knew that the thing about two hundred Shatu people being burned alive in the warehouse was total nonsense. There was only one reason why the Shatu people didn’t want the guards of Pingxi City anywhere near that warehouse – they didn’t want them to discover the secret of that arsenal beneath the warehouse to avoid more trouble.

The fire from that evening lasted nearly the entire night. Under such high temperature, even steel could have melted at the scene. Therefore, without a doubt, everything hidden in the weapon storage at the bottom of that warehouse basically turned into scrap with nothing much left. This was indeed the biggest loss to the Shatu people.

The Shatu people thought their secret was safe, but Yan Liqiang stole a warbow from their warehouse last night and discarded that warbow somewhere near the end of the eastern side of the Nine Dragons Bridge. That warbow had a distinct mark that represented the Gan Province’s Weaponsmiths Quarter. Therefore, it was a very important clue. The first to arrive at the Nine Dragons Bridge that night were the guards in the city. If this warbow fell into their hands, the wiser among their garrison would probably figure something out from that warbow. This was the most he could do at this point in time, as a friendly reminder...

The Shatu people were colluding with the Ye Clan. Now that he had done something like this on the Shatu people’s territory in Pingxi City, whether the Shatu people would make a fuss over it or not, as long as King Cobra wasn’t brought to justice, Pingxi Prefectural Governor Ye Tiancheng would be caught in the middle and he would face immense pressure from all directions...

Therefore, ever since the 31st day of the tenth lunar month, all of Pingxi City was restless and filled with people who were searching for King Cobra.

All the bailiffs in the Law Enforcement Office, the soldiers from the defensive military barracks in Pingxi City, the rogues and lower-ranking officials in the city, and the students of the martial arts academy were mobilized to search high and low for King Cobra. Those inspections performed on anyone leaving the city grew increasingly strict to an unimaginable extent. Individuals were not only inspected – even the bags they brought along with them had to be checked. All carriages and goods leaving the city were also inspected.

On the morning of the first day of the eleventh lunar month, Yan Liqiang initially planned to spend some time in the martial arts academy’s library to do some research. He remembered that although there were no secret martial arts manuals in the library, there were still countless miscellaneous manuals, old articles, records, pictures, biographies, and the like in addition to the classic literature, historical, and philosophical ancient records. He couldn’t stop thinking that the metal cylinder he found would come in handy. Yet he just couldn’t figure out what it exactly was. Therefore, he wished to search around the library to see if he could find any relevant information which might resolve the doubts he had in his heart.

However, he didn’t expect the moment he arrived at the martial arts academy, he would be levied by the martial arts academy to be sent on a search for King Cobra, as part of the so-called ‘training’.

The Pingxi Prefecture Martial Arts Academy had their students get into groups of three. Each group of student carried one bow, two whistling arrows, a wanted poster of King Cobra, and three swords. They hung their student identity tags at a noticeable spot on their waists before they were all scattered to every corner of Pingxi City to find King Cobra...

When Yan Liqiang, Shi Dafeng, and Shen Teng voluntarily grouped themselves together, they coincidentally were assigned together too.

...

“Rumors have it that King Cobra is a vicious and merciless mass murderer. Not only that, he is also extremely skilled in archery. If the three of us really run into King Cobra, we don’t even know if we can survive. The martial arts academy has sent us out because they don’t even care about our lives and deaths! F*ck them all!” Shi Dafeng, who had always been frank and straightforward, started cursing furiously the moment they exited the martial arts academy’s main entrance. “That King Cobra only killed a few Shatu dogs and the entire city flew into panic while everyone searched for him. Even the bounty has increased tenfold. Why was the bounty reward not as high when he murdered someone back in the Plum Gardens last time? Are the lives of those Shatu people much more valuable than us, the Han Chinese? F*ck this sh*t!”

“You can’t put it that way.” Shen Teng cooly flung his bangs away. “After all, the prefecture provides annual funds for the martial arts academy. Now that the Prefectural Governor is worked up over capturing King Cobra and mobilizing everyone he possibly can in the Pingxi City, the martial arts academy will have to at least put up a show on the surface. That way, they will look better in front of the Prefectural Governor and won’t get on his bad side. Otherwise, the academy tutors of this martial arts would end up cold and hungry on the streets at the lift of the Prefectural Governor’s finger. We don’t need to take this so seriously either, just take it as coming out for a stroll. That King Cobra can hide so well that he can appear and disappear so unpredictably. He is definitely not someone we can just run into so easily on the streets.”

“Shen Teng really gets it. Hey, Liqiang, what’s with that strange look on your face?”

“Ahem, ahem... N-Nothing...” Naturally, Yan Liqiang wasn’t going to tell them that the way Shen Teng flung his hair instantly reminded him a viral GIF of Wang Bo flipping his hair while carrying a shoulder pole. That was the reason why he had a strange look on his face because he nearly couldn’t contain his laughter. He had to pretend to cough a few times to cover it up.

“No way. You’re being dishonest, Liqiang. You must be thinking about something just now!” Shi Dafeng continued pestering him.

“Actually, I was thinking about how we are making such a fuss in the city here. What if King Cobra already fled from the city long ago? After all, the city walls aren’t really some impassable barriers for heinous criminals like him. I heard some people from extremely high realms can actually make it over the city walls as though they are walking on flat ground...”

“Yan Liqiang’s right. The city walls of Pingxi City won’t be able to stop experts who have cultivated those profound lightness skill techniques. But I heard King Cobra isn’t a Martial Master yet, so he shouldn’t have such an ability...” Shen Teng said with a serious look on his face.

“Hm, seems like I was overthinking then...” Yan Liqiang said.

“But maybe that King Cobra might have some sneaky ways. For instance, if he used something like a grapple, then it would not be difficult for him to scale up the wall when no one is paying attention. If the soldiers who guard the city at night get slightly careless and doze off for a moment, King Cobra would be able to escape. Even if the soldiers at the city walls later realize that someone has escaped, they probably won’t dare to make a report and will only choose to feign ignorance – because if they did, they would have to shoulder the blame. If no one says anything, then everyone will just continue to feign ignorance. So what you said might be possible, Liqiang...” Shen Teng justified Yan Liqiang’s conjecture. After taking a glance at the longbow Yan Liqiang carried on his back, he asked him a question. “Oh that reminds me, I’ve never seen you practice archery Liqiang. How skillful are you with a bow?”

“I’m not really skilled in archery. I can only barely draw a bow and release an arrow at most. Whether I can hit any target within fifty meters will all depend on sheer luck. These whistling arrows only need to be released for signaling. I’m just carrying it since that tutor just passed them to me...” Yan Liqiang shook his head like a rattle-drum and then continued to ask the question Shen Teng was waiting for him to ask. “Oh right, how’s your cultivation in archery coming along, Brother Shen?”

The slightly aloof Shen Teng smiled complacently. He inhaled and stuck his chest out. “I have just advanced into the first layer of archery two weeks ago...”

“Wow!” Yan Liqiang put on a ‘shocked’ and ‘astonished’ expression. “Well, I will have to seek guidance from you in the future, Brother Shen. Oh right, I think it’ll be best for Brother Shen to carry this bow and the whistling arrows then. In case something happens, these things would be more useful in Brother Shen’s hands than mine...”

While speaking, Yan Liqiang hurriedly took off the bow and arrows and sincerely handed them over to Shen Teng.

“Alright, I will carry them then...” Shen Teng didn’t decline and carried them on his back rather proudly.

“I know a place in the eastern part of the city which serves particularly great hotpot. Since the weather is a little cold today and King Cobra is also a human, perhaps he might think of going there to eat some hotpot. Why don’t we eat there while we wait and see if King Cobra will appear? Of course, to celebrate Shen Teng advancing past the first layer in archery, this hotpot will be Shen Teng’s treat!” Shi Dafeng suddenly spoke up.

Yan Liqiang was quiet for a moment before he nodded vigorously. “That’s a fine idea! Let’s go to this place that Brother Shi speaks of and eat some hotpot while we wait and see if King Cobra will come. If he dares to come, we will immediately release a whistling arrow!”

Shen Teng was quiet for a longer moment before he also nodded. With a serious face, he said, “Who knows, maybe King Cobra might have already fled from Pingxi City long ago and is also an old glutton!”

After taking a few steps, the three of them burst out laughing at the same time...

...

By noon, the weather outside had turned cold and windy. The three of them exited the town and had hotpot in an eatery outside the eastern city gate. They had a long, pleasant talk about life over some yellow wine...

Halfway through their hotpot, the hasty sounds of iron hooves rang out and stopped right outside of the eatery. Two people then came inside the eatery.

Both of the people who came in were strongly built and had fierce gazes. They carried swords and blades, and they were fully armored. They also had thick capes draped over their bodies. One of them carried a huge bow bag on his back while the other carried a crossbow case on his back. Both of them wore red headbands over their foreheads. The way they dressed was extremely distinct and this made them look like they had quite some personality.

“Waiter, serve us some good hot food and drinks first!” Both of them set the things they carried on their backs noisily on the table, with an impact that nearly broke the table. One of the guys who just set his stuff down turned his head around and yelled.

...

“Wanderers... Those two are Wanderers.” Shen Teng threw both of them a glance before he spoke with a surprised tone. “I’m guessing they’ve been allured by bounty reward for King Cobra here. After all, a reward of a thousand taels of gold isn’t a small fortune...”

Wanderers were a special community in the Great Han Empire that roamed everywhere. The community was courageous, fierce, and helped those in distress. At the same time, they were also akin to those money-chasing bounty hunters whom Yan Liqiang had seen in the movies in his previous life. Wanderers were from different social classes in society. Even the youths among the wealthy and influential clans became part of this community because they yearned to live the lives of Wanderers. The community was diverse in terms of gender and age groups. The only requirement to become part of this community was to possess solid skills and cultivation.

Yan Liqiang stole another few glances at these two Wanderers because it was also his first time seeing any here in Pingxi City. Both of them seemed to be sharp too. One of them immediately sensed Yan Liqiang’s gaze when he took a few more looks at them. He snapped his head around and his sharp gaze fell on Yan Liqiang’s table before he nonchalantly looked away after discovering there were only three curious youths sitting at that table.

In just less than ten minutes, shortly after the two Wanderers started digging into their meals, iron hooves sounded again from outside the eatery. In just the blink of an eye, another person who appeared to be a swordsman came into the shop.

The three Wanderers looked at each other and didn’t say a single word to each other. The other Wanderer then found a seat a little further away from the two Wanderers’ table and beckoned for the waiter.

By the time the Wanderer started eating his meal, the other two who arrived earlier were already done. They left some money on the table, grabbed their bows and crossbows, picked up their other weapons, and left the eatery.

...

Yan Liqiang squinted his eyes slightly while he watched the leaving silhouettes of those two Wanderers with a pensive look on his face...

Ever since the first day of the eleventh lunar month, more and more Wanderers with red headscarves and traveling figures started appearing in Pingxi City, causing the city to become increasingly lively...

Chapter 140: Causing an Uproar

Following the non-stop arrival of many Wanderers, the atmosphere in Pingxi City was on the rise.

In a few short days, it was as if the entire province’s Wanderers had rushed to Pingxi City. In the main streets of the city, within the restaurants, you could see those Wanderers everywhere with their red headbands tied around their foreheads. They wore full martial regalia and carried their bows on their backs without concern.

King Cobra had yet to be caught, but with the arrival of these Wanderers, it had become a giant test of peacekeeping within Pingxi City. For the enforcers from the city’s Law Enforcement Office, putting aside King Cobra, they already had enough trouble and were being run ragged on a day-to-day basis dealing with these Wanderers. Each Wanderer was not only a skilled warrior – they were also untameable – to expect these Wanderers to follow the rules was completely impossible. Not to mention, those Wanderers were already used to and had great experience in dealing with bureaucrats and the Law Enforcement Office. Even if you knew that some things were caused by the Wanderers, there was nothing you could do about it.

During the day, it was alright. Those Wanderers only wandered around a bit outside. But once night fell and the sky darkened, those Wanderers would be on the move – each of them wore a black scarf to hide their face as they started to go from wall to wall within Pingxi City, looking for clues while disregarding the law.

Even the small room that Yan Liqiang had rented near Nine Dragons Bridge was searched through for two nights. It was just that Yan Liqiang only pretended to be oblivious and asleep – those people that were investigating only opened up the roof tiles to have a look. After finding nothing, they left.

Since King Cobra had done his business at the Shatu people’s quarters, once those Wanderers arrived in Pingxi City, many of them went to investigate that area.

However, the Shatu people within Pingxi City had long been spoilt and arrogant. Though their area was within Pingxi City, they had long since considered the west side of Pingxi City to be their self-sufficient, self-governed territory. Even Pingxi City’s bailiffs found it hard to get in under normal circumstances.

After this, the area where the Shatu people converged suddenly became very popular.

The government officials and normal people within Pingxi City all weren’t willing to upset those Shatu people, but those Wanderers didn’t care at all. From the 2nd of eleventh lunar month onwards, for several nights in a row, there were incidents in the area the Shatu people lived.

First, it was some Shatu scouting groups who had some run-ins with the Wanderers in their area. A few of the Shatu scouts died from that. Afterwards, there were fires two nights in a row in the Shatu people’s quarters. When the 5th of the eleventh lunar month came along, Yan Liqiang even heard that the Shatu people went to the Law Enforcement Office to report an offense, saying that several people had mysteriously disappeared from their quarters overnight.

The fate of those missing Shatu people wasn’t of much interest to Yan Liqiang. Based off the case of the missing Shatu people, he instead was interested in was the fact that he could tell that out of the Wanderers that were currently in Pingxi City, there were some that were not only courageous but also intelligent. They had already discovered King Cobra’s values, which could be worth well over the bounty of one thousand taels of gold.

This was because during the night of the incident, it wasn’t just one warehouse that was targeted. The real loss for the Shatu people were those things that went missing from Aligujin’s residence. It was just that the latter was never advertised by the Shatu people, and therefore the people within Pingxi city did not know much about it. However, in reality, when Yan Liqiang had left Aligujin’s place, he still left quite a lot of clues. He killed many Shatu people while he was leaving. He specifically killed them during the time that Aligujin had left his residence and when all of the Shatu people were lured away by the warehouse fire. If someone was observant enough to look into the time and place of King Cobra’s first appearance that night, then they would probably discover something.

After all, a move like luring the tiger out of the cave wasn’t something that was too intelligent. It was just that the target involved in it couldn’t uncover the truth.

It was naturally impossible to find out what had happened that night from the Shatu people. But if you kidnapped a few Shatu people and used a few tricks, those Wanderers that had gathered in Pingxi City could definitely piece together the majority of what had happened that night. They might even be able to discover the secret of what had laid beneath that burned down warehouse.

Also, anyone wanting to leave Pingxi City over the last few days had to have their personal belongings checked, which was a change from the norm. The word on the street was that this sort of check at the city gates was not only to catch King Cobra. To catch him, you didn’t need to check everyone’s personal belongings and luggage. This sort of detailed search could only be attributed to the fact that on King Cobra’s person, there was probably something worth an enormous amount of money.

Yan Liqiang didn’t know if the Wanderers were communicating with each other, but within a few short days, he could clearly feel that the Wanderers within Pingxi City were increasing in numbers; those Wanderers were also becoming much bolder.

Apart from appearing in the Shatu people’s territory, in the last few days, when night fell, the richer households in Pingxi City would also be disturbed by those Wanderers. You could almost hear about those household security personnel having run-ins with the Wanderers on a daily basis. At the Law Enforcement Office, the number of cases and complaints about stolen valuables also dramatically increased.

There were honorable ones amongst the Wanderers, but there was no lack of those who were less scrupulous: they were willing to label themselves as Robin Hood to steal from the rich and to give to the poor when they were short on gold by doing some shady business. Even worse, the petty criminals within Pingxi City took this opportunity to also come out of the woodworks.

During the night, when those Wanderers were on the move, they were always wearing a headscarf or something to cover their features. As long as you didn’t catch them in the act, even if you knew one of the Wanderers in the city had done it, you still wouldn’t be able to find them.

Apart from the breakdown of security inside the city, the check at the city gates also became very detailed and a waste of time. Every day, outside Pingxi City gates, it was blocked for several hundred meters by people and carts. If you wanted to go out of the city, you had to wait for at least an hour in line at the gates. All the citizens of the city complained...

In a few short days, the entirety of Pingxi City became a zoo; it was utter pandemonium. If you walked onto the main streets to have a look at any time, you would see many armed people around, several times the number there were previously.

Due to the security of Pingxi City suddenly becoming a disaster, with too many random people hanging about on the streets along with the apparent disappearance of King Cobra, the martial arts academy made their new students go out onto the streets to look for him. When the 7th of elevent lunar month rolled around, the martial arts academy also stopped forcing all their new students onto the streets on a daily basis. Of course, if you wanted to, the martial arts academy wouldn’t stop you. In fact, they might even offer you a few words of praise.

It was also on the 7th of eleventh lunar month that Yan Liqiang walked into the library at the Martial Academy. After borrowing a large amount of historical and cultural texts as cover, he also borrowed another pile of other types of books and started to rapidly flip through them rapidly in the library.

Good things came to those who waited, and Yan Liqiang finally found the answer he was seeking in a book called the ‘Gifted Soldiers Manual’.

That blackish metal cylinder’s real name was called the Thunderfire Dragon Cannon. A secretive sect called the Dragon Demon Island Sect that existed outside the bounds of the Han Empire created them and each Thunderfire Dragon Cannon could only be used once. When used, the cannon would spit out terrifying, high-temperature fire dragons that could cover great distances. It could melt metal within ten zhang and could not be shielded against. This Thunderfire Dragon Cannon was considered a simple killing method for close distances. From the book, people whose cultivation level was less than Martial Grandmaster could possibly find it difficult to safely combat the firepower of the Thunderfire Dragon Cannon.

And from another book, Yan Liqiang found another answer.

He obtained the thing within the black bottle that was sealed inside with wax – that was a soul-stealing poison, a type of terrifying poison that originated from the Han Empire’s Death Valley. This type of poison did not have color or substance and it easily blended in with water. Using just one drop mixed with food could kill hundreds of people. If you put it on your weapon, it was like antiaris toxicaria, it could kill within the blink of an eye.

Now knowing what the uses were for those two things he had on hand, Yan Liqiang quickly put one of them into use.

After a week’s worth of silence, Yan Liqiang began moving once again...

Chapter 141: In the Mass Grave

The eleventh lunar month, Gu Yue, held the meaning of discarding the old and ushering in the new. As the old saying goes, the eleventh month was when the Yin is born, and all mortals should leave all negative issues aside and get ready to usher in the new and positive year...

...

The eleventh lunar month was a very special month. It was in this month, or to be more accurate, it was on the 18th day of the eleventh lunar month when Yan Liqiang’s life suddenly faced a great change and abruptly came to an end. Now that this month had arrived, Yan Liqiang would have to be more prudent of his actions. At the same time, the raging flames of vengeance burned even more intensely in his heart.

Around eleven o’clock in the evening, when it was bitterly cold on the night of the 12th day of the eleventh lunar month, Yan Liqiang crouched among the bushes of the mountain near Wuyang Village. He kept his eyes wide-open as he endured the cold, staring unblinkingly at a mountain cave two hundred meters away from him in the mountain valley. He’d been crouching there for more than two hours.

The place he was currently at was the unmarked graveyard of Pingxi City.

This was the most terrifying location in Pingxi City. Even if one came here in the daytime when the sun was high up in the sky, the atmosphere of this place was still extremely ghastly and gloomy.

Since this place was mostly deserted and even the woodcutters and herdsmen would take a detour to avoid this place, the hills and mountain valleys here were full of towering trees that brushed the sky. The shade from the lofty trees blocked the sunlight and the moonlight, making the area particularly dim. Weeds covered the entire place, and among the weeds lay the occasional piece of bone and skeleton.

From the public road to the west of Pingxi City, a barely walkable path connected the two, formed by people transporting unclaimed corpses to the site of this mass grave. The route to transport corpses didn’t pass through Wuyang Village because one would have to climb the mountain to do so. Not only that, there was no road on the mountain yet. Therefore, the people who transported the corpses would bypass the Wuyang Village and arrive at the graveyard via the small road branching off from the public road a few li away.

The small road had tracks made by wheelbarrows. All corpses sent here were wrapped in straw mats and then transported here in a wheelbarrow.

There were also rules to observe when sending the corpses to the mass grave. People only dared to come at noon, when Yang energy was at its peak. Past noontime, this mass grave was a forbidden area to a living person. By nightfall, this place was pretty much a ghostland.

Tonight, the moonlight was sparse as usual, and the mass grave was dimly lit. After one o’clock at night, a thin layer of fog started to form. As the fog formed, specks of lush green phosphorescent light started to float around the mass grave. The fog rolled alongside the flow of air between the mountain valleys while the phosphorescent light appeared to bounce around in the midst of the fog...

Yan Liqiang listened to the eerie howls that the chilly northern wind made as it blew through the treetops of the distant mountain ridges, and caught the faint scent of corpses hanging over the mountain valley air. Taking in this scene before his eyes, Yan Liqiang couldn’t help but shudder. In the darkness, he squeezed the Thunderfire Dragon Cannon in his hands and touched the two rows of flying needles he had prepared beforehand. The needles were dipped in poison and hung from his waist. Feeling the cold and solid texture of the Thunderfire Dragon Cannon as well as the flying needles, Yan Liqiang’s racing heart finally calmed down.

Although this wasn’t the first time he had snuck in here at night, Yan Liqiang still couldn’t help but feel a little frightened every time he saw the mass grave shrouded in darkness.

The only ways to make someone overcome their fear was to either face a greater fear or to invoke their hatred.

And the latter reason was why Yan Liqiang could still stay here with his teeth clenched. Since the day he settled in Wuyang Village, he had been waiting for this very night.

At this moment, Yan Liqiang silently kept himself hidden. He dressed himself in a black suit with his face once again covered by King Cobra’s mask, which he’d added a veil to.

The ridiculously strict inspections at the gate of Pingxi City resulted in its citizen’s complaints filling the streets. Conflicts had also frequently broken out over the past few days due to many cases of damaged goods during the inspection process. In addition to the deterioration of public security in the city and the increase in Wanderers from the Gan Province coming to Pingxi City, the Prefectural Governor’s Office had no choice but to repeal the inspections on goods leaving the city. This was also the reason why Yan Liqiang had managed to sneak the Thunderfire Dragon Cannon out by hiding it on a bullock cart leaving the city.

Yan Liqiang would have given his best effort in tonight’s encounter, even without the Thunderfire Dragon Cannon. However, having the Thunderfire Dragon Cannon in his hands made Yan Liqiang feel more courageous and also strengthened the killing intent he felt for his enemy.

...

Yan Liqiang waited patiently. It was nearly a quarter to midnight, and the people he was waiting for still hadn’t appeared. However, he heard a soft rustling noise coming from the bushes beside him. Unbeknownst to him, a big rat about a foot long in size had come out from the bushes and was approaching him.

The rats at the mass grave were completely different from ordinary rats. After all, most of the rats here had grown up feeding on human flesh. The eyes of that giant rat glowed green, like ghost lights in the darkness. There were two rows of sharp teeth filling its long snout, and a strange, reddish-brown color tinged its entire head.

The rat had also realized that Yan Liqiang was watching it. However, it was extremely brave. Since Yan Liqiang didn’t move, it continued to crawl towards him.

There was some movement over at the forest in the distance. Yan Liqiang’s heart jumped and immediately sent a flying needle out from between his fingers. It silently sunk itself into the body of that rat which was already within a radius of three meters from him. The moment the flying needle pierced into its body, the rat suddenly froze, and then all signs of its life vanished in the blink of an eye.

The moment that rat’s body went stiff, someone trod across the top of the big trees of the mass grave, their movements as swift as a nightingale. When the Yin energy at the mass grave had reached its peak, he jumped out from the sky and landed in the mountain valley below.

The person who had come to this mass grave at night had a head full of white hair. He dressed himself in black, and the corners of his eyes were dark. The sinister and evil aura he exuded revealed that he was none other than the person who had murdered both Yan Liqiang and Yan Dechang – Mo Leng.

Mo Leng worked as a private tutor to the Ye Clan of the Gan Province. At the same time, he was also Ye Xiao’s master and the right-hand man of Pingxi’s Prefectural Governor, Ye Tiancheng.

Seeing that Mo Leng had finally arrived, Yan Liqiang immediately held his breath and remained motionless. He didn’t even stare at Mo Leng’s face, in fear that the man would sense him. He only narrowed his eyes and concealed himself among the weeds as he stared below Mo Leng’s neck, focusing on his torso.

Mo Leng was a First Grade Martial Master; a vicious and merciless expert. To the current Yan Liqiang, the title of Martial Master was still a realm beyond his reach. Therefore, he had to be cautious and prudent in everything he did.

Mo Leng’s gleaming eyes scanned the mass grave. After ensuring that nothing was out of place, only then did he walk towards the nearby mountain cave and enter it.

After waiting for a full ten minutes, Yan Liqiang finally stood up from his hiding spot in the bushes and walked to the cave entrance at the mountain valley below. Without even a second’s hesitation, he followed him inside.

It was already very cold outside with all the ghostlights floating about. Yet it was even colder inside this mountain cave, where ghostlights filled the entire space, illuminating the cave with a miserable-looking shade of green. The bones of the dead were scattered almost everywhere on the floor of the cave. A careless step might result in him trodding some bones underfoot. A coward would probably piss themselves if they saw a place like this...

The spheres of ghostlights had become the natural lighting of this cave. Yan Liqiang’s Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps technique silenced his movements as he immediately made his way into the depths of the cave. After advancing a hundred meters deep into the cave, Yan Liqiang suddenly slowed his pace.

There was a natural pit in the depths of the cave, filled entirely with skeletons of the dead. This was actually the original place where Pingxi City had buried the unclaimed corpses. Large clusters of ghostlights surrounded the pit. Mo Leng sat cross-legged on the edge of the pit with his eyes closed. Making a strange gesture, he faced both of his palms towards the pit full of skeletons. A faint green aura then floated out from the pit as they gathered towards Mo Leng, who then sucked it inside through his mouth...

If it weren’t for the fact that he had witnessed too many things while in his soul state in his previous life, Yan Liqiang wouldn’t have realized what Mo Leng was doing. The reason Mo Leng came here every year during the eleventh lunar month was to absorb the Yin energy from the dead amassed in this grave, all in order to cultivate an evil technique...

This was the best opportunity to kill Mo Leng!

The moment he saw that Mo Leng was fully immersed in his cultivation, Yan Liqiang instantly flung out a large bundle of poisoned flying needles without a moment’s hesitation. They flew towards Mo Leng like a torrent of rain...

Chapter 142: Eliminating a Powerful Enemy

There were at least twenty needles in that flying bunch of needles. Yan Liqiang continuously flung his arms with the fastest speed possible, sending out all the flying needles in just less than half a second.

The flying needles flew toward Mo Leng from all directions, toward at his head, neck, back, chest, abdomen, arms and legs... A few of them even flew toward him from a cunning angle, aiming at his rear and the areas below his knees.

The flying needles had been soaked in poison. Yan Liqiang would win as long as one of them hit their target.

However, Yan Liqiang had really underestimated the competence of a Martial Master expert. Rather, he didn’t even think of how powerful a Martial Master was. Mo Leng was not just any ordinary Martial Master expert; he was an expert who was about to progress into becoming a Martial Grandmaster. He was simply far too powerful compared to Yan Liqiang.

Mo Leng’s eyes, which had been shut all this time, suddenly snapped open when the flying needles were just less than two meters away from him during the quick ambush. Light flashed across his eyes as he leaned his entire body to the side in a strange way as though he was drunk before the gleams of his sword flashed around him.

DING! DING! DING! A series of subtle tinkling noises rang out at the same time.

Half of Yan Liqiang’s flying needles instantly fell to the ground without hitting their targets while the other half were shattered by Mo Leng’s gleaming sword.

If Mo Leng was only a Martial Warrior or a Supreme Martial Warrior, it would be difficult for him to dodge Yan Liqiang’s flying needles. Unfortunately, this Mo Leng was simply too powerful.

“WHO!?”

With a frosty shout, Mo Leng’s figure with a head full of white hair charged directly towards Yan Liqiang like lightning.

Yan Liqiang waved his hand and sent out two more flying needles towards Mo Leng. At the same time, he rushed towards the exit of the cave, pretending to flee.

The two flying needles in the air were also shattered by the longsword in Mo Leng’s hands. Mo Leng caught a quick glimpse of Yan Liqiang’s face which was veiled by the black mask before he immediately chased after Yan Liqiang.

Compared to that place with the big pit in the mountain, this cave passage, which was less than two meters high, was long and narrow. At most, only two people could pass through it at a time.

With Mo Leng in hot pursuit behind him, Yan Liqiang unleashed his Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps. While fleeing, he continued to release flying needles behind him. In just a brief moment, both of them had reached the middle of the mountain passage.

When Yan Liqiang sensed that Mo Leng was only about ten meters away from catching up to him while they ran, Yan Liqiang took out the Thunderfire Dragon Cannon he had been hiding. While still running at a high speed, he spun around in midair and aimed the Thunderfire Dragon Cannon at Mo Leng who was rushing towards him.

Yan Liqiang saw Mo Leng’s countenance instantly contort.

This was the moment where the life and death of both parties would be decided.

Yan Liqiang pressed down on the trigger of the Thunderfire Dragon Cannon which was aimed at Mo Leng. With a yell, Mo Leng thrusted the longsword in his hands towards Yan Liqiang.

A blazing white fire dragon swept toward the direction that Mo Leng was coming from. It took up every inch of available space in the narrow passage, making it impossible to evade. For a moment, the scorching high temperature actually made Yan Liqiang feel as though he were standing in front of a steelmaking furnace.

Mo Leng’s longsword sliced through the flames as he flew towards Yan Liqiang.

The flames engulfed the longsword, momentarily slowing down the speed of the sword in the tunnel. It was during this brief moment that Yan Liqiang sensed that something sharp was already in front of him. Without even thinking, he used the metal pipe of the Thunderfire Dragon Cannon in his hands as a hidden weapon and smashed it against the gleaming blade while he turned around and leaped to the side without a second thought...

A blood-curdling scream rang out in his ears, and he soon felt a cold sensation on his arm soon afterward. His whole body was sent flying backwards by the huge impact before he heavily landed on the ground.

The final stage of their life and death duel ended in just less than a second.

Yan Liqiang, who had fallen to the ground, turned his head to the side and saw the longsword that Mo Leng had shoved toward him stuck in the ground right beside where he was, still vibrating. The tip of the longsword had pierced through the few layers of clothes he was wearing, right next to the skin on his arm. It left a wound that was neither severe nor light on his arm, and it had knocked him down to the ground at the same time.

“AHHHHHHH!!!!” A blood-curdling scream echoed throughout the tunnel. The man engulfed in the white flames screamed loudly while he flailed his arms and legs around. Like a headless fly, he charged towards where Yan Liqiang was while he shouted crazily, “I’LL KILL YOU, I’LL KILL YOU!!”

Mo Leng’s entire body was wrapped in the strange flames, and his face was no longer visible.

Yan Liqiang laid on the floor. Without even getting up, he sent two flying needles out again which disappeared into the figure engulfed by the flames.

“I’LL KILL...” The screams in the cave stopped abruptly as the human figure less than ten meters away from Yan Liqiang suddenly fell to his knees on the ground before he collapsed backwards and remained there motionlessly. Like a piece of ignited firewood, it burned silently in the cave.

Yan Liqiang gasped for air on the ground for a while before he reached out to pull out the longsword which had gone through a few of his clothes layers. He then got up.

When Yan Liqiang thought back about the scene from just now, he was shaken to his core. This was what it felt like to battle with your life.

In the battle earlier, he didn’t expect Mo Leng’s reflexes to be this quick as he was agile enough to dodge the flying needles while he was in the middle of his cultivation. He didn’t anticipate Mo Leng’s final attack in tossing his longsword before he died either. If it wasn’t for the Thunderfire Dragon Cannon slowing down his longsword and Yan Liqiang’s agility and reaction speed from training the hidden weapon technique cultivation, Mo Leng’s final blow would have most definitely pierced through his chest.

Without a doubt, Mo Leng was the one that was in for the greatest surprise. He never expected Yan Liqiang to be carrying a terrifying weapon like the Thunderfire Dragon Cannon on him. It was precisely because Yan Liqiang had the Thunderfire Dragon Cannon that he turned around to run after his attacks had missed earlier. He didn’t run to escape. Instead, he ran lead Mo Leng to the middle of the cave so he could maximize the Thunderfire Dragon Cannon’s power in such a confined space.

Yan Liqiang survived and Mo Leng died – this was the final outcome. A Martial Master expert was killed by Yan Liqiang just like that in this strange cave.

Yan Liqiang held Mo Leng’s sword in his hands and went to his corpse which was still burning. He lifted the sword and violently slashed Mo Leng’s corpse a dozens times as though he was venting. After making sure Mo Leng couldn’t be more dead, he turned around to pick up the metal cylinder that was left of the Thunderfire Dragon Cannon and turned around to quickly leave the cave...

The atmosphere outside the cave was still as dark and gloomy as ever. The incident which had transpired in the cave lasted for only less than half a minute. The winding way into the mountain cave made it impossible to see anything that was going on inside.

Two minutes later, Yan Liqiang arrived at a valley overrun with weeds and skeletons everywhere outside the mass grave. He tossed the longsword and the metal cylinder that was the remnant of the Thunderfire Dragon Cannon down there. Shortly after that, Yan Liqiang’s figure blended into the darkness in just the blink of an eye.

By the time Yan Liqiang silently returned to his small courtyard in Wuyang Village, the ‘firewood’ inside the cave gradually grew dimmer and dimmer until nothing was left except for a pile of ashes...

Chapter 143: Two Plans

The injury on his arm wasn’t that serious at all. He was fine after he applied some medicine on it and wrapped it with gauze. Yan Liqiang got out of bed, energized and lively as usual the next day. He completed his morning regime and cultivated Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing as usual.

Yan Liqiang survived to live another day. He was only glad that Mo Leng didn’t have a habit of dipping his precious sword in poison. Otherwise, he would have perished along with Mo Leng during the battle last night.

An outstanding and confident swordsman would scorn at dipping their own precious sword in poison. Even if the swordsman was an assassin, they would rarely do this. This had nothing to do with a person’s moral stance; it was purely because of the martial practitioner’s confidence towards his own cultivation and weapons. Those who used long and heavy weapons in particular would be less inclined dip their weapons in poison. This was because those who could shed another’s blood with their weapon had a tendency to kill with their weapon. The distance between shedding blood and killing was only paper thin. If a practitioner didn’t believe the weapons they held in their hands could kill and had to rely on poison, then smearing poison on their weapons would be akin to indirectly smearing poison in their heart. This would most definitely have a great impact on the practitioner’s cultivation. Therefore, it was very rare for someone to actually dip their weapon in poison.

However, hidden weapons were exceptions. Since they were generally smaller in size, their destructive power was inferior to that of weapons. Hence, it was very common for hidden weapons to be dipped in poison. At least Yan Liqiang wasn’t mentally bothered about dipping his flying needles in poison. That was because he deeply believed that no weapons could speak for themselves. They served justice when used for good and caused corruption when used for evil. Putting aside flying needles dipped in poison and taking atomic bombs as examples – they would be dangerous if they fell into the hands of certain nations and individuals. But if they were in the hands of the People’s Republic of China, it would be the best guarantor of world peace. He wasn’t being sarcastic about it because this was what Yan Liqiang strongly believed in his previous life.

To Yan Liqiang, forcefully taking down Mo Leng had not only put an end to one of his biggest concerns; it also greatly improved his mental state. After a night’s rest and completing his morning regime the next day, Yan Liqiang suddenly felt as though there were an endless vast sky and a boundless ocean before him. It was as though a heavy burden had been lifted off him. At this point in time, he had already eliminated half of the imminent life-and-death crisis that would befall him.

Without Wang Haofei, Ye Xiao might have not even heard of his name from beginning to end, and without Mo Leng, Ye Xiao was nothing but a piece of trash in his eyes.

For the Prefectural Governor, Ye Tiancheng, regardless of his moral standing and whether or not he was a corrupted official or a vile individual, Yan Liqiang was certain about one thing – Ye Tiancheng was intelligent and rather cunning. Regardless of the circumstances, Ye Tiancheng wouldn’t openly abuse his authority and go off the scale for his fake son, Ye Xiao.

With this, as long as he didn’t jump out on his own accord to create any opportunities for Ye Tiancheng, Ye Tiancheng would never be bothered by a youth who was still studying at the martial arts academy. If he was nothing but a stranger in Ye Xiao’s eyes right now, then he was pretty much an invisible stranger in Ye Tiancheng’s eyes.

The feeling of knowing your enemy while your enemy was oblivious to you was indeed extremely pleasant.

Perhaps until now, these two people from the Ye Clan still didn’t know who Yan Liqiang was. However, Yan Liqiang was not about to let them off the hook.

As the private tutor to the Ye Clan, Mo Leng had always been strangely prudent in his whereabouts. Not only that, the techniques he cultivated were rather shocking too. Neither Ye Tiancheng nor Ye Xiao were able to completely track Mo Leng’s whereabouts. In the past, it was common for Mo Leng to vanish from the city for three to five days. Therefore, within a short period of time of at least three to five days, Ye Xiao or Ye Tiancheng wouldn’t immediately realize that something had happened to Mo Leng. Therefore, the best opportunity for him to take care of Ye Xiao and Ye Tiancheng would be within the next five days.

Yan Liqiang had already come up with few different secret plans for the father and son of the Ye Clan since long ago. The current situation in Pingxi City was where he could draw the most power from.

...

In the following two days, Yan Liqiang once again returned to Pingxi City.

During the day, he reported to the martial arts academy as usual and trained with Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng together. Occasionally, he would spar with a couple others in the arena. Of course, Yan Liqiang never exposed his real strength regardless if it was during training or sparring. The strength he showed was just merely a little stronger than he was two months ago and it wasn’t suspicious at all.

By nightfall, after he parted with Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng, he started to wander around the city. Just like those other youths of the martial arts academy who wished to capture King Cobra for fame and merits, he hung his student tag on his waist and wandered everywhere in the city, hoping to discover any sort of clues.

Of course, Yan Liqiang’s purpose for wandering around in the city wasn’t to find King Cobra; it was to find Shatu people. More precisely, Yan Liqiang had been waiting for an opportunity to catch those Shatu people who sent those girls they had abducted to the boutique again.

Ye Xiao was not only a lustful man. He was also cultivating a type of nefarious technique which relied on women to establish his foundation through duo cultivation. Thus, his demand for young girls over these few months had increased significantly. If nothing had changed and everything still went according to history, then on the night of the 18th day of the eleventh lunar month, which was a few days later, the Shatu people would deliver the two girls they had abducted to the boutique. Naturally, that would be the best time for him to make a move. Unfortunately, everything in Pingxi City had changed due to his actions. Under the butterfly effect, the history he knew was no longer the actual history. Therefore, Yan Liqiang wasn’t certain if everything that had happened in the past on the night of the 18th day of the eleventh lunar month would still happen again.

Not only that, on the 18th day of the eleventh lunar month, his father would come to Pingxi City. Yan Liqiang didn’t want to wait until that day to settle the matter and he didn’t want his father to step foot into Pingxi City on that day again. Hence, he would have to deliver the most fatal blow to the father and son pair from the Ye Clan before the 18th day of the eleventh lunar month.

Judging the current public security situation within the city, the Shatu people might just deliver those girls before the 18th day of the eleventh lunar month to the boutique. Or they might not deliver them, or everything might just be cancelled, delayed, or pushed forward. In any case, everything was subject to various uncertainties. Hence, he could only gamble and try his luck at a time like this and then act accordingly to the circumstances. If this plan didn’t work, he’d switch to another plan. The results of both plans were about the same, only the process differed from each other – one of them didn’t need King Cobra’s appearance while the other needed King Cobra’s appearance.

However, the route which the Shatu people sent those girls to the boutique with their carriage was fixed. The road might be long-winded, but the route was definitely fixed. Therefore, for the next consecutive two nights, Yan Liqiang wandered along that route. Unfortunately, he didn’t make any discovery until curfew.

The 15th day of the eleventh lunar month arrived in just the blink of an eye. The weather today in Pingxi City suddenly changed. The skies were gloomy and the cold wind was bone-chilling. Signs of snowfall were already showing.

By the time Yan Liqiang came out from the martial arts academy, it was already evening. The sun could no longer be seen in the west. It was hidden behind the thick layers of clouds with only its slightly hazy light still visible.

Yan Liqiang raised his head to gaze at the sky. He exhaled deeply as a thought ran through his mind. Today was the last day of the first plan that Yan Liqiang had set for himself. If he still had no luck by tonight’s curfew, then King Cobra would need to make his appearance after the curfew tonight.

When Yan Liqiang was about to return to the small house he rented at the Nine Dragons Bridge, a voice suddenly rang out from behind him.

“Liqiang, Liqiang...”

Yan Liqiang turned his head around and saw Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng come out together. When he saw them coming towards him, Yan Liqiang’s face broke into a smile.

Shi Dafeng came out from the martial arts academy entrance empty-handed, but Shen Teng was still carrying a bow and a few whistling arrows on his back. Over the past few days, the martial arts academy no longer requested students to patrol the streets. However, students who knew archery still had to carry on the act. They had to walk around outside with bow and arrows on their backs after leaving the martial arts academy every day so that the Prefectural Governor would be aware that the martial arts academy was still putting in effort in hunting down King Cobra.

“Where were you this afternoon? How come Shen Teng and I couldn’t find you anywhere? I was kind of itching to spar with you in the arena this afternoon!” Shi Dafeng spoke while he walked over to Yan Liqiang.

“I was practicing my fundamentals at the spear technique training field this afternoon...” Yan Liqiang replied with a smile.

“Oh, no wonder. I was just wondering where you suddenly disappeared to today since you’ve been diligent in coming to the martial arts academy for the past few days...”

“Haha, I kind of got a warning from Teacher Shi so I didn’t dare go missing for these few days...”

“Did you decide to make spear technique as your main weapon in the future, Liqiang?” Shen Teng asked curiously from the side.

“Yes. I cultivated the spear technique back at home in the past. So I’m prepared to continue down this path in the future since I don’t want to give up on it halfway...”

“A month to master the staff, a year to master the saber, but a lifetime to master the spear... The spear really is a tough road to follow...” Shen Teng sighed.

“It doesn’t matter. Everything has its own beauty. Oh right, where are the both of you going together?”

“To get some food, of course!” Shi Dafeng answered as though his answer was the most natural. “I just found a place in the city which serves the most authentic lamb and fish soup. It’s on me tonight, let’s go together!”

Among the three of them, Shi Dafeng loved food the most. He loved eating so much that it had become an enjoyment in his life. Not long after coming to Pingxi City, the places which attracted him the most apart from the martial arts academy were probably restaurants and inns. He could always find places that served great food.

“Umm, I still have some matters to attend to tonight...”

“What’s so important that you have to skip your meal? The place is not far. It’s just over at the Fine Willow Alley. We’ll get there in just short while...”

Yan Liqiang was initially going to decline the offer, but when he heard Shi Dafeng mention that the place was in Fine Willow Alley, he was slightly taken aback. Fine Willow Alley was the place he had been wandering around over the past two nights. That alley contained the road that those Shatu people had to take when they ‘delivered the goods’ to the boutique...

“Alright then...” Yan Liqiang nodded.

“That’s more like it! You can hardly find anything more important than eating and drinking in your life. A human can live on without training for seven months, but a human will definitely die without eating or drinking for seven days!” Shi Dafeng laughed while he rambled on with his fallacious reasoning before the three of them set out to Fine Willow Alley together.

Chapter 144: The Beginning Of A Great Show

This little store known as Du Clan’s Kuai [1] was slightly secluded as it was located right next to Fine Willow Alley. Despite that, their business was good. The sky was already dark with a piercing-cold wind blowing in the air, yet it was absolutely warm and lively inside the store. There were pots of special mutton soup cooking on top of the burnt coals placed on top of each table. Surrounding the pots on the tables were several dishes of sliced fish fillets that had their pin bones removed beforehand. These fillets were fresh and tender too. After they were cooked inside the boiling mutton soup, they were then taken out and dipped into the sauce made from ten different types of condiments. One bite of the fillet could make one feel twice as light. The fillets were extremely tasty.

It was certainly enjoyable to eat these fillets while drinking the store’s special plum wine in this kind of weather.

A family of seven ran this store. Everyone in the family was put to work with each of them being quite busy on every floor. With the severe situation inside Pingxi City and the storm blowing over the mountains, it was as if they had nothing to do with this family running the store in the alley.

When Yan Liqiang and the others arrived, there weren’t many people inside the store yet. Because of that, he straightaway requested for the table on the second floor next to the window. After the food he had ordered was served, Yan Liqiang continued to eat while focused his gaze at the alley below in a collected manner.

If the Shatu people were going to ‘deliver the goods’ tonight, then they absolutely had to pass through the alley below.

With the combination of the charcoal’s temperature, the aroma of the soup, meat, and condiments as well as the smell of plum wine, the store was filled with an exclusive atmosphere that could make anyone feel relaxed even during this kind of chilly night.

...

“Once I have money in the future, I will make a tasty corner in my house and build a tall loft that will be occupied by the chefs whom I will invite from all over the world. I will just go up to a specific floor in the loft for whatever I crave for each day. Once my belly is full, I will leave without even paying anything....” The three of them had been eating their meal for over an hour. As they ate, they talked. Shi Dafeng was already flushed in a red glow after his belly was full. Yan Liqiang continued to talk about his ideals in life while eating his food.

“Haha, on the contrary, I don’t need that many chefs. When I am able to marry someone and establish myself in the future to become a thriving master one day, I just need one chef actually....” Shen Teng’s face flushed red after he drank a bit of plum wine, as if he had put on a blusher. This caused the lady who served them fillets to steal a few glances at him. After all, he was still young at heart. Even though Shen Teng usually looked a bit experienced and prudent, sometimes even reserved and solemn, Yan Liqiang realized that Shen Teng was actually a fun person to be with after he was well-acquainted with him. He had a great temperament too, but because of his strict upbringing, he hardly had any chances to be more open.

“How is one chef enough?” Shi Dafeng shook his head.

“Gently holding a satin dress with light footsteps, she cleansed her hands to make a good soup, blushing shyly as she waited for her soup to be tasted; surrounding a hearth while talking comfortably under the night sky, enjoying wine and songs and listen to the wind knocking on windows....” Shen Teng whose eyes seemed somewhat misty began to unexpectedly sway his head while he recited a poem.

“Oh my goodness. It’s sour, too sour. My teeth are going to rot from this sour sensation. And you can still blush shyly while awaiting to taste the soup. Old Shen, are you going through adolescence.....” Shi Dafeng said while making funny faces at Shen Teng.

“YOU’RE the one going through an adolescence!” Shen Teng stared at Shi Dafeng, somewhat agitated. He continued, “What do you know? It’s already enough even if you are able to get a beauty in your life!”

“Liqiang, what will you do when you become a thriving master in the future? Are you the same as me or the same as Shen Teng....” At Shi Dafeng’s inquiry, both of them quickly turned their attention toward Yan Liqiang’s face.

“I don’t need chefs from around the world and I don’t need some beauties to personally cook for me either!” Yan Liqiang shook his head as he solemnly looked at Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng. He then continued, “Don’t you two think that these dishes are quite delicious regardless of who cooked it and how it was made?”

“You are not joking, right?” Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng looked at Yan Liqiang in surprise.

“I am saying the truth. Even if you randomly buy a few steamed buns at the foot of the mountain below Wuyang Village, I will still think that they are delicious!”

“I really admire you. I didn’t think Liqiang would be the type to be not unpicky toward anything he eats....” Shi Dafeng said as he shook his head.

Yan Liqiang could only laugh in response. He didn’t explain further about his behavior toward food. Moreover, he was a man who had lived two lives. Whatever he ate in his past life–anything that could be served on the table – was injected with Clenbuterol, antibiotics, transgene, gutter oil, flouride along with a great variety of poisonous and non-poisonous substances. These were also added to the necessities and various food items, including foods that were quite confusing to the civilians as well. Even the dining table of a five-star restaurant had become the extension to the modern chemical industry. Truth be told, for someone of that era to come into this world, Yan Liqiang felt that everything he ate here was delicious. The food here was natural, pure, and had splendid flavor that he had never experienced before. Among other things, even if it was a steamed bun, Yan Liqiang could still taste the true fragrance of the wheat in his mouth.

...

Just when the three of them were happily eating their food, Yan Liqiang suddenly felt something and tilted his head unconsciously to look out the window. A horse carriage happened to come in from the other side of Fine Willow Alley and it entered the alley.

The horse carriage seemed a bit worn out. The carriage was long, which meant that this was a wagon used to deliver goods. A coachman wearing a dog skin hat and a thick quilted jacket was driving the horse carriage through the small alley without hurry.

The coachman’s dog skin hat was pressed down low. The collar on the coachman’s quilted jacket was pulled upward, making it seem like he was being wrapped tightly around his clothes. It was almost as if his eyes and less than half of his skin were the only body parts that were exposed.

The horse carriage was still the same, even the coachman was the same as well. Even with a wooden plank covering the horse carriage, Yan Liqiang could still sense the ‘goods’ inside the roll of fleece....

That horse carriage passed right by the storefront of Du Family’s Raw Fish.

“Liqiang, what did you see?” Shi Dafeng asked as he sat beside him.

Yan Liqiang looked at the bow and whistling arrows used for the sake of reporting to the police that Shen Teng had placed on the side of the table. After a quick consideration, a creased frown appeared on his forehead. He then muttered to himself softly, “Strange.....”

“What’s strange?”

Yan Liqiang continued to remain silent. He was considering something only for a few moments before he quickly stood up and shot a look at Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng.

The three of them had been spending more time together during this period of time, and thus they gained some understanding toward each other. When they saw Yan Liqiang stand up and give them a look as if he was saying that it was inconvenient to speak further in this place, Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng looked at each other and stood up as well. Shi Dafeng tossed a small piece of silver to the table while Shen Teng carried his bow and whistling arrows. They then left the store together with Yan Liqiang. When they arrived at the alley outside, they walked a few steps around. After checking for people on either side, Shen Teng finally asked in a low voice, “What’s wrong? Did you notice anything just now, Liqiang?”

“Did you two see a horse carriage passing through this alley just now....” Yan Liqiang whispered.

“I think there was one....” Shi Dafeng creased a frown on his forehead. The three of them were sitting next to the window together. Even though he didn’t pay too much attention to what was below, he still saw the carriage that had passed by just now.

“I noticed that there was something wrong with that coachman driving his carriage.”

“What’s wrong?” Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng asked, their spirits lifted.

“I have extremely good memory as I will never ever forget those whom I’ve met just once. Just now, I inadvertently saw the coachman’s face and eyes when I looked down. I have seen that coachman before when I entered through the city gates of Pingxi City that day. He was on a rhinodrake steed when he entered the city. Moreover, he’s a Shatu Martial Warrior – the pompous kind – which is why he left a very deep impression on me. Why did he suddenly turn into a coachman driving a horse carriage just now? And he was wearing our Chinese attire too, so I felt like that was strange...”

Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng exchanged glances. They both had surprised looks on their faces because what Yan Liqiang said was indeed quite unexpected.

“Well, Liqiang, it’s dark outside. Perhaps you are mistaken by what you saw?” Shen Teng hesitated for a while.

“I’m not mistaken. When that Shatu person rushed the horse carriage and passed through that door just now, I clearly saw him the moment the lantern on the door shined on his face. This person was wearing a dog skin hat and covered half of his face, but his eyes were that of the Shatu people. His eyes were brown....” Yan Liqiang did not mince his words as he continued, “It’s already late at night. For a Shatu person to wear a disguise and act sneakily while rushing a horse carriage, I think there’s something wrong with that Shatu person....”

“King Cobra isn’t hiding inside the horse carriage, is he?” Shi Dafeng said nonchalantly.

Yan Liqiang seemed to ponder over something when he said, “Say, if King Cobra really was hiding in the city, why couldn’t anyone able to find him during this period of time.... If.... If the Shatu people colluded with him, then he must have escaped after he committed murder and arson at the Shatu people’s gathering area. After that, he quietly went back again. Who would have expected that?”

Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng were stupefied. Even though Yan Liqiang’s deduction was a bit whimsical, it was certainly a possibility. The number of Shatu people in the city were abundant. If the Shatu people really did collude with King Cobra, then perhaps what Liqiang said was true.

“Let’s go. We will follow and watch them quietly. Let’s see what the hell that Shatu guy is up to....” Shen Teng said in a low voice.

Yan Liqiang and Shi Dafeng nodded in agreement.

At that moment, excluding Yan Liqiang, the other two were quite thrilled and excited as they quietly followed the horse carriage.

Like ‘last time’, the route that the carriage took did not change at all. After a few little tricks, the horse carriage continued its way toward the direction of the boutique.

Yan Liqiang, Shi Dafeng, and Shen Teng were the best among the others of their age. Putting aside Yan Liqiang and Shen Teng, even Shi Dafeng who seemed boorish was sharp at times. These three could not be compared with ordinary people. They continued to follow that horse carriage carefully until it reached the backyard of a boutique in the small alley.

If one were to say that Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng were unsure whether the horse carriage had a problem before or not, at this particular moment, both of them were certain that something was wrong with the carriage.

Like last time, when the horse carriage stopped, the three of them leveraged their forces and climbed up to the rooftop in a nearby courtyard. They stayed behind the ridge of the rooftop and held their breaths, quietly surmising the situation surrounding that horse carriage.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! The Shatu coachman used the door latch to make two long knocks and two short knocks....

After a while, a lantern lit up behind the boutique’s rear courtyard. A person that looked like the storekeeper held a lantern in his hand, and he was followed by two of his employees that walked out from the door. The four of them began to look at each other with scrutiny....

“You see these people? They are being secretive and sneaky. These thrashes are definitely not good people and they are up to no good....” Shi Dafeng muttered beside the other two in a low voice.

“Shhh....” Shen Teng shushed him. His eyes lit up as he stared closely at the horse carriage.

Yan Liqiang licked his lips while he focused on the ‘trade’ at the alley, silently aware of his own movements at the same time. Ten minutes ago, when the three of them silently followed the carriage in the alley, Yan Liqiang was yet again able to sense someone watching their every move in the dark. After walking for another few minutes, Yan Liqiang realized that the three of them including Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng had been marked by two Wanderers who managed to arrive in the city....

The Wanderers didn’t notice that there was anything wrong with the carriage, but they instead had observed the trio’s tracks. Moreover, they were suspicious about it too, which was why these two Wanderers had followed them quietly as well.

As they found out more by following them, it was evident that the Wanderers also discovered the horse carriage.

This had become more interesting. The Wanderers had followed them without the need to call them along. This great show tonight would be more magnificent than last time soon enough. Yan Liqiang was smiling inside his heart....

“Everyone, look. There’s something wrong with those leathers being carried from the carriage. The weight isn’t right and those two employees are being too cautious. There’s something wrong with those leathers....” Yan Liqiang warned Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng beside him in a low voice. Both nodded too, after they looked at the rolls of goods.

Chapter 145: Alarming the Entire City

Everything was not that much different than what he experienced last time. In just a short moment, the two rolls of leather goods that the Shatu man was transporting with the horse carriage were taken by the two servants into a room at the back of the courtyard. The rear courtyard door was shut once again and the Shatu man who had just completed his transaction climbed back onto his horse carriage, preparing to leave.

“What should we do?” Since this was the first time Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng had run into this kind of situation, both of their gazes fell on Yan Liqiang. However, Yan Liqiang’s calmness at this moment mysteriously and immediately calmed both of their nervous hearts down.

“Shi Dafeng and I will take down those Shatu men. Shen Teng, you watch over things on the roof. If something goes wrong, shoot the whistling arrow immediately. Guards have been patrolling everywhere in the city lately. As soon as you release the whistling arrow, someone will definitely make it here.” Yan Liqiang explained calmly.

Although Yan Liqiang hadn’t gone inside the small house, he was secretly estimating the time when those two servants inside the boutique would open up the tunnelway and deliver the two girls to Ye Xiao through there.

If he had to make a move, he couldn’t do it too early or too late. He knew the moment he made his move, those two Wanderers watching behind him would definitely rush inside the small house...

“Alright. Be careful, both of you...” Shen Teng said solemnly and grasped the bow in his hands tightly.

Yan Liqiang nodded. He signaled to Shi Dafeng with his eyes, then both of them silently climbed down from the roof and came down to the corner in the alley. One of them stood on the right and the other stood on the left.

Shi Dafeng had already taken out a knife at some point. His eyes shone as he licked his lips. He half-crouched like a panther and hid behind the wall while he accumulated his power, preparing himself for the action.

Don’t kill him. I will take the lead – Yan Liqiang gestured to Shi Dafeng.

Shi Dafeng nodded.

The sound of the horse carriage gradually drew closer. The Shatu man was driving the carriage out of the small alley and was almost at the end of it.

The horse came out first from the alley with the carriage behind it. So naturally, the horse had already spotted both Yan Liqiang and Shi Dafeng. Unfortunately, since horses didn’t speak, it didn’t warn anyone and just continued going forward.

The moment the horse completely came out from the alley, the carriage came into view. The Shatu man was still sitting in front of the carriage and driving it. He was completely relaxed and didn’t expect Yan Liqiang and Shi Dafeng to be waiting for him.

Yan Liqiang jumped out like a ferocious tiger in the darkness. Without even waiting for the Shatu man to react, Yan Liqiang landed a hard blow on his head, knocking him off from the cart and onto the ground.

With Yan Liqiang’s current fist strength, he could instantly blow the Shatu man’s brains out with his fist if he had intended to take his life. However, Yan Liqiang pulled back half of his punch. Even with that, he still managed to hit the man so hard that he saw stars, instantly making the world around him spin as he grew dizzy and collapsed to the ground, unable to react in time.

Shi Dafeng pounced on him like a cheetah next. Before the Shatu man could even react, the dagger in his hand had already mercilessly impaled his right shoulder...

The Shatu man already felt faint from Yan Liqiang’s punch. However, Shi Dafeng’s attack jolted him as though he was electrocuted. The intense pain caused that Shatu man’s eyes to widen as he nearly jolted upright from the ground.

Yan Liqiang immediately covered the Shatu man’s mouth. At the same time, he used his other hand to twist the Shatu man’s left hand around his back while he forcefully pinned him down.

The dagger in Shi Dafeng’s hand never stopped. He pulled it out from the Shatu man’s right shoulder, stabbed him again on his left shoulder, then again on his right thigh violently...

The Shatu man was akin to a prawn which had been tossed onto a red-hot iron plate. His body was trembling violently. Everytime Shi Dafeng stabbed him, it was as though his eyes were going to pop out from his sockets. However, he could neither yell nor move under Yan Liqiang’s brute force.

Shi Dafeng’s fourth stab landed on the Shatu man’s left leg. When his body was trembling with stiffness and his muscles were taut, Yan Liqiang grabbed his face and then heavily smashed the back of his head against the ground, finally knocking him out.

The entire process, from the moment Yan Liqiang made his move and until the end, lasted for only less than three seconds.

Yan Liqiang looked at the four bloody stab wounds that had been made on the Shatu man’s body in just a flash, then at Shi Dafeng who was holding the dagger. He couldn’t help but secretly break out in a cold sweat. He never expected the always cheerful Shi Dafeng to be this sinister and violent. He had nearly crippled the Shatu man’s hands and legs with these four stabs...

Shi Dafeng scratched his head, looking a little shy when he noticed the way Yan Liqiang was staring at him. “Well... I avoided the veins on this Shatu dog’s body and only destroyed his four tendons but I did not take its life... Do you think I’m unmanly for going too easy on him, Liqiang?”

“Err...” Yan Liqiang was choked by Shi Dafeng’s question. He didn’t even know what to say. “N-No, that was pretty good. It was really manly...”

“I can’t help it. Back home, my mother is always worried about me being too compassionate and that I will get the short end of the stick out there if I run into any bad guys...”

Yan Liqiang was totally speechless and had no idea on how to carry on the conversation with Shi Dafeng. He noticed the horse was a little agitated at the side, so he hurried over and held its reins.

Shen Teng jumped off from the courtyard wall with his bow and arrows.

“What should we do now? Should we take a look inside that courtyard...?”

This was probably also Shen Teng’s first time running into this kind of situation. He was a little nervous when he looked at the Shatu man who was lying on the ground, but he was mostly excited. Yan Liqiang carefully looked at Shen Teng and realized that he had already lost his usual cultured, refined, and gentle demeanor of a model student right now. His pupils were dilated, his face was flushed, and even his breathing had sped up from the way his nostrils were flaring. Shen Teng’s adrenaline was probably off the charts right now...

Yan Liqiang’s answer was actually unnecessary. The moment Shen Teng spoke, the sound of the wind came from the roof nearby. Two Wanderers had spread open the cloaks they were wearing. Like two huge birds, they treaded across the roof tiles and flew into the backyard of the boutique. In just the blink of an eye, the sound of a door being broken into could be heard in the rear courtyard.

“Wanderers...!” Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng were both shocked. Both of them had only realized there were Wanderers hidden around here when both of them made their moves.

“QUICK! Move this Shatu man onto the carriage and move it out to the streets!” While Yan Liqiang was instructing them he had already grabbed the unconscious Shatu man and tossed him onto the carriage. He then pulled the horse carriage and quickly rushed out of the small alley to the wide main street outside. He parked the horse carriage at the boutique entrance, removed the dog fur hat from the Shatu man’s head so his entire face was exposed, and tossed him in front of the boutique’s entrance.

The main street was deserted without anyone around, and it was extremely spacious. Wealthy clan manors lined the street.

“Hurry, release the whistling arrow!”

The instant Yan Liqiang urged him, realization instantly dawned upon on Shen Teng who was wondering why Yan Liqiang had led them to the main streets, exposing the Shatu man’s face. He hurriedly pulled out a whistling arrow, nocked it onto the bow, and released it towards the roofs in the distance.

There was a bamboo whistle attached to the whistling arrow. So when the arrow was released, air would flow through the bamboo whistle, hence emitting an extremely sharp whistling noise.

During such a cold night, everyone in the surroundings could hear the sharp whistling noise that rang out.

After releasing the first arrow, Shen Teng drew the second arrow out. Yan Liqiang took out a firestarter and instantly lit up the oil-soaked cloth on the arrowhead...

The second arrow instantly turned into a trail of fire and was shot into the air.

Compared to the whistling noise, this trail of fire could be seen from even ten li away. Not only that, it also accurately indicated their current location.

But that wasn’t the end of it. When Shen Teng released the second flaming arrow, another sharp whistling noise came from the backyard of the boutique. Something was suddenly shot up into the sky before it exploded into a burst of bright luminous flames a hundred meters above the small courtyard. Among the flames was the red image of a longsword which stayed in the sky for about twenty seconds before it gradually faded...

This was a signal from those Wanderers who had entered the small courtyard...

At the moment, Pingxi City was already like a pot of boiling oil. Although it appeared to be calm on the surface, it was already boiling beneath the surface and could be set ablaze at any moment. The three signals which had been released from the same place at the same time on a night like this was like splashing a scoop of water into that pot of boiling oil. All of Pingxi City instantly crackled...

The wealthy manors and huge courtyards in the surroundings were all immediately alarmed. Countless lanterns were instantly lit inside as the entrance doors opened one after another. A number of fully-armed guards from these wealthy manors and huge courtyards came out to gather information.

In just less than a minute, Yan Liqiang heard the tremors from the ground. A troop of two hundred fully-armed soldiers patrolling nearby, under the lead of a black-faced commandant who carried a bow on his back and a saber hanging at his waist, rushed to Yan Liqiang, Shi Dafeng, and Shen Teng with a murderous intent.

When Yan Liqiang saw the black-faced commandant, he wasn’t certain if this was destiny. The commandant was Commandant Su. He was the one who arrested the Shatu people when he had a conflict with them ‘last time’ at the city entrance.

Chapter 146: Borrowing the Fire to Burn a Mountain

Though Yan Liqiang recognized Commandant Su, he didn’t recognize Yan Liqiang.

Commandant Su, who had rushed here, threw a glance at Yan Liqiang, the other two, and the Shatu man on the ground with his face exposed before he instantly frowned. “Who are you all? Were you the ones who shot the whistling arrow just now...?” he asked loudly.

Facing a group of soldiers who were dripping with murderous intent like tigers which were watching their prey for the first time, Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng felt rather nervous and suffocated. Yan Liqiang was the only one who still maintained his composure.

“Reporting sir, we are students from the martial arts academy. We indeed just released that whistling arrow. There is something strange going on in the backyard of this boutique. We discovered some suspicious activity and suspected that King Cobra might be hiding inside. Some Wanderers already barged in just now...” Yan Liqiang cupped his fist and respectfully answered Commandant Su.

“Damnnn, is it my turn to get rich now?” As expected, black-faced Commandant Su’s eyes instantly lit up at the mention of King Cobra’s name as he licked his lips. He didn’t even have time to carefully inquire Yan Liqiang and them about how they discovered that something strange was going on inside this boutique. He took the longbow he was carrying on his back and then turned to yell at the soldiers around him. “Brothers! After suffering for the past few days, the time for us to get rich has come! Capture King Cobra and we shall have fine wine and meat for a month! Break the main door of this shop for me!!”

Commandant Su yelled as he personally led a troop of yelling soldiers with powerful crossbows and long spears in their hands. They broke the boutique’s entrance and barged in...

I’m sorry, Commandant Su. I didn’t expect for you come here... The one inside is not King Cobra but the Prefectural Governor’s young lord. Anyway, since you took the blame last time at the city entrance and offended the Prefectural Governor, it’s probably... no big deal for you... to offend him one more time...

Yan Liqiang silently mourned in his heart for Commandant Su...

“Liqiang, what are we going to do now?” Shi Dafeng asked him softly from the side.

Yan Liqiang smiled. “We shall wait here and see how this turns out. If they really find King Cobra inside, the credit and reward of discovering King Cobra will definitely be ours. But since the situation inside is still unknown and we are only students of the martial arts academy with feeble strength, there is no need for us to rush inside and risk our lives. We’ll just do whatever that is within our capabilities!”

The frowning Shen Teng also whispered his question to him. “Liqiang, why did we have to wait until we reached the main street to release the whistling arrow?”

“If we released the whistling arrow in the alley and got ambushed by some expert from the side who could have eliminated the three of us in just the blink of an eye, no one would ever find out about what happened to us!” Yan Liqiang also lowered down his voice in response. “A great commotion will ensue the moment the whistling arrow is released. Look around us, these manors are not places normal folks can afford to stay in. Brother Shen, do you really think ordinary people can possibly open a boutique here and be involved in some sort of shady business with the Shatu people? Besides, we also don’t know who is in that boutique or what is the connection between this boutique and that huge manor on the side. Therefore, we can only release the whistling arrow in the main street where it is a relatively safer place under the watchful eyes of people and out in the open. We also have to expose this Shatu man. Only by doing so, we can protect ourselves and be out of harm’s way. So now, we don’t have to care about what those Wanderers and soldiers have discovered in that boutique. All we need to do is just stand watch here...”

Yan Liqiang’s words were not only audible to Shen Teng but also Shi Dafeng who was at the side. When both of them recalled the situation just now, they were startled as their backs broke into cold sweat at the same time. Both of them were nervous and excited then, how could such important details even cross their minds? Both of them only realized that after hearing Yan Liqiang’s explanation. Danger indeed lurked around the small alley they were in just now and it wasn’t a place for them to linger too long in. Both Shen Teng and Shi Dafeng were so impressed by Yan Liqiang that they could prostrate themselves before him in admiration.

Just as Yan Liqiang said, there was no doubt that the three of them had made some contributions. Even if King Cobra wasn’t in the boutique, this Shatu man must have been involved in some sort of shady business with those people in there. The two Wanderers must have released a signal because they discovered something going on inside the boutique. Therefore, the contribution from the three was exposing the secret dealings involving this Shatu man.

Half of the soldiers that Commandant Su brought with him stayed outside, sealing off the streets and alleys on both sides of the boutique. In just two or three short minutes, the sound of synchronized footsteps rang out again from a distance as another troop of soldiers came rushing here.

Many guards from the surrounding wealthy manors, a few nearby martial arts academy patrol groups, and a crowd of onlookers all flocked to the area. In just the blink of an eye, more than a thousand people had gathered around the streets and the crowd was still steadily increasing in size.

“Little Brother, what is going on here? Were you the ones who released the whistling arrow just now? What happened to this Shatu man on the ground?” The guards of the few wealthy manors who came out to gather information spoke up from the crowd when they saw the abnormal situation surrounding Yan Liqiang and the other two.

“So what’s going on here? Let’s hear it!” The onlookers in the surrounding started yelling loudly.

“We came to Fine Willow Alley for a meal tonight but we didn’t expect to find this Shatu man moving suspiciously. Not only that, he also dressed himself up like a Chinese person and wore a dog fur hat to cover his face. He drove this horse carriage and secretively made his way to the backyard of this boutique to deliver some leather goods. However, there seemed to be something else hidden among the leather goods he was delivering, so we restrained him. But then we saw some Wanderers barging into the backyard of this boutique and heard some fighting noises, we released the whistling arrow. After all, we can’t afford to let the criminals get away...” Yan Liqiang cupped his fist respectfully and spoke to everyone around him loudly as he briefly made an account of the incident that the three of them had encountered tonight so everyone could hear.

“Yes, this Shatu man dressed himself to look like us Chinese and hurried along on his horse carriage to deliver goods at night. He must be up to no good to be acting this suspicious...”

“As expected, heroes are cultivated from youth. The students from the martial arts academy are indeed different...”

The surrounding onlookers immediately broke into discussion as they all sang praises for Yan Liqiang and the rest.

Just when Yan Liqiang finished speaking with everyone, the first batch of Wanderers had arrived. They had directly leaped onto the rooftops and vaulted themselves over the walls, stepping on those roof tiles as they made their way here.

The group of soldiers down there could only stare at those Wanderers and whistle at them while they watched them jump off the rooftops into the small courtyard behind the boutique.

However, in just the blink of an eye, some Wanderers leaped onto the rooftops again from that courtyard and yelled at the other Wanderers who were rushing towards here. “There’s an underground tunnel inside the house at the backyard which leads to that big manor there. The big manor is the main building. King Cobra might be in there!”

When the Wanderers who came later heard that there was actually an underground tunnel inside the boutique which led to the huge wealthy manor on the side, certain that some shady business was definitely going on in there, every single one of them immediately charged towards the big manor that Ye Xiao was in without the slightest hesitation.

Upon hearing there was actually an underground tunnel beneath the boutique which was directly connected to another manor in the distance, the crowd was suddenly in an uproar. The countenance of a few of the people among them immediately contorted because they knew exactly who lived in that huge manor which those Wanderers were going to barge into...

“KING COBRA IS INSIDE THAT HUGE MANOR! EVERYONE, GET INSIDE AND SEIZE HIM! A THOUSAND TAELS OF GOLD IS RIGHT BEFORE OUR EYES!!”

Seeing those Wanderers rush toward that huge manor, many people in the crowd started shouting loudly when they heard that King Cobra might be inside that huge manor. After all, the bounty reward of a thousand taels of gold for King Cobra was a large sum of money that was enough to drive many crazy. Who could possibly remain untempted by such a large sum of wealth before their eyes?

Normally, these people wouldn’t dare to rush inside that huge manor to cause a scene and capture someone. However, the situation was different now. The secret tunnel inside the boutique had already been discovered. It was obvious that there was some sort of shady business going on inside that huge manor and this boutique. Now that a group of highly-skilled Wanderers had taken the lead to barge in there, what was there to be afraid of?

When the crowd was jeering rowdily, a bunch of onlookers in the surroundings shouted and suddenly rushed into the huge manor on the side without thinking.

The entrance of the huge manor was shut. Someone even climbed over the courtyard’s walls and opened the door, instantly letting a few hundred people inside.

When Yan Liqiang saw this scene, he finally felt relieved as he let out a long sigh – the father and son of the Ye Clan were done for...

Chapter 147: A Well Deserved Punishment

After hustling and bustling for less than ten minutes, right in front of a thousand onlookers on the street, an unexpected and dramatic scene unfolded before them...

Commandant Su came out from the huge manor Ye Xiao was in along with a few soldiers. Commandant Su’s face, which had always been black, was a few shades darker than the bottom of a frying pan at this moment.

Two weeping girls were escorted between Commandant Su and the few soldiers.

After Commandant Su came out, a big group of Wanderers and a few of those people who had just rushed inside came out with Ye Xiao and a few of his guards in tow.

The upper half of Ye Xiao’s body was bare and he was only wearing a pair of shorts. His face was swollen with a bloody nose and there were two bleeding wounds on his shoulder and hand. He appeared to be in an awkward predicament. Both his hands were twisted behind his back by the two Wanderers walking behind him. With his pale skin exposed, he was shivering in the cold wind of the night...

Even in such a situation, Ye Xiao was still struggling while barking like a mad dog until his voice was hoarse and exhausted.

“YOU GUYS ARE DEAD MEAT! DEAD MEAT! DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM? MY FATHER IS THE PINGXI PREFECTURAL GOVERNOR, YE TIANCHENG...! I AM YE XIAO! JUST YOU WAIT... I WILL REMEMBER ALL OF YOU... THOSE WHO HAVE BARGED IN HERE TONIGHT, NONE OF YOU SHALL ESCAPE! YOU, WANDERERS, AND ALSO YOU... THE BLACK-FACED COMMANDANT... AND YOU MOB OF PEOPLE... WAIT AND SEE HOW I WILL FINISH YOU ALL... I WILL HAVE MY FATHER DECAPITATE YOU ALL!!”

The onlookers who had gathered around the main streets were waiting here to see if King Cobra had been captured. However, King Cobra was nowhere in sight. Instead, they saw a half-naked young lord seized by a few Wanderers in a pathetic state. All of them were dumbstruck, completely clueless about what was happening. How did this group of people end up capturing the Prefectural Governor’s young lord? And why were the soldiers on the side actually not in the least bit concerned about it?

Ye Xiao was pushed out the door and he actually recognized someone among the group of bailiffs who were maintaining orders on the main street outside. He started yelling as though he had found his last straw to clutch at.

“CONSTABLE ZHOU, SAVE ME! ARREST THE MOB AND THE WANDERERS!!”

When the person who appeared to be the leader among the bailiffs saw Ye Xiao seized by a group of Wanderers, his countenance instantly contorted. Without thinking, he unsheathed the saber hanging on his waist and charged towards them. “What are you guys doing? How dare you?! Release Young Master Ye this instant...!”

Whoosh...

“AHHH..!!” Constable Zhou let out a blood-curdling scream before he fell on the ground after taking two steps. Unbeknownst to anyone, an arrow had pierced his thigh. The feather fletching of that arrow was still vibrating in the air. The few bailiffs in the city who were about to charge forward behind Constable Zhou instantly and involuntarily changed expressions when they saw Constable Zhou take an arrow and fall to the ground.

Two Wanderers stood on top of the courtyard wall of that huge mansion with bows in their hands as they stared coldly at the few bailiffs. Their arrows were aimed at them.

Countless onlookers in the surroundings were suddenly in an uproar when they saw that the Wanderers actually dared to point their arrows at the bailiffs of the city.

“A-ARE YOU ALL THINKING OF REBELLING?!” Constable Zhou who was on the ground yelled at those Wanderers, trying to be tough on the outside while he was all weak on the inside.

“Quit trying to scare us, we’re not going to be daunted by you.” One of the Wanderers who seized Ye Xiao sneered coldly. He then scanned the crowd of onlookers on the street and loudly announced, “Ye Xiao, the son of the Pingxi Prefectural Governor, Ye Tiancheng, is colluding with Shatu people to abduct girls in the city. They are delivered from the secret underground tunnel in the boutique at the side to the basement of this manor for his degenerate pleasures. He is cultivating nefarious techniques to establish his foundations. When we barged inside, we caught him red-handed and found irrefutable evidence. Many of the soldiers of Pingxi City who barged in also witnessed it. Those two girls had been delivered here after they were abducted by the Shatu people outside of Pingxi City today. If we had gone in a bit late, they would have been violated by this beast. According to the Great Han Empire, the culprit and accomplices will be sentenced to capital punishment without any exception for cases including female abduction and rape. Half of the culprit’s family properties will be confiscated while the other half will be rewarded to the captor. This beast, Ye Xiao, has already been caught by us. If anyone dares to snatch him from us, don’t blame us for any consequences that might happen to you...”

The few thousand onlookers around the street were stunned when they heard the Wanderer speak before all of them and they instantly erupted with curses...

“YOU BEAST...!”

“No wonder many girls have gone missing in Pingxi City every year for the past two years. It must be the work of this brat and the Shatu people...!”

“Right, and this is definitely not the first time. This beast even dug an underground tunnel to pull the wool over people’s eyes...!”

In the midst of everyone’s curses, a desperate voice suddenly rang out from the crowd. “Caixia, Caifeng, why are both of you here...?!”

A man tried to squeeze his way through the crowd while yelling desperately. He shouted loudly at those girls who were escorted by Commandant Su and the few guards.

When two bailiffs were about to intercept the man, he suddenly shouted again.“LET ME THROUGH, THEY’RE MY YOUNGER SISTERS!!”

“BIG BROTHER...!” The two girls immediately wailed when they saw the man and ran towards him.

The moment the two bailiffs who were blocking the man hesitated, the man instantly broke through them and rushed over to pull both girls to him. “Why are both of you here? You’ve been out of the city the whole day and never returned until so late. Mother and Father were worried sick and had me come out to find both of you!”

“We don’t know either. Little Sister and I went outside the city to pray, but on our way home, we bumped into a few Shatu men. They suddenly pulled a sack over our heads and then the rest was a blur to us. When we woke up just now, we were down there, locked up by someone. They were about to drug Little Sister and I. If it weren’t for those soldiers and Mister Wanderers, we probably wouldn’t have gotten another chance to see Father, Mother, and you again, Big Brother...”

As the three of them spoke, they hugged each other on the streets and wept.

The scene stirred the hearts of countless onlookers who also felt a little afraid – fortunately, it wasn’t their family members who had fallen into the hands of that beast...

Just then, another commotion erupted in the huge manor. A Wanderer rushed out from the huge manor and yelled to everyone outside. “There’s a dried up well at the back of this huge manor under a rock garden. We just removed the rock and found more than ten female skeletons in that well...!”

“YOU... MOBS... AND LOWLIVES... I AM THE PREFECTURAL GOVERNOR’S SON... WHEN MY FATHER COMES, I WILL HAVE HIM DECAPITATE ALL OF YOU...”

Ye Xiao was still shouting like a fool at this moment, threatening everyone around him.

The crowd of onlookers exploded completely.

“LET’S BEAT THE SH*T OUT OF THIS ANIMAL!!!”

“HELL YES, BEAT HIM TO DEATH!!!”

“BEAT HIM TO DEATH!!”

“KILL THIS SON OF A B*TCH WHO HAS DEVASTATED THE LIVES OF COMMONERS...!”

The angry crowd surged forward like a tide. In just a flash, they broke through the defense of the ring of bailiffs and charged towards Ye Xiao. Even those bailiffs seemed to only be putting up an act. They had no plans to stop them at all...

“YOU BEAST!!” The big brother of those two girls raised his head, showing bloodshot eyes. He was the first to rush in front of Ye Xiao to deliver a hard punch to his face which instantly knocked two of his teeth out.

When black-faced Commandant Su saw the angry crowd pouring forth, he was prepared to order his subordinates to stop them. However, one of the soldiers beside him secretly tugged his sleeve. With a low voice, he said, “Sir, if Ye Xiao lives, you will be the one in trouble. If he dies now, this will be a solid court case that will have nothing much to do with you, Sir...”

“F*ck!” Upon hearing that, Commandant Su swore under his breath and remained motionless.

Looking at the fuming crowd charging towards him, Ye Xiao’s countenance contorted for real.

The two Wanderers that were holding him exchanged looks. A cold gleam flashed across their eyes. One of them suddenly balled up his fist and with a Drilling Fist technique, he silently punched Ye Xiao’s lower back. Ye Xiao instantly paled and coughed out a mouthful of fresh blood. The two Wanderers then conveniently pushed him into the angry crowd charging towards him...

It was just as what the soldier beside Commandant Su had said: if Ye Xiao were beaten to death by these countless commoners in Pingxi City right now, everything that had transpired tonight would lead to an indisputable case. If someone were to reverse the verdict for Ye Xiao, countless citizens of Pingxi City would be branded as criminals. Who would dare to do so? Wouldn’t they worry that this might provoke the commoners to rebel? If Ye Xiao died, then the Wanderers would definitely be rewarded for their work and the only thing they had to do was wait for the Great Han Empire’s authorities to award them. If Ye Xiao was alive, who knew what his father, Ye Tiancheng, would do? These Wanderers were all well-acquainted with the ways of the world, so they naturally could already see it coming.

Shi Dafeng was eager to participate too. Just when he was about to charge in there, Yan Liqiang held him back by his arm and shook his head at him.

Seeing those soldiers remain motionless and the Wanderers pushing Ye Xiao out, Yan Liqiang was certain that Ye Xiao didn’t have to wait until tomorrow to have a court trial because he would undoubtedly die tonight.

With the crowd’s rage that was boiling like a volcano, let alone a second-generation rich kid like Ye Xiao, even Benito Mussolini would die.

It was best for Ye Xiao to die now. Otherwise, by the time Ye Tiancheng arrived, Yan Liqiang was 100% certain he would definitely put on the act of upholding justice and righteousness even at the sacrifice of blood relations here without any hesitation...

A valiant soldier who rushed forward to shield Constable Zhou’s head was instantly trampled by countless feet all over his head and body. If it weren’t for the two bailiffs on the side who quickly pulled him out and to the back, he probably would’ve been killed in the stampede. Nevertheless, Constable Zhou was already on the verge of death

“YOU BEAST!!!”

“BEAT HIM TO HIS DEATH!”

“FOR THE LADIES WHO WERE MURDERED BY THIS BEAST!!”

Countless people snarled at Ye Xiao, and each of them had their fists raised high in the air. Ye Xiao’s figure was akin to a leaf caught in a violent storm and rolling waves as it disappeared in the crowd in just the blink of an eye.

In the beginning, Yan Liqiang could still hear Ye Xiao’s miserable shrieks from afar. Merely a minute later, he could no longer hear his voice...

“Why are the three of you here?” Just then, a figure suddenly appeared behind Yan Liqiang and the rest.

The moment the three of them turned their heads around, they saw that Shi Changfeng had already arrived in his fluttery white clothes unbeknownst to them. He looked at them with his sparkling eyes...

Chapter 148: Worse Death Than A Dog

Shi Changfeng was outside the city just now. He only rushed over after he spotted Shen Teng’s fire arrow and identified that it was from a martial arts academy student.

Though Shi Changfeng was quick, it still took him more than ten minutes to get here. By then, everything had already culminated to the final moment.

“Well, Teacher Shi...” Yan Liqiang reorganized his language and narrated a complete report to him. He started with how he, Shen Teng, and Shi Dafeng went to have a meal together to how he recognized the Shatu man driving the horse carriage, and then how the three of them tailed the man all the way here before taking him down in addition to the series of events that happened from that point on.

Despite Shi Changfeng’s broad knowledge and extensive observation, he was also very surprised when he heard Yan Liqiang’s account. However, he also managed to understand some critical points in just the blink of an eye.

When he saw that no one was paying attention to them, he pulled Yan Liqiang and the other two to the side. Then he whispered to them with a grave expression on his face. “If anyone asks questions to any of you later, just tell them what Yan Liqiang said just now. Tell the truth as it is, do not deliberately complicate the story by all means. Don’t even mention that you know those Wanderers. Aside from that Shatu man, all of you were clueless and did not participate in anything. All of you noticed was something fishy going on in that boutique and thought King Cobra might hiding here, and therefore you released the warning signal to request for help. Everything that happened after that did not involve you. Understand...?”

Yan Liqiang and the other two exchanged a single glance with each other before they all nodded.

Now that this incident involved the Prefectural Governor, Ye Tiancheng, the three of them naturally understood the seriousness of the situation.

After Shi Changfeng finished briefing Yan Liqiang and the others, he then slightly frowned at the angry crowd. “The person who got surrounded by those people is...”

“None other than the young lord of the Prefectural Governor, Ye Xiao...” Shen Teng replied.

When Shi Changfeng heard that it was Ye Xiao who was surrounded by the crowd that was as violent as the wind and a rainstorm, his frown disappeared. He shook his head. He just stood beside Yan Liqiang and the rest and continued to watch...

A few minutes later, a greater commotion could be heard at the end of the street. The ground shook as though a huge cavalry was charging towards the location.

Yan Liqiang turned his head around and discovered that instead of Ye Tiancheng, it was the Military Governor of Pingxi Prefecture, Huangfu Qianqi, who had arrived. He was riding on a rhinodrake steed, fully dressed in armor. He took the lead and charged forward with the most elite cavalry in Pingxi Prefecture behind him.

Due to the overtly huge commotion here, Huangfu Qianqi was also alarmed since he guarded the city and he personally brought no less than an entire cavalry with him.

‘Strange. Ye Tiancheng is still not here... Could it be that Ye guy is actually not in Pingxi City?’– A thought emerged in Yan Liqiang’s mind. If it really was true, then this would truly become a laughable matter. If Ye Tiancheng didn’t appear tonight, then no one would even be able to see his final act.

“The Military Governor has arrived!!” Someone shouted among the crowd.

The surging crowd around Ye Xiao instantly dispersed with a loud rumble, suddenly clearing up an empty space in the middle of the main street, leaving only one person lying there on the ground motionlessly.

The only underpants Ye Xiao, who was lying on the floor, was wearing had already fallen onto the ground. He was completely naked right now as he laid on the ground like a dead dog. Blood was leaking out from his eyes, ears, mouth and nose. His entire head had already sunk in because his skull was crushed. Both his hands and arms were twisted in weird angles because they were already broken. Bruises decorated his body – it was no longer possible to find even a patch of uninjured skin from his head to his toe. His penis and the balls in his crotch had already been crushed during the chaos just now, reduced to nothing but mangled flesh. The most revolting part was that his feces had been beaten out of him through his rear end. He was totally incontinent. The sickening stench hung in the winds of the night.

Ye Xiao couldn’t be more dead right now. Not even God could resurrect him. The way he died was less than a stray dog; he died in a disgraceful and revolting manner.

Seeing Ye Xiao dead like this, Yan Liqiang finally felt relieved. Of course, even if a trash like Ye Xiao died a hundred times, Yan Liqiang wouldn’t show an ounce of sympathy.

The moment Huangfu Qianqi’s troops and horses arrived, their austere aura instantly silenced the previously agitated street. Only the crackling sounds of the burning torches could be heard. Many people’s hearts were thumping nervously, especially the commoners who had participated in ganging up and beating Ye Xiao up just now. All of them were raging with fury earlier, but now that they saw that the troops and horses of the city had arrived, they couldn’t help but feel somewhat guilty.

Commandant Su and the few officers who had arrived immediately went over and reported the incident that had transpired here to Huangfu Qianqi.

After listening to the reports of the few officers, Huangfu Qianqi looked at the group of calm Wanderers who seemed to be waiting for something good to happen and the thousands of commoners who were watching him attentively from the sides of the street before his gaze landed on Ye Xiao who was lying right in the middle of the main street. One of the officers immediately ran over there from the side. He checked Ye Xiao’s body for a short while before he shook his head at Huangfu Qianqi.

Huangfu Qianqi waved his hand. The officer then took off the cape he was wearing and covered Ye Xiao’s corpse with it.

Huangfu Qianqi, who was riding on his horse, shut his eyes. After a few seconds, he reopened them. His eyes shone decisively before he issued two orders.

“Irrelevant parties should quickly disperse. Do not obstruct the traffic flow of this main street and cause any more trouble...”

“Inform the Law Enforcement Office personnel to come and take statements...”

After issuing the two orders, Huangfu Qianqi turned his horse around and immediately left with his troops... He left just like that...

Upon seeing Huangfu Qianqi leave with his troops, the crowd of more than a thousand onlookers was silent for a moment before they started cheering.

Yan Liqiang also breathed out a sigh of relief. He knew that Huangfu Qianqi had made the right decision.

Putting aside Huangfu Qianqi who was known for his unblemished reputation and how he treasured his reputation, who would possibly still dare to lick the Prefectural Governor’s boots over his young lord who had been beaten to his death by the angry commoners in city for the irrefutable proof of his heinous crime and thus become enemies with the commoners in city and this huge group of Wanderers? If he really stirred up a civil revolt and the situation got out of hand, the first person the Prefectural Governor would decapitate would probably be the person who started this mess.

After all, in this world, there weren’t many brainless people, let alone military officers.

For his own son to cause such a huge incident in the city which caused widespread indignation and discontent among people, the days Ye Tiancheng had left as Pingxi Prefectural Governor were probably numbered too...

...

With Shi Changfeng’s company, Yan Liqiang and the other two were invited to the Law Enforcement Office where their statements in regards to tonight’s incident were taken separately. Four or five hours later, they were able to finally leave the Law Enforcement Office.

Yan Liqiang and the other two had said nothing but the truth. Naturally, the three statements matched each other without any issues, and no one could really find any faults with them – the three students from the martial arts academy were dining at Du Clan’s Kuai in Fine Willow Alley. One of the students’ eyesight and memory was great enough to actually recognize a coachman who passed by Fine Willow Alley on a horse carriage in disguise as the one he had met two months ago when he entered the city. The Shatu man was moving suspiciously so three of them tailed him all the way from Fine Willow Alley to a boutique. After subduing the coachman, they discovered that some Wanderers had barged into the courtyard and heard battle noises, so they released a signal – was there a problem with this?

Not only were there no issues with the three statements that they had provided, anyone who read them would sing praises for Yan Liqiang and the other two for being vigilant and decisive. As expected of good students from the martial arts academy.

For the sake of verifying the statements that Yan Liqiang and the other two had given, the Law Enforcement Office even called the owner and family of Du Clan’s Kuai in Fine Willow Alley to come in. They inquired them if Yan Liqiang and the other two had indeed dined in his shop last night. The answer was of course, affirmative.

...

By the time Yan Liqiang and the other two came out from the Law Enforcement Office, it was already past one o’clock in the morning.

“Try to keep this incident low for now. Go back to doing what you should be doing...” Shi Changfeng reminded the three of them when he left the Law Enforcement Office with them together.

With Shi Changfeng present and knowing his status as an academy tutor at the martial arts academy, the few officers in the Law Enforcement didn’t deliberately make things difficult for Yan Liqiang and the others. They asked them some standard questions and took their statements under Shi Changfeng’s supervision. After settling all that without any issues, the three of them were asked to sign their names on the statements they had provided before they wrapped things up.

“Thank you, Teacher Shi...”

“No need to thank me. What the three of you did today was completely right. You all are brave and astute. I am proud of you. As expected of the students from our martial arts academy. Especially you, Yan Liqiang!” Shi Changfeng’s gaze fell on Yan Liqiang. It was filled with admiration as though he had just gotten to know Yan Liqiang all over again. “I didn’t expect you to be so observant and sharp-eyed enough to be able to immediately see through that Shatu man’s disguise. Impressive, really impressive...”

Yan Liqiang smiled shyly and scratched his head. “You’re flattering me, Teacher Shi. I was just really annoyed by those Shatu people the day I entered the city. This city is ours, it belongs to the Chinese. Even we have to abide the laws and dismount from our steeds when we enter the city. Why are these Shatu people entitled to ostentatiously enter the city on their steeds? Although preferential treatment is given to Shatu people, this is not the way to do it. This is simply letting them abuse their treatment over our heads. Not only that, we also have to swallow our anger and defend their dignity all the time as though they are our grandfathers while we are their grandchildren. This doesn’t make sense at all. When that Shatu man rode past me that day on his rhinodrake steed, he even gave us a disdainful look. I could recognize him even if he were reduced to ashes...”

“You are right, Liqiang. The Shatu people in Pingxi City are indeed too arrogant. Over these few months ever since I arrived in Pingxi City, I’ve seen Shatu people bully the Chinese a few times and the Law Enforcement Office actually turns a blind eye to them...” Shi Dafeng chimed in from the side, showing his indignation.

“The ‘Writ of Grace’ has already become totally different over these few years...” Shen Teng also sighed.

“Powerless anger is meaningless. Refrain yourselves from speaking such words from now on. All of you will have the rights to talk about things like this when you progress into a Martial Warrior in the future or when you attain higher realms...” Shi Changfeng told the three of them profoundly.

Yan Liqiang and the other two nodded.

Since it was already past curfew in the city and the sky was already dark, Shi Changfeng figured it might be inconvenient for the three of them to return at this hour. So he decided he might as well rent four rooms at an inn which was not too far from the Law Enforcement Office and let the three of them rest for the night...

Tonight, Yan Liqiang was finally able to sleep soundly on the bed at the inn...

Chapter 149: Grievances That Soared To The Skies

Wang Haofei, Mo Leng, and Ye Xiao’s lives ended in succession. Before the first signs of danger even appeared, it was already completely extinguished. The heavy rock at the bottom of Yan Liqiang’s heart instantly vanished without a trace. After a good night’s sleep at the inn, Yan Liqiang felt as though he was a new man after his own biological clock woke him up the very next early morning. He felt relaxed and refreshed as the joy and confidence of being in control of his own fate had once again returned to him.

After yesterday, his father, his friends, his family, and his own destiny had been changed. Yan Liqiang had a million reasons to celebrate and rejoice. More importantly, he managed to accomplish everything alone through his own efforts, struggles, and planning. If this were a project or mission, this was much more challenging, difficult, and dangerous than any other project or mission assigned to him in his previous life. The slightest mistake would cost him his life. If the difficulty of such a project or mission wasn’t classified as hell level, then it would be expert level.

Yan Liqiang truly felt like he had grown quite significantly after making it past this stage.

After he woke up and completed his morning regime, his external cultivation, and washing up in the bedroom, the sky had just turned bright.

Upon completing his morning routine, Yan Liqiang sensed that he was getting closer to passing Stretching Tendon and Extending Bone stage when he was cultivating Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing. He’d probably pass this stage very soon. Then he would be able to immediately establish his dantian and officially progress into a Martial Warrior.

Knock, knock, knock...

Just when Yan Liqiang had hung his towel up in the room, a series of knocks rang out. He went over to open the bedroom door and found Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng standing outside.

“Liqiang, how’s it going? Are you done?” Shi Dafeng chuckled and patted him on his shoulder.

“I’m done and am about to go out!” Yan Liqiang said. He stepped out and shut the door behind him. “Did you all have a good sleep last night?”

“Not bad. How about you? You look good!”

Yan Liqiang laughed. “A clear conscience sleeps even through thunder. Of course I had a good sleep!”

“When I slept last night, I kept thinking about everything that happened. Even now, I still find it unbelievable. We only discovered a Shatu man and I didn’t expect to cause such a huge incident which involved even the Prefectural Governor. I heard that the young lord of that Prefectural Governor was one of our senior martial brothers at the martial arts academy. That’s really... really...” Shen Teng was still reflecting on the incident that had transpired last night. When he talked about Ye Xiao, he didn’t know how to continue his sentence.

“That Ye Xiao was indeed the scum of all scums who was really less than an animal. Even his death couldn’t wipe out the heinous crimes he committed, right?” Yan Liqiang continued his sentence. “Brother Shen, there’s no need to ponder so much over this. God’s plans supersede our own. This is the fate of a person who had committed his full share of crimes. He thought no one would discover what he had done, and even if someone did, they wouldn’t be able to do anything about a young lord of the Prefectural Governor. Yet he forgot that God was watching his every move. In this world, everything is closely linked with one another. Hence, a slight change will affect everything else. Now that God decided to finish him, he wasn’t able to escape from it no matter how well he hid...”

“Well said!” A voice rang out. Shi Changfeng appeared from another corridor nearby.

“Teacher Shi!”

Yan Liqiang and the rest hurriedly bowed to Shi Changfeng. They usually didn’t really come into contact with Shi Changfeng. However, after last night, they realized that Shi Changfeng was indeed a warmhearted person who tried to defend them at all times. Hence, the respect they had for Shi Changfeng increased even more.

“Did all of you have your breakfast?” Shi Changfeng asked.

“Not yet!”

“Let’s go then. I shall treat you all to breakfast!”

“Hehehe, we won’t decline your offer then, Teacher Shi!” Yan Liqiang replied with a smile.

The four of them picked a slightly more silent corner to sit down in after they arrived at the inn’s dining hall. They ordered some noodles, steamed buns, and soup before they proceeded to enjoy their breakfast.

“I went to ask around in the Law Enforcement Office just now and got some information from those two Wanderers you all saw last night. They said they also realized that the Shatu man was in disguise and thought the goods he was transporting in the horse carriage were quite suspicious. So they tailed his horse carriage all the way to the boutique. Inside the boutique, they discovered a tunnel underneath the house but didn’t dare to enter recklessly so they released a signal to the other Wanderers...” Shi Changfeng spoke calmly.

“Oh, I see...” Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng both nodded.

Yan Liqiang only bit a mouthful of steamed bun upon hearing the news and didn’t make any further comments. Those two Wanderers were prideful; they naturally wouldn’t admit that they had only tailed the horse carriage because they saw the three of them following the horse carriage last night. But that was fine too. This way, it would be easier for the three of them to distance themselves away from the incident that happened last night.

“Teacher Shi, was the Prefectural Governor away from Pingxi City yesterday?” Yan Liqiang asked.

Shi Changfeng’s eyes bore into Yan Liqiang. “The Prefectural Governor was away at Panshan County yesterday to inspect the winter irrigation works in the county. After receiving the news, he hastened on with his journey last night and just returned an hour ago...”

“I see.” Yan Liqiang secretly thought to himself that everything was just as he had surmised. He only returned this morning, so the dust had already long settled since last night. The only thing Ye Tiancheng could do now was wipe his own ass. Even so, he might not be able to perfectly wipe it clean.

“After breakfast, you all will follow me back to the martial arts academy. Things might be a little chaotic in the city in the next few days. Just focus on your studies and training in the academy. Don’t pay attention to whatever goes on outside!”

“Understood!” Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng nodded. Both of them naturally understood what Shi Changfeng meant by ‘chaotic’. King Cobra’s case wasn’t even settled and now the young lord of the Prefectural Governor was involved in a serious case like this which cost at least ten lives. Not only that, he was even colluding with the Shatu people. Over the course of just one night, the incident that happened had most likely spread like wildfire across the entire city. So the Prefectural Governor had hurried back to put out the fire. There was no way this city would remain undisturbed.

“Teacher Shi, I’d like to take a trip home!” Yan Liqiang suddenly spoke up.

“Why?”

“Before I came to Pingxi City, my father was injured and he had yet to fully recover. It’s getting quite cold these few days. I’m a little concerned, so I’d like to return to check up on him!” Yan Liqiang told a half-truth; but even so, his reason was impeccable.

“Alright, I guess it’s fine for you to leave Pingxi City and return home for a few days!” Shi Changfeng muttered to himself irresolutely, then nodded. “However, you must not slack off in your training after returning home!”

“Yes, Teacher Shi, I will keep that in mind!”

...

They left the inn after they finished breakfast and went their separate ways.

Yan Liqiang was prepared to return to Wuyang Village first to pack up before leaving Pingxi City later in the afternoon for Huanglong County to meet Yan Dechang – because Yan Dechang would bring a batch of kukri knives to the Weaponsmiths Quarter in Huanglong County tomorrow. If he met him at Huanglong County, then Yan Dechang naturally wouldn’t take a trip to Pingxi City.

After walking for less than five hundred meters away from the inn, Yan Liqiang met a group of people on the main street.

There were no less than a few hundred of them, both young and old, weeping all the way in their mourning garbs while beating on a gong. They carried the coffin and scattered paper money along the main street as they made their way toward the Law Enforcement Office.

Walking in the frontmost of the group were two old and gray-haired elderlies. The old man walked with a cane, supported by two other youths in mourning garbs by his sides. Tears coursed down the old woman’s cheeks. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying. She was wailing loudly while walking. “Oh, my daughter! You have died so tragically! Since you went missing two years ago, Mother always dreamt about you telling me that you are cold. I only found out today that you were killed by the young lord of that Prefectural Governor and got tossed into a well where you have been in total darkness! Mother has come here today to bring you home...!”

“What is wrong with this world? Is there still any justice in Pingxi City? God, open your eyes and take a good look...!” Tears also coursed down the cheeks of the old man beside her. He walked while yelling towards the heavens in anger.

“The son of the Prefectural Governor was colluding with a different tribe to devastate the commoners! Where is justice?! Where is it in God’s name...?!” The people among the group who were scattering paper money cried out while they walked.

When people saw this group of people approaching, everyone on the main street gave way to them. Everyone remained silent as they watched the group make their way towards the Law Enforcement Office. Almost all of them were talking about the incident from last night. The eyes of a few uncles and aunts at the roadside reddened at the scene.

Even those bailiffs who were patrolling the streets could only stand aside in silence when they saw the group; they didn’t obstruct their path either. After all, most of these bailiffs were also ordinary people like the commoners in the city – they each had a conscience and compassion too.

Yan Liqiang stood by the roadside. He could only mourn in silence.

After the group of people passed by, Yan Liqiang continued on forward and turned into another street. After walking for less than two li, he ran into another wave of weeping people who walked along the streets in tears, carrying a coffin towards the Law Enforcement Office...

Nearly every clan inside or outside the city which had girls going missing over the past few years rushed to the Law Enforcement Office upon receiving news about last night’s incident. All of Pingxi City was shrouded by a miserable atmosphere. The entire city grieved and their grievances soared to the skies. Yan Liqiang saw people weeping and wailing, searching and yelling out for their family along the way.

If Ye Tiancheng could still sit securely in his position as the Prefectural Governor after this, then he figured he should probably... just let the Great Han Empire be destroyed...

Chapter 150: Returning to the Weaponsmiths Quarter Again

“Long time no see, brothers...!”

When Yan Liqiang jumped off from the horse carriage, the eyes of both soldiers who stood guard at the entrance of Huanglong County’s Weaponsmiths Quarter widened as though they couldn’t believe it was Yan Liqiang who was walking towards them.

However, after Yan Liqiang’s greeting, both of them finally responded.

“Ah! Young Master Yan, Young Master Yan is back...!” The two soldiers were suddenly excited and quickly jogged forward.

During Yan Liqiang’s stay at the Weaponsmiths Quarter a few months ago, his relationship with everyone was great and everyone loved him. When they found out later that he got first place among top three in the Martial Arts County Trial Examination of Qinghe County and could enroll in the Pingxi Prectural Martial Arts Academy, everyone in the Weaponsmiths Quarter was happy for him. Little did the two soldiers expect Yan Liqiang to actually return to the Weaponsmiths Quarter once again during such a bitterly cold time like this.

“Brothers, I bought some stuff and they’re on the carriage. Can I trouble both of you to help me unload them...?”

“Sure thing!” The two soldiers laughed heartily. They went behind the horse carriage with the coachman, opened the carriage door, and took out the things Yan Liqiang had put inside there.

There were four big jars of wine, each weighing about fifty jin. A thick rope made out of straws was tied around the wine jars, holding them securely together like a net. In an era without styrofoam or plastic, this was the way to package wine jars to be transported over a long journey. Although it looked old fashioned, it was very effective. The wine jars were still perfectly undamaged though they knocked against each other during the trip.

Yan Liqiang specially bought the four jars of wine from Pingxi City. He requested for people to deliver it on a ship to Huanglong County’s wharf and hired a carriage to transport them here.

“Ah, Jade Luo Spring...” One of the soldier’s nose twitched when they unloaded the four jars of wine from the carriage, instantly recognizing the faint aroma of the wine which had leaked out from the jars.

“I know everyone in the Weaponsmiths Quarter enjoys wine. So this time, the only souvenir I brought from Pingxi City is their local specialty, Jade Luo Spring, for brothers to try. We shall drink them tonight. Just in time to warm everyone up!” Yan Liqiang laughed.

“I didn’t expect Young Master Yan to still remember us...” The soldiers were extremely happy and were totally moved upon hearing how Yan Liqiang had taken the trouble to visit everyone in the Weaponsmiths Quarter with wine from Pingxi City.

“Of course I remember. How can I possibly forget?” Yan Liqiang said. He made his way over and was about to lift two jars of wine up.

“Young Master Yan, just leave them to us!”

“No need to be so courteous, brothers. Doesn’t matter who carries them!” Yan Liqiang single-handedly lifted a jar of wine and then walked toward the Weaponsmiths Quarter together with the other two soldiers. “Oh right, is Uncle Qian around?”

“Of course he is. Quarter Master Qian just returned not more than two hours ago. He’s not out yet...”

“Why? Uncle Qian didn’t go drink and fool around in the county town these few days?”

“Young Master Yan, we won’t dare to answer that question. You should ask Quarter Master Qian yourself when you see him...”

“Hahahaha...”

Not too far past the entrance of Weaponsmiths Quarter, he spotted another few soldiers with familiar faces. When those soldiers saw that Yan Liqiang had arrived, they seemed to be quite surprised. Yet as soon as they saw the things Yan Liqiang was holding, they knew that he had brought some souvenirs from Pingxi City for everyone and all of them instantly surged with excitement. They hurriedly took the wine jars from Yan Liqiang and excitedly led him inside.

“Young Master Yan has returned! Young Master Yan is back to visit everyone...!”

The few soldiers shouted while they walked. Many people in the Weaponsmiths Quarter came running out to greet Yan Liqiang when they heard them and made some good-natured jokes.

“Aha, our champion among the top three in the Martial Arts County Trial Examination of Qinghe County has returned...!”

“How many wives do you have now, Young Master Yan? Hahaha!!”

After fighting and scheming against others in Pingxi City for a few months and escaping danger by a hair’s breadth, Yan Liqiang truly felt as though he had reunited with his family when he saw the friendly and warm familiar faces back at the Weaponsmiths Quarter. A warm sensation mysteriously flowed in Yan Liqiang’s heart as he greeted everyone with a bright smile.

Upon arriving at the quarters and still not seeing Qian Su in the courtyard that he lived in, Yan Liqiang only found out he was over at the Weaponsmiths Quarter’s coalyard after asking around. He asked the others to put away the wine and told them there was no need to inform Qian Su. Then he personally made his way toward the coalyard.

The Weaponsmiths Quarter had a high coal consumption rate. Therefore, it had a designated place for coal storage. Not far from the blacksmith workshop, the Weaponsmiths Quarter had built a huge warehouse to store coal. That huge warehouse was known as the coalyard. The coalyard was located at the side of the Weaponsmiths Quarter where it was relatively remote so no one had heard the commotion yet.

When Yan Liqiang was outside the coalyard, he could already hear Qian Su’s thunderous voice before he even went in.

” WANG DEFA, WHAT THE F*CK DO YOU DO FOR A LIVING?! How dare you bring coals like these in? Take a look at this five hundred thousand jin of coal, half of them are crushed like fine sand. One-third of the remaining ones are yellowish brown. How is the boiler room going to use them? I usually turn a blind eye to your slightly greasy hands. I can tell exactly just how much grease there is in every ten thousand jin of coal, but I’ve just been too lazy to point it out. Don’t you think I have spoiled you too much? Some nerve you have to be deceiving me with these coals! Are you undermining my capability as the Quarter Master, hm?!”

Just by listening to that voice alone, Yan Liqiang could already almost imagine the furious look on Qian Su’s face. Despite not putting on any airs in the Weaponsmiths Quarter, there was no one in the Weaponsmiths Quarter who wasn’t afraid of Qian Su.

“You have wronged me, Quarter Master!” A shrill, sobbing voice rang out. “I wouldn’t have the audacity to trick you in any way, even if I ate the heart of a bear and the guts of a leopard! I’m sure you know that every place that uses coal gets anxious every year especially when winter is approaching. A few days ago, there was a landslide on Mount Xiaolong and the coal couldn’t be transported out. Due to this incident, everywhere else in the county cannot cope with the demand. Not only that but the price of coals is also skyrocketing. A month ago, the price of ten thousand jin of good coal was only eight tales, three maces, and five candareens of silver. But now, the price for the same amount of coal has risen to more than ten taels of silver. Even so, a sale is not guaranteed!”

“The few coal warehouses in the county received orders two days ago from the higher-ups to transport their remaining coal stocks to Pingxi City to deal with the emergency. The people in the Law Enforcement Office explained that Pingxi City mustn’t suffer a deficiency in coal because that is where the Prefectural Governor lives. If there isn’t enough for the citizens of the county, then everyone should just burn firewood, cow dung, or straw. So these are the remaining ones which I went through the trouble of snatching from Boss Guo’s hands using the Weaponsmiths Quarter’s name. Not only that, the quoted price was the old price. The transaction was properly documented at Boss Guo’s place, you may go and verify it. If you pay him a visit, I’m sure you will also be informed of the current selling price of coal in Huanglong County. If I, Wang Defa, didn’t have any morals and took even a single copper coin from these coals for myself, you may chop my hands off. I will never hold it against you...”

“So, are you saying that I have falsely accused you? Tell me then, how will the boiler room use these crushed coals that are as fine as sand?”

“We’d rather have the coals here than run on low on them. Otherwise, the furnace in the boiler room cannot even be ignited and you will be chopping my head off. If it’s really troublesome, you can pass the coal back to me, I’ll sell it to someone at its original price...”

“Hm, alright then. Let’s just leave it here first. I will see what to do with it later...”

Yan Liqiang stayed outside the coalyard for a while. He waited until both of them were done talking before he cleared his throat and walked in.

“Uncle Qian, Manager Wang...”

The two people standing in the coalyard instantly turned their heads around and seemed to be quite shocked, especially Qian Su. He almost didn’t expect to see Yan Liqiang here.

“Young Master Yan...” Wang Defa, who had just been torn off a strip by Qian Su, immediately forced a smile when he saw Yan Liqiang.

“Ah, Liqiang, why are you here?”

“It’s been a long time, Uncle Qian! I’ve come to visit!”

Chapter 151: Night Talk

Yan Liqiang’s visit made things livelier in the Weaponsmiths Quarter. Aside from the wine he had brought for everyone, he also ordered a few roasted lambs on the way and had them delivered to the Weaponsmiths Quarter. With wine and meat, the dinner that evening became another special feast. Everyone’s laughs and cheerful conversations went on endlessly. How could anyone in the Weaponsmiths Quarter possibly not adore a person like Yan Liqiang?

After having dinner with everyone, Yan Liqiang followed Qian Su to the place he stayed at. Yan Liqiang then took out the gift he had brought for him – more than a decade-old ginseng. Although not very valuable, it was an attentive gift.

“Just you coming here is enough, why did you still bring me these things? You must have spent a lot on the wine and meat today too!” Qian Su took a sip of his tea and said this after he placed the box with the old ginseng in it on the table in the living room with a broad smile.

“Uncle Qian, you are always either working hard to serve the nation in the Weaponsmiths Quarter, be it on the frontlines for Huanglong County or mingling with the people to share and understand their sentiments. I kept pondering and really had no idea what would be the best gift to give to Uncle Qian. So I bought old ginseng as a supplement for your body...” Yan Liqiang said with a smile.

Qian Su seemed to have heard the amusing subject about ‘mingling with the people’ and ‘sharing and understanding their sentiments’ somewhere in his life before. Qian Su nearly spurted out the mouthful of tea he was drinking when he heard Yan Liqiang say that. Although he managed to swallow the tea in the end, he still choked on it and started coughing. Yan Liqiang hurriedly went over to him and patted him on his back, trying to relieve him.

“Are you alright, Uncle Qian?”

Qian Su, who coughed until his face was red, waved his hand and gestured for Yan Liqiang to go back to his seat.

“Although I’m not sure if you have made any progress in other areas, I can certainly tell that your talking skills have gotten sharper during your stay in Pingxi City for the past few months...”

“Hahaha, I still have a lot to learn from Uncle Qian!”

“I wonder how an honest man like your father made a son like you!” Qian Su shook his head and smiled wryly. Although the smile was helpless, there was also some comfort in it. “Tell me, how was your stay in Pingxi City over the past two or three months? Have you gotten used to the martial arts academy? I know a few people in Pingxi City. I can write you two letters if needed so you can pay them a visit with my letters when you return this time. In case anything happens, they can also look after you!”

“Everything’s been fine during my stay at Pingxi City. There’s no need to trouble you, Uncle Qian. Favors are finite, so there is no need to trouble Uncle Qian for now. I will come find you again if I need help!” Yan Liqiang had a bright smile on a face. It was impossible for anyone to see through the life-threatening crisis and hardships he had experienced in Pingxi City over the past two months from the looks on his face. If he told Qian Su about them, he figured Qian Su would be shocked.

“Hm, you are a wise one!” Qian Su laughed.

“But I have something else I wish for Uncle Qian to consider and examine for me...”

“What is it?” Qian Su put down his tea cup. The expression on his face grew serious. Based on Yan Liqiang’s personality, anything that required his help to consider and examine was definitely no small matter.

“Did Uncle Qian hear about the incident that occured last night in Pingxi City?”

“Ahem, ahem... well... what happened last night in Pingxi City?”

Huanglong County wasn’t really that far from Pingxi City, but wasn’t that close either, and so news traveled neither fast nor slow. However, Qian Su was having too much fun at one of the pleasure quarters in Huanglong County last night and had only returned to the Weaponsmiths Quarter this afternoon. Hence, he was totally clueless about the incident that had happened last night in Pingxi City.

“Well, I was having dinner with two friends from the martial arts academy last night in Pingxi City. Halfway through the dinner, I noticed a horse carriage passing by outside the window...” Yan Liqiang calmly explained everything that happened last night in plain language. Of course, what he said was the same as what others had said. To sum it up, everything was just a coincidence. He just happened to have a deeper impression of that Shatu man so he was able see through that Shatu man’s disguise, which ultimately led to a series of events...

“What? You’re saying that the son of the Prefectural Governor, Ye Tiancheng, was dragged out of his manor by the commoners in the city last night and got beaten to death in the middle of the street? And that the Military Governor arrived at the scene and left after saying a few words, leaving the rest to the Law Enforcement Office...?” At first, Qian Su’s expression was still quite relaxed when he heard the story. However, toward the end of the story, he was shocked. His eyes were wide open as he had abruptly and involuntarily stood up.

“Yes, that’s what happened...”

“Did you rush forward at that time?”

“Even if that Ye Xiao was the scum of all scums, I wouldn’t rush to the front. It is pointless to kick to a dog to its death, so I have only watched the scene with my other two friends from afar...”

“Glad to hear that...” Qian Su instantly breathed out a sigh of relief. “Was the Prefectural Governor in Pingxi City last night?”

“No, he wasn’t. I think he only returned early this morning...” Yan Liqiang then told the situation he saw this morning in the city to Qian Su. “I have a feeling that Pingxi City won’t be too peaceful, so I wish for Uncle Qian to help critically examine if there are any flaws in the story on my end, and also the possible changes in Pingxi City in the near future.”

Qian Su stood up with his hands clasped behind his back and paced back and forth around the room with a slight frown on his face. After pacing two rounds, he spoke. “If it really was as what you have said, then the incident last night had nothing much to do with you. You have nothing to worry about as long as you keep a low profile. Liqiang, you are a smart one, so you should know about what I’m trying to say. Although what you all did last night could be considered a contribution, you might make enemies and attract resentment. Try not to mention this incident from now on. In regards to the state of affairs in Pingxi City, that’s a tough question. The son of the Prefectural Governor had caused such a huge incident which could be either trivial or serious. I’m afraid that Ye Tiancheng’s days as the sitting Prefectural Governor are numbered...”

“Do you think the higher-ups will arrest him?” Yan Liqiang immediately asked.

“I’m afraid it will be quite unlikely for them to arrest him!” Qian Su shook his head with a grave expression. “You might not be quite aware of some of the situations, but Ye Tiancheng is actually someone from the Ye Clan of Gan Province. The Ye Clan is a wealthy and influential clan in Gan Province. The members of the clan have been officers for generations. Among Ye Tiancheng’s ancestors, the highest was the Provincial Governor of Gan Province. The Ye Clan is deeply rooted in Weiyuan County where they have connections to everything. I heard that if you line up the Ye Clan’s farms and ranches in Weiyuan County side by side, you can’t even walk to the other end in a day. The servants and guards of the Ye Clan amount to no less than several ten thousand. Ye Tianchang is one of the spokesmen for the Ye Clan. It’s not that easy to lay a finger on him. The Ye Clan will definitely find a way to keep him safe!”

“So no one can lay a finger on him?” Yan Liqiang asked with slight disappointment.

“Not exactly either. I heard the Provincial Governor, Lord Lei, has long been displeased with the Ye Clan...”

Chapter 152: Reunion

Yan Liqiang, who previously stayed at Weaponsmiths Quarter before, went upstairs to the same small courtyard he used to live in.

After the long chat with Qian Su, Yan Liqiang’s understanding of the situation of Gan Province’s bureaucracy and the Ye Clan had deepened. At the same time, he became increasingly certain that Ye Tiancheng most likely wouldn’t be able to keep his position as Pingxi’s Prefectural Governor. However, it was still unrealistic to completely overthrow Ye Tiancheng through this incident.

The Ye Clan of Gan Province was deeply rooted and complicated. Among Ye Tiancheng’s generation alone, there were many members from the Ye Clan working in the bureaucracy of Gan Province and every single one of them fared well. Yan Liqiang heard about the ‘Three Ye’ from Qian Su. The so-called ‘Three Ye’ were the three representatives among Ye Tiancheng’s generation from the Ye Clan of Gan Province, and they held the highest official rankings. Ye Tiancheng was the Prefectural Governor of Pingxi Prefecture, Ye Tianhao was the supreme judge of Gan Province’s Law Enforcement Office, and Ye Tianfa was the Military Governor of Weiyuan Prefecture. With the ‘Three Ye’ from the Ye Clan occupying the military, government, and judicial system, how could such a wealthy and influential clan possibly just let Ye Tiancheng take a fall in Pingxi Prefecture and be unable to get up from it again?

Not only that, according to Qian Su, the Ye Clan also seemed to have some connections to the current Grand Chancellor of the Great Han Empire. With such a powerful figurehead behind them, only a few people in all of Pingxi Prefecture dared to lay a finger on the Ye Clan.

It had only been less than five years since Lei Sitong assumed his position as the Provincial Governor of Gan Province. For a newly appointed Provincial Governor, it was inevitable for Lei Sitong to be scornful towards the Ye Clan. One was a powerful outsider while the other was a local tyrant. It was nearly impossible for any conflicts or friction to be absent between both parties.

According to Qian Su, the newly appointed Provincial Governor had a certain influential figure from the Great Han Empire’s Doyen Assembly behind him. However, Qian Su wasn’t too certain about this piece of information either because he had also heard about this from someone else; he didn’t really know the specifics of it. Although Qian Su’s position allowed him to catch wind of a lot of information about the bureaucracy, there was still a limit to how deep he could dig.

Even so, the information that Yan Liqiang got from Qian Su was sufficient. At the present stage, his ‘revenge’ would come to a perfect end as long as he got rid of Ye Tiancheng. He didn’t wish to further create more troubles either. After all, the main objective of his ‘revenge’ was self-preservation – for the sake of self-defense and also to protect his family and friends; he had completely achieved it now. Refusing to let Ye Tiancheng and the Ye Clan go would only put himself and the people around him once again into new danger, hence reversing the entire situation.

If it weren’t for Ye Xiao and Wang Haofei, perhaps he never would have crossed paths with Ye Tiancheng and the Ye Clan during his entire lifetime. Both parties were from two almost completely different worlds. As an ordinary commoner, he could care less about the Ye Clan or the people who had their backs. Now that Ye Xiao, Wang Haofei, and the rest were dead, the possibility of any conflicts or him crossing paths with the Ye Clan had vanished without a trace. As for the future, he would leave it until the time came.

Perhaps at this point in time, even the Pingxi Prefectural Governor, Ye Tiancheng, still felt wronged. No matter how hard he racked his brains, he probably couldn’t understand why so many things had happened in the matter of just a few days, which in turn suddenly set him on fire.

Tonight, Yan Liqiang slept soundly upstairs, undisturbed by any nightmares.

When he woke up early next morning and completed his morning regime, he went to have some breakfast in the Weaponsmiths Quarter’s dining hall, just like he did in the past. After that, he ascended the mountain alone and resumed practicing Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing at the same old spot.

In the past, Yan Liqiang had to make up some excuses to cultivate on the mountain. But now he no longer needed to make up any excuses because everyone in the Weaponsmiths Quarter knew that he was a student from the martial arts academy. Naturally, as a student from the martial arts academy, cultivation was top priority. Not only did the people of the Weaponsmiths Quarter find it natural to know that Yan Liqiang was going up the mountain to cultivate, a few of the managers and stewards even went out of their way to remind everyone to not wander up the mountain to avoid distracting Yan Liqiang from his cultivation. They informed everyone that the area near the summit would be Yan Liqiang’s private cultivation area for now.

This was the VIP treatment from the Weaponsmiths Quarter!

It was going to snow tomorrow. The weather on the 17th day of the eleventh lunar month had turned cold, especially on the mountain. Many plants had already gone dormant. The air temperature on the summit was much lower, causing one to shiver in the cold. Yan Liqiang came to the mountain summit dressed in just a light martial training garb which was easy to move around in. At the beginning, he could still slightly feel the chilliness. But after he started practicing Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing, he no longer felt the coldness in the air. The invisible Spiritual Qi between heaven and earth came pouring forth from the crown of his head before they started cleansing his five viscera and six bowels, as well as his muscles, tendons, meridians, and bones. His entire body was slowly heating up as a pleasingly warm sensation of soaking in a hot spring washed over him, making him unable to feel any coldness at all.

Yan Liqiang focused on his training wholeheartedly. His current goal now was to progress into a Martial Warrior with the fastest speed possible and thus complete the most important transformation in his life.

In one morning’s time, Yan Liqiang had practiced five rounds of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing. By the end of his training, the muscles, tendons, and bones in his body were burning hot. Every muscle in his body undulated and trembled like dragons that were awakening. Every joint in his body felt as though they had lubricating oil applied to them – he felt more agile when he moved around. Yan Liqiang even felt as though he could control the movement of every vertebra in his backbone...

Based on his ‘past’ experience, Yan Liqiang knew that he could already touch the barrier of the Stretching Tendon and Extending Bone stage. If he kept going at this pace, within a week’s time at most, which was about another seventy or eighty rounds of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing, he would be able to make it through the Stretching Tendon and Extending Bone stage and establish his dantian at the same time, thus progressing into a Martial Warrior.

After practicing a few more rounds of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing and seeing that it was already lunchtime, Yan Liqiang descended the mountain to grab his lunch with everyone else.

After lunch, Yan Liqiang didn’t return to the mountain again. He played push-wrestling in the courtyard where the soldiers stayed with Zhou Yong and the rest instead. Less than an hour after the game started, a soldier who was standing guard at the entrance of Weaponsmiths Quarter ran into the courtyard.

“Young Master Yan, your father has also arrived at the Weaponsmiths Quarter!”

“Oh, my father is here? Where is he?” Yan Liqiang pretended to be surprised. In actuality, he knew already that Yan Dechang was going to turn up today.

“Yes, he just arrived at the entrance of the Weaponsmiths Quarter. The Quarter Master sent me to inform you!”

“Alright then, have fun brothers. I shall go meet my father.”

“Alright, go.” Zhou Yong and the rest smiled at him. “We’ll continue this again next time!”

After bidding farewell to the soldiers, Yan Liqiang jogged out of the courtyard where the soldiers stayed and made his way toward the Weaponsmiths Quarter’s entrance. In just the blink of an eye, he was once again reunited with Yan Dechang.

Yan Dechang was wearing a fur coat and appeared to be travel-worn. He had just entered the Weaponsmiths Quarter and was talking to Qian Su. Behind him was a guard with the surname Xu, whom the Yan Clan had just employed recently, pulling a horse carriage behind him.

“Father...” No matter how calm Yan Liqiang pretended to be, his nose couldn’t help but sting a little when he saw Yan Dechang’s weather-beaten face once again.

“Ah, Liqiang. Why are you here?” Yan Dechang had a look of surprise on his face. He didn’t expect to see Yan Liqiang here at all.

“Young Master...” The guard from Yan Clan who was pulling the horse carriage hurriedly bowed to Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang kept a low profile when he was in Pingxi City, and he appeared to be just a plain and hardworking man. However, the Yan Clan in Qinghe County had changed a lot. It was now one of the top influential clans in the county. It was truly not overly excessive for the guard to address Yan Liqiang as ‘Young Master’.

“There was nothing much going on at the martial arts academy these two days, so I came to visit Uncle Qian. I was actually planning on returning home to visit you in another two days!” Yan Liqiang smiled. He took a deep breath and tried to hold back his tears which were about to fall. “Oh right, why are you here too, Father?!”

“Hahaha, don’t tell Liqiang first, Senior Martial Brother. Let him have a guess...” Qian Su interrupted them with a smile.

Yan Liqiang smiled and glanced at the horse carriage. “I’m guessing that Uncle Qian must have found some business for our blacksmith store back at home and you are here to deliver the first batch of goods today, Father. Don’t tell me someone has taken a liking to the kukri knife I left behind...”

Qian Su and Yan Dechang exchanged looks with each other. Both of them didn’t expect Yan Liqiang to readily make a guess.

“Forget it, I admit defeat. I really wonder how you brought Liqiang up, Senior Martial Brother...” Qian Su shook his head and sighed.

Chapter 153: A Genuine Business (1)

An hour hadn’t even passed upon Yan Dechang’s arrival at the Weaponsmiths Quarter when he received news from one of Qian Su’s messengers. The officer who ordered a hundred ‘Yan Curved Knives’ from them had arrived hastily at the Weaponsmiths Quarter on their rhinodrake steeds with a couple of his attendants and subordinates in tow.

Yan Liqiang’s family’s big client was the Yingyang Commandant Gong Tieshan, the head general of the 2,000 troops stationed at Huanglong County. The army camp that Gong Tieshan commanded was known as the Gong Barracks, which ranked amongst the armed forces of the Pingxi Prefecture Military Governor’s Office. According to the Great Han Empire’s military regulations, the title of the forces that ranked higher than a battalion could be named after the head officer.

Qian Su was the Quarter Master of the Weaponsmiths Quarter, and his military rank was of the Feiyang Commandant. Gong Tieshan was the head general of the Gong Barracks. Although they shared the same rank as commandant officers, his military rank was still higher than Qian Su’s by a level. In a county like Huanglong County, both Qian Su and Gong Tieshan could be counted as leading figures in the military. They shared a good relationship with one another. A few days ago, after Qian Su obtained a kukri knife that Yan Liqiang made from Yan Dechang, Gong Tieshan immediately noticed it when he randomly visited the Weaponsmiths Quarter. Gong Tieshan tried it out and was incredibly interested in it. Once he inquired where the kukri knife had come from, he ordered a hundred of them from Yan Blades without a moment’s hesitation.

In regards to Gong Tieshan’s arrival, no matter if it was either Qian Su or Yan Liqiang, none of them dared to neglect him. The moment Gong Tieshan arrived at the entrance of the Weaponsmiths Quarter on his rhinodrake steeds with his subordinates trailing behind him, Qian Su, Yan Dechang, and Yan Liqiang personally waited for his arrival to respectfully welcome him at the gates.

Gong Tieshan had a strong build and was two meters tall. His body was about twice as wide as Yan Liqiang’s, so when he rode on the rhinodrake steed, he was literally akin to a moving mountain. With the build he had, along with his thick black beard and the soft scales armor on his body, nobody dared to be contemptuous to him since he seriously appeared as though he had the formidable prowess of a martial practitioner from afar.

If it wasn’t a valiant rhinodrake steed and was an ordinary horse instead, the steed would not be able to move anymore if Gong Tieshan was sitting on it.

About ten personal troops on their rhinodrake steeds stood in two orderly lines behind Gong Tieshan. Five of his close subordinates each carried bows on their backs while the others carried blades. Their armor were bright and distinct; they looked extremely exuberant.

When he saw these troops charging over on their rhinodrake steeds, Yan Liqiang turned to cast a meaningful glance at Qian Su, thinking to himself that it was as what Uncle Qian had mentioned earlier. This Commandant Gong was indeed a man of panache and pride as an ordinary commandant would never put on such a show when going about in a county. The most a commandant would ever bring were about four to five men and that was enough. But with Commandant Gong, it was as though he was afraid that nobody would know he was the general of the Gong Barracks.

Qian Su gave a light smile as he returned Yan Liqiang’s glance.

The eleven men in this party came galloping in on their horses like thunder, they rushed to the main gates of the Weaponsmiths Quarter without rest before pulling the reins of their rhinodrake steeds. The eleven rhinodrake steeds raised their front hooves as they let out a unanimous long cry, their bodies seemingly standing straight at once...

“Hahaha! Old Brother Qian! Are the goods finally here? I have been waiting anxiously for them...” Gong Tieshan laughed out heartily. Although his figure was tall and burly, he was incredibly agile. Before the rhinodrake steed’s front hooves had touched the ground, he gently pressed on the back of the steed with his palm. With a lift of his leg, his entire being had already lightly leapt down from the rhinodrake steed’s back, landing before Yan Liqiang and the rest.

“Yeap! They have just arrived. How could we simply dare to allow Lord Gong to wait? Hahaha...” Qian Su also emitted a hearty laugh. Then, he pointed at Yan Dechang. “Let me introduce this man to Lord Gong, this is my senior brother, Manager Yan. The blade that Lord Gong has taken a fancy to is forged from Manager Yan’s blacksmith workshop!”

It was probably Yan Dechang’s first time being introduced as a manager by others, so he was slightly embarrassed. “Yan Dechang greets Lord Gong...”

“The ‘Yan Curved Knife’ that Manager Yan made is extraordinary and it has a style of its own. Not bad. Not bad...” laughed Gong Tieshan as he exchanged conventional greetings with Yan Dechang.

Yan Liqiang was just standing next to Yan Dechang. Probably because Yan Liqiang was too young and didn’t seem like any important figure, Gong Tieshan only shot a light glance at him as he conversed with Yan Dechang. Then, he treated Yan Liqiang as though he were invisible.

“Ahem...ahem... Lord Gong, this is Yan Liqiang, Manager Yan’s son and also my nephew.” Having seen it to this point, Qian Su quickly proceeded to introduce Yan Liqiang to Gong Tieshan.

“Greetings, Lord Gong...” Yan Liqiang stepped forth neither haughtily or humbly and paid his respects to Gong Tieshan.

Although Gong Tieshan’s status was higher than the rest on site, Yan Liqiang had already gone through so much in Pingxi City and he even dared to go and fight against the Prefectural Governor. Thus, although he was respectful towards a Yingyang Commandant, he wasn’t in the least bit anxious at all. So when he paid his respects to Gong Tieshan at this moment, he had the air of an overbearing presence that was not normal for an ordinary young man.

Yan Liqiang’s bearing made Gong Tieshan earnestly glance at him twice. Afterwards, he furrowed his brows slightly, seeming to have recalled something, “Wait...Yan Liqiang... I think I have heard of this name before...” After thinking deeply for a few seconds in all seriousness, Gong Tieshan suddenly slapped his hands together. “Right! That young man in the rumors who received the teachings of a deity in his dreams! He was the one who imparted the knowledge of performing moxibustion on the navel to save people who drowned a few months ago in Huanglong County! He was known as Yan Liqiang as well!”

“Hahaha! It’s great that Lord Gong still remembers!” Qian Su smiled. “My nephew is quite skillful. He only stayed at Huanglong County a couple of months ago for a few days and he already left behind a method to save people who have drowned. After he returned to Qinghe County, he nabbed first place among the top three in the Martial Arts County Trial Examination. Now he’s a student at the Pingxi Prefecture Martial Arts Academy. As a matter of fact, two days ago, Liqiang discovered that his family was forging your goods so he rushed to the Weaponsmiths Quarter from Pingxi City without any rest, weary from the journey. He insisted to come here to receive Lord Gong. He is thankful to Lord Gong for doing business with them. If there’s a chance in the future, Lord Gong must take good care of my nephew... ”

If just ordinary fold came to welcome Gong Tieshan, Gong Tieshan naturally wouldn’t take notice of it. But this was the rumored young man who had received strange teachings from a deity in his dreams as well as nabbing first place in the Martial Arts County Trial Examination of Qinghe County. He also had taken the trouble to specifically run all the way from Pingxi City to Huanglong County to ‘welcome’ him. The honor he had given him was too great.

After he listened to Qian Su, as expected, Gong Tieshan instantly felt important. He took another look at Yan Liqiang, and his eyes immediately turned cordial and amiable by ten folds. “Liqiang is so young and has shown such potential. He will definitely have a promising future. Liqiang, if you have anything you need Uncle’s assistance with in the future, find me at all costs...”

“Thank you, Lord Gong...”

“Hahaha. Go! Let’s make a move! Let’s all head in and see the goods...” Gong Tieshan laughed as he walked towards the Weaponsmiths Quarter. Qian Su, Yan Liqiang, and his father naturally trailed after him.

Yan Dechang had delivered a total of more than a hundred ‘Yan Curved Knives’ to the Weaponsmiths Quarter. Apart from the one hundred blades that Gong Tieshan ordered, there were a couple left. Yan Dechang had already used them as gifts and had gifted them to Zhou Yong and the rest who had come to the Yan Residence to help out last time. Upon receiving Yan Dechang’s kukri knife, Zhou Yong and the others were ecstatic towards them and was extremely happy.

One hundred kukri knives were packed inside a simple wooden crate with straws separating a few of the layers. Each and every single one of the kukri knives was sheathed with a leather scabbard, which looked both simple and stylish. Those wooden crates were placed inside the drawing room where Qian Su stayed. The four of them went straight ahead to Qian Su’s quarters.

When they arrived, Gong Tieshan opened up a wooden crate at random and took out a kukri knife. He removed the knife from the scabbard, examining the kukri knife’s quality and craftsmanship. He weighed the knife in his hands, nodding his head in approval after brandishing the knife in the air. He then sheathed the kukri knife and remarked, “Not bad, not bad! This is definitely made from high-grade well-tempered steel. The craftsmanship is exquisite...”

“There’s no doubt about it. The knives Lord Gong wanted were all crafted under my senior brother’s supervision. None of them dared to be careless and sloppy in their work!” Qian Su commented at the side.

“How much do these cost?” Gong Tieshan was incredibly satisfied, so he wanted to pay straight away.

Yan Dechang wanted to voice out a price but Yan Liqiang shot a glance at him. In the end, he smiled and said, “My father once told me that Lord Gong’s acknowledgment of the blade we forged is already the greatest trust and encouragement towards the Yan Clan. These aren’t something that can be exchanged with a large sum of money. So, as for these kukri knives of the Yan Clan, we will not accept even a single candareen. Everything will be gifted to Lord Gong as a thank you to Lord Gong for supporting us!”

The moment Yan Liqiang spoke, Yan Dechang kept silent, appearing to have agreed tacitly as well. Instead, Qian Su and Gong Tieshan were taken aback by his words.

“How can I? The price of these one hundred kukri knives is not exactly a small sum...” replied Gong Tieshan promptly.

“Everyone says that it’s hard to find a close friend in the world. To these blades, Lord Gong is their most intimate friend. As they say, rouge and powder are bestowed upon a beautiful woman while the treasured blade is bestowed upon a hero. This small sum of money amounts to nothing. But when it comes to Lord Gong’s acknowledgment and insight, how could that be bought with money?”

“Good. Good. Good...” Gong Tieshan erupted into laughter, promptly saying ‘good’ three times. His entire being was beaming with redness as he strut about, pleased with himself. “Since Liqiang put it this way, I will accept your token of kindness.”

“That should be the case. That should be the case. This is originally my senior brother and Liqiang’s token of appreciation. It’s truly hard to find a close, intimate friend. Fortunately, Lord Gong is a man who understands blades. Just one glance and you are able to determine the profound wonders of this blade. Back then, when I first saw this blade, apart from finding it to be strange, I wasn’t able to sense a good thing about this blade!” Recovering from his senses, Qian Su also began to ‘help’ Liqiang out at the side.

“Of course...” Gong Tieshan revealed a proud look on his face. “Although this blade is strange, as long as it falls into the hands of those who understand blades, they would be able to identify the mysteriousness behind this blade. When cutting down with this blade, we can use a less energy by drawing support from the blade’s change in power to attain a greater, formidable might. This blade is indeed amazing. I have experienced thousands and hundreds of blades and never have I ever came across such an ingenious kukri knife. Comparing this with the Shatu men’s kukri knife, theirs are not worth mentioning at all. By the way, I wanted to ask this before, how did Manager Yan think of forging such an ingenious kukri knife?”

Chapter 154: A Genuine Business (2)

After listening to Gong Tieshan’s question, Yan Dechang, who wasn’t good at conversations, hesitated for a while. He cast a glance at Yan Liqiang before he finally said, “I see Lord Gong is well-informed. I’m not really the one who came up with these kukri knives. It was my son, Liqiang, who designed the concept of these knives. I only followed the design Liqiang drew and forged them into a real thing...”

“Ah, so it was Liqiang who came up with the kukri knives?”

Gong Tieshan was truly shocked. He wasn’t shocked when he knew Yan Liqiang was the youngster who saved those drowned people, nor was he appalled when he knew Yan Liqiang ranked first amongst the top three for the Martial Arts County Trial Exam at Qinghe County. However, when he heard that Yan Liqiang was able to invent such a marvelous weapon at such a young age, he was baffled. This was because from his perspective, those who were able to invent and create these sorts of knives definitely had to have invested their time in weaponry craftsmanship for dozens of years, if not a genius in the art of blades. At the same time, they were also first-class masters who possessed exceptional knowledge about blades. However, he did not expect for Yan Liqiang to be the ‘inventor’ of these kukri knives.

He shifted his scrutinizing gaze at Yan Liqiang and asked, “Could it be that Liqiang has learned the way of the blades?”

“I haven’t learned how to wield a blade, I’m learning how to wield spears!” Yan Liqiang calmly replied.

“Then how did you even think of designing this kind of kukri knife?”

Aside from Gong Tieshan, Qian Su was also somewhat curious about this question. Qian Su knew beforehand that Yan Liqiang had created this blade, but he didn’t know how he was able to create such an ingenious and wonderful knife in the first place.

Yan Liqiang smiled, “Funnily enough, it was during the past few months when I was eating a whole roasted lamb. At that time, a few big brothers from the Weaponsmiths Quarter sliced a roasted mutton leg for me, and when I held the leg with my hand by pinching the hoof, I felt a bizarre sense of inertia and strength as I swung the leg – it felt smooth. At that moment, I thought to myself about forging such a blade like the mutton leg, which I can use the weight and the structure of the blade itself to achieve a greater power. After that, I referenced the mutton leg’s model and designed this knife...”

His words were the very definition of ‘selling dog meat under the guise of a sheep’s head’. Just because the stature of a dog and a lamb were similar, there wasn’t much difference between the shape of a dog’s leg and mutton’s leg. Yan Liqiang had explained the design of the kukri knife based on the mutton leg instead of a dog leg, and he had connected his inspiration to the process of discovering and creating the kukri knife to the mutton leg he had eaten. There wasn’t a single flaw or mistake to nitpick from his explanation. More importantly, he really did have mutton leg at the Weaponsmiths Quarter a few months ago. Qian Su could attest to that.

Gong Tieshan was silenced by Yan Liqiang’s words for half a day. In the end, he ferociously slapped his own thighs and said with overbearing emotion, “F*ck. I have eaten mutton legs for dozens of years. Countless people have eaten a myriad of mutton legs for hundreds and thousands of years. Why hasn’t anyone thought of it yet?”

...

Gong Tieshan continued to stay in the Weaponsmiths Quarter until nightfall. He had a meal with Yan Liqiang and the other two, and he consumed quite a lot of wine as well. It wasn’t until he had a little bit too much that he finally returned to the Gong Barracks under the escort of a group of guards. Meanwhile, the one hundred Yan Curved Knives that Yan Liqiang and his father had given to him as a gift had already been entrusted to Qian Su to handle. He was tasked to call a few people to pack them inside the carriage and make the deliveries to the barracks.

Just when Gong Tieshan was about to leave, he grabbed Yan Liqiang’s hand and addressed him as his nephew directly, prompting Yan Liqiang to address him as Uncle Gong in return.

...

After sending Gong Tieshan off, Yan Liqiang, Qian Su, and Yan Dechang then returned to the living room in Qian Su’s courtyard.

“Liqiang, those one hundred kukri knives were forged with great effort during these past few months in our workshop. If we had sold them off, they would have raked in at least four hundred or so taels of silver. Why were you so generous to give them away as you pleased?”

The reason Yan Dechang came to deliver those kukri knives with delight was because he thought he could earn a sum of money. However, he didn’t expect Yan Liqiang to give away all those knives all at once. Those kukri knives costed a great deal. Though Yan Dechang didn’t say anything at that moment, he still felt pain in his heart.

“Father, drink some water and calm down...” Yan Liqiang had a smile on his face as he poured a cup of water for Yan Dechang. He then stood behind Yan Dechang and gave him a shoulder massage like a good son, “Naturally, I have my own reasons for giving away those kukri knives to Commandant Gong. Father, don’t worry. Commandant Gong will definitely give us the opportunity to earn back the sum of money by tenfold or even a hundredfold before long.”

“How is that possible?” Yan Dechang turned to look at him with a certain gaze of disbelief.

“Then tell me, Father. What is the purpose of our family’s business right now?”

“Of course, it’s for the sake of earning money!” Yan Dechang spontaneously said.

“Earning money isn’t wrong. But Father, tell me, how do you earn that money...”

“Well...” Yan Dechang was stunned. He hadn’t really given a careful thought to this question before.

“Father, if you don’t want to say it, then I will say it. If it’s for the sake of providing for the family and making a fortune by conducting an ordinary business, then you will have to depend on your skills to earn money. The skill in terms of business will be the ability to acquire something at a low price and sell at a high price. Regardless of what you are going to sell, the price of selling the item should exceed its original cost. The difference between these two would be the profit. With the presence of profit, one will be able to earn money...”

“Yes, this is the principle of doing business!” Yan Dechang nodded.

“Those who conduct businesses all have the desire to earn money. But at the end of it, at the highest level of conducting business, it is not for the sake of earning money!” Yan Liqiang smiled and continued to loosen Yan Dechang’s shoulders.

“If earning money isn’t the highest level of conducting a business, then what is?” Even Qian Su who was just drinking tea to remedy his hangover at the side couldn’t resist asking him this question, much less Yan Dechang himself.

“Earning people’s trust!” Yan Liqiang said those three words with a resolute tone. With glistening eyes, he continued, “As long as we earn their trust, making money will easily be accomplished. If we aren’t able to earn their trust, even if we do rake in a lot of money, that doesn’t necessarily equate to a good thing. In fact, that might attract misfortune instead. Just like our family now – are we really short on money? Of course not. The fields and properties that our family owns in town are sufficient for us both to live our lives until old age without worrying about food or clothes, provided that the situation remains unchanged. However, that’s all there is. If something happens then, how many of those properties and fields will be useful for us? Just like the Hong Clan in the past, they were flourishing in the prospect of wealth in normal times, but when something did happen – albeit just King Cobra alone – it was enough to make the entire Hong Clan disappear from the town. Father, do you want us to end up like the Hong Clan?”

This was a profound perception that Yan Liqiang had acquired through his previous experience. If he hadn’t experienced the extreme pain from the incident from last time, Yan Liqiang would have never been able to think of such things. The Yan Clan that had been thriving on the ascendant suddenly became the second Hong Clan just because of the Prefectural Governor’s words. They were instantly wiped out. Those properties were nothing in the face of power and authority. Sometimes, money was useless no matter how much wealth was accumulated.

It was also at that moment that Yan Liqiang truly understood why many people said that the world’s wealthiest Rothschild family pursued influence instead of wealth when their master came to China during that time. It was their influence that had protected the world’s wealthiest family, not wealth itself. Money was just a projection that came with the family’s influence.

Besides his own martial power that had the capability to protect the Yan Clan, the influence that the Yan Clan possesses should be able to protect them as well. Moreover, the one fact he couldn’t deny was that other than the meager influence that the Yan Clan currently had over Liuhe Town, the Yan Clan was completely out of the rankings outside of Liuhe Town, even in Qinghe County. The clan was just a minor landowner.

This was why Yan Liqiang currently needed to build up the Yan Clan’s influence one step at a time after having dealt with the threats of Ye Xiao and the others. They had to learn how to earn people’s trust.

A few hundred taels of silver were nothing. If money were to be discussed seriously, the sum of wealth Yan Liqiang had obtained from the Shatu people was more than enough for him and his father to use for ten lifetimes. However, just having wealth and nothing else wouldn’t work.

As for Yan Liqiang’s question, Yan Dechang instinctively shook his head and said, “Of course not!”

“That’s right. This is why we should stress on being methodical when conducting business if we want our family to survive for a long time. Our number one priority is to earn people’s trust, followed by earning money. As long as we can earn their trust, then the money will naturally flow in. Moreover, we will be able to sustain ourselves...”

Yan Dechang started to understand his words a bit, “You gave those kukri knives to Commandant Gong just to earn his trust?”

“Yes. Father, just trust my insights. Based on Commandant Gong’s behavior toward others, as long as we show him a great amount of respect today, not only are we able to establish our relationship and become friends, Commandant Gong will definitely give us a bigger surprise in the future. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been embarrassed to look for us. Just wait and see...” Yan Liqiang said confidently. This was also part of the experience he had as a person who had lived two lives.

With a son like this, what else could Yan Dechang say? Yan Dechang was thoroughly convinced by Yan Liqiang’s words. His words were completely clear and he didn’t need to ache for those one hundred kukri knives anymore. “Alright, we will do what you want, Liqiang. Father will listen to you from now on!”

Aside from Yan Dechang, even Qian Su who was just beside him was truly convinced as well when he heard those words. A youth just less than fifteen years of age was able to say that the highest level of conducting a business was to earn people’s trust instead of earning money. Qian Su wondered to himself and concluded that he had truly never seen someone like this before. Aside from the fact that he was just a youth, even those people who had loitered in the markets until the age of hundred might not possess such comprehension to say those words.

“Liqiang, Uncle Qian has been living a luxurious life and has been spending money quite extravagantly. I even have to go around and prepare everything at any given time too. Even if I am able to reap a little more while assuming the position of a Quarter Master, it’s really not enough for me to spend the money. On top of that, I have to take care of so many people in the Weaponsmiths Quarter in terms of their food, their livelihoods, and the basic necessities in life. Each of them looks up to me. It’s not really that great to be a Quarter Master!” Qian Su smiled at Yan Liqiang with his squinted eyes. He then continued half-genuinely, “So Liqiang, since you were able to speak of the principles of business so impressively, could you show Uncle Qian a way to make money and allow everyone in the Weaponsmiths Quarter to gain some benefits?”

“Does the Military Governor’s Office allow the Weaponsmiths Quarter to earn money by themselves?” Yan Liqiang asked Yan Dechang a question.

“As long as it doesn’t affect the ordnance production or violate the laws and discipline in terms of criminal activity, our Weaponsmiths Quarter is able to do whatever we want!”

Yan Liqiang smiled, “I have a way of earning money here. However, this method is too easy. There aren’t many people in the Weaponsmiths Quarter. Even if I put a city or mountain of gold or silver in this place, the Weaponsmiths Quarter will never be able to use it. If you want to earn some more money, I suggest we join hands with Lu Clan and earn it together!”

“What kind of method easily earns you money?” Qian Su asked in disbelief.

“If I sell soil at the same price as coal, or perhaps a bit more than coal, what do you think of this method of earning money, Uncle Qian?”

Slightly shocked from the proposition, Qian Su then burst into laughter, “Liqiang, are you joking with me? If soil can be sold as expensive as coal, then I can simply find a hill and dig one mound of soil. By then, I will be able to acquire a mountain of gold or silver. This is nothing more than the method of turning stones into gold by the immortals in the legends, right...?”

Yan Liqiang said nothing, but he smiled as he looked at Qian Su, “Ahem... ahem... Perhaps Uncle Qian has forgotten about how I used moxibustion on the belly button to save those drowned people in the past? I had a dream for the past few days where I met that old man with the white beard again. He told me of a method of how I can sell soil for the same price as coal...”

The smile on Qian Su’s face instantly went stiff...

Chapter 155: The Sudden Arrival of Armored Steeds

That’s right. The method Yan Liqiang mentioned that could sell soil as expensive as coal was known as the honeycomb briquette.

When he rushed to the Weaponsmiths Quarter and saw Qian Su talking about coal in the coalyard, he had already thought of the honeycomb briquette.

In this era, anyone who had truly burned coal in the fire stove knew that coal buyers loved to buy large pieces of coal. This was due to the fact that coal fragments weren’t easy to burn in a traditional stove and were difficult to ignite. Those coal fragments were like sand. If more were placed in the stove, there was even a chance that they could also extinguish the flames burning the firewood, which was why coal fragments were difficult to sell. Those small coal fragments would be sold together with the larger pieces whenever people came to buy them. Due to the low coal supply in Pingxi Prefecture, the quality of the coal imported by the Weaponsmiths Quarter was poor. Those small coal bits of that were difficult to burn occupied quite a large portion of the total amount.

Those coal fragments which were difficult to burn were considered as a problem to others. However, to Yan Liqiang, these coal fragments were practically the best type of raw material needed to make honeycomb briquettes.

The most traditional recipe to make honeycomb briquettes consisted of a mixture of 80% coal powder and 20% yellow soil in addition to a small amount of lime. Then, a small amount of water would be added. A metal mold to make the honeycomb briquette would also need to be prepared beforehand.

Putting the coal aside, yellow soil covered the mountains and plains so they were completely free of charge. Anyone could dig as they wished. On top of that, lime was very inexpensive and was readily available. Water wasn’t an issue either. As for the metal mold used to mold honeycomb briquettes, that wasn’t difficult to get as well. Regardless of whether it was at Yan Liqiang’s residence or the weaponry barracks, it forging a couple of metal molds was an easy feat.

Coal fragments and coal powder were cheaper than coals themselves. After they were mixed in with the yellow soil to make honeycomb briquettes, selling the honeycomb briquettes which were similar in weight at the same price as ordinary coals could also be considered a business that turned yellow soil into gold. There would be a huge influx of profits. In actuality, once they were produced for real, the honeycomb briquettes would at least sold at a slightly higher price than the coals. Then the profit that ensued would be shocking.

Yan Liqiang requested for a charcoal coal and a wooden board from Qian Su. Then he drew clear diagrams of the honeycomb briquettes and the iron molds used to make them while explaining so both of them could get a clear picture.

Qian Su and Yan Dechang had never seen honeycomb briquettes before and they stared at the diagrams Yan Liqiang that had drawn on the drawing board with their mouths agape, unable to close them back up again. Both of them were blacksmiths, hence burning furnaces were common things for them. As soon as both of them saw what the honeycomb briquettes looked like, they instantly knew exactly where the beauty was.

Qian Su excitedly slapped on his thighs. “Marvellous! Marvellous indeed! The holes in these charcoal briquettes will naturally allow airflow, therefore allowing the flames to burn brightly even without shifting the charcoals around. These air holes in the design are simply amazing...!”

“That’s right! When burning charcoal or coal in a furnace, if the flame in the furnace is not burning bright enough, someone will need to shift the charcoals around to leave some holes in the burning pile to allow airflow so that the flame can burn brighter, and also to release the gas from the bottom of the furnace. If these charcoal briquettes have air holes in them, then basically no one will need to watch over the flames after they are lit!” Yan Dechang nodded while speaking. At the same time, he also gave Yan Liqiang a bewildered look. As Yan Liqiang’s father, even he thought that it was getting difficult to read Yan Liqiang. Could it really be that Yan Liqiang had learned all this from the deity he dreamed of when he slept?

In the past, Yan Dechang never really took Yan Liqiang’s explanations seriously. But now, he was swayed. Thinking up to this point, Yan Dechang asked a question when he was looking at Yan Liqiang’s diagrams. “Liqiang, what did you call this coal you made again?”

“This coal is called...” Yan Liqiang only uttered these four words.

“Hold on, let me have a guess...” Yan Liqiang was interrupted by Qian Su before he could even say ‘the honeycomb briquettes’. He studied the diagrams that Yan Liqiang had drawn with a serious expression at the side. His eyebrows were tightly knitted together before they suddenly loosened again. “Are these called the lotus root briquettes? Look at these air holes, don’t they look like the intersections of lotus roots?”

Lotus root? Yan Liqiang blinked, then took another look at the honeycomb briquettes he drew again. Qian Su was not wrong at all for saying that it looked similar to a lotus root.

“Did I get it right, Liqiang?”

“Indeed, it is called the lotus root briquette! Uncle Qian’s great observation skills have really impressed Liqiang! ” Yan Liqiang exclaimed seriously and gave Qian Su a thumbs up.

“Of course. The name of the things Liqiang learned from some deity in your dream must be something magical...!” Qian Su stroked his beard and seemed to be rather proud of himself.

“What is your opinion on this business, Uncle Qian?”

“If the soot can still burn with yellow soil mixed in it, then this business will be raking in endless cash!” The expression on Qian Su’s face gradually grew serious as he seemed to be in deep thought. “This business model is too big for the Weaponsmiths Quarter to handle alone. Beside, this idea you proposed would be a waste if it were handled solely by the Weaponsmiths Quarter. There are too many people and too many pairs of eyes here. The moment this thing is produced, others will know how to make them with just a glance before much profit can even be earned. The secret will not be kept for long and someone will be able to immediately make copies of it. The more people make imitations of these, the price of these lotus root briquettes will fall and the profit will be less. This kind of thing should be able to rake in a lot of profit in cities like Pingxi City where the sales volume will be high. If you can completely secure and meet the supply demands of the lotus root briquettes to Pingxi City, you will most likely be rolling in the dough. If you are really going to make this happen, it will be best for you to find another one or two capable partners to invest in this business so that you can cover all of Pingxi City...” Speaking up to this point, realization finally dawned on Qian Su when he saw Yan Liqiang smiling without saying anything. He started laughing loudly when he guessed Yan Liqiang’s thoughts and shook his head while pointing at Yan Liqiang. “You really got me there, Liqiang! Fine, I will go with you together tomorrow...”

Yan Liqiang laughed. “Thank you, Uncle Qian. But this is not just a matter of borrowing your name and reputation, I will also be relying on your assistance. My father’s share and your share will be counted together. Regardless of how many shares on our side ends up with after negotiations, both of you shall split it equally. If we can make this happen, then Uncle Qian can live in the Pleasure Fragrance Court for the whole year round...”

“Live in the Pleasure Fragrance Court every day? How much longer can my old bones still live on...?” Qian Su laughed.

“What are both of you talking about? I’m getting lost...” Yan Dechang looked at Qian Su from the side, then at Yan Liqiang with a confused look on his face, unable to understand what both of them were going on about.

“Liqiang is thinking of roping in the Lu Clan first...” Qian Su explained.

“Liqiang, are you really thinking of doing this business? I can’t help but feel that it’s impractical to make it this big all at once...” Yan Dechang voiced out his concerns.

“Rest assured, Father. I know the limits. Uncle Qian and I will only be proposing the business idea and investing in the secret of the lotus root briquettes. We won’t be making that many financial investments, and therefore the shares we get will not be huge. The first thing we need to do is make a few more friends. We need to earn some trust first...”

Upon hearing Yan Liqiang’s explanation, Yan Dechang naturally had nothing much to say.

...

The next day, it started snowing heavily. In the midst of the fluttering snowflakes, Yan Dechang left the Weaponsmiths Quarter on a horse carriage for Qinghe County. As for Yan Liqiang and Qian Su, both of them made their way to the Lu Residence on their rhinodrake steeds after lunch...

When they were halfway to the Lu Residence, tremors on the ground could be heard coming from the hill with three forked roads ahead of them. From the sounds of it, there were at least more than a hundred people galloping powerfully on their steeds.

Yan Liqiang and Qian Su who were chatting with each other exchanged looks, then slowed down the speed of their steeds to a halt at the roadside.

It was extremely scary to have so many rhinodrake steeds running on the road altogether. It was just like having a lot of people speeding in their cars on the highways. If one accidentally bumped into another directly or if someone didn’t have good control over their steed due to a lack of skill, it might lead to a life-threatening situation if someone fell onto the ground at this time. Hence, both of them were trying to be careful.

After the space of a few breaths, a huge group of cavalries fully armed with bows and spears came into view from the other side of the hill. They didn’t even pay attention to Yan Liqiang and Qian Su as they rode on to the other fork in the road after making a turn at the hill with murderous intent...

“Oh, these are the elite cavalry units from Pingxi City. Why are they in such a hurry to Huanglong County?” Yan Liqiang exclaimed in shock to Qian Su.

Looking in the direction where the cavalries sped off to, Qian Su frowned. “Let’s go, we’ll talk once we arrive at the Lu Residence...”

“Alright...”

Both of them pressed onwards. Little did they expect that a few minutes later, they’d see another huge group of riders on road. There were no less than forty of fifty of them, each wearing a cape and a red headscarf as they waved their whips about in the snow as they charged on their rhinodrake steeds, seemingly chasing after those cavalries from before...

It was obvious from the way they dressed that this group of riders were all Wanderers.

Something terrible had happened. Something bad must have happened...

Yan Liqiang and Qian Su exchanged glances with each other before coming to an immediate stop.

“Uncle Qian, look...” Yan Liqiang cried out.

“Move. Let’s go check it out, then we’ll go to the Lu Residence...” Qian Su promptly turned his steed around.

“Alright...”

Both of them instantly gave their steeds’ abdomens a tight squeeze before giving chase to the flock of Wanderers....

Chapter 156: The Cruel Reality

A few minutes ago, Yan Liqiang and Qian Su had just turned into the junction adjacent to the mountain slope. A few minutes later, both of them were back at the junction again after following the Wanderers riding on their steeds from a distance.

The direction that the group of Wanderers was heading towards was the same as the cavalries just now.

It had only begun to snow today. The weather was already cold to begin with. The moment their rhinodrake steeds began to pick up the pace, their faces were blasted with the cold harsh wind and snow fluttered into their faces as well. It felt extremely painful; as though their faces were cut by knives. Yan Liqiang and Qian Su pulled up their leather collars to cover their faces while bending down and half-laying on the backs of their steeds as they squinched their eyes. It was only when their upper bodies were burrowed into the warm necks of their rhinodrake steeds that they were brave enough to propel their steeds to move forward and catch up in time.

The Wanderers seemed to have noticed Yan Liqiang and Qian Su following them from behind on their steeds. Two of them turned back to look at them, but they didn’t seem to mind at all.

“Uncle Qian, where does this path lead to?”

Yan Liqiang asked Qian Su through a muffled voice when they turned to the junction on their rhinodrake steeds.

“This path can lead to many places. There are two more intersections up ahead. We will only know more if we get there...”

Yan Liqiang stopped talking and continued to follow closely from behind. After a few minutes, the Wanderers in front turned toward to the other two directions at the two intersections, instantly revealing the path ahead. There was a town just as large as the Lu Residence ahead of the path as well. Yan Liqiang could also see a tall and grandiose fortress that looked like a castle in the middle of that town from afar.

“The Wang Fortress, they are going toward the Wang Fortress...” Qian Su finally spoke.

Yan Liqiang felt a pang in his heart. This was the Wang Fortress, which was Wang Haofei’s home. The Wang Clan had the foundation that was sufficient enough to stand on equal footing with the Lu Clan in Huanglong Country.

Why would the elite cavalries from Pingxi City and those Wanderers rush toward the Wang Fortress? Could it be...

An implausible guess emerged from Yan Liqiang’s mind in an instant.

However, the moment that thought appeared, Yan Liqiang immediately denied it.

It was impossible. There were so many people inside the Wang Fortress. How could Ye Tiancheng do this? This was simply too evil. If that was truly the case, then a countless number of innocent people would be dragged into this matter, or perhaps it was due to other reasons...

Just when Yan Liqiang was having those thoughts, a layer of black smoke was already rising from the direction of the Wang Fortress.

The black smoke caused by the fire of some building was quite an unpleasant sight in this kind of weather.

After following those Wanderers for a few moments, Qian Su and Yan Liqiang managed to arrive outside the Wang Fortress.

Twenty or so cavalries stood guard in front of the path toward the Wang Fortress with their blades unsheathed and their arrows strung to their bowstrings. When those Wanderers rushed into the fortress, the cavalries did not stop them. Yan Liqiang saw that one of the Wanderers stopped for a while when he passed by those cavalries and pointed in his and Qian Su’s direction while whispering a few words to the troops. Five of the cavalries were already coming toward Yan Liqiang and Qian Su without waiting for both of them to come over.

“Are you two from the Wang Fortress...” The five cavalries immediately surrounded Yan Liqiang and Qian Su as soon as they rushed over to them. They stared at them closely with gazes as sharp as blades. Each of them had a weapon in their hand, prepared to attack at any moment as if they would kill Yan Liqiang and Qian Su on the spot if they made one slight suspicious move.

“Don’t be mistaken. We are brothers-in-arms. When we saw the group of Wanderers rushing toward the Wang Fortress on the road, we were wondering what had happened, so we followed them to check on the situation...” Qian Su said in a solemn expression before he proceeded to take out the waist tag of Feiyang Commandant of the Weaponsmiths Quarter’s Quarter Master in Huanglong County from his chest and presented it to the five cavalries.

The five cavalries were shocked when they saw Qian Su’s waist tag and quickly retracted their weapons. In an instant, their attitude toward Qian Su and Yan Liqiang changed in 180 degrees.

“Greetings, Quarter Master...”

“What kind of crime did the Wang Clan commit to rouse such a commotion?”

“The Wang Clan has colluded with several degenerates among the Shatu people, abducted and slaughtered the women from Huanglong County and Pingxi City, and beguiled the young master of the Prefectural Governor in an unorthodox way. Since the criminal conspiracy of the Wang Clan has come to light, the Law Enforcement Office has already taken control of the various crimes that the Wang Clan has committed. The crimes have incurred the greatest indignation of mankind. By the orders of the Prefectural Governor, we have taken one step ahead and hastened our way to Huanglong County. Today, we are going to exterminate the Wang Clan and remove this evil cancer that harms the village for the sake of Huanglong County and Pingxi Prefecture...” One of the cavalries who seemed to be a young corporal replied to Qian Su.

“Oh, I see. I didn’t expect for the Wang Clan to actually do such a thing. It’s fortunate that the Prefectural Governor was able to discover this in time...”

“I sincerely hope that the Quarter Master will forgive us as we are ordered to stand guard here. We can’t let you enter again. If not, it will be quite bad for us to make a report...”

“No worries, no worries...” Qian Su waved his hand and smiled, “My fellow brothers are bound by duty that cannot be disobeyed. I naturally understand. Please continue on with your duty. We will observe from here and we definitely will not cause any more problems for you!”

“Many thanks to Quarter Master for understanding!” The corporal cupped his fists to Qian Su in response before turning his steed away and returning to the fortress with the others.

Yan Liqiang and Qian Su mounted their steeds and stood at the path along the road outside the Wang Fortress while they observed the situation in the fortress.

The Wang Fortress was currently in a state of disorder. Everyone was extremely panicked as their convoluted screams and cries rang out in the air. The entire Wang Fortress had instantaneously turned into a mess.

A group of troops ran around inside the Wang Fortress on their rhinodrake steeds while brandishing their blades as they bellowed, “By the orders of the Prefectural Governor, we are here in the pursuit of the criminal that is the Wang Clan. Those who are irrelevant to this matter, stand aside. We will kill anyone who puts up a resistance...”

...

When Yan Liqiang saw this situation, the expression on his face instantaneously changed as if he were afraid. He didn’t expect that Ye Tiancheng would actually do such a thing. In order to shift the blame and silence the crowd, he had actually sent the entire Wang Clan to hell without any hesitation. He shoved all the blame and faults to the heads of the Wang Clan...

Most of the members in the Wang Clan weren’t necessarily kind-hearted people. Similarly, there were definitely ordinary and innocent people that were in the Wang Clan. Seeing the assault today, it was unknown as to how many people in the Wang Clan had been wrongly prosecuted as a result of their eradication...

The scene in front of Yan Liqiang caused him to recall the incident that he, his father, and Yan Clan encountered on this day. It was the same day but at different time and place. A despotic Huanglong County that was significantly stronger than the Yan Clan was going to raid and destroy a clan in the blink of an eye. Such cruel reality once more made Yan Liqiang feel incredibly helpless and weak.

In just two months, he had changed a lot of things. However, some things could never be changed no matter what, which was quite stifling.

“Liqiang, what’s wrong? You don’t look so good...” Qian Su asked with concern as he stood beside Yan Liqiang. He looked at Liqiang, noting that he had been quiet for a long time.

“Uncle Qian, it’s nothing. I just feel a bit shocked, that’s all!” Yan Liqiang moved his lips as if he was smiling before he said in a low voice, “Uncle Qian, do you believe the things that the corporal said just now?”

It took Qian Su a few seconds to give Yan Liqiang a deep gaze and say, “I’m just a minor character here, so it doesn’t matter whether I believe in those things or not. The most important thing is that the Prefectural Governor wants the Wang Clan destroyed, which means that they aren’t allowed to live anymore. This is the coldest reality in this world...” At that point, Qian Su who was feeling a bit emotional lifted up his head to gaze at the somber sky of fluttering snow and continued, “Perhaps you will know in later years that this kind of weather is considered warm and pure when compared to the state of this world...”

Chapter 157: The Wang Clan’s Calamity

“What crimes did our clan commit? Who are you people and where are you from? On what basis do you have the rights to come to the Wang Fortress and arrest people...”

On the street inside the Wang Fortress, a few disciples of the Wang Clan around the age of sixteen, seventeen, and twenty hustled out from a courtyard alongside the street with blades in their hands. They bellowed angrily at the squad of cavalries while surrounding them.

“Put your weapons down...”

The squad commander did not answer the question. Instead, he warned them with an aloof tone.

“Our Wang Clan is not to be trifled with. Get down from your steeds...”

“That’s right, get down from your steeds. This isn’t a place for you armies to behave atrociously. Don’t think you can drag us around just because you are mounting on a steed...”

“Go to hell. This is the Wang Fortress. I have beaten a soldier before in Huanglong County. What can you possibly do to me...?”

These youths from the Wang Fortress might be used to acting arrogantly in Huanglong County because of the absence of fear they displayed when facing those cavalries. Curses flew out of their mouths. None of them obeyed the officer’s words as they still held weapons in their hands while they rushed toward the direction of those cavalries.

However, these youths from the Wang Clan were only able to run a few steps before their lives reached the end because what they were met with were the dozens of arrows that the cavaiers fired at them.

The sharp arrows pierced their necks and chests across the distance of twenty meters, killing them on the streets of the Wang Fortress.

The squad commander only gave a brief, cold glance at the corpses without any slight intentions of dismounting from his steed. He just waved his hand and continued to lead the troops under his command to advance, jumping over the corpses on the ground and sprinting forward.

“By the orders of the Prefectural Governor, we are here in the pursuit of the criminal that is the Wang Clan. Those who are irrelevant to this matter, stand aside. We will kill anyone who puts up a resistance...” The officer on his steed continued to yell out with the same volume of voice which resonated throughout the streets of the Wang Fortress.

Of course, this wasn’t the only area where blood had been shed.

This was such an unforeseen circumstance to occur to a large family like the Wang Clan. The impetuous young people or those who relied on their status without the in-depth knowledge of the situation in the Wang Fortress of Huanglong County would jump out to obstruct the cavalries and even make moves against them.

Meanwhile, the cavalries killed those who dared to make a move against them on the spot. As for those who tried to obstruct their path, they were only given one warning. If they continued to be stubborn about it, the cavalries would kill them all in the same way.

Dozens of people were killed in the main street of the Wang Fortress in just a few minutes.

Yan Liqiang and Qian Su found a slightly higher slope just outside the Wang Fortress. Both of them rode on their steeds and felt the cold breeze on their faces as they watched the entire scenario unfold inside the Wang Fortress.

Because Yan Liqiang’s eyesight had already transcended beyond that of an ordinary person’s, it was as if each scene that was currently happening inside the Wang Fortress was replaying in front of him in his eyes. He could even see the expressions of disbelief and shock on the faces of those who were shot dead inside the Wang Fortress during their last moments. When most of them charged toward the cavalries that were raiding the fortress, they didn’t expect for the troops to be so daring as to kill them without hesitation.

At that moment, the disparity between the undisciplined courage of an unorganized group of ordinary people and the battle prowess of professionally-trained violent machines from an organization was clearly too great.

Even though the number of people in the Wang Fortress was greater, the hundreds of cavalries that charged into the fortress were capable of annihilating the entire fortress. From the moment people started dying, the Wang Fortress’ resistance had instantaneously collapsed. The tenant farmers, merchants, and other few ordinary people tightly shut their doors, not daring to come out again.

The puddles of fresh blood that flowed from the Wang Fortress’ main street to the ground of white snow were extremely unpleasant to look at. It was quite horrifying.

Meanwhile, those people in the main street were covered in a layer of white snow in just the blink of an eye.

In order for the Prefectural Governor to clean up his own mess, he had orchestrated this massacre without any qualms and he had sent an influential clan to hell in an instant. Even though Yan Liqiang harbored no good impression on the Wang Clan, he wasn’t happy about their misery at all. He still felt quite conflicted while he continued to observe the scene. Yan Liqiang thought to himself that this might be what people called as ‘digging their own graves’. When the Wang Clan allowed Wang Haofei to approach Ye Xiao in the first place, they thought he would be able to become a high-ranking officer by riding on the Prefectural Governor’s coattails. In the end, they didn’t expect for the affiliation they had been relying on to one day bring calamity to their clan.

Through the advancement speed of the cavalries into the Wang Fortress, the scattered few on the streets of the Wang Fortress were quickly cleared away in the blink of an eye. In the end, all the cavalries managed to rush to the magnificent fort situated in the middle of the fortress by going around all the corners and surrounding the Wang Clan.

That fort was the Wang Clan’s foundation. Most of the people from the Wang Clan lived inside that fort.

At this moment, the main gate was tightly shut. Everyone in the Wang Clan was already in disarray inside the fort.

An old man with a head full of white hair that looked like Wang Haofei emerged at the top of the fort wall in a trembling manner under the protection of a group of people in the surroundings. While embracing the cold wind, he looked at the cavalries below and asked in a quivering voice, “You, who are you all? Why did you invade the Wang Fortress?”

“We are under the command of the Xue Barracks of the Military Governor’s Office from Pingxi City. We came here today in accordance with the orders of the Prefectural Governor to apprehend the larcenists of the Wang Clan. The Wang Clan has colluded with Shatu people, pillaged, and slaughtered women from Pingxi County. The Law Enforcement Office has already obtained conclusive evidence against your crimes. Under such circumstances, if you don’t let us apprehend you all without resistance, perhaps you want to put up a desperate fight with us?”

An officer mounting on a rhinodrake steed spoke in a loud voice when he arrived outside the Wang Fortress.

The officer’s voice was quite blaring. The moment he spoke those words, not only could the people inside the fort hear him, those outside the fort could also hear him as well.

“I... I want to meet with the Prefectural Governor...” The old man standing at the top of the fort was livid. His voice was hoarse when he spoke to the officer below him.

“Do you think you can meet the Prefectural Governor just because you want to? You can meet him if you want, but you must submit yourself without any resistance. You might have the chance to see the Prefectural Governor once everyone in the Wang Clan arrives at the court in Pingxi City!” the officer mounted on his steed sneered. He curtly continued, “Now, I will give the Wang Clan half an hour. If all of you continue to close the gates within this time frame, the Wang Clan will be punished for rebellion. When we manage to barge through the fortress, everyone in the Wang Clan will not be spared and will be killed on the spot...”

...

Of course, the Wang Clan did not persevere for half an hour because Yan Liqiang and Qian Su were able to sense large movement from behind in just fifteen minutes. When they turned to look behind them, they saw a strongly-built Gong Tieshan appear at the path outside the Wang Fortress while leading about two thousand armies from the Gong Barracks.

There were about a few dozen officers mounted on their rhinodrake steeds in the frontmost line of the army from the Gong Barracks. A flag with the word ‘Gong’ embroidered on one side fluttered as an officer mounted on a steed waved it in front of the group. Two thousand troops from the Gong Barracks were stretched out in a line of hundred meters like a long snake as they marched behind the steeds, rushing toward the Wang Fortress with murderous intent.

Gong Tieshan who was almost drunk at the Weaponsmiths Quarter yesterday was currently seething with murderous intent. He was wearing a full set of armor while wielding a large blade akin to a guillotine blade in his hand as he led his troops on his steed.

Gong Tieshan also took notice of Yan Liqiang and Qian Su when both of them saw him because they were just on the sidewalk nearby. He quickly came over to them on his steed and asked, “Old Brother Gong, Liqiang, why are you guys here?”

Qian Su briefly explained the reason why he and Yan Liqiang were here before he proceeded to inquire, “May we know why Lord Gong is here as well?”

“Just now, the Prefectural Governor dispatched someone with the command from the Military Governor stating a matter of urgency. I was told to lead my troops to the Wang Fortress to assist the troops from the Xue Barracks from Pingxi City and the law enforcers from the Law Enforcement Office in order to apprehend everyone from the Wang Clan back to Pingxi City...” At that moment, Gong Tieshan shook his head and said in a low voice, “I really don’t know what kind of misfortune the Wang Clan has stumbled upon. The entire Gan Province even knew about the controversy in Pingxi City. To actually be involved with the Wang Clan, f*ck it. This clan is thoroughly finished. It’s fine. I have a military task at hand so I have to stop our conversation. Let’s drink again some other time when we are free...”

“As you please, Lord Gong!”

After saying those words, Gong Tieshan turned his steed around and went back into his troop’s formation. He then continued to lead his troops and charged toward the direction of the Wang Clan.

The moment the Gong Barracks flag appeared inside the Wang Fortress was the very last blow that crushed the Wang Clan’s will to resist. Just when the Gong Barracks’ flag entered the Wang Fortress, the gate to the Wang Fort suddenly opened. The old man who appeared at the top of the fort moments ago led a bunch of people from the Wang Clan and knelt on the ground with pale expressions. After that, a group of soldiers could be seen rushing forward at them...

“Liqiang, let’s go...” Qian Su took a deep breath and turned his steed around. Yan Liqiang followed suit and turned his steed to the other direction as well.

Before Yan Liqiang and Qian Su were able to walk a few li away after leaving the Wang Fortress, they managed to notice hundreds of law enforcers on the road who had rushed here all the way from Pingxi City. They were riding on their rhinodrake steeds as they headed toward the Wang Fortress...

Chapter 158: Lucky Star

Even though they had delayed their journey quite a bit, Yan Liqiang and Qian Su were still on time when they managed to arrive at the Lu Residence.

As a powerful clan of Huanglong County, they would be considered failures if they still didn’t know what happened to the Wang Fortress at this point, or that the Gong Barracks that were stationed at Huanglong County had already been dispatched to the Wang Residence.

And just for those reasons, when Qian Su and Yan Liqiang arrived at the Lu Residence and saw the situation around them, the atmosphere in the Lu Residence was filled with more murderous intent than usual.

As they continued on the path toward the Lu Residence, there were informers and cavalries all over the place. The entrance to the Lu Residencewas locked tight. The defensive walls outside the Lu Residence had already been occupied by the disciples of the Lu Clan. Each of them wielded bows and swords as they regularly patrolled on top of the wall as if guarding against all possible dangers.

As a powerful clan that was equally as famous as the Wang Clan, it would be entirely impossible for the Lu Clan to be devoid of defenses at a time like this after witnessing the Wang Clan’s catastrophe.

After both of them announced their names at the entrance to the Lu Residence, they waited for about ten minutes before the gates were finally opened for them. It was then that Yan Liqiang and Qian Su realized that Lu Peien was the one who was coming out to greet them in person.

Even after a long period of not seeing each other, Lu Peien was still very fat. His figure didn’t seem to suggest that he had slimmed down even in the slightest. He was wearing a sable fur coat that the falling snow would not stick on, and he had an unprecedented stern expression on his face as well.

“Don’t you know that something big has happened to the Wang Residence?” The first thing Lu Peien mentioned was the Wang Fortress when he saw Yan Liqiang and Qian Su.

“Of course we know. Liqiang and I just came from the Wang Residence. This time, they are utterly finished...” Qian Su shook his head.

“Ah, so both of you just came from the Wang Residence. What happened?” Lu Peien promptly inquired, “We have dispatched a few people to the Wang Fortress and Huanglong County to inquire for information, but nothing concrete has really come back to us...”

The three of them continued to chat while walking toward the Lu Residence. As soon as the three of them went in, the door that had opened for them was closed again in an instant.

Qian Su summarized the entire incident that had happened at the Wang Fortress to Lu Peien.

After listening to Qian Su’s account, Lu Peien let out a sigh of relief. Yet he couldn’t resist feeling a bit anxious: “So you are saying that the real target of the troops from Pingxi City is only the Wang Residence?”

“Positive. We even met Gong Tieshan and exchanged a few words just now. Gong Tieshan received an order from Pingxi City, but it was only to bring his troops to surround the Wang Fortress and assist the troops from Pingxi City to apprehend a bunch of people from the Wang Clan...”

The expression on Lu Peien’s face somewhat became a bit relaxed. He let out a long sigh and said, “The information you have delivered was duly needed. We have to let Old Master know about this. He’s still discussing matters with the convenor at home. I’ll bring you all to meet him...”

“Alright!”

After a few minutes, Lu Peien accompanied Old Master Lu and they hastened their footsteps into the living room inside the Lu Clan.

“We respectfully greet Old Master Lu...” Yan Liqiang and Qian Su quickly stood up and paid their respects to him.

“Ha, I didn’t expect Liqiang to be here as well...” Old Master Lu sat down at the head table and gazed at Yan Liqiang with a rare smile on his face.

“It’s been a long time since Uncle Qian and I have seen you, so we took some time and came back from Pingxi City. We came here today to specifically pay our respects to you. However, we didn’t expect to bump into a group of mounted troops during our journey...” While Yan Liqiang gave his greetings, he quickly added a sentence about the incident that had befallen the Wang Residence, which Old Master Lu was most concerned with and explained the details about what happened.

Yan Liqiang recounted the incident vividly and with clarity. With such descriptions, even if Old Master Lu wasn’t at the scene, he felt as if he had seen everything that had befallen the Wang Clan with his own eyes.

Old Master Lu’s long brows trembled as he continued to listen to Yan Liqiang’s account. The emotions on his face continued to change, until at last, he showed an expression of relief. However, a frown was still creased on his forehead and that had not been completely released. Old Master Lu caressed his beard and said, “Seems like the Wang Clan indeed was involved in that incident in Pingxi City. The incident that happened during the last few days was ginormous that it has been spreading throughout Gan Province. We have specially dispatched people to the main hall in Pingxi City too. Liqiang, you were at the martial arts academy at Pingxi City, so you must have heard of it. I heard that it was a few students from the martial arts academy who discovered the Shatu people in disguise, thus leading to a lot of things afterward!”

“Old Master Lu, you have asked the right person by talking to Liqiang...”

“Oh, perhaps Liqiang knows the students from the martial arts academy who discovered the Shatu people?”

“It’s not that Liqiang knows those students from the martial arts academy, but the student from the martial arts academy whom you spoke of is none other than Liqiang!”

Old Master Lu and Lu Peien were instantaneously shocked by Qian Su’s revelation. Their eyes widened, and they stared at Yan Liqiang with an expression beyond belief, “What, it was Liqiang who discovered them? What’s going on?”

“Liqiang, tell the whole story of that night to Old Master Lu. I believe he doesn’t know a lot of the details regarding the incident yet!”

“Alright...” Yan Liqiang nodded his head, “If I have to tell the story of that night, we will have to trace it back the cause which was two months prior. I was just about to report myself to the martial arts academy in Pingxi City that day. When I was entering the city, I saw a trade caravan belonging to a group of Shatu people....”

Yan Liqiang then recounted the whole impeccable incident and what happened that night to Old Master Lu and Lu Peien. They didn’t expect Yan Liqiang to be the one who personally experienced the incident of that night. Both of them were listening quite intently as Yan Liqiang recounted the dramatic and unexpected events of the incident.

At the end of the story, Yan Liqiang added, “When I was at the martial arts academy, I heard that the young master of the Wang Clan, Wang Haofei, who was killed by King Cobra, was a good friend of the Prefectural Governor’s son, Ye Xiao. Both of them were really hand in gloves with each other. Wang Haofei would often stop by Ye Xiao’s manor for a visit, and he would always flaunt his relationship with the son of the Prefectural Governor to his classmates. I didn’t think the Wang Clan would actually do those things just to flatter the son of the Prefectural Governor...”

The last part Yan Liqiang said was actually the most important part. Based on the insights of wisdom of Old Master Lu and Lu Peien, both of them were able to connect the dots and they instantaneously understood the reason why the Wang Clan would suffer such a disastrous calamity today after Yan Liqiang was done iterating his story.

Old Master Lu and Lu Peien exchanged looks with each other before letting out sighs of relief.

“Peien, go instruct the guards outside the wall to withdraw from the post. After that, reopen the gates to the Lu Residence. Don’t make it too hasty, otherwise it will make our clan look like we are doing this out of guilt. Just leave some men on the way and it will be fine...” Old Master Lu informed Lu Peien.

“Yes...” Lu Peien nodded his head, stood up immediately, and walked out of the living room. When he arrived outside, he called a steward over and gave him a few instructions in a low voice. Meanwhile, the steward of the Lu Clan continued to nod his head before jostling away immediately to pass on the orders.

Lu Peien then returned to the living room and sat down.

Old Master Lu gazed at Yan Liqiang. He felt like he liked him more each time he looked at him. With a smile on his face and his eyes squinted, he remembered that Yan Liqiang had saved his grandson’s life the first time he came to the Lu Residence. This time again, when the Lu Residence was in a state of panic and anxiety, Yan Liqiang’s words were able to instantaneously allow the Lu Clan to assess the situation clearly and find out the cause behind the situation. Yan Liqiang was simply the Lu Residence’s lucky star. The moment he came, good things would soon come to them.

“Liqiang, both of you don’t have to go back in a hurry tonight. The hunters from the village have delivered unto us a bear last night. The bear paw is still being steamed in the kitchen. I allowed the kitchen staff to prepare a few dishes last night. Let us have a meal together, drink some wine, and be lively. Both of you will have to stay at the village tonight...” Old Master Lu said smilingly to Yan Liqiang.

“The Wang Clan deserves to be punished. With that, the Lu Clan doesn’t have to worry about the Wang Clan avenging their young master’s short life by creating another lousy problem. Indeed, we must have a celebration for this...” Lu Peien smiled as well.

“Alright, then I better follow your advice. Uncle Qian and I will drink with Old Master Lu and Sixth Brother tonight!” Yan Liqiang said with a smile, earning a nod of approval from Old Master Lu and Lu Peien. “Mm, besides paying our respects to Old Master Lu today, Liqiang actually has another thing to discuss with both Old Master Lu and Sixth Brother...”

“We are friends. Liqiang, if you have anything to say, don’t hold back!” Old Master Lu caressed his beard and smiled.

“It’s like this, Liqiang has thought of a way to make a fortune. Uncle Qian and I don’t have confidence in this one, which is why we want to discuss it with Old Master Lu and Sixth Brother to see whether this method works or not...”

“Hahaha, Liqiang, I didn’t know you were able to think up a business deal to earn money. Alright, tell me about it and allow me to review whether this deal is adequate or not...” Lu Peien guffawed as he assumed the role of an investment advisor.

Afterward, Yan Liqiang told them about the idea of the honeycomb briquette; oh, it shouldn’t be called the honeycomb briquette now. He told them about what should be known as the lotus root briquette to Lu Peien and Old Master Lu in detail.

At the beginning of his explanation, Old Master Lu and Lu Peien listened intently with smiles on their faces. But when Yan Liqiang started talking about the production method and the formula to the lotus root briquette, the expressions on both their faces were completely replaced with solemnity and shock...

In comparison to Yan Liqiang and Qian Su, a large business such as the Lu Clan had a deeper understanding of the great value and business prospects that involved this small lotus root briquette.

Was this business deal possible? Of course. Those who turned their backs away from this deal were fools. Where would one be able to find a business that could sell soil as coal in this entire world? Even if the Lu Clan was not able to do this business, they could find others to join them and swallow this cake. As long as they could dominate Pingxi City’s market, this could be an endless supply of gold...

...

Naturally, Yan Liqiang had his dinner with the Lu Clan. When he saw the dinner table full of dishes, he didn’t know what to say. Fortunately, there weren’t any wildlife protection acts or social media in this era. If there were such things, his social circle would instantly go berserk if he took a photo of the dishes and posted them to his social media.

Yan Liqiang drank a bit of the fresh deer blood and wine but not that much due to their high intensities. After he took some sips, Yan Liqiang felt as if his body was burning up in flames.

After he was done with dinner, the sky was completely dark. Lu Peien secretly pulled Yan Liqiang outside when a bunch of people at the dining table were not paying attention to them. With a sneaky expression, he whispered, “Liqiang, do you want to see Beixin....”

Looking at the lewd expression on Lu Peien’s face, Yan Liqiang quickly thought about a certain affiliate occupation with an old profession. The tipsy sensation he had earlier disappeared in an instant.

Chapter 159: Eloping

Yan Liqiang rubbed his nose awkwardly as he watched the two maids from the Lu Clan lower their heads and left by the courtyard entrance after throwing him a careful look.

Lu Beixin lived in the western part of the rear courtyard, which could be considered the inner chamber of the Lu Clan’s grand manor. Many womenfolk stayed in the inner chamber and usually even male servants of the Lu Clan were prohibited from coming here, let alone outsiders. However, no one stopped him when he came here today. All the guards and maids in Lu Clan were treating him like air.

It seemed like his status as the future son-in-law of Lu Clan was secured. If he were to deny the marriage in the future, he wondered if Old Master Lu would hire someone to come for his life.

Yan Liqiang smiled wryly for a moment before he pushed open the courtyard door and entered.

There was a rockery, a small garden and a small pond inside the courtyard. Beside the small pond was a small, two-story pavilion. The light which seeped through from the inside of the pavilion illuminated the narrow path around the small pond which was paved with pebbles.

Yan Liqiang followed the narrow path to the front of the pavilion then knocked on the door.

“I’m not eating! I’m not eating! I’m not eating no matter what! Cuihe, tell my father that he can starve me to death and pretend he never had a daughter! Why does he still care about me?!”

A voice rang out from inside the pavilion and it seemed to be laced with endless grievances.

Yan Liqiang found out from Lu Peien that Lu Beixin, who lived inside, had already gone on a ‘hunger strike’ for two days. Today would be the third day. Lu Beixin had already spoken, if Old Master Lu was still going to ground her, she would end her life by starvation.

During the grounding period, Lu Beixin was completely isolated from the outside world. Until now, she still hadn’t received news of Wang Haofei’s death. The people from the Lu Clan didn’t dare tell her anything about it. Although Lu Beixin usually appeared to be quite an obedient girl, she had a very stubborn personality. Old Master Lu and Lu Peien were both worried that she might do something irreparable if she knew that Wang Haofei had been killed by King Cobra while he was waiting to meet up with her.

The Lu Clan was already at a loss of how to bring an end to this matter.

While Lu Beixin was speaking inside, Yan Liqiang had already taken out a key and silently unlocked the room door. He quietly entered the room and spotted her.

Lady Lu, who was rumored to have gone on a ‘hunger strike’ for three days was sitting cross-legged on a soft rug in the room. She was munching on osmanthus cakes while talking about starving herself to death. Since she didn’t expect that anyone would come in directly without notifying her, she was caught off guard. One of her hands was still holding a piece of half-eaten osmanthus cake and she seemed to be struggling to decide between eating it or throwing it away.

What was more surprising to Lady Lu was that the person who had walked in turned out to be Yan Liqiang.

Lu Beixin was currently dressed in a form-fitting, yellow fox fur top and a pair of jade-green pleated pants. Her hair was tied up into two cute buns, which appeared to be comfortably casual but also indescribably aesthetic. The way she sat with her legs crossed on the soft rug instantly showed off her nice body figure – the places which should huge were huge, the places which should be small were small, the places which should be round were round and the places which should be slim were slim. She was exceptionally attractive and a delight to the eyes.

Under Yan Liqiang gaze, Lady Lu’s face instantly reddened before she flew into a rage out of humiliation. After shoving the remaining half of the osmanthus cake all into her mouth and swallowing it, she immediately stood up and shot Yan Liqiang a fierce glare.

“Why are you here?!”

“Shhhh...” Yan Liqiang gestured to her to keep her volume down, then sneakily looked around his surroundings. “Keep it down...” He whispered.

Lu Beixin was baffled. She had no idea what Yan Liqiang was up to, so she gave him a skeptical look.

“Brother Wang Haofei sent me here to rescue you!” Yan Liqiang was still speaking to her in a hushed voice as he made his way over to Lu Beixin.

When Lu Beixin heard Yan Liqiang, she was so happy that she immediately jumped up from the soft rug in joy. However, in just the blink of an eye, a skeptical look returned to her face. “How did you guys know each other? And how did you get in here?”

“Did you forget that I’m also now a student in the martial arts academy? I got to know Brother Wang on the first day I entered the academy and I found his graceful bearing truly admirable. I didn’t know anything about Lady Lu and Brother Wang until he mentioned it to me a few days ago when I was drinking with him. I came here with my uncle today. Old Master Lu invited my uncle over to eat bear paws, so I tagged along too. I made up an excuse that I had too much to drink just now, to slip out and secretly find my way here...”

Lu Beixin was still giving Yan Liqiang a doubtful look and didn’t seem to fully buy his story.

“You still don’t believe me, Lady Lu? As predicted by Brother Wang... He told me that Lady Lu will only believe me if I say the five words...” Yan Liqiang smiled wryly.

“Which five words?”

“The pavilion at Plum Gardens!”

As expected, the expression on Lu Beixin’s face instantly changed the moment she heard those five words from Yan Liqiang. To her, this was a secret known to only her and Wang Haofei. She had never told this to anyone before. For Yan Liqiang to be able to say it so confidently, Wang Haofei must have been the one who told him that.

“Where is Haofei?” Lu Beixin immediately rushed over to Yan Liqiang, seized him by his shoulders and eagerly asked him.

Yan Liqiang had a serious look on his face. “Brother Wang is waiting for Lady Lu in a secret location. For your sake, he has already made the necessary preparations to elope with you. If Lady Lu feels the same as Brother Wang, then I shall bring you to meet him. If this is not what Lady Lu has in mind, then forget about it and pretend that I was never here...”

Lu Beixin hesitated for a moment before she clenched her teeth and replied, “Fine, I shall go with you!”

“Well then, please pack up your belongings quickly and put on a set of thicker clothes. I have already tricked the two maids outside away just now, they will be back at any time. I shall wait for you outside, Lady Lu...” After saying all these, Yan Liqiang immediately exited the room without looking at Lu Beixin and waited outside.

Lu Beixin was still a little hesitant at first. However, seeing Yan Liqiang had gone out and didn’t urge her again, she instead became more determined all of a sudden.

When it came to mind manipulation, even a total of one hundred Lu Beixins still wouldn’t be any challenge to Yan Liqiang.

As expected, Lu Beixin was very quick. In just less than three minutes, she came out wearing a thick cloak, carrying a sack on her back.

“This way...” Yan Liqiang led Lu Beixin toward the small garden in the courtyard. When they reached the courtyard wall, Yan Liqiang jumped slightly, kicked a few times against the wall and easily made it on top of the three-meter high wall like a swallow. Lu Beixin’s eyes lit up at the sight of his agile body movement from behind. It was probably rare to find anyone with such agility, even within the martial arts academy.

Yan Liqiang straddled the wall. With one of his legs hooked onto the wall, he lowered his body and extended his hand toward Lu Beixin. “Hold on to my hand, I will pull you up...”

Lu Beixin looked at the high courtyard wall then at Yan Liqiang’s outstretched hand. In just less than a second, she decided to accept Yan Liqiang’s offer.

It was pitch black outside. All they could hear was the indistinct voices of people in the front courtyard. Yan Liqiang ‘cautiously’ groped his way in the dark, avoided two patrolling guards and flipped over three courtyard walls before they finally made it outside of the Lu Clan’s grand manor.

A rhinodrake steed was already standing by in a small alley outside the grand manor.

Yan Liqiang mounted the steed first then told Lu Beixin, “Get up here!”

“Why is there only one steed? How are we going to ride it?” Lu Beixin didn’t climb up but was instead staring at Yan Liqiang.

“Well, how many steeds do you think I can ride here alone to the Lu Residence, Lady Lu? Are you also expecting me to hire a marching band to blow their trumpets and beat their drums to fetch you?”

Lu Beixin’s face reddened and adorably demanded Yan Liqiang, “You, get down, let me up there...”

“Lady Lu, are you thinking of making me pull this steed with you riding on it, all the way to the meetup location with Brother Wang?” Yan Liqiang laughed on the steed. “That place is very far from here. If Lady Lu thinks it’s possible to escape like that and isn’t worried about people from the Lu Clan catching up to us, then I don’t mind!”

After struggling and deliberating for a while, Lu Beixin finally clenched her teeth and mounted the steed. She sat in front of Yan Liqiang, as though she was being enveloped in his arms. Both of their bodies were pressed flush against each other. “Let me give you a warning – don’t try anything funny. I’m not that easy to bully...”

“Do you think I’m that kind of person, Lady Lu?” Yan Liqiang smiled. He then shook the reins and squeezed the steed with his feet on the stirrups. Like a racing car, the rhinodrake steed instantly sped forward. The sounds of its hooves reverberated in the air. In just the blink of an eye, they made it through a street inside the compound of the residence and escaped out of the Lu Residence.

...

At the top of the defensive wall of the Lu Residence, Old Master Lu watched the silhouette of the rhinodrake steed vanish into the darkness. After a long while, he averted his gaze and sighed. He gave Lu Peien, who was beside him, a wry smile. “I hope Beixin comes to her senses this time. Liqiang’s method is effective, otherwise, I don’t even know how to settle this!”

“Rest assured, Father. Although Liqiang is young, he is reliable. Ninth Younger Sister will be fine with him!” Lu Peien replied.

“Of course I have nothing to worry about Liqiang. Among the youths, he is the one I am least concerned about. It will be great if something can spark between them. I’ll have nothing to worry about if that’s the case...” Old Master Lu sighed and shook his head.

Qian Su and Lu Peien looked at each other, both of them had no idea how to respond to Old Master Lu’s words...

Chapter 160: Seized

The rhinodrake steed’s legs were as powerful as a dragon. Even with Yan Liqiang and Lu Beixin on its back, its feet still struck the ground like thunder, sloshing the mud and snow on the ground as the sound of its iron hooves reverberated in the air. In the bitterly cold night, it galloped powerfully on the road, going against the howling cold wind and snowflakes.

Yan Liqiang drove the steed at high speed in the direction of Pingxi City.

Although there was a beauty in his arms, Yan Liqiang’s attention wasn’t on Lu Beixin, let alone fantasizing about anything. To be honest, if it wasn’t for Old Master Lu and the Lu Clan’s past favor towards his Yan Clan, he couldn’t care less about the life and death of an influential clan’s daughter. Yan Liqiang had only gotten involved in this because he wanted to get Lu Beixin, who had been fooled, to come to her senses for the sake of Old Master Lu and the Lu Clan. He didn’t wish to see anything happen to the Lu Clan again.

How could he get her to come to her senses? He had no choice but to give her a dose of strong medicine!

“Is Wang Haofei waiting for me in Pingxi City?” Lu Beixin, who was riding on the steed, was still a little nervous. She only felt relieved when she discovered that Yan Liqiang had no wicked ideas about her at all.

After the rhinodrake steed left the Lu Residence and reached the public road, which was more than ten li away, Lu Beixin was able to determine the position of the rhinodrake steed just from the direction it was heading.

“Yes, Brother Wang is waiting in a secret location within Pingxi City. You’ll know when you get there...” Yan Liqiang said calmly.

“I’m truly thankful to you this time. I didn’t expect you to be a good person...” Lu Beixin was touched.

Was this the legendary ‘friend-zoned’? Yan Liqiang secretly laughed in his heart, but the expression on his face remained serious. “I enjoy fulfilling the wishes of others. Pay no mind to it, Lady Lu...”

“If there’s opportunity, I shall thank you properly in the future!”

“Alright...”

“Tell me, how will my father and the rest feel, if I just run away like this...?” Although Lu Beixin seemed to be excited about eloping soon, she was also slightly apprehensive and restless. After feeling that Yan Liqiang was a ‘loyal and reliable’ subject, she couldn’t help but lay bare some of her thoughts to him.

“How do you think Old Master Lu and the rest would feel about it, Lady Lu?”

“They will definitely be worried about me...”

“If Lady Lu is having second thoughts about this, I can send you back now!”

“I’m not returning!” Lu Beixin started being stubborn again. “Haofei is a great man! Why does Father object to us being together, and doesn’t even allow us to date? I personally feel like Father holds some prejudice against Haofei. Why do the grudges between the past generations of the Lu and Wang Clan still carry on to our current generation? If I do not even have the right to make any decision on my feelings for myself, then it’s pointless even if there are mountains of gold and silver before me!”

“Indeed. I think any differences between clans should be long forgotten. I don’t see any problem with Brother Wang. I don’t get what Old Master Lu is thinking either...”

“That’s right!” Upon hearing that Yan Liqiang agreed with her perspective, Lu Beixin suddenly saw Yan Liqiang as less of an eyesore and felt as though she had found a close friend. “Oh right, what will you do if my father finds out that you are the one who sent me away?”

At this point of time, Lady Lu finally bothered to care about the consequences that passerby like Yan Liqiang would have to face for doing something like this.

“I will tell him that I was acting on impulse. I’m still young. Old Master Lu won’t do anything to me...”

Lu Beixin clenched her teeth. “I brought some money and jewelry which are worth about more than a thousand taels of silver. If things aren’t working out, I can split half of this money with you so that you can go into hiding too!”

“Thank you, Lady Lu. You are also indeed a good person...” Yan Liqiang acted like he was moved.

“I shouldn’t bring you trouble!” Lady Lu exclaimed in a righteous tone.

The wind felt strong on a steed. The moment one opened their mouth, they’d feel as though the chilly wind was filling their mouth. After speaking a few words, both of kept their mouth shut. Yan Liqiang focused on riding the steed, while Lu Beixin started to imagine the process of meeting up and eloping with Wang Haofei. She felt apprehensive about it but was also looking forward to it at the same time.

At this hour, not many people were seen hurrying on with their journey. Although the sky was dark, the snowflakes had painted the mountains and the plains white, which in turn improved the visibility of the road.

Yan Liqiang rode on relentlessly. After a few consecutive hours of journeying, he finally made it into Pingxi City with Lu Beixin at eleven o’clock at night, just right before the city gates closed.

When it came to Pingxi City, Lu Beixin might be more familiar than Yan Liqiang. The moment they entered the city, Lu Beixin eagerly asked him, “Where is Haofei?”

“Don’t panic, Lady Lu. That place is not easy to find, there are a lot of twists and turns. It’s hard to tell you, so I will personally bring you there!”

Having said that, Yan Liqiang then made a detour in the city with Lu Beixin for a while and found an inn to leave the rhinodrake steed. After that, he took another detour with Lu Beixin before he finally brought her to the alley behind the manor Ye Xiao lived in.

A few days ago, an incident which shook the entire Gan Province had taken place here. However, this manor had already been sealed off now. The inside of the once lavish manor was now pitch black without a figure in sight. Many people had even treated this manor as an ominous place since many female skeletons were uncovered inside the well in the rear courtyard. By eleven o’clock at night, not even pedestrians were seen anywhere near here. The night watchmen also seemed to deliberately avoid passing by this grand manor.

“Here?”

“Yes, here. We will go in from here since it will attract too much attention if we go from the front!” While speaking, Yan Liqiang had already agilely leaped to the top of the wall.

Although Lu Beixin found this manor rather strange, since they were already here, the confused her didn’t think too much of it. She followed behind Yan Liqiang and flipped over inside to the manor’s compound.

“Hmm, why would Haofei choose to wait for me here?” Lu Beixin looked around her surroundings when she was inside the manor garden. When she realized that there was not even a single person inside the grand manor, she couldn’t help but start wondering.

“One of Brother Wang’s friends used to live in this manor. That person moved away two days ago, so this manor is completely empty now. This is a good hiding place for Brother Wang, no one can possibly find him even if they tried...” Yan Liqiang explained while he familiarly made his way towards a room nearby. Lu Beixin didn’t think too much either and followed behind him.

The door he pushed open revealed a rather messy room which really seemed as though someone had moved out from there. Yan Liqiang pulled a cabinet by the wall and the entrance to an underground tunnel was instantly revealed.

The altar lamps made with whale oil were still lit inside the passage, making it seem as though someone was still around.

“You go first, Brother Wang is just downstairs. I will shut this door in case people from outside see the light and find out that there are people here...” Yan Liqiang instructed Lu Beixin with a normal expression.

As soon as Lu Beixin heard that Wang Haofei was just downstairs, she continued on without even thinking.

Yan Liqiang then pulled the cabinet at the back again...

Lu Beixin, who had just arrived downstairs with her heart filled with curiosity, noticed that the passage down there was paved with red rug. The decorations were very lavish, but the passage only led to two directions. Just when she was about to ask Yan Liqiang where Wang Haofei was, she felt Yan Liqiang tapped on her arm at the same moment she turned her head around. Lu Beixin then felt as though her entire body had gone completely numb and she couldn’t even move. When she looked at Yan Liqiang again, she realized that unbeknownst to her, Yan Liqiang had worn a ring on the hand which he tapped on her arm with. A black needle had sprung out from within the ring.

“YAN LIQIANG...!” Lu Beixin was both shocked and infuriated as she instantly yelled. She just couldn’t understand why had Yan Liqiang done something like this, no matter how hard she racked her brains. As soon as she was immobilized, a panic-stricken look which was hard to conceal instantly appeared on her face.

“We are underground. No one will hear you even if you scream at the top of your lungs...” Yan Liqiang looked at Lu Beixin calmly.

“What are you trying to do?”

“What am I trying to do? You will know soon enough!” Yan Liqiang’s smile grew indescribably sinister in Lu Beixin’s eyes. “I forgot to tell you... The owner who lived here was Ye Xiao. I’m certain Lady Lu knew Young Master Ye, right? I heard Young Master Ye seemed to be very obsessed with you.”

“Oh, so you are Ye Xiao’s lackey? My father will not forgive you if you dare to lay a finger on me!” Lu Beixin’s beautiful countenance instantly contorted as she completely lost her temper at the mention of Ye Xiao’s name.

Yan Liqiang shook his head. “You’re wrong. I am not Ye Xiao’s lackey. Your Haofei is his lackey.”

“Stop your nonsense! Don’t you even think about slandering Haofei...!” Lu Beixin shot a glare at Yan Liqiang.

“Hahaha, you will know soon enough whether I am slandering him or not!” Yan Liqiang laughed and immediately lifted Lu Beixin up in his arms.

Lu Beixin immediately shrieked in surprise. “PUT ME DOWN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING! PUT ME DOWN THIS INSTANT!”

“You can’t move for the time being. I’m just going to take you on a tour around here since your Haofei is a regular here. If you keep struggling or screaming, you better believe me when I say I will strip you bare naked and throw you into a rodent nest...!” Yan Liqiang shot a fierce glare at Lu Beixin. The words which came out of his mouth intimidated Lu Beixin, who instantly went silent in his arms.

Although Lu Beixin was a grown lady, Yan Liqiang could barely feel her weight in his arms.

He carried Lu Beixin and walked around the tunnel. After walking for a short while, they arrived in one of the underground rooms. There were metal pillars, about the thickness of an arm, everywhere in the room. The entire room was divided into eight prison cells.

“Do you see those little prison cells? This is the place where Ye Xiao imprisoned those pitiful girls he had abducted here. If your father didn’t ground you at home for a few months, one of these little prison cells would have been yours. Your Haofei would have personally sent a foolish woman like you here and imprison you in a little prison cell here to pleasure Ye Xiao...”

“Lies... Lies!! Haofei isn’t that kind of person!”

Lu Beixin, the beloved daughter of Old Master Lu who had lived a life of extravagance since young, had never seen such a dark place. Looking at those little prison cages and witnessing the dark side of the world for the very first time, Lady Lu’s face paled from fear. The faint scent of blood in this room made her felt so nauseous that she suddenly wanted to puke.

Chapter 161: Desperate Cure

One of the most deepest impressions Yan Liqiang developed in his previous life was from a visit to Zazhi Cave prison.

Prior to the visit, he didn’t really know that much about Jiang Zhuyun’s strength or the cruelty of the prisons set up by Kuomintang’s military agents. He had only heard about them at most and that wasn’t enough for him to form any impressions of it. However, after he visited Zazhi Cave and saw the various torture devices in there like the tiger bench, chili pepper water, and branding iron, Yan Liqiang truly felt a deep veneration for those revolutionaries who could still remain unyieldingly loyal under such circumstances.

The impact of messages conveyed through visuals and immersive experiences were incomparable to other methods, regardless of depth or magnitude.

Even if someone told Lu Beixin that Wang Haofei was a bastard a million times every day while grounded at the Lu Residence, she still wouldn’t get just how much of a bastard Wang Haofei was. Instead, she would think that person was falsely accusing a good person and was just another person who wished to keep them apart.

Since that was the case, he figured he should just bring Lu Beixin here to see the place where Wang Haofei often enjoyed himself until he forgot to go home for herself. It would be far more effective than telling her the bad things about Wang Haofei a million times.

There were prisons and torture chambers in this underground facility. In the torture chamber, most of the torture devices were specially prepared for women. There were bloodstained devices particularly used for dealing with those disobedient women.

The other rooms were various entertainment rooms. There was a bathroom with an underground hot spring and all sorts of lavish and gorgeous bedrooms – they were simply dazzling sights to behold.

Normally, it was impossible to get girls like Lu Beixin to visit this kind of place. But now, with Yan Liqiang holding her, she had to look even if she didn’t want to.

“N-No... Haofei would never come to this kind of place! You must be lying to me! You are lying! I definitely won’t believe you or be tricked! No one can deceive me...!” While listening to Yan Liqiang describe what could have happened to her in here as they toured around the underground facility, Lu Beixin kept repeating this like a mantra as though she wanted to numb herself while shaking her head with a pale face.

“Hahaha, no one can deceive you? Who do you think you are? The one who deceived you before was Wang Haofei and he got you all wrapped around his little finger. And now, the one who tricked you into coming here is me. I think there isn’t even the slightest difficulty in deceiving a foolish woman like you. Now that you have fallen completely into my hands, you no longer have control over your life or death. Lady Lu, you are only deluding yourself by saying those sort of words at this kind of time!” Yan Liqiang laughed loudly.

Yan Liqiang’s words definitely dealt a hard blow to Lu Beixin’s self-esteem, and this was his plan exactly – to tell Lu Beixin that it was very easy to trick her. If he could trick her, then Wang Haofei could too.

“I didn’t expect you to be someone like this!” Lu Beixin glared at Yan Liqiang with her clenched teeth.

“There are many unexpected things for you. Don’t think you are very smart. To me, the silliest person is you. Just because everyone in the Lu Clan spoiled and pampered you, you think you are so special and you left the Lu Residence. To be frank, a woman like you is nothing but a piece of meat thrown into a pack of wolves. Without the Lu Clan behind you, you won’t even survive a month in a place like Pingxi City. The end that awaits you is either being kidnapped or trafficked by someone!”

“Hmph! I’m not going to believe anything you tell me tonight! You could be making up some stories about this place and the users of it...!”

“The owner of this place is Ye Xiao. He died a few days ago and this place has now been sealed off. During your grounding period, too many things happened in Pingxi City. You’re just not being informed about them...”

When Yan Liqiang mentioned Ye Xiao’s death, he noticed a slight change in Lu Beixin’s countenance. She seemed to be startled by this news. “You can choose to not believe in my words, but please use your brain to think – did you meet Ye Xiao first before you knew Wang Haofei? Did Ye Xiao pursue you before but got rejected by you? Did Wang Haofei appear before you and become acquainted with you after you rejected Ye Xiao? When you were studying at the martial arts academy and got acquainted with Wang Haofei, you must have known or asked around about him, so you definitely knew that Wang Haofei hung out with Ye Xiao. When you asked Wang Haofei about it, did Wang Haofei tell you he was only normal friends with Ye Xiao? And did he tell you that since Ye Xiao was the young lord of the Prefectural Governor and that his own clan back in Huanglong County was influential, it was inevitable for him to be involved with people like Ye Xiao? And if you disliked Ye Xiao, then did he say that he will definitely keep a distance between himself and Ye Xiao to appease you?”

The more Yan Liqiang spoke, the paler Lu Beixin’s face grew. By the end of it, the way Lu Beixin looked at Yan Liqiang was as though she had seen a ghost. That was because everything she experienced, even down to the explanations Wang Haofei had given to her, were pretty close to what Yan Liqiang had said.

“No need to give me that look. It isn’t too difficult to deceive a naïve girl like you. Just a few honeyed words are enough to make your head spin. Do you know why Wang Haofei could break it off with the Prefectural Governor’s young lord? Is it really because you are beautiful? Do you know how many women as beautiful as you in Pingxi City are working in brothels? It only costs three taels of silver to bed them. The best ones cost less than ten taels of silver. Are you telling me Wang Haofei has never seen taken them to bed before and was only infatuated with you?”

Yan Liqiang sneered coldly; his words were heart-piercing and bone-shattering. “Wang Haofei only told you that he was going to break it off with Ye Xiao so that you would let your guard down. He never liked you. In his eyes, you were nothing more than just a tool, a toy. The only reason he approached you was because he wanted to give you to Ye Xiao as his plaything and pleasure slave. You are nothing but a stepping stone to obtain greater favors from the Prefectural Governor for him and the Wang Clan. Ye Xiao desired to possess you because he had yet to establish his foundations. He was cultivating a type of nefarious technique which required women as supplements. Since you are beautiful with some martial foundations and is a virgin on top of that, you contain the most ideal materials for his cultivation!”

“Impossible! That’s impossible! How do you know all this?”

“How do I know? Who in Pingxi City doesn’t know about the scandal involving the Prefectural Governor’s young lord, Ye Xiao? Nearly the entire Gan Province knows about it! To tell you the truth, the Wang Clan in Huanglong County has been raided by the people sent by the Prefectural Governor today. Do you know what crimes Ye Xiao’s father has charged on the Wang Clan? The abduction of girls, harming civilians, and beguiling the Prefectural Governor’s young lord, Ye Xiao, in an unorthodox way!”

“What about Haofei?!” Lu Beixin’s face was completely drained of color.

“Your Haofei was long dead. About two months ago, he was mysteriously murdered by King Cobra at a pavilion on the isle in the Plum Gardens. His close relation to Ye Xiao has given the Prefectural Governor an opportunity to press things against the Wang Clan...”

“LIAR! YOU’RE LYING...!”

“I can lie to you, but the many innocent girls who lost their lives here won’t lie to you. If you wish to know the ultimate fates of most of the girls that were abducted and brought here, I can bring you there to have look...”

Yan Liqiang brought Lu Beixin upstairs from underground. They came to a bleak, gloomy, and cold yard in the rear courtyard and he pointed at a well there. “A few days ago, more than ten female skeletons were dredged up from that well. If your father hadn’t grounded you at the Lu Residence, one of those skeletons at the bottom of this well could have been yours, Lady Lu. This is the final destination Wang Haofei was going to send you to...”

Chapter 162: Martial Warrior

It went without saying that the ‘immersive tour’ Yan Liqiang prepared for Lu Beixin wasn’t limited to only Ye Xiao’s grand manor which had been seized.

But of course, Lu Beixin had no idea what a chain of custody was.

The next day, Yan Liqiang brought Lu Beixin to visit a few residences in Pingxi City. They ‘expressed their sympathy’ to the families that lost their children and gave each clan ten taels of silver out of good will.

Seeing those families that lost their daughters and witnessing their pain of losing a family member, Lu Bexin was extremely disturbed as she listened to the parents, siblings, and neighbors of those commoners recount the scene of identifying their own daughter’s remains being dredged up from the bottom of the well. The impact of this was slowly gnawing away the firm belief in her heart that Wang Haofei was a good person.

On the third day, Yan Liqiang disguised himself as a wealthy young lord and brought a cross-dressing Lu Beixin to the most crowded place in Pingxi City – the Heavenly Fortune Tearoom.

Both of them eavesdropped on all sorts of discussions between patrons who were enjoying their in the tearoom for the whole day.

In that tearoom, nearly everyone discussed the shocking case which involved the Prefectural Governor’s son, Ye Xiao. However, since the Prefectural Governor now shifted all the accusations of that case to the Wang Clan of Huanglong County, people were uncovering all sorts of information either intentionally or unintentionally.

The few degenerates who colluded with the Shatu people to devastate and abduct girls in the city were from Wang Clan. The Shatu man that Yan Liqiang and the others caught admitted that everything he did was with the people from the Wang Clan. For the most part, he was acting under the Wang Clan’s direct instructions.

Needless to say, the responsible person for leading Ye Xiao astray was of course, still the Wang Clan. Not only that, he was the most remarkable representative among the younger generations of the Wang Clan – Wang Haofei.

A piece of information which came from the Law Enforcement Office indicated that one of the Wang Clan’s servants confessed that Wang Haofei had sent people from his clan to abduct two girls from Huanglong County. Then he personally delivered them to Ye Xiao’s manor...

...

By evening, when the sky was about to darken, the tearoom grew even more crowded. Lu Beixin’s countenance grew uglier and paler as she listened to more conversations in the tearoom regarding the Wang Clan and Wang Haofei. In the end, she couldn’t bear it anymore and rushed out of the tearoom.

Yan Liqiang settled the bills and then hurriedly chased after her. “What’s with that? You can’t stand it anymore, Lady Lu? Didn’t you insist on proving me wrong and wanting to gamble with me? Didn’t you insist on proving Wang Haofei’s innocence? Now you can’t stand it just from listening to the things that others are saying?”

“Those are all gossip. They can hardly be considered information...” Tears were already welling up in Lu Beixin’s eyes. Even so, she still bit her lip and stubbornly argued.

“Hahaha, now you’re telling me that was just gossip. Let me bring you to another place so you can see for yourself!”

“Where to?”

“You’ll know when we get there!” Yan Liqiang beckoned forth a horse carriage after he finished speaking, and headed off to a certain place in Pingxi City with Lu Beixin.

The place Yan Liqiang brought Lu Beixin to was the most luxurious pleasure quarters for men in Pingxi City – the ‘Crimson Tower’.

By early evening when the lanterns were first lit, Yan Liqiang and Lu Beixin arrived at the Crimson Tower. After a brief formal exchange, they met the madam of the Crimson Tower.

Before even saying anything, Yan Liqiang handed over five taels of silver. In response, the madam smiled until her eyes were narrow slits.

“Can you summon the same lady Young Master Wang requested during my last visit with him here?”

“Young Master Wang? Which one?” The madam was still smiling as she asked prudently. “There isn’t only one Young Master Wang among our patrons here.”

“What? You don’t even remember who I came with last time?” Yan Liqiang grimaced as he pretended to be displeased.

“Cease your anger, Young Master, cease your anger! The Crimson Tower is busy entertaining all sorts of patrons every day. This old me indeed has blurry vision and a bad memory. Please forgive me, Young Master...!” In reality, the madams in these kinds of places would meet countless people every day. Unless it was a regular customer, it was impossible for her to remember the patrons who came here to enjoy the service.

“Hmph, I’m talking about Young Master Wang Haofei!” Yan Liqiang deliberately exclaimed in an angry tone.

“Oh, now that Young Master mentioned it, I remember! Young Master Wang’s favorite lady was Lady Xiangxue. Every time he visited, he’d fool around with Xiangxue the entire night. Back then, Young Master Wang was the one who deflowered Lady Xiangxue. Two months ago, when Xiangxue heard something had happened to Young Master Wang at the Plum Gardens, she cried for a few days. When Young Master Wang was still alive, Xiangxue and her two servants were all specially reserved by him and they never had to receive other patrons. Now that something bad happened to Young Master, Xiangxue lost her benefactor and had no choice but to receive other patrons to earn a living. Unfortunately, just a few days after Xiangxue started receiving other patrons, she was chosen by one of our patrons who stopped by Pingxi City and she’s no longer works at the Crimson Tower. I heard she became a concubine...”

Before the madam even finished talking, Lu Beixin turned around and dashed out of the Crimson Tower.

By the time Yan Liqiang found her, she was hugging a tree by a river not far from the Crimson Tower, weeping and heartbrokenly crying her heart out.

After three whole days, this was the first time Yan Liqiang had ever seen Lu Beixin cry.

When he saw Lu Beixin, he asked himself if everything he had done over these three days was a little too cruel. He had completely crushed the most beautiful memories of a young girl in the darkest and cruelest way, then threw the pieces into a manure pit and told everyone to spit on it.

Lu Beixin went on crying for about half an hour before her weeps slowly reduced into sobs.

“Compared to those ladies who turned into the skeletons that were dredged up from the well, you should be rejoicing.” Yan Liqiang sighed again. “It’s actually not that big of a deal for your feelings to be cheated once. Just treat it as a lesson learned. In this world, things are black and white, evil and good, and beautiful and ugly; these are the vicissitudes of life. During your lifetime, you will encounter many people and many incidents. Not everything will go as you wish. You will find many people that will approach you with the intention of harming you from the beginning. But some people will also love you unconditionally, care for you, and stand by your side regardless of what you do to them. Therefore, you should forget about those pieces of trash and any bad relationships. Just treat them as the pain of growing up in life. It’s exactly because those disgraces and evils exist that beauty and kindness become extremely precious. Hence, the most correct path is to live a good life for the sake of those who love you dearly and care for you. Break free of your cocoon and turn into a butterfly...”

Lu Beixin’s sobs slowly ceased. She turned her head around and looked at Yan Liqiang in surprise with her eyes that were as puffy as peaches. She didn’t seem to expect Yan Liqiang to tell her these kinds of words because they didn’t sound like things people of his age could say at all.

“If the things I have done to you these few days have hurt you in any way, please believe that it is not my intention. Think of this as bitter but good medicine!” Yan Liqiang gave her an indescribable carefree smile. “I have just sent someone to inform people from the Lu Clan in Pingxi City. They will probably arrive anytime now and they will send you back to the Lu Residence tonight. Old Master Lu and the rest have been worried about you!”

A few minutes later, a lavish horse carriage and a few soldiers armed with weapons from the Lu Clan’s trading business appeared before Yan Liqiang and Lu Beixin. Then they took her away.

“Yan Liqiang...!” Lu Beixin suddenly lifted her head up before she climbed into the horse carriage. She gave Yan Liqiang a complicated look before she shouted his name.

“What is it, Lady Lu?” Yan Liqiang smiled at her.

Lu Beixin bit her lip. “I DESPISE YOU...!”

“I’m honored!”

Lu Beixin lifted up the curtains and entered the carriage.

Yan Liqiang finally let out a sigh of relief as he watched the horse carriage slowly disappear into the distance. After taking a look at the sky, he walked toward the western side of the city.

...

Five days later, when it was snowing heavily, Yan Liqiang stood topless in the loft of the small courtyard which he was renting in Wuyang Village. His entire body was red as though he was on fire. He watched the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth manifest into the images of one big red bow and four smaller red bows. The images sank into his legs, arms, and spine. Soon after that, Yan Liqiang felt his dantian explode. A strange image of a giant, crude cauldron with four legs caged his entire body within itself and then sank into the midst of his dantian Qihai acupoint.

Yan Liqiang had finally progressed as a Martial Warrior...!

Chapter 163: Truth

The first thing Yan Liqiang did after he had successfully progressed into a Martial Warrior wasn’t to celebrate. He waited until all the advancement phenomena around him vanished before he took a deep breath and sat in a lotus position on his bed in the bedroom. He shut his eyes and started watching his inner sight.

Yan Liqiang had waited very long for this day. He had countless questions in his mind which needed clear answers.

Just what exactly was that ever-changing rock in his mind? What was that surreal experience he had before? Also, just what was that so-called Heavenly Realm he saw in his dream and all those outrageous experiences?

Everything would lead to a final answer after he progressed into a Martial Warrior – this was the hunch Yan Liqiang had in his heart.

When Yan Liqiang focused all his thought and attention on his sea of consciousness, the dense fog within his sea of consciousness was suddenly lifted.

As expected, there really were some changes in his sea of consciousness. The ever-changing mysterious rock in Yan Liqiang’s psyche before had really vanished, and it was replaced by an entrance.

The entrance was a rhombus-shaped door that radiated with an ever-changing, mysterious, and rainbow-like brilliance. The extremely magnificent entrance seemed to be waiting for Yan Liqiang to walk through it.

After hesitating for only less than a second, Yan Liqiang made a decision. He directed his gaze and attention on that rhombus-shaped door.

According to his ‘past’ experience, Yan Liqiang thought he would have to concentrate for at least three hours before he could enter through that door. However this time, the speed of him gaining access through the door was unexpectedly shorter by more than a hundred folds.

In just less than two minutes, Yan Liqiang heard a loud rumble before his consciousness and his mind went through that door.

...

“Welcome to the Heavenly Shrine, young man.” The moment Yan Liqiang entered, a voice suddenly rang out next to his ears.

By the time Yan Liqiang noticed his surroundings, he couldn’t help but let his jaw drop. He couldn’t put his shock and amazement into words.

He found himself in an indescribably magnificent and grand shrine. Giant black pillars about a few hundred meters high stretched on as far as his eyes could see around him. On those black giant pillars were specks of lights. Upon careful observation, every speck of starlight was a spinning galaxy. The floor beneath his feet also glowed with the same silvery-white luster. Countless runes were flowing underneath the floor like streams of water.

Between the two giant pillars before him was a round door. The white glow it radiated caused it to appear extremely sacred and holy, akin to an entrance leading to heaven. Behind him was that rhombus-shaped door of this grand shrinewhich radiated with a rainbow-like brilliance. The entrance of the grand shrine was facing this white-glowing door, and he was standing right in between the two doors. There was also a pond in front of him, right in the middle of this grand shrine. A seemingly familiar, gigantic and mysterious rhombus-shaped crystal that was about a few dozen meters tall was floating above the pond. The ever-changing silhouettes of various birds and animals could be seen on the surface of that mysterious rhombus-shaped crystal...

In this magnificent grand shrine, Yan Liqiang was as tiny as an ant.

The one speaking to Yan Liqiang was a strange being that was standing in front of the pond.

The strange being was about three meters in height. Its upper half was that of a human while his lower half was that of a snake. Its upper human half above the torso was clothed, and his hair was silver. He had an old face which seemed to have been weathered through the vicissitudes of life. Every wrinkle on his face seemed to be flowing with unfathomable wisdom and experience.

Yan Liqiang was startled at the sight of that strange being. Fortunately, he was calm enough to stay instead of spinning around and fleeing. That was because he recalled seeing such strange creatures before, but only on paintings and papers. Nuwa and Fuxi from Chinese legend and mythology looked just like that.

The human-snake-like being took a single glance at Yan Liqiang. The moment their eyes met, a thought automatically emerged in Yan Liqiang’s mind – this strange being was omniscient and there was nothing he could hide from him.

“How do you do? I am Yan Liqiang. How should I address you?” After feeling nervous for a few seconds, Yan Liqiang mustered up the courage and opened his mouth to ask him a question.

“You can call me Fu Guang!” Yan Liqiang figured that a smile had appeared on the strange being’s face. “I know you have many questions which you’ve been suppressing for a long time in your head right now. I know about everything you have experienced in the past and the present. Therefore, you can ask me anything. I will try my best to answer them through methods and language you can understand.”

“W-Who... are you?” Yan Liqiang initially wanted to ask, ‘What are you?’ However, he felt that the question was a little weird and rude when he was on the verge of saying it and he didn’t know if that would enrage Fu Guang or not. Hence, he changed the ‘what’ to ‘who’ in his question.

“I am the spirit of this Heavenly Shrine, a nearly immortal special lifeform without a physical body!”

“Spirit?”

“If I were to translate it into words that you can comprehend, you can treat me as your advisor, butler, or artificial intelligence here. I can answer all the questions you have and also assist anyone who enters this place to control everything in here. Now that you are the person who has entered this place, I therefore shall assist you in taking control over the Heavenly Shrine!”

“Are you alive?”

“That will depend on your definition of life. The existence of life in different universes, voids, and dimensions may be beyond the limits of your knowledge. The pursuit of different lives also varies greatly – fish desire the ocean, birds desire the sky, and some desire wealth while some desire power. To me, becoming an immortal spirit of this place which can roam freely between the different Heavenly Realms is my most preferred way of living.”

“Where do these two doors lead to?” Yan Liqiang pointed to the door in front of him and the grand shrine’s entrance behind him.

“The glowing white door in front of you is the entrance to the Heavenly Realm. The entrance behind you is the way for you to return to the real world!”

“I recall... there was a shape-shifting mysterious rock in my sea of consciousness before. Was that seemingly mysterious rock the same meteor that struck me in my previous life?”

“Indeed, that rock was the very same meteor which struck you in your previous life. It is called the Heavenly Stone!”

“The Heavenly Stone...” Yan Liqiang muttered to himself as he repeated the name once. He then looked around the grand shrine. “I remember the last time I entered the Heavenly Stone area, and the place seemed to be slightly different than this grand shrine. What’s with that?” Yan Liqiang looked at the gigantic pillars around him. Everything here was the same as some of the scenes he had experienced before while some were different. But the spinning galaxies in those gigantic pillars didn’t seem to be completely unfamiliar to him.

“What you see and perceived before is the state exhibited by the Heavenly Stone before it created the Heavenly Realm. The primordial, primary state is the perception of your consciousness under special circumstances. And right now, everything you see here is the ultimate state exhibited by the Heavenly Stone after the creation of the Heavenly Realm! You can take it as everything you saw and perceived before as an unfinished construction site, while everything you see now is what the site looks like after it has been constructed.”

“Has the Heavenly Stone vanished?” Yan Liqiang recalled a dream he had before. In his dream, the Heavenly Stone created the Heavenly Realm, and then vanished from his sea of consciousness, leaving only an entrance for him.

Fu Guang smiled and pointed at the gigantic rhombus-shaped crystal which was floating in the void within the grand shrine. “This is the Heavenly Stone’s true form. It didn’t vanish; it only turned into an alternative form. It is the core to both Heavenly Realm and the Heavenly Shrine of which it has created!”

Yan Liqiang’s eyebrows were knitted together. “This Heavenly Realm you speak of, is it the world that I experienced in the Divine Sword Sect inside the other body I reincarnated into?”

“Yes!”

“Then is everything real or fake in that Heavenly Realm?” Yan Liqiang asked heavily.

“The Heavenly Realm is a world born from the Heavenly Stone because of you. From this perspective, you can say that it is fake. However, from a life experience perspective, it is real. Everything inside the Heavenly Realm is no different than the real world. Not only that, you only get one chance in the Heavenly Realm. If you die in there, then you will never be able to go in there again!”

Yan Liqiang thought for a moment, then nodded. “I understand now. You are telling me that I can treat the Heavenly Realm as a real-life simulation game which can only be played once. If I die in the game, I will never be able to restart and replay the same game?”

“That is correct!”

Yan Liqiang laughed loudly. “Not bad, not bad at all! As the saying goes, ‘three days of foresight will lead to prosperity of a lifetime’. God has actually given me a chance. Just having knowledge of future major events that will happen in the world in the Heavenly Realm is enough for me. I wonder, how does the time between these two worlds harmonize with each other? I can’t possibly appear in two worlds at the same time.”

“When you are in a world, the other world is completely frozen in time. If you are in the Heavenly Shrine, both worlds are completely frozen in time. From today onwards, the time between both worlds will start synchronizing with each other. The largest difference between both worlds is seven days at most. If you live a day in the real world, then you will also need to live a day in the Heavenly Realm. Regardless of any circumstances, if you don’t enter the Heavenly Realm for more than seven days in total in the real world, or if you don’t return to the real world for more than seven days in total in the Heavenly Realm, then it will result in your death in the Heavenly Realm.”

When Yan Liqiang heard that explanation, he was instantly speechless. He digested the information for a moment. Then he took a look at this magnificent Heavenly Shrine and the floating Heavenly Stone. He licked his lips and asked another question. “Do you think there is anything else I should know about the Heavenly Shrine and the Heavenly Stone?”

“That is a very smart question!” Fu Guang gave Yan Liqiang a look of admiration. “Creating the Heavenly Realm is only one of the two functions of the Heavenly Stone. In fact, the Heavenly Stone has another greater use. This is also the reason behind the existence of the Heavenly Shrine!”

“What is that?”

“To create life and command reincarnation!”

These six words which came out from Fu Guang’s mouth resonated loudly across the Heavenly Shrine...

Chapter 164: Command Reincarnation

Fu Guang’s words were simply too imperious – to create life and command reincarnation!

Yan Liqiang was so shocked by these six words that he didn’t recover from his surprise for a long time.

After a while, Yan Liqiang swallowed a lump in his throat with difficulty and asked a question. “How can this create life and command reincarnation?”

“You will know it once you place your hands on the Heavenly Stone!”

Heeding Fu Guang’s words, Yan Liqiang walked toward the large rhombus-shaped crystal and placed his hand on it. Subsequently, an incredible scene appeared before him as he did so.

Blobs of red lights akin to the size of ping-pong balls abruptly poured out from the Heavenly Stone and began to swirl around Yan Liqiang. He reached out to grab ahold of the light and managed to catch one in his hand. As he took a closer look, he noticed there was actually a face inside the light blob. That face was quite distinct and very familiar to Yan Liqiang. This face belonged to Old Master Hong Chengshou from the Hong Clan whom Yan Liqiang had killed at Liuhe Town.

“Ah...” Yan Liqiang was startled. He loosened his grip, allowing the light blob to drift away from his hand.

Yan Liqiang quickly regained his composure and saw another light blob flying toward him. He reached out again and grabbed the light in his hands. After inspecting it closely, the face on this light blob was the face of a Shatu person. Yan Liqiang recognized this person as well. That night when Yan Liqiang transformed himself into King Cobra, this person was one of the Shatu people that he had eliminated in the warehouse at Pingxi City.

Yan Liqiang released this light blob and caught another passing blob. With a careful inspection, the face inside the third light blob belonged to King Cobra, whom Yan Liqiang had killed in an ambush in the pine forest. The real King Cobra was the one hiding behind the mask all along.

He then turned to look at the other light blobs. Almost all of the light blobs contained faces in their centers. All these people were, without exception, killed by Yan Liqiang – a bunch of people from the Hong Clan, and a large number of Shatu people.

“What... what’s going on with these light blobs?” Yan Liqiang asked Fu Guang, shocked.

“These light blobs are the souls of those you have killed. When you killed them, the Heavenly Stone captured and absorbed their souls and the life forces that were attached to the cores of their souls. Other than the inability to create souls, the Heavenly Stone can create all sorts of bodies of any species. Therefore, new life will be born when these souls and bodies created by the Heavenly Stone merge together. Those you have killed were all humans. While you can create life that is not limited to humans, you can decide what they will become in the future. This is reincarnation.”

Yan Liqiang was dumbfounded. “Isn’t this the same as being reborn?”

“More or less! However, there is a difference. If one is being reborn, they will have to start as an embryo or an infant, whereas if one is reincarnated through the Heavenly Stone, it isn’t necessary for one to start from being an infant. You can choose the body of any species and any age...”

“Isn’t this just going to give myself more trouble if I let them be reborn into something else after I have killed them? If they recognize me, they will definitely try to get even with me!”

“They won’t. When their souls were confined by the Heavenly Stone, their consciousness and memories were already wiped clean. If you let them be reborn, regardless of what they will become, you will be connected to them spiritually and you can become their natural master and leader. You will become their god and they will never betray you. Even if you let them die, they will not bat an eye.”

What the flying f*ck, this is simply too awesome!

This moment reminded Yan Liqiang of the games he had played in his previous life, which were World of Warcraft, The Three Kingdoms, Red Alert, and so forth. This Heavenly Shrine was just like a riot arsenal in these games. As long as those lives were created by the Heavenly Shrine, they would listen to his orders. If he had his hands on this thing earlier, he wouldn’t have had to worry about the sh*tty Ye Clan and the Prefectural Governor. With millions of troops storming at the Ye Clan, he would have been able to wipe them out in an instant.

However, after getting excited for a short while, Yan Liqiang quickly regained his composure. There was no such thing as free lunch in this world. Not to mention, even producing offensive units in games required resources to do so. The ability to create life in the Heavenly Shrine must have required other conditions for it to work. He couldn’t possibly have been able to create various lives continuously at the cost of nothing.

“What other conditions are there besides these souls and the core life force that you mentioned to create life?” Yan Liqiang asked Fu Guang a question.

“After you have fulfilled the above conditions, the most crucial step to create life is to activate the seal of life of the different species of your choosing inside the Heavenly Stone. As for activating the seal of life, you need to infuse the energy condensed from the dantian inside your body into the Heavenly Stone!”

“How do I operate it?”

“Didn’t you just touch the Heavenly Stone? How do you still not know about it yet?” Fu Guang looked at Yan Liqiang, bewildered.

Yan Liqiang was at loss. He looked at his hands and said, “I just touched the Heavenly Stone for a moment and those light blobs immediately flew out from it. Nothing else happened!”

“Ah...” Fu Guang suddenly slapped his head, stunned. “I am sorry. It’s been a very long time. I almost forgot this one thing – your powers are too weak. Among the 3,936,884,329 entrants who were lucky enough to enter the Heavenly Shrine in the past, your powers are considered to be the weakest. Because of that, despite the fact that you touched the Heavenly Stone just now, you are unable to communicate with it properly. If you can concentrate on your spiritual force, then your spiritual force will be linked with the Heavenly Stone the moment you touch it. You will be able to understand everything through your thoughts and finish everything...”

Yan Liqiang was embarrassed upon hearing that. Among the 3,936,884,329 entrants of the Heavenly Stone, he was the weakest. Was this possible?

“You don’t have to doubt it. It is precisely as it is...” Fu Guang seemed like he was able to read Yan Liqiang’s thoughts, “Even though your powers are slightly weak, you are the first absolute owner of this Heavenly Stone in a real sense. Those who came here before you only had finite number of chances to use the Heavenly Stone. Even a more powerful being had extremely limited chances of using the Heavenly Stone in their lifetime, which is why they did not dare to waste such an opportunity. In spite of that, the Heavenly Stone is right in front of you now!”

“What do I do now? Does this mean I can’t use it anymore?”

“Just wait for a moment!” With that, Fu Guang closed his eyes, and a ray of red light appeared on his body. He finally opened his eyes after half a minute and pointed at the Heavenly Stone, allowing the red light to vanish into the Heavenly Stone. “That will do. I’ve given you a little assistance so that you can use the Heavenly Stone through a method you can understand. Try putting your hand on the Heavenly Stone again...”

Yan Liqiang listened to Fu Guang’s advice and placed his hand on the Heavenly Stone once again.

At that brief moment, countless information regarding the Heavenly Stone abruptly flooded into Yan Liqiang’s mind. Yan Liqiang instantly formed a strange resonance with the Heavenly Stone. After that, an amazing mechanism that resembled a celestial globe that Zhang Heng had invented simultaneously appeared inside Yan Liqiang’s sea of consciousness.

There were many rings surrounding the golden mechanism. The outermost ring was golden, and the golden wheel on this ring had words that said ‘Available number of souls’ inscribed on it. There were also 47 head silhouettes behind those words. These shadows were the souls with the faces of the group of people from the Hong Clan and the Shatu people that had been confined and absorbed by the Heavenly Stone itself. Moreover, there was a pointer on the outside of this golden wheel. It could be moved around the wheel, and it essentially gave the option to choose one of the faces on the wheel.

On the inner ring inside the golden wheel, there were two colors – red and blue – each occupied their respective halves of the wheel. Numerous scales and numbers were etched on the red half-circle wheel and the blue half-circle wheel. Each of these half-circle wheels had two different colored pointers that were pointing at zero.

The largest value on top of the red half-circle wheel with ‘Available vitality points’ written on it was 4678.

The largest value on top of the blue half-circle wheel with ‘Available intelligence points’ written on it was 4145.

In between these two wheels, there was another wheel that was gray in color. ‘Own innate ability’ was written on it, and it also had a few pointers on it. Unfortunately, the gray wheel was currently immovable and unusable. There was nothing on top as there was no list of options to choose from.

Inside the gray wheel was a large, round ball whose diameter was several feet long. Just like a crystal, the ball was transparent and it could be moved too. There were words inscribed on the ball that said ‘Able to activate the seal of life’. There were various slideways and calibrations above the ball. Moreover, the shadow of a dog faintly flashed inside the ball.

“I activated your first seal of life and chose a dog for you. Take it as a gift from me. You can give it a try!” Fu Guang’s voice appeared right beside Yan Liqiang’s ears.

Hearing Fu Guang’s voice, Yan Liqiang was unable to contain his excitement and began to operate the wheels.

First, Yan Liqiang turned the pointer on the outermost ring of the golden wheel to a Shatu person with a repulsive face. After that, he moved the red and blue half-circle wheels, allowing the pointers of each half-circle wheel to point at 100.

That gray wheel was currently unusable, and there was no option to choose anything. So he just skipped that directly.

Next, he began to move each of the slideways and gears around the large crystal ball in the middle.

The dog’s shadow continued to change inside the crystal ball as Yan Liqiang proceeded to move the slideways and gears. The shadow of the dog shifted to a male dog with khaki color fur. The size of the dog was similar to that of a normal dog. He then selected the age of the dog as two years old.

After he was done, Yan Liqiang thought for a moment and looked at the pointers on the two red and blue half-circle wheels. He felt that he had gone a bit overboard, so he turned each of those pointers back to 50 again.

Because of the Heavenly Stone’s standard of evaluation, the intelligence and vitality points of a normal person were estimated to be at the average value of 100. These two types of energies were the core life forces taken by the souls of those people inside the Heavenly Stone that he had killed. The value of these points would then be used to determine the intellectual and physical abilities of the new life form.

He had killed 47 people in total, yet the values of those two life forces that were confined and absorbed by the Heavenly Stone were less than 5000 respectively, which was still lower than the Heavenly Stone’s average standard. Yan Liqiang felt that the dog could be very powerful for having half the value of a normal person, which would be 50 for each category. However, he also feared that something bad might happen if he were to truly allow a dog to become this demonic.

“Now, when you go back to the real world to activate the Heavenly Stone’s ability, it will only take five minutes for you to see what the dog you created looks like!”

“I wanted to go to the Heavenly Realm to check things out first. Let’s talk about it when I return. I won’t have a peace of mind until I see it...”

“Alright then. You should already have knowledge of everything you need to know here. My mission is done anyway. Goodbye, young man. I look forward to your splendid performance, and I hope that we will be able to see each other again one day...” As soon as Fu Guang was done talking, his entire body began to disappear right in front of Yan Liqiang like air bubbles.

Yan Liqiang was stunned. He looked at the empty Heavenly Shrine for a while before heading toward the gates of the Heavenly Realm in the end. His entire silhouette was enveloped in that white light in an instant...

Chapter 165: Back To The Divine Sword Sect Again

Yan Liqiang opened his eyes and noticed that he was still sitting cross-legged on his bed. The bed curtain and the atmosphere inside the room were silently telling him something – this was the no.67 courtyard of the Divine Sword Sect at Tianqiao Peak, which was also his own residence.

There were no lights inside the room except for the moonlight pouring in from the window, which clearly indicated that it was late at night right now. There were insect sounds coming from the courtyard outside of the window, making it seem extremely secluded.

Nothing had really changed inside the room. Yan Liqiang took a cursory glance at the clock. The time was exactly quarter to three o’clock in the morning.

If he remembered correctly, this was the exact time that he had entered the Heavenly Stone earlier. It seemed like Fu Guang was right. The time here had indeed stopped after he had left, just like a save file in a game.

Yan Liqiang closed his eyes and looked into his sea of consciousness only to realize that there was a door in the deepest parts of his sea of consciousness as well. However, this door was round instead of rhombus-shaped, and that was the same shape he had seen at the Heavenly Shrine.

Yan Liqiang then got out of his bed and went in front of the bronze mirror inside the room. He observed his appearance in the mirror and massaged his face for a while, revealing a smile before pushing the door open and proceeding to the corridor outside his room.

No.67 courtyard was a small detached courtyard in Tianqiao Peak. It had two floors – Yan Liqiang lived alone upstairs, and Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng lived downstairs. There was also a single balcony near the corridor just outside of Yan Liqiang’s room. The bright moon was akin to a wheel tonight. Yan Liqiang walked toward the balcony and gazed at the 36 gallant mountain peaks in the area within a thousand miles under the moonlight. Everything in front of him felt too otherworldly and picturesque.

He hadn’t thought about it before, that this world was actually a Heavenly Realm created by the Heavenly Stone. In a sense, this Heavenly Realm could be considered a parallel world based on Yan Liqiang’s understanding of it.

“Let’s check the date here. Today should be the seventh day of the fourth lunar month in the 17th year of the Yuanping reign in the Great Han Empire...” Yan Liqiang muttered to himself. He couldn’t help but feel somewhat excited.

If the time in the Heavenly Realm and the time in the real world was the same, then Yan Liqiang wouldn’t have become this excited. The difference of date between the Heavenly Realm and the real world was the reason why Yan Liqiang was so worked up in the first place.

The date in the Heavenly Realm for today was already the seventh day of the fourth lunar month in the 17th year of the Yuanping reign in the Great Han Empire.

Meanwhile, the date in his real world where he had progressed into a Martial Warrior was the twenty-seventh night of the eleventh lunar month in the 12th year of the Yuanping reign in the Great Han Empire.

The time difference between the two worlds was four years, four months, and eleven days.

When he was in another world, it was impossible for the time in the other world to freeze forever. Therefore, there was a flexibility present on the basis of the time difference between the two worlds.

With the seven day difference, which was also the time difference between the Heavenly Realm and the real world, an addition or subtraction of seven days could be set before or after the four years, four months, and eleven days. Essentially, the range of the time difference between two worlds could span from the smallest difference of four years, four months, and four days to the largest time difference of four years, four months, and eighteen days. Should the difference exceed the range, or Yan Liqiang be killed within the Heavenly Realm, then the Heavenly Realm would collapse altogether.

If he had known earlier, he could have reaped a long-term benefit from that. In the past four years, the things that had never happened in his real world had actually happened in this world.

In those few years, the Great Han Empire’s northern territory began to sink into turmoil again as the troops of the Great Han Empire went into a battle with the Chaman people once more. Meanwhile, at the western side where Yan Liqiang’s hometown was, the relationship between the Great Han Empire and the people from the Dark Ram tribe was beginning to grow tense at the borderline between the Gan and Feng Provinces. Friction would sometimes occur as well. Four or five vassal states outside the Great Han Empire severed their ties with the Great Han Empire in succession and threw themselves into the arms of the New Crescent Dynasty. On the other hand, the evil White Lotus Society had started its revival inside the Great Han Empire. They planned on establishing something that was known as White Lotus Heaven. The southern side of the empire was worse than others...

These were the pieces of information that Yan Liqiang had known about beforehand. Initially, he wasn’t particularly concerned about the overall situations of the nation. He only understood them at most, but at that moment, the significance of the situations had changed after he watched these events all over again.

In that sense, based on Yan Liqiang’s understanding, the Heavenly Realm was a window four years into the future where everything had changed in the Great Han Empire. However, the value of this was quite immeasurable.

Other than giving Yan Liqiang, who was already a disciple of the Divine Sword Sect, an understanding of the future, the Heavenly Realm had other uses for him as well. It granted him a chance to learn advanced secret manuals and scriptures. As one of the major sects in the world, the great Divine Sword Sect had opened their doors to him completely at this moment. Some people would never be given this kind of opportunity no matter how much they dreamed about it.

If he treated the Heavenly Realm as a game, then the reward from this game would be more than plentiful.

So no matter what, he had to become stronger than before. He must live on in this world manifested by the Heavenly Realm.

Yan Liqiang was determined.

At this moment, the sky was still dark. Even so, Yan Liqiang was no longer sleepy. The balcony was spacious and secluded, so he decided to begin his morning regime on the balcony.

After he was done with his morning regime, Yan Liqiang enthusiastically worked out his entire body and slowly did two rounds of punches. Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng, who were living below him, were more or less awake. They walked out of their room and went to the courtyard outside to begin their morning practice.

“Ha, Leader, you are early today...” Gu Zexuan greeted Yan Liqiang with a smile when he lifted his head and spotted Yan Liqiang on the balcony. In these two months since he had arrived at Tianqiao Peak, the two people addressed Yan Liqiang as ‘Leader’, and quite smoothly at that.

“I also got up not too long ago. I was working out my body just now!” Yan Liqiang smiled.

“Why don’t we practice together? I haven’t seen your skills yet...”

“Alright...” Yan Liqiang did not refuse his request. As soon as he said that, he quickly jumped down from the second-floor balcony by flipping over like an agile ape in the air and flexibly landed at the courtyard below, standing on the ground steadily and firmly.

Just that action alone shocked Gu Zexuan. Zhao Huipeng was also staring at Yan Liqiang with wide eyes. The second-floor balcony wasn’t that high and was just about four or five meters above the ground. Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng could also jump down without getting hurt like him. However, both of them wouldn’t be able to do it so easily and nimbly like Yan Liqiang.

Based on the standard of Yan Liqiang’s performance, which was leaping down from the second floor, the disparity between him and the other two was already quite evident. One could tell the difference in power just by glancing at his performance.

“Leader, have you... progressed into a Martial Warrior?” Gu Zexuan exclaimed in shock.

“Mm, I just did a few days ago. I have only begun to stabilize during the past two days...” Yan Liqiang said in a modest tone. Yan Liqiang did not tell anyone after he had progressed into a Martial Warrior, fearing that he would only attract attention to himself. Yet at this moment, Yan Liqiang did not have any reasons to hide his power anymore.

“Leader, you are too awesome!” Zhao Huipeng looked at Yan Liqiang with a gaze full of worship.

“Let’s talk no further, come...” Yan Liqiang then pulled up his posture by raising his hands.

Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng exchanged glances before they vigorously shook their heads simultaneously like rattle drums.

...

After they finished their morning practice, the three of them went to the dining hall at Tianqiao Hall and had a sumptuous breakfast. When they were done, it was already morning. Yan Liqiang then brought Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng to the warehouse to take inventory of the items for delivery. It was already afternoon when they finished their work. Yan Liqiang’s morning duties were all done by then.

“Leader, the selling price of the earth vinegar has been rising for the past two days. I used the method that you told me about and found a few shillabers to continuously stockpile and sell a few small bottles each day. It’s pretty useful. A bottle of earth vinegar can now be sold for two taels of silver. The supply always falls short of demand too. According to this trend, we can sell the batch of earth vinegar that we have collaborated about with Huo Bin in another ten days. We must earn a huge sum from this sale. I have been slightly worried about those guys for the past few days. I will go and check our stock today and remind them to not create ambitions of their own...” After locking the door to the warehouse, Gu Zexuan whispered close to Yan Liqiang’s ears and gave him a wink.

“Mm, go on then...” Yan Liqiang smiled, “This price is going to reach its peak soon. We will quit while we are ahead. If you see Huo Bin, tell him that we can have his batch out for reservation. The earlier the earth vinegar is booked, the cheaper the price will be. At a later date, the reservation price will become more expensive. The reservations must be fully paid, of course. Once this news gets out, you should act according to what I have said. The early birds will be given some discounts, while the latecomers will get smaller discounts. We can get our money back in advance without waiting for another ten days. As for the stock, they will be delivered ten days later...”

Gu Zexuan was already greatly impressed with Yan Liqiang’s business management. When he realized that Yan Liqiang had already solved this problem with just a few words, he quickly rubbed his hands together in excitement and said, “This is it, we’re going to make a fortune...”

“We are only just earning a bit of pocket money...” Yan Liqiang laughed, “Remember to leave some earth vinegar behind. Tianqiao Peak needs some of it too...”

“No problem, of course I understand this!”

“I won’t be of any help in this. Then I will go practice martial arts now...” Zhao Huipeng said as he scratched his head.

Zhao Huipeng’s location for practicing his martial arts every day was still at the usual vegetable garden. He practiced his martial arts while he guarded the remaining earth vinegar left by Yan Liqiang and the others, and that was quite reassuring.

“Go, go...”

When Yan Liqiang saw the two leave Tianqiao Hall, he stowed away the keys to the warehouse before he headed toward the courtyard at Tianqiao Hall.

When he arrived at the courtyard, he saw an already old Attendant Huang and reported the deliveries made in the morning to him in a formal manner. After that, he inquired Attendant Huang for further instructions.

Ever since Yan Liqiang came to Tianqiao Hall, he had always been very courteous to the aging Attendant Huang without giving him a slight tone of arrogance. Likewise, Attendant Huang was naturally satisfied with a young man who knew how to respect his seniors. The look he gave to Yan Liqiang had become increasingly gentle as well.

“Mm, I have nothing more for you to do. I am assured knowing that you are the one handling things...”

“The stock of crude iron in the warehouse has about thirty thousand jin left which won’t be used up even in a week. There’s no need to put the crude iron from the afternoon batch into the warehouse anymore. As such, I have already informed the relevant parties...”

“Mm, good!” Attendant Huang drank his tea and nodded in satisfaction.

“Then Liqiang will withdraw for now!”

“Alright. Take some more time to cultivate. These are just chores. Cultivation is the right path, so don’t delay that any further...” Attendant Huang emotionally remarked.

“There’s one more thing I need to trouble Attendant Huang with. I would like an audience with Hall Master Su. Also, I would like Attendant Huang to inform me when Hall Master Su is free!”

“Why do you want to see Hall Master Su?” Attendant Huang was shocked.

“I have already progressed into a Martial Warrior, which is why I want to request an audience with Hall Master Su so that he can issue a slip to allow me to pick a secret manual for cultivation at the Hall of Scriptures...” Yan Liqiang said, somewhat embarrassed.

Chapter 166: Issuing The Slip

The Divine Sword Sect followed a strict hierarchy. It was unlikely for a lowly servant like Yan Liqiang to meet the Hall Master of Tianqiao Hall as he pleased. For the past few months on Tianqiao Peak, Yan Liqiang normally had no chance of meeting Hall Master Su unless he summoned Yan Liqiang.

Above Yan Liqiang was Attendant Huang, and above Attendant Huang was another manager by the surname Qiu. Attendants and managers were allowed to directly meet the Hall Master. Despite having the status of a servant, external disciples like Yan Liqiang were still at the bottom and were inferior to the many official disciples on Tianqiao Peak. They were only a level higher than those external disciples that worked as menial laborers.

In the Divine Sword Sect, an external disciple would be entitled to select a secret technique or a battle technique in the Hall of Scriptures after progressing into a Martial Warrior with enough contributions to the sect.

Yan Liqiang had been in the Divine Sword Sect for almost half a year. If they were going to talk about contributions to the sect, then the hardship of cleaning the toilets for the past hundred days coupled with these two months of hard work would be sufficient enough to meet the requirement of the Divine Sword Sect’s Hall of Scriptures.

This was the great benefit of the Divine Sword Sect and the Heavenly Realm. Yan Liqiang certainly did not want to give up and he wanted to go even further in the Divine Sword Sect. If he wanted ‘Liu Guiyuan’ to eventually ‘notice’ him, then he’d have to show something a little different to him.

Attendant Huang was truly a benign and uncontentious man. Upon knowing Yan Liqiang had progressed into a Martial Warrior, he didn’t pull any tricks on him. He just asked Yan Liqiang to wait in his courtyard while he went off to find Hall Master Su. After he returned a few minutes later, he informed Yan Liqiang that Hall Master Su would be available before lunch time and that he could meet him at the Hundred Soldiers Tower.

Yan Liqiang expressed his gratitude and then left.

Before lunch time, Yan Liqiang waited for Hall Master Su at the Hundred Soldiers Tower of Tianqiao Hall half an hour in advance.

The Hundred Soldiers Tower was the building where Hall Master Su carried out his duties in Tianqiao Hall. Yan Liqiang normally didn’t have the rights to enter the tower. However, he had permission to enter today because Hall Master Su wished to see him. So he was currently waiting for him to appear in the main lounge on the first floor of the Hundred Soldiers Tower.

Various weapons tempered by Tianqiao Peak were displayed in the main lounge of the Hundred Soldiers Tower. They were dazzling sights to behold and each of them had distinctive features. Yan Liqiang wasn’t bored while waiting because he was studying these weapons. Compared to the weapons tempered by the Yan Clan, the qualities of these weapons displayed in the main lounge were far superior. The weapon with the highest standard from the Yan Clan was Yan Dechang’s Cloud Steel Sword which was made out of well-tempered steel. However, Cloud Steel Swords were regarded as the most common goods on Tianqiao Peak. Starting with the materials used to make them, the weapons tempered here were vastly different from those tempered by the Yan Clan.

After those half-finished materials were delivered and tempered with an unusual flame in the inner part of Tianqiao Peak, they became Tianqiao Peak’s exclusively-owned Pear Blossom Steel. The Pear Blossom Steel was far superior than the Hundred Tempered Steel in all aspects. In the subsequent processes, specific methods were used in steel casting, normalizing, annealing, quenching, and blade processing. The most impressive thing about Tianqiao Peak was that one or two amazing individuals there had mastered the unique art of integrating the core crystals of rare beasts into weapons during casting. This technique was known as Spirit Binding. This was the ultimate secret technique which blacksmiths could master in forging weapons. If Yan Liqiang were to describe this language from his previous world, any blacksmiths who could master this secret technique were considered national treasures.

Yan Liqiang had never seen any weapons that had spirits attached to them. Coincidentally, a sword with a spirit attached to it happened to be on display in the crystal cabinet of this main lounge. The sword was about five feet long and four fingers wide. It was far more domineering than any ordinary longsword. The entire blade glowed with a radiant purple. Yan Liqiang leaned closer to examine it more carefully. If he stared hard enough, he could vaguely make out the silhouette of a moving purple serpent in the glowing blade.

When Yan Liqiang was staring at it carefully, the purple serpent in the glowing blade seemed to have sensed him. In his daze, the blade’s glow intensified for a moment and Yan Liqiang saw the purple serpent snarl at him with its mouth wide open, revealing its sharp fangs before it plunged toward him.

Yan Liqiang was so shocked that he took a few steps back...

At the same moment, a loud angry voice thundered outside.

“Tell those people in the Four Seas Courtyard that this is our daily production of Pear Blossom Steel on Tianqiao Peak! This is the number of weapons we can forge and there are no surpluses! The remaining stock from before has been completely removed by Elder Lu! Every time they open their mouths, they will ask for twenty thousand Pear Blossom Steel weapons! How dare they ask for that goddamn much! Do they really think these Pear Blossom Steel weapons are bok choys that grow out from the soil or the eggs their chickens lay at home for them to be asking that for that many? I’m not a magician!”

“The Four Seas Courtyard said that the tension between the north and the Chaman people has intensified and that we have an unusual relationship with the Long Clan from the north. The Long Clan’s Storm Army is currently under great pressure. Han Jing is being ridiculous and the support given to the Storm Army in the past two years has been diminishing. The Four Seas Courtyard still has quite a number of businesses under the Long Clan’s care so they can’t possibly let them down. This time, the Long Clan has requested to equip a few elite camps to deal with the Chaman people’s Agitated Crow Army, so they have no choice but to ask the Divine Sword Sect for a favor...” Compared to the previous voice, this voice was much softer.

“Don’t find me for this kind of thing, ask the Four Seas Courtyard to find the Baogong Courtyard.” The angry voice from just now softened a little, but it was still loud. “We at Tianqiao Hall will follow the Baogong Courtyard’s instructions. If Elder Tu from the Baogong Courtyard gives his approval and also readjusts our other production assignments to prioritize this batch of goods, then the disciples of Tianqiao Hall will deliver the Pear Blossom Steel weapons to the Storm Army even if we have to work overtime without sleep. However, in this case, we can’t do anything even if God appeared...”

At this point in the conversation, both people had already arrived outside the main lounge.

Among the two people who had walked in, one of them was Hall Master Su who smelled like smoke. He was a bald, bearded man whose his chest was exposed, and that made him seem like he had just come out from the tempering grounds deep in Tianqiao Peak. The other one was a tall and slender man in his forties. He had a pair of sharp and narrow eyes and was dressed in purple robes. He was Manager Qiu Yi of Tianqiao Hall, the superior of Yan Liqiang’s superior.

“Greetings, Hall Master Su, Manager Qiu!” Upon their arrival, Yan Liqiang respectfully stood there and bowed to both of them.

Manager Qiu’s gaze fell on Yan Liqiang before frowning slightly. “What are you doing here?”

Yan Liqiang could hear something else in Manager Qiu’s tone, but he didn’t bat an eyelid. “Reporting to Manager Qiu, I have requested for an audience with Hall Master Su...”

“Alright.” Hall Master Su came in and then turned to Manager Qiu. “Just reply to the Four Seas Courtyard like this.”

“Understood!” Manager Qiu threw a glance at Yan Liqiang again before he turned around to leave without saying anything else.

“I heard from Old Huang that you have already progressed into a Martial Warrior?” Hall Master Su looked at Yan Liqiang.

“Yes!”

“Not bad, not bad. It’s indeed not easy to progress into Martial Warrior at your age!” Hall Master Su looked extremely happy. For Yan Liqiang to be able to progress into a Martial Warrior so soon meant that he had an eye for selecting people.

“I’m just fortunate, that’s all!” Yan Liqiang replied humbly.

“Hm, it’s nearly been half a year since you served at Tianqiao Peak. I heard from Attendant Huang that you’re responsible for overseeing the materials coming in and out from the warehouse over these few months and you didn’t make any careless mistakes. Not only that, you even sorted out the account books from before to follow a standard. These contributions are enough for you to learn an introductory secret technique. I shall issue you a slip. You may visit the Hall of Scriptures in the afternoon to pick a cultivation technique.”

It seemed like the big boss was a lot easier to deal with than the lackeys. Hall Master Su had given Yan Liqiang the greenlight after saying only two or three words, and he didn’t even deliberately make things difficult or unpleasant for him.

“Thank you, Hall Master Su!”

“Haha. We have quite a lot of skilled blacksmiths at Tianqiao Hall, but not many have the aptitude for cultivation. As a result, our Tianqiao Hall has never managed to receive any rankings in the Sect Tournament of Divine Sword Sect which is held at the end of every year, and we often end up at the bottom. Train well and strive for it this year. If not, then next year! Help Tianqiao Hall redeem our reputation back during the martial arts competition between the external disciples of Martial Warrior rank. I have faith in you!”

“Understood. I, Yan Liqiang, will definitely try my best!”

“Good. Take this!” While speaking, Hall Master Su had already finished writing a slip on the table and put a seal on it before he handed it to Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang accepted it and carefully stashed it away. After expressing his gratitude again, he bid his farewell and left.

As soon as he exited the Hundred Soldiers Tower, Yan Liqiang once again saw Manager Qiu’s gloomy face.

Manager Qiu seemed to be waiting for him outside the Hundred Soldiers Tower.

“Greetings, Manager Qiu!”

“You are still quite new at Tianqiao Hall, so perhaps you still aren’t clear about some of the rules. Hall Master Su has many daily affairs to deal with, so he doesn’t have much time for trivial matters. Therefore, you can just look for me should you need anything. Do not bother Hall Master Su unnecessarily!” Manager Qiu lectured Yan Liqiang with a straight face before he finally asked, “What business did you have with Hall Master Su just now?”

“I have just progressed into a Martial Warrior, so I wished to get Hall Master Su to issue me a slip to allow me to visit the Hidden Manual Hall...” Yan Liqiang replied calmly.

Manager Qiu’s expression changed slightly when he heard Yan Liqiang claim that he had already progressed into a Martial Warrior. “Did the Hall Master issue it to you?”

“Yes, he did!”

“Alright, go then. Train well from now on, and do not let the Hall Master down.” Manager Qiu gave him a few words out of formality and then waved his hand emotionlessly.

“Understood!” Yan Liqiang bowed to Manager Qiu before he left.

Even when Yan Liqiang had walked far enough, he could still feel Manager Qiu’s eyes on his back.

Attendant Huang was very old in age and he had progressed into a Supreme Martial Warrior through the use of medicinal pill in the end. Thus, his prospect in the Divine Sword Sect came to a halt right there. On contrary, Manager Qiu’s position was a lot higher than Attendant Huang’s when he was still in the prime of his youth. For someone insignificant like Yan Liqiang to suddenly get promoted by Hall Master Su, he understood that both of them would perceive him differently in their eyes.

Attendant Huang was a good man who was conscientious and didn’t want to offend him. From the looks of things, the probability of Yan Liqiang progressing into a Supreme Martial Warrior in the future was guaranteed. Hence, his prospects were greater than Attendant Huang’s. However, that didn’t necessarily mean that Manager Qiu would want to see him fare too well...

The situation before his eyes was no different than what many people would encounter in their careers back in his previous world.

Yan Liqiang thought to himself in his heart, but didn’t turn his head around. He was still set on descending the mountain and making his way to the Hidden Manual Hall of the Divine Sword Sect.

This was an opportunity for him to claim his first reward in the Heavenly Realm. Yan Liqiang would still go even if there were a hundred Manager Qius trying to stop him.

To Yan Liqiang, Manager Qiu was nothing more than an NPC [1]...

Chapter 167: Selecting A Secret Manual

The Divine Sword Sect’s Hall of Scriptures was located on Tianji Peak, which was named after the 36 Heavenly Spirits among the Stars of Destiny. This was an important place in the Divine Sword Sect, and hence it was heavily guarded. This was the first time Yan Liqiang had ever visited this place.

By afternoon, when the sun was hanging high above his head, Yan Liqiang was already standing at the foot of Tianji Peak.

There was a checkpoint at the foot of the mountain. An attendant from the Hall of Scriptures was assigned to stand guard here with a few servant disciples. After Yan Liqiang showed his waist tag and the slip Hall Master Su had issued to him, he was personally led up the mountain by an inner disciple dressed in black with a solemn face.

“Tianji Peak is an important place in the sect. Follow me closely and do not wander around. A wrong step may just cost you your life!” The servant disciple emotionlessly told Yan Liqiang this on the way.

“Understood. Thank you, Senior Martial Brother!”

The disciple dressed in black robes nodded, then led Yan Liqiang up the mountain.

The difference between Tianji Peak and the other 35 peaks was that there weren’t any plants on Tianji Peak. The entire mountain was barren as far as the eyes could see and everything in sight looked very plain. There was only one path up the mountain and it was straight and steep. The entire path was open along the edge of the cliff and the steep slopes. The four-foot wide road was divided into two, one for going upward and the other going downward. It kind of reminded Yan Liqiang of the precipitous mountain path on Mount Hua which he had visited in his previous life.

After walking along the mountain path for more than twenty minutes and passing two more checkpoints, the servant in black brought Yan Liqiang to the Hall of Scriptures’ compound outside. After another round of inspections, he passed Yan Liqiang to another servant outside that later led Yan Liqiang inside the Hall of Scriptures. After taking a few turns left and right, they arrived at a small courtyard. In that small courtyard was a magnificent, nine-story pavilion. In the middle of the pavilion was a signboard with three huge golden characters inscribed vertically on it –’Hall of Scriptures’.

Disciples dressed in robes of various colors went in and out of the Hall of Scriptures. Every disciple of the Divine Sword Sect that entered this place was accompanied by an attendant disciple from the Hall of Scriptures. With someone following them around, most people rarely conversed here. Therefore, the atmosphere was silent and solemn.

There was a window high above the ground at the Hall of Scriptures’ entrance, like those in a pawnshop. As soon as Yan Liqiang entered the hall, he handed over his identity tag and the slip issued by Hall Master Su inside the window. After another inspection and verification, a key was issued from inside the window. The servant disciple who brought him here accepted the key, then led him further inside.

After turning into a corridor and taking another two turns, the servant from the Hall of Scriptures finally brought Yan Liqiang into a room.

It was a room about the size of two thousand square meters. Rows of bookshelves lined the room, and the secret manuals sat on those shelves.

Despite Yan Liqiang’s composure, even he had to gulp a mouthful of saliva at the sight of this scene as he took in the amazement which shook him to his core. He was feeling more intense than how Granny Liu felt when she visited the Grand View Garden for the first time [1] by tenfolds. Pingxi Prefecture was already remote to begin with, so things like secret manuals were very hard to come by. Therefore, Yan Liqiang never expected such valuable and secret martial arts manuals to appear before him like this.

“Wow, that’s a lot of secret manuals!” Yan Liqiang sighed in amazement with an exaggerated and half-sincere tone. He looked at the servant who brought him into the Hall of Scriptures. “Excuse me Senior Martial Brother, can I just pick any secret manual that is in here?”

The servant in black who brought him in smiled haughtily. “This collection of secret manuals has been built up for over a thousand years in the Divine Sword Sect through the painstaking efforts of countless seniors and founders in the sect. This is also one of the reasons behind the Divine Sword Sect’s recognition as one of the four major sects in the world. You may pick any one of the secret manuals here, Junior Martial Brother. But since Junior Martial Brother has just progressed into a Martial Warrior recently, I would advise you to not be dazzled by these secret manuals. It is of utmost importance to pick one practical secret internal cultivation manual. Take it slow and steady. You probably will still have another opportunity to come in here again to choose another one in the future!”

“Thank you for the advice, Senior Martial Brother.”

“Well, take note that some secret manuals here are incomplete. They will be indicated on the iron casings of those secret manuals. If you pick one of those incomplete secret manuals, you won’t be able to cultivate the technique to its highest realm as stated in the manual. However, those incomplete secret manuals which are still be stored here are top secret manuals. However, one shouldn’t underestimate them even if it is impossible to cultivate them to the highest realm because one can still master the remaining contents. They are stored here because the missing sections are the later parts!”

“Alright, I will take note of it!”

“You will be given fifteen minutes to make your selection. I will wait for you here. Bring the iron casing over after you have made your selection. If you are unable to make your selection within fifteen minutes, it will be treated as you have forfeited your opportunity this time.”

“Understood!”

After chatting with the servant at the entrance for a while, Yan Liqiang walked into the midst of those bookshelves and started browsing.

Every bookshelf in this room was made out of iron. All the secret manuals were put in heavy and sturdy iron casings. They were arranged on the bookshelves and locked. Without a key, they couldn’t be opened.

On the label of each iron casing were the secret manual’s name, level, and whether the secret manual had missing pages or not.

Although there weren’t many people in the Hall of Scriptures, Yan Liqiang felt uneasy the moment he walked into the middle of those bookshelves. An indistinct aura filled the Hall of Scriptures and the aura kept making Yan Liqiang feel as though he was being watched so he didn’t dare to mess around.

Shrouded by this aura, Yan Liqiang could only act like the other disciples while he skimmed over the bookshelves.

Yan Liqiang took a rough look and noticed that although these secret manuals were stored in the Divine Sword Sect, many of them were not Divine Sword Sect’s exclusives. The Divine Sword Sect’s primary focus was on sword technique cultivation. However, there were all kinds of secret manuals here – an entire collection which encompassed all eighteen classes of martial arts, including swords, sabers, fists, and leg techniques. He could tell that many of them were not even the Divine Sword Sect’s as they were of totally different styles: for example, ‘Yang Clan’s Seven Deadly Fists’, ‘Five Tigers Breaking the Gate Saber’, ‘Peng Clan’s Spear Technique’, ‘Tan Clan’s Shadowless Kick’, ‘Qushan Eighteen Canes’ and ‘Tang Clan’s Weapon Throwing Technique’. The moment he saw these secret manuals, he knew that they didn’t originally belong to the sect. There were probably some stories behind their appearances in the Divine Sword Sect’s Hall of Scriptures.

The servant was right. An individual who had just progressed into a Martial Warrior would be able to begin their internal cultivation. Therefore, secret manuals on internal cultivation were usually top priority for everyone who managed to get in here.

Naturally, Yan Liqiang was no exception. Although the secret manuals here were a dazzling lineup, he merely browsed through them as though he were flower viewing on horseback before he directly went over to the row of bookshelves with the internal cultivation labels.

The internal cultivation that the Divine Sword Sect disciples cultivated was for the sake of assisting the sword techniques they’d be cultivating in the future. The three most cultivated internal cultivations were the ‘Violet Mist Divine Technique’, the ‘Origin Returning Divine Technique’ and the ‘Primordial Unity Geng Metal Internal Cultivation Technique’. Among the people who joined the Divine Sword Sect, 99 percent of them cultivated one of these three internal cultivation techniques. But of course, as a disciple who had just joined the Divine Sword Sect, even if they cultivated these three secret techniques, they wouldn’t be able to completely understand them. The iron casings of these three techniques were labeled with two obvious words –’Beginner Level’. This implied that these three cultivation techniques’ secret manuals were only good for Martial Warriors and Supreme Martial Warriors to cultivate. After these two stages, if one wished to still continue cultivating these techniques, then they would have to make enough contributions to the sect. These beginner level secret manuals were followed by three other levels – intermediate level, advanced level and expert level.

There were about more than a hundred secret manuals on other types of internal cultivation.

Yan Liqiang only took a single glance at these three secret manuals before he walked away. He didn’t pick these three secret manuals which were widely cultivated by everyone in the Divine Sword Sect. Instead, he spotted a very dusty iron casing chucked in a barely noticeable corner on the internal cultivation bookshelf. On that iron casing were two lines of text –

The first line of text read –’Ten Dragons Ten Elephants Divine Technique’.

The second line of the text read –’Critically missing pages. Highest realm limited to Supreme Martial Warrior only. Please consider carefully!’

After spotting this secret manual, Yan Liqiang pretended to pace around that row of bookshelves for a long while. After pondering and being indecisive for the longest time among those secret manuals, he clenched his teeth, picked up the iron casing which contained the ‘Ten Dragons Ten Elephants Divine Technique’, and left the bookshelf when his time limit of fifteen minutes had almost expired.

“Junior Martial Brother, although this is a high level secret manual which has been passed down for over a few thousand years, it is incomplete. After progressing into Supreme Martial Warrior, there won’t be any more content to cultivate in this secret manual. Seniors in the Divine Sword Sect who have cultivated this secret manual in the past had no choice but to switch their cultivation to another secret manual after they progressed into Supreme Martial Warriors. Are you sure about it?”

“I am sure. I have a feeling that this secret manual is different from the others, so I would like to give it a try!”

“Alright. You will be given three days to memorize the contents of this secret manual. If you can’t memorize it all today, then you may come again tomorrow. You are only allowed to memorize the contents of this secret manual in your mind. You are prohibited from making a written copy, telling anyone else about it without permission, or deliberately damaging the secret manual. Otherwise, you will be severely punished according to the laws of the sect. I am sure you know well of the consequences!”

“I understand!”

Upon hearing Yan Liqiang’s response, the servant disciple immediately led Yan Liqiang to a lonely room of less than three square meters in size. He unlocked the fastening mechanism on the iron casing of the secret manual with the key in his hand and then left the room.

Shutting the door behind him, Yan Liqiang was left alone in that small room. He opened the iron casing and took out the secret manual.

From the looks of it, this ‘Ten Dragons Ten Elephants Divine Technique’ was obviously a copy and not the original copy. Nearly every secret manual in the Hall of Scriptures was a copy. Their original copies were hidden in a more secret location by the sect, inaccessible to ordinary disciples.

Out of the entire Divine Sword Sect, aside from those of the Sect Guardian lineage, most people didn’t know that the original copy of this ‘Ten Dragons Ten Elephants Divine Technique’ was complete and that the complete version of this secret manual was only passed down the Sect Guardian’s lineage.

The internal cultivation cultivated by the Sect Guardians of Divine Sword Sect was this ‘Ten Dragons Ten Elephants Divine Technique’, which was deemed to be incomplete by most people...

This was a first-rate secret manual which could reach up to twenty layers of realms...

Chapter 168: Game and Toy Capsule Machine

This time, Yan Liqiang stayed a day in the Heavenly Realm. During the daytime, after he memorized the so-called incomplete version of the ‘Ten Dragons Ten Elephants Divine Technique’ in the Hall of Scriptures, he returned to his small courtyard at night. When he sat in a lotus position on his bed, he once again entered the Heavenly Shrine.

Fu Guang was nowhere in sight. There wasn’t anyone in the entire Heavenly Shrine except for the Heavenly Stone and that celestial globe-like object which controlled it.

Yan Liqiang only took a glance at everything in the Heavenly Shrine before he strode to that unidentifiable object, and pulled its lever down with a click. An amber light instantly shot out from the Heavenly Stone at the side and manifested into the silhouette of a dog. It revolved around the Heavenly Stone two times and then shrank into an amber bead about the size of a ping-pong ball before it passed through that rhombus-shaped entrance and vanished in the blink of an eye.

At the same time, the dog’s silhouette within the crystal ball in the middle of that object disappeared. The ‘Available spirit points’ became 46, while the ‘Available vitality points’ and ‘Available intelligence points’ were also reduced by 50.

Yan Liqiang was stunned for a good moment upon seeing this for the very first time. At first, he thought something earth-shattering would happen. Unexpectedly, everything was this simple.

“Damn, this is just like a capsule toy machine...!” Yan Liqiang muttered to himself while he looked at the object that he couldn’t identify. He then went through the rhombus-shaped entrance and returned to reality.

He found himself still upstairs in the small courtyard in Wuyang Village. It was still snowing heavily outside and the cold wind was howling. It was pitch-black in the room. Yan Liqiang’s current state remained the same as when he had just progressed into a Martial Warrior.

The time in reality seemed to be frozen ever since Yan Liqiang entered the Heavenly Realm. It seemed like only a total of two minutes had passed and these two minutes represented the time when Yan Liqiang had his mind and attention focused on entering the rhombus-shaped door. Everything in the Heavenly Realm was really like a game. To Yan Liqiang, the feeling of leaving the Heavenly Realm was akin to saving a game before quitting in his previous life.

The difference between this and a game was that he left the Heavenly Realm with a copy of the ‘Ten Dragons Ten Elephants Divine Technique’ secret manual in his mind. At the same time, Yan Liqiang also felt like he had an additional object in his grasp.

He opened his palm. Upon taking a closer look in the dark room, he discovered an amber sphere about the size of a ping-pong ball on his palm. Inside that sphere was the silhouette of a dog solidified in it – this was from that ‘capsule toy machine’.

If he were to show this to other people, ninety-nine out of a hundred people would think that it was a strange amber. That was because the feel, texture, and color of this object were really too similar to an amber.

After carefully examining the sphere for a while, Yan Liqiang placed it in front of his eyes and stared at it with rapt attention for a moment. When he saw the solidified silhouette of the dog start moving in the sphere, he instantly tossed the sphere on the ground.

The sphere glowed red for a moment before the red light dissipated and a powerful-looking huge yellow dog appeared in the room. Everything was just like magic, leaving Yan Liqiang stunned.

The newly-born dog briefly looked around the room. After looking lost for a short moment, it wagged its tail and circled around Yan Liqiang in excitement. When Yan Liqiang stretched his hand out, the dog came over and started licking his palm happily. For a brief moment there, Yan Liqiang felt a fascinating spiritual connection forming between him and the dog. He had a hunch that this dog would be able to understand his words.

“Sit...!” Yan Liqiang pointed to the ground before his bed.

As soon as the dog heard Yan Liqiang’s order, it obediently sat on the floor and remained on the spot.

“Stand...!” The dog got up again.

“Turn clockwise seven times and anticlockwise five times!”

The huge yellow dog instantly turned clockwise seven times and then anticlockwise five times. Not only could it differentiate between directions, but it also knew how to count.

Yan Liqiang had dogs in his previous life, but those dogs he kept were nothing compared to this one before him. This dog was too interesting.

“If I don’t feed you, will you be able to find your own food?” Yan Liqiang asked the dog.

“Woof, woof...!” The dog barked softly twice and even nodded.

“Can you open the door?” Yan Liqiang pointed at his bedroom door.

The dog glanced at the door and actually nodded.

“Show me then...”

Upon hearing Yan Liqiang’s command, the dog wagged its tail and ran to the door. It stood up, planted two of its front paws on the door, then bit on the door’s wooden latch and pulled it. It released the latch before it gently pulled the door with its claws. The cold wind immediately flooded in as soon as the closed door was opened, suddenly dropping the room temperature by a few degrees.

“Can you close the door?”

With the wind blowing in from outside the door, the difficulty of closing the door suddenly increased significantly. But the dog went around behind the door and then pressed its head against the door, taking one step at a time to shut the door again. It then lifted its two front paws from the ground, pressed them against the door, and bit on the wooden latch. After several attempts, it managed to reinsert the latch back on the door to shut it.

Yan Liqiang laughed heartily. He got up from his bed, went to the wardrobe in his room and found a clean blanket. He then walked near the entrance and properly laid the blanket on the floor right beside the pillar which was behind the door. “Let me give you a name, I shall call you Goldie from now on! You will sleep here tonight!”

When the yellow dog heard Yan Liqiang, he immediately came over and curled up his body on the blanket.

Yan Liqiang smiled and patted the dog on its head before he went back to his bed to sleep.

...

Over the next few days, Yan Liqiang stopped paying attention to other affairs and was no longer bothered by the ups and downs in Pingxi City. He spent every day living a carefree and fulfilling life in the small courtyard with his dog.

During the daytime, he either walked his dog on the mountain to hunt for hares or cultivated Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing in his room to stabilize his Martial Warrior realm as soon as he could. By night time, when he slept, he would again enter the Heavenly Realm to start working hard in the Divine Sword Sect.

With this, an ordinary person’s one day was about Yan Liqiang’s two days spent in both reality and the Heavenly Realm.

In the beginning, Yan Liqiang was slightly unused to it. But after a few days, he became accustomed to it and immediately treated the Heavenly Realm as a fun game that could be started before his bedtime. As for that Heavenly Stone, it was impossible for him to wrap his head around it regardless of how awesome Fu Guang made it sound like, or just how incredible it really was. For someone like him, he simply treated the Heavenly Stone as any ‘capsule toy machine’ with special prizes in it – except that the condition to activate it was harsher for this one.

Yan Liqiang spent about eight or nine days like this. When his Martial Warrior realm had slowly stabilized and he was about to start cultivating the ‘Ten Dragons Ten Elephants Divine Technique’, two unexpected visitors suddenly arrived at the small courtyard he was renting in Wuyang Village...

Chapter 169: Patrol Inspector

The snow on the road had yet to completely melt. The mountain road was particularly difficult to walk on because it was very slippery. Most of the time, one wouldn’t even know if there was a rock, a pit, or a thorn underneath the blanket of snow. The sharp rock edges could easily scratch one’s feet and throw people off-balance. If it was a pit, it was very easy to sprain one’s foot while the thorns on the road would most likely pierce the soles of one’s feet...

Goldie was bouncing happily in front of Yan Liqiang, leaving a trail of paw prints on the snowy path. Yan Liqiang was behind Goldie and he had a hare in his hand while he easily made his way through the snowy path too.

Over these few days, his Martial Warrior realm had slowly stabilized and his newly established dantian had also taken a complete form. The improvement in his physical attributes brought a totally different experience and feeling to Yan Liqiang’s Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps technique attained at the sixth layer. Every step he took on the snow was light but steady. Although couldn’t see the condition of the road beneath the snow, he imagined everything beneath the snow consisted of wooden stakes which were difficult to land on. Every contact Yan Liqiang’s feet made with the ground was akin to how a dragonfly touched the surface of water – light and fleeting. Regardless of what was underneath the snow, the moment Yan Liqiang’s feet made contact, he leveraged himself and bounced up. The craggy mountain road which was difficult to walk on became a place for Yan Liqiang to train his body technique and footwork. He was gaining something while relaxing.

When he returned to the village from the mountain, Yan Liqiang spotted Shi Dafeng and a constable dressed in his official attire standing at the entrance of his small courtyard, seemingly waiting for his return. Yan Liqiang’s heart immediately thumped when he saw a constable at his door, and the fact that he had also come with Shi Dafeng.

“Woof, woof!!” Goldie barked twice. Shi Dafeng and that constable turned their heads and finally noticed Yan Liqiang who had just come down from the mountain path.

“Liqiang, here, here!” Shi Dafeng, who was dressed in a leather coat, waved at Yan Liqiang and his face broke into a smile.

Yan Liqiang gave him a smile too and walked over to them as he remained calm and collected. “Brother Shi, why are you here?”

“Looking for you, of course. Luckily, I heard you mention about living here before so I asked the villagers around here. They told me that you’ve still been around over the past few days and even descended the mountain to buy some steamed buns in the morning. If I couldn’t find you here today, I would have had to send someone to Qinghe County to search for you...” Shi Dafeng said, then glanced at the huge yellow dog beside Yan Liqiang. “You’re even keeping a dog?”

“Yes, I found it a few days ago on the mountain and it followed me home!”

Shi Dafeng was going to reach his hand out to pat Goldie on its head. However, as soon as he reached out, the initially lovable Goldie instantly bared its teeth and fiercely glared at him. Shi Dafeng forced two laughs and hurriedly retracted his hand. “Seems like you and this dog are brought together by fate...”

“So this is Young Master Yan Liqiang?” The bailiff spoke up.

Yan Liqiang nodded to the bailiff. “Yes, I am. Sir, you are here for...?”

“Well, Patrol Inspector Sun would like to meet you!” The constable gave him a smile and spoke to him politely. “If Young Master Yan is available, please take a trip with me to the city so I that can make a report!”

Yan Liqiang glanced at Shi Dafeng who then winked back at him.

“Alright, please wait for a moment. Let me put my things away and go with you!”

Yan Liqiang opened the door to his courtyard and let Goldie inside. He then tossed the hare he hunted into the yard before he locked the door up again.

“Is it safe to leave the dog and rabbit together? Won’t the yard be in a chaotic state by the time you return...?”

“No worries, this dog is docile. Let us be off...”

“This way please!” The constable was relieved when he saw Yan Liqiang’s efficiency.

By the time they descended the mountain, a horse carriage was already waiting for them by the roadside. The constable directly went to grab a seat beside the coachman, leaving the carriage for Yan Liqiang and Shi Dafeng.

Yan Liqiang and Shi Dafeng climbed into the carriage. When the coachman shook the reins, the horse carriage started moving.

“Brother Shi, what is going on?” Yan Liqiang immediately pointed towards the front of the carriage and asked Shi Dafeng.

Shi Dafeng nodded, then deliberately spoke at a normal volume. “You’ve really been enjoying an easy life over these few days, walking a dog and hunting hares. Did you know hell has already broken loose in Pingxi City?”

“If I didn’t come here, there’s nothing I can do if I stayed in the city either. We just happened to run into the incident that night by coincidence. As for the verdict, it will all be up to the Law Enforcement Office and the Prefectural Governor. We can’t do anything to help and we’ve already told them what we could. Now, we just have to make sure that we do not create more trouble for others...”

“Have you already been informed about the Wang Clan?”

“The Wang Clan from Huanglong County?”

“Of course, if not, what else? No one is talking about King Cobra now. The Wang Clan in Huanglong County was seized due to the incident that night. A few hundred of their clan members, regardless of their gender and ages, were all captured and taken into custody on a prisoner carriage to Pingxi City. You weren’t there to witness their pathetic states...”

“I heard about it. But this has nothing to do with us. It’s a huge incident, and the Prefectural Governor and Law Enforcement Office will not falsely accuse them...” Yan Liqiang spoke with a sense of righteousness. He then slightly lowered his voice, “Oh right, what’s up with that Patrol Inspector Sun? How come I’ve never heard of such a person?”

“Patrol Inspector Sun is an imperial envoy sent from the Imperial Capital to patrol the provinces. He unexpectedly caught wind of the incident in Pingxi Prefecture when he had just arrived at Gan Province not long ago, so he purposely took a trip to Pingxi City in order to further understand the situation. Lord Sun wishes to meet us after he heard that it was the three of us who discovered the incident that night. I heard that Shen Teng hasn’t in Pingxi City lately because he had gone home, so they sent people to summon him back here. I recalled that you mentioned that you lived here, so I brought that constable here to look for you...”

“Oh, I see!” Yan Liqiang scratched his head awkwardly. “I wonder how high is the Patrol Inspector’s ranking...?”

“The Patrol Inspector ranks higher than the officials. I heard that even the Provincial Governor has to be respectful around him. So how high do you think his ranking is?”

Yan Liqiang had an idea now, but he didn’t expect that the incident in Pingxi City would actually attract the Patrol Inspector who was patrolling Gan Province here. Everything in Pingxi City was totally different than ‘last time’. The ripples of the butterfly effect had grown larger.

When the horse carriage entered Pingxi City, Yan Liqiang instantly thought Pingxi City was much cleaner. The number of soldiers and bailiffs patrolling the streets didn’t diminish – it instead increased while the thugs had all vanished without a trace. Pingxi City seemed to have put quite a lot of effort into welcoming the Patrol Inspector.

The horse carriage wasn’t going to the Law Enforcement Office. Instead, it went to a manor near the Plums Gardens and the Lake of Longevity.

The compounds of the manor were guarded by soldiers. Officials and horse carriages who were waiting for their audience with Patrol Inspector Sun were already forming a long queue on the road outside.

Aside from Pingxi Prefecture, officials from the few surrounding prefectures also made it here.

The constable brought Yan Liqiang and Shi Dafeng to the compound of the manor, then handed them over to a low-ranking officer dressed in his official uniform. The low-ranking officer led both of them from the manor’s side entrance and to the side hall inside the manor.

“Wait here and don’t go anywhere. If you need anything, let the servants know. By meal time, someone will deliver your meals and drinks here. When you are summoned by Lord Sun, someone will bring you there!”

After giving a brief explanation to Yan Liqiang and Shi Dafeng, the low-ranking officer left. He left two servant girls behind in the courtyard to standby for their orders.

Both of them waited the entire morning as though they were waiting to have an audience with the prime minister.

By noon, the maids who were left in the courtyard served a few dishes to both of them. After eating their lunch, both of them continued waiting in the courtyard.

By afternoon, Shen Teng was escorted here by someone else, and the three of them were once again reunited.

Shi Dafeng smiled when he saw Shen Teng again and winked at him. “Long time no see, Brother Shen. You’re really dressed up. Could it be that you’ve been meeting some fair maidens from another clan back at home for an arranged marriage over these two days?”

Shen Teng, who was handsomely dressed as though he were a young lord from some aristocratic clan, instantly went red and retorted, “Lord Sun is an imperial envoy from the Imperial Capital. If we are going to meet Lord Sun, then we mustn’t be sloppy and should be dressed appropriately as an act of respect!”

“If Brother Shen is so confident of your own conviction, then why are you blushing?” Shi Dafeng continued teasing Shen Teng as usual.

“Who’s blushing?”

“Liqiang has the best vision. Go ask him, who is blushing?!”

“Alright, stop teasing Brother Shen, Brother Shi. Brother Shen is right, I was going to dress more appropriately, but it couldn’t be helped since I was in a rush!”

Shen Teng started laughing. “Liqiang’s the best!”

“Oh right, I wonder if both of you know who exactly Lord Sun is?” Shen Teng leaned in and whispered to both Yan Liqiang and Shi Dafeng when he saw that there was no one else in the room.

“Does Brother Shen know?” Yan Liqiang asked with a smile.

“I don’t really know in detail either, but I heard that Lord Sun is quite a figure. Back in the day, when he was a Prefectural Governor, his reputation spread far and wide because of an incident...”

“What happened...?”

“Lord Sun killed every single Shatu envoy who passed by his territory when they were on their way to present a tribute at the Imperial Capital...”

“What?!”

When Shen Teng told Yan Liqiang and Shi Dafeng the information he had heard about the Patrol Inspector, both of them were stunned. They didn’t expect that someone this crazy actually existed in this world.

...

Shen Teng’s arrival didn’t push forward the time Lord Sun was going to have an audience with three of them even in the slightest.

The three of them waited for the entire afternoon again. By evening after dinner, they were still waiting. Someone finally came to the small courtyard where the three of them were when the sky turned dark and informed them that Lord Sun had summoned them. The three of them then left the courtyard with that person to pay their respects to Lord Sun...

Chapter 170: Question

Sun Bingchen. Male. Age unknown. Estimated to be above sixty years old!

Background: A commoner at birth who became an officer. Forty years later, he was promoted from a county magistrate to a patrol inspector of the empire. His reputation was renowned.

Famous history: During the 37th year of the Qianwu reign, Sun Bingchen was appointed as the prefectural governor of Danyang Prefecture of Lai Province. In the sixth lunar month of the same year, a group of about a hundred Shatu envoys arrogantly and unbridledly passed through Dayang Prefecture with a permit in their possession. On the 11th day of the sixth lunar month, the Shatu envoys entered Danyang City. On the 12th day of the sixth lunar month, there was a wedding in Danyang Prefecture. The bride’s escorts ran into those Shatu envoys who were leaving the city just outside of Danyang City. The Shatu people were laughing and fooling around – they obstructed the escorts, injured the groom and the other escorts, and pulled the bride out from her sedan. They then pulled off her veil and humiliated her through verbal and physical gestures. After the Shatu people left, the bride couldn’t bear the humiliation and committed suicide. The bride and groom’s families entered the city to appeal for justice while beating on a drum, taking the misconduct of those Shatu people to the court. As soon as Sun Bingchen received the news, he immediately brought six hundred armed cavalries on the very same night to chase after those Shatu envoys. After chasing about two hundred li in the night, they finally intercepted those Shatu envoys and managed to take them directly back to Danyang City after a battle.

The arrest of the Shatu envoys shook the world. Clowns and corrupted officials suddenly jumped out to criticize Sun Bingchen for intercepting the foreign envoys. They pointed out that such an act could potentially cause a war to break out between the empire and the Shatu people as it was a serious offense – ‘How could a mere prefectural governor like you dare to act as you please and cause a border war between the two nations? Release them at once!’ Quite a number of sanctimonious b*tches also made their appearances and tried to defend the Shatu people by explaining that the Shatu people had wild and bizarre cultures which differed from the empire, so intercepting a bride’s sedan and her escorts could be a part of the Shatu people’s customs and traditions, or perhaps they were just curious. There was no need to make a fuss, but instead, they believed that they should conduct themselves in an exemplary way and respect the Shatu people’s social customs. The death of the bride was suicide and it was irrelevant to the Shatu people. Therefore, fining them with a few taels of silver would suffice.

In the face of such an overwhelming situation, Sun Bincheng only spoke a few lines. “The people are the nation, and the empire owns millions of ironclad armies. If we can’t even protect a young woman in her wedding dress, then what is the use of those millions of armies? The Shatu people are the ones who started this. If I waited and gave in, that would only encourage them to reach out for a yard after taking an inch and become more brazen. Only by preparing for war can one prevent the war!” To those sanctimonious b*tches, Sun Bingchen’s response was simpler and coarser: “As a prefectural governor of the empire, I shall honor only the laws and decrees of my empire, not the customs and traditions of other tribes. For those who said that we should respect the Shatu people’s bizarre customs, let me ask you a question: If one day, the Shatu people claim that it is their custom to f*ck your mother, will all of you offer your dear mothers to these Shatu people for the sake of conducting yourselves in exemplary ways and respecting their culture?”

On the 15th day of the sixth lunar month, just three days after the arrest of the Shatu envoys, Sun Bingchen held a public trial in Danyang City. The Shatu envoys were convicted of injuring civilians from the prefecture, the harassment of civilian women, putting up resistance during an arrest, and also killing and injuring the prefecture’s soldiers. They were all sentenced to be beheaded and their severed heads were later hung above the entrance of Danyang City.

On the same day Sun Bingchen executed the Shatu envoys, he took off his official hat, robes, and his prefectural governor’s official seal. Then he waited at home for the imperial envoys from the Imperial Capital to denounce him by an imperial decree.

The imperial envoys came a few days later, but were unable to enter Danyang City because all four entrances were completely obstructed by the several hundred thousand citizens in the city. Upon knowing that the imperial envoys had come, countless citizens in Danyang City spontaneously gathered at the city gates to seal off all the streets, refusing to let the imperial envoys through to carry out the imperial decree.

Naturally, the imperial envoys weren’t able to carry out his mission without meeting Sun Bingchen.

The countenance of the imperial envoys who had come to Danyang City instantly contorted when they were reviled by the several hundred thousand citizens of Danyang City as they were denied entry to the city. Not only that, but they couldn’t buy anything or find a place to stay even though they had money. When places outside Danyang City knew that the imperial envoys had come, all the inns, restaurants, and food stalls were closed for the day. After only staying half a day outside Danyang City, those hungry and exhausted imperial envoys understood that they had to retreat. If Sun Bingchen were to be punished at a time like this, it would immediately cause a mass uprising in Danyang Prefecture, and those who came to carry out this task would probably not make it out alive from Danyang City. In the end, the imperial envoys had no choice but to leave Danyang Prefecture and return to the Imperial Capital with their tails between their legs...

In the end, the Shatu people also tried to cause some trouble at the borders. However, it was futile, so this matter was left unsettled.

From this matter alone, Sun Bingchen earned his renowned reputation as a prefectural governor who was upright and selfless. In the following decades, any foreign envoys who wished to pay tribute at the Imperial Capital would take a detour because no one dared to enter Danyang Prefecture...

At the same time, Sun Bingchen slowly made his way up from being the Prefectural Governor to a Provincial Governor in the following decades through his efforts and contributions. He was later transferred to the Imperial Capital where he served as the Deputy Minister of Imperial Household, and also the Great Scholar of Longyuan Pavilion. This time, he left the Imperial Capital as an imperial envoy and a patrol inspector to patrol the six provinces at the northwestern part of the empire. The moment he arrived at Gan Province, he caught wind of the incident in Pingxi Prefecture, so he took the initiative to go there.

Yan Liqiang walked through courtyards and winding corridors behind the rest while his mind kept recalling the piece of information he had heard from Shen Teng about Lord Sun.

To be honest, Yan Liqiang secretly revered these types of people, and his heart was filled with curiosity because he was about to meet Lord Sun.

After taking two or three turns, Yan Liqiang and the rest were brought to a drawing room entrance in a secluded courtyard.

“Reporting to my Lord, I have brought the three youths from Pingxi City’s martial arts academy here!” The person who brought them to the drawing room outside bowed to the study room and made his announcement.

As soon as he finished speaking, a heroic-looking imperial bodyguard in his thirties came out from the study room. He was dressed in leather armor and had a longsword hanging on his waist. He swept his glance over Yan Liqiang and the other two before nodding. “Follow me!”

Yan Liqiang and the other two exchanged glances, then followed the imperial bodyguard inside the drawing room with Shen Teng walking in front, Shi Dafeng in the middle, and Yan Liqiang behind them.

There was a huge screen at the entrance of the drawing room. On the screen was a depiction of a garden. Peonies of beautiful purples and brilliant reds filled the garden...

Passing through the giant screen and arriving in the drawing room, Yan Liqiang saw a healthy-looking elder dressed in green embroidered official robes. He was sitting upright on the top seat in the drawing room in an imposing manner. He watched the three people come into the drawing room with a dignified expression on his face.

That elderly man’s gaze was gentle like water. However, as soon as Yan Liqiang’s gaze met his, he instantly felt as though his entire body had turned into a sponge which could be instantly seen through from head to toe.

Impressive!

This was the first time Yan Liqiang had ever encountered a person like this. He couldn’t help but feel excited.

“Greetings, Lord Sun!”

Following the instruction given to them by the officer outside, Yan Liqiang and the others respectfully greeted the elderly man as soon as they met him.

The gap between the statuses of both parties was poles apart.

“Have a seat, make yourselves comfortable!” The Patrol Inspector gestured to the three of them to take their seats on the chairs in the drawing room with a smile on his face.

It was impossible for them to make themselves comfortable. Even Shi Dafeng, who was always carefree, couldn’t help but feel quite nervous. Shen Teng was so stiff that his back was as straight as a javelin when he was seated.

Perhaps because Yan Liqiang held too many secrets in his heart, he seemed to be particularly cautious in front of the world-famous figure. He sat on his chair and lowered his gaze in silence. He avoided making any eye contact with the Patrol Inspector.

“The moment I arrived in Pingxi City, I heard people talking about the three of you. I heard that you were the ones who released a signal first. I also heard that you were the top three candidates in Qinghe’s Martial Arts County Trial Examination. How extraordinary! You are all indeed young and promising!” The Patrol Inspector stroked his beard as he spoke to them with a smile.

“You are giving us too much credit, Sir. We merely did what were suppose to do. It hasn’t been that long since we joined the martial arts academy. We still have much to learn from our tutors there, so we dare not be complacent with ourselves!” Shen Teng gave him an appropriate and flawless response. He definitely had the potential to become a spokesman.

Prior to coming here, Yan Liqiang and the rest had discussed and agreed among themselves that if the Patrol Inspector spoke to them, both Yan Liqiang and Shi Dafeng would remain silent and they would let Shen Teng carry on the conversation.

“Hm, right. Young people should have confidence, but they also need to be humble. Let me guess, you must be Shen Teng!”

Not expecting the Patrol Inspector to know his name, Shen Teng’s cheeks were instantly tinted with an unusual red. He immediately stood up and bowed to him once again. “Yes, Sir. I am Shen Teng!”

“And you must be Shi Dafeng...” The Patrol Inspector smiled and pointed at Shi Dafeng.

Shi Dafeng took a deep breath, then abruptly stood up. “Yes, Sir. I am Shi Dafeng!”

“Then you should be Yan Liqiang!” The Patrol Inspector’s gaze fell on Yan Liqiang once again.

“Yes, Sir. I am Yan Liqiang!” Yan Liqiang stood up with his gaze still lowered as he mimicked Shen Teng and respectfully bowed to the Patrol Inspector again.

“I’ve heard more than once from others about the incident which transpired that night. Since the three of you had first-hand experience, I would like to hear from you all about the story from that night...”

Upon hearing the Patrol Inspector’s question, Shen Teng cleared his throat and gave him a concise summary of the entire incident from that night. The Patrol Inspector listened while nodding slightly, and he seemed to be listening rather attentively.

“Oh, I see.” The Patrol Inspector’s gaze fell on Yan Liqiang again after he finished listening. “So that means that you were the first one to see through that Shatu man’s disguise?”

“Yes, I just happened to be lucky. The Shatu man’s face was still fresh in my mind so I was luckily able to discover something fishy going on!”

“Is that so? For you to be able to see through someone’s disguise after meeting him only once and even at night when it was dim, it seems like you really have a good memory!” The Patrol Inspector nodded with a smile, then pointed to the screen at the entrance. “I believe you saw the screen at the entrance when you came in. Let me give you a test – how many peonies, fish, bees, and birds are there on the screen?”

Shen Teng and Shi Dafeng were stunned when they heard the Patrol Inspector’s question. Their hearts began to race wildly.

Most people would just take a glance at the screen when they entered. No one could possibly remember all those splendid details on the screen.

The drawing room instantly grew so silent that one could hear a pin drop. Shen Teng and Shi Dafeng suddenly felt their mouths going dry as they oddly became nervous. Both of them tried their hardest to recall, but they only managed to remember some vague details. They couldn’t answer the Patrol Inspector’s question at all.

Everyone’s gaze in the drawing room was directed at Yan Liqiang face...

Chapter 171: An Offer

Yan Liqiang didn’t expect to run into this kind of question after being summoned by the Patrol Inspector.

At this point in time, Yan Liqiang wasn’t thinking about that screen at the entrance. He was thinking about the intention behind Sun Bingchen’s question.

It was very obvious that the Patrol Inspector wanted to personally verify if he indeed possessed highly retentive memory and vision as these were the key factors which enabled him to see through the Shatu man’s disguise that night.

If he truly had such capability, then everything which transpired during the incident that night would make sense and no one would be able to find any flaws with it. However, if the Patrol Inspector didn’t believe that he possessed such ability, then what would he think of the incident from that night? If Yan Liqiang were in the Patrol Inspector’s shoes, how would he think of it?

Without a doubt, if he were in the Patrol Inspector’s shoes and discovered that he didn’t possess such vision and ability, he would definitely suspect that he was trying to stir up trouble in Pingxi Prefecture under someone’s instigation or perhaps he had some other motives...

The asymmetric information made it impossible for Yan Liqiang to predict what the Patrol Inspector would think or what kind of judgment he would make if Yan Liqiang were unable to exhibit his expected abilities. But he knew one thing for sure – if he couldn’t answer this question, the Pingxi Prefectural Governor would most likely know everything that happened in this drawing room in just the blink of an eye.

In the eyes of someone like Sun Bingcheng, he was nothing but an insignificant individual. For someone his caliber, he wouldn’t bother with Yan Liqiang. However, if Ye Tiancheng felt everything he had done that night was set up by someone else, then things could turn ugly. Based on Yan Liqiang’s understanding of Ye Tiancheng, he was definitely someone who would kill a thousand innocent people rather than let one person get away. He’d definitely not let him off the hook that easily. This was exactly what Yan Liqiang needed to prevent at all costs right now.

Over these few days after the incident, Ye Tiancheng never summoned the three of them. One of the possibilities was that Ye Tiancheng was busy cleaning up the mess in Pingxi City while thinking about how to deal with the aftermath by making the Wang Clan serve as a scapegoat. The other possibility was that Ye Tiancheng was thinking of settling the score after the incident had died down. Judging from the patience of people like them, the second possibility was probably higher.

While Shen Teng and Shi Dafeng were still racking their brains over the scenery on the screen at the entrance, Yan Liqiang’s thoughts were racing before he finally understood what was going on. At that instant, cold sweat instantly broke out on his back.

F*ck, he thought he was only here to meet the Patrol Inspector out of courtesy. Little did he expect a question during their conversation to turn out to be this dangerous.

Watching Sun Bingcheng’s smiling face made Yan Liqiang feel as though he was being watched by a demonic old fox through its squinted eyes. As expected, none of these officers who managed to achieve this position was a simpleton. Many people’s fates were decided during the course of this chat. If he was indeed a tool used by someone else, he’d definitely have no choice but to reveal himself at this moment.

“What’s wrong? You can’t recall, Yan Liqiang? Hoho, nevermind about it if you can’t recall. It was merely a random question, you don’t need to feel bothered. It’s indeed not easy to remember so many details on the screen with just a glimpse when you came in!” The Patrol Inspector lightly dismissed it.

“It’s not that I can’t recall. I was just caught slightly off-guard because I didn’t expect such a strange question from you, Sir!” Yan Liqiang smiled. He had to answer the Patrol Inspector’s question at all costs. Otherwise, he might get Shen Teng and Shi Dafeng into trouble too and Yan Liqiang absolutely didn’t wish to see that.

“Oh...?” The Patrol Inspector’s interest toward Yan Liqiang seemed to be piqued. He looked at Yan Liqiang with anticipation while Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng looked at Yan Liqiang in amazement from the side, rather unconvinced that Yan Liqiang could really remember the content on that screen after a single glance.

Yan Liqiang shut his eyes, and the scene he saw upon his entry emerged in his mind like a photograph. Every little detail on the screen was present before him. This was all thanks to the terrifying photographic memory he possessed ever since he imprinted the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Manual in his mind. His memory was so highly retentive that he could store everything in his brain like photographs after taking a single glance at them. Yan Liqiang had heard of this type of memory in his previous life. However, he didn’t expect that he would actually possess such an ability in his current life.

After shutting his eyes for only a few seconds, Yan Liqiang opened his eyes again as his face broke into a calm smile. “On the screen at the entrance, there are a total of 137 peonies of different colors, though I am unsure if some should be counted as flowers or as buds. There are also seventeen goldfish of different sizes in the pond, thirteen bees, and seven birds on the painting!”

Shi Dafeng stared at Yan Liqiang. The dumbstruck expression on his face could be translated into a single sentence –’Liqiang, tell me you are only bluffing right now and making wild guesses.’

The Patrol Inspector was smiling. “I took a quick glance when I entered just now too. I recall that there aren’t that many peonies on the screen. The number of goldfish in the pond seems to be incorrect too as there are only fifteen of them, and there are only eleven bees. However, the number of birds sounds about right...”

“Some peonies on the screen are already in full bloom but some are still buds. 114 of them are already in full bloom while twenty-three are still budding. When I said there are a total of 137 peonies of different colors, it includes those which are still budding. There may seem to be only fifteen goldfish in the pond on the surface, but there are actually another two which are more well-hidden. They are hiding under a lotus leaf in the pond, showing only their two little tails. Therefore, the total number of goldfish is seventeen, not fifteen. The same goes for the bees too; it may seem like there’s only thirteen of them on the surface, but another two are hidden among the peonies. One only has its semi-transparent wings visible in the painting while the other bee’s antennae are visible among the petals...”

Upon hearing Yan Liqiang’s explanation, Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng’s jaws dropped to the extent that entire fists could fit inside their open mouths. Both of them simply couldn’t believe Yan Liqiang managed to actually remember every detail on the screen after taking only a glance at it when he entered this place with them together. Furthermore, the entrance was quite poorly lit because only two rather dim lanterns were hanging at the corners of the entrance.

“Someone, bring that screen here...!”

At the order of the Patrol Inspector, the attendant who led Yan Liqiang and the rest inside here just now immediately carried the screen into the drawing room, allowing everyone to take a closer look under the light.

“One, two, three...” Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng could no longer hold themselves back as they started counting.

Including the flower buds, the total number of different colored peonies on the screen was indeed 137.

When both of them realized that the number of peonies was exactly the same as the figure Yan Liqiang said, both of them looked at him differently now.

Next, both of them also noticed the two little goldfish tails under the lotus leaf at the bottom right corner of the screen.

“Ah, where are those two bees?” Shi Dafeng couldn’t help but ask a question when he still couldn’t find those two bees after searching for them everywhere.

“One of them is behind the fourth petal to the left of that biggest pale yellow peony on the upper left corner. There’s a pair of semi-transparent wings there. Since the color of the bee’s wings is very similar to the flower, you won’t spot them unless you look carefully. The other bee is in the middle of that red peony at the center. You can’t see its body except for the pair of antennae poking out among the petals. If you look carefully, you will notice that its antennae are the same as the other bees...”

“Oh, you’re right!” Shi Dafeng suddenly exclaimed after taking a closer look.

At this moment, Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng were both completely convinced by Yan Liqiang. If word about this got out, who would believe such a marvelous ability actually existed?

Patrol Inspector Sun Bingchen clapped his hands, then laughed heartily. He looked at Yan Liqiang with an impressed gaze as he exclaimed his admiration, “I didn’t expect to find someone like you in Gan Province’s Pingxi Prefecture. No wonder those criminals couldn’t pull the wool over your eyes. You are indeed a promising youth...!”

Even the attendant who had carried the screen in took a few serious glances at Yan Liqiang as a strange look flashed across his eyes.

“You are flattering me, Sir!”

“As a Patrol Inspector that has roamed everywhere to observe the condition of people and looked out for any treacheries, I still lack a quick-witted personal attendant. Would you be willing to work for the nation and agree to serve me by my side, Liqiang?”

As soon as Sun Bingchen’s question came out from his mouth, the drawing room grew silent again. Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng were shocked by Sun Bingchen’s words before they could even snap back to reality...

Chapter 172: Beneath The Surface

“We are talking about being Sun Bingchen’s personal attendant over here. He’s a patrol inspector and an imperial envoy sent by the Imperial Capital. Liqiang, why didn’t you agree straight away? This is a chance to make a giant leap. If it was me, I wouldn’t think twice about it and I would’ve agreed right away. With someone important by your side, you might be an attendant today, but tomorrow, you might ascend as a high ranking officer in a flash. A lot of people would be envious...”

Shi Dafeng was extremely excited as he sat inside the carriage on his way back. He continued to talk incoherently about what had just happened despite having left the manor just a few moments ago. Even so, Shi Dafeng was still immersed in the previous scenario. He felt that everything from before was crazy and dramatic.

“I didn’t turn his offer down. I just need to go back and think about it first. If I become Lord Sun’s personal attendant, I will probably have to follow him and leave Gan Province. I want to discuss this with my father and ask for his opinion in regards to such a big decision...” Yan Liqiang smiled. As for Sun Bingchen’s decision, he felt that it was a bit abrupt. Even so, he understood that this was an opportunity that only came once in a blue moon.

It was rare to come across such an opportunity like this in a lifetime. In a sense, Brother Huan from his previous life and Sun Bingchen, whom he had just met, were both Yan Liqiang’s benefactors. With such lucky stars to provide guidance and help, he could struggle less for a few years and walk toward the shortcut to success and the fast lane to life development. One would require luck and the ability to grasp an opportunity when meeting such benefactors.

“Mm, indeed. You should discuss with your father first. The martial arts academy, on the other hand, is a matter of a short sentence and nothing else. If this lord speaks on your behalf, you definitely will not encounter any problems in joining those major sects. This isn’t a future that can be compared to as a Martial Warrior from the martial arts academy that has just gone through a progression!” Shi Dafeng said as he turned to look at Shen Teng who was silently sitting inside the carriage, “Hey, Shen Teng, why aren’t you saying anything?”

Feeling complicated, Shen Teng forced a smile on his face. He had an unnatural expression as he said, “I am still thinking about Yan Liqiang’s ability to remember everything on that folding screen with just a glance. Lord Sun is certainly a person who recognizes talent. If Liqiang follows Lord Sun, he will definitely be able to realize his ambition. I will congratulate Liqiang here first...”

Yan Liqiang glanced at Shen Teng and didn’t know how to comfort him at this point. Shi Dafeng was being careless and didn’t understand Shen Teng’s current state of mind. Yan Liqiang, however, was able to sense some kind of frustration and loss coming from Shen Teng. Those feelings stemmed from being compared to others. Born from a large clan in Qinghe County, Shen Teng, who had strict education since he was young, once again faded into dullness in front of Sun Bingchen in comparison to Yan Liqiang. The feelings of loss and frustration were naturally inevitable.

Even when the trio were already friends, this matter had no bearings on their friendship whatsoever.

The carriage’s first stop was near the Three Yuan Street. Shi Dafeng was the first one alight the carriage. He bid his farewell to Yan Liqiang and Shen Teng as he was about to return to his residence. Shen Teng lived somewhere else, so the carriage continued to rumble on as it turned toward the other direction. After about ten minutes, the carriage finally came to a halt.

“Liqiang, if you are really going to stay by Lord Sun’s side, will we be able to see you again next time?” Shen Teng had already raised the carriage curtain and was prepared to leave the carriage.

“We will see each other whenever we want to!”

“Mm, if you decide to leave, then the three of us should have a drink together some other time...”

“Alright!”

Shen Teng raised the curtain and hopped off the carriage.

“Brother Shen...” Yan Liqiang abruptly opened the carriage’s curtain and called out to Shen Teng.

As he was heading toward the distance, Shen Teng, who was already sinking to the depths of darkness, suddenly stopped. He turned around and looked at Yan Liqiang.

The lantern that was hanging in front of the carriage was able to brighten up the surrounding area around it.

“Some flowers bloom in spring, some in summer, some in autumn, and when the flowers have wilted, the plum flowers will bloom during winter. Every flower has a different blooming period and their own splendidness. Some will bloom earlier while others will bloom later. Some will bloom as soon as it’s spring, and some will even persist through snow and frost. Due to these reasons, the world is a fascinating place. I like peach blossoms that bloom on the third month of the lunar year. What kind of flower does Brother Shen like?”

Just when Shen Teng was still in a daze, Yan Liqiang gave him a smile and waved his hand before he pulled down the curtain, allowing the driver to continue the journey in a slow manner.

As Shen Teng watched the carriage with the lantern slowly vanish to the distance, he stood dumbfoundedly on the streets and immersed his thoughts with the words that Yan Liqiang had said. Gradually, his eyes glowed with a bit of energy before a smile finally creased on his face. He then muttered to himself, “I like Chrysanthemums...” After that, he let out a deep sigh, straightened his back, and returned to his residence...

...

Regardless of whether the motivational speech Yan Liqiang had in his previous life was of any use to Shen Teng or not, Shen Teng could have easily let a lot of things go if he had just looked at them from another perspective. In any case, Yan Liqiang had already done his best. Shen Teng and Shi Dafeng were two out of his small set of friends. He didn’t want this rare friendship to change in a bad way.

The carriage continued through the west gate of Pingxi City until it arrived at Wuyang Village at the foot of the mountain. Yan Liqiang then proceeded to get off the carriage and bid farewell to the driver. After he bought half a jin of cooked pork legs from a restaurant at the roadside, he then returned to the small courtyard he was renting while carrying those pork legs.

As soon as he opened the courtyard gate, Goldie, who had been staying inside the area, let out its tongue and rushed toward Yan Liqiang while biting its tail. It then continued to happily circle around Yan Liqiang for several rounds.

Everything was normal inside the courtyard. Looking at how Goldie was behaving, Yan Liqiang knew that no one had come to the little courtyard after he had left. Everything was safe in here.

The rabbit that the two of them had caught in the morning was still holed up under the pile of firewood. It was behaving well despite trembling in fear. The rabbit wasn’t dead yet and it didn’t try to run away. Goldie had been keeping a good watch on it since its captivity.

“Alright, you still haven’t had dinner yet, I bought you pig feet today. Let go of that rabbit. I don’t want to torture it anymore. Just let it go...”

“Woof woof...” Goldie was indeed Goldie. Upon hearing Yan Liqiang’s words, it quickly charged toward the pile of firewood and drilled under that spot. Within a few seconds, the rabbit was driven out from the firewood pile by Goldie and it swiftly ran out of the courtyard toward the mountain path outside. There were shrubs and bushes just behind the courtyard. As long as the rabbit was able to run out of the courtyard, it should have returned to the mountains.

After Goldie chased the rabbit away, it ran down the corridor while wagging its tail and proceeded to carry its dish by itself, placing it in front of Yan Liqiang. He smiled and petted its head before pouring all those cooked pork legs into its dish. While Goldie was delightfully chowing down its food, Yan Liqiang had already locked up the gates to the courtyard and he went to the deck chair in the corridor to lie down. He closed his eyes and recounted the things that happened today. The more he thought of it, the more he felt that everything was a bit too sudden. All of that had immediately disrupted the calm rhythm of his quiet life.

The problem was whether he should ride on this person’s coattails or not!

Without knowing why, at this moment, Yan Liqiang suddenly thought of the night that he had ranked first place amongst top three where Yan Dechang had drunkenly said those things in his dreams. He didn’t understand what sort of twist there was behind these events.

...

“Leader, those three young men from the martial arts academy have left the Chu Manor...”

At the same time when Yan Liqiang had just returned to Wuyang Village, inside the study of the Prefectural Governor’s Office in Pingxi City, a cowering man was reporting to the Prefectural Governor Ye Tiancheng about the entire meeting between Yan Liqiang’s group and Sun Bingchen.

Naturally, nothing could ever evade the eyes of the Prefectural Governor Ye Tiancheng – not even the entire event that had happened inside Chu Manor in Pingxi City.

As he listened to how Yan Liqiang was able to remember how many peonies and fish were on the folding screen, Ye Tiancheng, who was practicing his calligraphy in the study, stopped his brush for a while before returning to his normal self. He then calmly said, “I didn’t think that there would be someone amongst the students in the martial arts academy to have such good memory. Indeed, he is a genius and a rare one at that. Seems like that young man called Yan Liqiang had indeed noticed the unusual activities of those Shatu people. This Sun Bingchen went ahead and did what I intended to do. What happened after that?”

“Sun Bingchen wants to recruit that young man Yan Liqiang as his attendant. He didn’t agree right away as he said he wanted to go home and discuss with his father first...”

“Seems like the news from the Imperial Capital is true. This Sun Bingchen really had no one else to use. He even wanted to recruit a young man with a superficial quirk as his attendant!” Ye Tiancheng laughed in disdain. A cold gleam flashed in his eyes as he continued, “He brought less than a hundred people with him to the patrol inspection in Gan Province this time, including those honor guards. Does he think that he can fight the Ye Clan with that small number of people? How presumptuous...”

“Should we...”

“Let him be. The Law Enforcement Office has already filed the incident involving the Wang Clan as an ironclad case with irrefutable evidence. Sun Bingchen will never be able to pull a trick on this case even if he has the great skill to do so. Just keep a close watch on him and his attendants and that will do!”

“Understood!”

Ye Tiancheng picked up his brush and continued to dip his brush in ink. Moments later, four impressive and big letters appeared on the paper at the desk. Those four words were – boundless sea and sky!

Looking at those words, Ye Tiancheng a satisfying smile curved up his face...

...

Chapter 173: Going Home

After Yan Liqiang completed his morning regime of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Internal and External Cultivation, he moved on to start his first cultivation of the ‘Ten Dragons Ten Elephants Divine Technique’.

For a practitioner, their dantian was like a special factory; only those who owned this factory would be able to become the factory’s owner, and only then would they be considered a Martial Warrior. The fundamental reason as to why the establishment of dantian was important was because it could enable the cultivation of both internal and external martial arts. One could only truly step into the realm of profoundness once his dantian was established. This was to prevent the failure in the last step of cultivation and avoid the tragic outcome of achieving nothing.

The ‘arts’ in ‘martial arts’ referred to internal cultivation; the true Qi cultivated through the physical body of a human being. It was also the purest form of energy in the world that could be taken advantage of by other people. It indeed was the source of energy that could be harnessed inside a human body.

Yan Liqiang followed the instructions in the secret manual and sat in a full lotus position inside his room. He then began his cultivation after he calmed his breath.

Truth be told, Yan Liqiang was full of anticipation and curiosity toward his first internal martial arts cultivation. Even so, he was a bit nervous as well.

The first step of cultivating internal martial arts was to concentrate on the dantian through his breathing and guidance, grasping the existence of the void inside.

Most people regarded the first step as the hardest part. When many people established their dantians, which involved the stage where they had to concentrate on their dantian, they would waste a lot of days before they could get on the right track and truly sense the existence of their dantian. In the beginning, Yan Liqiang felt that it wouldn’t be easy to pass the stage of concentrating on his dantian. However, he didn’t expect that just by following the secret manual’s instructions, his consciousness would travel smoothly from his forehead to his philtrum, then through his throat, chest, and all the way down like splitting a bamboo without any obstructions after a moment of controlled breathing. It felt just like a lead ball being thrown into a well – that ball would continue to sink deeper into the water until it finally landed on the bottom of the well a few moments later.

When Yan Liqiang’s consciousness first entered his dantian, which was also known as Qihai, he was able to sense a boundless void in it. A large, ancient bronze cauldron could be seen floating above this space. This cauldron wasn’t some kind of treasure but a Qi cauldron that would appear after an individual had successfully established their dantian, signifying the successful attempt in doing so. The ability to harmonize the dantian and the spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth was also part of the foundation of the cultivation.

Yan Liqiang had no idea what other people’s Qi cauldrons were like, but he felt that the Qi cauldron in the vast Qihai seemed to be enormous and extremely dense.

With the presence of the Qihai and the Qi cauldron, Yan Liqiang felt that this was just the first step toward his cultivation. The second step would be to possess Qi sensation and gain the ability to control Qi with one’s consciousness.

Similarly, Yan Liqiang also heard that the second step wasn’t easy to complete. However, in his case, he only had to follow the secret manual’s instructions. After a moment, he could sense a vaguely discernable Qi aura inside the boundless Qihai. Through his control of his consciousness, this Qi aura could freely move around his Qihai like a breeze or wind.

The third step of this cultivation was to pull the Qi into the cauldron and refine it.

Under Yan Liqiang’s guidance and control, the vague Qi aura immediately went into the cauldron. It was then followed by the second Qi aura, and the third, and the fourth...

After he successfully caught all nine Qi auras, Yan Liqiang then continued to activate the Qi cauldron as per the instruction from the secret manual. The entire Qi cauldron inside his dantian began to slowly glow in a blue light, as if it had been caught in a fire. In just a flash, the nine Qi auras that had been put into the cauldron began to combine as one, becoming a blue vital Qi. The vital Qi then escaped from the cauldron like a blue silk thread and began spinning around the Qi cauldron inside the dantian...

Yan Liqiang then opened his eyes after he managed to condense the vital Qi.

He gazed around his room and realized that it was already bright outside his window. The whole morning had passed and it was already afternoon.

Yan Liqiang had officially started his path of cultivation for the entire morning and was able to successfully condense his vital Qi inside his Dantian. As he moved his consciousness, the first vital Qi he had condensed quickly traveled through Yan Liqiang’s meridians like a mischievous and nimble small beetle. The sensation of the vital Qi moving throughout his body was as if he had been shocked by electricity. It was numbing and it felt quite unusual.

After experimenting a few times, Yan Liqiang’s thrilled expression was written all over his face. He touched his lower abdomen and said, “Didn’t the people at the Hall of Scriptures of the Sword Divine Sect say that the ‘Ten Dragons Ten Elephants Divine Technique’ was extremely difficult to cultivate? The disciples that choose to cultivate this technique usually take a week up to half a month to condense the first vital Qi of the ‘Ten Dragons Ten Elephants Divine Technique’. Why is it so easy for me? There was no obstacle whatsoever. Within an entire morning, I was able to condense my first vital Qi. Could this be the effect of the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing?”

Regardless of the reason, it would always be a good thing for cultivation to progress faster. Yan Liqiang decided not to struggle with this problem anymore as it was already late. He got out of bed with renewed vigor and after a brief preparation, he ordered Goldie to stay at the courtyard to guard his home while he went out of Wuyang Village. He went down the mountain and walked along the public road toward the docks of Pingxi City and bought a round-trip ticket to Qinghe County.

In the evening, Yan Liqiang was already standing at the town entrance of Liuhe Town.

“Ah, Liqiang is back from Pingxi City...”

“Liuhe Town’s first rank amongst the top three is back...”

When the townspeople saw Yan Liqiang back at in town, all of them greeted him with enthusiasm and smiles on their faces. As he passed by Butcher Liu’s meat stall, both father and son were smiling like rotten pears while bowing and scraping when they saw Yan Liqiang back in town.

Ever since he experienced the catastrophe of life and death last time, out of all the people in this town, he wished that Butcher Liu and his son would encounter misfortunes upon seeing their smiling faces. Most of the time they would not associate with each other very often. However, the uncles, aunts, and neighbors were deeply sympathetic toward the sufferings of the Liu Clan.

Yan Liqiang gave everyone smiles and nods as he warmly greeted them. After those past experiences, Yan Liqiang could now clearly see through the hearts of others. He understood what the fickleness of human nature meant. The expression he displayed on his exterior was calm and open-minded.

A bunch of kids even ran around and followed Yan Liqiang from behind as he walked back to the Yan Residence. “Brother Liqiang, can you teach us a few moves?”

“Alright, pay attention. Let’s start from the Horse Stance...” While the kids were watching, Yan Liqiang quickly demonstrated a standard action of squatting in a Horse Stance and he explained his own understanding of this move: “This is a basic skill. When you are able to squat for about four hours straight, I will teach you another move that’s more impressive. Each of you can compete for the top three in the future too...”

When the kids were satisfied, they decided not to bother Yan Liqiang anymore.

Before he could reach the gate to his home, Yan Liqiang saw a few chimney columns and a row of houses built from bricks and tiles with a brilliant sign that said ‘Yan Blades’ in front of him.

Compared to half a year ago, the scale of the Yan Clan’s blacksmith workshop had expanded to four times its original size. The Yan Clan bought the land that was originally located near the river, adding two more water hammers to their facilities. Yan Liqiang could also hear the clinking sounds in full swing coming from the workshop from afar.

Since many people lived in this area, the Yan Clan’s newly built courtyard was situated behind the blacksmith workshop. There were two gates in between the workshop and his house, and two smaller doors in the middle which connected the two areas. There was an alley situated in the middle as well.

When he approached the door to the blacksmith workshop, someone came out from inside. The first thing this person saw when he lifted up his head was Yan Liqiang.

“Ah, Young Master Yan...” Zhou Hongda, who was wearing a steward uniform, immediately expressed his surprise when he saw Yan Liqiang standing in front of him.

“Am I still able to make it for dinner at home?” Yan Liqiang rubbed his stomach as he flashed a smile at Zhou Hongda.

“Of course you can. I will go and arrange things for Young Master now...”

“Oh right, where’s my father?”

“He’s at the workshop. I will go call him...”

“No need. Please get on with your work, Steward Zhou. I will go inside by myself...”

Yan Liqiang smiled before he quickly went inside the blacksmith workshop.

Despite the cold weather, the blacksmith workshop was sweltering hot. Yan Dechang was wearing a short vest as he briefed a bunch of new recruits on how to use quench artifacts using oil...

“Father...” Yan Dechang only turned around when Liqiang called out. He was quite surprised to see his son again.

“Ah, Liqiang, why are you back?”

“Nothing, I just wanted to come home. Right, where’s Brother Tiezhu?”

Yan Dechang sighed, “Tiezhu went out to do something important. The weather has been cold for the past two days, so old people in particular have it hard during this time period. Because of that, his uncle-in-law passed away last night. When Tiezhu received the news early that morning, he and his daughter-in-law quickly went over to his uncle-in-law’s house to help out...”

...

Yan Liqiang’s return instantly enlivened the atmosphere in the Yan Residence’s courtyard. Mother Wu and a number of hired maids were busy preparing dinner for him inside the house.

Yan Liqiang specially asked someone to bring up a bottle of wine so that he and his father could have dinner and drink while they chatted. They continued their meal until the dead of night.

“I never thought that we could spend our days like this as father and son. During our most difficult times, I remember that you didn’t have any milk to drink, and I had to borrow some rice from Manager Xiong too. After working on the forge every day, I would make some rice gruel with a bit of salt for you. In just a blink of an eye, you’ve grown so much. Our days were spent in disruption...” Yan Dechang’s face was already red from drinking a bit of wine. He was slightly tipsy as he sighed.

“Oh right, Father, I came back this time because have something I want to discuss with you!” Yan Liqiang said as he put down his wine cup.

“What is it?”

“I met someone yesterday at Pingxi City...” Yan Liqiang proceeded to relay the story of how he met Sun Bingchen to Yan Dechang.

Upon listening to Yan Liqiang’s story, Yan Dechang seemed to have lost the tipsy feeling in his head in an instant. His eyes grew wider all of the sudden as he stared at Yan Liqiang. “Liqiang, you are not lying to me, are you? How does such an important officer like the Patrol Inspector still lack an attendant?”

“I am not lying to you, really. This is the reason why I rushed back home to discuss this with you...”

Yan Dechang’s expression quickly turned solemn...

Chapter 174: Preparations

After a moment of consideration, Yan Dechang asked Yan Liqiang a question. “Liqiang, you have always been assertive of your own opinions. Can you tell me what you think about this?”

“I feel that there are benefits in following Lord Sun at his side. I can see various aspects of the world and gain a bit more experience from it. Lord Sun might give some guidance in the future too. Of course, the road ahead will not be normal, but if I decide to follow Lord Sun, I fear that I will have to follow him when he leaves Gan Province. A wave of problems will follow his career path, so I have to bear those burdens as well...”

“You are right. Whatever kind of wealth and honor you want in this world, you have to bear the risks that come with it. Nothing is free after all!” Yan Dechang nodded his head.

“Then do you agree that I should go, or no?”

Yan Dechang laughed and glanced at Yan Liqiang with gentle, loving eyes, “Pingxi County is too small for you. As a man, it’s a good thing to get a chance to go out, see the world, train yourself, and try something. It seems like this Lord Sun has a good reputation based on how you described him. With you following someone like him, I will be at ease. I was a young man before, so I dreamed of wandering around the world too. And I know how young people think. That’s why you don’t have to set me up. Just do what you want with any scruples. You are still young so you still have a lot of time. Your father isn’t in his seventies yet and I can still take care of myself. Moreover, I have a bunch of disciples in Liuhe Town. Nothing will happen if you leave Gan Province. I support your decision to go. However, there’s still one thing I’m a bit worried about...”

“Father, what are you worried about?”

“Naturally, anything will be useful for those who follow Lord Sun by his side. You still haven’t progressed as a Martial Warrior yet, so will you be able to protect yourself should you encounter something?” Yan Dechang said as he gazed at Yan Liqiang with worried eyes.

When Yan Liqiang glanced around and saw no one outside, he took a deep breath and said, “Father, I have something to tell you...”

“What is it?”

“I have already progressed as a Martial Warrior!”

“What?” Yan Dechang suddenly stood up from his chair and looked at Yan Liqiang in shock.

Regardless, Yan Dechang had a hard time believing his son’s words. A few months ago, Yan Liqiang had just passed the Horse Stance stage, and within these few months of just arriving at the martial arts academy, he was able to progress to a Martial Warrior. How was this possible?

Yan Dechang looked at Yan Liqiang with wide eyes and noticed a perfectly determined expression on his face. There was absolutely no hint of him joking whatsoever. Yan Dechang opened his mouth to say something, but couldn’t. In the end, he slowly sat back down on his chair, still clearly startled by the news. As if he had thought of something all of the sudden, he asked Yan Liqiang in an urgent tone, “Liqiang, have you told anyone else of this news?”

“Father, you are the first person to know this. I haven’t even told other people yet!”

“That’s good. That’s good. Your progression rate is too terrifying. I have never heard of someone who could progress this fast like you before. Uncle Qian even said that you would always dream of a deity imparting things to you. For now, you shouldn’t let too many people know that you have progressed as a Martial Warrior to avoid getting into trouble...”

“I understand!”

Yan Dechang suddenly closed his eyes and finally opened them a few seconds later. He deliberately used a calm tone to speak with Yan Liqiang. “It’s been a few months after you left home and you still haven’t lit an incense for your mother. Come and do it today. In the meantime, you can tell your mother that you’ve progressed as a Martial Warrior and make her happy about it...”

“Alright!”

...

The incense hall was a newly constructed area inside the house. One wasn’t there before. Just two months ago when they were renovating the house, they built the incense hall at the same time. The Yan Clan’s memorial tablets were enshrined inside there.

Yan Liqiang and Yan Dechang then arrived at the incense hall. Yan Liqiang respectfully lit up three incense sticks and stuck them on the incense burner of the memorial tablets.

When Yan Liqiang was offering the incense sticks on the burner, Yan Dechang stood beside him and watched him with an expression that he would usually not display; it was as if he was sad and happy as Yan Liqiang finished the entire process. Yan Dechang had tried to say something, but he stopped himself several times. In the end, he didn’t manage to say anything and buried every one of his thoughts inside his heart.

...

Yan Liqiang did not sleep well that night. Even after he finished his nightly routine and cultivated a few rounds of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing before he went to bed, he kept rolling around as he laid on the bed, unable to fall asleep. Two scenes kept replaying inside his mind – the first one being the words Yan Dechang said when he first got drunk several months ago, and the second scenario where Yan Dechang shouted to him at his last moment of life and death.

––”Xuelian... did you see? Our son... ranked first amongst the top three.... I promised you before... to nurture Liqiang... waiting for the day for him to have the ability... to... avenge you... Then I...can finally put my mind at ease and join you.... Wait for me...”

––”RUN, LIQIANG! IF YOU CAN LEAVE THIS PLACE ALIVE TODAY, DON’T FORGET TO EXTERMINATE THE SHATU SEVEN TRIBES TO AVENGE YOUR MOTHER...!”

Yan Liqiang initially thought that Yan Dechang would tell him something when he came back this time. However, Yan Dechang still didn’t tell him anything. Even if he wanted to, he held back his tongue, sensing that it wasn’t the right time yet.

Yan Liqiang could only pretend that he didn’t know anything.

...

The next day, Yan Liqiang said his goodbyes to Yan Dechang as he was about to leave home. He brought the Horned Python Bow that he had previously stashed at home with him and headed toward Huanglong County.

Yan Liqiang went to the Weaponsmiths Quarter first and stayed there for half a day, telling Qian Su about the story where Sun Bingchen wanted to recruit him as his attendant.

Qian Su only uttered eight words of advice to Yan Liqiang regarding this matter: “This is a golden opportunity, don’t miss it!”

After that, Qian Su quickly took Yan Liqiang with him to pay another visit to the Lu Residence.

During these few days, the Lu Residence had been busy with the lotus root briquette that Yan Liqiang had mentioned to them. Based on what Qian Su said, the Lu Clan had already secretly initiated Yan Liqiang’s method in trial manufacturing a batch of lotus root briquettes. In the end, they were left with good results, which was beyond their expectations. Because of that, they were greatly encouraged to continue on. The Lu Clan was eager to take down the market in Pingxi City by preparing to join forces with several powerful partners.

The news of the substitution of the Prefectural Governor of Pingxi City had spread everywhere. For now, the Lu Clan was waiting for the new Prefectural Governor to appear before they could pay their utmost respects. They planned to roll up their sleeves again once they got through that phase.

Old Master Lu was quite surprised upon Yan Liqiang’s visit again. Nevertheless, he was happy to see him once more.

Ever since Lu Beixin returned last time, she became an entirely different person and she never once mentioned Wang Haofei again. Her attitude toward Old Master Lu and some of her family members had turned upside down as well.

Seeing how his precious daughter had finally come to an understanding about her family’s struggles, Old Master Lu was pleasantly surprised and happy. Of course, there were no words to describe how grateful he was toward Yan Liqiang.

It seemed like no one in the Lu Clan was unsatisfied with Yan Liqiang as the Lu Clan’s future ‘potential son-in-law’.

When Qian Su mentioned how Yan Liqiang was selected by Patrol Inspector Sun Bingchen to become his attendant, they were dumbfounded after they listened to his story...

Chapter 175: Marriage

The wonders of a person’s fate were indeed difficult to put into words. A few months ago when Yan Liqiang came to the Lu Clan, he was nothing but a penniless boy. However, in just half a year, Yan Liqiang won first place among top three in the Martial Arts County Trial of Qinghe County, became a sensation in his hometown, and joined the prefecture’s martial arts academy. He was then unexpectedly given an offer by Sun Bingchen who had come to patrol Pingxi City. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Yan Liqiang was a swallow which had flown onto a branch and had become a phoenix.

An influential clan like the Lu Clan would be able to comprehend the significance of Yan Liqiang serving Sun Bingchen by his side better than the commoners.

This was putting aside everything else except for the other influential clan in Huanglong County which had been eradicated by the Prefectural Governor – the Wang Clan, if the Wang Clan had someone like Yan Liqiang who could serve an important official like Sun Bingchen at his side, the Wang Clan wouldn’t have disintegrated without a trace in the blink of an eye.

The more powerful the clan was, the better they could understand such impressiveness.

“What are your thoughts, Liqiang? Are you ready to serve Lord Sun by his side?”

When Yan Liqiang finished telling Qian Su about Sun Bingchen, Old Master Lu and Lu Peien exchanged looks. Both of them could see the surprise in each other’s gazes. It was only after Old Master muttered to himself for a moment did he then softly ask Yan Liqiang his question.

“The purpose of my trip home this time was to discuss this matter with my father. My father seems to be supportive of me working by Lord Sun’s side. Besides, I also wish to follow Lord Sun around to gain more experience, hone my capabilities, and broaden my horizons too!” Yan Liqiang humbly replied.

Yan Liqiang’s answer could be considered partly true. It at least seemed convincing on the surface. However, the true factor which influenced Yan Liqiang’s decision to follow Sun Bingchen around was still the calamity that both he and his father experienced before. In the Prefectural Governor’s eyes, their lives were as insignificant as ants. With a flip of his hand, or even a wag of his finger, he could completely crush his clan.

How did Ye Tiancheng manage to do this? The answer could be summed up into two words – power and authority!

Yan Liqiang only truly understood the formidability of power and authority after he experienced and comprehended them through his pain and sufferings. Among everyone who lived in this world, aside from the exceptional experts and hermits hidden away in the forests, how many people could possibly escape the influence of power and authority? If one couldn’t escape from those forces, then wouldn’t it be better to embrace them? At least that would work more effectively than just dealing with them and coping by staying passive.

Aside from his sense of crisis, there was another reason which caused Yan Liqiang to make such a decision – since God had given him another chance to live in this world, then he should live a more exciting life and explore the world. Only by doing so would his opportunity in coming to this world not be in vain.

God had bestowed the Heavenly Stone on him and allowed him to grasp Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing. Was it all only for him to mind his own business here in this world? No! Yan Liqiang refused to believe that. He felt that there must always be a reason when God bestowed something upon you...

Even without Sun Bingchen, Yan Liqiang had planned to travel around and explore the world someday anyway. With Sun Bingchen’s offer, he might as well conveniently board the Patrol Inspector’s ship.

“This is indeed Liqiang’s opportunity and blessing. Naturally, the Lu Clan is happy for you and wishes you a brilliant future ahead!” Lu Peien smiled. He took a glance at the Old Master and understood the look that the Old Master was giving him. “If Liqiang will be working for Lord Sun, then you will probably have to leave with him too if he is leaving Pingxi Prefecture and Gan Province. In that case, it won’t be that easy for us to meet you again Liqiang. When I think about it, I really feel a little sad...”

Lu Peien let out a sad sigh at the end.

Yan Liqiang was smart enough to understand what Lu Peien was implying. The Lu Clan was basically saying that though they were supportive of his decision, they’d have to be clear on some things at a time like this. Whether things worked out or not, they needed a conclusion now. Otherwise, things would be troublesome or they would be delayed in the future. This was also the exact reason behind Yan Liqiang’s visit to the Lu Clan this time.

“I understand what you are trying to say, Sixth Brother. My visit to the Lu Clan this time is to also have a heart-to-heart talk with you and Old Master to convey what is on my mind!” Yan Liqiang looked at Old Master Lu and Lu Peien earnestly. “The Ninth Lady is from an eminent clan and is also the Old Master’s beloved daughter. She is a phenomenal beauty with exceptional personality. Although the time that I’ve spent with Ninth Lady is short, she has left a very good impression on me. I am aware of Old Master’s thoughts and is extremely grateful to him for looking upon me with such favor. It would be my greatest pleasure if I could tie the knot with the Ninth Lady. If she is willing, we can set the date for our wedding first before I leave Pingxi Prefecture. I will definitely treat her well in the future!”

What else could Old Master Lu and Lu Peien possibly complain about with such a great, potential son-in-law? Yan Liqiang had already said everything they wanted to say from the bottom of their hearts. Not only that, he had done it in a courteous manner.

Upon hearing that, Old Master Lu’s long eyebrows quivered. He straightened his back and immediately ordered Lu Peien with a solemn expression, “Peien, Liqiang has already made it clear. Go call Beixin over!”

Lu Peien instantly got up and left, leaving Yan Liqiang, Qian Su and Old Master Lu waiting in the living room sipping on their tea. Lu Peien returned ten minutes later, but without Lu Beixin.

He seemed like he was a little awkward and embarrassed, and he only explained the situation when he saw that Old Master Lu was about to blow his top off. “Umm, Ninth Sister... Ninth Sister said that she’s afraid that... Liqiang and her are not meant to be, so there’s no need for her to come here...”

Yan Liqiang chuckled when he thought about Lu Beixin. From his understanding of Lu Beixin, he was pretty sure that she wouldn’t say such eloquent words. Instead, the only thing she probably said was – ‘I rather die than marry him!’ Lu Peien had only ‘beautified’ the words to avoid further embarrassment, but he still had conveyed the exact same message.

How would Old Master Lu not understand the temper of his own beloved daughter? Even so, it wasn’t like he could force it on her. Even if he approved Yan Liqiang one hundred percent, it was useless if his beloved daughter wasn’t willing. If he were to really force Lu Beixin, he wasn’t sure what she would do again. After listening to Lu Peien’s words, Old Master Lu could only sigh as he told Yan Liqiang, “Beixin has been spoiled by me since she was young. This is her loss. If you don’t mind, please don’t call me Old Master Lu from now on. Just call me ‘Uncle’, Liqiang. If I can’t take you as my son-in-law, I will take you as my nephew. We are family from now on. ”

Yan Liqiang stood up and respectfully bowed to the Old Master as a junior, “Greetings, Uncle!”

...

By the time Yan Liqiang and Qian Su came out from Lu Residence, the sky was already dark and they had their dinner. Lu Beixin’s response was well within his expectations, and hence Yan Liqiang didn’t really feel any disappointment. Regardless, he still had to pay this visit. Otherwise, he’d be seen as an ungrateful person to the Lu Clan for immediately kicking them aside as soon as he had found a better position to be in. Such social conventions mustn’t be neglected.

Qian Su, who was riding on his rhinodrake steed, waited until they exited the Lu Residence. Then he asked Yan Liqiang in a soft voice, “Liqiang, you knew Lady Lu would reject you from the beginning?”

“Uncle Qian, Lady Lu is Old Master Lu’s beloved daughter. She must have her own opinion in regards to the most important event of her life. A few days ago when I brought her to Pingxi City, I kind of offended her. Although I have come with sincerity today, I’m afraid I am not the ideal significant other in her eyes...” Yan Liqiang shook his head.

“That’s really a pity!” Qian Su sighed too. “Everyone thinks you and Lady Lu are quite a good match for each other and will be a match made in heaven in a few years time. If you could win the Lu Clan’s support, you will definitely have it easy in Pingxi Prefecture in the future!”

“Well, this kind of thing can’t be forced.”

“You’re right. But if you follow Lord Sun around, countless opportunities will naturally come to you in the future. There’s no need to rush into anything!”

Just then, Yan Liqiang, who had already left the Lu Residence, sensed that someone was staring at him from behind. He turned around on his rhinodrake steed and saw that unbeknownst to him, a beautiful silhouette was standing on the defensive wall, watching his retreating figure.

Upon noticing that Yan Liqiang had turned his head around, the figure hurriedly left the defensive wall.

...

Yan Liqiang stayed a day in Huanglong County, then set out for Pingxi City the very next day. After he changed into a fresh set of clothes, he made his way to the manor near the Plum Gardens where Sun Bingchen lived once again and requested for an audience with him.

Chapter 176: Becoming An Attendant

There were still many people queuing up outside the Patrol Inspector’s manor. Each of them was holding their name card while they waited for their turn to have an audience with the Patrol Inspector.

The last time Yan Liqiang was here, this was what it looked like. Little did he expect that the situation outside of the manor still hadn’t changed in the slightest during his visit this time.

The people waiting outside the manor were well dressed as wealthy and respectable individuals. Such scenery had pretty much become a norm in Pingxi City.

Did the Patrol Inspector come to Pingxi City just to meet all sorts of people every day? Was he not going to explore the city to observe the condition of the people here?

Yan Liqiang secretly muttered to himself as he questioned the Patrol Inspector’s way of thinking.

Everyone in the queue was staring at Yan Liqiang in a strange way because Yan Liqiang’s presence here was simply too eye-catching – it was ridiculous to see a fourteen or fifteen years old youth requesting for an audience with the Patrol Inspector. Did this youth think that just anyone could meet the Patrol Inspector? Many people who had been waiting here for a few days still hadn’t gotten a chance to meet the Patrol Inspector yet. Just which clan was this youth from? He was being rather insensible.

Many people started sneering at Yan Liqiang.

After waiting for only a brief moment, a receiving attendant came out from the manor’s entrance and started scanning around.

At the sight of the attendant, several dozen people who were waiting outside instantly swarmed around him. Like goldfish in pond realizing that someone was feeding them, they flocked to the attendant with big rotten smiles on their faces before they all started talking at once.

“Is the Patrol Inspector going to meet me now?”

“I submitted my visitor name card yesterday, it must be my turn now!”

“Sir, please make an exception for me, I greatly admire Lord Sun...”

“Yan Liqiang, which one of you is Yan Liqiang?” The receiving attendant scanned around, then looked past the crowd as he shouted his question.

Yan Liqiang? Who is Yan Liqiang?

The people gathered at the entrance looked at each other in dismay as they searched for the said person among the crowd. To them, this name was simply unheard of.

When the crowd fell silent, a voice rang out from behind. “I am here!”

The crowd gathered in front instantly parted to create a path when they heard the voice. They saw Yan Liqiang calmly smooth out his clothes before he stepped forward from the back.

A smile instantly cracked across the previously stoic face of that receiving attendant. “Follow me! Lord Sun is very pleased to know that you’ve arrived and is expecting you!”

Everyone was flabbergasted as soon as they heard this. Just who was that youth who could keep the Patrol Inspector waiting for him?

Yan Liqiang only nodded before he went up the steps and entered the manor under the lead of the receiving attendant.

After Yan Liqiang entered the manor, discussions immediately broke out behind him. Officers and people from wealthy and influential clans had already beckoned forth their stewards and whispered to them their orders, allowing the servants to investigate the background of this youth named Yan Liqiang.

Finding himself inside the manor once again, Yan Liqiang discovered that Sun Bingchen wasn’t going to meet him in the same drawing room. Instead, it was in another reception pavilion in the garden which seemed to be a much more casual and private venue.

As soon as Yan Liqiang arrived at the reception pavilion, he spotted Sun Bingchen sitting on a chair as he looked at him with a smile. The Patrol Inspector’s overwhelming aura was less intense than the first time he had met him. Even so, he still felt as though Lord Sun could see through him whenever he glanced at him.

“Greetings, Lord Sun!”

Sun Bingchen smiled and gestured for Yan Liqiang to take a seat. “How did it go? You returned home for a few days. What was your father’s opinion?”

“My father back home is supportive of me in following you around to serve you, Sir!”

“What is your decision then?”

“There’s still something I don’t quite understand and wish to ask you directly, Sir!” Yan Liqiang spoke calmly.

“Don’t worry about it, go ahead and ask!”

“I don’t really have any outstanding abilities and I have only but meager strength. If Lord Sun wished to recruit a personal attendant, countless experts and powerful individuals would line up outside to wait for you to choose them as soon as the word got out. Why have you chosen me, Sir?”

Sun Bingchen laughed and shook his head instead. “There’s no need to be humble, Liqiang. In my eyes, the so-called ability is not limited to only swords and sabers. For someone in my position, it is indeed not difficult for me to seek help from experts if I need to, and I don’t lack such people around me either. However, I have yet to meet many highly observant people with such highly retentive memory like you, Liqiang. Most importantly, it was even rarer to find a youth with a great deal of potential like you who hasn’t been tainted by any bad practices of those from the bureaucracy and influential clans. With your untainted background, I can employ you without any worries. That day when you discovered the Shatu man in disguise, you not only tailed him all the way, but you also managed to make a firm decision at the end of it. Your courage, astuteness, and sense of justice are what I truly admire. I hope my answer can satisfy you, Liqiang!”

Upon hearing all this from Sun Bingchen, even Yan Liqiang felt a little embarrassed. “I am merely an average student from the martial arts academy who has a little bit of luck. I can’t possibly afford to be thought of so highly by you, Sir!”

“How can an average student from the martial arts academy possibly receive teachings from a deity about performing moxibustion on the navel to save drowning people in his dreams and even impart such knowledge to others so selflessly instead of keeping it to yourself? Such actions are indeed praiseworthy!”

Yan Liqiang didn’t expect Lord Sun to even find out about this. It seemed like he had really spent some effort in asking around about him. “Well, I just thought that was what I was supposed to do. Since I was fortunate enough to gain knowledge of that life-saving method, I should impart the knowledge to more people so that many more lives can be saved. I never really thought about reaping any benefits for myself out of that method!”

Sun Bingchen exclaimed with astonishment, “I heard that over the past six months, the method you imparted saved countless drowned victims in Pingxi Prefecture. Not only that, the method has reached neighboring counties and prefectures. For that incident alone, you have made an immeasurable contribution to mankind, and that is really admirable. If some young lord from a wealthy clan had done the same thing, then his reputation would have resonated across the entire Great Han Empire by now. Not only that, he could also expect to be promoted as an officer, or at least be made into a squire, and have a memorial archway gate constructed for his contribution to have his reputation spread far and wide. Liqiang, you were born in an ordinary clan without any backing. Even if you have done something like this, the fact that you remained silent and unnoticed in your village is truly a regretful tale. As a Patrol Inspector, it is my duty to nurture individuals with potential for my nation. It is definitely more than enough for you to stay by my side and serve me as my personal attendant, Liqiang!”

Sun Bingchen’s words were the truth. Even so, Yan Liqiang had nothing to complain about. Regardless of this world or his previous world, everything was the same. Most of the time, an individual’s family and background determined many things. The same achievement achieved by different people with different family backgrounds would lead to different outcomes.

Yan Liqiang immediately stood up and gave Sun Bingchen another bow. “Thank you for your support and recognition, Sir. From today onwards, Liqiang will be at your service!” he said solemnly.

“Good, sit down. You will follow me around for these few days first. By the time we reach the Imperial Capital, I will come up with your official rank!” Sun Bingcheng looked at Yan Liqiang with a smile while stroking his beard. “An attendant holds a military title, which is also ranked. Your rank shall be Armed Battalion Commandant of Rank Eight Secondary Class for now. What do you think?”

“I am fine with your decision, Sir!”

Sun Bingchen nodded, then yelled at the door. “Yijie!”

“Sir!” A young man came in and bowed to Sun Bingchen.

Sun Bingchen pointed at Yan Liqiang. “From today onward, Liqiang will be my personal attendant. Show him the ropes!” After giving his order, he looked at Yan Liqiang again. “Yijie has followed me around for years. He is both my attendant and also the leader of my personal bodyguards. He used to be in the military and is actually a Huwei Commandant of Rank Five Standard Class. Therefore, you may ask him for guidance should you run into any problems, including any doubts in your cultivation!”

Yan Liqiang nodded, then threw a glance at the person named Yijie. Likewise, that person also threw a glance at Yan Liqiang and nodded to him – his eyes were shining.

This wasn’t the first time Yan Liqiang had seen him. During his last visit, this person was the one who brought him, Shi Dafeng, and Shen Teng to meet Sun Bingcheng. Judging from his aura alone, this person was definitely an expert. Or at least, Yan Liqiang sensed that he was more powerful than Shi Changfeng, and even his aura was more intense...

Chapter 177: The Final Strike

Since Sun Bingcheng still had to meet other guests, he left the reception pavilion after he finished briefing Yan Liqiang. Yan Liqiang bid his farewell to Sun Bingchen, then left the reception pavilion with the Sun Bingchen’s attendant. After walking around inside the manor once, both of them arrived at a small courtyard.

“Lord Sun will be staying in Pingxi City for a few more days. In the meantime, you will stay here. I live in the adjacent courtyard. You have three days to settle any remaining business you may have in Pingxi City. After that, you will have to be prepared at all times to receive orders as Lord Sun’s attendant.” Compared to coldness he felt from the leader of Sun Bingchen’s guards during the first meeting, his attitude had turned slightly warmer. However, he was still icy and stiff.

Even so, Yan Liqiang wasn’t bothered because he knew that although some people always smiled at you, they might secretly be thinking up of ways to stab you in the back. On the contrary, those people who were always cold to you might be the trustworthy ones in your life. Therefore, he never judged a person by their attitude, but by their moral standing and disposition instead. In Yan Liqiang’s eyes, the leader of Sun Bingcheng’s personal guards was undoubtedly one of those that belonged in the latter category.

“Alright, three days should be enough for me to settle my remaining business. Oh right, I never had the chance to ask for your surname, Big Brother. How should I address you?” Yan Liqiang said with a smile.

“My surname is Liang. Since we both serve Lord Sun, you can just call me Brother Liang from now on!”

“Very well then. I have a question, Brother Liang. What will my main responsibility be when I start working for Lord Sun? Should I make any preparations?”

“As Lord Sun’s attendant, your tasks will be personally assigned to you by him. You will know in due time. At this point in time, I have no idea either!”

“Are there any other attendants that serve Lord Sun?”

“There are indeed many bodyguards and honor guards that serve Lord Sun, but do you think anyone can just become his personal attendant?” Liang Yijie snorted coldly. “Lord Sun is a high official of Rank Two Standard Class. According to the rules of the imperial court, he can only have four armed military rank guards by his side at most. Prior to his visit to Gan Province, he had only two attendants – I am one of them. The other one returned to his sect to settle some matters, so he didn’t join the patrol this time. You will be Lord Sun’s third personal attendant. An officially Armed Batallion Commandant of Rank Eight Secondary Class will be paid a monthly salary. If you feel that anyone can just apply for this job, you should go ask around. Only then you will realize how many envious people there are out there...”

“Thank you, Brother Liang. I understand now. I’m just a newcomer, please guide me well in the areas I might be unfamiliar with!”

“Alright, let’s go. I will introduce you to the honor guards and other guards that serve Lord Sun so that you will be able to get around easily in the future...”

Liang Yijie led Yan Liqiang out of the courtyard while speaking. Touring around the manor that Sun Bingchen was staying at, he introduced the people working for him to Yan Liqiang.

The people who followed Sun Bingchen to Gan Province this time only amounted to a little more than a hundred people in total. Among these hundred people, there were a company of guards and a squad of honor guards.

Based on the division of troops in the Great Han Empire, a company of guards consisted of a hundred men while a group of honor guards consisted of thirty men. In addition to these 130 men, the total was 132, including Sun Bingchen and Liang Yijie. Now with Yan Liqiang tagging along, that added up to 133 men.

The squad officer who followed Sun Bingchen around was also from the Imperial Capital. Though his position wasn’t high, his military rank was Battalion Commandant, a level higher than an ordinary squad officer. Even so, he was only on the same level as Yan Liqiang. As for the group of honor guards, the captain’s highest military rank was only a level higher than any ordinary captain – Wugeng, which could hardly be considered a commandant.

Upon finding out that Yan Liqiang had been appointed as Sun Bingchen’s personal attendant, the gazes of those hundred guards and honor guards were filled with unconcealable envy and even jealousy when they looked at Yan Liqiang. It was only then that Yan Liqiang truly felt the significance of his status as Sun Bingchen’s attendant for the very first time.

After he briefly got to know the others who were serving Sun Bingchen, Yan Liqiang left the manor. He had three days time to settle his private matters before he had to report himself to Sun Bingchen for real.

Although it was called a ‘private matter’, it wasn’t really that complicated as he only needed to inform the prefectural martial arts academy. In actuality, it would be taken as if he had graduated in advance.

Yan Liqiang returned to the martial arts academy, looked for Shi Changfeng, met the academy headmaster, and very quickly settled the matter.

Shi Changfeng didn’t seem to be too surprised. He had probably heard the news from Shi Dafeng or Shen Teng beforehand. As for the academy headmaster who didn’t really know Yan Liqiang well and those other academy tutors from the martial arts academy, their jaws fell to the floor when they discovered that Yan Liqiang had been personally appointed by the Patrol Inspector as his attendant.

In the end, the academy headmaster of the prefectural martial arts academy even personally saw Yan Liqiang off at the academy’s entrance.

“Ah Liqiang, remember to never hanker for an easy and comfortable life when you stay by Lord Sun’s side in the future. You mustn’t slack in your cultivation either. Serve the nation with utmost effort. The students at our martial arts academy ought to see you as their role model...” The academy headmaster, who had an easily forgettable face with graying hair and a beard, reminded Yan Liqiang earnestly at the academy’s entrance.

“Rest assured, Headmaster. I will remember your words and I won’t let our Pingxi Prefecture Martial Arts Academy down!”

“If you are free to return to Pingxi City again next time, don’t forget to pay us a visit!”

“I will. Headmaster and teachers, I will be off now!”

After bowing to the academy headmaster and the group of academy tutors, Yan Liqiang left under their gazes.

......

Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng were already waiting at the corner of the street. As soon they saw Yan Liqiang pass by, Shi Dafeng immediately grabbed him before he fiercely exclaimed, “TODAY SHEN TENG AND I SHALL PICK A PLACE TO EAT, AND IT WILL BE YOUR TREAT!”

“That’s right, you are obligated to treat us to a meal today!” Shen Teng caught the drift and laughed at the side.

“Sure, whatever makes Brother Shi and Brother Shen happy. It’s all on me tonight!”

......

Needless to say, Shi Dafeng picked the most high-end restaurant in Pingxi City. He didn’t even think of helping Yan Liqiang save any money. The meal lasted until nightfall. Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng only released Yan Liqiang when the three of them were tipsy. When they went their separate ways from the restaurant, it was already very late at night.

Yan Liqiang ordered the restaurant to call for two horse carriages, then helped Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng get onto the carriage. He watched the carriages leave before he returned to the restaurant again.

In the restaurant, he ordered for two bowls of plum soup to sober up. After washing his face with cold water, the tipsy feeling was completely gone.

Yan Liqiang didn’t get on any horse carriage. He walked alone in the night.

......

An hour later, Yan Liqiang appeared in the residential area at the southern part of Pingxi City. After making a few turns, he arrived at an old tavern next to a crossroad and went up to the second floor. He ordered two plates of appetizers, sat down at a less noticeable spot by the window, and started eating his food as he watched the pedestrians on the road.

In less than half an hour, Qi Donglai’s figure appeared on the street...

Chapter 178: Unexpected Encounter

Qi Donglai appeared to have just returned from the martial arts academy as he was still dressed in his gray training attire. He was holding something in his hand, which seemed like some food wrapped in paper. He turned into the street from the corner, completely oblivious to the fact that he was being watched by a pair of eyes from the second floor of an old tavern by the street.

Not everyone cultivated Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing. Hence, not everyone could sense the gaze of others.

It had been a long while since he was last seen. On top of severing his ties with Wang Haofei, Ye Xiao, and the others, Qi Donglai was completely lost among the group of new students from the martial arts academy which was filled with a multitude of talented individuals. Without any opportunities to stand out, even his name of was unheard of by many.

In Yan Liqiang’s eyes, the sight of Qi Donglai who only returned to the small house he rented at night was just somewhat sad and miserable.

After finishing off Wang Haofei, Mo Leng, and Ye Xiao, Yan Liqiang finally found time to finish off this most unremarkable yet most dangerous individual.

Qi Donglai was akin to a well-hidden venomous snake lurking in the dark. If it wasn’t for his previous experience, Yan Liqiang wouldn’t have expected such a character to be capable of bringing such terrible calamity upon him.

Spotting Qi Donglai turning into the alley by the street, Yan Liqiang turned around to call for the waiter and he paid his bills. He then slowly went downstairs and unhurriedly walked into the same alley.

The winding alley was narrow, secluded, and dim. Yan Liqiang didn’t even have to chase up toward the front. In a dark night like this, all he needed to do was listen with his ears and he would be able to precisely track Qi Donglai’s footsteps.

Over this period of time, Yan Liqiang had been constantly practicing both the eye and ear techniques from the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Manual’s external cultivation. He felt as though he was making constant progress every day. The sensitivities of his ears and eyes had significantly improved compared to two months ago.

The houses in the area where Qi Donglai stayed at were very run-down. This place wasn’t close to the martial arts academy either, unlike Three Yuan Street. It seemed like the cheaper rent here was the only reason why Qi Donglai would opt to live here.

In just a flash, Yan Liqiang heard Qi Donglai’s footsteps come to a halt. As soon as his footsteps ceased, Yan Liqiang also stopped in his tracks.

The sound of a door lock being unlocked rang out in the darkness, followed by the creaking sound of the door opening and then shutting...

A few seconds later, Yan Liqiang silently crept forward. After taking a turn in the alley, he saw lights being lit inside a rather old house. This must be where Qi Donglai lived.

Yan Liqiang waited for a few moments. When he was about to approach the house, he noticed a few more people carrying lanterns coming from the other end of the alley toward him. They were going to pass by Qi Donghai’s house, so he waited for a bit again. As soon as those people passed by, he quickly dashed out from the darkness after he ensured that the alley was empty on both sides. Arriving at the front of Qi Donglai’s house, he briefly scanned the surroundings, then made a leap. He kicked against the alley’s left wall and launched himself about a meter high into the air. Then he kicked the right wall and launched himself about another meter up into the air. After doing this a few more times in a row and raising his himself into the air, he grabbed onto the window sill which was more than five meters above the ground, then the eaves of the house. Like a huge bird, he nimbly hauled himself up the roof and stayed low.

There was a very small yard in the place that Qi Donglai was renting. The yard was piled with junk. Four roof-tiled houses surrounded the yard. Three of them were already extremely run-down and seemed to be leaky. Only one was still in livable condition, and the light he saw came from none other than the remaining habitable house.

Like a lizard, Yan Liqiang lowered his body and pressed his body against the roof as he tried to shift his body weight across his four limbs. He gently crawled on top of the house which was still brightly lit, then silently pried open one of the roof tiles. From the crack between the tiles beneath him, he observed the situation from above.

Due to the angle, he could only see Qi Donglai’s head and shoulders from a bird’s-eye view. Although he couldn’t get a clear view of Qi Donglai’s face, he was certain that the person down there was none other than Qi Donglai just by spotting the top of his head.

Qi Donglai was currently sitting before the desk inside the house as he wolfed down some salted vegetables and cold steamed buns.

Yan Liqiang scanned around again and verified that there were no other people except for Qi Donglai in the house.

That was great. He’d have nothing to worry about when he made his move.

Even prisoners were properly fed before they were beheaded so that they wouldn’t become hungry ghosts. Thus, Yan Liqiang wasn’t in a hurry right now. He was going to wait for Qi Donglai to finish his steamed buns.

Not sure if he was eating too fast or if the cold steamed buns were hard to swallow, but Qi Donglai suddenly choked on his second steamed bun. He forcefully pounded his chest a couple times before he stood up and quickly walked to the other table at the side. Picking up the teapot from the table, he lifted his head and glugged down the stream of water from the teapot...

‘COUGH! COUGH!’ He managed to swallow the steamed bun, but the fast stream of water choked him. He coughed so hard that he had to prop himself up with the table and the veins on his neck were popping out.

He smashed the teapot that he had just drunk from onto the floor. With a loud clang, it shattered into hundreds of fragments.

“Wait for it... Someday, I will make you all kneel before me! Don’t get so cocky now, Yan Liqiang. I will make you regret this in the future...!” Qi Donglai growled like a stray wolf.

There were still some cold steamed buns left uneaten on the table. However, it seemed like Qi Donglai was no longer interested in eating. He weakly plopped himself down on the chair, gasping for air for a moment before he gradually recovered.

Yan Liqiang’s gaze slowly turned cold too as he watched Qi Donglai. This guy was indeed a mentally twisted venomous snake.

Yan Liqiang was just about to roll down from the roof and quickly enter the house to finish Qi Donglai off in a flash. He had planned to make it seem as though Qi Donglai had committed suicide, but he suddenly heard a strange noise from nearby. It sounded just like the rustle of a fluttering flag in the air, except that it was even softer. However, there were no flag poles near this area, and the wind wasn’t strong. Therefore, the rustling noise wasn’t from a fluttering flag, but from someone’s clothes. This was the sign of an expert. Even Yan Liqiang couldn’t reach such a level yet.

If it wasn’t for his superior hearing abilities compared to average people and the fact that he was just close by, he wouldn’t have been able to hear it.

The oil lamp in the room below flickered, and then another person appeared inside Qi Donglai’s house.

Yan Liqiang was startled. At the sight of that person’s appearance, Yan Liqiang reflexively held his breath. He squinted his eyes at the same time and averted his gaze from that person to the ground at the side to avoid being sensed.

From that person’s attire, he seemed to be wearing a bailiff’s uniform and a hat. Although his face was concealed, Yan Liqiang could tell that he had very broad shoulders.

Yan Liqiang never expected such an expert to be hidden within the Law Enforcement Office of Pingxi City.

“Master...!” Qi Donglai, who was sitting on the chair, instantly sprung up like a spring and hurriedly bowed to that person at his appearance.

The person scanned the house. When he noticed the shattered teapot on the floor, he lifted his hand and brought it down on Qi Donglai’s face without any hesitation, drawing blood from the corner of his mouth. “How many times do I have to tell you to learn how to control your emotions? What can you possibly achieve if you can’t even control your own emotions?”

The voice was hoarse and deep. It was a totally unfamiliar voice to Yan Liqiang.

“My bad...” Qi Donglai wiped the blood away from the corner of his mouth and meekly lowered his head.

“Do you still remember Yan Liqiang whom I told you to keep a close eye on last time?”

“Yes, I do. Didn’t you ask me to keep an eye on him at all times? Ever since something terrible happened to the Wang Clan’s young master and the Prefectural Governor’s young lord, he hasn’t been coming to the martial arts academy for a very long time so...”

“Forget about the things in the past. I actually received news on my side that the Old Master from the Lu Clan was prepared to pair Lu Beixin up with Yan Liqiang, and Wang Haofei had only approached Lu Beixin because he wanted to give her to Ye Xiao. I ordered you to keep a close eye on Yan Liqiang because I wanted you to use Yan Liqiang as a stepping stone to get closer to both Wang Haofei and Ye Xiao so that you could eventually become the confidant to the Prefectural Governor’s young lord in the end. I didn’t expect for so many things to happen in Pingxi City over these few days. Both Wang Haofei and Ye Xiao are actually dead. All our efforts from before have been wasted...”

“Oh, the Old Master from the Lu Clan wanted to pair Lu Beixin and Yan Liqiang up together...?” Qi Donglai’s tone of voice was filled with jealousy. He seemed to be quite surprised as this was the first time he had heard of such information.

“Yes.” The person dressed in bailiff uniform nodded.

“Why have you come to see me today, Master...?”

“How’s your progress with that fatal consecutive kick technique I taught you?”

“I managed to train it up to the fifth layer recently...”

“Good. Keep it up. This technique gets more powerful toward the end. By the time you advance into a Martial Warrior, I will teach you the rest!”

“Got it!”

“Did Yan Liqiang return to your martial arts academy today?”

“Yes, I heard so!”

“Yan Liqiang has been appointed by Sun Bingchen as his personal attendant. His status is completely different now. I have a task for you – find a way to approach Yan Liqiang no matter what! It would be best if you can become his friend like last time. Do you think you can do that?”

“Huh...?!” Qi Donglai was flabbergasted and seemed to be in a difficult position. “Master... I thoroughly offended Yan Liqiang during the incident with the Hong Clan from last time. He loathes me now and has broken off all ties with me. How am I going to earn his trust again at this point in time...?”

“For the sake of our sacred sect, this is nothing. Yan Liqiang is merely a young boy, and the mentality of a young boy is always changeable. It won’t be difficult as long as we can find a way to make you become his friend again!”

Chapter 179: Ruthless

“I don’t even know where Yan Liqiang is right now. As soon as he becomes Sun Bingchen’s attendant, it will be even harder for me to see him. How am I going to approach him?”

“You need not worry about this. Sun Bingchen will still be staying in Pingxi City for a few more days. He is currently living in a manor near the Plum Gardens. Yan Liqiang will only officially serve Sun Bingchen by his side in three days time. Therefore, you still have time.”

“I’ll... try my best...” Qi Donglai said bitterly. This task was simply too difficult.

“Do not give up easily before you even reach the final moment. This is also a challenge from our sacred sect to you. I shall also assist you!” the man dressed in a bailiff uniform said solemnly.

“Yes, I will keep that in mind!”

“There are fifty taels of silver here, take it...” The man in bailiff uniform spoke as he fished out a few silver ingots from his chest and placed them on the table. “Pingxi City has been rather restless lately. I shall come to you again should anything happen. Do not blow your cover at all costs and don’t even try to contact me through the sacred sect’s keepsake on your own accord. This Sun Bingchen isn’t that simple. Someone from the sect recently got arrested by the hawks and hounds of the imperial court because of some minor slip-ups from the sect. The imperial court probably received some news and was on their guard. Gan Province is of military importance. Sun Bingchen might have caught wind of some information on the sacred sect’s next plan so he purposely came here to check up on Gan Province.”

“Ah, Master, are we in danger...?” Qi Donglai started to feel a little nervous.

“This is merely my conjecture. I don’t know how everything will go, but we just have to be cautious. Our sacred society has been making preparations for so many years to take over the world. We are going to bring about a dynasty change in the Great Han Empire and we will build our White Lotus Heaven. Our Great Sage, of great talent and bold vision, is the true fitting master to rule them all. Such inevitability isn’t something that Sun Bingchen can change alone. Even so, we mustn’t be careless!”

“Understood!”

“Good. Keep my words in mind.”

After explaining a few more things to Qi Donglai, Yan Liqiang saw the man in bailiff uniform exit the house. He quickly laid low on the roof and focused on holding his breath. At the same time, he broke out into cold sweat as he readied himself to strike and flee at any moment. If the man in bailiff uniform was going to leave in his direction, he would definitely notice him on the roof if he flew over him. If that happened, then things would be far from good.

There were four possible directions to leave the courtyard down below. Therefore, there was a 25% chance of him getting discovered.

The barely audible fluttering noise of clothes was heard again. Fortunately, the man didn’t leave the place in Yan Liqiang’s direction. Instead, he went over another roof on the other side, landed into the alley outside, and went far away.

Qi Donglai stood in the small courtyard below until the man had completely vanished. He lifted his head to look at the sky before he went back into the house.

Taking a look around the room, Qi Donglai found a broom and cleaned up the remains of the teapot he had smashed earlier. After that, he carefully hid the few silver ingots on the table in a hollowed out space in the ground below the desk, near the corner of a wall.

Although Yan Liqiang was still lying low on the roof, he was already drenched in cold sweat.

He didn’t expect to discover that Qi Donglai was actually part of the White Lotus Society.

If it wasn’t for his previous death experience, he would have probably never heard of the White Lotus Society. All this time, he thought that the White Lotus Society was very far from him. Little did he expect to find out that it was just right beside him all along. Not only that, the White Lotus Society had already infiltrated the civil servants in Pingxi City. They had their antennae everywhere, collecting information so accurately that Yan Liqiang couldn’t help but feel a deep, mysterious chill in his heart.

He had only met Sun Bingchen during the day and that person already knew about what had happened around Sun Bingchen by nightfall. In addition, he was also informed of the fact that Yan Liqiang would still be here for three days. Everything was simply too terrifying.

The most terrifying thing was that Yan Liqiang just found out the real reason why he was schemed against by Qi Donglai. It was because the people of White Lotus Society wanted Qi Donglai to use Yan Liqiang as his proof of loyalty to approach the Prefectural Governor’s young lord...

The White Lotus Society knew that Old Master Lu had the intention of pairing Lu Beixin up with Yan Liqiang. However, they did not know that Wang Haofei was pursuing Lu Beixin for the sake of giving her to Ye Xiao...

This was really too terrifying. First of all, Old Master Lu’s intention to pair Lu Beixin up with him wasn’t known by many beforehand, let alone the dirty dealings between Wang Haofei and Ye Xiao.

This wasn’t an era where big data could easily be searched and utilized. For the White Lotus Society to know all of this in such an era, it was evident that they had a powerful influence in Pingxi City and they had already established a well-connected social network which made it possible for them to gather so much information.

It was possible that there were people from the White Lotus Society in the Lu Clan, the Law Enforcement Office, and those around Ye Xiao.

The only thing that somewhat assured Yan Liqiang was that the people of the White Lotus Society, or at least the ones in Pingxi Prefecture, were oblivious to the fact that King Cobra was actually his disguise all along. This gave Yan Liqiang a sense of security.

Yan Liqiang, who was lying low on the roof, felt a heart-piercing coldness when the night breeze blew past him.

Qi Donglai, who was in the room below, had already come to the yard outside and started cultivating his leg technique.

Watching Qi Donglai train, Yan Liqiang scolded himself internally. He realized that Qi Donglai’s leg technique had suddenly improved significantly and that it had turned extremely powerful during the Martial Arts County Trial Examination. In the end, he rose above the others by using a move that brought destruction to both parties, thus obtaining the eligibility to enroll at the martial arts academy. During that time, Qi Donglai claimed that his uncle had found him a master to mentor him, so Yan Liqiang didn’t have any suspicions about it either. However, from the looks of it now, Qi Donglai had probably already joined the White Lotus Society before then...

Should he leave or proceed to finish Qi Donglai off?

If he left, then he’d have to wait for Qi Donglai to take the bait and humor him. Perhaps that way, he might be able to gain more information through Qi Donglai. If he killed him, then he’d have to do it in a way so that no one would find out about it as usual...

Yan Liqiang was in a dilemma.

“Just you wait, Yan Liqiang! One day, I, Qi Donglai, will definitely crush you under my feet like dirt...!” Training his leg technique in the yard below, Qi Donghai muttered to himself. He then suddenly leaped up and performed three swift consecutive kicks with both of his legs. His kicks instantly struck the wooden training dummy on its throat, chest, and crotch, sending it flying.

Upon witnessing this scene, Yan Liqiang instantly made his decision – he couldn’t afford to let Qi Donglai continue living. Qi Donglai was despicable and dangerous. If he kept someone like him alive, he could be bitten by him at any time. By then, it would be too late for any regrets.

The current Qi Donglai was still an insignificant small fry to the White Lotus Society. Even if he died, Yan Liqiang could still identify his master. So...

While thinking of that, a flying needle had already appeared in Yan Liqiang’s hand.

When Qi Donglai lifted up the wooden training dummy he had just sent flying in the yard below, a flying needle rained down from the sky and paralyzed his entire body in a flash...

Yan Liqiang’s figure flew down from the roof behind the flying needle like a nightingale and directly landed right before Qi Donglai who had an indescribably shocked expression on his face. Yan Liqiang plunged a knife right into his heart, followed by an attack with both his palms directly on his chest. Qi Donglai was sent flying from the yard into the room...

Chapter 180: Reporting In

Qi Donglai’s strength had always been inferior to Yan Liqiang’s. Hence, Yan Liqiang’s sudden ambush left no room for Qi Donglai to react. He was knocked to the ground by Yan Liqiang’s two ruthless attacks and was sent to hell’s gate before he could even utter a word...

Fresh blood spilled out from Qi Donglai’s mouth, nose, and the knife wound on his chest. He was lying facedown on the ground with his limbs sprawled out everywhere. His eyes were wide open as he watched Yan Liqiang come into the room through the entrance with a grave expression.

Qi Donglai’s lips moved slightly as though he was trying to say something. Unfortunately, he couldn’t even get half a word out right now. His tongue slid up and down in his mouth, but the fresh blood poured out from his mouth instead.

Yan Liqiang walked lightly to his side and crouched down to retrieve the needle which was buried in his hair.

After retrieving the needle, only a tiny pinprick, which could barely be seen by naked eye, was left on Qi Donglai’s scalp and it was concealed by his hair. Under such circumstances, even the most experienced coroner would overlook this barely noticeable wound on his body.

“When you schemed against me for the Hong Clan back then, I forgave you once for the sake of our past friendship and spared your life. This time, you really asked for it. If you have another chance to reincarnate as a human in your next life, remember this: as you sow, so shall you reap.”

Qi Donglai’s expression contorted as he listened to Yan Liqiang’s cold words of advice before he finally closed his eyes.

Yan Liqiang reached out and placed a finger on his neck. After ensuring that Qi Donglai’s heartbeat had completely ceased, he stood up.

At first, he had intended to make it seem as though Qi Donglai had committed a suicide after he disposed of him. However, after witnessing everything that had transpired just now, his idea of making it look as though he had committed suicide was definitely not enough to trick those people from the White Lotus Society. Therefore, he had to think up of an alternative way...

With the swiftest speed, Yan Liqiang turned the place where Qi Donglai lived upside town, making it seem as though the place had been visited by a thief. He dug out the silver Qi Donglai had hidden near the corner of the wall and took them all away. Then he emptied out all the little fragments of silver and copper coins left on Qi Donglai to make it seem as though he had been robbed of his money. After that, he blew out the lights in the room, exited to the yard, and went to the main entrance. He listened carefully to ensure that there was no one around before he lightly opened the gate. Then he stepped out, shut the gate again, and vanished into the alley in the blink of an eye, leaving everything behind him like a mystery.

It was not strange at all for a martial arts academy’s student, who lived alone in this old residential area, to become the target of some ill-doers because the same type of cases had happened before in Pingxi City.

Half an hour later, Yan Liqiang had returned to his residence which was located at the Nine Dragons Bridge. After he packed up, he immediately returned to the courtyard in Wuyang Village.

......

For the next two days, Yan Liqiang spent his days peacefully in Wuyang Village.

He had actually made necessary preparations since long ago. He informed those he should inform, notified those he should notify, and visited those he should visit. Almost everyone that was close to him knew that he had been appointed by Sun Bingchen to be his attendant. Apart from this, Yan Liqiang had no other connections in Pingxi City. If he had to leave, he could just take his backpack and leave right away.

He also had already packed everything he needed.

Yan Liqiang wasn’t in a hurry to report to Sun Bingchen because he wanted to make use of these two days to cultivate and sort out all the information he had gathered up to this point in peace.

He had already progressed into a Martial Warrior in both reality and in the Heavenly Realm. Hence, he pretty much had officially entered the world of cultivation. The internal cultivation technique he was currently cultivating was the ‘Ten Dragons Ten Elephants Divine Technique’ and his archery had already attained the Third Heavenly Layer. Apart from these, he had already trained his concealed weapon, the flying needles technique, the Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist technique, and the Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps technique to the highest layer.

With the skills and abilities he possessed, he had already far surpassed the capability of any ordinary Martial Warrior since long ago. Although Yan Liqiang hadn’t officially fought with a Supreme Martial Warrior, he had a hunch that if he were to fight one right now, he still had a better chance of winning compared to other ordinary Supreme Martial Warriors.

Most importantly, Yan Liqiang could finally learn another supreme technique. He had been looking forward to this technique for a long time after he had progressed into a Martial Warrior –’The Golden Bell Divine Protection Technique’.

The Golden Bell Divine Protection Technique was the secret manual that King Cobra had left behind. However, it could only be cultivated by those who had progressed into Martial Warriors. Before this, Yan Liqiang couldn’t even cultivate it. But now, he could finally cultivate this powerful secret manual which could significantly enhance his passive defensive capabilities.

Over these two days, Yan Liqiang started to slowly train this technique, regardless of whether he was in reality or in the Heavenly Realm.

Only those who had died once would be aware of how precious and fragile life was. It was worth noting the preciousness of techniques like these which could improve his chance of survival and further ensure his safety. Therefore Yan Liqiang naturally spent most of his effort in practicing this technique.

Over these two days, Yan Liqiang cultivated the ‘Ten Dragons Ten Elephants Divine Technique’ while continuously condensing his vital Qi. At the same time, after condensing his vital Qi, he slowly pushed it to the acupoints in his body according to the requirement stated in the secret manual of the ‘The Golden Bell Divine Protection Technique’ for the first layer.

For a person who had never experienced their vital Qi coursing through their body, this was a splendid and wonderful experience. Yan Liqiang could barely stop himself throughout the entire process.

Two days passed by in just the blink of an eye. On the third day, Yan Liqiang didn’t wait until nightfall. He packed up at noon, carried a sack, placed the Horned Python Bow on his back, and descended the mountain with Goldie. He called for a horse carriage and went straight to Sun Bingchen’s manor.

Sun Bingchen’s guards and honor guards stationed outside the manor had seen Yan Liqiang before, so they naturally wouldn’t stop Yan Liqiang from entering. However, none of them expected Yan Liqiang to actually bring a dog along with him...

“I didn’t expect for Lord Sun’s newly appointed attendant to actually bring a dog with him. How very unusual...”

“Don’t you see that this is what they mean by ‘when a man attains the Dao, even his pets ascend to heaven’?” [1]

“Hey watch it, he’s the Lord Sun’s personal attendant, and his official rank is Armed Battalion Commandant of Rank Eight Secondary Class. He’s not someone us lowly soldiers can afford to offend!”

“But he hasn’t been given his rank yet, right? I’d say that he’s just a lucky bastard. What kind of capabilities does a brat who hasn’t hit puberty yet possibly have? Can he even draw the huge bow he’s carrying on his back...?”

Yan Liqiang’s sense of hearing was getting sharper. He could still hear the whispers among those guards behind him. Additionally, he could sense the strange way they were staring at him from behind despite the distance between him and the entrance he passed through from...

As a newcomer who suddenly got promoted to a high position straight off the bat, it was nearly impossible for him to not become a subject of jealousy and criticism in other people’s eyes.

Yan Liqiang pretended he didn’t hear those discussions. He immediately pulled Goldie along to meet Liang Yijie.

Liang Yijie frowned as soon as he saw that Yan Liqiang had come to report in with a dog...

Chapter 181: Suggestion

“Yan Liqiang, have you fully settled all your affairs over these three days?”

“Yes, I have!”

“Have you clearly informed your family?”

“Yes, I did!”

“Then what’s with this dog?” After patiently asking Yan Liqiang the two questions, Liang Yijie’s gaze finally fell on the dog beside Yan Liqiang. “I hope you are clear on the fact that as Lord Sun’s personal attendant, you are here to work, not to enjoy your life and take your dog on leisure walks. You were given three days to settle all these matters. This dog is your pet. You have to either give it away to someone or make it stay at home!”

“Brother Liang, Lord Sun never told me that I wasn’t allowed to bring my dog here!” Yan Liqiang tried to be a bit more courteous toward Liang Yijie as he patiently explained to him. “My dog is different than other dogs. It’s unusually obedient. I will take good care of him here so that it won’t create trouble for anyone. Right, Goldie? If you can understand me, sit down!”

Goldie, who was standing beside Yan Liqiang, instantly sat down on the floor obediently as soon as he heard Yan Liqiang’s instructions. This caused Liang Yijie to look twice at it.

“You must give the dog away! Among the attendants and guards who serve Lord Sun, none of them have ever brought their pets or dogs with them!” Liang Yijie shook his head as he spoke firmly.

“Brother Liang, I am not trying to put you in a difficult position on purpose or trying to be special. However, I must bring this dog no matter where I go. If Brother Liang insists otherwise, then I am extremely sorry to say that I can only leave this place with it together...”

“What did you say?!” Liang Yijie looked at Yan Liqiang in anger and shock, and his voice rose a few notches higher. “You mean that if you are not allowed to keep the dog here, you will leave and refuse to stay as Lord Sun’s attendant?”

“Grrrrrrrr...” When Goldie, who was sitting on the floor, heard Liang Yijie raise his voice and saw him glare at Yan Liqiang, it bared its teeth and started growling dangerously. The gaze it had on Liang Yijie instantly turned fierce as though it was ready to pounce on him at any moment. In such a situation, Liang Yijie couldn’t help but take another glance at Yan Liqiang’s dog. He was secretly astonished because this dog was indeed a little too intelligent. Of course, for someone like Liang Yijie, he wouldn’t even be afraid of a lion with its teeth bared at him, much less a dog.

“Yes.” Yan Liqiang calmly responded to Liang Yijie’s question. “If serving Lord Sun means I don’t even have the freedom to keep a dog as it will make everyone unhappy, then I feel like there is no point for me to stay here. Please express my apology to Lord Sun on my behalf, Brother Liang.”

“YOU...” Liang Yijie was really pissed off by Yan Liqiang. He had never met anyone who would abandon their future prospects over a dog. However, Liang Yijie was only taking it as Yan Liqiang being young and letting his emotions affect his decisions right now. He didn’t think about anything else.

“What apology are you both talking about?” While the both of them were arguing endlessly, a voice came from outside the door. Soon after that, Sun Bingchen walked into the courtyard with a smile on his face. “I heard from someone that you have arrived Liqiang, so I came over to have a look!”

“Greetings, Sir!” Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie bowed to Sun Bingchen respectfully at the same time.

“I think I heard both of you arguing. What is going on?”

Liang Yijie briefly explained the matter to Sun Bingchen, who unexpectedly started laughing loudly. “No worries, no worries. It’s just a dog. If Liqiang wishes to keep it, then he may keep it. This is not the Palace of Hell, there’s no need to make things so solemn. Don’t you see that even His Majesty also brings his dog along when he’s hunting at the Imperial City? So, there’s no problem with it. I actually admire Liqiang for being frank and open. Since Liqiang is capable of taking care of this dog, let him keep it by his side. We have so many people here, there’s no harm in keeping another dog!”

Since Sun Bingchen had spoken, then all the problems were easily solved. Liang Yijie didn’t make any further comments. He only shot a glance at Yan Liqiang and then nodded.

“Thank you for your understanding, Sir!” Yan Liqiang promptly thanked Sun Bingchen.

“You’re welcome. It’s fine as long as you look after your dog and make sure it doesn’t bite anyone. I am meet many different people. It would be terrible if someone who came to see me gets bitten by a dog!”

“Rest assured, Sir. Goldie will definitely not bite anyone without my order!” Yan Liqiang said confidently.

“Oh...?” Sun Bingchen raised his eyebrow. He took another look at Yan Liqiang and Goldie who was obediently sitting on the floor. “You seem really confident, Liqiang. Don’t tell me that you also know how to train dogs?”

“I don’t know how to train dogs. I just happen to have great chemistry with Goldie and it is the only one who will listen to me. It won’t work if it’s other dogs!” Yan Liqiang hurriedly shook his head and joked. If he nodded and Sun Bingchen asked him to train a few more dogs, then he would really cry until he ran out of tears.

“I see!”

......

After meeting Yan Liqiang and chatting briefly with him, Sun Bingchen left.

Since the big boss had spoken, Liang Yijie stopped arguing with Yan Liqiang over trivial matters like these.

Subsequently, Liang Yijie spent almost half an hour informing Yan Liqiang about some of the rules that had to be observed when serving Sun Bingchen by his side. These rules included maintaining confidentiality, not accepting bribes, not intimidating others with Sun Bingchen’s name and reputation, and also having the manners to observe and words to speak around the people whom Sun Bingchen would be meeting.

Yan Liqiang took note of every word he said.

When he asked Yan Liqiang to repeat the information back to him, he realized that Yan Liqiang could recite everything without missing a word. Liang Yijie was really impressed and convinced by Yan Liqiang’s memory. He didn’t say anything else and handed a cloth bundle he had prepared since long ago in the end. “There are two sets of uniforms for Lord Sun’s personal attendants in here. They have been tailored to fit you, and you may officially start wearing them tomorrow. When you start serving Lord Sun, you can’t be too sloppy in your appearance!”

“Understood!”

“Oh right. What kind of weapons do you use? I will order someone to prepare them for you!”

“My stay at the martial arts academy wasn’t that long, so I have yet to officially be trained in a particular weapon. I have cultivated a Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist technique, and also a little on the basics of a spear technique before...”

“How’s your cultivation in archery then?”

“This bow is a gift from someone. I can barely use it!” Yan Liqiang replied humbly.

The expression on Liang Yijie’s face turned grave again. “Dangers are inevitable when serving by Lord Sun’s side. Apart from self-defense, we also need to protect Lord Sun in times of danger. Therefore, you mustn’t slack on your cultivation at all costs!”

“Alright, understood!”

“Then I have nothing else to say. You may tidy up the place you will be staying at and try to adapt yourself around here. If you need anything else, you may directly order the servants here. Your meal will be delivered to you during dinner time!” Liang Yijie said while making his way outside. A few steps later, he stopped in his tracks again. He turned around and his eyes shined as though he had recalled something. “Since you are calling me Big Brother, I would like to give you a suggestion!”

“Yes, Brother Liang?”

“When everyone does their morning practice tomorrow morning, I suggest that it would be best for you to go around the morning practice area and show off your best technique and skill to the others. That way, it can save you a lot of trouble. Capable men are respected no matter where they go. You should get what I’m trying to say here!”

Yan Liqiang slightly muttered to himself irresolutely before he nodded. “Thank you for the advice, Brother Liang. I get what you mean!”

Yan Liqiang scratched his head as he watched Liang Yijie leave. He understood what he was trying to imply, but what should he show if he were to really go there tomorrow morning?

Chapter 182: Intimidate

The night passed by uneventfully.

He spent a day in reality and reported to Sun Bingchen during the daytime. Before he slept, he spent another day in the Heavenly Realm. Nothing serious actually happened in the two worlds and his day basically passed quite peacefully.

In the Heavenly Realm, Yan Liqiang was still a servant on Tianqiao Peak. He made inventory checks at the warehouse every day and spent his remaining time cultivating. Yan Liqiang initially thought Manager Qiu would stir things up with him, but it had been tranquil over these few days because Manager Qiu had been sent by Hall Master Su to attend to other matters. Without his presence on Tianqiao Peak these few days, it was peaceful for Yan Liqiang for the time being.

The earth vinegar he made at the Divine Sword Sect was almost ready to be used in a few days time. Gu Zexuan had sold quite a number of them in advance through the method that Yan Liqiang had shared before. Although the goods hadn’t been delivered yet, Gu Zexuan was overwhelmed with excitement. He felt as if he was going to count money until his hands were numb. Based on the sales they were making right now, Yan Liqiang, Gu Zexuan, and Zhao Huipeng could share about four thousand taels of silver. To these few youths, this was a ‘huge sum of money’, and it was enough to make Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng jump for joy.

Similarly, Huo Bin and the rest who were making money along with Yan Liqiang finally had a whole new level of respect for Yan Liqiang through this collaboration. Yan Liqiang gradually gathered a few people around him in the Divine Sword Sect, and he finally gained a foothold as a starting point.

Although he had gained a foothold in the Divine Sword Sect, as a newcomer around Sun Bingchen, he still had to prove himself to the other guards and honor guards. Otherwise, even if he were Sun Bingchen’s attendant with a higher position than the others, he’d still have a hard time working by his side.

In such an environment, it was impossible to stand his ground without displaying some of his capabilities.

Following Liang Yijie’s advice, Yan Liqiang took the opportunity to look around the place where everyone did their morning training at the manor while taking his dog on a walk that night. An idea popped into his mind after he glanced around the venue.

Yan Liqiang woke up early the next day. After completing Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing’s internal and external cultivation techniques, he wore his training attire and went to the manor’s backyard with his dog.

Although it was still early in the morning, there were already people queuing outside the manor waiting to meet Sun Bingchen. However, the manor wasn’t open yet so there was no need to care about them and those who were waiting for their audience with Sun Bingchen knew the procedures here too. They wouldn’t hand over their name card or anything early in the morning. Sun Bingchen’s guards, honor guards, and also Liang Yijie himself were up by now. They were training and building up their strength in the field behind the manor.

There was a garden beside the backyard field. The garden and field were filled with people who were training everywhere. Some were training their fist techniques, some were practicing with their weapons, and some were working on their stamina. On the ground beside the field were some training equipment like stone weights and metal weights for people to use in their physical training regimens. A group of people there were wheezing and panting. It didn’t seem to be too crowded there.

There were only about a hundred people working for Sun Bingchen. Since the backyard was spacious, it didn’t feel crowded.

Liang Yijie was sitting on top of a huge rock in the garden, facing east. He seemed to be doing some breathing exercises to control his Qi.

Almost as soon as Yan Liqiang arrived in the backyard, countless gazes turned in his direction.

However, no one took the initiative to greet him and no one seemed to be acting too friendly toward him. This was the treatment a newcomer would receive.

No one spoke, but many of them were discreetly staring at him. Each of them exchanged glances with each other as they prepared to see what kind of abilities Yan Liqiang would show them.

After wandering half a round in the garden and field, Yan Liqiang went to the pile of stone and metal weights placed beside the field.

Those stone and metal weights were of different sizes and weights, and they were arranged in two rows. The lightest stone weight was fifty jin while the heaviest was several hundred jin.

A few of the guards were topless, showing off their chiseled torsos while lifting and swinging a few stone weights here and there. They appeared to possess a rather good amount of strength. One of them was a heavily-built man who stood at about 1.9 meters. He was holding two metal weights, each weighing a hundred jin. He was swinging them so fast that they appeared to be a blur to the eyes and were generating gusts of wind.

However, among those metal weights, no one touched the heaviest two and they were left on the ground.

The black metal weights weighed three hundred jin each, which was equivalent to a whopping 150 kilograms. Naturally, among Sun Bingchen’s honor guards, some could lift these weights. However, none could probably swing them except for Liang Yijie. Training and building stamina with these stone and metal weights were not the same as weightlifting. Just being able to lift them wasn’t enough. One would have to be able to swing them. It went without saying that those who were inadequate in strength wouldn’t make a fool out of themselves at this kind of time.

When Yan Liqiang came before those stone and metal weights which were used to build stamina and strength, many people who were training at a distance slowed down their movements and squinted as they tried to see just how heavy of a weight Yan Liqiang was capable of swinging. A few of them even gave Yan Liqiang a disdainful look when they saw him was about to do his strength training here.

Damn, how much strength can an underaged brat possibly possess?

Damn straight! This brat’s gotta know that it’s not that easy to work by Lord Sun’s side so that he won’t be insolent in front of his seniors in the future!

A few people in the distance immediately signaled to the burly man who was swinging the hundred jin metal weights with their eyes and the man instantly caught their intentions.

“Ah? So Guard Yan is also here to build your strength...?” The burly man grinned at Yan Liqiang. “Why don’t you give this metal weight a try, Guard Yan?”

After the burly man finished speaking, he immediately tossed the metal weight he was swinging in his hand without even waiting for Yan Liqiang’s response.

The metal weight of a hundred jin made an arc in the air and fell toward Yan Liqiang.

Fortunately, the burly man still had the courtesy to toss the metal weight in a parabolic trajectory instead of throwing it directly to Yan Liqiang. The weight went up into the air before dropping. Although it was heavy, the speed wasn’t fast.

If one didn’t have enough strength, they would naturally evade a metal weight tossed at them instead of reaching out to catch it. As such, Yan Liqiang’s reputation would go down along with this metal weight. He wouldn’t be able to find a valid reason to be upset with himself, and he would probably be too embarrassed to voice a complaint. Not only that, he wouldn’t even have any evidence to use prove things pitted against him. This was the dirty trick of these people who had been soldiers for a long time.

How could Yan Liqiang not understand what these people were thinking?

Yan Liqiang stood still as he watched the falling metal weight of hundred jin. He reached out with one of his hands and firmly grabbed the metal weight by its handle.

Under everyone’s surprised gaze, he weighed the metal weight single-handedly before he shook his head. “Hahaha, well thank you. But this is too light for me so I will return it to you. I’ll look for another metal weight to try!”

While speaking, Yan Liqiang lightly tossed the metal weight back single-handedly.

When the burly man caught the metal weight Yan Liqiang tossed back to him, he stumbled back a few steps from the impact before he regained his footing. The expression on his face instantly contorted.

Under everyone’s disbelieving gaze, Yan Liqiang went before the two metal weights that were three hundred jin each. He effortlessly lifted both of them off the ground with one in each hand.

Yan Liqiang slowly lifted his hands with the metal weight on them. Under everyone’s gaze, he extended both arms straight out as though he was performing the signature Iron Cross skill in gymnastics.

Upon witnessing this scene, everyone in the surroundings fell into absolute silence because they knew that it wasn’t difficult to quickly swing these metal weights. Instead, it was difficult to make slow movements with these weights. On top of that, out of all the movements, extending both arms straight out from the sides of the body required an insane amount of strength.

Under everyone’s gaze, Yan Liqiang continued lifting the metal weights in the Iron Cross stance for about twenty seconds before he started swinging both of them.

Those metal weights immediately seemed as though they had come to life in Yan Liqiang’s hands as gusts of wind could be heard. The wind was so strong that one could feel the pain when it hit against their face. The others who were building up their strength at the side quickly moved away, afraid that they’d lose their little lives if those metal weights slipped from Yan Liqiang’s hand.

Yan Liqiang had never done such stamina training before. At first, he was only planning to show off his abilities here on purpose to intimidate everyone. However, when he really started swinging them, he realized only then that it felt really awesome. It wasn’t strenuous for him. Instead, his entire body felt extremely great, akin to a dusty generator which had been filled up with fuel and re-activated. He could feel everything in his body, like his muscles, tendons, and bones. They instantly relaxed as though he was sitting in a sauna. Energy endlessly bubbled forth from every cell in his body. The energy systems in his body felt as though they had been recalibrated and optimized. The longer he swung, the more energetic he felt.

Yan Liqiang swung the weights for at least twenty minutes. He was perspiring heavily and the pleasure he felt was so good that it made him want to scream.

BAM! At the end of it, he threw the metal weights on the ground. Two pits were instantly made on the originally flat land. Dust and smoke could be seen rising up...

After Yan Liqiang stopped, only then he realized that unbeknownst to him, a huge crowd had already formed around him when he was lost in the pleasant sensation of swinging the metal weights as everyone was watched in disbelief. Even Liang Yijie who was doing his breathing exercise earlier was standing among the crowd. He stroked his chin as he watched him with an astonished look...

The silence among the crowd was rather strange.

Cough...! Cough...! Yan Liqiang coughed twice as he unleashed his skill in pretension. He glanced at those two metal weights on the ground, then slightly shook his head. He lifted his head to look at the sky before he smiled wryly and sighed. “Guess these are a little too light for me, but they will do. I’ve sweated more than enough because I used them longer than I should so I should just go back to take a bath. Let’s go, Goldie...”

As soon as Yan Liqiang finished speaking, he calmly left with Goldie, leaving everyone staring after his fading silhouette.

Chapter 183: Adapting

Yan Liqiang’s position by Sun Bingchen’s side was his attendant. The attendant position could also be considered a guard, except for the fact that he was working more closely with Sun Bingchen than any ordinary guard. His duty hadn’t been decided for the time being. Liang Yijie only requested for him to remain in the manor and to familiarize himself around it. He was allowed to look for him any time if needed. With this, Yan Liqiang had a lot of time to train.

The effect of his intimidation on the first morning was instant. When everyone was queueing up for lunch, the guards and honor guards in the dining hall instantly stood up when Yan Liqiang entered and all of them greeted him with enthusiasm. After Yan Liqiang was done with his meal, someone had already packed some meat and bones for Goldie. They handed it to him without him even asking for it.

Regardless of what the others secretly thought in their hearts, Yan Liqiang basically didn’t hear anyone muttering about how he shouldn’t have brought a dog here again after this morning.

The next two days were passed by peacefully too.

Sun Bingchen lived leisurely in Pingxi City. He only had to go through those name cards which were presented to him in the manor every day. Then he would invite a few of them to come in, spend his time talking with them over tea, and ask them about things like the situations of some places as well as their customs and traditions.

It seemed like the job of a Patrol Inspector was easy.

Did this Patrol Inspector come to Pingxi City just to look around as a formality and enjoy some tea?

Yan Liqiang was secretly doubtful. However, he had no rights to inquire Sun Bingchen about his real objective behind his visit to Pingxi Prefecture in his current position either. Anyway, the observation he made in the manor over these few days showed that Lord Sun seemed to really have no important business in coming to Pingxi Prefecture. He just seemed to be warm and affable with everyone and didn’t appear to have come here to do anything.

In actuality, Yan Liqiang was secretly hoping for Sun Bingchen to do something because he was very clear on just what kind of people the Prefectural Governor, Ye Tiancheng, and those Shatu people were. It would not be an exaggeration to describe Ye Tiancheng and those Shatu people as the malignant tumors of Pingxi City, and he was currently too powerless to get rid of these two malignant tumors. However, he wished someone with such power and authority could stand up instead and do something good for the citizens of Pingxi Prefecture.

However, such words weren’t something a humble little attendant like him could say. Therefore, he could only watch silently and properly perform the tasks given to him.

Over these few days, Yan Liqiang only appeared around Sun Bingchen twice. Both times were with an audience between Sun Bingchen and some officers of different ranks in Pingxi Prefecture. Yan Liqiang had to carry out his duty as an attendant by standing not far behind Lord Sun in the drawing room, accompanying him during his meeting with those officers. Those officers seemed to also know the identity of the young attendant by Lord Sun’s side. Every time they came in, their gazes would linger a little longer on Yan Liqiang, and they’d also give him a friendly smile.

Staying beside Sun Bingchen a few days later just like this, on the 14th day of the twelfth lunar month, Yan Liqiang returned to his room at night. When he was doing his night regime, he heard footsteps coming toward the small courtyard he lived in. At the same, he also heard Goldie’s barks. The footsteps and Goldie’s barks sent the same information to him – the person was Liang Yijie.

Yan Liqiang, who was cultivating Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing in the room, abruptly stopped. The beauty of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing was that it didn’t have any specific requirements on the time and place, and one wouldn’t fall into Qi deviation if they stopped in the middle.

As expected, a series of knocks rang out a few seconds later.

Yan Liqiang took a deep breath, smoothed out his clothes, and opened his door. Liang Yijie, who was holding a cloth bundle in his hand, stood outside the door.

“Oh, you’re not asleep yet?” Liang Yijie cast a glance at Yan Liqiang whose forehead was slightly beaded with sweat.

“I was training my muscles and bones in the room. Come in and have a seat, Brother Liang!” Yan Liqiang smiled and invited Liang Yijie into his room.

“That’s fine, I’m not coming in. I’m just here to inform you about something!”

“Did Lord Sun have some orders for me?” The expression on Yan Liqiang’s face instantly turned serious.

“Yes. Lord Sun would like to walk around Pingxi City tomorrow morning to further understand the circumstances of the people. We will leave here at six o’clock in the morning. Make sure you are prepared. Lord Sun will bring only both of us with him tomorrow. This is the attire you will be wearing tomorrow to disguise yourself as Lord Sun’s servant boy...”

“Lord Sun is going out incognito?” Yan Liqiang was startled.

“That’s right. Lord Sun has stayed in the manor ever since he came to Pingxi Prefecture. It’s about time for him to make his rounds outside tomorrow. After all, he’s the Patrol Inspector. If he only stays inside the manor and does not go out, it’d be bad if there’s gossip!”

“Alright, understood!”

Liang Yijie seemed to suddenly remember something when he was about to leave. “Oh right, I think you don’t have a weapon on you. When you work beside Lord Sun, you’ll still need a weapon for self-protection sometimes. That way, you will only be able to defend yourself and protect Lord Sun during any incidents. Give some thought as to what kind of weapon will best suit you. By then, I will send someone to deliver a few for you to choose from!”

“Oh, well, I haven’t give it any thought yet!” Yan Liqiang scratched his head.

“Let me give you a suggestion then. You mentioned that you have slightly trained the basics of a spear technique and have also practiced the Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist technique. However, while spears are effective in battle formations and on steeds, they are not that suitable to carry around. Since you currently possess an extraordinary amount of strength in you, why not choose a pair of twin hammers instead of wasting it? As the saying goes, ‘A man who possesses brute force can take on ten martial experts.’ If something really happens, you will definitely be able to double up your might by unleashing a hammer technique. It will surely come in handy!”

Yan Liqiang’s eyes shone as soon as he heard Liang Yijie’s suggestion. He had really never thought about this before. “Brother Liang, can a fist technique really be used with a hammer?”

“Of course. Hammers are extended with the fist and arm. As long as you are well versed in the fist technique, readjust and get rid of some techniques which aren’t suitable for hammer techniques and you’ll be able to slowly transform your fist technique into a hammer technique. There are fewer variations in hammer techniques as its main focus is using simplicity to overcome complexity. With enough strength and speed, the might of the hammer in your hand must not be underestimated!”

“Thank you, Brother Liang. I will train a little longer...”

“Alright, rest earlier!”

“Likewise, Brother Liang!”

After Liang Yijie left, Yan Liqiang shut the door. After giving it a serious thought, he realized that Liang Yijie had really made a good point. He might not be able to quickly master other weapons, but if he were to cultivate hammer techniques, he would be able to swiftly connect it with the Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist technique. Therefore, he should be able to quickly master the hammer as a weapon.

Before attaining a higher level in his spear techniques, perhaps it would be a good idea for him to also find a pair of hammers as his weapon.

...

Chapter 184: Three Days Tour

The next morning, before the sun had even risen, Yan Liqiang, who changed into a green leather gown and a small hat, secretly left the manor with Sun Bingchen and Liang Yijie who also similarly changed their attire from the side entrance. They went through an alley, evading those horse carriages which were waiting outside the manor, and arrived on the main street near the Plum Gardens.

At this hour, Pingxi City had just woken up. There were already people on the street, but many shops were still not open for business yet. The snow buildup from two days ago had yet to completely melt and the air was still chilly. Quite a number of dung collectors were silently traveling back and forth in the city on their ox-drawn carts, carrying huge wooden buckets...

Liang Yijie was dressed in a form-fitting attire with a sword hanging at his waist. On the other hand, Sun Bingchen was dressed like a merchant, complete with a leather hat. So long as they kept their identities unknown, it was indeed unlikely for people who had never seen Sun Bingchen before to associate him with the Patrol Inspector, a high official in the imperial court.

“Sir, where are we heading to now?” After taking a look around the street, Liang Yijie was the first to speak.

“Don’t call me ‘Sir’ when we’re out here, just call me ‘Old Master’!” Sun Bingchen corrected him with a smile.

“Yes, Old Master!”

“Do you know your way around here in Pingxi City, Liqiang?” Sun Bingchen looked at Yan Liqiang.

“Just tell me the place you wish to visit and I will be able to find it, Old Master!” Yan Liqiang replied.

“Good. Let’s find a place to get some breakfast first. Lead the way, Liqiang. Bring us somewhere more crowded and lively...”

“Are we calling a carriage?”

“There’s no need for that. We will take a walk and look around the city. We seldom walk around like this...”

“Understood!”

Yan Liqiang wasn’t sure just what Sun Bingchen wanted to see when he came out today. Was he just going to gain some superficial understanding by observing Pingxi City on a day tour, or was he really hoping to understand the lives and sufferings of the commoners in Pingxi City? There were quite a number of lively places to enjoy breakfast in Pingxi City. The only difference between them was that some were places frequented by the wealthy ones while some were frequented by the commoners of lower social classes. The things one could eat, see, and hear were entirely different in these two places.

While Yan Liqiang was pondering, he led Sun Bingchen and Liang Yijie to a restaurant which was not too far from the Plum Gardens first. The name of the restaurant was the Eternal Spring Restaurant, and they served various fine and exquisite pastries which were very popular in Pingxi City. Many people would go to that restaurant for a pleasant chat over breakfast early in the morning. Naturally, this was a place frequented by the wealthy people in Pingxi City.

By the time the trio arrived at the restaurant, the three-story restaurant was already filled with quite a number of customers. The waiters were walking around the restaurant, carrying baskets of steamy pastries, steamed buns, and soup. As soon as the three of them went in, they found a place to sit down, and a waiter immediately came up to them to take their orders. Soon after that, he served them a few baskets of the restaurant’s signature golden steamed layered cake.

Sun Bingchen ate one. He couldn’t help but smile when the aroma of the treat exploded in his mouth. “Not bad at all!...”

Seeing the Patrol Inspector savor his breakfast here at ease, Yan Liqiang took his mind off the questions and thoughts he had and didn’t make that many comments.

By the time they leisurely finished their breakfast, Pingxi City had completely awakened. The main streets started to get crowded and the shops had opened for business. Sun Bingchen wanted to take a look around the most lively marketplace in Pingxi City, so Yan Liqiang led both of them out of the restaurant without any further comments.

As soon as they exited the restaurant, Yan Liqiang slightly frowned as he suddenly sensed that they were being secretly watched and spied on. He scanned the surroundings and noticed that unbeknownst to him, a horse carriage with dark cover was already parked at the roadside not far from the restaurant. The coachman appeared to be feeding the horse something, but he was watching the restaurant from the corner of his eye.

Just when Yan Liqiang was hesitating on whether he should warn the others, Liang Yijie came over to him and patted him on the shoulder. The moment his palm made contact Yan Liqiang’s shoulder, he gave him a firm squeeze as his face broke into a mysterious smile. He then threw Yan Liqiang a meaningful glance. “Let’s go, your responsibility for today is to lead the way, Liqiang.”

“Understood!”

......

Deep at night in the Prefectural Governor’s study room, Ye Tiancheng was attentively listening to one of his subordinates’ reports on Sun Bingchen and the other two’s activities today...

“Sun Bingchen left the Chu Manor early this morning in plain clothes with another two attendants by his side today. They toured around Pingxi City and went to have their breakfast at the Eternal Spring Restaurant first before they walked around the Crimson Marketplace the entire morning. At noon, they had their lunch at Drunken Moon Restaurant. In the afternoon, they went to Xuanyue Temple and the Nine Dragons Bridge. After leaving the Nine Dragons Bridge, they had two pots of tea at Mingxiang Teahouse on Zhongshun Mainstreet while listening to the conversations of others for about an hour. By nighttime, after they had dinner at You Clan Eatery, they called a horse carriage and returned to the Chu Manor...”

Ye Tiancheng squinted his eyes and asked, “Who are the attendants that Sun Bingchen brought out with him today?”

“One of them was Liang Yijie, while the other one was his new recruit, a youth by the name of Yan Liqiang. Both them followed Sun Bingchen around for the whole day!”

Upon hearing the answer, Ye Tiancheng’s furrowed eyebrows slightly relaxed. He had a small smile on his face and he seemed to be visibly relaxed. “And who did Sun Bingchen speak with today?”

“He spoke with the owners of a rice and fabric shop when he was at the Crimson Marketplace. At noon, he asked about the livelihood of one of the waiters at the Drunken Moon Restaurant. During his teatime at Mingxian Teahouse, he casually conversed with a few people sitting near him. Nothing else apart from that. The Law Enforcement Office sent someone to ask about the contents of their chat. Those people were ordinary individuals in Pingxi City without any profound backgrounds. The contents of their conversations and their biodata are all here...” The person who replied handed over some thick papers filled with handwritings to him.

Ye Tiancheng skimmed through them for a while, then folded them up again after discovering that there was nothing out of the ordinary and those people whom Sun Bingchen conversed with weren’t that special. “Good. Continue keeping a close watch over them. As long as Sun Bingchen leaves the Chu Manor, I need to know his every move!”

“Understood!”

......

The next day, Yan Liqiang continued bringing Sun Bingchen around to mingle with others while remaining incognito. However, they were going outside the city this time.

There were a few towns outside Pingxi City and there were also a quite a number of villages around it. If Sun Bingchen wished to visit them, he couldn’t stop him either and had no choice but to go. Fortunately, there was quite a bit of distance from outside the city, so Sun Bingchen had Liang Yijie prepare a horse carriage. The three of them traveled to and from there on the horse carriage. The so-called ‘mingling’ was about the same as sightseeing. They observed the lives of people living outside Pingxi City along the way. Everything seemed to be normal and there weren’t any cliched scenes like those in movies during their observation.

On the third day, Sun Bingchen was still traveling outside the city on his horse carriage. They went to the closest town from Pingxi City to take a look and they returned by nightfall.

In the early morning on the fourth day, Liang Yijie ordered the guards and honor guards in their company to pack up their things and prepare to leave Pingxi City. Yan Liqiang also received an assignment to run some errands in the city on Sun Bingchen’s behalf. He went to the Prefectural Governor’s Office and Military Governor’s Office to send an invitation card to Pingxi Prefectural Governor, Ye Tiancheng, and also the Military Governor, Huangfu Qianqi, to invite both of them to a dinner at the Chu Manor.

The Prefectural Governor, Ye Tiancheng, and Military Governor, Huangfu Qianqi, gladly accepted the invitation.

Today was the 18th of the twelfth lunar month in the 12th year of the Yuanping reign in the Great Han Empire...

Chapter 185: Drawing Sword

The steeds and carriages of both the Pingxi Prefectural Governor, Ye Tiancheng, and the Military Governor of Pingxi Prefecture arrived outside the Chu Manor almost at the same time: fifteen minutes past seven o’clock at night. Not many people followed the both of them to attend this banquet. Huangfu Qianqi brought only two bodyguards with him while Ye Tiancheng brought a few more people – an entourage of less than six, including the coachman.

Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie were ordered by Sun Bingchen to welcome both guests at the manor’s entrance.

At this hour, the sky had only turned dark.

“Greetings, Prefectural Governor!” Huangfu Qianqi bowed to Ye Tiancheng first as soon as he got off his steed.

“Hahaha, so the Military Governor has arrived too. What good timing, let’s go in together then...!” When Ye Tiancheng who had just exited the horse carriage saw Huangfu Qianqi, he laughed and assumed an amiable expression while making his way toward the manor’s main entrance with Huangfu Qianqi; their entourage following behind them.

Upon seeing both of them stop at the manor’s entrance, Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie who were waiting at the entrance immediately went up to them. After bowing to them both in succession according to the bureau etiquette, both of them led the way inside in front of the two guests.

“You must be Yan Liqiang, whom the Patrol Inspector took a fancy to, right? Not bad, you are indeed an outstanding individual!” When they entered the manor, Ye Tiancheng watched the way Yan Liqiang was leading the way and started praising him loudly. “The Patrol Inspector indeed has a sharp pair of eyes. He has only stayed a few days in Pingxi City and he has already snatched away one of the talented individuals from my Pingxi Prefecture. What a pity! If only I met you earlier, Liqiang, the Patrol Inspector wouldn’t even have had such an opportunity. Don’t you think so too, Military Governor?”

“The people whom the Patrol Inspector have taken a fancy to naturally have promising talent!” Huangfu Qianqi responded humbly.

“I am flattered, sirs. I am only lucky to be given a chance to study by Lord Sun’s side...” Yan Liqiang pretended to be fearful. Being reunited once again with Huangfu Qianqi and Ye Tiancheng in his current position this time felt different for Yan Liqiang. This was the so-called wonders of fate. However, he was still putting on the facade of a naive youth.

“Hmm, serve Lord Sun well from now on. With his support in the future, achieving your goals will be a cinch. However, by that time, do not forget the fact that you grew up in Pingxi Prefecture, Liqiang. Your elders, relatives, and friends in your hometown at Pingxi Prefecture will miss you dearly...” Ye Tiancheng’s heartfelt words were meaningful, filled with expectations, and sounded exactly like the words of a ‘leading figure’. Yan Liqiang naturally nodded earnestly as he listened.

While talking, Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie had already led Ye Tiancheng and Huangfu Qianqi through a courtyard. A group of Sun Bingchen’s honor guards was busy loading stuff on the horse carriages in the courtyard.

“Liqiang, is Lord Sun leaving soon?” Ye Tiancheng asked casually.

“Yes. He has already informed us to pack up and be prepared to leave tomorrow...” Yan Liqiang cast a glance at Liang Yijie, then responded truthfully.

“Lord Sun has indeed worked hard during his stay in Pingxi Prefecture...” Ye Tiancheng smiled.

After walking some distance, Ye Tiancheng and Huangfu Qianqi’s entourages were directed to the side hall to take a break and enjoy a meal. Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie continued guiding both of them toward the main hall in the manor. Not long after that, the four of them finally arrived at the main hall and saw Sun Bingchen standing at the entrance. He was looking in their direction with a smile. Ye Tiancheng and Huangfu Qianqi quickly walked forward and bowed toward their superior.

“Greetings, Lord Sun!”

“Greetings, Lord Sun!”

“Hahaha, this is not the first time we have met. There’s no need for formalities!” Sun Bingchen waved his hand, then spoke to Liang Yijie indifferently. “There’s no need for you to stay here, Yijie. You may go check up on the rest to make sure that they are properly packing up our things. Just Liqiang alone here will do!”

“Understood, sir!” Liang Yijie bowed to Sun Bingchen before he excused himself.

“This way please!”

“After you, Lord Sun!”

After being courteous with each other, Sun Bingchen, Ye Tiancheng, and Huangfu Qianqi entered the main hall.

Sun Bingchen sat in the main seat inside the main hall while Ye Tiancheng and Huangfu Qianqi sat on either side of him. As Sun Bingchen’s personal attendant, Yan Liqiang stood two meters behind him, next to a screen. He remained standing respectfully as he waited for Sun Bingchen’s orders that could come at any time.

With the commencement of the banquet, the servants in the manor served the dishes which had been prepared in just the blink of an eye. Standing beside Sun Bingchen, Ye Tiancheng, and Huangfu Qianqi were beautiful maids who were in charge of pouring wine for them. The atmosphere in the hall was relaxing and harmonious.

Sun Bingchen lifted his wine cup, and Ye Tiancheng and Huangfu Qianqi followed suit.

Sun Bingchen looked emotional. “I recall my last visit to Gan Province was twenty-seven years ago. During the time, I was accompanying Lord Gu Hongzhang, a high official from the Ministry of War who had to visit Gan Province to inspect the armaments of the border military. I didn’t expect that the next time I visit Gan Province would be twenty-seven years later. Over these twenty-seven years, Gan Province underwent great changes. Once a land ravaged by wars, it is now surrounded by city walls with fertile lands which stretch on for thousands of li, while us, the Chinese, has also fully settled down in Gan Province. As a Patrol Inspector, I was truly relieved when I toured around over these days. Please allow me to apologize with this cup of wine for waiting until today to witness such magnificence!”

As soon as Sun Bingchen finished his opening speech, he downed the wine in his wine cup with a single gulp. When Ye Tiancheng and Huangfu Qianqi saw that, both of them also downed the wine in their cups. The banquet today officially commenced with this toast.

After Ye Tiancheng finished the wine in his cup, the maid beside him poured him another cup. He lifted his cup and seized the opportunity to speak. “And of course, the magnificence of Gan Province is inseparable from the great support of everyone in the imperial court, including the blood and sweat of our courageous officers and soldiers in the province. Hence, I would like to propose this second cup of wine as a toast to everyone in the imperial court and the officers and soldiers in the province!”

“Hahaha, that is indeed a good suggestion, Lord Ye! The second cup of wine will be a toast to everyone in the imperial court and also the officers and soldiers in the province!” Sun Bingchen laughed heartily.

...

Although Yan Liqiang was not sitting on the table, he also felt inspired by watching the three of them toast to each other with fervor in the main hall as a spectator at the side.

Among the three of them, Huangfu Qianqi had the lowest rank. Therefore, he spoke the least. If he was not spoken to, he wouldn’t speak up that much on his own accord. He was mostly just responding at the side. Sun Bingchan was controlling the overall situation while Ye Tiancheng followed along. The atmosphere in the hall appeared to be extremely harmonious.

After seven rounds of toasts and three courses of dishes, about an hour had passed and the food on the table had completely cooled down. The sky outside was already completely dark.

Unbeknownst to anyone, Liang Yijie appeared at the main hall’s entrance when the atmosphere in the dining hall was at its peak. He had personally sent people to serve another round of freshly prepared dishes.

“Why have you come, Yijie?” Sun Bingchen asked Liang Yijie.

“Sir, the stuff we will bring with us tomorrow have been packed. I am here to see if you have any other orders for me!” Liang Yijie bowed.

“As long as they are packed, then that’s good. You may leave!” Sun Bingchen smiled at him.

Although others might feel that nothing was out of the ordinary by listening to their conversation, to Yan Liqiang who had stayed many days by Sun Bingchen’s side, he couldn’t shake off the strange feeling of seeing Liang Yijie personally reporting to Sun Bingchen over trivial matters like this. Liang Yijie was a rather aloof person. He was very rarely involved in trivial matters like this, let alone personally coming in to report to Sun Bingchen.

Yan Liqiang carefully observed the expression on Liang Yijie’s face again only to find out that he seemed to be normal. However, his composure was filled with unusual coldness and tenacity.

Yan Liqiang suddenly felt nervous out of the blue while he listened to the conversation between Liang Yijie and Sun Bingchen.

“Understood!”

The moment Liang Yijie turned around and passed by Ye Tiancheng, he suddenly launched a surprise attack. The gleam of his sword suddenly flashed from his waist toward Ye Tiancheng who was at the side...

Chapter 186: Arrest

Liang Yijie’s surprise attack against Ye Tiancheng was definitely a great shock to everyone.

Everyone, including Yan Liqiang, didn’t expect Liang Yijie to suddenly strike Ye Tiancheng at a time like this.

Under such circumstances, Ye Tiancheng’s strength was instantly exposed.

The moment the gleaming sword swept across Ye Tiancheng, Ye Tiancheng sent the entire table before him flying toward Liang Yijie’s gleaming sword with a kick. This all happened as he prepared to flee by leaping to the side.

The plates and utensils on the table crashed to the ground with thunderous noises, and the table itself was split in half by Liang Yijie’s sword.

When Ye Tiancheng was about to leap, the maid who had been pouring wine for him from behind suddenly reached out with one of her hands from her long sleeve and gave Ye Tiancheng a light press on the back...

“UGH...!” Ye Tiancheng’s face instantly turned blue before he coughed up a mouthful of blood. He howled in rage, then swung his fist violently behind him. Like a dandelion in a squall, the maid spread both of her arms out and gracefully flew backward. She hooked one of her legs on a pillar not far behind her; with a swing, she balanced herself on the pillar which was parallel to the ground, thus evading Ye Tiancheng’s attack.

The gleaming sword relentlessly swept toward Ye Tiancheng again. Ye Tiancheng snarled furiously and his hair instantly stood on its end and was flying about. He spread his arms before his hands came together again like a huge pair of pliers, instantly catching Liang Yijie’s sword between them with a loud clap.

The attacks were swift and rapid. The previously cheerful atmosphere in the main hall grew intense in just the blink of an eye. The maids beside Sun Bingchen and Huangfu Qianqi were already screaming in terror, and their beautiful faces paled.

Yan Liqiang was dumbstruck by the scene before him.

Ye Tiancheng, who was refined and poised moments ago, looked pathetic in just the blink of an eye. His hair was disheveled and blood leaked from the corners of his mouth.

Sun Bingchen, who was still smiling, remained seated, and he was actually clapping his hands. “Good skill, good skill. As expected, the Prefectural Governor always keeps his own counsel. For you to be able to train your skill to the extent of catching a sharp blade empty-handed, you must have surpassed the Martial Grandmaster realm and is progressing into a Martial Knight...”

Ye Tiancheng, who caught the blade of Liang Yijie’s sword, looked at Sun Bingchen like a wounded stray wolf.

Huangfu Qianqi had stood up from his seat since long ago and was staring at Sun Bingchen, then at Ye Tiancheng in bewilderment. He seemed as though he was at a complete loss. “L-Lord Sun, what is going on...?”

“Pingxi Prefectural Governor, Ye Tiancheng, has colluded with Shatu people, abused his authority, committed treason, and devastated his citizens. As a Patrol Inspector, I have long secured conclusive evidence and shall arrest the Prefectural Governor right here. Do you have anything you wish to say, Military Governor?” Sun Bingchen’s expression instantly turned solemn as he stared at Huangfu Qianqi and spoke coldly. “I understand that although the Military Governor is also from Pingxi Prefecture, you are not part of Ye Tiancheng’s scheme. There is no need for you to panic.”

Upon hearing Sun Bingchen enumerating his crimes, Ye Tiancheng’s countenance instantly contorted. He snarled furiously and a burst of red light exploded from his body. He flung both of his hands and kicked, instantly sending Liang Yijie flying before he charged toward Sun Bingchen.

When the maid, who was standing on top of the pillar, saw Ye Tiancheng move, she instantly leaped into the air from the pillar with a shout. She flung her sleeve in midair, which then suddenly turned into a longsword that was a few zhang long. Like a rapid white waterfall, it stridently broke through the air and lunged toward Ye Tiancheng.

Ye Tiancheng struck his fist on the sleeve with a loud bang. The sleeve cracked before it shattered. Its fragments fell like fluttering snow in the skies before they burst into flames in midair, making Ye Tiancheng appear as though he was on fire. The maid who flew toward him got struck so hard again that she was sent flying backward once more. Ye Tiancheng spun around in midair and continued pouncing toward Sun Bingchen.

Sun Bingchen remained seated like an immovable mountain, holding a wine cup in his hand as he watched Ye Tiancheng who was closing in on him.

At this moment, Yan Liqiang moved. As Sun Bingchen’s personal attendant, Yan Liqiang made his choice when he made clear of the situation.

He didn’t have any weapons on him, not even a knife or sword. However, there was an incense burner beside him made out of copper and more than a meter in height. The copper statue beneath it was sculpted with exquisite craftsmanship. It held both of its hands high to prop the incense burner over its head. The incense burner was burning some spices in it and its fragrance was still emanating from within.

When Yan Liqiang saw Ye Tiancheng charge toward Sun Bingchen, he lifted the incense burner without a second thought. With a snarl, he rushed forward in front of Sun Bingchen and flung the huge incense burner like a weapon at Ye Tiancheng who was charging in their direction.

The weight of the huge incense burner was more than two hundred jin. With Yan Liqiang’s brute force, the burner was flung with a terrifying destructive force. The moment Yan Liqiang threw it with all his strength, a gust of strong wind rose around him.

Yan Liqiang’s hatred and murderous intent toward Ye Tiancheng, which he had been suppressing all this time, completely erupted at this moment and he wasn’t pulling any punches.

To others, Yan Liqiang’s action seemed like an act of bravery and fearlessness, undaunted by any dangers.

Watching the huge incense burner, which turned into Yan Liqiang’s weapon, coming head-on toward him, there was no way for Ye Tiancheng to dodge it either. Hence, he had no choice but to reach his hand out and hit the copper statue of the incense burner on its head with his palm.

As the saying goes, ‘A man who possesses brute force can take on ten martial experts.’ When Ye Tiancheng’s hand came into contact with the incense burner Yan Liqiang had flung at him, his expression turned grave. He didn’t expect Yan Liqiang’s wrists to be this powerful.

The moment they exchanged blows, Yan Liqiang felt the huge surging force from the copper statue. His entire body was sent flying from the impact of that force before he landed on the screen nearby. The screen was knocked to the ground and he became a tumbling calabash on the ground. On the other hand, Ye Tiancheng was stopped in his tracks from Yan Liqiang’s attack and he was even knocked a couple of steps backward.

Liang Yijie’s gleaming sword swept toward Ye Tiancheng again from behind like a rapid waterfall. When Huangfu Qianqi, who was hesitating, saw that even Yan Liqiang had charged toward Ye Tiancheng, he instantly snapped back to reality and responded. Not daring to remain as an onlooker at the side, he drew the longsword hanging at his waist. With an angry yell, he swung his sword toward Ye Tiancheng from the side.

When Ye Tiancheng was about to move, his face suddenly turned blue again. He coughed up another mouthful of blood. His movement was suddenly slowed down as he faced the converging attacks from Liang Yijie and Huangfu Qianqi...

...

Yan Liqiang tumbled across the ground for about ten rounds and only came to a stop when he hit the wall.

As soon as he came to a stop, he sprung up from the ground with a carp skip-up and looked toward the middle of the hall. Ye Tiancheng was already bleeding. He had sustained a sword injury on his shoulder, and his long gown was already soaked in blood. Yan Liqiang took another look around and noticed that the head of the copper statue under the incense burner was already dented, with a deep impression of a palmprint. When the incense burner crashed into the ground near where he was, a crater was created on the floor. He rushed over to pick that incense burner up, then charged toward Ye Tiancheng with a snarl again.

Ye Tiancheng didn’t wait for Yan Liqiang to reach him. He coughed up another mouthful of blood and fled to the exit. However, the moment he reached the exit, a huge net was cast from the other side of the exit, effectively trapping him inside. As soon as he was captured inside the net, two powerful crossbows were fired from outside, impaling his thighs. Ye Tiancheng let out a painful howl and instantly dropped to the ground. Before he could even get up again, Liang Yijie had charged toward him and brought his sword down consecutively upon him like a meteor shower. His sword gleamed each time it landed and Ye Tiancheng’s voice ceased abruptly...

“Ah, you killed him, Brother Liang...” Yan Liqiang who rushed toward them with the copper statue in his hands looked at Ye Tiancheng who had collapsed motionlessly on the ground like a dead fish caught in a net, thinking that Liang Yijie had killed him. He was unsure whether he should be happy or shocked about it.

Liang Yijie put his longsword away and cast a glance at Yan Liqiang. An impressed look flashed across his eyes. “Not killed. That was a sword acupoint sealing technique I’ve been cultivating. I merely sealed a few important acupoints in his body...”

Upon hearing Liang Yijie’s explanation, Yan Liqiang let out a long sigh of relief.

A few rather familiar looking guards rushed inside and restrained the motionless Ye Tiancheng with a full set of metal restraints in a flash...

Chapter 187: Submitting Without A Fight

It wasn’t until this moment that Sun Bingchen, who had been sitting just now, stood up and walked toward a captured and knocked-out Ye Tiancheng. He gazed at Ye Tiancheng from above and calmly said, “Yijie, watch over him personally. Don’t let him cause any trouble!”

“Yes, sir!” Liang Yijie sheathed his long sword and cupped his fists at Sun Bingchen before he took a few guards with him to detain Ye Tiancheng.

“Military Governor...” Sun Bingchen turned his gaze toward to a stern looking Huangfu Qianqi, who immediately stepped forward and stood at attention. “Your humble servant is here!”

Up until now, Huangfu Qianqi’s heart was still riddled with fear. Nevertheless, he had full respect for Sun Bingchen. It turned out that Ye Tiancheng was the reason why this Patrol Inspector came to Pingxi Prefecture in the first place. In the end, however, Ye Tiancheng might not have even predicted that he would fall into the scenario that Sun Bingchen had set up for him.

If the Patrol Inspector decided to make a move against Ye Tiancheng, then that meant that he had intended to make a move against the Ye Clan. Huangfu Qianqi was a bit excited yet uneasy when he thought about the rapid and collision between these events. As the Military Governor of Pingxi Prefecture, he had never seen the things that the Ye Clan had done in Gan Province, but he more or less heard about it before. He had long since harbored dissatisfaction toward Ye Tiancheng, but as Military Governor of Pingxi Prefecture, he had to keep his thoughts to himself no matter how many opinions he had. Huangfu Qianqi had to suffer under Ye Tiancheng’s control on normal days too.

“How many soldiers are there inside and outside of Pingxi City? Do they all listen to your command?” Sun Bingchen looked at Huangfu Qianqi with gleaming eyes.

“There are ten barracks altogether inside and outside of the city, which means there are 26,000 soldiers in total. Eight barracks amongst the ten will absolutely listen to my orders. The remaining Liu Barracks and Tu Barracks are confidants whose loyalty have been bought by Ye Tiancheng. Usually, they will only heed to Ye Tiancheng’s deployment...”

“Mm, not bad. This is in line with my understanding of the situation. Liu Quanzhong and Tu Chunyun are indeed commandants of the same party with Ye Tiancheng!” Sun Bingchen nodded his head and continued speaking with Huangfu Qianqi. “I will give you a mission right now.”

“What do you have for me, sir?”

“No one from the outside knows about this incident yet. Go now and bring back Liu Quanzhong and Tu Chunyun to me. At the same time, you have to guarantee that the Liu Barracks and Tu Barracks will not start a riot. Can you do that?”

“Rest assured, Lord Sun. As long as your humble servant goes out and finds a reason to arrange a meeting with the Barrack Generals at the Military Governor’s Office, I will take them down as soon as they arrive. Most of the soldiers in the Liu Barracks and Tu Barracks are faithful and loyal. Once both Liu Quanzhong and Tu Chunyun are captured, I will go to their barracks and make them obey your command with unwavering will!”

“Good!” Sun Bingchen nodded and turned to look at Yan Liqiang with a gentle smile. He asked with deep concern, “Liqiang, are you alright?”

“I’m fine, it’s just a minor flesh wound. I can still fight!” Yan Liqiang cheerfully replied.

Sun Bingchen nodded in satisfaction and said, “Good. Liqiang, I’ll have to trouble you again for going to the Military Governor’s Office with the Military Governor tonight. After you manage to apprehend Liu Quanzhong and Tu Chunyun, bring them back here!”

Yan Liqiang could only comply with the order when Sun Bingchen arranged a target for him. “Understood!”

“Sir, your humble servant... would like to ask another question.” Huangfu Qianqi said after hesitating for a while.

“Please, ask!”

“If the Shatu people in the city catch wind of Ye Tiancheng’s capture and proceed to siege the barracks and government, or even start a riot, I wonder how we should handle that. Can you please give us advice on that, sir?”

“If every Shatu person in the city starts a riot, will the soldiers from the ten barracks inside and outside of the city be able to suppress their rebellion and protect the civilians from harm?”

Huangfu Qianqi creased his brows and said in a low voice, “Even though the number of Shatu people is aplenty, there aren’t many who can actually fight in a battle. Their superior weapons aren’t as good as mine either. If they really are going to start a riot, the ten barracks of Pingxi City will be sufficient enough to hold them down!”

Sun Bingchen sneered, “In that case, why do you still need to ask? As long as the Shatu people daringly start a riot, I will grant you the authority to make a swift decision and kill them. Tell your subordinates that the heads of the Shatu people will be the basis of merit for their battlefield!”

The words uttered by the Patrol Inspector, who was smiling and drinking wine moments ago, made him seem like he was a god-killer. Yan Liqiang felt a chill roll down his spine at those words. If his message had to be passed on to the subordinates, aside from death awaiting those Shatu people, there would be no second chance should they try to start a riot. Patrol Inspector Sun Bingchen’s words could essentially turn every soldier from the ten barracks in Pingxi City to ferocious tigers.

After receiving orders from Sun Bingchen, Yan Liqiang and Huangfu Qianqi proceeded to leave the place together. Before they left, Yan Liqiang couldn’t help but look at the maid beside Ye Tiancheng just now. However, he noticed that the woman was taking off her mask, revealing an appearance of picturesque beauty behind that facade.

When she sensed Yan Liqiang watching her, she quickly turned her head toward him and stared back with a cold gaze, causing Yan Liqiang to shiver uncontrollably.

Goddammit, this woman was actually Li Mochou [1] herself.

In just a short amount of time, the manor that Sun Bingchen was currently staying at had been enforced with tight security without showing it on the outside, which changed it to something entirely different. The guards who were cleaning the mess a moment ago had already begun moving and they equipped themselves with armors and crossbows, guarding various places inside the manor. All the stewards and servants who were originally based inside the manor gathered together to watch the place. None of them dared to make any suspicious moves. Whatever information they had could not be leaked out from the manor.

As Yan Liqiang followed Huangfu Qianqi, he spotted two of his bodyguards currently resting at the courtyard inside the manor, patiently waiting for Huangfu Qianqi to return.

Those people who had followed Ye Tiancheng inside just now were now separated from him and they were lured to another courtyard. Moreover, they had been taken down by Liang Yijie without a peep. Both Huangfu Qianqi’s bodyguards did not hear anything either, which was why both of them still had no idea what was going on inside the manor.

“Sir...” The two bodyguards who were currently resting quickly stood up when they saw Huangfu Qianqi enter the courtyard.

“Back to Military Governor’s Office!” Huangfu Qianqi said nothing else and gave a clear-cut order, bringing those two bodyguards and Yan Liqiang along with him as they exited the door.

After a few minutes, Huangfu Qianqi, Yan Liqiang, and two of Huangfu Qianqi’s bodyguards mounted on their rhinodrakes together. They then left the manor toward the Military Governor’s Office.

After they left the manor, Huangfu Qianqi turned around to look at the manor and realized that the entire place was still brightly lit, which was almost the same scenario as when he arrived. He was secretly fearful of Sun Bingchen’s approach on the situation. When he turned to look at the youthful Yan Liqiang, who had mounted on a rhinodrake as he followed from behind, Huangfu Qianqi’s perception toward him had completely changed.

If it were other people, they wouldn’t understand the reason why Sun Bingchen allowed Yan Liqiang to follow him to the Military Governor’s Office. However, Huangfu Qianqi, who had been with the officials and the military for most of his life, understood why. By dispatching Yan Liqiang with him, Sun Bingchen wanted Yan Liqiang to take all the credit and achievement for himself by apprehending Liu Quanzhong and Tu Chunyun without any risk or danger. As long as this young man followed him and captured those two, it would theoretically be considered an achievement. In other words, he would be participating in the apprehension of Ye Tiancheng’s important partners in Pingxi Prefecture.

When Huangfu Qianqi thought of that, he began to feel a little bit envious because he knew that this young man called Yan Liqiang had earned Sun Bingchen’s trust just by rushing forward to protect Sun Bingchen when Ye Tiancheng charged at him for the attack just now. He would have a promising future due to the trust endowed by Sun Bingchen. The reason Sun Bingchen allowed him to tag along was to give him a chance to redeem his credit, as well as to strengthen his usefulness for the future. Otherwise, it would have been sufficient for Sun Bingchen to order Huangfu Qianqi to capture Liu Quanzhong and Tu Chunyun and bring them back by himself. He could guarantee that those two would be brought back without a single problem. There was no need for Sun Bingchen to allow a young man to tag along like this...

Sometimes, a person’s choice could determine the outcome of many different things.

Yan Liqiang turned around and flashed a smile at Huangfu Qianqi when he sensed Huangfu Qianqi watching him. He didn’t say anything, yet Huangfu Qianqi could sense from Yan Liqiang’s smile that he had already realized Sun Bingchen’s intention of sending him here.

Whatever Huangfu Qianqi could think of, Yan Liqiang could do the same as well. However, at that moment, besides these thoughts in his head, Yan Liqiang was still amazed at the wonders of fate. At the same time, he felt a bit helpless too. He didn’t expect that he would be forced to confront the Ye Clan head-on in the end after turning around to jump on Sun Bingchen’s bandwagon, thinking that he had already temporarily escaped the dispute with the Ye Clan.

At this moment, Yan Liqiang’s only hope on Sun Bingchen was that he’d better have something up his sleeves. Acting against Ye Tiancheng at Pingxi Prefecture was only the beginning. They better be capable of eradicating the Ye Clan once and for all. Otherwise, it would not be a joke if the Ye Clan were to get their revenge.

......

After following Huangfu Qianqi for a moment, Yan Liqiang finally arrived at the familiar Military Governor’s Office.

As soon as they arrived at the office, Huangfu Qianqi immediately called upon a herald and asked him to beckon all the Barrack Generals for a meeting at the Military Governor’s Office. The reason was simple – to arrange the escorts for Patrol Inspector Sun Bingchen’s departure from Pingxi Prefecture tomorrow.

After he sent away the herald to swiftly transmit his orders, Huangfu Qianqi then called upon his confidant in front of Yan Liqiang once more and secretly made some arrangements. He decided to have a bunch of armed men rush toward those two on his signal when they arrived later...

Yan Liqiang could not help but laugh when he heard that at the sideline, “You don’t need to do that, Military Governor. I have a plan that will guarantee those two to obediently submit themselves without putting up a fight. There’s no need to have your army risk themselves and fight them!”

“Is there a plan to do that?” Huangfu Qianqi was slightly in disbelief.

However, he cried out in amazement after listening to Yan Liqiang’s plan...

......

In about less than an hour, all the Barrack Generals in Pingxi City who received the military orders from the Military Governor’s Office arrived at White Tiger Hall in succession for the meeting. Eight Barrack Generals came in one after another, and when all of them were present, they had to wait another ten minutes until two more commandants wearing Barrack General coat armor came in late. It was only then that the meeting could convene as usual.

“PAK...!” Huangfu Qianqi gazed angrily at the last two Barrack Generals who came in late and slammed the table, “Liu Quanzhong and Tu Chunyun, why are you two late for the meeting at White Tiger Hall today? Do you know what crimes you have committed?”

“We rushed here as soon as we received your orders. The sky was dark and the journey was long, which was why we were late. What crimes have we committed?”

Even though those two Barrack Generals were slightly surprised by Huangfu Qianqi’s outburst, one of them still managed to utter a retort back to him. It seemed like this Barrack General wasn’t even afraid of Huangfu Qianqi by the look on his face.

“Insolence. Guards, take these two away. I’m going to have the Prefectural Governor make the judgment...” With the orders from Huangfu Qianqi, two of his bodyguards quickly rushed in and pinned those two down.

The two Barrack Generals wanted to resist at first, but after struggling for a while, they relented and allowed Huangfu Qianqi’s bodyguards to seize their weapons away and tie them up using a rope. They showed no sign of fear. One of them even sneered at Huangfu Qianqi like a dead pig unafraid of boiling water, “Then let Prefectural Governor judge us and see whether Military Governor has been overly harsh on us or not...”

With a glance from Huangfu Qianqi, two other bodyguards quickly moved in, apprehended those two by tying their hands behind their backs, and put on a full set of metal shackles on their hands, feet, and necks...

“Huangfu Qianqi, what are you doing...” The two Barrack Generals became disconcerted and exclaimed upon seeing Huangfu Qianqi locking them up with steel shackles and treating them with the means reserved specifically for felonies...

“Idiots!” Huangfu Qianqi cursed...

......

Chapter 188: Report On A Meritorious Performance

The other Barrack Generals exchanged glances as they witnessed Liu Quanzhong and Tu Chunyun be apprehended through such means by Huangfu Qianqi. At that moment, they weren’t sure why Military Governor Huangfu Qianqi would even use this method to deal with Liu Quanzhong and Tu Chunyun.

“Huangfu Qianqi, just you wait. Let’s see how you explain yourself when you meet the Prefectural Governor later...”

“Huangfu Qianqi, you old croon. This is an abuse of your power for your own revenge. I am going to report you and make you bear all the consequences...”

Liu Qianzhong and Tu Chunyun, who were immobilized as a result of being bound by shackles, continued to curse incessantly inside White Tiger Hall.

“Guards, shut their mouths...”

Huangfu Qianqi’s trusted soldiers, who were detaining both Liu Quanzhong and Tu Chunyun, immediately socked the prisoners a few dozen times across the face upon receiving the orders, causing those two to bleed mouthfuls of blood. As a result, most of their teeth were knocked loose and their faces were swollen like pig heads. After that ordeal, the guards found two tattered rags and shoved them into their mouths. Both Liu Quanzhong and Tu Chunyun could only make whining noises inside the hall as they shot hostile gazes at Huangfu Qianqi.

Huangfu Qianqi sneered when he saw their hostile gazes. He gave a cursory gaze at the other Barrack Generals and said, “Just a moment ago, the Prefectural Governor of Pingxi Prefecture Ye Tiancheng was detained by Patrol Inspector Sun due to his treason to the country and withholding truth from the emperor by colluding with the Shatu people. By the orders of the Patrol Inspector, I am to arrest Liu Quanzhong and Tu Chunyun as well...”

Some of the Barrack Generals were shocked listening to his words, while some were excited by the news. Liu Quanzhong and Tu Chunyun, who couldn’t speak anymore, began to grow pale as they listened to Huangfu Qianqi’s words. Their bodies were trembling as well...

“Blast it. It should have been like this from the start. We have been treating those Shatu people like our grandfathers under Ye Tiancheng’s control during these few years. The Shatu people are nothing but wicked, brutal, and unreasonable, yet Ye Tiancheng cared about none of that. He plays dumb and allows them to have their way all the time. If we treat the Shatu people a little bit harshly, he will jump out and use the Writ of Grace to suppress us. He treats Shatu people like his father, itching for us soldiers to kneel to them. Our brothers have voiced their complaints since the beginning and couldn’t understand why the Shatu people were allowed to do as they please. It turns out that Ye Tiancheng is indeed in collusion with them. Lord Sun has caught him well...” One of the Barrack Generals slammed the table and cursed aloud.

“Sir, we as brothers will unquestionably heed to your commands on whatever you do...” The other Barrack Generals began to express their loyalty as well. Usually, they wouldn’t dare to say such things like this, but since the Patrol Inspector had already caught Ye Tiancheng, then they had nothing else to fear. Basically, they would heed to the Patrol Inspector and the Military Governor’s commands from now on.

“Lord Sun already has plans for that...” Huangfu Qianqi then turned toward the screen behind him and said, “Guard Yan, please come out...”

Yan Liqiang had been inside White Tiger Hall this entire time. However, since he wasn’t a militant of Pingxi City, he had to hide behind the screen under Huangfu Qianqi’s request, allowing him to witness the moment where Huangfu Qianqi was able to successfully detain both Liu Quanzhong and Tu Chunyun.

The Barrack Generals inside White Tiger Hall were more or less shocked when they saw Yan Liqiang walking out from the screen behind Huangfu Qianqi. Even so, some of them already knew who Yan Liqiang really was.

“Greetings, everyone!” Yan Liqiang smiled and cupped his fists in respect to everyone present at White Tiger Hall as soon as he stepped out from the screen. His friendly smile had given most of them a favorable impression of himself in an instant.

“Let me introduce you all to someone. This is Guard Yan, Sun Bingchen’s attendant and bodyguard. Guard Yan came to the Military Governor’s Office this time under the orders of Lord Sun to apprehend Liu Quanzhong and Tu Chunyun!” After giving a simple introduction about Yan Liqiang, Huangfu Qianqi politely inquired, “Is Guard Yan going to take away both Liu Quanzhong and Tu Chunyun now?”

“Since both of them are caught, I will have to trouble the Military Governor and the other Barrack Generals to handle the rest of the matters. I will take them away and report to Lord Sun now!” Yan Liqiang said with a sense of discretion.

“Good!” Huangfu Qianqi nodded his head. He then turned toward the soldiers inside White Tiger Hall and called out, “Xiang Zhong!”

“Your subordinate is present!” A stumpy but strong commander at the door stepped forward and cupped his fists at Huangfu Qianqi after directing soldiers to round up both Liu Quanzhong and Tu Chunyun.

“Take your own troops and send these two back to the Chu Manor with Guard Yan. Once there, keep an eye on them and listen to Patrol Inspector’s every command. If you encounter mobs coming in to attack the Chu Manor, kill them all without mercy, regardless of who they are!”

The commander named Xiang Zhong lifted up his head to look at Huangfu Qianqi and replied with a brilliant shine in his eyes, “Understood!”

......

Beside the Military Governor’s Office was a campsite populated by the soldiers of two barracks. Xiang Zhong’s subordinates were inside that very campsite.

In just ten minutes, Xiang Zhong managed to lead his own battalion as he escorted Yan Liqiang and the captured Liu Quanzhong and Tu Chunyun back to the Chu Manor.

According to the military system of the Great Han Empire, the battalion described in this context consisted of six companies with a hundred people in each unit. Therefore, one battalion would have six hundred people in it. The highest-ranked official of the battalion would be the Battalion General, and their military rank would be the lowest one amongst the commandants. The commandant of these battalions was none other than Xiang Zhong, Huangfu Qianqi’s trusted subordinate.

The battalion led by Xiang Zhong were not ordinary foot soldiers but Huangfu Qianqi’s elite soldiers. They were already heavily armed once they left the barracks, exuding an air of murderous intent.

Yan Liqiang was among the six hundred convoys who were tasked to escort the two prisoners who were currently like a fish in a barrel. He then returned to the Chu Manor without much effort.

During this journey, Yan Liqiang couldn’t help think that this success was too easy to achieve.

The movement of six hundred people walking together on the streets was considered loud, especially during the night. The orderly yet harsh footsteps completely shattered the silence lingering on the streets.

When Yan Liqiang left the Military Governor’s Office, Huangfu Qianqi also led his own army while mounting on a rhinodrake as he rushed out from the same place. The other Barrack Generals, on the other hand, hurriedly returned to their respective barracks.

Theoretically speaking, the current atmosphere in Pingxi City was already quite tense. But because it was too tense during the past few days, the problems caused by King Cobra and the son of the Prefectural Governor were considered severe. By night time, the law enforcers and soldiers were everywhere on the streets in the city. Because of that, everyone disapproved of the soldiers in the streets and the movements inside the Military Governor’s Office. Some were already numb to the entire situation. Most of them didn’t expect that Pingxi City was already quietly undergoing a huge change under their noses.

......

Yan Liqiang returned to the Chu Manor without any problems. However, when he entered the manor, he discovered that there were a bunch of Wanderers inside.

When he saw Sun Bingchen inside the main hall of the manor, there were two men in the Wanderer attire standing in the middle and an officer from Pingxi City who was currently kneeling on the floor as he kept knocking his head on the ground for Sun Bingchen. He was tied up all the while bowing to the ground, causing his forehead to bleed. This officer was stained in his own mucus and tears as he begged, “My lord... I was told to do all these things by Ye Tiancheng. I couldn’t defy his orders... I ask that you examine this matter... Whatever you want to ask... I will confess to it all...”

Yan Liqiang recognized the officer tied on the ground. He was a judge of the Law Enforcement Office in Pingxi City...

Sun Bingchen only took his attention away from the item akin to a written complaint on his hands when he noticed that Yan Liqiang had come back to make his report. He smiled at Yan Liqiang and said, “Thank you for your hard work, Liqiang. Step down and have a rest!”

In Sun Bingchen’s opinion, there was indeed nothing else he needed Yan Liqiang to do after that...

Chapter 189: Revered

After Yan Liqiang came out from the main hall where Sun Bingchen resided and handed over Liu Quanzhong and Tu Chunyun to the guards to watch over them, Liang Yijie was in his line of sight.

When Yan Liqiang saw Liang Yijie, he quietly pulled him to one side and inquired in a low voice, “Brother Liang, why are there so many Wanderers inside the manor now? When I arrived, there were only a few. I was startled and thought that something had happened to the manor!”

“Don’t worry. These Wanderers who came to the manor were organized by Lord Sun a long time ago. They stand with us...” Liang Yijie explained, smilingly.

Yan Liqiang was shocked, “Could it be that Lord Sun dispatched those Wanderers here when King Cobra was causing trouble in Pingxi City?”

“Of course. Did you really think that Lord Sun came to Pingxi Prefecture without any preparations? A large group of Wanderers was coincidentally gathering together at Pingxi City during that time, so Lord Sun decided to make use of this opportunity and dispatched a few Wanderers here. Those Wanderers gathered a lot of incriminating evidence against Ye Tiancheng during these few days. And because of the conclusive evidence, Lord Sun was able to make his move against him.”

“How come the Wanderers are willing to listen to Lord Sun’s orders?”

“Hahaha, well, you will know if you stay by Lord Sun’s side for a few more days. Being a Wanderer is just an identity for those people. They have another identity, and that is being a disciple of the Wise Ruler Sect. Lord Sun has an extraordinary relationship with the Wise Ruler Sect. If he wants the disciples of the Wise Ruler Sect to help him do something, one word is enough to make them move!” Liang Yijie seemed cheerful. He kept on patting on Yan Liqiang’s shoulder forcefully and gazing at him with admiration as he explained, “Your performance was good at the main hall just now. I thought you wouldn’t dare to do anything at first, but when Ye Tiancheng charged toward Lord Sun, you were the first one to retaliate and clashed with him without fear. This is what an attendant of Lord Sun’s should do. Lord Sun didn’t pick you for nothing!”

Yan Liqiang scratched his head and chuckled, “I didn’t think too much just now. It’s just when I saw Ye Tiancheng about to make his move against Lord Sun, I couldn’t stand aside and watch it happen...”

“As long as Ye Tiancheng and the main party members are taken down, Pingxi City will never drown in chaos again!” After the previous experience, Liang Yijie’s attitude toward Yan Liqiang was heightened to the point where he became much kinder to him. In a sense, he treated Yan Liqiang as one of his people.

“Brother Liang, I heard that Ye Tiancheng is one of the three Ye of the Ye Clan in Gan Province. If Lord Sun takes down Ye Tiancheng in Pingxi City, will the Ye Clan be willing to easily dismiss this matter? You should already know that the Ye Clan in Gan Province, especially the one in Weiyuan Prefecture, isn’t one that ordinary clans can be compared to. This... it might be fine inside Pingxi City, but will a riot break out in Weiyuan Prefecture...?” Yan Liqiang asked, half-concerned and half-curious about the situation. After all, Sun Bingchen and Liang Yijie were not Gan Province locals. They didn’t have to worry too much about whatever they did. On the other hand, Yan Liqiang’s home was in Gan Province. Everything he did today had pretty much affirmed his thoughts for Sun Bingchen and Liang Yijie and subsequently gained their trust. However, in other people’s perspectives, he had hopped onto a pirate ship, destined to fight with the Ye Clan to the end in the future. Even if he only considered it for the sake of his father, Yan Liqiang would have to make preparations beforehand first.

“Lord Sun has chosen to patrol the northwest region this time with the purpose to go against the Ye Clan. The Ye Clan was being selfish for colluding with the Shatu people and secretly did things that could incur the indignation of the people. They are already considered cancerous for the Gan Province and the empire, and they must be eradicated. Don’t worry, Lord Sun will take down Ye Tiancheng in the city tonight. Something will happen to Provincial Governor Lei Sitong of Gan Province today as well. The Ye Clan isn’t an opponent of the imperial court no matter how powerful they become!” Liang Yijie said to Yan Liqiang with a murderous tone.

“That’s good...” Yan Liqiang let out a long sigh of relief.

Yan Liqiang could only sigh at the thought of his last encounter. This butterfly effect that he created was too horrifying. Last time, even if he was dead, the Ye Clan was still fine for a few years and Ye Tiancheng remained as the Prefectural Governor for Pingxi County. However, he was able to survive this time. From the moment Ye Xiao was beaten to death by the civilians that night, everything had changed.

“You’ve worked hard today, Liqiang. There’s nothing more now. If you feel tired, you should just go and rest...”

“I’m fine on my part as well. I can’t sleep even if I want to. Let me help Brother Liang and guard these prisoners together!”

...

Yan Liqiang and the others were just participants throughout the entire process as Sun Bingchen took down Ye Tiancheng and secured peace at Pingxi City. In other words, they were just witnesses of certain events at the right time.

During the entire process, he was only lucky to witness the events unfold and he contributed an insignificant effort to the cause. He had no part in the decision-making process, nor had he any irreplaceable use or value. Even when Sun Bingchen and Liang Yijie kindly asked him to rest, he still couldn’t understand some of the things lingering in his mind.

When he read about novels regarding traversing time in his past life, the main characters who traveled to another world would always be able to massacre every army with ease. Those characters from the other world would always seem like they had low IQs and would always be casually played by the main character. However, after he truly returned to life in this world this time, he finally realized that he was the biggest fool of them all for treating others like one.

Even if Yan Liqiang already knew that his intelligence was incomparable to Einstein’s, he was still considered to be a smart person. However, even with his current intelligence, he was only able to slightly understand what had happened after thinking about it for an entire night.

And because he finally understood the situation, Yan Liqiang was truly able to feel deep respect toward this Patrol Inspector named Sun Bingchen.

Yan Liqiang felt that Sun Bingchen had been putting up a smokescreen for Ye Tiancheng to confuse him from the moment he recruited him as his attendant.

His capability may have been appreciated by Sun Bingchen to a certain extent, but Sun Bingchen did not recruit him solely based on the feelings of appreciation.

If he were Ye Tiancheng and he saw a Patrol Inspector coming to Pingxi City to freely recruit a young man born in Pingxi City as his attendant, what would he think of it? There were two possible thoughts: the first one was that Sun Bingchen had very few people that he could actually use, and the second was that Sun Bingchen was entirely unwary of Ye Tiancheng. If Sun Bingchen were to actually do something to Ye Tiancheng at Pingxi City this time, then it would be a bad move to spontaneously recruit a young man whom he had no idea about in Pingxi City after meeting him only once. Was Sun Bingchen not afraid that this young man might possibly be an acquaintance of Ye Tiancheng’s?

It was believed that this was the exact move that allowed Ye Tiancheng to drop his guard against Sun Bingchen.

Meanwhile, this wasn’t the only way to stun Ye Tiancheng. There were many other ways to do so.

During those days, Sun Bingchen openly met up with those officers...

Sun Bingchen’s quick inspection tour around Pingxi City...

And even his decision to allow his accompanying bodyguards and honor guards to clean up some things before making his move against Ye Tiancheng...

With the release of all these smokescreens, Ye Tiancheng had no choice but to be confused by Sun Bingchen. And because these preparations had been set up beforehand, Ye Tiancheng was defenseless when he came to the manor on the night they had planned to make their real move against him. Ye Tiancheng had no idea that Sun Bingchen would lay his hands on him.

But in truth, those Wanderers who stood together with Sun Bingchen had already arrived at Pingxi City prior to Sun Bingchen’s arrival and they had secretly set up all the preparations, weaving a trap to snare Ye Tiancheng.

Even the maid who fought with Ye Tiancheng had already lurked into this manor beforehand, waiting for the moment to take down Ye Tiancheng in one fell swoop. The informers that Ye Tiancheng had concealed within this manor had instead prevented him from seeing through the real danger lurking ahead.

Sun Bingchen did not take action tonight based on a spur of the moment, but on premeditation. He had already built a tacit understanding and coordination with Provincial Governor Lei Sitong of Gan Province beforehand.

The distance between Pingxi City and Gan Provincial City was quite large. It would require two days to send a message between two places even with a fast steed. Naturally, it would require time for Sun Bingchen and Lei Sitong to discuss and coordinate their plans in order to reach an understanding. The said time required to wrap up the agreement was believed to be during the days when Sun Bingchen had a quick tour around Pingxi City.

Moreover, this wasn’t the part that Yan Liqiang admired the most. It was Sun Bingchen’s control and confidence toward Huangfu Qianqi that Yan Liqiang admired the most. He knew that once he had taken down Ye Tiancheng, Huangfu Qianqi would definitely take his side and quickly diffuse the situation in Pingxi City. This was the reason why Sun Bingchen was brave enough to bring one hundred or more men to Pingxi City to take down the Prefectural Governor.

Everything was tranquil and in harmony when nothing happened. Once he made his move, all hell broke loose in a thunderous manner!

To be honest, Yan Liqiang could never keep up this kind of method, strategy, judgment, and decision-making ability even if he had the experiences of his past two lives.

...

Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie guarded the courtyard for the night. He kept standing guard while thinking about the past events.

Once in a while, those who had been captured would be sent to this courtyard for them to keep watch.

Some of them were sent by the Wanderers while some were sent by the soldiers dispatched by Huangfu Qianqi.

The situation in Pingxi City was finally calm when dawn arrived. The number of prisoners in their courtyard had increased to a few dozen. Ye Tiancheng and his gang had been cleaned out entirely. All of Pingxi City had completely fallen into Sun Bingchen’s hands. The first announcement had already been posted out to the public...

Two hours after dawn, Sun Bingchen asked someone to inform Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie to deliver these prisoners to the jail in the city...

Chapter 190: Feelings

On the night of the 18th day of the twelfth lunar month, the Prefectural Governor of Pingxi Prefecture Ye Tiancheng was caught. It wasn’t until the 19th that the announcement was posted. All of Pingxi Prefecture was shocked by the news. And it was during the same day that Patrol Inspector Sun Bingchen was officially moved from the Chu Manor to the Prefectural Governor’s Office in Pingxi City. He personally assumed command of the office. Meanwhile, Ye Tiancheng and his accomplices were locked up and guarded inside the jail within the city.

For the sake of stabilizing the situation in Pingxi City, Huangfu Qianqi put out an order on the night of the 18th and moved three barracks from his subordinates’ county at Pingxi Prefecture to the city. Unfortunately, Gong Tieshan’s Gong Barracks in Huanglong County was moved to Pingxi City as well.

Other than that, the soldiers’ defense station in the ten barracks situated near Pingxi City also underwent some adjustments. The soldiers in four barracks, who were originally stationed outside of the city, were moved into the city. A few of the important pathways near the gathering area for Shatu people in the city were heavily guarded by a large number of troops to prevent Shatu people from taking advantage of the disorder to cause trouble.

Sun Bingchen already had plans on what to do after Ye Tiancheng was captured. He had arranged everything in good order as he had made preparations and management decisions for various types of emergencies. Because of that, when it was announced that Ye Tiancheng had been detained by the Patrol Inspector, Pingxi City wasn’t met with the least bit of disturbance. Everything moved along peacefully and calmly.

As for most of the citizens in Pingxi City, they weren’t too concerned with the matter of who would become the next Prefectural Governor. Their only concern was their own livelihoods and personal lives. As long as their livelihoods weren’t affected, such events were just after-dinner conversations for them. Moreover, due to the incident with the son of the Prefectural Governor, the Ye Clan and Ye Tiancheng’s reputation in Pingxi City had sunk to the bottom of the abyss. Even though Ye Tiancheng had already made the Wang Clan of Huanglong County his scapegoat while he struggled to clean up his mess, the citizen’s perception and understanding toward him could not be altered that easily. They weren’t fools either – your son did so many evil things in the city, who would believe you when you, the father, said that your son was influenced by bad people without your knowledge?

Other than that, the Shatu people had been acting increasingly arrogant and violent in the city for the past few years. Ye Tiancheng had done nothing to stop them as the Prefectural Governor. In fact, he continued to fan the flames of the Shatu people and condone their every move. The citizens witnessed all of that. His son was in trouble this time because they had colluded with the Shatu people. Therefore, when the announcement indicating that Ye Tiancheng had colluded with the Shatu people was released, as well as his treason to the country and withholding truth from the emperor and the citizens of Pingxi City, these people were ecstatic and delighted about it that they quickly went around to spread the news. Nearly none of them complained about the injustice that had been done against Ye Tiancheng.

How could Pingxi City become a mess again even in this kind of situation?

Yan Liqiang only knew about it two days later. During the same night, the Provincial Governor of Gan Province, Lei Sitong, was also caught in a trap, subsequently allowing the other ‘two Ye’ amongst the ‘three Ye’ in the Ye Clan – Supreme Judge Ye Tianhao from the Law Enforcement Office in Gan Province and Military Governor Ye Tianfa from the Military Governor’s Office in the same province – to be caught as well. Their crimes were also cited to be colluding with the Shatu people, treason to the country, and withholding the truth from the emperor. After these three people from the Ye Clan were captured, the entire clan was thrown into chaos. On the 19th day, Provincial Governor of Gan Province Lei Sitong personally led twenty thousand armies and raided four hundred li of the Weiyuan Prefecture, surrounding the Ye Fortress in an enclosure.

Compared to what happened in Pingxi City, everything that was happening in Weiyuan Prefecture truly shook the entire province.

And just when Gan Province and Pingxi City were undergoing major changes, Yan Liqiang, who was involved in one of those incidents, suddenly found himself with some free time as he had nothing to do anymore.

Yan Liqiang was also aware that he was too young, not powerful enough, and lacked any sort of authority. In the eyes of others, he was still considered an adolescent kid. His cleverness and intelligence were not worth mentioning in the meantime. It also made sense that Sun Bingchen did not organize any work for him because the trust of others toward his capability and moral characteristic could never be built in just one day. Even so, Yan Liqiang was patient.

Perhaps others would inevitably feel disappointed when they put themselves in Yan Liqiang’s shoes as they constantly wanted to show what they were capable of. However, in Yan Liqiang’s case, he wasn’t disappointed at all. In fact, he didn’t want to pretend as if he was a hotshot in front of Sun Bingchen. Ever since the move to the Prefectural Governor’s Office, he hadn’t had any contact with the outside world nor with his own family. If Sun Bingchen and Liang Yijie didn’t have anything arranged for him, he would rather stay in his small courtyard and cultivate his Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing, ‘Ten Dragons Ten Elephants Divine Technique’, and ‘The Golden Bell Divine Protection Technique’ in peace. When nighttime arrived, he would then wander to the Heavenly Realm and continue cultivating his career at the Divine Sword Sect. He wanted the best of both worlds, and he would refuse to loosen his grip on both of them.

Thus, he spent his time immersing in his cultivation. In just a few days, regardless of whether it was in real life or in the Heavenly Realm, his dantian Qihai that was akin to that of a dried-up lake had been slowly replenished and moisturized by his vital Qi. His Qi sensation in his dantian Qihai had become increasingly stronger as well. The ‘Golden Bell Divine Protection Technique’ that he had cultivated began to develop a unique sensation too.

Sun Bingchen could not help but subtly approve of Yan Liqiang’s performance these past few days. He initially thought that a young man at Yan Liqiang’s age would be more lively and unable to calm down. In this sort of situation, a young man would easily make a slip-up or cause trouble for his superior. However, he didn’t expect Yan Liqiang to be this calm and steady. He simply didn’t act like how a young man should. Indeed, this kind of behavior was more reassuring.

......

In the morning of the 22nd day of the twelfth lunar month, due to the lack of work from Sun Bingchen, Yan Liqiang went to his small courtyard after he did his morning regime and had breakfast. He started striking the Iron Arms Technique and Iron Palms Technique from ‘The Golden Bell Divine Protection Technique’ under a pine tree. His arms and palms rhythmically pounded against the pine tree trunk. In just less than ten minutes, Goldie, who was guarding the entrance of the small courtyard, started barking.

Yan Liqiang stopped when he heard Goldie bark. He knew Liang Yijie had arrived, so he halted whatever he was doing and rolled down his sleeves.

“Liqiang, the dog you raised is very clever. It’s just like a security guard if you place him right at the door!” Liang Yijie’s voice could be heard even before he arrived.

“Brother Liang!”

“Mm, are you alright now...”

“I’m fine. I’m currently working on my muscles...” Yan Liqiang smiled.

“Were you sick of doing nothing for the past few days?”

“Not really. I couldn’t help Lord Sun with anything these few days, so I thought I shouldn’t create more trouble for him!”

“Hahaha...” Liang Yijie guffawed, then nodded his head, “I just came from a meeting with Lord Sun. He mentioned you in our conversation and even praised you for being calm when encountering a predicament. He wants you to go out with me and handle a task to gain experience and strengthen yourself!”

“Alright!” Yan Liqiang didn’t ask what sort of task they needed to do and simply put on his coat. He allowed Goldie to stay at the small courtyard and took his long sword before he followed Liang Yijie out from the Prefectural Governor’s Office.

About ten or so guards that belonged to Sun Bingchen were already waiting at the door. Upon seeing Liang Yijie and Yan Liqiang come out, all of them quickly hopped onto their mounts and headed toward the outskirts of the city.

“Brother Liang, what is our task?” It was at that moment that Yan Liqiang finally asked Liang Yijie a question.

“We are going to raid that bastard’s, Ye Tiancheng’s lair...”

Upon hearing those words, Yan Liqiang was shocked for a moment. Within a few seconds, he understood where this group of people was heading.

Ye Tiancheng’s residence at Pingxi City was the Prefectural Governor’s Office on the surface – in front of the office was the tribunal while his residence was located behind the office. However, in reality, Ye Tiancheng had another relatively hidden residence outside of the city. Not a lot of people knew about it though.

The group of people wearing official clothing rushed along the main street of the city on their rhinodrake steeds, armed with their swords. The whole scene was quite cool. Wherever they went, they would garner stares from the citizens along the street. When they heard the galloping from the steeds, they quickly made way for the rhinodrake steeds to pass through. Along the way, Yan Liqiang could hear exclamations of ‘Wow...’, ‘So these are the guards of Patrol Inspector Sun...’, ‘They are all good men...’, ‘They are the ones who took down that scum Ye Tiancheng...’, and other praises and exclaims of amazement.

Even though he was riding on his rhinodrake steed, this feeling was more prestigious than drifting along the road on a Lamborghini in his past life.

Each of the guards straightened their backs, lifted their chins, and acted like they were dignified upon listening to the praises and exclamations of amazement as well as seeing their respectful gazes from the citizens along the street. Moreover, Yan Liqiang, who was experiencing this sort of scenario for the first time, felt a strange heat surging in his chest. This feeling was more emotional than the time he got first place in his department in his past life, where he received the highest bonus from his company. It was also more exciting than the time he was ranked first place amongst the top three...

One was for himself, and the other was for the citizens...

This sort of feeling left Yan Liqiang, who was riding on his rhinodrake steed, in a trance. In the midst of it all, Yan Liqiang seemed to have vaguely made sense of something...

Chapter 191: Discovery

The galloping rhinodrake steeds arrived at the northern gates of Pingxi City in just a flash.

The checkpoint at the northern gates was stricter than usual. Not only that, the number of soldiers stationed at the city gates was also three times more than the regular amount. When Yan Liqiang and the rest arrived, they didn’t dismount from their steeds. Instead, Liang Yijie, who was riding in front of them, picked up a token and flashed it to the military officer who was guarding the exit. After the military officer took a good look at it, the party passed through the city gate’s tunnel.

As they rode through the tunnel, Yan Liqiang spotted a Shatu caravan stopped by the soldiers who were guarding the city entrance ahead of them.

“All you Shatu people, dismount your steeds! You are no longer allowed to enter the city while still on your mounts! Goods will be inspected and all of you will have to pay double the toll...!” A military officer at the entrance loudly ordered the Shatu people as they sat on their steeds.

“What? Why must we dismount? We were allowed to enter the city on our steeds before this and our tolls were waived...!” The leader of the Shatu caravan shouted back at the soldiers in fluent Chinese, right before the other Shatu people behind him started to make a ruckus.

The military officer at the entrance roared with laughter. As soon as the laughter ceased, the tone of his voice instantly turned cold. “Why, you ask? Let me tell you why. There’s been some changes in Pingxi City. We goddamn won’t be spoiling you anymore, and we certainly won’t let you all feel entitled. Is this reason enough? If you wish to enter the city, then you’ll have to do it according to our rules. If you don’t want to enter the city then get out of the way and don’t obstruct the traffic here. Brothers, what will we do if they dare to forcefully barge through?”

“KILL!!” The rows of soldiers standing at the city gates yelled angrily and pointed their spears at the Shatu people. The archers on both sides of the gate tower also aimed their bows downward. After being used to riding roughshod over others, the countenances of the Shatu people instantly contorted at being treated in such a way for the very first time, and they fearfully pulled their steeds a few steps back.

Seeing Yan Liqiang and the rest galloping out from the tunnel on their steeds, the soldiers guarding the city gates immediately chased the Shatu caravan to the side to give way to them.

When they passed by the Shatu people, Liang Yijie shot an icy glance at them. More than ten rhinodrake steeds then wooshed past the group of Shatu people.

By the time they galloped a hundred meters past the city gates, Yan Liqiang heard the citizens cheering behind them. He turned his head around and saw that the group of Shatu people had obediently dismounted their steeds and paid the toll in order to enter the city.

“How do you feel, Liqiang?” Liang Yijie asked, turning his head around to Yan Liqiang.

“This should’ve been done earlier!” Yan Liqiang replied bluntly. “When I first came to Pingxi City, I’ve seen these Shatu people acting all high and mighty as they arrogantly rode their way into the city. After receiving preferential treatment for such a long time, they probably feel like they’re the fitting rulers of Pingxi City!”

“Hahaha, indeed this should’ve been done earlier! If Ye Tiancheng were allowed to continue his unscrupulous collusion with the Shatu people and commit treason for his personal gain, sooner or later those people will definitely bring great calamity upon our Great Han Empire!”

“The Shatu people are all ingrates. If that day truly came, it might just be a good thing!” Yan Liqiang chuckled.

“Why would it be a good thing?”

“We can get rid of the whole lot once and for all!”

Upon hearing Yan Liqiang’s words, Liang Yijie briefly stared at him before he nodded wordlessly.

......

As soon as the group of people exited the city, they instantly sped up their steeds. They rode along the public road. In just less than a few minutes, they arrived at a small mountain about seven or eight li away from the northern city gates.

The small mountain was situated near to the public road and was covered by a dense bamboo forest, causing it to appear rather quiet and secluded. At the foot of the mountain was a creek.

A manor was situated in the depths of the bamboo forest, occupying an area spanning several hundred mu. The manor seemed to be a rather mysterious place. Even the villagers in the surrounding towns and villages at the foot of the mountain had no idea who lived on this mountain. All they could see from the distance was a glimpse of the building’s crimson walls and green roof tiles. If anyone tried to ascend the mountain, they would be stopped at the foot of the mountain by the manor guards. Therefore, it was impossible for anyone to even ascend that mountain.

Only a handful of people in the entire Pingxi City knew that this was the real residence of the Prefectural Governor, Ye Tiancheng. Aside from work-related matters, that so-called Prefectural Governor’s Office was merely a place Ye Tiancheng visited once in awhile. Even Ye Tiancheng himself rarely lived in the courtyard behind the Prefectural Governor’s Office. Ye Tiancheng’s longest stay in the Prefectural Governor’s Office was probably during Sun Bingchen’s visit to Pingxi City these past few days.

By the time Yan Liqiang and the rest arrived on the mountain, several hundred soldiers had already gathered among the bamboo forest outside the manor. They were currently surrounding the entire manor. Apart from these soldiers, there was also a group of people waiting outside the manor, all dressed in bailiff’s uniforms.

Upon seeing that Liang Yijie and the rest had arrived and dismounted, one of the military officers and a bailiff hurriedly came over.

“Greetings, Lord Liang!” The military officer bowed to Liang Yijie. Although Liang Yijie was Sun Bingchen’s attendant, his official rank wasn’t low. Therefore, it was natural for the military officer to address him as a ‘lord’.

Liang Yijie nodded to the military officer. “No one has entered here over the past few days, right?”

“None. This place has been seized since the 19th and we have been standing guard here ever since. We’ve surrounded the area and have isolated all the servants inside and brought them away. No one has come here over the past few days!”

“Thank you for the hard work, everyone!”

“No problem at all!” The military officer then introduced the bailiff beside him to Liang Yijie. “This is Constable Han from the Law Enforcement Office.”

Constable Han was an honest-looking man with a tanned square face that was covered with a full beard. He seemed no different than a village farmer.

“Greetings, Lord Liang!” Han Constable bowed to Liang Yijie as well.

As soon as Yan Liqiang, who was standing beside Liang Yijie, heard Constable Han’s voice, his heart suddenly jumped, though his face remained stoic. This voice was exactly the same as the one he heard the other day at Qi Donglai’s place – the man who Qi Donglai referred to as his ‘Master’. Not only did they share the same voice, upon closer inspection, the body shape of this constable also matched the figure he saw that night. This person was a member of the White Lotus Society, hidden among Pingxi City.

In order to sniff this person out, Yan Liqiang was planning to loiter around the Law Enforcement Office’s entrance once he had the time to do so. Little did he expect to actually bump into him here.

The supreme judge from the Law Enforcement Office was one of Ye Tiancheng’s lackeys, and he had already been imprisoned. However, many bailiffs and constables in the Law Enforcement Office were still out there. Despite his Patrol Inspector title, not even Sun Bingchen could arrest all his underlings.

Yan Liqiang remained calm and collected. Constable Han only cast a glance at Yan Liqiang and didn’t seem to recognize him at all.

“Upon receiving Lord Sun’s orders, in just two days, Constable Han already found a few artisans who were involved in building this manor back then. Those artisans know every structure in this manor like the back of their hand, and they’ve already been brought here...”

The two artisans that Constable Han had brought here used to be involved in the manor’s construction back in the days. Liang Yijie asked them about some details regarding the construction of the manor and also for information of any secret passages or basements. After that, he led the two the two artisans inside the manor to conduct a search, bringing along Yan Liqianq’s party, as well as some of the soldiers stationed outside.

Constable Han and the other soldiers remained outside. Naturally, a few bailiffs and constables had no right to search the Prefectural Governor’s residence.

Yan Liqiang could still feel someone’s gaze behind him, unobtrusively lingering on their disappearing silhouettes as they entered the manor.

Although he had finally found that person, Yan Liqiang couldn’t bring himself to be even a little happy. This feeling was akin to discovering a terrorist, yet having no way to expose him and instantly bring him to justice.

Yan Liqiang wasn’t that well informed on the White Lotus Society, and he’d also never come into contact with the organization before. However, from the news and information he had heard, the organization which planned to build this White Lotus Heaven was definitely an entity that wished for the whole world to plunge into chaos. In those places where the White Lotus Society stirred up trouble, their backbone was made up of the so-called White Lotus Army. They propagated slogans about building the White Lotus Heaven where everyone would be wealthy landowners, claiming that everyone was the rightful rulers of the world. They gained followers, tried to get everyone involved, sabotaged government offices, killed officials, eradicated influential clans, abducted women, and pillaged. Like a swarm of locusts, they engulfed all that stood before them, instantly turning the world upside down into a purgatory.

From everything Yan Liqiang had learned, the slogan of the White Lotus Society seemed to be a rather sensational one. Alas, a slogan would always remain a slogan. In the history of mankind, every organization that had a slogan which instigated people to create chaos often had a few ruthless figures filled with wild ambitions behind it. Organizations like these either failed or succeeded. In the end, only a handful of people would benefit from it. The socioeconomic structure of this world would still remain the same, and most people who believed in this slogan would often end up as nothing more than mere scapegoats or piles of skeletons beneath the ground.

Pingxi Prefecture was Yan Liqiang’s hometown where many of his families and friends lived. Of course, Yan Liqiang wouldn’t wish to witness such calamity befall his hometown.

Constable Han was nothing more than the tip of an iceberg when it came to the White Lotus Society in Gan Province, or more like just the Pingxi Prefecture. Yan Liqiang couldn’t help but feel heavy in his heart when he thought about the possibility of countless people scheming in the dark behind this man.

“Liqiang, you will lead this group of people to search in the courtyard and the rooms on this side. Apart from secret rooms and tunnels, you will also need to look out for any hidden compartments or the like inside the rooms. Lord Sun received some news and information which indicated that Ye Tiancheng might have hidden some sensitive documents here, such as the letters exchanged between some big shots in the imperial court and the Shatu people. In these past few days, Ye Tiancheng kept his lips sealed tight during his prison interrogations. He wouldn’t utter even half a word. No one around him knew where he’d hidden all those things either. Therefore, Lord Sun wishes for us to find everything he’s hidden here!”

After they entered the manor, Liang Yijie patted Yan Liqiang on his shoulder and whispered all of this to him with a serious expression on his face.

His words pulled Yan Liqiang from his worrying thoughts on the White Lotus Society, bringing him back to reality. Yan Liqiang took a look at the richly ornamented courtyards in the manor, then nodded. “I will keep an eye out for them!”

......

After allocating specific areas amongst themselves, Yan Liqiang led a few of Sun Bingchen’s guards, an artisan, and a group of soldiers, towards the left-side courtyard. Liang Yijie led the others toward the courtyard on the right side.

As soon as they entered the courtyard on the left side, they were greeted by the sight of a huge house. The entrance was shut, but there were no official seals pasted over the doors. Instead, the doors and windows were sealed by only two strips of cotton paper which resembled official seals. It was a little trick to ensure that no one would go inside before they officially seized the property for an investigation.

The soldiers and guards who followed Yan Liqiang inside already had their sleeves rolled up as they watched him eagerly.

“Let’s begin, everyone. Take care not to damage anything. Other than furniture, move out all the belongings you can carry. Look out for any hidden compartments or slots in the room or in between the beds and cabinets. Anyone who can find any hidden compartments or slots will be rewarded with a hundred taels of silver!” Yan Liqiang waved his hand after he finished speaking. Like hungry tigers ready to pounce on their prey, he immediately led his group of people into every room and started the search.

Sun Bingchen’s guards and the soldiers didn’t know each other, so there was no need to worry about them colluding with the other to do anything. Besides, Yan Liqiang was also watching them from the side. Even if he wasn’t, he already knew what was inside the rooms of this manor. He knew everything Ye Tiancheng had done here. He also knew the location of the things which Sun Bingchen and Liang Yijie had tried so hard to find. However, he was not at liberty to tell or show them the location. That was because the hiding spot was just too ridiculous. Even if he could show them the hiding spot now, he wouldn’t be able to provide a convincing explanation as to how he came to know about it. Therefore, if they wished to find the things Ye Tiancheng had hidden here, he would have to use another method which would seem logical to the others.

It was impossible for a cunning person like Ye Tiancheng, who was adept at pretense, to possess no wealth. But even if he did, he wouldn’t stash all his money in this manor either. This manor hid real gold and silver, but their total worth did not amount to millions. Instead, the most valuable items in those rooms were some antique collections.

Yan Liqiang watched those soldiers and guards who were conducting the search from the side. They carried every valuable from the rooms and brought them outside the courtyard. In just a flash, the items in the courtyard were piled up like goods at courier companies.

They found money too, but not much – just two boxes of silver which made up a grand total of several ten thousands taels.

......

“Guard Yan, come take a look at this...” When Yan Liqiang was patrolling around the corridors, watching the guards and soldiers carrying every item out of the rooms, one of the guards immediately called Yan Liqiang over after a few of them barged into one of the rooms ahead.

Yan Liqiang actually already knew what was stashed in that room.

Yan Liqiang walked to the room. As expected, he saw that after they barged into the room, the few guards and soldiers were now secretly salivating at all the items inside it. This was a collection room and every weapon rack in this room was holding a portion of Ye Tiancheng’s collections.

Ye Tiancheng’s collections amounted to over twenty items. Each and every one of them was a valuable object, and included long and short weapons. One sword in particular had been placed at the most conspicuous spot in the room. One of the soldiers was instantly stunned as soon as he unsheathed the sword, and he gathered the rest over to him. Someone had only called Yan Liqiang over after they noticed how unusual that sword was.

The blade of that longsword resembled a translucent green aquatic plant. The unsheathed blade gleamed and shimmered, casting a lush green light on the entire collection room. Everyone could see a strange big fish swimming within the glowing green blade.

The group of soldiers stared at the longsword, their eyes sparkling with awe. Even a fool could tell that this longsword was definitely a treasure.

The moment Yan Liqiang walked over, everyone who gathered there instantly handed over the longsword to him.

“Strange, why is there a fish swimming inside the blade of this longsword...? That’s really amazing! Did it gain sentience...?” One of the soldiers couldn’t help but sigh with amazement as he gazed the sword from the side.

Yan Liqiang accepted the longsword and carefully swung it a few times. This longsword, which had been spirit bound with the core crystal of a rare beast, was indeed a valuable treasure. He wasn’t an expert, but upon closer inspection, he felt that this spirit-bounded longsword still seemed to be a little inferior to the one in the Hundred Soldiers Tower at Divine Sword Sect. Despite the beautiful exterior of the sword, it still lacked that stunning aura possessed by the longsword he saw in the Hundred Soldiers Tower.

“It’s not that it’s gained sentience... The longsword was probably forged with the Spirit Binding technique...” Yan Liqiang feigned ignorance.

“Oh? What is this Spirit Binding technique, Guard Yan?” A curious guard at the side immediately asked.

“The Spirit Binding technique is the fusing of a weapon with a rare beast’s core crystal during the casting process in weapon making. It is a unique weapon enhancement technique. Blacksmiths who can master such a skill are highly revered figures in the Great Han Empire...”

“You sure know a lot, Guard Yan!”

“Haha, I only know a little about it from a book I read at the martial arts academy...” Yan Liqiang explained while sheathing the longsword back into its scabbard, then passed it to a soldier beside him. “Move all of this out and keep looking carefully for any hidden compartments or slots in the room...”

“Understood!”

......

Two hours later, Yan Liqiang’s group had already searched every room for any secret passages or hidden rooms. Apart from discovering some gold and silver, and a handful of collections, they also discovered some evidence of Ye Tiancheng’s extravagant lifestyle. As for the most important documents or letters that might have been hidden in any secret compartments, no one had managed to see any of it!

......

After they moved everything outside, Yan Liqiang joined up with Liang Yijie and the group he led. Upon seeing the expression on Liang Yijie’s face, Yan Liqiang knew that the result of his search over on that side wasn’t much different than his side.

They exchanged a glance with each other. When Yan Liqiang shook his head at him, Liang Yijie instantly frowned. “Bring your group to search over at my side again while I bring mine to search your side. We will conduct the search again to see if we overlooked anything!”

“Alright!”

An hour later, both parties met up again without making any new discoveries.

“Well then, load everything onto the carriage and bring them back to the warehouse for an inventory check. We will return first to report to Lord Sun...” Liang Yijie finally said without a choice.

“Wait a minute, Brother Liang...” Yan Liqiang leaned his head toward Liang Yijie’s ear then whispered something softly.

Liang Yijie laughed. “Sure, how thoughtful of you! There should be no harm in rewarding them with some silver. This must be what Lord Sun meant by ‘what is taken from the people is used in the interest of the people’...”

Every participating soldier and guard received ten taels of silver each, military officers received fifty taels, and even the artisans who showed the group around also received ten taels of silver. The few soldiers, bailiffs, and constables who stood guard outside also received some silver. Nobody was left out. When everyone received a share of the silver, they were jumping in joy.

In the end, the belongings and collections they found in the manor were loaded onto more than ten carriages. The soldiers who were guarding the place were asked to continue guarding the courtyard to deny others from entering. Liang Yijie and Yan Liqiang led their people back to Pingxi City with all the items they seized in tow...

Chapter 193: Daringly Boasts To Devour The Heavens In Two Mouthfuls

At night, in the Prefectural Governor’s study room...

Sun Bingchen was now the new owner of the study room, which Ye Tiancheng had just recently used a few days ago. Since Ye Tiancheng rarely stayed in the Prefectural Governor’s Office, everything in there still looked very new. The place was decorated like any standard Prefectural Governor’s official residence. The rear courtyard, in particular, looked like one found at a high-class hotel. After Sun Bingchen moved into the Prefectural Governor’s Office, the entire place revolved around him.

In just a few days, the entire Pingxi Prefecture settled down under the efforts of Sun Bingchen. Correspondingly, in addition to Ye Tiancheng, the prison also gained a few more county magistrates and officials. These people had been identified as Ye Tiancheng’s henchmen, so naturally, nothing good awaited them.

Sun Bingchen was currently sitting in his study room, with a thick stack of testimonies on the table. Upon closer inspection, one would find that all these testimonies were from the Wang Clan of the Huanglong County. All of them had already been marked and the red circles stood out clearly among the black handwriting, akin to spilled blood. The future of more than a hundred lives in the Wang Clan hinged on those testimonies...

As soon as Sun Bingchen heard footsteps outside his door, he pinched the bridge of his nose then placed the nearly half-foot-thick stack of testimonies down heavily on the table. He picked up his teacup, took a sip of the tea which had long cooled down, then cleared his throat before he spoke to the person standing outside the door. “Come in, Yijie...”

“Sir...!” Liang Yijie came in then bowed to Sun Bingchen.

“How did it go?”

“We have inspected everything we seized from the Ye Residence and didn’t make any discoveries from them. A few Wanderers from the Wise Ruler Sect have also conducted another search in Ye Tiancheng’s manor, but similarly made no discoveries. Do you think...” Liang Yijie hesitated with his words a little.

Sun Bingchen shook his head. The expression on his face was as cold as steel. “The information from the Imperial Capital is definitely reliable. That person has personally communicated with the Ye Clan three times by letter over the course of the past few years in the Imperial Capital. After communicating twice, the Ye Clan suddenly seemed to be very in favor of the Shatu people. Aside from directly misappropriating the weapons produced by the Gan Province army and making deals with the Shatu Seven Tribes, the Ye Clan also secretly smuggled things like ballistas to the Shatu people through the Shatu Seven Tribes. As you know, items like ballistas have been banned under the imperial court’s order. They have thoroughly lost their minds after being blinded by self-interest and personal gain. According to Ye Tiancheng’s personality, if that person had given even the slightest hint in one of his letters, Ye Tiancheng would definitely keep it as a protective amulet instead of simply destroying it. As long as we can find that as evidence, only then can we hope to defeat that man in the imperial court back at the capital. Apart from this, there should also be some letters left from the communication between Ye Tiancheng and those Shatu people in the Gan Province...”

“I understand!” Liang Yijie nodded calmly. “Will you be able to pull some more tricks on Ye Tiancheng, sir?”

“When one has attained the same cultivation realm as Ye Tiancheng, one can then utilize Qi as a defense mechanism. As long as he still breathes, he won’t feel any pain even if you decapitate him. Therefore, those so-called ‘tricks’ are no longer effective on someone like him!” Sun Bingchen shook his head.

“I understand now. If that doesn’t work, then please grant me a few more days, sir. If he indeed used some secret spots to hide those things, I’ll uncover them even if it means tearing down that manor or digging three feet down into the ground!”

“Good!” Sun Bingchen nodded, then suddenly seemed to recall something. “How is Yan Liqiang’s performance today?”

“According to the few guards I’ve planted around him, they reported that during the search, Yan Liqiang actually had a few opportunities where he could have embezzled a few valuable items for himself. However, he never laid a finger on any properties while he scrupulously carried out his duties. In the end, he only took several dozen taels of silver as a reward for our hard work, the same amount as me...”

“Several dozen taels of silver? What is that about?”

Liang Yijie proceeded to explain how they came to share some money today.

“Would you have done the same as Liqiang did when you were fifteen, Yijie?”

The question made Liang Yijie think for more than ten seconds before he honestly shook his head. “When I was fifteen, I would have beaten him in terms of strength and martial techniques. I wouldn’t lose to him either when it comes to staying loyal to my duty and keeping calm, even in the face of money’s temptation. However, at fifteen, my insight on the ways of the world was not as clear as his, and I wouldn’t have been as capable in handling such difficulties with ease. Perhaps there are many youths of his age who are stronger than him. Even so, if they are compared to each other by different aspects, none can outshine him or even come close to him. Furthermore, his impressive memory and the strength he possesses are indeed rare qualities. I still suspect that he hasn’t fully revealed his true capabilities! I have to say that you indeed have a pair of sharp eyes and have good insight to be able to identify such a talented individual, sir!”

Sun Bingchen smiled without commenting on anything else. “How about the situation of his clan? Have you found out everything?”

“I have already arranged for someone to investigate and indeed we have verified that what Yan Liqiang said was the complete truth without any lies!” Liang Yijie smiled wryly. “At this point in time, even I’m starting to believe that his claim of receiving a deity’s teachings to save those drowned people is real...”

“How can we possibly know everything about the mysteries of the universe, heaven, and earth?” Sun Bingchen remarked rather emotionally.

Liang Yijie was slightly shocked because Sun Bingchen’s words were quite inconsistent with the character he usually displayed. It was worth noting that Sun Bingchen mostly quoted things like ‘human wisdom will definitely prevail over the heavens’, ‘a martial practitioner is one with martial arts’, or ‘to not speak of supernatural, puissance, disorders and deities’. Then why did he seem to be so moved today...?

Sun Bingchen seemed to also realize that his previous statement was a little out of character. Even so, he wasn’t obligated to explain himself to Liang Yijie, so he only cleared his throat. “Do you have any other business with me, Yijie?”

“Oh right, there’s still something else from my side. Over the past few days, I’ve gathered quite a lot of information from outside claiming that the Wang Clan incident in Huanglong County was orchestrated by Ye Tiancheng, and that the Wang Clan was falsely accused. Not only that, they also wished for Lord Sun to decide their fate...”

“Hoho, I was just reading those testimonies from the Wang Clan a few moments ago...” Sun Bingchen gently patted the stack of documents on his table before a smile broke out on his face. “Although Ye Tiancheng is guilty of terrible crimes, his action towards the Wang Clan might not necessarily be wrong. The Wang Clan has only brought trouble upon themselves through their own actions, and they are also guilty of monstrous crimes. Hence, they can’t say anything about being wronged. Even so, in the attempt to clear his name of suspicion, Ye Tiancheng’s actions towards the Wang Clan was indeed too brutal. He didn’t let anyone go, regardless of their age or gender and this has violated the Will of Heaven. I shall amend the verdict – all properties of the Wang Clan shall be confiscated. The verdicts passed to all adult males shall remain as they are; those who should be killed, will be killed. The punishments for minors shall be reduced by half, their capital punishments shall be deferred but they will work out their sentence through penal servitude. The women shall be banished to Pan Province, and any children below the age of twelve shall be settled away from their mothers...”

“Lord Sun is wise!”

After Liang Yijie left the study room, Sun Bingchen shut his eyes and sat down at his desk for a while. However, he couldn’t sit still so he stood up and started pacing around the study room. After pacing for two rounds, he couldn’t help but carefully take out a brocade pouch he stashed close to his chest and opened it, laying his eyes once again on a note inside the brocade pouch.

There were only two lines on that note – ‘The youth of the Northwest daringly boasts to devour the heavens in two mouthfuls.’

The note was very new and seemed to be freshly written. The handwriting was rather sloppy and there were specks of red between the two lines of words...

The person who wrote this note had passed away after he penned it, and this was also the last item he left on the surface of this world.

The person who passed this note to Sun Bingchen was the present emperor of the Great Han Empire.

As the Patrol Inspector, Sun Bingchen’s real objective behind his visit to Gan Province this time was only known to two people in this world...

Sun Bingchen carefully stashed the note away into his brocade pouch again, then walked to the side of his desk. He dipped his writing brush into some ink and then wrote the Chinese character ‘Yan’ (嚴) on a piece of white paper. He looked at the character ‘gan’ (敢) – for dare, at the bottom of the ‘yan’ character, the ‘han’ (厂) character in the middle – which is half of the ‘yong’ (用) character which meant ‘to use’, and the two ‘kou’ (口) characters for ‘mouth’ at the top. He then frowned, his eyebrows knitted together.

A voice kept endlessly circling his heart, as though interrogating him with the question – ‘Are you that person?’

...

After Yan Liqiang returned to his courtyard and paced around in it the entire day, he finally made up his mind that it was Goldie’s time to shine...

Chapter 194: Another Meritorious Performance

Early next morning when the sun had just risen, Yan Liqiang went to find Liang Yijie on his own accord.

“Brother Liang, there’s something I’d like to discuss with you to get your opinion.”

Although he was perfectly confident, Yan Liqiang pretended to hesitate when he spoke as though he didn’t really have any confidence.

“Oh, what is it?” Liang Yijie asked curiously.

“Regarding the search we conducted yesterday at Ye Tiancheng’s manor... We didn’t make any discoveries, right? After we returned, I suddenly thought of an idea that we could try out. If it works, we might be able to find the stuff Ye Tiancheng had hidden!”

Upon hearing Yan Liqiang say that he had an idea which they could try, Liang Yijie who was worried about this incident instantly felt a rush of energy. He looked left and right first before he quickly pulled Yan Liqiang under a cypress tree at the side. He lowered his voice and asked, “What’s your idea? Let’s hear it!”

“Well... You know I have a dog, right, Brother Liang...?”

“Yes, that’s right!” Liang Yijie nodded.

“When I lived in Wuyang Village back then, I found out that dogs have an unusually keen sense of smell after I spent a long time together with mine. I guess everyone wasn’t wrong in claiming that dogs have sensitive noses. When I was playing with my dog back then, sometimes I’d deliberately hide some stuff in very secretive and very far places. I didn’t expect that even without looking at where I hid them, it could still track down those items just by smelling my scent with its nose. So I thought that if Ye Tiancheng had indeed hidden anything in that manor, perhaps we can find it if I bring Goldie along to give it a try!”

In Liang Yijie’s opinion, Yan Liqiang’s idea seemed to stem from an overly rich imagination at first, because no one had ever done such a thing before. Besides, everyone’s understanding of dogs was limited and they were used for two things at most – for hunting and to look after houses. Just as Yan Liqiang had mentioned, everyone knew that dogs had very sensitive noses, but no one in this world seemed to fully comprehend just how keen its sense of smell could be. Even so, Yan Liqiang still proposed a valid idea which was at least significantly more effective than tearing the entire manor down and digging three feet into the ground. Since they had no other better ideas, then there was no harm in giving this a try.

While keeping this in mind, he couldn’t help but have some slight doubts. However, after considering it for a few seconds, he nodded. “Hm, yes we can give it a try. We can go if you bring your dog today?”

“We can go anytime!”

“Great. We’ll leave now then!” Liang Yijie had always been a swift and decisive man. Since they had already made a decision, they should immediately begin their operation.

Yan Liqiang didn’t need to make any preparations either. He whistled only once and Goldie had already quickly arrived before him while wagging its tail.

Both of them made their way to the stable in the backyard to prepare two rhinodrake steeds, then instantly set out from the Prefectural Governor’s Office on their steeds with Goldie running behind Yan Liqiang.

“Can your dog keep up with the steeds?” Liang Yijie asked when he took a glance from his steed at Goldie which was unhurriedly following two meters behind Yan Liqiang.

“There’ll be no problem at all in the city. If we slow down the pace a little when we are outside the city, it will be able to keep up!” Yan Liqiang replied with a smile.

Of course, this statement was only meant for Liang Yijie’s ears. In reality, Goldie would definitely be able to keep up with a rhinodrake steed galloping in the wild. This creation from the Heavenly Stone was definitely not an ordinary dog despite their similar appearances.

Since man is the paragon of animals, the Heavenly Stone required 100 intelligence points and vitality points respectively to create an average man. However, Goldie was born with 50 intelligence points and 50 vitality points – equivalent to half a man. With that much energy spent on a dog, the difference between Goldie and any ordinary dog was like day and night.

Yan Liqiang had tested Goldie out before in the mountains and discovered that it exhibited qualities which were beyond that of a dog, regardless of its intellect, endurance, and reaction speed. He once encountered a stray wolf with Goldie on the mountain before. However, the speed, reaction, and strength of the wolf were significantly inferior to Goldie’s when they fought each other. In just a flash, Goldie left terrible bite marks all over the stray wolf, which fled with its tail between its legs in the end. If it wasn’t for Yan Liqiang’s intention to spare the life of the stray wolf, Goldie would have been able to effortlessly torture it to its death. From that point onward, Yan Liqiang fully understood that Goldie mustn’t be regarded as a dog despite the fact that it was a dog.

Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie went past the city gates and slightly raised the speed of their rhinodrake steeds. After galloping two or three li away from the city, Liang Yijie turned his head around and much to his astonishment, he realized that Goldie was still excitedly running closely behind Yan Liqiang’s rhinodrake steed instead of lagging behind. He nodded and told Yan Liqiang, “No wonder why you insisted on taking this dog everywhere you go. It is indeed quite an interesting one!”

“Yes! It is very obedient if you are nice to it!” Yan Liqiang chuckled.

In just a short while, Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie once again arrived at the entrance of that manor.

The soldiers they saw yesterday were still guarding outside the manor, prohibiting unauthorized people from entering the vicinity. However, there wouldn’t be any issues if Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie wished to go in.

As for the dog which followed Yan Liqiang here, the soldiers didn’t seem to be bewildered once they found out it was Yan Liqiang’s pet. They just thought Goldie had followed them here to have fun.

Compared to yesterday, the inside of the manor was completely empty when both of them entered. All the soldiers remained outside and they didn’t follow them inside.

“How should we begin?” Liang Yijie asked Yan Liqiang.

“We will go to Ye Tiancheng’s bedroom first to let Goldie familiarize itself with his scent, then go to the study room to let Goldie smell the scent of ink. I’m guessing that with both odors, it would be easier for it to track down the location of that thing!”

“Good!” Liang Yijie nodded, then followed Yan Liqiang and Goldie to Ye Tiancheng’s bedroom. “Liqiang, I’ll leave the rest up to you!”

Yan Liqiang pointed to the bed in the bedroom and instructed Goldie, “Go sniff on that!”

Goldie immediately ran toward the bedside per Yan Liqiang’s instruction, then sniffed around the bed. It then jumped directly onto the bed and sniffed around before it jumped off again and came back to Yan Liqiang, wagging its tail.

Yan Liqiang opened the wardrobe in the bedroom, pointed at the Ye Tiancheng’s clothes inside, and had Goldie sniff them too. There was a study room near the bedroom where Yan Liqiang later retrieved a piece of paper and an ink stick – he let Goldie smell them too.

“Someone hid something in this manor. Inside that hidden item is something which smells kind of like this ink and paper, but it may also have a completely different scent. Go search for it, Goldie!”

“Woof, woof...!” Goldie barked softly in response to Yan Liqiang. It instantly lowered its head and sniffed the floor while wagging its tail. It sniffed toward the outside of the door, with Yan Liqiang following behind it...

Liang Yijie was greatly astonished at the scene before his eyes. “Liqiang, your dog can understand what you are saying?”

“Well... I feel like it can.” Yan Liqiang humbly replied.

In reality, not only could Goldie understand Liqiang’s words, if Yan Liqiang needed anything, he didn’t even have to move his mouth; all he had to do was signal it with his eyes, then Goldie would carry out his orders...

.......

Goldie quickly sniffed every corner of the rooms around the courtyard. It roved around with Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie silently following behind it. About ten minutes later, Goldie wandered into the rear garden of the manor. After making two rounds, it started barking while scratching at a rock of about several hundred kilograms by the pondside in the garden.

Upon seeing this, Yan Liqiang reached out to flip the big rock over without a second thought.

“Don’t tell me it has been buried under the ground...” Liang Yijie suddenly felt a rush of energy as he carefully inspected the ground underneath the rock.

However, Goldie was still scratching that rock with its paws and it started barking again.

“Brother Liang, I think Goldie is trying to say that this rock seems fishy...” Yan Liqiang said while he started groping the area that Goldie was scratching. Soon after that, he managed to dig out a rock about the size of a brick underneath the rock which was covered with green moss. The surface of this smaller rock was also covered with moss, which completely concealed fine crack between the two rocks. Without careful inspection, no one would discover that this rock could be detached from the bigger rock and one would even think that it was impossible to detach anything from that big rock.

Yan Liqiang reached his hand in between the rocks and fished out an iron case which had been sealed with wax...

Chapter 195: Preparing For A Long Journey

In the Weiyuan Prefecture of Gan Province, the Gan Provincial Governor, Lei Sitong, had led a troop to besiege the Ye Fortress. This sent shockwaves in all directions, and the entire Gan Province was akin to a roaring sea. When the storm in Weiyuan Prefecture reached Pingxi City, which Sun Bingchen was currently overseeing, it instantly became the topic of idle conversation in the city’s restaurants and teahouses.

In just a short few days, news about the Ye Clan of Gan Province colluding with the Shatu people to commit treason had spread like wildfire. The once influential Ye Clan in Gan Province was reduced to nothing but a clan spurned by others overnight.

To the citizens of the Great Han Empire, traitors were deeply abhorred. As soon as the Ye Clan’s crime in colluding with the Shatu people was exposed and a few important figures from the Ye Clan were captured, the reputation of the Ye Clan became notorious. Their so-called influence instantly melted away like snow.

On the ninth of the first lunar month in the 13th year of the Yuanping reign, news from Weiyuan Prefecture revealed that during Gan Provincial Governor Lei Sitong’s siege at the Ye Fortress, other than the hundred plus people who died while stubbornly resisting the official army, the remainder of the 267 Ye Clan members were taken as prisoners. Half of the Ye Clan’s armed forces, which was made up of their guards, were annihilated. With that, the final nail was driven into the coffin and the Ye Clan incident came to an end.

Two days after Gan Provincial Governor Lei Sitong’s siege on the Ye Fortress, a few dozen males from the Wang Clan of Huanglong County were beheaded among the angry curses of countless commoners at the public square outside Pingxi City’s western gates. Their blood was spilt on the white snow mantle around them. In the end, the entire Wang Clan of Huanglong County vanished like smoke in thin air without even making the dust fly.

While the severed heads of the Wang Clan’s members tumbled on the ground, Yan Liqiang was treating Shi Dafeng, Shen Teng, and Shi Changfeng to one of the finest restaurants in Pingxi City’s Plum Gardens.

......

“Here, this is a toast to Liqiang – wishing you meteoric success and rapid advancement in your future career at the Imperial Capital...!”

“Right, right, right! Shen Teng and I will also be basking in the glory once you become awesome in the future! I’ll be proud to tell others that you are my brother too, Liqiang! Who knows, I may even need to seek you for your protection someday too, hahaha...”

Shi Dafeng was still as casual as always, and Shen Teng seemed to have also readjusted his attitude. When he met Yan Liqiang this time, he had already reverted to his usual optimistic and cool self.

The banquet this time was a farewell banquet. After everything had settled down in Pingxi City, Sun Bingchen decided they’d be leaving Pingxi City tomorrow. They would make their way to Gan Provincial City first, then return to the Imperial Capital from there. As Sun Bingchen’s personal attendant, it was inevitable for Yan Liqiang to leave Pingxi City also and return to the Imperial Capital with Sun Bingchen. For this reason, Yan Liqiang reunited with Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng again today to bid farewell.

“Despite the talks of achieving meteoric success and rapid advancement in my career, those weren’t my original intentions!” Yan Liqiang held his wine and looked at Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng with his earnest gaze. “To be honest, all I thought of was that it would be a rare opportunity to serve Lord Sun by his side. Since I was offered such an opportunity, I might as well take this chance to see the different sceneries in this world and leave home to make my way in the world. So by the time I grow old, I’ll have memories to reminisce about with some wine or I can brag to my grandchildren. At that time, I really didn’t expect Lord Sun to have come to Pingxi City for serious business!”

Hearing the sincerity in Yan Liqiang’s words, both of them stared at Yan Liqiang in silence with wine in their hands.

“Although I didn’t manage to do much when Lord Sun captured Ye Tiancheng, the commoners on street would gaze at me with admiration and respect every time I came out from the Prefectural Governor’s Office because they knew that I worked for Lord Sun from the way I dress. Even when I went to buy a steamed bun from the roadside, the auntie wouldn’t accept my money no matter what, saying something like I had done a good deed for the citizens of Pingxi City and she was willing to let me eat her steamed buns for free for the rest of my life. I have never experienced such treatment in my life before. From then on, I realized that you only get to live once with the same face. So I was thinking that if I am capable enough in the future, aside from just exploring the world to experience all sorts of things, if I can make a contribution for my fellow countrymen, I won’t be living my life in vain nor will I let the auntie who offered me free steamed buns down. As humans, we will inevitably be contaminated by fame and fortune when we come to this world. However, we may be showered with fame and fortune which is as bright as the brilliant sun or as dim as the glow of a firefly. It can be as light as a goose feather or as heavy as Mount Tai, and it can last a long time or it can be fleeting. As a man, we should remember that the interests to be considered should be the interests of all and the fame to be sought should be an everlasting fame. And that is what I would like to share with Brother Shi and Brother Shen here today. I wish that when we meet again next time, we will have no regrets in ourselves and our words.”

As soon as Yan Liqiang finished speaking, he tilted his head back and downed all the wine in his cup before he smashed the cup on the ground into pieces.

Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng were both visibly moved.

“‘The interests to be considered should be the interests of all and the fame to be sought should be an everlasting fame’– no phrases from any classic can ever rival this one!” Shen Teng sighed in amazement.

“It sure gets one fired up...!” Shi Dafeng’s cheeks were flushing and his eyes were shining.

When they saw that Yan Liqiang had completely drained the wine in his cup, both of them tilted their head back too as they downed the content of their cups in a single gulp, then smashed the wine cups onto the floor. The three of them exchanged looks with each other, then roared in laughter.

“Shen Teng and I bought something for you as a farewell gift because we know you are leaving tomorrow, Liqiang...”

“What is it?”

“Your present is downstairs, we can go have a look now!”

“Great!”

The three of them directly went downstairs and made their way toward the restaurant’s stable. There, Yan Liqiang saw an extremely fine rhinodrake steed with a body as dark as fine silk. It stood conspicuously in the stable, like a crane in a flock of chicken.

The rhinodrake steed was half a head taller than an ordinary rhinodrake steed. Its eyes were shimmering like crystals and brimming with radiating vigor. Its most distinctive features were the rings of white fur above its hooves which were akin to snow-covered peaks. Watching the steed from afar, it was definitely an extremely fine steed.

As half an expert in taking care of steeds, Yan Liqiang could tell from the appearance of this rhinodrake steed alone that it was a standard Snowstorm Cloud [1]. Such a breed was the finest among all rhinodrake steeds, and their speed and endurance far exceeded that of any ordinary rhinodrake steed. Since they were very rare, each of them was worth more than ten ordinary rhinodrake steeds.

Shi Dafeng laughed embarrassingly while scratching his head. “Shen Teng and I didn’t have much money in our hands. Besides, it’s kind of awkward to ask for money from family for this kind of thing and it would be pointless too. So both of us spent all the savings we accumulated over the past few years on this rhinodrake steed. For the sake of pooling enough money, Shen Teng even sold his jade pendant which was a gift from his grandmother...”

“Don’t just keep talking about me, didn’t you pawn off quite a number of your own belongings too...?”

“Those are mere worldly possessions which hardly amount to anything!” Shi Dafeng casually waved his hand. “Both of us hope that this steed will carry you safely to the Imperial Capital, Liqiang. At the very least, if you run into any danger during your journey, you can outrun the rest...”

Yan Liqiang was secretly moved. He didn’t say anything as he only gave two heavy shoulder pats to both Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng.

......

Yan Liqiang rode on Snowstorm Cloud on his way back to the Prefectural Governor’s Office.

However, his heart wasn’t filled with complete excitement toward the journey he was about to embark on and the unknown prospects ahead of him.

Serving Sun Bingchen by his side was equivalent to antagonizing the Ye Clan and their supporters. As an insignificant character, Yan Liqiang had no choice and he could not withdraw under such circumstances. He could only clench his teeth and continue walking down this path. The only thing which comforted Yan Liqiang was the fact that the Ye Clan and their supporters were indeed just a bunch of trash in his eyes. Hence, he wouldn’t feel even an ounce of guilt in his heart to antagonize trash like them.

Chapter 196: Celebrity

“Have you packed up, Liqiang?”

“Yes I have, Brother Liang!” Yan Liqiang replied while shoving his luggage and the Horned Python Bow into a horse carriage used for transporting goods.

“How about Goldie? Don’t leave him behind by mistake.”

“Rest assured, he’s not going anywhere...!” Yan Liqiang scanned around, then whistled once. Goldie quickly dashed toward them from a flower bed nearby with its tongue sticking out. It then wagged its tail and started circling around Yan Liqiang. When Yan Liqiang gestured to another carriage beside the one which was used to transport goods, Goldie immediately jumped up the carriage and curled up in a comfortable spot he found among a pile of burlap sacks.

At this hour, the sky had just turned bright. However, the training field at one of the huge courtyards inside the Prefectural Governor’s Office was already akin to a boiling cauldron of voices. About a hundred people, a hundred rhinodrake steeds, and ten huge carriages had filled every inch of the area.

All the members of the Patrol Inspector’s party were riding on their rhinodrake steeds. The carriages were used to transport everyone’s valuables and luggages, resources like food and water they might need during the journey, and also the belongings of Sun Bingchen’s honor guards. One of the carriages among them appeared to be quite special – the carriage was sealed with galvanized iron sheet all around it, leaving only two tiny air slots at the back. It was a modified prisoner carriage which held the Pingxi Prefectural Governor, Ye Tiancheng, inside it.

Even now, Ye Tiancheng’s prisoner carriage was still vigilantly guarded by four guards at all times. Normal people weren’t allowed to go anywhere near it. Liang Yijie, who had just escorted Ye Tiancheng here, came over when he saw Yan Liqiang helping load the carriages on the training field.

Yan Liqiang had already finished packing last night. Except for Snowstorm Cloud from Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng, Yan Liqiang only had one luggage and a bow bag with the Horned Python Bow inside it; and of course, Goldie.

Due to Goldie’s meritorious performance before, it had long been regarded as a ‘godly dog’ in both Sun Bingchen and Liang Yijie’s eyes.

The thing that Ye Tiancheng had hidden was discovered by Goldie in the end. Up to this point in time, this was only known by Yan Liqiang, Liang Yijie, and Sun Bingchen. Sun Bingchen had personally ordered them not to divulge any information on their discovery of the iron case, so this matter had become a secret. Thanks to Goldie, Yan Liqiang was able to make another accomplishment.

After uncovering Ye Tiancheng’s hidden secret, Yan Liqiang felt that Sun Bingchen’s attitude toward him had become significantly friendlier and he also seemed to think even more highly of him. As a result, he was spending more time with Sun Bingchen on many occasions. For example, Sun Bingchen had Yan Liqiang stay with him more frequently when he was meeting some officials or local gentries – he also started allowing Yan Liqiang to help him manage his study room and deal with some official documents. Not only that, he would also occasionally seek Yan Liqiang’s opinions and views on certain subjects.

Everything just made Yan Liqiang feel flattered.

Not only Sun Bingchen, but Yan Liqiang could also feel Liang Yijie truly treating him as one of them when they were together. He also seemed to value Yan Liqiang words more now. For Yan Liqiang’s dog, Goldie, he even personally ordered other guards and soldiers not to beat or make fun of it.

The attitudes of Sun Bingchen’s guards and honor guards toward Yan Liqiang were also shifting as they observed all these changes. Most of them previously thought Yan Liqiang was just a lucky bastard due to his age. But now, their impressions of him were slowly changing. Even if they didn’t know the reason behind it or couldn’t wrap their heads around it, they knew for a fact that a person like Yan Liqiang, whom Lord Sun appreciated and respected, would become someone important in Sun Bingchen’s presence and that his future would be filled with boundless prospects. Therefore, who would dare to just simply offend such a youth like him?

Sun Bingchen was probably the only one who knew about the contents of the iron case. Although Yan Liqiang knew where Ye Tiancheng had hidden the iron case before and that there were a few letters and half-jade pendant which seemed like some sort of keepsake inside it, even he had never seen the content of those letters. He also didn’t know what that half-jade pendant was used for.

Similarly, Ye Tiancheng who was currently imprisoned in a dungeon had no idea that the iron case, which he had hidden so well that no one could possibly find it, had already fallen into Sun Bingchen’s hands.

“Our journey may not necessarily go smoothly, so you’ll need to keep your eyes peeled. If something happens, try not to leave the party alone. If you run into any danger, try your best to stay close to me and Lord Sun!” Liang Yijie gave Yan Liqiang’s shoulder a pat.

“Rest assured, Brother Liang. I know what to do!” Yan Liqiang nodded.

While both of them were talking, a guard came before Liang Yijie from the front courtyard. “Huangfu Qianqi brought a group of officials from Pingxi City to the Prefectural Governor’s Office. Lord Sun sent me to ask if the preparations here are done. If yes, we will prepare to leave at once to avoid keeping the officials of Pingxi Prefecture waiting!”

Liang Yijie took a single glance at the courtyard then nodded. “You may report to Lord Sun that the preparations are done. We can leave anytime!”

“Understood!”

The guard immediately jogged away.

“When we exit the Prefectural Governor’s Office later, both of us will follow Lord Sun on our rhinodrake steeds.”

“That’s too ostentatious! I think I will stay with the party!” Yan Liqiang rubbed his nose and sulked.

“This is a request from Lord Sun. Don’t be humble or try to escape, Liqiang. You need to know how badly the rest wish to be in your position. You don’t need to worry about your family either when you are away!”

Yan Liqiang finally nodded under Liang Yijie’s burning gaze on him. “Alright!”

......

Ten minutes later, the party formed by Yan Liqiang and the rest left the Prefectural Governor’s Office. The main street outside the Prefectural Governor’s Office was already crowded by commoners in the city. Quite a number of soldiers in the city were respectfully standing a few meters apart from each other on either side of the street with spears in their hands.

Huangfu Qianqi and a group of officials in Pingxi City personally saw Sun Bingchen out from the main entrance at the front lobby of the Prefectural Governor’s Office. Sun Bingchen was talking to Huangfu Qianqi and the other officials while walking, and the rest around him nodded their heads.

After they exited the main entrance, Sun Bingchen climbed up the steed which had been prepared for him on the main street and slowly made his way toward the city gates, following a guiding official on his steed.

“Lord Sun is a great man...!”

“Lord Sun finally took care of those exploitative pests in our Pingxi City during his visit...!”

“The Shatu people in Pingxi City finally know their place...!”

“Have a safe journey, Lord Sun...!”

The commoners along the street were singing praises when the party went past them. Sun Bingchen, who was on his steed, smiled and cupped his fists at them.

When they passed by one of the junctions, Yan Liqiang spotted the families of those girls who were Ye Xiao’s victims. They were kneeling on the floor and kowtowing to Sun Bingchen to express their gratitude...

Although Ye Tiancheng had tossed the Wang Clan out as his scapegoat, it wasn’t enough to convince the masses. At least to the families of these victims, they simply weren’t convinced that the Wang Clan alone was powerful enough to achieve so many things in Huanglong County and Pingxi City while keeping them under wraps for such a long time. When Ye Xiao’s case was retried by Sun Bingchen a few days ago, the Ye Clan was exposed. Some officials in the Law Enforcement Office and those Shatu merchants who were still at large in the city were recaptured and prosecuted.

Those Shatu people, who usually created trouble at the slightest dissatisfaction, seemed to fear Sun Bingchen for his reputation this time. They were unusually well-behaved, and they didn’t attack the authorities or round up a group of people to protest on the streets.

Yan Liqiang, who would be turning fifteen after the new year, was riding beside Sun Bingchen on his fine Snowstorm Cloud. Liang Yijie flanked the other side and they attracted countless attention from quite a number of people while they were on their way.

Yan Liqiang could even vaguely hear someone among the crowd say, “Look! That youth beside Lord Sun got the first place among top three in the Martial Arts County Trial Examination from our Qinghe County last year! I heard that when Lord Sun came to Pingxi City this time, he directly went to the martial arts academy to select someone to be his armed personal attendant. That youth will surely succeed in the future by following Lord Sun around...”

“I think it indeed has been many years since anyone so talented last emerged from your Qinghe County...!”

“Of course. Do you know about the method used to save the drowned by performing moxibustion? That was passed down by that youth when he saved someone in Huanglong County last year...!”

“Wow...!”

“I heard from someone in Huanglong County that this youth can receive knowledge imparted from a deity in his dreams...!”

Astonished gasps rang out around him.

.......

Yan Liqiang never felt this special before. But when he overheard the occasional discussions on the street right now, Yan Liqiang finally and truly understood what the phrase ‘time makes heroes’ meant. In addition to the influence of his current position by Sun Bingchen’s side, things he had done in the past had been publicized. His reputation in everyone’s eyes had suddenly skyrocketed to an unimaginable extent. He was instantly made into a celebrity out of the entire Pingxi Prefecture with the characteristics of a legend. So this was how celebrities were born...

As though sensing Yan Liqiang’s thoughts, Sun Bingchen, who was riding in front, turned his head around. He stole a glance at Yan Liqiang and smiled. “You will get used to it eventually, Liqiang. Just take it easy for now!”

Chapter 197: Cultivating Along The Way

Huangfu Qianqi and a group of officials saw Sun Bingchen and the rest off at somewhere ten li away from Pingxi City before they finally returned.

Due to the fact that the Ye Clan had just been taken down and Gan Province was also situated along the border, the road which was too far out from the city was usually not that safe. Although Huangfu Qianqi had returned, he deployed a troop of six hundred cavalries to escort Yan Liqiang and the rest toward the east as they prepared to return to Gan Provincial City first.

The melting snow made the public road slightly muddy. Although it didn’t really affect the rhinodrake steeds, the horse carriages in the party couldn’t keep up. Therefore, the entire party had no choice but to slow down in order to accommodate the speed of the horse carriages.

Not long after that, Yan Liqiang spotted two familiar silhouettes mounted on their rhinodrake steeds at the roadside ahead, and they were looking in their direction.

Yan Liqiang’s heart was suddenly filled with excitement when he saw the two figures. After informing Liang Yijie, he went over to them on his rhinodrake steed. “Why are both of you here?”

“Hahaha, we were thinking of seeing you off, but Shen Teng said it was too crowded in the city and that it would be better to see you off here instead!”

The two people who were waiting at the roadside turned out to be Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng. Both of them seemed to be waiting here on their rhinodrake steeds since long ago because they knew Yan Liqiang and the rest would pass by.

Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng escorted Yan Liqiang about thirty li and only stopped to bid their farewells to him when they reached a place called the Cloud Gazing Pavilion.

“Let us all spar again together the next time we meet each other to see who is better. I may have placed third during the last Martial Arts County Trial, but that isn’t necessarily true in the future!”

“You are a target which motivates me to work harder in order to surpass you, Liqiang. By that time, I hope you won’t be defeated by me. I will travel to study abroad after I progress into a Martial Warrior. Then, I will come find you at the Imperial Capital!” Shen Teng laughed.

“That’s a promise then!”

“Have a safe journey!”

“Take care, everyone!”

......

After traveling a good distance away from the Cloud Gazing Pavilion, Yan Liqiang stopped his rhinodrake steed and turned his head around. He could still see Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng watching him from the hill where the Cloud Gazing Pavilion was. When both of them saw Yan Liqiang turn his head around, they waved, then spun their steeds around. They shook their reins and made their way back to Pingxi City. Yan Liqiang took a deep breath too, shook his reins, and let the rhinodrake steed below him trot back to Sun Bingchen again.

“There’s no need to feel regretful. Everyone has their own fate and opportunities. You are all promising youths with a lot of time ahead of you. You will definitely meet each other again!” Sun Bingchen turned his head around to smile at Yan Liqiang. “But make sure you have achieved some accomplishments the next time you meet. You must be a better and more powerful person than you are today. Otherwise, how will you be able to face the friends you have made during your youth?”

“Yes, you are right, sir. I will definitely do my best!” Yan Liqiang nodded solemnly.

......

As they were leaving Pingxi Prefecture, the scenery around Yan Liqiang started to grow unfamiliar to him. Everything along the way turned into patches of dull and monotonous colors. All he saw along the sides of the road were tawny hills. They’d run into a few people from time to time, but no one could be seen for most of the time. Gan Province was a lowly populated province at the border in the first place. On top of that, it was only the first lunar month, toward the end of winter. The plants had all withered so green was rarely sighted, and many living things had gone into hibernation. The scenery along the way turned bleak and barren, creating another kind of atmosphere.

The party traveled in silence. The cavalry escorts were further split into three groups – one of them was dispatched as a scouting party to explore ahead, the other was assigned to escort Yan Liqiang’s party, and the remaining one brought up the rear.

The party of more than seven hundred people was the biggest crowd on the road. They appeared to be rather powerful in their eye-catching armor. Unless they ran into an army, ordinary bandits would dodge them in fear, let alone ask for trouble.

Aside from that, the officials from places they would pass by along their journey would expect them on the road as soon as they received the news. Delicious meals and accommodations would be prepared in advance, and those posthouses wouldn’t dare to be poor hosts either. Therefore, the entire journey basically felt like a peaceful and relaxing steed-riding tour to Yan Liqiang.

At first, Yan Liqiang could still tolerate it. However, on the next day, Yan Liqiang was already feeling the extreme boredom of traveling on his rhinodrake steed at such an unhurried pace every day. In the end, he’d rather take out his Horned Python Bow, gallop back and forth alongside the party, and practice archery on his steed.

Needless to mention, Yan Liqiang’s so-called ‘practice’ was not a normal type of practice.

He pretended to be a newbie in archery who appeared to have only grasped some basic archery techniques. Aside from his enormous amount of strength which allowed him to draw his Horned Python Bow, his aim was nothing worth mentioning. He tried to shoot the tree trunks, rocks, wild grasses, and those wild hares or wild boars which occasionally scuttled around the bushes from the back of his steed. However, his aim was simply too off in everyone’s eyes. Even hitting a tree trunk which was fifty meters away from the back of his horse would be a matter of luck, let alone anything else.

Just like this, Yan Liqiang fabricated his cultivation in archery by pretending to practice his ‘archery’ from the back of his steed in order to avoid exposing himself in the future.

It was extremely easy for a sniper to disguise himself as a newbie who always missed his targets. However, it was extremely difficult for a newbie to disguise himself as a sniper who never missed his targets. Hence, no one was able to see the flaw in Yan Liqiang’s practice.

Of course, no one in the party knew that Yan Liqiang wasn’t hitting his target because Yan Liqiang’s target wasn’t the same as what they thought. Yan Liqiang was indeed practicing archery, but the way he practiced it was beyond their expectation.

When they thought Yan Liqiang was aiming for the tree trunk in the distance, his real target was to let his arrow fly past three feet and seven inches away from a certain protrusion in the wood...

When they thought Yan Liqiang was aiming for a certain rock, Yan Liqiang’s real target was a very tiny branch on the ground.

When they thought Yan Liqiang was going to shoot the wild hares or wild boars, Yan Liqiang’s real target was the leaf of a shrub which was about to spring back to its original shape after the wild boar had just brushed past it – or the few water droplets from the melted snow on the withered grass.

This type of training was simply killing two birds with one stone. Not only did it allow Yan Liqiang to disguise himself as a newbie, it also allowed him to train his skill in drawing a bow on the back of a steed as preparation for him to attain the Fourth Heavenly Layer in the art of archery.

With this, the dull journey was no longer boring for Yan Liqiang.

Unbeknownst to him, Yan Liqiang’s standard in archery was improving steadily as it forged ahead toward the Fourth Heavenly Layer realm.

Sun Bingchen’s party traveled for only four days before they reached Weiyuan Prefecture on the 14th of the first lunar month.

As soon as they arrived at Weiyuan Prefecture and made it past the boundary stone along the road, one of the scouting cavalries came dashing back from the front. When he arrived before Sun Bingchen’s party, he pulled the reins back. With a neigh, his galloping rhinodrake steed raised its front hooves before it heavily slammed them down on the ground and then immediately stood still.

“Reporting to Lord Sun. We have discovered a large troop about ten li ahead. We have already sent someone to scout it out, but we have yet to identify the other party. For safety reasons, please wait here for moment...”

Many people among the party suddenly started to feel nervous as soon as they heard this...

Chapter 198: Provincial Governor, Lei Ting

The words of the cavalry stirred up a small commotion in the party. Yan Liqiang was also startled as he squeezed the Horned Python Bow in his hand. Someone actually dared to intercept the Patrol Inspector’s party in broad daylight?

“Sir, I shall go and have a look...” Liang Yijie immediately volunteered.

Sun Bingchen smiled instead. “There’s no need. That troop must be a party led by the Gan Provincial Governor, Lei Sitong, to welcome us. We shall continue to march onward. I reckon we will meet Lord Lei shortly.”

Yan Liqiang was stunned before he suddenly realized that the Gan Provincial Governor, Lei Sitong, would still be in Weiyuan Prefecture considering that it had only been days since he settled the affairs regarding the Ye Clan. He must have heard about Sun Bingchen’s arrival so he brought his people all the way out here to welcome him.

So, the party continued on.

As expected, after going three to five li forward, Yan Liqiang saw a group of more than ten cavalries galloping rapidly in their direction on their rhinodrake steeds.

One of them looked about forty or fifty years old, dressed in a bright violet armor. He was riding on a snow-white rhinodrake steed and he had a long, three-stranded beard, a sharp nose, and a pair of long eyebrows which reached his temples. He exuded an awe-inspiring aura, surrounded by a group of armored soldiers as though he was their core. It took Yan Liqiang only a single glance to correctly guess his identity.

Yan Liqiang had heard that the Gan Provincial Governor, Lei Sitong, was a military leader. That didn’t surprise him from what he had seen today.

As expected, Sun Bingchen raised his hand to stop the entire party as soon as he saw the man’s arrival.

“Hahaha, I am here to welcome you, Lord Sun. You have indeed done something great for the citizens of my Gan Province...!” The man roared in laughter when there was still quite a distance between him and Sun Bingchen’s party as he spoke while he riding over on his rhinodrake steed.

“You’re flattering me, Lord Lei. I have merely done what I should have done!” Sun Bingchen smiled.

In just a flash, the Gan Provincial Governor, Lei Sitong, finally came before the party with his group of officials on their steeds. Then he pulled on his reins.

“Where is Ye Tiancheng?” Lei Shitong was a bad-tempered person. The moment he stopped, he instantly asked the question without beating around the bush.

“He’s in that prisoner carriage at the back!” Sun Bingchen pointed at the prisoner carriage at the back of the party.

“Let me see his pathetic state...” Lei Sitong said and directly went to the rear of the party on his steed. After circling the prisoner carriage a couple of times, he shouted loudly, “Ye Tiancheng, I’m sure you didn’t expect the Ye Clan to end up like this, right?”

Ye Tiancheng, who was handcuffed and bound with fetters in the prisoner carriage, had completely lost the ability to put up any resistance. During the journey over these few days, he made no sounds, and the prisoner carriage was so silent as though it was empty. Aside from coming out from his prisoner carriage at specific times to take care of his needs or to go to his accommodation, he remained extremely silent in the prisoner carriage. It was to the point where people had to check up on him regularly through the windows of the prisoner carriage.

“Winners make the rules, and losers live by them. What more can I say?” Ye Tiancheng finally showed half of his gloomy face through the window slit on the prisoner carriage. He was squinting his eyes as he glared Lei Sitong who was riding on his steed with bitter resentment. The once extremely glorious Pingxi Prefectural Governor suddenly seemed to have noticeably aged. Not only did his face lack the glow and vigor it once had, even his hair had turned significantly gray.

“Nonsense! The Ye Clan also wanted to be a winner, but only managed to be a loser at best, and the lowest one betrayed their own nation!” Lei Sitong spat on the ground from his rhinodrake steed, then looked at Ye Tiancheng disdainfully inside the prisoner carriage. “If the Ye Clan merely had different political views from me, then I, Lei Sitong, could still turn a blind eye and tolerate all of you, even if you carried on by doing your own things to try to lord over the others in Gan Province. But then all of you thought you could collude with the Shatu people and even illegally sell the Gan Province’s military weapons to them just because you have a backing from the imperial court. If, I, Lei Sitong, were to allow the Ye Clan to continue doing whatever you all pleased, then the military really paid me for nothing over all these years! This time, I will eradicate the Ye Clan and return justice to the citizens of Gan Province even if my position as a Provincial Governor is at stake!”

“The Grand Chancellor will decide the Ye Clan’s fate. We will not admit to any crimes you all try to accuse of the Ye Clan!” Ye Tiancheng, who was imprisoned in the prisoner carriage, sneered coldly. Then, with an icy tone, he gritted through his teeth, “Don’t you and Sun Bingchen be pleased just yet. We shall see who will suffer a defeat in the end when we reach the Imperial Capital. I look forward to seeing the consequences both of you will face. It’s not certain yet that the Ye Clan cannot turn this situation around...”

“Hahaha. I’m afraid it might not be possible for the Ye Clan to turn the situation around!” Lei Sitong’s tone grew icy too.

“What do you mean?” Ye Tiancheng’s countenance contorted slightly in the prisoner carriage.

“Some Shatu people attempted to break into the Weiyuan Prefecture’s prison two days ago, but failed in the end and also alarmed the soldiers. A war ensued, and everyone in your Ye Clan, including Ye Tianhao and Ye Tianfa, perished along with those Shatu people. Just this morning, every member of the Ye Clan was cremated after they were identified. To date, you are the sole survivor of the Ye Clan...”

Ye Tiancheng’s face turned deathly pale when he heard the news from Lei Sitong before it turned red again. He trembled and coughed out a mouthful of blood. “Lei Sitong, you are indeed a ruthless one...!”

“The cries of one clan is still better than the cries of a province. Compared to the evil that the Ye Clan has committed, their deaths hardly amount to anything...” Lei Sitong shot a cold glance at Ye Tiancheng, then turned his steed around and trotted to the front, not bothering to interact with Ye Tiancheng any longer.

“LEI SITONG, I WON’T LET YOU GET AWAY WITH THIS EVEN IF I BECOME A GHOST...!” Ye Tiancheng gripped the bars of the prison carriage and bellowed in rage from inside.

Yan Liqiang, who was standing on the side, was also stunned when he heard the news from the Gan Provincial Governor. He didn’t expect him to be this ruthless and direct – he had only made an excuse to kill everyone in the Ye Clan without even holding a trial. Having all those Shatu people breaking into the prison was most likely just a show orchestrated by the Provincial Governor to really pin the crime on the Ye Clan so he could eradicate them once and for all...

As expected of a Provincial Governor with military experience. His method of dealing with his enemies was nothing but ruthless. Even so, it was very impressive!

“Lord Lei, were you... really telling the truth...?” Sun Bingchen hesitated for a moment before he asked when he saw Lei Sitong coming back to him on his steed.

“Ahem, ahem, of course I was. Don’t tell me you still wish to lead these scourges from the Ye Clan to the Imperial Capital and continue to let them stir up havoc over there, Lord Sun? They will only truly be purged by eradicating their clan once and for all...” Speaking up to this point, the Provincial Governor scanned his surroundings once before he spoke in a carefree manner. “This is also what I wish to report to Lord Sun here today. After today, I’m not going to admit anything. I will not let anyone who tries to frame me off the hook either. After today, I will be clueless as to how those people from the Ye Clan died. Weiyuan Prefecture is the Ye Clan’s stronghold, so it wouldn’t be surprising if they had any other henchmen here. I still kept the corpses of those Shatu people who died trying to break into the prison. If anyone didn’t believe me, they can come and take those corpses back for investigation. I also kept the evidence from the Ye Clan. So I won’t cower in fear, even if the Imperial Capital were to send someone to investigate this...”

Sun Bingchen could only shake his head while smiling wryly...

Chapter 199: Subvert

After the convergence with the Gan Provincial Governor Lei Sitong, Sun Bingchen and his men then departed on the journey together under the company of Lei Sitong and his comrades. It wasn’t until evening that this group of people managed to arrive at Weiyuan City.

Weiyuan City was the prefectural city of Weiyuan Prefecture. The size of the city was about the same as Pingxi City too. Even though the entire Weiyuan Prefecture had just undergone a monumental change, everything inside and outside of the city seemed quite serene when they arrived. There wasn’t much tension in the atmosphere either. The citizens passing by on the streets went on with their usual routines. Businesses continued to operate, and the city gate was open as usual. Some bailiffs were seen patrolling around the streets too. There were Wanderers dawdling around as well.

This world would continue to spin regardless of the people it had lost. Such an established family like the Ye Clan thought they could control everything by treating Weiyuan Prefecture as their roots as well as acting like an overlord. However, the Ye Clan had fallen. Yet the impact on the citizens wasn’t significant. For most people, everything about the Ye Clan had turned into an after-dinner conversation in a blink of an eye, which was quite ironic in fact.

At this moment, as one of Sun Bingchen’s attendants, Yan Liqiang did not seem conspicuous as he blended in with a bunch of people. He did not emit an air of intimidation either. Even Provincial Governor Lei Sitong and his group of officers who came with him did not notice Yan Liqiang that much. Only a handful could not help but shoot a glance or two at Yan Liqiang due to his age. Even so, they were not shocked because those between the ages of 13 or 14 who became attendants or enlisted themselves in the army were aplenty in this era. A young attendant like Yan Liqiang was considered a common passerby in contrast to the crowd of great people.

Sun Bingchen and his men were arranged to stay in the largest government-operated posthouse at Weiyuan Prefectural City. As soon as they were done settling their carriages and steeds, the sky was already dim.

After traveling, sleeping, and eating in the wild for one day, everyone was already a bit exhausted. Because of that, the stove and hot water in the posthouse seemed very tempting.

The posthouse could accommodate about four hundred people. It had various rooms ranging from a small courtyard for one person to a single room for one person to a shared house that could accommodate about dozens of people. As an attendant of Sun Bingchen’s, his status was quite special. In the end, he was given a single room to stay in.

While the guards were calling the posthouse staff for hot water and warm beds, Yan Liqiang had already taken his belongings and keys to his room with a tail-wagging Goldie.

The room wasn’t huge, yet it was still tidy and clean. Of course, the cleanliness in this context was that the room didn’t seem dirty to the naked eye. Compared to the hotel rooms that required a daily change of bedsheets and blankets in his past life, it was impossible to top that. Yan Liqiang could not be picky about it either.

As Yan Liqiang was about to turn around and leave after putting down his belongings, he noticed that Liang Yijie had arrived. Liang Yijie first observed the situation of the room before he closed the door behind him as he entered.

With one look at Liang Yijie’s expression, Yan Liqiang knew that Liang Yijie had a problem.

“Brother Liang, is there a problem?” Yan Liqiang took the initiative of asking the question.

“Did you hear what Provincial Governor Lei said today?”

“I did. Why?”

“This Provincial Governor Lei is very decisive and ruthless when it comes to performing his tasks. Lord Sun did not expect Lei Sitong to be able to find an excuse to eradicate the entire Ye Clan in Weiyuan Province. Even though it was satisfying to do so, his actions have disrupted Lord Sun’s plans. The initial plan was to bring the three Ye from the Ye Clan back to the Imperial Capital so that they could stand trial. From the looks of it now, it’s good enough that we were able to bring Ye Tiancheng back to Imperial Capital...”

“Has Lord Sun never reached an understanding with Lei Sitong regarding this matter? Lord Sun seemed quite helpless when he was listening to Lei Sitong’s words!”

“Some key points are quite complicated to explain!” Liang Yijie shook his head and continued, “Lord Sun did coordinate and went through an understanding with Lei Sitong when he came to Gan Province this time. Both of them wanted to take down the Ye Clan, but there was a slight deviation to what Lord Sun and the Provincial Governor Lei desired for the handling the resolution!”

“Taking down the Ye Clan – Lord Sun’s final objective is at the Imperial Capital while Lei Sitong’s final objective is at Gan Province only which is to establish his authority at the said province...”

Liang Yijie looked at Yan Liqiang with admiration and nodded. “That’s right. That mostly seems to be the case!”

“Why? Is that Provincial Governor that bold to steal people from Lord Sun’s grasp?”

“Of course he’s not bold enough to steal people away. Lei Sitong won’t openly offend Lord Sun like that. However, based on Lei Sitong’s temper and how he annihilated the entire Ye Clan, how could he allow Ye Tiancheng to live? Ye Tiancheng is under us now and we are currently on Gan Province soil. If we make a careless move, Provincial Governor Lei will have a plan to fabricate an accident to kill Ye Tiancheng off. Lei Sitong has invited Lord Sun to the banquet tonight. I’ve met him before, so Lord Sun wants me to accompany him to the banquet. Since you and Lei Sitong have not met each other yet, you are unfamiliar to him. Besides, you pay close attention to details, so stay at the posthouse and watch over Ye Tiancheng. Make sure nothing happens to him!”

“Alright, I understand. Don’t worry and go to the banquet with Lord Sun, Brother Liang. I will remain at this posthouse and personally watch over Ye Tiancheng!”

“Mm, I’ll leave Ye Tiancheng to you for now. You can instruct the guards at the posthouse should a problem occur!” Liang Yijie said as he patted Yan Liqiang’s shoulders before he left.

Yan Liqiang did not linger further when he saw that Liang Yijie had left. He even brought Goldie along to where Ye Tiancheng was being held captive.

As a felon, Ye Tiancheng had to stay at one of the single rooms in the posthouse as well. There were no windows in his single room, and the walls were strong and durable. That area in the posthouse which was originally used to store important gifts was in a small and independent courtyard. After Yan Liqiang and the others arrived, that room was cleaned up and specifically used to lock up Ye Tiancheng.

There would be at least one guard to watch over Ye Tiancheng every hour of the day, including the night when he was sleeping. Even if Ye Tiancheng was locked up in a room, his handcuffs or shackles would never be unlocked.

The guard stationed outside Ye Tiancheng’s door suddenly stood up when he saw Yan Liqiang bringing Goldie along and respectfully gave his greetings, “Guard Yan...”

“Hm, is Ye Tiancheng still inside?”

“Yes!” The guard replied and pointed to the iron window beside the door. Conveniently, anyone could observe the situation inside the cell through the bars of the window. Yan Liqiang looked into the room and noticed that Ye Tiancheng was sitting cross-legged on a worn out straw mat with his eyes closed as if he was meditating.

“Go eat and rest for a while. Brother Liang and Lord Sun are going to attend a banquet tonight, so they want me to come over and watch him!”

The guard was a smart man too. He immediately understood what Yan Liqiang said. Watching people wasn’t exactly a pleasant job to do as it was dull and boring. The guard heaved a sigh of relief and quickly stood up to pass the key to Ye Tiancheng’s room. “Our brothers are outside. If anything, just call out to us, Guard Yan!”

“Alright!”

Yan Liqiang received the key from the guard. Shortly afterward, the guard left.

After Yan Liqiang took a glance at Ye Tiancheng, who was sitting cross-legged inside the room, he then sat on the chair beside the door that had its back against the wall. The chair was facing the corridor while the left side of the chair was facing the iron window to Ye Tiancheng’s room. Yan Liqiang sat on the chair and personally took the responsibility to watch Ye Tiancheng.

Goldie laid down near Yan Liqiang’s foot and continued to stay with him in this area.

Less than two minutes after that guard left, Yan Liqiang could hear the sound of shackles moving inside the room. He turned around and saw Ye Tiancheng, who was just sitting cross-legged on the floor, stand up and walk toward the window.

Ye Tiancheng had a strange radiance in his eyes as he approached the window. He first looked left and right before he licked his somewhat cracked lips, placing his gaze on Yan Liqiang’s face. He then said in a hoarse voice, “I am a bit parched. Can you give me a bit of water?”

“Fine, move back two steps!”

Ye Tiancheng obediently retreated two steps. Yan Liqiang glanced at him before he picked up the kettle from the chair and poured the water onto the kettle lid. He then placed it on the windowsill outside of the iron window without directly giving it to Ye Tiancheng, thus avoiding any physical contact whatsoever.

“Alright, you can come over and drink it. Just put back the kettle lid on the windowsill when you’re done!”

As a person who was being held captive, it was expected that he couldn’t be allowed to eat and drink to his fill every day in order to gain strength and develop an escape plan. Because of that, the amount of food and drink Ye Tiancheng was allowed to have was strictly controlled. He was allowed to drink an amount of one small lid at a time as long as it was sufficient to keep him from dying of thirst.

Ye Tiancheng looked at Yan Liqiang with a deep gaze upon hearing his words. In the end, he approached the window and reached out with one of his arms, which was enough to reach the kettle lid on the windowsill. He brought the kettle lid inside and drank until not a single drop of water was left before he finally returned the lid back to the windowsill. He then moved back two steps on his own accord.

Yan Liqiang took the kettle lid and put it back onto the kettle before returning to his seat.

Ye Tiancheng then slowly walked toward the window and softened his tone as much as possible, even to the point of forcing a smile on his face when he said, “I remember. You are Yan Liqiang. You must be the person who first discovered the girl being kidnapped by the Shatu people as they sent her to the boutique...”

Yan Liqiang shot a glance at Ye Tiancheng and calmly replied, “Yes, it was me...”

“I remember you have two other companions and they are students of the Pingxi Prefecture Martial Arts Academy as well. One is called Shi Dafeng and the other one is Shen Teng. All of you are from Qinghe County...” Ye Tiancheng sighed inside the room; his expression became solemn as he continued, “To be honest, even though that incident involved my son, Ye Xiao, I don’t blame all of you one bit. You all did the right thing. This is how students of the Pingxi Prefecture Martial Arts Academy should act. At the end of the day, this is the result of my negligence as a father. I have been busy with government affairs on a daily basis that I have paid too little attention to Ye Xiao’s discipline. In the end, this has caused him to fall into the wrong path, being deluded by villains and making mistakes that cannot be reversed. Whenever I thought of that, I would be depressed and I regret not allowing Ye Xiao to stay by my side in the beginning so that I could discipline him properly. Initially, I wanted to wait until the Wang Clan’s matter was settled before meeting the three of you. I have to properly reward the three of you for what you have done...”

Yan Liqiang had a strange feeling as he listened to Ye Tiancheng. He couldn’t possibly be trying to ‘subvert’ Yan Liqiang, could he....?

Chapter 200: See Through

When Yan Liqiang thought about Ye Tiancheng trying to subvert him, he found it funny at first, but after a split second, he quickly realized the situation. He knew that from Ye Tiancheng’s point of view, he was just an ordinary fifteen-year-old young man.

With this sort of power at this age, he could be considered excellent among those that were the same age as him in Pingxi Prefecture, but in the eyes of someone like Ye Tiancheng, he was simply a small white rabbit in the big bad wolf’s eyes. Yan Liqiang was the perfect subject for Ye Tiancheng to use his psychological abilities on.

“Prefectural Governor, what’s the use of saying these things now?” Yan Liqiang sighed as he looked at Ye Tiancheng inside the room. “You are now Patrol Inspector Sun’s prisoner and I am his attendant. Your clan has already been completely destroyed by Provincial Governor Lei Sitong of Gan Province. Although I am still young and I haven’t experienced much in this world, do you think you can still bribe me even at this moment?”

“My position as Prefectural Governor was appointed by the imperial court. Other than the imperial court, no one else including Provincial Governor Lei Sitong of Gan Province will be able to dismiss me from my position. Even though Sun Bingchen is a Patrol Inspector, he only holds the responsibility of a Patrol Inspector alone and has no right to proclaim otherwise. Even if I have a problem, he can respond to the imperial court and not take me down. Right now, what they have done has already gone beyond their authority. As long as the imperial court hasn’t issued an official order, my current position as Prefectural Governor of Pingxi Prefecture will still stand. As long as I can make it to the Imperial Capital, the Grand Chancellor will definitely take responsibility for me and the Ye Clan – the Grand Chancellor will help me vindicate my injustice, reclaim my innocence, and bring about justice for the Ye Clan!” If an ordinary person were to see Ye Tiancheng’s impassion and dramatic expression, they would have been easily swept away by his deception.

“Prefectural Governor, do you know why Lord Sun asked me to come here and watch you?” Yan Liqiang sneered, “If you still want to go to the Imperial Capital, making it out alive from Gan Province will be considered a great feat. Lord Lei Sitong might have already thought of hundreds of ways to kill you in Gan Province. You better pray to the Heavens to make it out alive of Gan Province first before you do anything. Besides, what can you do even if you do reach the Imperial Capital? Lord Sun was dispatched by the Emperor himself...”

“Hearing that, I realize that you might not fully understand the situation of the Great Han Empire and this Imperial Capital, am I correct?” Ye Tiancheng looked at Yan Liqiang with a strange expression as he continued, “Do you want me to explain so that you will gain a better understanding of the situation?”

“What does the situation of the Great Han Empire and the Imperial Capital have to do with you?”

“The Ye Clan and I serve as a backbone to the Grand Chancellor. Of course, the situation regarding the Great Han Empire and the Imperial Capital has everything to do with me!” Ye Tiancheng curled a smile and continued, “I believe Sun Bingchen never told you about these before, right? If you knew about these things earlier, you wouldn’t have been easily disoriented by the others. I’m afraid the promises Sun Bingchen made to you are nothing but lies. You can’t take them as truths!”

“Is that so? Tell me about it, I’m all ears!” Yan Liqiang said, composed.

“Then let me ask you a question. Which one do you think is relatively stronger, the monarchical power of the Great Han Empire or the imperial power?”

Yan Liqiang did not think twice and replied, “Of course it’s the monarchical power...”

Yan Liqiang quickly reacted and immediately shut his mouth despite already blurting out the word ‘monarchical’. From the perspective of a normal person, especially those who had been brainwashed by various television dramas in Yan Liqiang’s past life, when a modern person was asked that question, most of them would definitely say that the monarchical power was the strongest. However, in reality, the question of whether the monarchical power was stronger than the imperial power or vice versa was still very difficult to answer.

Apart from the Silver Continent in this world, taking China for example, the contrasting monarchical power and imperial power in a great number of dynasties based on Yan Liqiang’s knowledge of the ancient history in his past life was considered very common, almost as common as gambling. Everyone’s perception was that the Grand Chancellor must listen to the Emperor’s orders – a pattern that slowly developed after the Ming Dynasty. Before the Ming Dynasty, which was the period where the Qin, Han, Tang, and Song Dynasties had reigned, no one could really tell whether the imperial power or monarchical power was stronger. In some dynasties, and a certain historical period, imperial power was able to outweigh monarchical power. For example, during the Eastern Han Dynasty, imperial power was mightier than monarchical power. Even during the Tang and Song Dynasties, there were conflicts between the comparison of those powers and the conflicts hadn’t stopped since. An Emperor would run the state with the scholar-bureaucrats. In this case, the Grand Chancellor would represent the role of the scholar-bureaucrat.

On the other hand, despite the similarities between the Silver Continent’s Great Han Empire and ancient China, each of them had their own attributes as well. The Great Han Empire had an Emperor and a Grand Chancellor. In a world that prioritized martial arts, the question of whether monarchical power or imperial power was stronger remained debatable...

“You must have realized it by now. In the Great Han Empire, it has always been the monarchical power that is stronger if the Emperor is powerful, and the imperial power if the Grand Chancellor is more powerful. If a person doesn’t have the power that allows him to rule the world, then it will be hard to determine how much authority that person has through his so-called power. Ever since the reign of Emperor Ying, there hasn’t been a peerless cultivator with the cultivation of a Martial Emperor over the past three generations in the royal household in nearly two hundred years. Meanwhile, Emperor Yuanping of this generation has always been frail and sick since he was young. There’s nothing to say about his power and cultivation foundation either. On the other hand, the Grand Chancellor is majestic and splendid, and he’s one of the few peerless cultivators that progressed to Grade One Martial Emperor. In the Imperial Capital, imperial power and monarchical power are respectively stronger and weaker toward each other. Is there a need to say more?” Ye Tiancheng looked at Yan Liqiang with a gaze of wisdom and continued, “After knowing this, you mustn’t make any errors. That Sun Bingchen shouldn’t even think of continuing his role as the Patrol Inspector after returning to the Imperial Capital this time. I fear that he’s already in the situation where he can’t save himself!”

“If everything is as you said, then why did Gan Province result in the situation it’s in now despite the absolute power the Grand Chancellor holds as well as you and the Ye Clan’s role as his backbone?” Yan Liqiang calmly asked.

A glint of cold aura flashed across Ye Tiancheng’s eyes as Yan Liqiang asked that question. However, within a moment, Ye Tiancheng’s cold expression turned into fury before he began speaking. “Like they say, ‘A good horse never stumbles.’ The Ye Clan and I did not expect for both Sun Bingchen and Lei Sitong to be this bold to team up with each other and make a move against my clan...”

“I heard that Lei Sitong has the backing of the Empire’s Doyen Assembly!”

“That’s right. The Empire’s Doyen Assembly is indeed the Great Han Empire’s third force aside from the monarchical power and imperial power!” Ye Tiancheng calmed down and continued, “But in the Imperial Capital, the influence the Grand Chancellor has on the Doyen Assembly is definitely more powerful than that of the Emperor himself. Lei Sitong’s current actions against the Ye Clan are mostly in line with the intention to frame us due to his own personal revenge. If he wants to become an overlord in the Gan Province, he will have to get rid of us, the Ye Clan. I believe that what he has done must not have reached the Doyen Assembly yet. Even so, that doesn’t mean that the Doyen Assembly will support the mess that he created in Gan Province. This is the reason why he wanted to eradicate the entire Ye Clan because he knows that we will definitely overturn the situation as long as one person from the Ye Clan lives on...”

There were some truths and lies in what Ye Tiancheng said. However, after listening to his words, Yan Liqiang felt like he had been enlightened all of a sudden. His mind was previously shrouded in fog, unable to see things clearly and unable to understand many aspects of the situation. Right now, however, he was able to gain a clear view of Sun Bingchen, Lei Sitong, and the things behind Ye Tiancheng along with those comparisons...

To put it simply, the recent incident in Gan Province was an act of retaliation by the Emperor and the Doyen Assembly toward the present Grand Chancellor who held power in and out of the court. Even though the Emperor and the Doyen Assembly teamed up just once, both parties had their disagreements, particularly on their interest demand. What the Doyen Assembly, which was akin to a vassal of the Great Han Empire, was most concerned about was the other party’s control and access to the territory. On the other hand, the Emperor, who supported Sun Bingchen, was most concerned about the situation’s effect on the central authority of the Imperial Capital...

Therefore, everyone that fell into Lei Sitong’s hands ended up dead. On the other hand, Ye Tiancheng, who fell into Sun Bingchen’s hands, ended up still alive. In addition, Sun Bingchen wanted to bring Ye Tiancheng back to the Imperial Capital as his own bargaining chip.

Thinking ahead, if Yan Liqiang were to put himself in the shoes of the benefactor behind Ye Tiancheng and the Ye Clan, what kind of thoughts would be running through his head if he knew Ye Tiancheng had fallen to the hands of Sun Bingchen?

Since the Emperor wanted Sun Bingchen to bring Ye Tiancheng back to the Imperial Capital, he would definitely prevent him from taking Ye Tiancheng back at all costs. Whatever the enemies agreed on, he would oppose. Whatever the enemies opposed, he would agree to. Those were the basic principles of a political battle – and to achieve this goal, there were two methods. One was to rescue Ye Tiancheng from Sun Bingchen’s grasp before he could enter the Imperial Capital. The other was to kill Ye Tiancheng before he could even step into the Imperial Capital.

After losing Gan Province and gaining ill reputation, the Ye Clan was done for. In the eyes of his benefactor, Ye Tiancheng had lost his value. Moreover, Ye Tiancheng was already painted as a traitor, giving him a notorious name that could possibly bring misfortune to those who had their names attached to him. Hence, those people would only feel relieved once Ye Tiancheng was dead. As long as Ye Tiancheng was dead, any evidence he had would be useless as dead men tell no tales.

Right now, Ye Tiancheng had already presumed to be abandoned and deserted by his comrades.

The Emperor and the Doyen Assembly must have reached a tacit agreement prior to the Ye Clan’s wipeout. Their abrupt cooperation was able to destroy the Ye Clan in an instant...

After the Ye Clan was destroyed, the Grand Chancellor and the Doyen Assembly wished to have the Ye Clan completely eradicated. If so, would both of them reach out for the same agreement this time around too?

Previously, Yan Liqiang did not have a full understanding of the situation at all. All he had been thinking about was the glory of the Imperial Capital. However, at that moment, Yan Liqiang could not help but feel a chill down his spine and shivered after he had realized the implications behind the situation.

If he truly went back to the Imperial Capital and brought Ye Tiancheng along, there was a possibility that his dangerous journey with Sun Bingchen would be filled with surprises beyond one’s expectations.

Just when Yan Liqiang had figured these things out, two servants from the posthouse appeared in the aisle across him with a tray of dishes in hand and smiles across their faces...

Chapter 201: Trade

“Young man, these are the dishes that the posthouse just prepared. They are still hot too. There’s spiced beef, braised potatoes, steamed buns, and carrot soup...”

Those two servants from the posthouse were very enthusiastic. One of them was holding the dishes while the other was holding a small wooden table that could perfectly fit through the corridor. Both of them managed to set down the dishes that they had carried onto the table as they talked to Yan Liqiang.

For those who had been running errands outside for a whole day, these warm dishes were able to greatly increase one’s appetite after just getting a whiff of the aroma.

Yan Liqiang smiled as he looked at the dishes on the table before he glanced at Ye Tiancheng inside the house, “I have a dog here too. I will have to trouble you to get some dog food for me. Oh right, this person inside the house needs some food as well. Bring some food for him along the way!”

“Sure, sure...” The two servants were brimming with smiles as they looked at the dog Yan Liqiang had brought with him as well as Ye Tiancheng inside the room before they swiftly left to bring more food. In the blink of an eye, those two managed to come back with two things in their hands. One was a clean tile which could be placed on the ground to be filled with food for the dog to consume. On the other hand, Ye Tiancheng was served food with a bowl and a pair of chopsticks. The bowl was filled with small portions of minced beef, half a steamed bun, and a bit of braised potatoes which seemed to be steaming hot as well.

“You guys seem to treat your prisoners well by allowing them to eat meat...” Yan Liqiang said with a smile.

Upon hearing Yan Liqiang’s words, the smile on one of the two servant’s faces began to fade. The servant immediately apologized to Yan Liqiang, “I am very sorry. We aren’t aware of your rules. If you are unsatisfied with this arrangement, we can exchange it with something else...”

“It’s alright. Since you’ve already served the dishes, we will let the imprisoned person savor this meal. Just put the bowl and chopsticks on the windowsill!” Yan Liqiang said this in a casual manner as he placed the steamed bun, potatoes, beef, and carrots on the tile with his chopsticks.

“Alright, understood...” The servants smiled as they retreated with a bow. Before the servant left, he inadvertently glanced at the bowl of food placed outside of Ye Tiancheng’s window. Yan Liqiang also caught a glimpse of the servant’s glances before he left the premise.

Yan Liqiang then placed the tile on the ground and said, “Come, Goldie. Eat up!”

Goldie came running over and earnestly sniffed every bit of the food placed on the tile before he started eating. Yan Liqiang only started eating his food once he saw Goldie start eating.

Goldie’s sense of smell was certainly on an abnormal level. He wondered whether he had placed too many points on Goldie, thus allowing its sense of smell to undergo a change, intensifying its ability. During the span of time he spent with Goldie, Yan Liqiang could clearly sense that Goldie was able to use its sense of smell to easily differentiate between various things that contained poison. Even if he hid the poison needle dipped in snake venom hundreds of meters away, Goldie would be able to find it easily even if it were embedded in a random log or in a crevice between rocks. Yan Liqiang even tested its sense of smell by using several types of items that contained poison for Goldie to locate, and Goldie would always be able to find them without any difficulties.

When it came down to eating, the food would only prove to be absolutely fine as long as Goldie was willing to eat it.

Apart from Yan Liqiang, no one else knew about Goldie’s acute sense of smell. Goldie was like a traveling detector for poisonous and harmful substances.

“Prefectural Governor, you should eat too...” Seeing that Ye Tiancheng hadn’t touched the food placed on the windowsill, Yan Liqiang spoke to Ye Tiancheng while pretending to not know anything about the food in his bowl.

Ye Tiancheng only glanced at the food on the windowsill from his room and shook his head. He then continued his effort in deluding Yan Liqiang, “If I eat the food served by the posthouse, I’m afraid I won’t have the chance to walk out from this place anymore. You are still young and your future is limitless. As long as you help me this time, the things I can give you in the future will definitely be ten times or a hundred times greater than what Sun Bingchen can give to you. You can have as much as you want regardless of whether it is money, an official position, properties, riches, or women!”

“I admit that the things that you just said are reasonable, even if just a little. Indeed, the Grand Chancellor is currently the one in power. However, the Grand Chancellor is the Grand Chancellor, and you are you. You are now our prisoner. Do you think it’s possible for someone else to just help you by risking their lives through your empty words? I’m not that stupid, you know!” Yan Liqiang continued to eat while he listened to Ye Tiancheng talk. He pretended to act as if he was inexperienced yet somewhat smart. This kind of performance was exactly how youngsters of his age should behave.

“Haven’t you heard of the saying, ‘providing timely help is better than icing on the cake’ before? If you help me this time, I will definitely be grateful for you in the future...” Ye Tiancheng said, unwilling to give up.

“I don’t need your gratitude. As long as I do my part well, Lord Sun will naturally give me whatever you can give me too. Why should I risk my life for you?”

“It might seem spectacular to follow Sun Bingchen now, but from this point onward, you will be troubled by him. Although I am a prisoner now, I will definitely rise from the ashes in the future...”

“Haha, I am just an insignificant character. The Grand Chancellor and Emperor are both incredibly brilliant people. If both of these godlike figures break out into a fight, a mortal like me can never interfere in such a huge scenario. Moreover, these things have nothing to do with me. Regardless of what the future will become, it’s impossible for the superior Grand Chancellor to remember my name and make things difficult for an unknown young man like me....”

Afterward, regardless of what Ye Tiancheng said, Yan Liqiang could not be swayed. The reason he behaved this way was to tell Ye Tiancheng that he could never be bought through empty words. Yan Liqiang wanted to see what other tricks Ye Tiancheng could play right now. On the other hand, the current thought inside Yan Liqiang’s mind was whether he should take the chance to kill Ye Tiancheng. If he did that, he would get his ‘revenge’ and there would be fewer unknown dangers on the journey back to the Imperial Capital with Sun Bingchen. This truly would be the best of both worlds. However, doing so would be a bit like a betrayal to Sun Bingchen...

In just a few minutes, Yan Liqiang was done with his meal. The food that he had placed on the tile for Goldie had also been completely consumed.

Yan Liqiang used the chopsticks placed on the windowsill and picked up the beef inside the bowl before he placed it in front of Goldie to smell it.

“Woof...” Goldie let out a soft bark. It didn’t consume the piece of beef. Instead, Goldie just plopped itself down on the ground.

Yan Liqiang was fully aware of the situation when he saw Goldie behaving the way it did. Indeed, there was something wrong with the dishes that the posthouse had prepared for Ye Tiancheng to eat.

Yan Liqiang then returned the bowl and chopsticks back to their original place.

After a few minutes had passed, the servant from the posthouse who had just served the dishes to Yan Liqiang came back again. As he was collecting Yan Liqiang’s bowl and chopsticks, he deliberately looked at the dishes on Ye Tiancheng’s windowsill and noticed that he hadn’t touched his food at all. Acting as if he was curious, the servant asked Yan Liqiang, “Sir, why isn’t the person locked inside the room eating his food?”

Yan Liqiang also played dumb as he replied, “I don’t know either. This person is probably not in the mood to eat yet. Let me tell you, this person used to be a Prefectural Governor, so it’s difficult to serve someone like him!”

“Oh, I see!” The servant shot a deep glare at Ye Tiancheng inside the room before he took away the food in the bowl and left.

After Yan Liqiang was done eating, he stood up and paced back and forth at the narrow area beside the entrance corridor all while moving his body and throwing out punches and kicks. A martial practitioner would never be fond of sitting quietly after eating their food as they would feel the need to move around for a while. Doing so would be beneficial for blood circulation and food digestion.

Just a few minutes after Yan Liqiang began working out, a voice suddenly rang out from Ye Tiancheng’s room once more.

“You practice martial arts too?”

“Of course!” Yan Liqiang replied without turning his head around while moving his hands and feet.

“If you can help me, then perhaps we can trade with each other...”

Yan Liqiang stopped and walked toward the window. He looked at Ye Tiancheng, who was behaving weirdly, and asked, “What trade?”

Ye Tiancheng’s eyes darted around as he looked at the sides of the window.

“Don’t worry. There’s no one in the corridor. If someone’s coming, I will be able to see them as soon as they approach from afar!”

“Didn’t you say that all I had were empty words? However, there’s one thing I can trade with you even if I can’t move from this place right now!” Ye Tiancheng said, determined.

“What is it?”

“Martial arts secret manual!”

Upon hearing those four words, Yan Liqiang shivered without needing to act like he was surprised. He didn’t expect for Ye Tiancheng to still be capable of possessing this trick up his sleeves.

“The reason for my status today is all thanks to my numerous past learning experiences and cultivation of the secret martial arts manuals. Most of them are the advanced kind too. As long as I have learned from those secret martial arts manuals before, I am still able to remember them even now. I can impart them to you. What do you think of this trade?”

“How will I even know that the things you are going to impart to me are true? Based on my current ability, even if you tell me that those things are fake and that I will fall into Qi deviation after learning them, I might not be able to differentiate between what’s real and what’s fake!”

“I can start by imparting you a Deft Lightness Jump technique so that you can experience it first. There’s a set of mnemonics for this technique. Based on the mnemonic, anyone can cultivate this technique as long as they have passed the Horse Stance Stage. You will know whether this technique I’m imparting to you is real or fake once you try it out!”

“Oh, I have learned a bit of the ‘Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps’ before...”

“The Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps is a body and footwork technique, not a Deft Lightness Jumping Skill. The body and footwork techniques are effective in dodging within a small area, allowing oneself to become more flexible or faster. On the other hand, the lightness skill is superior to that of the body and footwork technique. One will be able to jump even higher and run even faster, becoming as light as a swallow. He will be able to leap over roofs and vault over walls with ease too. Tramping over mountains, and through ravines, and leaping through air by walking on tides are considered trivial things too. This Lightness Leaping Skill is more valuable than normal body and footwork techniques. The highest layer of the ‘Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps’ is only to the Sixth Heavenly Layer, while the Deft Lightness Jump technique that I’m going to impart to you, which is also known as ‘Cloud Dragon’s Ten Transformations’, has ten layers at max. Once you break through to one transformation, your jumping ability will increase by one zhang [1]. If you manage to break through to ten transformations, you will be able to effortlessly jump ten zhang high. The walls of the city will not be able to stop you. An average person will not be able to obtain this even if they wanted to!”

“Since you know how to use this technique, why did you still allow the Patrol Inspector to take you down that day?”

With an expression of hatred, Ye Tiancheng replied, “I wasn’t able to fully utilize my techniques inside my room that day. Moreover, I was injured from the start after being affected by that woman’s Bone and Tendon Weakening Palm, which is why I wasn’t able to unleash half of my powers that time. If it were outside of the room that day, Sun Bingchen might not have been able to stop me!”

Yan Liqiang intentionally looked at him with an alarmed expression, “Then how do you want me to help you?”

Ye Tiancheng curved a smile on his face and said, “Relax. This is just like conducting business. Only when we have established trust with each other will the forthcoming businesses progress smoothly. Just try out this set of martial arts that I’m going to teach you. If you believe it and are willing to help me, then we will proceed to the next order of business. If you’re not willing, then we will forget about it. Sun Bingchen will not hold anything against you either. This way, you won’t have to face any risks, right?”

Knowing that Yan Liqiang could not be swayed with just words and could not be easily ‘tricked’ like he had expected, Ye Tiancheng quickly changed his tactic and began throwing out his bait to lure him to his side.

Yan Liqiang laughed coldly inside his heart but pretended to briefly consider the matter seriously on the outside, making him seem a little startled and somewhat hesitant...

Ye Tiancheng narrowed his eyes and stared intently at the expression on Yan Liqiang’s face. When he saw a hint of hesitation on his face, he decided to reveal the mnemonics of the ‘Cloud Dragon’s Ten Transformations’ all by himself before Yan Liqiang could open his mouth to speak. Yan Liqiang had no choice but to listen to it...

A few moments after Ye Tiancheng finished saying the mnemonics, a commotion suddenly broke out downstairs. Someone could be heard yelling, “Fire! Everyone put it out quickly....”

Chapter 202: Improvised

When the great confusion caused by the sudden fire in the posthouse broke out, the Gan Provincial Governor Lei Sitong was leading Sun Bingchen on a tour in the city. It was for parts of the Ye Clan’s properties that they had confiscated, located inside the storehouse in the rear hall behind the Military Governor’s Office...

Meanwhile, both their attendants who had accompanied them began to quietly move away from them, allowing both Lei Sitong and Sun Bingchen to chat without a third person listening to them in this sort of situation.

“When we invaded the Ye Clan that day, the guards who went in first were stunned when they discovered a storage of gold and silver in that underground warehouse. They had never seen so many heaps of gold and silver like that even though they’ve grown this old...” While the two of them were slowly walking inside the storehouse, Lei Sitong continued opening all the chests that were piled up on the side which amounted to about two meters in height. The lights that lit up the storehouse reflected off the silver, making it dazzling to the human eye. “There are about 1,171 chests of this kind in the Ye Fortress underground warehouse, amounting to 2.78 million silver in total. However, I have expropriated about 500 carriages in Weiyuan Prefecture to carry these chests from the Ye Fortress. The chests in this storehouse right now are just a part of it. There are still quite a lot of chests that remain in the fortress, and I have already sent someone to move them to Gan Provincial City...”

It was unknown whether the Lei Sitong’s tone sounded happy or remorseful. He spoke as he opened one chest which was smaller than the others. When the chest was opened, a ray of dazzling gold appeared. Lei Sitong reached out and scooped a handful of gold from the dazzling light which then flowed back into the chest through the gaps between his fingers like fine sand, emitting a unique rustling sound in the process. “Does Lord Sun know where these things come from?”

Sun Bingchen extended his arm and scooped out the sand-like things from the chest as well. After careful inspection, the heavy glittering item in his hand was none other than gold dust. However, after taking a closer look, there was another subtle layer of red on the surface of the gold dust under the bright flame, making it seem more magnificent. With a layer of enchanted aura embalmed on the gold, Sun Bingchen allowed the dust to flow down from his palm. With a slight sigh, he said, “This must be rose gold, a special local product of the Shatu people...”

“Exactly. This rose gold is indeed the local specialty of the Shatu people. In fact, this rose gold is like any normal gold – it is pure gold. But because of an additional layer of red rose in the color, it gives its appearance a very unique look. Accessories that are made with rose gold will look even more appealing. These accessories are well-liked by women and girls in the Great Han Empire too. As a result, if the rose gold dust of equal weight are to be exchanged with the silver, the exchange will be worth more than half the amount of gold!” Lei Sitong then shook his head. “Do you know how much of the Shatu people’s specialty rose gold we found at the Ye Clan this time?”

“I’m afraid the amount might be tremendous, isn’t it?”

“Of course it’s tremendous. We’ve discovered about 200 chests of this type, containing 300,000 taels of rose gold in total. This, in combination with the Ye Clan’s fortune, will not be depleted even if we are to issue them ten years worth of military ranks to the Gan Province army. This wealth represents the flesh and blood of Gan Province, especially the rose gold dust from the Shatu people which serves as the direct proof of the trade between the Ye Clan and the Shatu people. The amount of iron produced from the desert that the Shatu people have come from isn’t much. Even though the weapons are valuable, we don’t know how many weapons and armor the Ye Clan have sold to the Shatu people to be able to exchange so much rose gold from them. Once the Shatu people have obtained weapons and armor from the Ye Clan, we don’t know how much blood will be spilled from the empire’s citizens should something happen in the future. With a great clan like the Ye Clan, which is known to be influential and wealthy but in fact are maggots, it will be a calamity to let them live!” As Lei Sitong reached the end of his sentence, there was a trace of cold, murderous intent in his tone.

“So, wasn’t the Ye Clan already shoveled out by Lord Lei?”

“There is, however, one person that is still alive from the Ye Clan. Similarly, that person is also a scourge!” Lei Sitong halted his footsteps and looked at the apathetic Sun Bingchen.

Sun Bingchen shook his head as he said in a determined tone, “I must bring Ye Tiancheng to the Imperial Capital!”

“I’m afraid you won’t be able to bring Ye Tiancheng to the Imperial Capital!”

“Could it be that Lord Lei wants to make Ye Tiancheng stay?” Sun Bingchen stared at Lei Sitong with a sharp glare without giving in at all. The temperature dropped several degrees the instant those words left Sun Bingchen’s mouth.

“Even if Ye Tiancheng manages to leave Gan Province, does Lord Sun think he will be able to make it to the Imperial Capital alive?” Lei Sitong shook his head and continued in a calm manner, “I fear that person from the Imperial Capital might be eagerly anticipating Ye Tiancheng’s death on his way there. Similarly, that person also knows that Lord Sun wants to bring Ye Tiancheng to the Imperial Capital. Do you think that he won’t do anything and will just wait for you to bring Ye Tiancheng to the Imperial Capital safe and sound? Based on that person’s tactical capabilities, the entire empire is nothing but a chessboard to him. The Ye Clan had gone overboard in Gan Province. Even if he loses the game, he will find victory in other places. The Ye Clan is now useless to that man, just like a discarded pawn. He won’t lose himself just because of one discarded pawn!”

“I know!”

“Bringing Ye Tiancheng back to the Imperial Capital is the same as dragging the world’s greatest problem along your journey. Should Ye Tiancheng really die under your hands, that person might instead take that as an excuse to hold you liable for it. Therefore, the best course of action is to let Ye Tiancheng die in Gan Province, then all the problems will vanish!”

Sun Bingchen remained silent for a long time before he managed to speak in a faint voice, “His Majesty is still waiting for me to bring him back!”

Lei Sitong sighed as well. “The decline of monarchical power takes time and effort. Even if you manage to bring Ye Tiancheng back to the Imperial Capital, so what? How can one genocidal Prefectural Governor change the situation in the Imperial Capital?”

“I am grateful for the help and encouragement His Majesty has given to me. Now that the state is in a difficult situation, there are some things that I must do even if I am to be crushed into pieces!”

Seeing the determined expression on Sun Bingchen’s face, Lei Sitong finally let out a sigh and decided to give up persuading him. “When you guys go back after your meal, if Ye Tiancheng is still alive, I will not interfere again. Moreover, I will dispatch guards to protect you all within the realms of Gan Province. Lord Sun, you will have to take care of yourselves once you are out of Gan Province, however!”

...

Two hours had already passed since Sun Bingchen and Liang Yijie had left the Military Governor’s Office with their men. The sky was dark and it was chilly too. The galloping rhinodrake steeds that carried a bunch of people through the main street of Weiyuan City was quite distinct amidst the silence of the night.

They had to pass through half of Weiyuan City in their journey from the Military Governor’s Office to the posthouse.

Liang Yijie was clearly anxious as he rode on the rhinodrake steed, “Sir, do you want me to go back and check things out first?”

“No need. Whatever strategy Lord Lei has, he would have already used it by now. We will see the result when we go back!” Sun Bingchen said as he shook his head.

“I’m just afraid that Liqiang might not be able to handle it by himself...”

“If that’s truly the case, then it’s the will of Heaven!”

...

Sun Bingchen and his men only realized that chaos ensued in the posthouse when they finally returned. The entire building where Ye Tiancheng had previously been imprisoned was burned halfway. About seven or eight of the rooms were burnt into nothingness. And amidst the ruins of the fire, the toppled and charred wooden beam pillars were still smoking...

Upon seeing this sort of situation, regardless whether it was Sun Bingchen or Liang Yijie, both of them were in a state of shock.

Once he arrived, Liang Yijie was able to quickly catch one of the onsite guard officers. “Where’s Yan Liqiang and Ye Tiancheng? Are they alright?”

The guard officer, who still reeked of smoke, had an agonized expression on his face. He wanted to say something but he hesitated and stopped.

“Speak truthfully!” Sun Bingchen said. His face suddenly turned sullen.

“This... When the fire broke out... Everyone was busy putting it out... It was chaotic in the posthouse at that time. When everyone realized what had happened, we don’t know... where Guard Yan and Ye Tiancheng had gone. We searched everywhere around the posthouse and couldn’t find them at all. We only found this!” The guard officer explained as he allowed the person beside him to show a set of handcuffs and shackles to Sun Bingchen. These were the exact things that Ye Tiancheng had been wearing. Without any given reason, these shackles had been removed.

“Ah, Yan Liqiang doesn’t have the keys to Ye Tiancheng’s shackles. Did the two of them die in the fire?” Liang Yijie anxiously asked.

“We couldn’t find them when the fire started. There weren’t any remnants of the bodies inside the room either. They couldn’t... couldn’t have died in the fire!”

“Sir, I’m going to the Military Governor’s Office...” Liang Yijie was furious. His fists were clenched tightly together.

Sun Bingchen looked at the situation in the posthouse before he turned his attention to the unlocked shackles. He closed his eyes for a few seconds before opening them again. Taking in a deep breath, he then said, “Let’s wait a little longer...”

As soon as Sun Bingchen said that, the two of them then heard noises from the guards at the posthouse’s entrance. “Ah, Guard Yan is back...”

Upon hearing the news, Liang Yijie quickly dashed toward the posthouse’s entrance.

A few seconds later, Liang Yijie was able to catch a glimpse of Yan Liqiang as well as Ye Tiancheng. Both of them had already changed into a set of new clothes with hats on their heads. There were ashes smeared on their faces too, which almost made it impossible to recognize them – especially Ye Tiancheng who was already unshackled. One of Yan Liqiang’s arms was placed on Ye Tiancheng’s waist with his sleeves covering his hand. Yan Liqiang only released his hand from Ye Tiancheng’s waist when they arrived at the posthouse and he subsequently sheathed the short sword he was wielding. He then smiled at Liang Yijie and said, “Brother Liang, I have been lucky enough to be able to accomplish the mission without losing sight of Ye Tiancheng...”

Ye Tiancheng looked at Yan Liqiang with a complicated expression as he remained silent.

Liang Yijie heavily patted Yan Liqiang’s shoulder before he turned around to give an order. “Take Ye Tiancheng away...”

The bodyguards and honor guards around Sun Bingchen saw Yan Liqiang in a different light at that moment.

At the same time, a group of servants gritted their teeth as they were hiding inside the posthouse as they watched Ye Tiancheng and Yan Liqiang reappear at the scene. Some of them were frustrated as well. The servant who had previously served dishes to Yan Liqiang had a cold gaze in his eyes when he saw Ye Tiancheng again. As he was about to take out something from his sleeves, a hand suddenly reached out from behind and pressed down on his shoulders. All he heard were these words: “Our lord has issued the order. Our job is done...”

......

“Liqiang, what exactly happened just now...” A few minutes later, inside Sun Bingchen’s room, Sun Bingchen and Liang Yijie stared at Yan Liqiang with gleaming eyes as if there was a flower on Yan Liqiang’s face.

Yan Liqiang rubbed his nose and said, “It’s nothing, actually. I was just improvising and played a little game with someone, that’s all...”

After listening to Yan Liqiang’s account of the incident, Sun Bingchen and Liang Yijie’s gazes toward him changed...

Chapter 203: Response

Upon hearing someone shout that there was a fire, Yan Liqiang unlocked the door to Ye Tiancheng’s room as fast as he could. Then he let Goldie rush downstairs to the guards’ room to retrieve a guard uniform set.

Although Yan Liqiang didn’t have the keys to unlock the handcuffs and fetters on Ye Tiancheng after entering the room, these old-fashioned locking mechanisms posed no challenge to him. He had forged quite a number of the same locks back in Yan Dechang’s blacksmith store. Therefore, he knew the internal structures of these locks inside out. With just a needle he carried around, he managed to unlock all the locking mechanisms placed on Ye Tiancheng. He then handed over the guard uniform Goldie retrieved for Ye Tiancheng to change into.

The entire posthouse descended into chaos as thick, rolling smoke filled the corridors. Yan Liqiang led a disguised Ye Tiancheng past a few servants in the posthouse who had rushed up to ‘put out the fire’. They pretended to be rushing downstairs in a panic. By the time those people at the posthouse managed to go through great lengths to unlock the blocked keyhole and barge into the room where Ye Tiancheng was supposed to be, Yan Liqiang had long left the posthouse with Ye Tiancheng in tow. They arrived at an inn which was just a few hundred meters away from the posthouse. He paid for a room and waited for the return of Sun Bingchen and the rest in silence.

Yan Liqiang calmly explained the entire episode with great composure without even an ounce of nervousness. However, as listeners, Sun Bingchen and Liang Yijie were completely blown away by Yan Liqiang’s powerful judgment and reaction speed.

During that situation, the people who were after Ye Tiancheng’s life had actually planned two methods of assassinating him. One was fire – if Ye Tiancheng stayed in his room, he would’ve been burnt to death. The second method was exploiting the confusing chaos – if Ye Tiancheng were to flee from his room, these people hidden among the servants of the posthouse would’ve exploited the chaotic moment when everyone was putting out the fire to end Ye Tiancheng’s life then and there.

Yan Liqiang managed to see through the other party’s plans in the shortest amount of time. At the same time, he also responded in such an unexpected way that the other party would be caught off-guard by the turn of events, thus successfully foiling both their plans.

No one would have expected him to have the guts to set Ye Tiancheng free, let alone being able to disguise him as one of Sun Bingchen’s guards in such a short amount of time. In addition, they even brushed past those people who had rushed upstairs to ‘put out the fire’ among the thick smoke with Ye Tiancheng in tow.

At that time, Yan Liqiang rushed downstairs with Ye Tiancheng who stooped and covered his face with his sleeve while coughing. Yan Liqiang simultaneously yelled, “Put out the fire quick! The criminal, Ye Tiancheng, whom the Patrol Inspector detained, is still in the room...!” By the time those people arrived at the room’s door, they realized that the windows of the room were shut, obstructing their ability to clearly assess the situation inside the room. Not only that, Yan Liqiang had also damaged the door’s keyhole by blocking it up with a small piece of wood. That small piece of wood was what managed to buy Yan Liqiang some time to flee the chaos at the posthouse with Ye Tiancheng in tow.

The most ruthless part was the fact that Yan Liqiang didn’t venture too far out after leaving the posthouse with Ye Tiancheng. He instead found a place to settle down nearby as he waited for Sun Bingchen and the rest who would definitely pass by the location on their way back. Those people who were after Ye Tiancheng’s life were also stunned to discover that Ye Tiancheng had vanished from the posthouse. Even if they went on a hunt, no one would possibly know where Ye Tiancheng had gone as soon as he had fled in such a huge place like Weiyuan City. Furthermore, to find someone without stirring up a huge commotion wasn’t an easy feat.

“And how were you so sure that the people from the posthouse wouldn’t figure out the fact that you escaped with Ye Tiancheng from the room?” After hearing the explanation and pondering with a frown, Liang Yijie finally asked the question he couldn’t quite wrap his head around.

Yan Liqiang smiled. “That’s very simple. When they delivered Ye Tiancheng his dinner, I didn’t stop them despite knowing that something was wrong with the meal and allowed them to leave the dinner outside the window to Ye Tiancheng’s room. I made them believe that I didn’t put my guards up around them since the beginning and completely trusted them. This is a form of psychological manipulation. So no matter the event, they wouldn’t expect me to swiftly respond and think outside the box. When I told them Ye Tiancheng was still in the room, they would’ve definitely thought that I was telling the truth...”

“What about the small piece of wood that you jammed into the keyhole? Did you prepare that in advance?”

“That small piece of wood was forged from the chopsticks I used during my meal. I only prepared it just in case because I didn’t know what else they would do. Little did I expect it to actually come in handy.”

“So you are saying that you were already deliberately misleading them during mealtime?” Liang Yijie was shocked as he questioned Yan Liqiang in disbelief.

“Since I knew Ye Tiancheng would definitely not touch the food, I just acted as if I were clueless. Only by doing so would they let their guards down around me.”

“When you fled with Ye Tiancheng, didn’t Ye Tiancheng get different ideas like escaping from you?” Sun Bingchen also asked another question after remaining silent for a good while.

Yan Liqiang shrugged and spread his arms out. “Of course he did. He made a great deal of promises with me, but I’m not that gullible. Besides, he couldn’t do much at that time with his strength reduced to about the same as an ordinary person’s. My knife was pressed right up against him too. So if he really tried to escape, it’d really be over for him if I were to gut him with my knife or yelled then and there.”

Sun Bingchen, who had been staring at Yan Liqiang strangely all this while, finally broke into a smile. “Well done, Liqiang. If it wasn’t for you today, Ye Tiancheng would have probably died here!”

“I only did what I was supposed to do!”

“Good. You may retire early if there’s nothing else!”

Yan Liqiang hesitated for a moment before he spoke through his clenched teeth. “Sir, there’s something I’m not quite sure if it is my place to say!”

“Oh? Go ahead!”

“Since we are currently in Gan Province, if Lord Lei Sitong is adamant about killing Ye Tiancheng, there’s nothing we can do. His trick tonight could still be considered mild as he didn’t wish to have a fallout with us. But if we leave Weiyuan City, Lord Lei could grow more aggressive if he is serious about taking Ye Tiancheng’s life. With just the number of our men, I fear we might not be able to deal with it. Therefore, I feel that it’s better to be frank with Lord Lei now than wait until later!”

“You don’t have to worry about that. I discussed this with Lord Lei Sitong on my way back. It has been settled that he would keep dispatching troops to escort us until we leave Gan Province.”

Yan Liqiang smiled embarrassingly. “I see that you already have a well-thought-out plan, sir. I was worried for nothing...”

Chapter 204: Respective Preparations

After leaving Gan Province, the next few days of travel went smoothly without a hitch.

Lei Sitong deployed a cavalry of six hundred men to escort Yan Liqiang’s party through the cities and counties. As expected, they didn’t run into any other problems at all during the journey...

As the saying ‘a long journey tests a horse’s strength and the passage of time proves a man’s heart’ goes, Yan Liqiang could tell that his position by Sun Bingchen’s side had stabilized and rose once more after the incident at the posthouse in Weiyuan Prefecture. However, he noticed that Sun Bingchen was staring at him even deeper since then, and this made his heart race.

Although Sun Bingchen was still acting the same as before on the surface, his occasional gazes filled with rapt attention still made Yan Liqiang feel uncomfortable ever since he caught them. He wasn’t sure if it was his sixth sense, but he just couldn’t shake off the feeling that there was something else he couldn’t quite lay his finger on behind Sun Bingchen’s profound stare.

The first time Yan Liqiang realized that there was something else hidden behind Sun Bingchen’s gaze was when he assisted him in finding the iron case that Ye Tiancheng had hidden. However, that feeling was even more intense this time.

If Yan Liqiang didn’t know that Sun Bingchen wasn’t gay, he probably wouldn’t have the courage to continue staying by his side.

Perhaps it was because Yan Liqiang had once again proven his capability and attentiveness, but the task of looking after Ye Tiancheng every day upon arriving at their accommodation fell on Yan Liqiang following their departure from Weiyuan Prefecture.

Ye Tiancheng seized every opportunity he had with Yan Liqiang. He constantly tried to brainwash and get chummy with him in order to make a deal with Yan Liqiang – providing him with a few silver needles.

Silver needles were extremely common items which could be bought throughout most of the medical halls in the county town. They were tools used in treating ailments and Ye Tiancheng needed them to undo the sword acupoint sealing technique that Liang Yijie had used on him. If the meridians and acupoints in his body went back to normal, he would be capable of escaping.

Yan Liqiang’s attitude in response to Ye Tiancheng’s request was basically,‘Why do I have to risk my life for you? You think I’m a fool?!’

And thus his attitude was enough to drive Ye Tiancheng crazy.

On the 23rd of the first lunar month, after a few days of travel, Yan Liqiang and the rest had passed Gan Provincial City. They continued heading east and arrived at the furthest county town in Gan Province – Shizhai County.

That night, Yan Liqiang and the cavalry who escorted them stayed at the Shizhai County Office.

Shizhai County was a poor county – it was cursed by its infertile land and filled with yellow sand which stretched as far as the eyes could see. There weren’t many people in the county. The county’s posthouse was small, run-down, and could only accommodate a few dozen people. Not only that, the posthouse was also located outside the city. Upon receiving news of the arrival of Sun Bingchen’s party, the county magistrate of Shizhai County, dressed in his faded official robes, personally waited for Sun Bingchen along with a few county officials. They showed Sun Bingchen and the rest to the county office and finally managed to settle them down after sorting out some issues.

Although the so-called county office sounded impressive, it was actually extremely shabby. It was in worse condition than Yan Liqiang’s old house back in Qinghe County. For the sake of receiving Sun Bingchen and the rest as guests, the county magistrate even mobilized a few bailiffs who worked as messengers and some administrative staff members from the county office. They made a stove out of mud in the rear hall of the office and roasted a hog to be served as dinner for everyone.

If it wasn’t for this personal experience, Yan Liqiang wouldn’t believe that a county could be in such a dire state due to poverty.

Although the county office was run-down, it still had an underground dungeon for prisoners. Upon arriving at the county office, Yan Liqiang had someone escort Ye Tiancheng out from the prisoner carriage and into the prison where he personally stayed back to keep watch there.

Unlike those dark and damp prisons everywhere else, the prison in the Shizhai County Office was so dry as though it was a pit dug out of dry rock. In such cold and dry weather, the prison which had not been used in two years didn’t really have a bad odor.

There was no lamp in the prison except for a lit torch. As the torch’s flame burned, it emitted a distinctive noise akin to that of a rat nibbling on a table leg. For places like Shizhai County, the oil used in oil lamps was a luxury. Most people couldn’t even find food or feed themselves full, let alone being able to afford using oil to light a lamp.

As soon as the people who delivered the straw mats left, Ye Tiancheng, who had just been put into the prison, immediately moved. His handcuffs and fetters clanked as he approached the iron bars of the prison cell. He grabbed the iron bars with both hands, stared at Yan Liqiang who was patting Goldie’s head, and then spoke in a soft voice. “We have arrived at Shizhai today. We will be leaving Gan Province tomorrow morning after four more hours on the journey...”

Yan Liqiang calmly threw a glance at Ye Tiancheng without saying anything. The former Pingxi Prefectural Governor was travel-worn from the arduous journey. Without washing his face, taking a shower, brushing his teeth, washing his hair, or getting a fresh change of clothes every day, his unkempt appearance and dirty face made him look no different than a beggar. The only thing that distinguished him from a beggar was his eyes which remained as eerie as ghost lights.

Yan Liqiang could feel Ye Tiancheng growing more impatient as the day of leaving Gan Province was approaching.

He knew the reason behind Ye Tiancheng’s frustration too. That was because the real dangers of this journey would only start the moment they left Gan Province. Ye Tiancheng was aware of the people who were after his life in the journey ahead of them. He was frustrated because he didn’t want to resign to a pathetic death in the prisoner carriage just like a useless person.

Not only Ye Tiancheng, but even Yan Liqiang could feel an immense pressure these few days. Ever since the day before yesterday, Yan Liqiang started feeling uncomfortable whenever he was traveling with the party. He could sense that they were being spied on, but he strangely wasn’t able to locate the source this time. He kept feeling as though there was a shadow following them obstinately. He got the same feeling multiple times despite the fact that they were traveling through the uninhabited wilderness.

Yan Liqiang really wished he could finish off Ye Tiancheng if he were permitted to do so because he knew that unknown danger was coming toward Ye Tiancheng.

Yan Liqiang deprecatingly laughed at himself in secret because of the irony. A few days ago, he was eager to tear Ye Tiancheng into shreds. In just the blink of an eye, he was suddenly worried for Ye Tiancheng’s safety because the danger brought about by Ye Tiancheng could possibly affect him. Just what kind of logic was this?

However, as Sun Bingchen’s personal attendant, the bottom line was, he couldn’t afford to betray Sun Bingchen’s wish. Therefore, he had no choice but to assist Sun Bingchen in escorting Ye Tiancheng back to the Imperial Capital. The only consolation Yan Liqiang had was the fact that the only ending that awaited Ye Tiancheng once he arrived at the Imperial Capital was death. Therefore, during the journey over the past few days, Yan Liqiang kept convincing himself that he was escorting Ye Tiancheng to his death at the Imperial Capital.

“The journey will be even more dangerous as soon as we leave Gan Province tomorrow. Today is the best chance!” Ye Tiancheng growled at Yan Liqiang like a stray wolf locked up in a cage.

“I told you already. You are only a lowly prisoner right now. You have nothing to make me risk my life for you!” Yan Liqiang calmly cast a glance at Ye Tiancheng. He took out a small knife and whetstone, then proceeded to repair and maintain the quiver of arrows before him.

“You should know that the ‘Cloud Dragon’s Ten Transformations’ technique I imparted to you is truly a lightness skill secret manual. This technique isn’t something you can easily obtain. Not even Sun Bingchen will impart profound techniques to you as he wishes! Was that still not enough to prove my sincerity? I have more valuable techniques here with me such as the ‘Blazing Skywheel’ technique. If you can give me what I need tonight, I will also impart to you the secret manual to the ‘Blazing Skywheel’ technique!”

“Sorry, I still haven’t gotten the chance to cultivate the ‘Cloud Dragon’s Ten Transformations’ technique’s secret manual you told me over these few days. As you can see, I travel with the party during the day and I have to watch you for most of the night. Therefore, I am left with no time to cultivate some secret manuals. Hence, I still cannot verify if that secret manual you told me is real or not. That was something you willingly told me. I didn’t promise to do anything for you, so you don’t have to bring that up again...”

It was true that Yan Liqiang had no time or the personal space to verify the authenticity of the lightness skill’s secret manual that Ye Tiancheng had used to bribe him over these few days. However, his archery skill was gradually being accepted by everyone during the journey. In their eyes, Yan Liqiang seemed to be rather talented in archery as his archery technique was making rapid improvements. Yan Liqiang also sensed that throughout his training these few days, he was slowly approaching the Fourth Heavenly Layer realm’s border. Apart from archery, the Iron Head technique he had been cultivating out of the various body techniques of the Golden Bell Shield’s first layer realm was about to succeed and it was also improving at a very rapid pace.

According to the explanation from the secret manual, to successfully cultivate the Iron Head technique among the various body techniques of the Golden Bell Shield’s first layer realm, even the most talented martial arts practitioner would need at least a year to charge up their acupoints in order to possess the same perception he currently had in martial arts techniques. However, it only took him one or two months to cultivate this technique. Apart from the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing’s benefits, Yan Liqiang couldn’t find another factor that had contributed to his cultivation speed.

The more powerful he was, the better chance of survival he had in the face of danger. Yan Liqiang had been secretly making preparations over these few days against the ordeal that he was about to face. If he ended up as a funerary object to a corrupted official like Ye Tiancheng halfway through the journey before even reaching the Imperial Capital, that would be the most tragic tale in this world.

“If you don’t give me what I want today, aren’t you afraid that I’m going to tell everyone that you have learned a secret technique from me because you wished to make a deal with me? Do you know what consequences you will face then? Even if I can’t get out of this, this will be enough to ruin your future prospects...” Ye Tiancheng’s tone of voice started to turn dangerously cold as the expression on his face grew sinister.

Yan Liqiang threw Ye Tiancheng a disdainful look and laughed mischievously. “Do you think the others would believe you? Besides, how are you so sure that I haven’t reported to Lord Sun about you teaching me the ‘Cloud Dragon’s Ten Transformations’ technique? Do you honestly think I am that easy to trick and can be blackmailed so easily?”

Ye Tiancheng’s mood started to grow heavy. “Tell me, what will make you help me out just this once?”

“I will tell you one more time. If you wish for my help, then you will need to offer me benefits I can see and receive now. Don’t tell me about any promises for the future. There’s no way I am going to risk my life over empty promises.” Yan Liqiang said this and even took out the set of silver needles he had purchased two days ago, flashing it at him. “I have this thing with me. If you can recover your strength, I believe those chains will not be able to keep you bounded. Whether you can have this set of silver needles or not will all depend on what you can offer to me.”

Ye Tiancheng clenched his teeth, then silently retreated. He sat down on the ground and would only occasionally throw some strange complicated glances at Yan Liqiang who was outside the prison cell.

Yan Liqiang remained unmoved. To him, the current Ye Tiancheng was nothing more than someone whose remaining value could still be squeezed out. He was curious to find out if he could still squeeze something out of Ye Tiancheng aside from that ‘Cloud Dragon’s Ten Transformations’ technique.

Chapter 205: Danger Is Here

The night passed by uneventfully.

Yan Liqiang wasn’t sure if Ye Tiancheng really had nothing else to offer him, if he had other plans, or if he just wanted to test Yan Liqiang’s patience. The final night before they left Gan Province, Ye Tiancheng, who was locked up in the prison cell, stopped trying to strike up deals with Yan Liqiang. Likewise, Yan Liqiang didn’t approach him about learning some Blazing Skywheel technique either, so the night passed by peacefully.

The next morning, after a simple breakfast at the run-down Shizhai County Office, Sun Bingchen and his party organized some luggage and set off on their journey with the county magistrate and the others that were seeing them off.

Before hitting the road, Sun Bingchen even instructed Liang Yijie to leave two hundred taels of silver with the county magistrate. On the other hand, Yan Liqiang found an archer in the county office to buy him a quiver of arrows since he had been deploying many arrows every day during the journey. He wasn’t using his companions’ arrows. Instead, he personally paid someone to buy him some every time they arrived at their next destination.

Yan Liqiang hung the newly-purchased arrows and his bow bag on the saddle on top of Snowstorm Cloud, then whistled. Goldie came running, then it hopped onto the carriage loaded with supplies by itself and obediently laid on its stomach. After escorting Ye Tiancheng to his prisoner carriage, everyone set out on the journey.

This small county town appeared to only be slightly bigger than the Lu Residence. The buildings in the county town which were assailed by sandstorms all year round were weathered and decaying even. There weren’t many pedestrians on the street. The very few people they met from time to time were clad in old cotton-padded jackets and clothes, and they had unkempt appearances. They were curled up and shivering in the cold while they kept their heads lowered as they went on with earning their livelihoods. They exuded an air of apathy and indifference, seemingly not bothered by who Yan Liqiang and the rest were.

The sound of iron hooves rang out beside him. As soon as Yan Liqiang turned his head to the side, he saw Liang Yijie trot up to them on his rhinodrake steed.

“Lord Lei has indeed kept his words. The past few days have been safe and peaceful. However, we are leaving Gan Province today. The road ahead of us will be surrounded by wilderness in most places. Basically, we won’t be seeing any people or villages for a hundred or even several hundred li. If something happens to a troop of up to a hundred people, it is unlikely for anyone to even find out about it in just a few days. There might also be many people who are after Ye Tiancheng’s life. Stay alert, Liqiang!”

“Understood. Thank you for the reminder, Brother Liang!”

“There are still a few more sets of armor for the guards on the carriage. Maybe you should put one on too, Liqiang...”

“Cough, cough..!” Yan Liqiang coughed twice. He scanned around before he pulled his collars apart and showed a layer of brown underneath to Liang Yijie. “Don’t worry, Brother Liang. I’m already wearing leather ox armor and a breastplate to cover the front and back...” he whispered.

Liang Yijie was slightly taken aback. “Huh? When did you put them on?”

“The day before yesterday, there were weapon and armor shops beside the posthouse we stayed in Rong’an. I went to browse around and bought one for myself!” Yan Liqiang chuckled mischievously. “Ye Tiancheng is one hot potato. I thought that even if Lord Lei promised to not intervene, the Ye Clan also did a lot of evil over these years in Gan Province and must have offended a number of people. We might just run into someone who is after Ye Tiancheng’s pathetic life on our way. Therefore, I decided to treat myself to something nice as part of preparing to avoid getting into trouble because of him...”

Yan Liqiang wasn’t going to fool around knowing that he was traveling with a ticking time bomb. He had no idea how many people they would encounter along the way that were after Ye Tiancheng’s life. If he didn’t think for himself, then he wasn’t being Yan Liqiang. A human’s life could be unpredictably resilient or fragile. Some unfortunate ones might just lose their lives to a stray arrow. The leather armor Yan Liqiang bought for himself had three layers of silk in between the two layers of ox leather. Although it didn’t look too conspicuous, it could shield against arrows quite effectively and it had a certain immunity toward sabers and swords. There were also two mirror armor plates to protect his vital parts. Wearing such leather armor was akin to wearing a bulletproof vest, and it made Yan Liqiang feel more at ease.

Seeing that Yan Liqiang had already made his preparations, Liang Yijie wasn’t sure if he should cry or laugh. In the end, all he could do was cough dryly a few times. “Hm, good to know that you are well-prepared, Liqiang. Remember, Lord Sun said that you shouldn’t push yourself too hard if anything really happens. Just ensure your own safety and stay safe!”

“Alright, I understand!”

......

The cavalry of six hundred men Lei Sitong deployed were already waiting outside when they exited the eastern gate of Shizhai County. At the appearance of Sun Bingchen and his party, the cavalry continued escorting them on their journey.

Yan Liqiang frowned after a mere a few minutes, because the feeling of being spied on appeared again. Yan Liqiang looked around, but there wasn’t anyone else on the road. The sides of the road were overrun with weeds and sandhills. When he raised his head, he saw a few small black dots high up in the sky. Some of them were eagles while some of them were vultures.

In his previous life, people who lived in the cities would probably never see an eagle in their entire lifetimes. However, in this era, especially at border territories like Gan Province, one would be able to spot a few predator birds if one looked up into the sky, even in the cities. Eagles were even more common. They were no different than those sparrows which were common in rural areas back in his previous world.

Yan Liqiang wasn’t sure if this those flying birds in the sky were to blame, but still he secretly raised his awareness. That was because those eagles and vultures were still flying around in the sky above them even when the feeling of being spied on wasn’t present.

...

At the same time, an elderly man who was fully clad in black robes was sitting cross-legged on a desolated hill about two hundred li east of Shizhai County. His gray hair was threaded with terrifying white bone beads, the skin on his face was as dry as tree bark, and his forehead had a tattoo which looked like blazing flames. His eyes were shut while he sat motionlessly on the ground.

From a distance, the old man who was sitting cross-legged on the ground looked like a lonely black grave standing on the hill.

After a brief moment, the old man’s eyelids quivered before he slowly opened his deadly grayish brown eyes. There was a strange glow in them before it slowly faded away.

The old man who was sitting on the ground stood up slowly, then turned his head around to look at the two Shatu people standing behind him. “Those people have left Shizhai County. We can start preparing our warriors. Apart from Ye Tiancheng, don’t let Sun Bingchen get away too. He will pay for the Shatu blood he spilled today!” he said with a hoarse voice.

The two Shatu people exchanged looks with each other before they gave him a serious nod.

If Yan Liqiang were here, he would have definitely recognized one of the two Shatu people. He was the leader of the Shatu people in Pingxi City – Aligujin, whom Yan Liqiang had stolen from with King Cobra’s identity.

Aligujin was dressed in black robes, and he was dripping with cold malice...

......

About ten minutes later, a cavalry of more than a thousand men dressed in black came dashing out from the mountain valley behind the hill like a flock of bats flying out from a mountain cave...

Chapter 206: On The Way

“Lord Sun, we will be in Lan Province territory as soon as we pass through here. This is as far as we can escort you. If we continue to proceed, the Gan Province army will be entering Lan Province without permission and hence violating our military orders. I hope you will understand this, sir!”

“Thank you for your hard work, Commandant Guo and soldiers...!”

“It is our honor to be given the opportunity to escort you, sir!”

Three hours after leaving Shizhai County, Yan Liqiang and the rest finally arrived at the border between Gan Province and Lan Province. With that, the cavalry who escorted them all the way here had also completed their mission.

The Battalion Commandant leading the six hundred cavalry was a military officer from the Guo Clan; he was a man who was serious in both speech and manner with a head full of thick hair and a thick beard. He bid his farewell to Sun Bingchen at the border of the two provinces.

Yan Liqiang was currently beside Sun Bingchen. While watching him speak to the military officer, his eyes were also scanning the surroundings.

The only word which could describe everything as far as his eyes could see was the word, ‘desolated’.

The area was filled with only hills of grayish-brown rocks. Below the hills was a dried up riverbed with a few Euphrates Poplar trees standing obstinately at the side of the river. There was a weather-beaten boundary stone right beside them with three barely legible words, ‘Gan Province Border’, inscribed on it...

The eagles and vultures in the skies were still flying around in circles. Yan Liqiang had been carefully observing the flying beasts during the entire journey while keeping the feeling he sensed in check. He wanted to find out if that feeling of being spied on had any direct connection to those flying beasts. What baffled Yan Liqiang was the fact that after the feeling of being spied on vanished, there didn’t seem to be any changes in the flying beasts in the skies.

This situation made Yan Liqiang extremely gloomy. He even suspected that he was being oversensitive.

After exchanging a few more words, Commandant Guo cupped his fists to Sun Bingchen before he turned his steed around and whistled. “Let’s go, brothers!”

Crashing noises like a furious storm soon rang out. The six hundred cavalry turned their steeds around and galloped back in the direction where Yan Liqiang and the party had come from alongside the thundering sounds of the iron hooves. In just a flash, they vanished behind a hill.

...

“Sir, I will go scout ahead...” Liang Yijie immediately informed Sun Bingchen as soon as the cavalry left.

“Alright, go!” Sun Bingchen nodded to him.

Liang Yijie raised his hand and led four guards on their rhinodrake steeds to run ahead on the road first, leaving Sun Bingchen, Yan Liqiang, the remaining people, and carriages to slowly follow from behind. Before this, not only were they under the protection of six hundred cavalry, they were also in Gan Province. Therefore, the entire journey had been smooth and it was unlikely for them to run into any problems. However, now that they had made it into Lan Province, they couldn’t afford to be reckless on the road.

Although the party had gone into Lan Province territory, they were surrounded by mountain ridges. There was no public road beneath their feet, only the dirt road formed by old carriage tracks which stretched on endlessly. Yan Liqiang could clearly sense Sun Bingchen and the rest becoming more alert after making into Lan Province territory. Quite a number of guards in the party already had their bows, which were originally hanging from their saddles, in their hands. Yan Liqiang secretly also put on his guard.

“Liqiang, do you know why the population of Gan Province is still higher than Lan Province’s, and why its cities also thrived better than those in Lan Province, despite being a border province?” Sun Bingchen threw a glance at Yan Liqiang, who was riding behind him, and asked him a question.

When Yan Liqiang heard Sun Bingchen’s question, he shook his reins to let Snowstorm Cloud trot forward a few more steps. He was only half a steed’s head behind Sun Bingchen to make it easier for him to answer his question.

He took only a brief moment to compose his answer before he replied, “I heard from my teacher back at the martial arts academy that Gan Province thrived better than Lan Province because the imperial court made great efforts to migrate huge amount of the population from different provinces to Gan Province over the past centuries for the sake of fortifying its border. With the water from the melted snow on Mount Qiyun, Gan Province is rich in natural resources and has abundant water resources. In addition to the usual trades between the Shatu Seven Tribes and the Dark Ram Tribe, this is why Gan Province is thriving better than Lan Province despite being a border province!”

“Indeed, it is exactly as what you have said, Liqiang!” Sun Bingchen smiled and gave Yan Liqiang an impressed look. “Well then, do you think Shatu Seven Tribes are doing more good or more harm to the Great Han Empire?”

“The affairs of the nation will naturally be handled by everyone in the imperial court and you, sir. How can my extremely shallow and crude knowledge possibly be worthy of being compared to yours, sir?” Yan Liqiang scratched his head with a smile and played dumb.

“I know you definitely have your own opinion about this matter if you are acting this timid and overcautious, Liqiang!” Sun Bingchen was able to immediately see through Yan Liqiang’s thoughts. “This is just a casual chat between us today. Just speak your mind without any fear. I won’t blame you for anything even if you make any mistakes!”

Seeing that there was no way for him to evade this question, Yan Liqiang could only smile wryly as he voiced his opinion. “Whether the Shatu Seven Tribes are doing more good or more harm to us, it all depends on our situation. If the Great Han Empire remains powerful and prosperous, the Shatu Seven Tribes will definitely stay obediently on our west and will act as the barrier between us and the Dark Ram Tribe. However, if something were to happen internally, say for example if the Great Han Empire suffers from civil unrest or encounters any unpredictable events in the future, the Shatu Seven Tribes will definitely become cancerous to all the northwestern provinces of the Great Han Empire at the first signs of weakness and turn against us! By then, calamities will befall the northwestern provinces and their citizens will plunge into misery and suffering!”

As soon as Yan Liqiang finished speaking, he realized Sun Bingchen’s gaze had turned complex. It seemed to be filled with admiration, but at the same time, it seemed like there was something else hidden behind it.

“But since the Shatu Seven Tribes have already settled down at the northwestern side now, nothing can be changed. How do you suppose we should handle these Shatu people, Liqiang?”

“Do you really want me to say it, sir?”

“Why not?”

Yan Liqiang clenched his teeth. “Before the Great Han Empire shows any signs of weaknesses, it is better to strike first and gain the upper hand. Exploit the conflict between the Shatu Seven Tribes and the Dark Ram Tribe. Cooperate with them to eradicate Shatu Seven Tribes once and for all by attacking them from both sides, or at least damage them so heavily that they won’t be able to recover in a century, and force them to retreat to the desert!”

“The conflict between the Great Han Empire and the Dark Ram Tribe isn’t any smaller than the conflict between Shatu Seven Tribes and them. What will make the Dark Ram Tribe cooperate with us?”

“Promise the Dark Ram Tribe that the grasslands, which are currently occupied by the Shatu Seven Tribes, will be theirs. They will definitely agree to cooperate with us given how short-sighted they are!”

“What’s the point in chasing away the Shatu Seven Tribes?”

“Chasing away the Shatu Seven Tribes and then finding a good opportunity to recover those grasslands occupied by the Dark Ram Tribe will be significantly easier than directly recovering them from the Shatu Seven Tribes...”

Chapter 207: Still Alive

“Why will it be easier to recover those grasslands from the Dark Ram Tribe as opposed to the Shatu Seven Tribes?” Sun Bingchen’s interest seemed to be piqued, given how he immediately followed up with a question after Yan Liqiang had finished speaking.

“That’s because Mount Qiyun separates those grasslands from the Dark Ram Tribe’s territories. During the winter, that place is practically an enclave to the Dark Ram Tribe. They won’t be able to send army provisions or reinforcements through the area, so their supplies will be cut off. Therefore, the Dark Ram Tribe won’t be able to mobilize a large number of people around the territories which were once occupied by the Shatu Seven Tribes during that time. Even if they manage to deploy some troops, the number will be limited. The Dark Ram Tribe will find it easy to hold, but they will find it difficult to attack from the Shatu Seven Tribes’ previously occupied territories due to the separation by Mount Qiyun. However, such an obstacle isn’t present to us. Since we also have a few important Shatu Seven Tribes checkpoints and strategic passes in our hands, we will be in a different position and we will also have the preemptive authority. Naturally, it will be even easier for us to chase the Dark Ram Tribe back to the west of Mount Qiyun under such circumstances!”

“In that case, aren’t we betraying both the Shatu Seven Tribes and the Dark Ram Tribe?”

“Even if you didn’t tell me, I knew that the Shatu Seven Tribes were definitely involved in colluding with the Ye Clan, sir. They have been harboring malice and are beginning to stir up trouble. They have long forgotten who offered shelter and means to make a living when they were being chased by the Shatu Alliance like stray dogs. Now that they have slightly recovered their strength after being given a place to rest, they went on to collude with the Shatu Alliance again. Now that’s a true betrayal! As for the Dark Ram Tribe who has been eyeing us covetously, as long as they can occupy those territories under the Shatu Seven Tribes, their ambition will swell. They will definitely assault our strategic passes on the border as soon as we show any signs of weakness to satisfy their insatiable desire. We can stay still in the beginning and let the Dark Ram Tribe strike first so they will be labeled as the traitors before we deploy our army to chase them back to the west of Mount Qiyun. With that, no one can say anything about us!”

After listening to Yan Liqiang’s words, Sun Bingchen was silent. The way he looked at Yan Liqiang felt even creepier to Yan Liqiang for some reason.

Sun Bingchen suddenly sighed. “If only those high-ranking officials in the imperial court shared the same wisdom as Liqiang, perhaps the world would be a lot more peaceful!”

Yan Liqiang laughed dryly. “Well, those were merely theories I blindly made up. Given how short-sighted I am, I have probably overlooked many unexpected situations. And reality may not even be the same as what I thought. Please don’t mind me, sir!”

“From what you have said, are you implying that the empire will be in turmoil in the future, Liqiang?”

Yan Liqiang recalled the events that would happen inside and outside of the Great Han Empire in the next few years. Based on those events, he couldn’t really say that the Great Han Empire would be in turmoil right now. However, he couldn’t say that the events that would occur were good either. Putting aside the friction at the border of Great Han Empire with the Chaman people, there were the incidents caused by the White Lotus Society at the southern part of Great Han Empire and the fact that a few vassal states severed their ties with the Great Han Empire in succession to throw themselves into the arms of the New Crescent Dynasty. The Great Han Empire was rapidly becoming unstable as their control over the internal and external affairs of the empire was quickly weakening. This definitely did not look good!

Of course when Sun Bingchen asked, Yan Liqiang didn’t dare to tell him anything about the events that would happen in the next few years. If he did, he probably would be captured and sliced up into pieces for microscopic examination. Therefore, he could only give him a vague answer. “I don’t know if it will be in turmoil. That’s a really tough question from you, sir. I have merely observed that the Shatu Seven Tribes in Pingxi Prefecture and Gan Province becoming more arrogant and brazen. As the saying goes, ‘Everything happens for a reason.’ The daring action from Shatu Seven Tribes is definitely not a good omen!”

After listening to Yan Liqiang, Sun Bingchen stared at the mountains in the distance apprehensively for a moment before he let out a long sigh and told him, “Remember Liqiang. If something unexpected or dangerous happens during our journey, your task is to keep yourself safe. You don’t need to push yourself or worry about the rest, including my safety. I will now issue an order to you – your most important mission from now on is to return to the Imperial Capital alive. Two days ago, I sent someone on the fastest steed from the posthouse to send your details to the Imperial Capital. As long as you arrive at the Imperial Capital alive, your position will be ascertained and you will officially become an Armed Battalion Commandant of Rank Eight Secondary Class...”

Sun Bingchen’s countenance became extremely solemn, and the tone of his voice was even slightly stern at the end of the sentence. This was the first time Yan Liqiang had ever seen Sun Bingchen with such an expression on his face.

If Yan Liqiang wasn’t wrong, this was the second time he had received such a reminder. Last time, it was from Liang Yijie. He could take a reminder like that as mere concern had it only been once. But given it twice, especially with Sun Bingchen’s expression and tone of voice and the additional order to make it back to the Imperial Capital alive, it really made Yan Liqiang’s heart suddenly skip a beat. He could only think of one possibility – had Sun Bingchen deliberately given him such a reminder because he already knew what was waiting for them in their path ahead and the dangers they’d encounter?

As soon as Yan Liqiang heard Sun Bingchen, he instantly grew tense.

One would only understand the saying, ‘The mountain in sight will run a horse dead,'[1] when they were truly rushing their journey.

The mountain summit several li away might seem to be within reach and could be reached in just a short amount of time, but one would realize that the winding road could instantly stretch the distance a dozen times greater when one really started walking it. Sometimes you might walk a distance of seven or eight li in half a day only to find that you had only bypassed a mountain by several dozen meters, or bypassed a giant rock lying across the road.

Since there were carriages among the party, everyone had to take the bridleway. Carriages were fussier when it came to rough terrain. Therefore, the journey was slowed down with more detours. Watching the creaky heavy carriages, Yan Liqiang’s once extinguished desire to invent a four-wheeled carriage couldn’t help but be rekindled again. When it came to journeying over long distances like this, the flexibility, carrying capacity, and speed of a four-wheeled carriage was totally incomparable to that of these old-fashioned two-wheeled carriages. The difference between these two vehicles was akin to that of an ordinary train and a high-speed rail.

Fortunately, everyone in the party brought enough food rations and water so no one had to starve. Everyone only had to stay on their steed and didn’t need to walk. Even so, after traveling for half a day, they hadn’t even made it out a hundred li by evening if the distance was measured in a straight line.

Yan Liqiang once again reunited with Liang Yijie and the few others at a fork in the road...

Chapter 208: Blackwind Bandits

“Sir, we are at Wolf Fang Valley...” Liang Yijie rode toward Yan Liqiang and the rest when he saw Sun Bingchen and his party. He pointed at the valley and said, “This mountain valley is about thirty li long. As soon as we make it through Wolf Fang Valley, there will be a market town up ahead, which is known as the ‘Hui Clan Gathering’. There’s also another road at the side of the valley which bypasses Wolf Fang Valley. However, the journey will be more than sixty li. If we go through Wolf Fang Valley, we will be able to make it to the Hui Clan Gathering before nightfall. If we take the alternative route, we will have to travel in the dark before we make it there...”

Yan Liqiang was also sizing up Wolf Fang Valley before him while Liang Yijie was explaining. His heart couldn’t help but race at the sight of it.

The terrain of Wolf Fang Valley was simply too dangerous. The long valleys were surrounded by mountain ridges on both sides, like a pair of intertwined wolf fangs. With only a road narrow enough to fit three carriages side by side to travel in between the mountain valleys, if someone were to block their path from the front and the back, they would be trapped like fish in a barrel, unable to flee unless they grew a pair of wings.

Liang Yijie had waited here for Sun Bingchen to catch up to him because the scouting guards could only stay about ten li ahead from the main party. This was the furthest distance they could go for them to be able to send any warnings. If they recklessly rushed into the mountain valley and the party behind them also followed suit, it would be useless for them to give the others any warnings at the sight of danger.

Sun Bingchen looked at the two paths before his eyes while he deliberated over the choices. One of the paths was shorter, but it was riskier. Although the other path was longer, it was relatively safer as it allowed more room for maneuver.

Yan Liqiang and the others stared at Sun Bingchen as they waited for him to make a decision.

Wolf Fang Valley made Yan Liqiang feel uncomfortable for some reason. However, he could only follow Sun Bingchen’s order at a time like this as he had no rights to make any decisions.

“Woof, woof...!”

While everyone was waiting for Sun Bingchen to make a decision, Goldie, who had been staying in a carriage at the back, suddenly barked. Yan Liqiang turned around and saw that Goldie had suddenly jumped off from the carriage. It came running toward him, then circled around him twice before it immediately dashed off into Wolf Fang Valley.

Yan Liqiang was startled for a moment before he hurriedly informed Sun Bingchen. “Sir, it seems like Goldie’s keen nose has picked up something. I will go over to take a look!”

Sun Bingchen knew that the dog Yan Liqiang was raising was a peculiar one. As soon as he heard Yan Liqiang’s words, he cast a glance at Liang Yijie who was beside him. “Yijie, go with Yan Liqiang to check things out!”

“Understood!”

Liang Yijie and Yan Liqiang charged toward Wolf Fang Valley on their steeds. By the time both of them arrived at the entrance of the valley, Goldie had already rushed inside. After running for more than twenty meters, it suddenly went through a shrub at the side and continued running toward a hill behind those shrubs.

Since it was not possible to go up the hill on their rhinodrake steeds, Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie had no choice but to dismount. They passed through those shrubs and followed Goldie up the hill.

The small hill was about fifty meters above the ground, right at the entrance of Wolf Fang Valley. By the time Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie got up there, they saw Goldie sniffing the ground behind the shrubs on the hill with its head lowered.

Yan Liqiang went over to it and crouched down. Upon closer inspection, he discovered a few footprints on the ground.

“Brother Liang, come look at this...”

Liang Yijie walked over to him and crouched on the ground. He looked at the footprints on the ground and measured them with his hand before he frowned deeply. “There are three people. The footprint patterns are from the soles of a warrior’s long boots. Look at this little hole, that’s from a round, anti-slip iron nail at the soles of the boots. These aren’t commonly worn shoes. Not even a hunter would wear these kinds of boots when they go hunting...”

“Mm, seems like someone was probably here...” Yan Liqiang laid down on his stomach and compared the distance between the footprints and the shrubs before he stood up again. “Someone had probably laid down on their stomach here not too long ago to hide behind these shrubs. From the looks of it, they were looking in our direction. These footprints were left here when they stood up to leave...”

At this moment, Goldie had already run about ten meters away from them and barked twice. Both of them went over and discovered there was a darker spot on the ground behind some thorny undergrowths. Both of them instantly understood what was going on at the sight of this – someone had urinated here, and the person was probably one of the owners of the footprints.

Of course, the pee was nothing interesting to look at. However, they could tell when the person had urinated here from the dryness of the wet spot. It was probably an hour or two hours ago...

They also discovered a fine black thread on the thorny undergrowth beside the spot. Yan Liqiang picked up the black thread. It only took him a single glance to identify that the black thread was camel hair, probably left behind from a cape.

Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie exchanged looks. Both of them didn’t utter a word, yet they could see the grave emotion swimming in each other’s eyes.

The most common camel hair capes were gray and yellow in color, which were natural camel hair colors. It was extremely troublesome to dye camel hair black. Not only that, it was also very costly to do so. Therefore, people in northwestern provinces were rarely seen with black camel hair capes. According to Yan Liqiang’s knowledge, there was only one group that was well known for wearing black camel hair capes in the northwestern provinces. They were secretive, ruthless, and they took no prisoners.

A few minutes later, the black camel hair was in Sun Bingchen’s hand and he was examining it through his squinted eyes. “Yijie, you are saying that this these black camel hair capes are mostly worn by only the Blackwind Bandits among the northwestern provinces?”

Yan Liqiang nodded, “That’s right. I heard that there were also other people who loved wearing black camel hair capes in the past. But after the emergence of the Blackwind Bandits who had a bad reputation for the evil deeds they did while wearing black camel hair capes, those who loved wearing black camel hair capes dwindled because they didn’t want to give others the wrong impression...”

“Then there’s no mistake about it. The Blackwind Bandits have come!” Sun Bingchen moved his hand and let the black camel hair be blown away by the wind. The expression on his face had grown unprecedentedly grave.

“What should we do now, sir?”

“Get on your steeds, everyone! Carry whatever in the carriages that can be carried on you and leave the carriages at the entrance of the valley. We will take this side path instead of going into Wolf Fang Valley!”

At Sun Bingchen’s orders, everyone started to get busy...

Chapter 209: Encounter

Danger had come too soon. The turn of events took many by surprise. Within Sun Bingchen’s party, quite a number of people were still indulging in the sense of safety they felt when they were escorted across Gan Province by the six hundred cavalry. None expected for a pack of starving wolves to have already started creeping up on them in Wolf Fang Valley despite the fact that it had only been less than a day since they left Gan Province.

None dared to question Sun Bingchen’s judgment and decision either. As soon as they heard Sun Bingchen’s order to reorganize their belongings, everyone immediately got to work.

To Yan Liqiang who had ‘died once’, he clearly understood that the so-called ‘death’ and ‘danger’ came unexpectedly and abruptly most of the time without any signs of warning. Therefore, he didn’t dare to be irreverent. Just like everyone else, he quickly moved some supplies from the carriage and hung them on the saddle of his own rhinodrake steed.

“Liqiang, you don’t need to carry too much. Just prepare enough supplies for yourself. Don’t forget what I told you just now!” Sun Bingchen reminded Yan Liqiang.

“Understood!”

The rhinodrake steeds which had been pulling the carriages were released, and they were quickly equipped with saddles. Liang Yijie also released Ye Tiancheng from the prisoner carriage, and he was put onto Liang Yijie’s rhinodrake steed, still handcuffed and bounded by fetters.

Ye Tiancheng, who came out from the prisoner carriage, threw a glance at Yan Liqiang from a distance. His eyes were shining, but no one knew what he was thinking about. However, he was extremely obedient and didn’t do anything ridiculous or cause any commotions. He just got onto the steed as instructed, and did everything he was told.

“It’s best that you don’t try to do anything funny. I’m sure you know very well whose life those people are after. If you dare move around, I will be the first to amputate your arm...” Liang Yijie told Ye Tiancheng with an icy tone.

Everyone was quite efficient. In just merely a few minutes, most of the supplies from the few carriages had been unloaded. Certain things like food, which were too much of a hassle to be carried, were left on the carriage. At times like this, everyone knew that time was of the essence.

In just the blink of an eye, everyone was mounted on their rhinodrake steed. A few of the steeds were released from their carriages. Hence, no one was riding on their backs.

Sun Bingchen assigned five guards to lead those riderless rhinodrake steeds while riding on their own steeds. A rope was attached to the rhinodrake steeds’ saddles, and the other end of the rope was tied with a few branches obtained from the surrounding shrubs. The steeds were spun around and led back to Gan Province to seek for help.

Under normal circumstances, the Gan Province’s soldiers were prohibited from traveling across the borders. However, as the Patrol Inspector, Sun Bingchen had the rights to request for reinforcements from Gan Province during any dangerous situation as he saw fit. Even if the reinforcements couldn’t make it in time, as long as those five guards could cause some sort of commotion, they would be able to trick the Blackwind Bandits into believing that Sun Bingchen and his party had returned to where they had come from. The bandits would either have to abandon their plans or split up the large group to give chase, hence reducing the pressure on this side.

In just the blink of an eye, those five chosen guards turned their steeds around and rode back in the direction that they had come from with thundering gallops. By the time they galloped several hundred meters away, the branches their rhinodrake steeds were pulling along had already left dust flying along the path that they had taken. From a distance, the commotion was big enough to look as though many people were riding in that direction on their rhinodrake steeds.

“CHARGE!” Sun Bingchen squeezed his steed’s abdomen and led the party toward the path beside Wolf Fang Valley. Yan Liqiang and the rest immediately followed him on their rhinodrake steeds.

“Liqiang, will your dog be alright?” Liang Yijie looked back rather worriedly at Goldie who was running behind the party.

“Rest assured, Brother Liang. Even if Goldie cannot keep up with us, it will eventually catch up to us by following our scent. It won’t fall behind!”

Truth be told, Yan Liqiang really did consider letting Goldie sit on his saddle just now. However, when Goldie circled around and barked at him twice, he immediately understood what it was trying to convey – that it could keep up with them. Since Yan Liqiang also wanted to see Goldie’s capability, he allowed Goldie to run along with the rhinodrake steeds. He speculated that even though Goldie might not be able to match up to the rhinodrake steeds in terms of speed, its stamina was probably far superior than theirs.

The path beside Wolf Fang Valley stretched on into the wilderness. Yan Liqiang followed the rest on his rhinodrake steed and galloped in the wilderness. He couldn’t help but secretly find this to be unbelievably strange. An official was being pursued by bandies – such a tale would be nothing but a joke in his previous world. Yet, this was really happening to him right now. In the middle of nowhere, the laws of the Silver Continent were being pushed to the extremes.

......

Just one hour after Yan Liqiang and the party left Wolf Fang Valley, the sound of thundering hooves was heard. Out came a large group of riders who were clad in black from Wolf Fang Valley.

Upon discovering the carriages which had been abandoned at the entrance of Wolf Fang Valley, Aligujin, who was wearing a mask and riding among those people clad in black, bellowed in rage. “GODDAMMIT...!”

A Shatu man beside him spoke up in their gibberish language. “What do we do, sir? It seems like those people have already discovered us and made preparations!”

“They are definitely still nearby!” Aligujin clenched his teeth while looking at the two paths ahead of him. He then immediately issued an order. “Borha, bring three hundred men with you and chase them in the direction of Gan Province! If they really went that way, detain them there first, I will come immediately. I will go this way with others. Ajidanli will take that path. He only has two hundred men with him. If those people went this way, they will definitely meet Ajidanli first...!”

“Understood!”

Thus, the cavalry clad in black split up at Wolf Fang Valley. Three hundred of them charged in the direction of Gan Province, while about five hundred of them charged toward the path that Yan Liqiang and the rest had taken.

...

The encounter came very abruptly, yet it was difficult to avert.

Yan Liqiang was the first to catch sight of the Blackwind Bandits.

In the glow of the setting sun, one of the riders in black was first spotted on the hill which was several li ahead of Yan Liqiang and the rest. He was staring off into the distance in Yan Liqiang and the party’s direction.

When that person spotted Yan Liqiang and his party and Yan Liqiang’s party did the same, everything went silent for less than ten seconds before the person standing on the hill waved his arm in the air and let out a sharp noise from his mouth. Soon after that, little black dots began emerging from behind the hill. In just the blink of an eye, nearly two hundred cavalry who were fully clad in black came together to form a group, then charged towards Yan Liqiang and the party...

Chapter 210: First Sign of Power

Since everyone was on their rhinodrake steed, both parties were rapidly closing in on one another. Strangely enough, no one spoke up from either party even at a time like this. Yan Liqiang just blindly charged forward along with everyone else in Sun Bingchen’s party. Those cavalry clad in black, with their faces veiled, were also charging toward them. Both parties were like speeding cars rapidly racing toward each other on the same road and were about to collide head-on. Only the deafening sounds of the rhinodrake steeds’ iron hooves could be heard.

Truth be told, this was Yan Liqiang’s first time participating in such a battle. Though they were not on a battlefield, facing about two hundred incoming Blackwind Bandits was no different than a real battlefield.

While they were galloping at a high speed, Yan Liqiang looked around him.

Liang Yijie had a steely look on his face. His lips were pursed tight and both his hands were already holding the longbow he had retrieved from his saddle...

Sun Bingchen narrowed his eyes and cold gleams flashed across them as he watched those Blackwind Bandits who were coming head-on in front of them. There was not even the slightest hint of fear on his face which had fine lines on it...

In contrast to both of them, the facial expressions of the guards around them were a lot more complex. Yan Liqiang noticed that some of them had already gone pale while some seemed to be extremely nervous. They gripped their reins so hard that even their fingers were blanched.

Even so, Yan Liqiang didn’t feel nervous at all. In fact, his blood was racing right at this moment. His adrenaline was pumping to the point that his body could feel the quivering, sinful pleasure of an impending orgasm.

At that moment, the image that flashed across his mind wasn’t the scene before his eyes, but some scenes from blockbuster movies like ‘The Lord of the Rings’ and the ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’.

Cavalry swept across the land like tidal waves...

Magnificent swords gleamed in uniformity, like lightning slicing through the thick clouds...

The warhorses neighed while the iron spears exuded the dragon’s aura...

The sounds of the iron hooves reverberated across the land and within the chests of men...

Hot blood which coursed through the blood vessels of the men was also spilled among the mountains...

As it turned out, it seemed like this kind of life and this kind of clash were what he had yearned from the bottom of his heart over the two lifetimes he lived. Realization suddenly dawned upon Yan Liqiang at that moment before he was overwhelmed by an indescribable emotion. He finally understood the reason why God had given him another chance to live and allowed him to come to this world. That was because his life had been like a silent flint. Only during an intensive clash on a battlefield like this would he truly be able to experience the marvel and meaning of life. The hottest passion in the deepest part of his soul would only blossom to the fullest in this world!

Let life be beautiful like the summer flowers!

Alongside the setting sun, the Blackwind Bandits who were coming head-on with Yan Liqiang and the rest had already unsheathed their gleaming long swords, and many of them were already holding the bows that they carried on their backs.

At the end of the first lunar month, the air in the northwest was still filled with a hint of coldness from the winter. One could feel the biting cold wind against their face while riding on a speeding rhinodrake steed. However, Yan Liqiang saw his own summer in the face of the biting cold wind instead...

He let out a yell on his rhinodrake steed and pulled out his Horned Python Bow. With a squeeze, Snowstorm Cloud beneath him seemed to have instantly understood his intention. It let out a long neigh and then rode past a few people, suddenly making it to the frontmost of Sun Bingchen’s party.

Take the lead and rise above others!

“LIQIANG, WATCH OUT...!” Liang Yijie shouted behind him because he thought Yan Liqiang wasn’t aware of the danger behind his action.

The moment Liang Yijie’s voice trailed off, Yan Liqiang had already nocked his first arrow on to his bowstring. In just a split moment, Yan Liqiang had fully drawn the five picul Horned Python Bow. He synchronized his strength with his bow and his steed, then released his first shot...!

Without a doubt, the powerful five picul bow was the most powerful bow among the ones that everyone held in both parties. On Yan Liqiang’s side, even the longbow in Liang Yijie’s hands was merely four piculs.

At this moment, the formidability of the ‘power’ in his ‘powerful bow’ was instantly revealed.

The moment Yan Liqiang released his first arrow, both parties were still a thousand meters apart. This distance alone was enough to overshadow any powerful bow lower than five piculs. However, the arrow Yan Liqiang released flew like a thunderbolt and accurately hit the rhinodrake steed beneath the person at the head of the incoming Blackwind Bandits’ party. The entire arrow impaled that rhinodrake steed below its neck and sank into its body.

To shoot a rider, shoot his steed first!

The rhinodrake steed let out a miserable neigh. Its powerful legs gave out as it instantly crumbled to the ground. The cavalry riding on its back was sent flying as though being ejected on an ejection seat flying at over 80 kilometers per hour – he landed on the ground with a bone-fracturing impact. The cavalry rolled on the ground and hit his head on a rock so hard that his head was instantly split open – his brain and blood splattered everywhere.

As soon as that rhinodrake steed collapsed, the other four rhinodrake steeds, which were charging closely behind, instantly collided into it along with their riders. The others from behind failed to evade in time and also subsequently crashed into them. The fall, roll, broken bones, collision, shouts, and neighs of the steeds which all happened at the same moment was akin to a terrible car accident on a highway. The Blackwind Bandits who were thrown off from their rhinodrake steeds were sent flying by those other steeds at the back before they could even react, and they were trampled over countless iron hooves. None of them stood up again after that...

Just the first arrow Yan Liqiang released alone had caused at least eight casualties among the incoming Blackwind Bandits.

Unbeknownst to Yan Liqiang, the group of Blackwind Bandits was already secretly panicking after he released the first arrow. That was because their leader was the one charging at the front; he was the first person who had fallen along with his rhinodrake steed after taking the first arrow.

Before the Blackwind Bandits could even react in time, Yan Liqiang released his second arrow just a second later. It hit the rhinodrake steed beneath the one of the Blackwind Bandits in front. The limbs of the steed suddenly gave out mid-run before it instantly crashed to the ground. At the same time, the Blackwind Bandit was thrown from the steed, and another three rhinodrake steeds from behind inevitably collided into it again.

Yan Liqiang’s third arrow followed immediately after. Another rhinodrake steed was felled while the ones behind immediately collided into it.

After releasing only three shots, more than ten people from the Blackwind Bandits had fallen.

At this point, the remaining Blackwind Bandits who were rushing toward Yan Liqiang’s party finally reacted. They let out a sharp whistle and the crowd instantly dispersed.

However, Yan Liqiang didn’t stop with his arrows. The moment the Blackwind Bandits dispersed, Yan Liqiang released his fourth arrow. The arrow instantly impaled one of the cavalry riding in front through his chest, and he instantly fell off from the back of his steed...

Someone among the Blackwind Bandits finally couldn’t restrain himself from shooting Yan Liqiang. However, his arrow only managed to fly out about three or four hundred meters due to the lack of his strength before it fell on the ground after losing momentum. At this point in time, both parties were still about seven hundred meters apart.

Yan Liqiang didn’t stop for a minute. He was riding on his steed while he continued firing the arrows. His dextrous actions flowed smoothly like the moving clouds and flowing water. He basically could keep up with the speed of releasing two arrows every three seconds as his arrows poured down on the incoming Blackwind Bandits like torrents of rain.

The arrows Yan Liqiang released never missed their targets. Everytime his bowstring vibrated, one Blackwind Bandit would definitely be hit and would fall head first off his steed.

During their journey, Yan Liqiang was initially thinking of concealing his true strength. However, under such life-and-death circumstances, Yan Liqiang couldn’t be bothered with much while his blood was racing. In situations like these, you either kill or get killed. If he were to conceal his strength and hold back in drawing his bowstring, the remaining Blackwind Bandits might just make him pay the price with his life. Between political trickery and the lives of his many companions around him, Yan Liqiang chose the latter without any hesitation. He had to minimize the number of casualties on his side to the best of his abilities. As for his exposed skill in archery, he would find a reason to cover it up. The rest could choose to believe it or not...

Most importantly, Yan Liqiang didn’t expect to encounter such a situation as soon as they left Gan Province. It was just like that saying: ‘Life doesn’t always go according to plan’.

However, seeing how he could take out one enemy every time his bowstrings vibrated, the excitement bringing total annihilation and chaos to his enemies just by having this kind of warbow in his hands made Yan Liqiang’s blood surge. The feeling was so intense that he even wanted to shout to the heavens.

By the time Yan Liqiang shot the entire quiver of arrows hanging from his saddle, the distance between them and the incoming Blackwind Bandits was about five hundred meters. However, the size of the other party had already been reduced by one-fifth – it seemed to have thinned out considerably. Despite sacrificing so many people, the Blackwind Bandits still couldn’t even touch a hair on the head of anyone from Yan Liqiang’s side. The imposing manner they possessed was long lost as many of them were already scared out their wits. Even so, the Blackwind Bandits still continued charging toward Yan Liqiang’s and the rest. They knew if they turned around and fled, the consequences which awaited them would definitely be even more terrifying than death.

At this point, Yan Liqiang only truly understood why the art of archery was so highly valued by the military of the Great Han Empire and was thus regarded as the best battle technique. Aside from the art of archery, what other battle techniques or martial arts techniques could possibly make killing people from such a long distance as easy as pie, and equate the value of life with a simple draw of a bowstring?

Yan Liqiang even felt that he could eliminate all these Blackwind Bandits by himself before they could get any closer to him, given enough arrows and if the rhinodrake steed beneath him could maintain enough speed and stamina exceeding that of regular rhinodrake steeds.

Chapter 211: Deadly Bow

The battlefield waits for no man!

By the time Yan Liqiang finished shooting a quiver of arrows, the Blackwind Bandits had closed in on them and they were only four hundred meters apart – it all happened in just the blink of an eye. Not only that, the distance between both parties was still rapidly diminishing.

Liang Yijie released an arrow and another Blackwind Bandit instantly fell off his galloping rhinodrake steed.

Right after that, the Blackwind Bandits launched their first shot. They released two arrows: one at Yan Liqiang, and the other at the party behind him.

Yan Liqiang didn’t panic at all when he sensed the approaching arrow because he already sensed it the moment it was locked on him. When the arrow was about to reach him, Yan Liqiang instantly swung at it with the longbow in his hand. The hard surface of the Horned Python Bow collided with that arrow with a bang, effectively knocking it to the ground.

However, someone among Sun Bingchen’s party wasn’t that fortunate. The moment Yan Liqiang diverted the arrow, he heard a groan from a guard behind him, followed by the sound of something heavy crashing to the ground. Sun Bingchen’s party finally suffered their first casualty.

“LIQIANG, WATCH OUT...!” Liang Yijie shouted from behind Yan Liqiang.

When Yan Liqiang felt a powerful gust of wind blowing against his face, he lowered his head without a second thought. As soon as he did, an arrow flew past and grazed his scalp.

Liang Yijie answered their opponent with another shot, and someone among the Blackwind Bandits immediately fell off their galloping rhinodrake steed.

Yan Liqiang already had his eyes on the two Blackwind Bandits who could shoot from four hundred meters away. Both of their faces were veiled and they kept their bodies low while they maneuvered their rhinodrake steeds. They moved extremely swiftly and cunningly behind a group of Blackwind Bandits who were charging forward. From the looks of it, their cultivation in archery had probably progressed into the Second Heavenly Layer.

In just the blink of an eye, another guard behind Yan Liqiang fell off his rhinodrake steed after being shot by both of them.

After two trades, the distance between the two parties rapidly decreased, coming within the firing range of normal archers. Everyone picked up their bows, regardless if they were Blackwind Bandits or the many guards around Yan Liqiang. They started attacking each other by raining down a torrent of arrows on their respective opponents...

People from both parties fell off their steeds upon getting hit by the arrows.

Yan Liqiang deflected a few arrows which came flying toward him with his Horned Python Bow. One of them had already lost its momentum by the time it reached him, like an arrow at the end of its flight. Sharp-sighted and deft, he instantly grabbed that arrow with his hand.

The moment he grabbed that arrow, a sharp noise broke through the air. As soon as Yan Liqiang lowered his head, an arrow flew past him, nearly grazing his cheek. Although there was some distance between the arrow and Yan Liqiang’s cheek, he could still feel the heat from the air resistance between the arrowhead and the air.

Yan Liqiang swept his glance across, only to discover that the arrow was again released by one of those two people from just now. As both parties drew closer to each other, the strength behind the arrows released by both sides was gradually increasing.

Before the person’s second arrow could reach his side, Yan Liqiang nocked the arrow in his grasp onto the Horned Python Bow. With the vibration of his bowstring, he sent the arrow flying out and shot the person’s forehead. The arrow pierced through his brain, knocking the person off his steed. Following that, Yan Liqiang hid himself nicely with the help of the stirrup. He suddenly slipped from his saddle to underneath Snowstorm Cloud’s abdomen. From a distance, it would seem as though Yan Liqiang had taken a hit from that arrow and had fallen off his rhinodrake steed.

When the remaining Blackwind Bandit that could threaten Yan Liqiang was about to shoot him, he was interrupted by an arrow from Liang Yijie.

Yan Liqiang, who was under his steed’s abdomen, maneuvered Snowstorm Cloud with his keen perception and once again evaded a few sporadic arrows. Sun Bingchen’s guards were already fighting the Blackwind Bandits at close quarters after colliding into each other.

“KILL...!” Countless battle cries erupted around Yan Liqiang.

Two Blackwind Bandits charged toward Yan Liqiang from both sides. The shiny scimitars in their hands were raised high up in the air...

At this moment, no one expected Yan Liqiang, who had been hiding under his steed, to suddenly release his feet from the stirrups and separate himself from Snowstorm Cloud.

At this very moment, Yan Liqiang utilized the ‘Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps’ technique to its maximum potential. If it wasn’t for Yan Liqiang attaining the highest realm in the ‘Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps’ technique and his enhanced physical agility, he couldn’t possibly have performed such a ridiculous action.

Yan Liqiang jumped off Snowstorm Cloud and started dashing madly toward the two Blackwind Bandits like a gale with the momentum from Snowstorm Cloud’s traveling speed. Before one of the Blackwind Bandits could even react, the shortsword in Yan Liqiang’s hand had slashed across the abdomen of the rhinodrake steed beneath him when they passed each other.

The shortsword opened up a horrible wound about three feet long on the rhinodrake steed’s abdomen. The hot blood, which instantly spilled out from the rhinodrake steed like a basin of water, splashed on Yan Liqiang.

The rhinodrake steed collapsed, but Yan Liqiang didn’t stop sprinting. The moment the steed crashed onto the ground, his other hand had already grabbed the quiver full of arrows attached to its saddle...

Yan Liqiang continued sprinting madly without losing speed with a quiver of arrows in his grip. He struck out with the shortsword in his hand, instantly impaling it into the body of the other Blackwind Bandit, thus causing him to instantly fall off his steed. Yan Liqiang then caught up to Snowstorm Cloud. He grabbed its tail with one hand and once again returned onto Snowstorm Cloud’s back with a powerful jump.

From the moment Yan Liqiang jumped off his steed, killed two people in a row during his sprint and snatched a quiver of arrows to when he grabbed Snowstorm Cloud’s tail and returned onto its back, the entire process was done in one go with quick and nimble movements. Before the other Blackwind Bandits could react, Yan Liqiang had a quiver of arrows with him once again as he drew his deadly bow. He shot the other Blackwind Bandit, who shot his comrade off his steed earlier and hid behind the others, with just one arrow.

The Blackwind Bandits who were nearby simply couldn’t believe their own eyes. However, their instincts still urged them to continue charging toward Yan Liqiang.

Whoosh... whoosh... whoosh...!

Yan Liqiang released three arrows using the shortest amount of time, once again knocking three Blackwind Bandits who had come twenty meters within his radius off the back of their steeds, taking each of their lives with just a single arrow.

Under the fearful gazes of the remaining Blackwind Bandits, Yan Liqiang turned his steed around. He distanced himself from the group and once again trained the deadly bow in his hands on those Blackwind Bandits...

Chapter 212: Total Annihilation

The battle continued raging. It was callous, intense, and direct...

Yan Liqiang saw Liang Yijie riding on his steed. The longsword in his hand was like an unstoppable dragon. Every Blackwind Bandit who crossed paths with him fell off their steed after being decapitated. Blood splattered everywhere. The cries from the men and steeds reverberated across the wilderness. The glow of the setting sun dyed everything crimson like fresh blood.

Yan Liqiang saw Ye Tiancheng and Sun Bingchen. At this moment, Ye Tiancheng was by Sun Bingchen’s side, riding on the same steed. They were surrounded by a ring of shield-wielding guards protecting them and Liang Yijie’s rhinodrake steed was roaming about nearby.

Sun Bingchen had a steely look on his face as he calmly watched the battlefield. Ye Tiancheng appeared to be somewhat fretful. He was either watching the battlefield or looking behind him. He seemed to have told Sun Bingchen something, but Sun Bingchen only turned around and threw him a silent glance.

Blackwind Bandits fell from their steeds one after another.

Likewise, it was the same for Sun Bingchen’s guards.

Within Sun Bingchen’s party, apart from Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie who seemed to be special, the disparity between the strength of the other guards and those incoming Blackwind Bandits weren’t that different. Both parties collided and clashed against each other on their steeds, and people could be seen falling off their steeds.

The size of the incoming Blackwind Bandits was quite large with about two hundred people. Despite the Horned Python Bow in Yan Liqiang hands which had taken many lives and Liang Yijie’s preeminent strength in martial arts, Yan Liqiang’s side still looked like they were outnumbered at the moment.

Yan Liqiang felt Sun Bingchen’s gaze on him. However, he couldn’t afford to be bothered right now. If this wasn’t the time to put his cultivation to good use, then when?

Yan Liqiang didn’t enter the battlefield. He just rode around the edge. Every time he drew the Horned Python Bow in his hands, some Blackwind Bandit on the battlefield would definitely be knocked off his steed.

Yan Liqiang was the most deserving person to be crowned the murderer king today. The battle bow in his hand had become the nightmare of almost every Blackwind Bandit.

About ten Blackwind Bandits charged toward Yan Liqiang on their steeds at the same time.

Yan Liqiang spurred his rhinodrake steed on to maintain the distance between him and those Blackwind Bandits. Both parties then started shooting at each other with the warbows in their hands from the backs of their running steeds.

The keen intuition he developed from Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing had elevated to a higher level for the first time on this battlefield. This improvement allowed Yan Liqiang to vaguely sense who among the ten Blackwind Bandits had their bows aimed at him and were a threat to him... He tried his best to evade the arrows while riding on his galloping steed. While using the Horned Python Bow in his hands, he took care of his biggest threat first.

During the shooting between more than ten people against him alone, the number of those Blackwind Bandits pursuing Yan Liqiang was constantly dwindling down. Every time Yan Liqiang lifted his bow, one of his pursuers would definitely fall off his rhinodrake steed with either a blood-curdling scream or a groan. As for Yan Liqiang, he remained unscathed amidst the rain of arrows.

Unbeknownst to Yan Liqiang who was engaged in the battle, the battle between him and those Blackwind Bandits seemed to be out of this world to the spectators around them.

Riding on his rhinodrake steed, his figure was either on its back or underneath it, raised or lowered. Yan Liqiang maneuvered the galloping rhinodrake steed left and right, speeding up and slowing down at times. With all these moves combined, it seemed as though he was dancing with his rhinodrake steed, performing a magnificent dance of death.

In a dance like this, Yan Liqiang always managed to easily evade every arrow flying toward him. Like taking a leisure walk in the gardens, he spun around, raised the bow in his hands, and shot the Blackwind Bandits who were pursuing him one after another.

Being able to hit your targets without them being able to hit you back on such a battlefield was godlike.

With Yan Liqiang’s archery and his excellent perception developed from Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing, an unstoppable divine technique was suddenly born.

By just running half a circle around the battle ring formed by Yan Liqiang’s pursuers, the number of pursuers gradually reduced from around ten to seven, to eight, then to four or five, and ultimately to only one or two...

When Yan Liqiang spun around and released the final arrow in his quiver, the arrow directly impaled one of his two pursuers’ heads. His head instantly exploded and his body jolted before he instantly fell off his steed.

There was still one more Blackwind Bandit chasing Yan Liqiang.

However, the last arrow was gone from Yan Liqiang’s quiver.

Yan Liqiang instantly halted his steed and turned it around. He unsheathed his longsword on his steed. He was prepared to finish off the Blackwind Bandit who was coming head-on toward him.

When the Blackwind Bandit saw Yan Liqiang stop to draw his longsword from a hundred meters away, he instantly halted his steed out of fear, then did something out of Yan Liqiang’s expectation...

The Blackwind Bandit suddenly lowered his body, whipped his steed, turned around, and started running in the opposite direction from Yan Liqiang...

Upon seeing the Blackwind Bandit turn his steed around and gallop away, Yan Liqiang was stunned for two seconds before he recovered from the shock – the Blackwind Bandit had fled! He really fled!

Yan Liqiang initially thought the Blackwind Bandits wouldn’t flee. After all, the fearless courage they had before when they charged over here was certainly impressive.

Thinking that the Blackwind Bandits wouldn’t run, they unexpectedly started running.

Yan Liqiang laughed loudly while sheathing his longsword. He then spurred his rhinodrake steed on and chased after the fleeing Blackwind Bandit. By the time he reached the corpse of the Blackwind Bandit he had shot down earlier, he saw the riderless rhinodrake steed still wandering around it. Yan Liqiang immediately stretched himself out to reach for the quiver of arrows still hanging on the steed the moment he passed by it.

There were still about twenty arrows left in the quiver.

Yan Liqiang once again pulled out an arrow, nocked it onto the bowstring, then released the arrow. The fleeing Blackwind Bandit, who was riding with his body lowered, instantly fell head first from the back of his steed.

Yan Liqiang charged back onto the battlefield, nocked another arrow onto the bowstring again, and released it. The arrow went through the chest of a Blackwind Bandit who was charging toward Liang Yijie from behind. He was just less than ten steps away from Liang Yijie’s steed before he was instantly knocked off the steed he was riding on.

Hearing someone fall to the ground from behind, Liang Yijie turned his head around to throw a glance at Yan Liqiang. With a loud yell, he swept his longsword across like a bolt of lightning, instantly sending the heads of two Blackwind Bandits flying. Blood came spurting out in three-foot-high streams from where the head was severed from the neck, just like a crimson fountain.

Yan Liqiang nocked another arrow and instantly put a gaping hole through the throat of a Blackwind Bandit who had charged outside the ring of Sun Bingchen’s guards and was swinging his meteor hammer against the ring of shields. The force of the arrow was enough to send the person flying about three meters away from his rhinodrake steed before he landed heavily on the ground.

The third arrow was released. A Blackwind Bandit, who had just knocked a guard off his steed in the distance, raised the scimitar in his hand. Before he could slash the guard who had fallen onto the ground, Yan Liqiang’s arrow had opened up a hole through his chest.

Yan Liqiang released the next ten arrows with the fastest speed possible. More than ten Blackwind Bandits, who had gained upper hand in the battle they were currently engaged in with Sun Bingchen’s guards, started falling off their steeds one after another...

By the time he completely depleted the third quiver of arrows he had with him, the situation on the battlefield had completely turned around.

One of the Blackwind Bandits finally turned his steed around and started fleeing. Followed by the second, the third, and the fourth...

The Blackwind Bandits were crumbling at this moment. The fear of death and those deadly arrows which followed them relentlessly like shadows finally made them start running for their lives without caring for anything else...

“WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU ARE GOING...!?” Yan Liqiang bellowed as his courage surged. He dashed around to pick up two quivers of arrows in a row from the battlefield and hung them on his saddle. He then started chasing in the direction of those escaping Blackwind Bandits on Snowstorm Cloud.

With that, the scene of a person riding on a rhinodrake steed with only a bow, chasing after fifty or sixty terror-stricken Blackwind Bandits in the wilderness unfolded before everyone...

It took only a man, a steed, and a bow to bring about total annihilation.

In the twilight, Yan Liqiang started blossoming here in his boundless radiance...

Chapter 213: True Identity

Regardless of the number of people, once their courage and spirit were gone, the group was reduced to nothing but a mob that was destined to be crushed!

At this moment, Yan Liqiang felt as though he was pursuing a group of hares rather than men.

The ruthless Blackwind Bandits, who killed people like scything flax among the northwestern provinces, were completely reduced into nothing but a group of feeble chickens before Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang rode on his rhinodrake steed as though he was hunting. Every time he drew his bow and his arrow left the bowstring, a Blackwind Bandit running in front of him would be shot off his steed and would land heavily on the ground. Every time a Blackwind Bandit flew off his steed, the rest would grow more terrified. They were no different than stray dogs before Yan Liqiang. They didn’t even have the courage to turn their heads back and look behind them.

Every blood-curdling scream that rang out from behind them, every sharp noise that broke through the air, and every vibration of the bowstring made them quiver uncontrollably. They were stuck in a nightmare they couldn’t rid themselves of.

It wasn’t like these Blackwind Bandits had never met anyone who had attained the Third Heavenly Layer in archery. In fact, their leader, whose life had been taken by Yan Liqiang’s first arrow, had attained the Third Heavenly Layer in archery. Due to this reason, he was given the heavy responsibility of leading two hundred men here to make up for their failure in Wolf Fang Valley.

Although their leader had attained the Third Heavenly Layer in archery, he couldn’t use such a powerful bow. The bow he used was only two piculs and his accuracy could still be compared to Yan Liqiang’s over a shorter distance. However, over a longer distance, that person became the first offering to Yan Liqiang before he could even touch a hair on Yan Liqiang’s head.

In addition to a powerful bow, a person with perfect accuracy could become the nightmare of every warrior on the battlefield.

What terrified those Blackwind Bandits was the fact that they knew they could still wake up from normal nightmares. However, this nightmare they encountered today never had the plan to let them wake up from it in the first place and it was already their worst nightmare. Since the start of the battle, Yan Liqiang had been restlessly drawing that deadly powerful bow which could reap people’s lives from a thousand meters away. He continued shooting quiver after quiver full of arrows, as though using powerful bow like that didn’t consume any stamina. A person like this was already beyond the knowledge and understanding of those Blackwind Bandits. They hadn’t even heard of someone like Yan Liqiang. Under normal circumstances, archers could only draw powerful bows of five piculs at most within a short span of time. That in itself was already a considerable achievement. Anyone who could draw and release more than a quiver full of arrows would be a superhuman. Up until this point in time, Yan Liqiang had already depleted over three quivers of arrows. Out of the two hundred people in the opposing party, about half of them were killed by the same person. Yan Liqiang was no longer human. He was a devil who was devouring their lives, flesh, and blood on the battlefield .

“Sagedan...”

Someone among the terrified Blackwind Bandits finally screeched involuntarily when they were running hither and thither like wolves and rats.

“UGH...!” As soon as the first Blackwind Bandit screamed, his throat was instantly pierced through by a sharp arrow and he fell backward. Although his body had already fallen onto the ground, one foot was still hooked onto the stirrup. In just the blink of an eye, half of his body turned into mangled flesh from being dragged across the ground by the sprinting rhinodrake steed, leaving behind a dark red trail on the ground.

This further alarmed the remaining Blackwind Bandits. In the end, their escape plan as a group completely fell apart as every Blackwind Bandit started urging on their steeds in every possible escape route. They didn’t even have any courage left to turn their heads back.

Unbeknownst to the Blackwind Bandits, their final defeat had allowed them a chance of survival instead.

Yan Liqiang was initially planning to massacre every last of these Blackwind Bandits from behind. However, he didn’t expect their dispersal at this moment to instead prevent Yan Liqiang’s interception. Despite the impressiveness of the warbow in his hands, he didn’t have any cloning techniques. Hence, he could only chase after the biggest crowd of Blackwind Bandits.

......

Ten minutes later, the moment his bowstring vibrated again, a bloody flower finally bloomed on the back of that final black figure on a hill two hundred meters ahead of him. The figure instantly collapsed onto the ground. The sight before Yan Liqiang’s eyes was finally clean.

Snowstorm Cloud neighed. It immediately raised its moving body before it heavily stomped its front hooves against the ground and came to a halt.

Yan Liqiang turned around to take a look. He had left Sun Bingchen’s party behind him. There were still a few black dots fleeing for their lives in the wilderness around him. However, there was a considerable amount of distance between him and those black dots.

“Liqiang...” Liang Yijie, who was similarly blood-stained, trotted over on his steed. He threw Yan Liqiang a conflicted glance which Yan Liqiang had never seen before. His gaze lingered on the Horned Python Bow in Yan Liqiang’s hands for a brief moment. “Lord Sun is still back there. Let us regroup first...”

“Alright!” Yan Liqiang turned his steed around, then followed Liang Yijie to Sun Bingchen’s location.

When Liang Yijie saw Yan Liqiang chase after those Blackwind Bandits alone earlier, he followed after them. During the pursuit, the Horned Python Bow in Yan Liqiang’s hands was still the thing that truly struck terror into the hearts of those Blackwind Bandits. Although Liang Yijie was highly skilled in martial arts, his skills still meant nothing if there was a distance between him and his opponents.

Liang Yijie didn’t question Yan Liqiang about his cultivation in archery, so Yan Liqiang didn’t offer any explanation either. Both of them quickly rode back on their rhinodrake steeds in a single file.

When Yan Liqiang saw the corpse of a Blackwind Bandit, he suddenly called out to Liang Yijie. “Brother Liang, wait a moment...!”

Liang Yijie stopped his steed too. Yan Liqiang lifted the veil which had been covering the Blackwind Bandit’s face with his Horned Python Bow from the back of his steed. The pale face of a Shatu man with a contorted expression beneath the veil immediately came into Yan Liqiang’s view.

“Shatu people...” Liang Yijie cried out in shock.

Since the beginning of the battle between both parties, these Blackwind Bandits had their faces veiled and they kept quiet. Although Yan Liqiang had killed more than one Blackwind Bandit, he didn’t expect for them to actually be Shatu people.

“As I expected...” Yan Liqiang exhaled. He had his suspicion when he heard those Blackwind Bandits utter the word ‘sagedan’ earlier. In Shatu language, the word ‘sagedan’ referred to ‘the devil’. He didn’t expect these Blackwind Bandits to really turn out to be Shatu people.

The Blackwind Bandits had earned their fearsome reputation among the northwestern provinces mainly because none of the caravans or travelers that encountered them could ever get away alive. The Blackwind Bandits always moved in a group. They never let anyone get away alive, and they never left the corpses of their comrades behind. They were always seen to be wearing black veils and black clothes which completely covered their bodies. Almost no one had ever seen their faces. Those who were fortunate enough to find out were mostly reduced to nothing but a pile of bones.

On their way back, Liang Yijie checked every Blackwind Bandit corpse they came across. His findings were exactly the same as Yan Liqiang’s first discovery – these Blackwind Bandits were all Shatu people without an exception.

When Yan Liqiang returned to Sun Bingchen, he could feel the obvious difference in the way everyone gazed at him, especially those guards around Sun Bingchen and Sun Bingchen himself. It could be said that the way those guards looked at Yan Liqiang right now was the same as how they looked at Liang Yijie before, but with a bit more reverence and admiration.

The corpses of the Blackwind Bandits were strewn all over the place, and the riderless rhinodrake steeds roamed about in the wilderness. The area where the deadly battle had taken place earlier reeked of blood. The bloody scent wafted everywhere along the night wind that blew across the land, attracting stray wolves from nearby. The stray wolves started gathering around the edges of the battlefield, slowly creeping closer...

During the battle earlier, there were about thirty wounded and twenty deaths among Sun Bingchen’s guards. The once lively faces paled, and their living warmth was lost in just the blink of an eye.

There was heavy sadness in the atmosphere here.

All the veils of the Blackwind Bandits were pulled down, revealing that they were all Shatu people without exception.

Yan Liqiang clenched his teeth and dismounted. Along with the other guards, he picked up the fresh corpses of the guards who had just died in the battle earlier and tied them onto the rhinodrake steeds. Everyone worked without stopping for a moment and led every rhinodrake steed they could bring toward their next destination: the market town.

......

Tens of minutes after Yan Liqiang and his party left, a huge Blackwind Bandits cavalry arrived with the sounds of thundering iron hooves.

Chapter 214: Intimidated

‘Whoosh...’ A stray wolf which had been ripping the Blackwind Bandit’s corpse was instantly pierced to its death by a sharp arrow which came flying from a distance...

The sky had turned dark. However, one could still witness the miserable sight in the wilderness under the illumination of the moon and starlight.

More than a hundred stray wolves had already gathered here. Every single one of them was feasting on the corpses of those Blackwind Bandits which were left in the wilderness. Many of the corpses had already been ripped apart. Their intestines, internal organs, flesh, and blood were strewn all over the place. Groups of vultures flapped their wings as they loitered around the wolves like thieves waiting for the perfect opportunity to hop forward and quickly steal some flesh when those wolves weren’t paying attention before hopping away again.

The Blackwind Bandits, who once had an awe-inspiring presence, were reduced into a sumptuous banquet for the beasts in the wilderness.

This was the scene that greeted the Blackwind Bandits upon their arrival.

One of the Blackwind Bandits finally couldn’t restrain himself from raising the warbow in his hand to shoot one of the stray wolves which was shredding the corpse to its death.

That shot seemed to have turned into a signal for the other Blackwind Bandits to start drawing their bows. In just a flash, more than a dozen stray wolves and a few vultures were killed. The miserable howls of those stray wolves which were shot down roused their other companions from indulging in their feasts. Upon seeing a big troop rushing over menacingly, the stray wolves which had been savoring their delicious meal on the ground instantly understood their place. Every single one of them then fled with the fastest speed possible. The vultures followed suit by flapping their wings and instantly soaring into the skies.

“How did it turn out this way?! How did it turn out this way...?!” Aligujin, whose face was also similarly covered by a black veil, almost couldn’t believe his own eyes as he watched the scene before him and shouted on his rhinodrake steed.

Just in case Sun Bingchen and his party chose to bypass Wolf Fang Valley, he intentionally arranged two hundred men here and even assigned his capable subordinate to oversee them since he knew the size of Sun Bingchen’s party was only a little more than a hundred men. He initially thought that by arranging two hundred men here, which was nearly twice their military strength, they would encounter no problems in obstructing and delaying Sun Bingchen’s party, even if they couldn’t finish them off in the shortest amount of time. As long as they could delay Sun Bingchen’s party for even a moment, he would still be able to wind his larger troop back here to surround Sun Bingchen’s party from both sides and kill every single person off.

His arrangement should have been flawless. When Aligujin rushed here, he even started imagining Sun Bingchen’s severed head placed before him. However, the scene before his eyes was akin to a bucket of melted snow on top of a frozen mountain peak poured all over him, chilling him to his very core.

“AJIDANLI, WHERE IS AJIDANLI? WHAT’S GOING ON HERE?” Aligujin bellowed in rage to his surroundings as he waved the horsewhip in his hand. His angry voice and the sound of the horsewhip cutting through the air caused the other Blackwind Bandits to keep quiet out of fear. “Find Ajidanli! Bring him to me if he’s alive, I want to see his corpse even if he’s dead! I want to ask him what happened here! I gave him two hundred warriors to stop a party of a hundred men! Is this how he repays me!?”

Ajidanli’s corpse and even the corpse of his mount were very quickly recovered.

As an amazingly fearsome archer among the Blackwind Bandits on the battlefield and Aligujin’s reliable right-hand man, Aligujin almost couldn’t believe his own eyes when Ajidanli’s corpse was placed before him.

The corpse was a little too unsightly, like a pile of mud. Countless bones were broken and there was also a huge hole in his head. The brain matter inside the skull had almost been emptied out. Apart from that, it was nearly impossible to find any other fatal wounds on the corpse.

Since the corpse was too far away from the battlefield, it wasn’t even visited by any stray wolves. Thus, the corpse was completely intact.

Even if he was unwilling to accept the truth, the scene before them told everyone that this important figure among the Blackwind Bandits had died an extremely pathetic death. As a mounted Blackwind Bandit who pillaged everywhere to fall from his horse and die such a pathetic death, it was indeed an unimaginable scene to anyone.

Not even one of the thirty-six arrows in Ajidanli’s quiver was missing. It was evident that when Ajidanli died, he didn’t even have the chance to release any arrows.

Aligujin’s face ashened. He glanced at Ajidanli’s dead mount and the bloody hole left in its neck. “Cut open this rhinodrake steed along here...” he said through his clenched teeth.

As soon as those two Blackwind Bandits beside him heard the order, they unsheathed their scimitars and started cutting open the rhinodrake steed’s neck and body from the bloody hole.

They started cutting it open all the way down from the bloody hole on the rhinodrake steed’s neck. When its chest was fully open, everyone saw a complete arrow inside it, and it had pierced through its heart.

Just what kind of strength, precision, and judgment were needed to be able to shoot an arrow like this before Ajidanli could even lift his bow?

The corpses of other Blackwind Bandits were also recovered by the others. Apart from the minority which were already so mangled that they were beyond recognition, everyone observed that most of the identifiable corpses had dark bloody arrow holes and wounds on their heads, necks, chests, and backs.

A gust of wind blew and every Blackwind Bandit felt an indescribable chill roll down their spines. Many of them started to pale under their veils, and terror could be seen in their eyes.

At this point in time, everyone knew why they were greeted by the sight of nothing but corpses all over the place. That was because there were a few amazing archers, or even possibly powerful archers, hidden among Sun Bingchen’s party that terrorized everyone on the battlefield. Only under such circumstances would Ajidanli’s party suffer such an utter defeat...

In the eyes of a powerful archer, a life was nothing more than just a tug of his bowstring...

There were too many archers among the Blackwind Bandits. Therefore, no one could fathom a powerful archer on the battlefield better than them. These people were the true rulers of battlefields. Just the appearance of such a powerful archer on the battlefield would definitely be the nightmare of all his enemies...

The mournful howls of the wolves were vaguely heard from the wilderness in the distance. However, the Blackwind Bandits were silent. Everyone was staring at Aligujin as they waited for him to make a decision.

To pursue, or to not pursue?

Although they definitely outnumbered them by a few fold, no one knew if they’d just be throwing their lives away if they simply pursued them.

“How did it turn out this way? If Sun Bingchen has someone like this around him, why didn’t we receive such information at all from the Chinese from the Imperial Capital...?” Aligujin was no longer furious. His face paled instead as his confidence in completing this mission slightly wavered...

Chapter 215: Hui Clan Gathering

Yan Liqiang rode swiftly with everyone. Despite the dark sky, everyone pressed on by relying on the miniscule amount of light from the sky.

After the battle earlier, there were only less than a hundred survivors in the party and many of them also harbored injuries.

Yan Liqiang wasn’t bothered when the blood from the steeds splashed on him during the battle. But now, his body felt sticky all over. His clothes, which were drenched by the steed’s blood, clung to his skin and were mixed with his sweat. The agitating scent of blood made him feel extremely uncomfortable.

The howls of the stray wolves and the hoots of the owls rose and fell in succession, bringing about a creepy and chilling atmosphere. One could always spot some green or red eyes among the hills and bushes in the distance, staring at the party that was riding swiftly. Some were running behind the party while some were even trying to come closer. There were all sorts of ferocious and cunning beasts in the wilderness. If it wasn’t for the size of this party, these ferocious beasts would have pounced on them long ago.

The excitement and racing blood from the battle were slowly ebbing away. Watching the corpses of the guards which were tied to the steeds in their party, Yan Liqiang’s mood grew heavy. He couldn’t bring himself to feel happy at all.

The person who should truly be dead was still alive and sitting on the rhinodrake steed, protected by this group of people without even losing a strand of his hair. Yet, those that shouldn’t have died had left this world too soon.

Yan Liqiang felt quite conflicted. For the first time, he started questioning his morals deep down in his heart. Was it worth it to sacrifice so many lives just for the sake of sending Sun Bingchen to the Imperial Capital?

These guards that had been sacrificed were not Sun Bingchen’s confidants. They were merely ordinary soldiers from the Imperial Cavalry Unit from the Imperial Capital who had received the task of escorting Patrol Inspector Sun Bingchen when he left the Imperial Capital. They were not deeply related to Sun Bingchen, Ye Tiancheng, or the Emperor and Grand Chancellor at the Imperial Capital. They served in the military all for the sake of putting food on the table. Yet they were killed at the northwestern part of the Great Han Empire by the hands of those Blackwind Bandits who similarly had nothing much to do with them. All this, just for the sake of sending a corrupted official who should have been chopped into pieces long ago for his crimes. And for that, they became nothing more than pawns in the game between the Emperor and the Grand Chancellor...

Perhaps some of the remaining people would also be killed in the near future.

Was it all worth it...?

......

The party continued riding in silence. No one spoke along the way, including Yan Liqiang. After traversing hill after hill, a sea of lights finally appeared somewhere ahead of them.

“The Hui Clan Gathering is just up ahead...!” Liang Yijie yelled. Everyone in the party let out a quiet sigh of relief before they squeezed the abdomens of their rhinodrake steeds and rushed toward the Hui Clan Gathering.

Upon arriving at the Hui Clan Gathering, Yan Liqiang only discovered that it was a fort.

Outside the Hui Clan Gathering was the remains of a mud wall about the height of two to three meters. There were a few taller but shabby watchtowers within the mud wall. The burning torches on the mud wall cackled in the night wind. There were a few people patrolling and keeping watch on top of the mud wall and the watchtowers. There was a huge door right at the center of the mud wall. Two wooden cages hung on either side of the huge door. Inside the wooden cages were severed human heads that had been completely air-dried...

The market towns of the northwestern provinces which were far away from the cities and in the wilderness all looked like this. They were fortified to the max. The high walls and deep ditches were to prevent robbers and mounted bandits from entering. Of course, the people living in places like these were also extremely tough. They were shaped through the chaos of wars over a thousand years.

When Yan Liqiang and the rest advanced toward them, the patrols on the mud walls and watchtowers were shocked. Someone on the mud wall started howling like a wolf. In just the blink of an eye, many people had gathered on top of the mud wall and watchtowers with weapons and longbows in their hands.

When Yan Liqiang and the rest were two hundred meters away from the mud wall of the Hui Clan’s fort, the people started shooting arrows at them from the top of the wall.

‘Whoosh...!’ An arrow flew over a distance of two hundred meters and nailed the ground before them. Half the arrow was buried into the ground, showing just how much power was in it.

This clear warning made Yan Liqiang and the rest instantly halt their steeds.

“WHO ARE YOU?” A drably dressed man with a dog fur hat stood behind the mud wall, revealing the upper half of his body as he shouted at Yan Liqiang and the rest.

“We are officials who happen to be passing by. We wish to stay the night at Hui Fortress, please open the door!” Liang Yijie replied loudly.

“It’s dark now and we can’t see clearly. In accordance withto the rules of Hui Fortress, we will have to politely refuse any entrance of outsiders after nightfall...!”

“Where is the chief of Hui Fortress?” Liang Yijie’s voice suddenly grew louder with an audible anger in it. “I would like to speak with your chief...!”

“It’s futile to speak with our chief! We have learned our lessons through those bandits and robbers who tried to barge inside Hui Fortress by using the same method at night before. See those severed heads hanging by the entrance? Those were the foolish thieves who dared to come and behave atrociously at Hui Fortress, so they ended up leaving their severed heads with us here. Come back tomorrow! At this hour, there’s no use even if the emperor were here himself, let alone officials like you all...!” the man behind the wall said roguishly.

“Liqiang...” Sun Bingchen suddenly turned his head around and called out to Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang instantly understood Sun Bingchen’s intention. He took out his Horned Python Bow, nocked an arrow, and let it loose with a whoosh. The hat sitting on the head of the man who was speaking to Liang Yijie was sent flying by Yan Liqiang’s arrow...

“Oh, I see that you want to resort to violence. You think the men of the Hui Clan Gathering can be trifled with...?” Someone shouted from the top of the wall, sounding extremely livid. A man revealed his upper half torso, picked up a bow, and attempted to shoot an arrow in Yan Liqiang’s direction. However, Yan Liqiang released his second arrow in just the blink of an eye. The sharp arrow broke the bow’s frame and bowstring. The moment that person drew his bow, his bow broke into halves with a snap, causing him to yelp in surprise.

With that, the people on top of the wall instantly fell into complete silence. None of them dared to even peer out with their head again. The second arrow Yan Liqiang released had completely shaken everyone on top of the wall.

Just how much precision and strength were needed to break someone’s bow and bowstring in a dark night like this and over the considerable distance between both parties without injuring the target? If such archery skills were used to kill, it would be unstoppable.

Half a minute later, another slightly hoarse voice sounded from behind the wall. “Those people outside are officials, not some bandits or thieves. Open the door, everyone...!”

Along with this voice, the tightly shut wooden door slowly opened...

Chapter 216: Hui Clan Gathering (2)

A group of men lined the sides of the Hui Clan Gathering’s main entrance, wearing different expressions on their faces. They watched Yan Liqiang and the rest ride into the Hui Clan Gathering on their steeds with strange gazes.

Every single man was dressed in tatters and had an unkempt appearance. Yet there was a hint of fierceness in their expressions. Although the Hui Clan Gathering’s main entrance was opened to welcome them, these men were still holding weapons in their hands as they vigilantly watched Yan Liqiang and the rest.

“Greetings sirs. I am the chief of the Hui Clan Gathering, Chang Lu. ‘Chang’ from the word ‘frequently’ and ‘Lu’ from the word ‘fortune and prosperity’. Pardon my tardiness. What brings you all here? There are really too many bandits out there so we have no choice but to be more careful. Please forgive us...”

A rather wizened old man immediately came over with a smile on his face – he cupped his fist in greetings to everyone when he saw Yan Liqiang and the rest come in. Despite his graying hair and wrinkles like deep gorges in the wilderness etched across his face, he still had a pair of shrewd eyes.

The sight of this old man instantly reminded Yan Liqiang of those shedding old stray wolves he’d seen in the wilderness. Though they were physically weak, they were even more cunning and their fangs were just as sharp.

“I believe you have a posthouse here, right?” Liang Yijie asked.

“Yes, yes, yes, of course we do...” The chief named Chang Lu nodded hurriedly.

“Show us the way to the posthouse then!”

“Sure, sure, sure. Come, everyone. This way please...” The old man nodded, then glanced at the corpses of the guards on the backs of the rhinodrake steeds which had just entered the Hui Clan Gathering. His eyelids quivered and his body instantly hunched a little as he lowered the volume of his voice and asked, “Umm, did you all encounter some kind of trouble along your way here, sirs...?”

“We encountered about two hundred Blackwind Bandits on our way here just now.” Liang Yijie replied flatly.

As expected, the words ‘Blackwind Bandits’ really packed quite a punch. The moment Liang Yijie uttered those two words, the countenances of the old man and those other men standing at the entrance of the Hui Clan Gathering instantly contorted...

“...But we already killed the Blackwind Bandits we encountered! You all don’t need to worry!”

Yan Liqiang wasn’t sure if Liang Yijie’s words sounded like a truthful explanation or a warning. However, as soon as the old man, whose countenance had slightly contorted earlier, heard Liang Yijie’s second statement, a smile instantly returned to his face. “Glad to hear that. However, the Blackwind Bandits are not people to be trifled with. Those who are on duty at the Hui Clan Gathering tonight will have to stay alert...”

“Yes, we will arrange for some men to be on night duty with all of you too!”

“Well, well, please follow me sirs...” the old man said while he led everyone deeper inside the Hui Clan Gathering.

Yan Liqiang silently rode on his steed. He sensed someone watching him so he turned his head to the side. As soon as he did, he noticed a man wearing a gray cotton-padded jacket standing on top of the wall. He was keenly observing the bow bag Yan Liqiang was carrying on his back with the Horned Python Bow in it. Then he swept his glance across his face. A slightly doubtful and grave expression could be seen on his face too – this man was none other than the person whose bow was broken by Yan Liqiang earlier.

There was a distance of about two hundred meters between them then, and it was dark when Yan Liqiang had released the two shots from the crowd. If this man had no special abilities, an average individual wouldn’t be able to get a clear view of him across this distance. Therefore, this man was probably trying to figure out if he was the one who had released the two arrows earlier. The bow bag he was carrying with the Horned Python Bow inside was a lot larger in size compared to the other guards, and while it seemed to be unique, Yan Liqiang didn’t seem like someone who possessed such an ability for his age. Hence, the man had a dubious look on his face. He was probably still trying to figure out if it was indeed Yan Liqiang who was using the warbow inside the bow bag.

Yan Liqiang didn’t provide an explanation either. He just continued moving forward behind everyone else.

At times like this, perhaps it was not a bad idea to keep these people in the Hui Clan Gathering guessing so they would treat them with respect.

The houses inside the Hui Clan Gathering were short and low. All of them were made out of mud and were a little run down. Two-story buildings were rarely seen. Vestiges left from desertization were seen on the walls of nearly all buildings.

The arrival of Yan Liqiang and the others had caused quite a lot of people in the Hui Clan Gathering to come out from their houses. All of them stared at them in curiosity.

What made Yan Liqiang surprised was that there were actually brothels in the Hui Clan Gathering. When they passed by a junction, a few women dressed in vibrant colors came out from a low mud house and started waving passionately at the guards riding on their steeds with handkerchiefs in their hands. But of course, the appearance of those women was simply a spectacle too horrible to endure. Even Yan Liqiang really didn’t know how to describe it.

......

In just a flash, everyone arrived at the posthouse of the Hui Clan Gathering.

If it wasn’t for the wooden sign which read ‘Posthouse’ hanging by the entrance of this place, Yan Liqiang simply wouldn’t believe that this was indeed a posthouse.

Half of the mud wall had collapsed. There were three mud houses with broken doors and their roofs were also leaky. The medium-sized courtyard was pitch black with chicken dung all over the ground. Calling this place a haunted house would even be a commendation; at least a haunted house was still a house. Back in Liuhe Town, the pig pens of many residences might be in better condition than the houses here.

“This is the Hui Clan Gathering’s posthouse?” There was a hint of anger in Liang Yijie’s voice.

“That’s right!” The old man nodded, then sighed. “We haven’t received any silver for more than a decade, so this is the best we can do to maintain the posthouse. Even the chief of the posthouse couldn’t keep it going over all these years and escaped...”

“Are there any inns in the Hui Clan Gathering then?”

“Yes, yes, yes...” The old man immediately broke into a smile. “Everyone wants to stay at the inn? If you want to, you’ll have to pay for it though...”

“We will stay at the inn and pay for it. Just lead us there.”

“Sure, sure, sure, this way please, this way...”

Two minutes later, everyone finally arrived at a Hui Clan Gathering inn.

Although the inn was also quite run-down, it was still a lot better than the posthouse they saw earlier. There were two large and rather spacious courtyards at the inn. As soon as Yan Liqiang and the rest arrived, the old man immediately instructed the staff working at the inn to get busy. They started boiling water, slaughtering goats, preparing meals, and feeding the steeds...

Since the inn was understaffed, the old man even instructed a staff member to get more people from the town to help out.

It turned out that this old man was not only the chief of the Hui Clan Gathering, he was also the owner of the inn.

As soon as everyone settled down, they instantly heaved a sigh of relief.

Everyone was already travel worn and exhausted from the battle. Even so, many just clenched their teeth and carried on.

Yan Liqiang did the same too. His blood was racing during the battle so he didn’t really feel anything back then. Now that he was all loosened up, he realized just how famished he was. Not only that, there was burning pain in his arm muscles and back. The few major tendons in those areas were also painful and sore.

Shooting so many arrows with the Horned Python Bow within just a short span of time really pushed Yan Liqiang’s body to its limits. Although others probably could not tell, Yan Liqiang felt that his body had taken a huge toll and was very exhausted. If the Blackwind Bandits were to assault them here again while he was still recovering, running was probably the only option left for him.

Despite the fact that his body had already reached its limit, after dismounting at the inn and tying up Snowstorm Cloud in a stable, Yan Liqiang worked in silence just like the other guards. They unloaded the bodies of the guards who had died in the battle from the steeds.

Since they wouldn’t be able to travel with these corpses, they could only cremate them here and bring their ashes back to the Imperial Capital.

When they had just finished moving those corpses, Liang Yijie came to tell Yan Liqiang that Sun Bingchen wished to see him. Under the gazes of the guards, Yan Liqiang went to Sun Bingchen’s room.

Sun Bingchen was alone in his room, sitting upright on a chair. Liang Yijie didn’t follow him inside.

“Lord Sun, you were looking for me?” Yan Liqiang entered the room and bowed to Sun Bingchen.

Sun Bingchen cast a deep glance on him before he slowly nodded and pointed to the seat in front of him. “Have a seat!”

Yan Liqiang walked over and calmly sat down.

“We were lucky to have you today. If it wasn’t for you, Liqiang, I’m afraid not even half of the guards would have made it out alive today!” Sun Bingchen said ruefully.

“I merely did what I should have done!” Yan Liqiang replied, while secretly muttering in his heart if Sun Bingchen were to ask him about his cultivation in archery next. However, Sun Bingchen’s next statement was beyond Yan Liqiang’s expectation.

“Everyone has secrets that they don’t want to share with everyone. If anyone asks you anything in the future, just tell them I knew about your cultivation in archery before and that was the reason why I appointed you as my personal attendant. There’s no need to provide any further explanation. I’m guessing many guards, including Yijie, are probably wondering about it. If anyone is still curious about it, just direct them to me!”

Sun Bingchen’s words startled Yan Liqiang. He was initially thinking of making up some lame excuses to gloss over things so they could either take it or leave it. However, he could only smile wryly at Sun Bingchen’s words and tell him the truth. “Please forgive me, sir. I didn’t intend to hide my cultivation in archery from you on purpose. I just didn’t wish to attract too much unwanted attention. After all, a fifteen-year-old youth that has attained the Third Heavenly Layer in archery in a place like Pingxi City of Gan Province is a rather outrageous tale. I am still inexperienced and I am not from some powerful clan either. So to avoid inviting trouble back home, I’ve been keeping my cultivation in archery a secret all this time from everyone. Even my father doesn’t know anything about it!”

Sun Bingchen nodded, then stroked his beard as he looked at Yan Liqiang with an admirable gaze. “When did you discover that you were gifted in archery, Liqiang? Have you been guided by some famous master?”

“Ever since I first touched a bow, I realized that was different from everyone else. Others usually had to practice for a very long time to gain their accuracy. Yet, it was easy for me during my first try. The arrow I released seemed to be connected to me, and it was very easy to hit the targets. I’ve been training alone up until now without any guidance from some famous master...” Yan Liqiang didn’t mention the fact that he had only started learning archery half a year ago. He only offered a vague explanation. The first time he touched a bow could very well have been seven or ten years old. Yan Liqiang felt that by putting it this way, it was more believable. Otherwise, it would have sounded too absurd and that wouldn’t necessarily be a good thing for him.

Sun Bingchen let out another sigh. “Attaining the Third Heavenly Layer already just at the mere age of fifteen... Someone like Liqiang is not only an extremely rare prodigy gifted in archery from Gan Province, but also in the Imperial Capital. Furthermore, your prudence is also a rare quality to come by; you even to know when to conceal your strength and bide your time. It seems like I am indeed not mistaken. I will definitely make sure you will have a bright future for following me back to Imperial Capital this time!”

“Thank you, sir!”

“However, you were still a little too hasty during our encounter with the Blackwind Bandits earlier, and hence you put yourself in dangerous situations multiple times. Remember what I told you: you only need to focus on keeping yourself safe!”

“Understood!”

“That’s all, you may go now. Have a good rest tonight. You don’t need to go on night duty. I have already told Yijie to relay this...”

Yan Liqiang bowed to Sun Bingchen, stood up, and made his way toward the door. When he reached the door, he clenched his teeth and finally couldn’t restrain himself. He suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned his head around to ask Sun Bingchen a question. “Sir, so many guards have been sacrificed today just for the sake of escorting Ye Tiancheng, who should have been beheaded since long ago, to the Imperial Capital. Is this all worth it?”

Sun Bingchen was silent for two seconds. “The day those guards joined the military, they should have already been prepared to sacrifice themselves for the nation. And now, they have done just that. If there comes a day for me to dedicate to my nation by sacrificing my life, I won’t shrink away either!”

“I understand now!” Yan Liqiang sighed inwardly, then pushed open the door and walked out.

Sun Bingchen watched Yan Liqiang leave and sat quietly in the room with his eyes closed for a moment. He couldn’t help but touch the brocade pouch he had hidden in his chest with his hand again as he recalled the words on the note.

–’The youth of the Northwest daringly boasts to devour the heavens in two mouthfuls!’

Sun Bingchen still had some doubts back then. However, Yan Liqiang’s performance today further convinced him of the judgment he had made before – that person was none other than Yan Liqiang...

Chapter 217: Discovery

After their experience with the Blackwind Bandits, everyone in the party was wary.

Liang Yijie carefully inspected all the food provided by the inn. It was only after ensuring that there were no problems did everyone start to dig in. Although they were in the Hui Clan Gathering, Liang Yijie still deployed a group of guards to keep watch at top of the ring of walls outside the Hui Clan Gathering. He also assigned a few people to be on night duty outside the inn, just in case the Blackwind Bandits snuck in here to surround them when they were all asleep.

As Sun Bingchen had expected, no one actually came to inquire Yan Liqiang about his powerful cultivation in archery. Everyone including Liang Yijie thought Sun Bingchen had known about it since the beginning, and that him concealing his strength was tacitly approved by Sun Bingchen. That saved Yan Liqiang the trouble of making up any explanations. Everyone pretty much recognized Yan Liqiang as the best archer by Sun Bingchen’s side.

The burning sensation and soreness he felt in his muscles and tendons were getting more and more intense. Toward the end of his meal, Yan Liqiang even felt that it was difficult to lift his arm. Hence, after simply eating a bit of the food that the inn had prepared, Yan Liqiang figured he should retire to his room, knowing that he didn’t need to be on night duty and that someone else was looking after Ye Tiancheng.

“Guard Yan...”

......

“Guard Yan...”

...

“Guard Yan...”

All of Sun Bingchen’s guards would stop and step aside to respectfully greet Yan Liqiang as he passed by them in the corridors and passages at the inn.

It seemed like Yan Liqiang’s position by Sun Bingchen’s side had suddenly been established.

When Yan Liqiang returned to his own room, he closed the door and carefully inspected the room. After ensuring that there weren’t any problems, Yan Liqiang calmed his mind down and stood in his room. He slowed his breathing and started cultivating Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing.

Lately, Yan Liqiang had less and less personal time to himself. There were a few days when Yan Liqiang couldn’t even practice Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing. Hence, he wanted to seize the opportunity to practice two more rounds before he rested for the night.

The movements which always felt easy before became difficult today, especially when it came to lifting his arms or stretching his hands out. Yan Liqiang felt as though there were two big rocks hanging from his arms. The piercing pain with every slight movement was enough to make Yan Liqiang grimace in pain. Beads of sweat dripped from his forehead and broke into eight petals when they hit the ground...

Yan Liqiang clenched his teeth and persisted. Halfway through the Upright Body Diagrams, he felt the powerful wave of the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth pouring into his body once again.

The difference between today and before was the moment the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth poured into his body. It was akin to flies that were attracted to dog sh*t... ahem, ahem, it was akin to bees that were attracted to the scent of flowers. It made a beeline for every aching muscle and tendon in his body, enveloping all of them.

In just a split moment, Yan Liqiang’s aching muscles and tendons felt as though they had just come out from a hot sauna and immediately jumped into a cold pool for a dip. That sensation felt so good that it almost made him moan in pleasure.

The waves of the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth felt like raindrops and dew drops that flowed into an arid landscape. While it enveloped all the aching parts of his body, his muscles and tendons were absorbing it like crazy. The stunning absorption rate shocked Yan Liqiang. While the absorption rate increased, the rate of the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth pouring into his body also increased simultaneously. He never thought that apart from cleansing his body and being absorbed by his five viscera and six bowels, the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth could also be directly absorbed by his muscles and tendons. This was simply too ridiculous!

As the muscles, tendons, and meridians throughout his entire body absorbed the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth endlessly, the discomforts like soreness, burning pain, and weakness he felt in those areas rapidly vanished like extinguished flames. A powerful wave of energy gradually returned to Yan Liqiang’s body.

By the time Yan Liqiang finished a round of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing, he no longer felt any discomfort in his muscles, tendons, or meridians. Not only that, he felt even better than before. He could still sense his muscles, tendons, and meridians absorbing the energy and Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth that was pouring forth into his body. Yan Liqiang didn’t stop as he continued cultivating instead.

The energy and Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth continued pouring forth into Yan Liqiang’s body and were then continuously absorbed by his muscles, tendons, and meridians. Yan Liqiang carried on with his cultivation and the absorption went on without stopping also. Nearly four hours later when Yan Liqiang was halfway through his third round of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing, he finally felt the muscles, tendons, and meridians in his body slowly stop absorbing before it eventually stopped altogether. The energy and Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth just coursed inside his body for two rounds before finally returning to his internal organs, just like before.

By the time he opened his eyes again, it was already late into the night. The entire inn and the Hui Clan Gathering had quieted down all of the sudden, and the noises from before had completely died down.

Yan Liqiang clenched and unclenched his fists while he tried to get a feel for things. He then realized that his physical condition was currently at its peak. He could feel an even more powerful wave of energy being nurtured from within his muscles, tendons, and meridians. Things suddenly felt different compared to before, and his strength was significantly enhanced after a few brief rounds of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing.

At the same time, Yan Liqiang realized that unbeknownst to him, the clothes he was wearing were soaked. It clung closely to his skin and the stickiness was indescribably uncomfortable.

He stripped his clothes off to take a look at them. He really had no idea when his sweat had completely drenched his clothes. It also seemed like some waste and nasty stuff inside his body were also discharged with his sweat, making it slightly murky and sticky.

In the pitch black room, Yan Liqiang looked at his balled up fist as his eyes gleamed. –Could this be the most proper way to activate the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing? If he persisted in cultivating when his body was completely worn out, would the energy and Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth that poured forth into his body be directly absorbed by his muscles, tendons, and meridians, hence rapidly improving his physical strength?

Thinking up to this point, Yan Liqiang was extremely excited. He didn’t expect that the intense battle he had fought so dauntlessly from a few hours ago would actually lead him to such a wonderful discovery about the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing...

......

Just then, the grim signal of a whistling arrow was suddenly heard...

Chapter 218: Pursuit

On a silent night like this, the sharp signal from the whistling arrow was piercing to the ears. Everyone in the Hui Clan Gathering was instantly startled awake.

Yan Liqiang, who was completely naked, fumbled for a new set of clothes from his bag with the quickest speed possible. He got dressed, picked up the Horned Python Bow, carried a quiver of arrows on his back, and took a longsword before he rushed out of his room.

A sea of burning torches had been lit outside the inn. All the guards had already been startled awake. Having just recently experienced a huge battle, it was inevitable that they’d feel a little anxious at a time like this. The inn was filled with clamor.

“Liqiang, you just stay here and watch Ye Tiancheng. It’s dangerous outside...!” Liang Yijie rushed over, grabbed Yan Liqiang, and solemnly spoke to him.

“Brother Liang, my strength does not lie in close quarter combat. If I stay here, I will really be a sitting duck when the Blackwind Bandits get here. With me on the frontlines, I can at least still eliminate a few more of them...” Yan Liqiang said while he patted the Horned Python Bow he was carrying.

Just then, the door to a nearby room swung open. Sun Bingchen came out with his robes draped over him. He frowned and looked in the direction of the whistling arrow, then turned his head around to look at Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie. “Liqiang, you will be given the freedom of action now on. You may act accordingly to any situations that may arise. Yijie, bring the men with you. Just leave five of them here. I will stay here to watch over Ye Tiancheng...”

“But sir, it’s too little to leave only five men here...!”

“Enough. This is the Hui Clan Gathering, not the wilderness. If this place could be breached so easily by the Blackwind Bandits, the Hui Clan Gathering would have been eliminated since long ago. It’ll be sufficient to leave just a few men with me here...”

Since Sun Bingchen had spoken, Liang Yijie stopped dwelling on it. He immediately turned around and yelled, “Zhao Dexin, stay with your men here to protect Lord Sun. Brothers who are injured will stay here. The rest will follow me...!”

Zhao Dexin was a corporal to the guards around Sun Bingchen and he had five subordinates under him. With those five guards, the immobile injured people, and Sun Bingchen, it was probably enough.

......

Yan Liqiang didn’t expect Sun Bingchen to actually allow him the freedom of action. It came as quite a surprise to him. However, that was just great as it would save Yan Liqiang from a ton of headaches.

When Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie led the other guards to the mud walls along the perimeter of the Hui Clan Gathering, half of the people there were already awake. They were different from those timid people from other places. As soon as everyone heard the whistling arrow in the middle of the night, they wore tough expressions on their faces. The lights in every home were lit. The men got dressed quickly and pushed open their doors. Every single one of them brought weapons like swords, sabers, and bows, charging toward the mud walls while cursing like sailors.

“Goddamm*t, these bandits just won’t let people sleep in peace...!”

“How dare they target the Hui Clan Gathering! Let’s f*ck them up...!”

...

When Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie arrived below the mud wall of the Hui Clan Gathering with the guards they led, a guard on night duty rushed to them. He gulped and informed them with a rather nervous voice, “T-The Blackwind Bandits... The Blackwind Bandits have come...!”

Liang Yijie and Yan Liqiang exchanged glances. Both of them then swiftly led the other guards to the top of the Hui Clan Gathering’s mud walls.

As expected, the Blackwind Bandits had come...

A thousand meters across the mudwall, just along the road where Yan Liqiang and the rest had traveled on a few hours ago, an intimidating sea of burning torches could be seen moving in the dark like a long dragon in the wilderness. The people holding the torches were all riding on their rhinodrake steeds, dressed in pitch-black attire. Even their faces were covered by black veils. Who could they possibly be if they were not the Blackwind Bandits? From afar, the size of the crowd was estimated to be no less than five or six hundred people.

The size of their opponent was at least twice the number they had encountered earlier. It was even more mentally stressful in the dark because it appeared as though there were still countless shadows lurking behind those Blackwind Bandits.

......

“The Blackwind Bandits...!”

“The Blackwind Bandits...!”

“Good heavens, there are so many of them! Did someone goddamn destroy their ancestral shrine or snatch their wives?! Why does it seem like they are all here...?!”

Apart from Yan Liqiang and the rest, the countenance of many Hui Clan Gathering citizens who had climbed onto the mud wall also slightly contorted at the sight of those Blackwind Bandits marching truculently toward their location. Naturally, they had heard of the infamous Blackwind Bandits. The Hui Clan Gathering was poor but strong, and the Blackwind Bandits had never assaulted them. So why would they suddenly do so today?

Almost everyone instantly thought of Yan Liqiang and the rest at the same time. Every single person from the Hui Clan Gathering standing on top of the mud walls quietly stared at Yan Liqiang and the rest.

......

As the Blackwind Bandits drew closer to them, the rumbling sounds of iron hooves gradually crept up to top of the Hui Clan Gathering’s mud walls.

Yan Liqiang watched the approaching large crowd of Blackwind Bandits without even the slightest trace of fear in his heart. His racing blood which had just settled down started boiling again. After the previous battle, Yan Liqiang had gained absolute confidence in his archery skill. He had not even an ounce of fear despite the fact they seemed to be outnumbered by these Blackwind Bandits.

Yan Liqiang only gently grasped the Horned Python Bow in his hand as a cold smile broke across his face. At this moment, he was just rejoicing over the fact that he had already recovered his strength. Otherwise, he wouldn’t know how to handle a situation like this in his previous condition.

Yan Liqiang initially thought he could go on a killing spree with the Horned Python Bow in his hands again among the rumbling sounds of the iron hooves. However, those Blackwind Bandits suddenly halted when they were about 1,500 meters away from the Hui Clan Gathering.

“If you see me running out of arrows later, go get me a few more quivers of arrows!” Yan Liqiang reminded a guard beside him.

The guard nodded earnestly.

As soon as Yan Liqiang finished his sentence, he pulled out an arrow and gently nocked it on his bow. He squinted his eyes and looked at those Blackwind Bandits in the distance.

To most people, just being able to get a clear glimpse of the Blackwind Bandits’ attire and get headcount from more than a thousand meters away was quite a feat already. However, Yan Liqiang’s enhanced eyes were like night vision binoculars. At this hour, looking at those Blackwind Bandits standing more than a thousand meters away shrouded in the midst of the red light was as though he was looking at people just several tens of meters away. He could see everything extremely clearly, even the decorative designs on the saddles of those Blackwind Bandits’ steeds.

Yan Liqiang widened his eyes all of a sudden when he saw a figure among the Blackwind Bandits. That person was riding on a majestic rhinodrake steed in the middle of those Blackwind Bandits. From his attire, he looked no different than the others around him. However, his body build instantly reminded Yan Liqiang of a certain person – Aligujin from Pingxi City.

After overlapping the figure of that Blackwind Bandit he saw riding on the steed and the figure of Aligujin in his mind, Yan Liqiang was certain that person was indeed Aligujin...

Goddammit all, Yan Liqiang finally understood how Aligujin had obtained those things in the box he had hidden in the secret room and that ‘Five Elemental Poison King Divine Technique’ manual. No wonder that secret manual was stained with blood. It was probably looted by those people the Blackwind Bandits had killed...

Chapter 219: Clue

There were also burning torches and braziers that lit up the top of the Hui Clan Gathering’s mud wall at regular intervals. From afar, the Hui Clan Gathering looked like an unremarkable gray lump in the darkness.

Aligujin observed the Hui Clan Gathering on his rhinodrake steed from a thousand meters away. His face was covered by a black veil and his eyes were gleaming with cruelness and slyness.

Aligujin’s vision wasn’t as powerful as Yan Liqiang’s. Hence, he could just barely spot the flickering shadows of people on top of the outermost mud wall of the Hui Clan Gathering from this distance. Among those figures, the people of the Hui Clan Gathering were the easiest to recognize because they were nothing more than inferior rats in Aligujin’s eyes. The clothes they wore were so worn out and dirty that their original colors were beyond recognition. However, there was another group of rather conspicuous people on top of the mud wall. They were all dressed in official uniforms. Due to the obvious difference in color and style, they were very easily distinguishable from the people of the Hui Clan Gathering.

There was no mistake about it – Sun Bingchen and his guards had gone inside the Hui Clan Gathering.

Aligujin muttered under his breath. He couldn’t help but lift his head up to look at the skies as though there was something there.

Everyone else around him stared at him in silence. Their rhinodrake steeds were lightly stamping their hooves restlessly on the ground, snorting occasionally.

A few moments later, Aligujin finally cast a glance at one of his subordinates closest to him. Upon receiving Aligujin’s signal, the Blackwind Bandit let out a whistle. He then shook his reins and swiftly rode toward the Hui Clan Gathering.

Another hundred mounted Blackwind Bandits followed the man by riding behind him.

Those Blackwind Bandits let out all sorts of howls as they charged toward the Hui Clan Gathering like a pack of wolves.

Beneath the black veil, a bitter and cold expression flashed across Aligujin’s face. He looked forward to finding out just how many experts in archery there were around Sun Bingchen, and how impressive they were. With that information, he’d naturally be able to find a way to deal with them.

Between the options of retreating or continue pursuing Sun Bingchen and his party, Aligujin chose the latter. If he were to retreat from a battle, it would be difficult for him to make his report. Therefore, he had no choice but to brace himself and pursue Sun Bingchen all the way here. Fortunately, Priest Sadu had expressed his full support in assisting him in his quest to behead Sun Bingchen, so Aligujin steeled his nerves once again...

Currently, his party had gained a few more guards who served Priest Sadu. Those few guards were all servants of the Sacred Flame. Priest Sadu himself had come with his party here and he was right behind them.

Aligujin wasn’t sure why the barely remarkable Hui Clan Gathering suddenly seemed like an eyesore to him now that he took another look at it. It made him feel strangely uncomfortable.

...

Yan Liqiang watched the hundred Blackwind Bandits charging toward their location with a slight frown. He initially thought all of them would come rushing here together. Contrary to his expectation, only a hundred of them were rushing toward them. Not only that, those hundred men were charging in an extremely loose formation and the main group of Blackwind Bandits also stayed right outside of his shooting range from the Hui Clan Gathering. Connecting these two points together, Yan Liqiang instantly caught on to something.

The Blackwind Bandits had already determined that there was a powerful archer in Sun Bingchen’s party.

However, they couldn’t have possibly known that he was that person, and they might even think that there wasn’t only one powerful archer in Sun Bingchen’s party.

Therefore, that explained this!

Yan Liqiang immediately squinched his eyes as he looked at Aligujin in the distance.

...

When those Blackwind Bandits were just about four hundred meters away from the Hui Clan Gathering on their steeds, the group suddenly split into two – one group went toward the left and the other to the right. They didn’t continue straight ahead – they instead rode swiftly around the Hui Clan Gathering while maintaining their distance. The Blackwind Bandits raised the warbows in their hands on top of their galloping steeds, and launched the first round of arrows in the Hui Clan Gathering’s direction at a large elevation angle...

“WATCH OUT FOR THE ARROWS...!” Unbeknownst to anyone, Chang Lu, the chief of the Hui Clan Gathering, had made his way to the top of the mud wall. He yelled at the top of his lungs when he saw the Blackwind Bandits fire the first set of arrows.

Every man from the Hui Clan Gathering took cover behind the mud wall in a practiced manner when the old man yelled. Many even instantly raised the shabby, wooden or rattan shields they had with them over their heads.

Although shooting an arrow at a large elevated angle could increase the shooting range, its aim would suffer greatly because the arrows would follow a curved trajectory. Therefore, under normal circumstances, people who took cover behind a wall or a shield could disregard these types of arrows as long as they weren’t too unlucky.

Yan Liqiang and Sun Bingchen’s guards all knew about this principle too. Thus, every single one of them hurriedly took cover behind the mud wall when they saw those Blackwind Bandits starting to shoot the arrows.

However, two people were counterattacking. One of them was Liang Yijie and the other was an archer from the Hui Clan Gathering – the person whose bow was broken by Yan Liqiang’s arrow earlier.

Liang Yijie stood fearlessly behind the mud wall. When those Blackwind Bandits drew their bows, he released an arrow too. On the other hand, the archer from the Hui Clan Gathering also released an arrow in the direction of those Blackwind Bandits from an embrasured watchtower behind the mud wall...

The arrows from both parties landed almost at the same time.

The first round of arrows released by the Blackwind Bandits rained down against the mud wall, over the mud wall, or on the roofs at the back. None of the arrows hit any targets. The only arrow which landed behind the mud wall was blocked off by a wooden shield, and it didn’t manage to penetrate through the three-inch-thick shabby wooden shield.

Both of the arrows released by Liang Yijie and the archer from the Hui Clan Gathering hit their targets. Among those two groups of Blackwind Bandits which were galloping around the Hui Clan Gathering, one person fell off his steed, and at the same time, another steed suddenly collapsed, sending its rider flying over a huge distance.

With this torrent of arrows raining down, the battle between both parties kicked off. The Blackwind Bandits didn’t gain the upper hand, but lost two men instead. Everyone in the Hui Clan Gathering cheered at the same time.

Just when Liang Yijie was just wondering why Yan Liqiang, who was beside him, didn’t make any moves, he turned his head around only to find that unbeknownst to him, Yan Liqiang had left the mud wall and was running into the distance with his Horned Python Bow.

When Yan Liqiang noticed that Liang Yijie had turned his head toward him, he made a gesture to tell him to not worry about him. He then ran into an alley in the Hui Clan Gathering and vanished without a trace, all in just the blink of an eye...

If it were someone else, Liang Yijie might have suspected that the person had wimped out. However, Yan Liqiang had already proven his strength and courage in the previous battle. Hence, Liang Yijie didn’t think that Yan Liqiang was fleeing from the battle. Since Sun Bingchen had given Yan Liqiang the freedom of action and the permission to act accordingly to any situations that may arise, Liang Yijie didn’t bother to stop Yan Liqiang.

Just when Yan Liqiang sank to the depths of darkness, the Blackwind Bandits circled around the Hui Clan Gathering on their galloping steeds and drew in a little closer toward the mud wall.

In just the blink of an eye, both parties started shooting each other, with one side attacking on their steeds and the other defending behind the mud walls.

...

Yan Liqiang was running through the shadows of the low houses in the Hui Clan Gathering while blending himself into the darkness. In just a flash, he had made a big round and arrived on top of the mud wall at the other side of the Hui Clan Gathering.

Just when Yan Liqiang was about to stealthily flip over to the other side of the mud wall, he abruptly stopped. He quickly hid himself behind a pile of harvested shrubs that would be used for firewood. That feeling of being spied on, which had appeared over the past few days, emerged in his heart once again. Like a stone that had been tossed into a pond, the subsequent ripples sent a shiver down Yan Liqiang’s spine.

The feeling of being spied on was a fleeting one this time. It vanished after a few seconds, and Yan Liqiang quietly poked his head out from the pile of shrubs and scanned his surroundings.

There was nothing unusual in the surroundings. No one had infiltrated the Hui Clan Gathering either. However, there was a black speck was flying in the sky.

It was an owl. It was flying around in the sky, hovering above the mud wall that Liang Yijie and Sun Bingchen’s guards were currently defending. After flying around for a moment, the owl perched itself on a big tree nearby and continued observing the fight between both parties...

Chapter 220: Ambush

Who would pay attention to an owl that was silently flying in the sky on a dark night like this? Most people wouldn’t think much about it even if they saw it.

If it wasn’t for the powerful spiritual perception that Yan Liqiang had developed from his Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing cultivation, he probably wouldn’t have sensed someone spying on him and thereby noticing such a bird flying in the sky.

The riddle which had been perplexing Yan Liqiang over these few days was instantly solved at this very moment.

He was reminded of those eagles and vultures he’d seen soaring in the sky before.

There were simply too many flying birds in the sky during the daytime. Even if Yan Liqiang sensed that he was being spied on, he wasn’t certain if the source was in the sky. However, when this owl flew by on a night like this where there weren’t any other birds in the sky, the same feeling suddenly appeared again. This allowed Yan Liqiang to immediately pinpoint that it was this owl.

Something was definitely wrong with that owl.

If he was being watched by ordinary animals or birds, his powerful spiritual perception wouldn’t have reacted this way. Yan Liqiang would only feel like this when he was secretly being spied on.

Could it be that someone had the power to control these birds to gather intel?

Yan Liqiang would never believe in such a thing in his previous world. Even those amazing magic tricks which involved controlling goldfish at night on Chinese New Year’s Eve was only made possible through extremely cruel methods and tools. Given the plethora of strange secret techniques on the Silver Continent, Yan Liqiang dare not deny the fact that there might be secret techniques that involved manipulating animals in this world.

Putting aside the rest, didn’t he create Goldie in the Heavenly Shrine? Perhaps other people had developed methods to manipulate these animals for their own use, such as letting them become their eyes.

The last time he sensed that they were being spied on, they nearly ended up falling into a fatal trap set up by the Blackwind Bandits when they had just left Gan Province. Right now, this owl had come when the Blackwind Bandits had just arrived. Therefore, without a doubt, the person who controlled this owl was most definitely someone among the Blackwind Bandits.

Yan Liqiang kept himself hidden as he carefully observed the owl for a while. He discovered that the owl stayed on the tree for a while to observe the situation on the mud wall. After that, it flapped its wings and started flying around in the sky above the Hui Clan Gathering.

When that owl flew to the inn where Yan Liqiang and the rest were lodging at, Yan Liqiang noticed that it circled a few rounds in the sky above the inn. This further convinced Yan Liqiang that there was definitely something fishy about that owl.

Upon noticing that the owl was once again flying back in his direction, Yan Liqiang hurriedly hid himself again, knowing that owls had absurd night vision. He only poked his head out again when the owl flew past him.

The owl returned to the old tree again and continued monitoring the situation on top of the mud wall in silence.

Sharp whooshing noises broke through the wind, and the sounds of arrows hitting against the roofs rang out endlessly from there. Both parties were shooting at each other in an uproar. Yan Liqiang squinched his eyes and sized up that owl as thoughts ran through his mind before he made his decision in a split moment.

He ran out from his previous hiding spot and swiftly jumped up to the mud wall when a man from the Hui Clan Gathering guarding the wall wasn’t paying attention. Afterward, he flipped over from the top of the mud wall and left the Hui Clan Gathering.

Not far beyond the mud wall was a ditch. Yan Liqiang carried his bow on his back and quickly went to the ditch while staying low. He then started sprinting along the ditch. After running a few hundred meters, he saw a river up ahead.

The river wasn’t that wide – only about twenty meters in width. The layer of ice on the river’s surface had thawed. The people from the Hui Clan Gathering was able to stay alive here thanks to this river.

Reaching the river bank, Yan Liqiang dipped his hand into the river. The river water was bone-piercingly cold. Yan Liqiang shifted his bow bag and arrows onto the top of his head, then stepped inside the river without any hesitation as he swam his way across to the opposite bank.

The icy cold river water gradually rose up to Yan Liqiang’s knees, stomach, and finally up to his neck. In the end, Yan Liqiang had no choice but to lift his bow and arrows with one hand while using his other hand to paddle across the river with great difficulty. Fortunately, Yan Liqiang was born as a pretty good swimmer and the water wasn’t flowing that rapidly either, so he managed to get to the other side after being pushed down to travel diagonally several tens of meters down the river.

At this point in time, Yan Liqiang couldn’t be bothered about the coldness. After getting out of the river, he tried to get his bearings, then quickly dashed toward a hill in the distance.

He reached the foot of the hill, passed through a desert poplar forest, then some bushes and thorny undergrowths. He reached the hilltop, descended the hilltop, passed through some rocky areas, and finally ascended to the summit of a small mountain. There, he could see clearly everything unfolding before his eyes.

The battle between the Blackwind Bandits and the Hui Clan Gathering was still ongoing. Those mounted Blackwind Bandits had closed in to about two hundred meters away from the Hui Clan Gathering in just less than ten minutes. The riders were no longer shooting at an elevated angle, but at point-blank range. With their greatly improved accuracy, they were fighting on par with Liang Yijie and the rest who were defending the Hui Clan Gathering on top of the mud walls. Arrows from both parties flew toward each other and caused casualties...

In battles like this, once the two parties closed in on each other, those who were riding on rhinodrake steeds and moving about would gain the upper hand in speed, hence significantly lowering the opponents’ precision. Those who were behind the mud wall would gain the upper hand in defense as they could take shelter and guard against the arrows from their opponents. It was indeed tough to determine which party had gained the upper hand overall.

Watching from a distance, Yan Liqiang realized that Liang Yijie and the archer from the Hui Clan Gathering were being suppressed by a few Blackwind Bandits at the same time. They were keeping a close eye on Liang Yijie and that archer from the Hui Clan Gathering on the watchtower. As soon as either Liang Yijie or that archer stood up to take aim, those Blackwind Bandits would start shooting both of them...

Yan Liqiang crawled along the ground while watching the battlefield. With the Horned Python Bow and quiver on his back, he slowly made his way up a pile of rocks up ahead on the hill. The sharp edges of the rock fragments ripped Yan Liqiang’s wet clothes and left bloody cuts all over his arms and legs. Yan Liqiang clenched his teeth and set his gaze on the pile of rocks with unswerving determination while he slowly inched forward.

Yan Liqiang stood up when he finally reached the pile of rocks on the hill.

Among the pile of rocks, the big ones were as big as ox heads while the small ones were about the size of millstones. They were scattered around the hill, and they provided perfect cover for Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang bent down, lowered his head, and searched around the rocks for a while before he finally found a good shooting spot.

The spot was a gap that was only as wide as a washbowl between three rocks. From that spot, the larger group of Blackwind Bandits was just five hundred meters away diagonally...

Yan Liqiang half-kneeled on the ground while licking his lips. He held the Horned Python Bow in his hand, pulled out an arrow, and nocked it onto the bowstring. The sharp and icy metallic arrowhead was trained on the large group of Blackwind Bandits from the washbowl-wide gap.

.......

Aligujin watched the battle from afar with a frown as doubts started creeping into his heart. If Sun Bingchen’s guards were only as good as this, how did two hundred of his men go down so easily earlier? Where were his archers? Where was that powerful archer? Where did he go? Could it be that the battle from earlier was so intense that the powerful archer still hadn’t recovered from it?

That was a possibility. After all, the art of archery was very physically draining, particularly to the archer’s arm strength. Even a powerful archer would have a hard time recovering within a short period of time after drawing his bow too many times.

Thinking up to this point, Aligujin’s eyes turned cold. He turned his head around to cast a glance at the other person beside him and he gave him a slight nod.

That person let out a whistle before he charged out on his rhinodrake steed. Following closely behind him were another hundred Blackwind Bandits. The dense crowd rushed toward the mud walls around the Hui Clan Gathering like a pack of starving wolves.

If Sun Bingchen’s powerful archer wasn’t going to show up, then a feint like this to test the waters would become an assault. They would be able to take advantage of the situation, force an entrance into the Hui Clan Gathering, and behead Sun Bingchen.

As a nobleman from the Dark Razor Tribe of the Shatu Seven Tribes, Aligujin had always been extremely confident of his military leadership and capability. He understood that just as water retained no constant shape, there were no constant conditions in warfare.

Beneath his black veil, a cold smile broke across his face. He even started fantasizing how his position in the Dark Razor Tribe and the Shatu Seven Tribes would rise after he managed to seize Sun Bingchen’s head. After all, Sun Bingchen was the archenemy of the Shatu people...

An arrow came flying from within the darkness like the summoning of a death god. It smashed Aligujin’s fantasy into pieces and froze the smile on his face.

Whoosh...!

A huge bloody flower bloomed on Aligujin’s neck. Blood spurted out and splattered on the black veils of the Blackwind Bandits around him. Aligujin immediately fell off his rhinodrake steed with an arrow impaled into his neck...

Chapter 221: Tracking Down

Following Aligujin’s fall, all of the Blackwind Bandits descended into chaos...

Yan Liqiang, who had released the arrow, hid himself behind a huge rock nearby with the quickest speed possible. Through a small gap at the bottom of the rocks, he observed the chaotic situation in the Blackwind Bandits’ party.

The Blackwind Bandits’ offensive tempo was messed up. Those who were charging toward the Hui Clan Gathering turned back, and those who were fighting Liang Yijie and the rest also withdrew.

All the Blackwind Bandits started searching around in a frenzy like hornets whose nest had been smashed. Yet none of them could find the source of the arrow.

After releasing an arrow from about five hundred meters away, Yan Liqiang remained still in the darkness. This simply drove those Blackwind Bandits crazy.

When Yan Liqiang released shot, he was aiming for Aligujin’s neck – because even though he was riding on his steed, he was turning his neck around. Therefore, even after Aligujin was shot, the other Blackwind Bandits had difficulty determining the direction where the arrow had come from. For the sake of not exposing his location, Yan Liqiang even controlled the force of that arrow. He didn’t fully draw his bow – he only needed to pierce Aligujin’s neck and throat. The only life he wanted to take was Aligujin’s. If he had fully drawn his bow just now, the arrow would have penetrated through Aligujin’s neck and hit the person behind him. In that case, the moment those two people fell, the remaining Blackwind Bandits would be able to pinpoint his location very easily if they used their brains a little. If such a large crowd of Blackwind Bandits really came after him for a revenge, he’d be in trouble.

Yan Liqiang even carefully considered his hiding spot after releasing that arrow. He had to find a cover that wasn’t visible aerially, so he hid himself entirely under a huge rock.

As proven by reality, Yan Liqiang’s consideration was correct and also extremely vital.

Right after Yan Liqiang hid himself, a crowd of more than a hundred Blackwind Bandits started yelling strangely. They rushed to the foot of the mountain where Yan Liqiang and the rubbles were on their rhinodrake steeds. They then started scanning around the mountain, just fifty or sixty meters away from Yan Liqiang’s location.

A few Blackwind Bandits even tossed their burning torches toward the rubble Yan Liqiang was hiding behind to illuminate the area. The closest torch was resting just about twenty meters away from Yan Liqiang as it burned with crackling noises among the rubble.

Since they couldn’t find any precise targets, the Blackwind Bandits left after searching for a while around the perimeter of the rocky area at the mountain’s foot.

Yan Liqiang remained unmoving because he could see through the cracks that the owl which was perched on a huge tree at the Hui Clan Gathering had flapped its wings and started flying toward the Blackwind Bandits when it noticed the chaos in the party.

The owl circled above the chaotic Blackwind Bandits first, then started wandering around everywhere. Yan Liqiang averted his gaze when he noticed the owl was flying toward the small mountain he was on, and he kept himself well-hidden motionlessly under the huge rock.

The owl was flying very low – just several tens of meters above the ground, seemingly wanting to get a clearer view of the ground. Hiding under the huge rock, Yan Liqiang held his breath with great focus. Although he couldn’t see the owl, he could hear its wings flapping in the night breeze.

The flapping noises from the owl’s wings only faded from Yan Liqiang’s ears two minutes later. Yan Liqiang waited for a while longer. He only quietly poked his head out from under the huge rock five or six minutes later and looked up into the sky.

The sky was completely empty.

It seemed like the owl was no longer around this small mountain and had flown somewhere else.

Yan Liqiang crawled out from under the huge rock. He looked into the distance and realized that the owl had already flown to another mountain and was circling around the top. Yan Liqiang could still very easily spot the owl thanks to the faint moon and starlight in the clear open sky along with his vision.

Another ten minutes passed. Those berserk Blackwind Bandits searched everywhere for another round. After failing to track Yan Liqiang down, they put out their burning torches and withdrew with Aligujin’s corpse. In just a flash, all of them vanished behind the hills in the distance.

However, that owl was still circling around in the sky and didn’t immediately leave. After circling around for another ten minutes and making no new discoveries, it then flew away toward a forest in the distance.

Upon seeing that the owl had finally left, Yan Liqiang stood up from the rubble. He stared in the direction where the owl had gone off to and frowned. Yan Liqiang only hesitated for a moment before he clenched his teeth and started running toward where the owl had disappeared off to.

Ever since he discovered that owl, Yan Liqiang had a few opportunities where he could have easily taken the owl out, considering his cultivation in archery. Yet he had spared the owl because he wished to find out just who was hiding behind it.

The feeling of being spied on was simply too unpleasant. Over these few days, Yan Liqiang always felt as though a pair of eyes had been persistently watching him and Sun Bingchen’s party. Now that he managed to pick up a clue, he naturally wanted to get to the bottom of this.

Since that owl had no eyes on its back, of course it didn’t notice that someone was watching and sprinting after it on the ground behind it.

It could be said that Yan Liqiang was sprinting with all his might. He used all of his strength and ran as fast as he could. He even pushed the footworks from the ‘Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps’ to their limits to raise his speed.

The feeling of running against the night wind in his drenched clothes and shoes was not just pleasant. At first, Yan Liqiang still felt a little chilly. But as his body gradually started heating up, the wet clothes he was wearing were as though they had been chucked into a dryer. They were being blown and roasted by him at the same time, and hence they started drying up.

Although Yan Liqiang was chasing after the owl as fast as he could on the ground, the distance between him and the owl was still slowly increasing.

Two thousand meters... Three thousand meters... Four thousand meters... Five thousand meters... Six thousand meters... Seven thousand meters...

After running for half an hour, Yan Liqiang’s legs were about to break and his lungs were about to burst. He had almost never run this hard in his entire life before. Even so, the size of the owl was still gradually diminishing from his sight as it moved further and further away from him, finally becoming a faintly discernible black speck in the sky.

Just when Yan Liqiang felt like he was about to lose the owl and had no choice but to give up, he saw the black speck finally land behind the hills in the distance.

Yan Liqiang could only clench his teeth and continue sprinting toward those hills in his field of vision.

A thought then suddenly emerged in his mind – he wondered, if he cultivated Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing after exhausting his strength in running this time, would his legs be strengthened and hence improve his running capabilities?

Such a thought made Yan Liqiang excited for a moment there. However, the situation before his eyes reminded him that this was not the time to test his thought out. Yan Liqiang locked onto the target ahead of him and continued charging forward.

Yan Liqiang continued sprinting with all his might alone. However, a few orbs of green light in the wilderness noticed Yan Liqiang who was sprinting and quietly came up to surround him.

While running, Yan Liqiang retrieved his Horned Python Bow and nocked an arrow onto it...

“GO TO HELL...!”

Yan Liqiang cursed and sent his arrow flying like a bolt of lightning. The two orbs of green light nearest to him howled in anguish when it was instantly sent flying by Yan Liqiang’s arrow before landing heavily on the ground. This scared off the other orbs of green light which immediately fled, no longer daring to come any closer.

Yan Liqiang’s clothes were first dried by his body heat before they were drenched in his sweat again. Just when Yan Liqiang felt his legs were turning limp like noodles, and his lungs felt as though a few glowing embers had been shoved into them, he finally reached the hill where the owl had landed...

Chapter 222: Enemy’s Trail

On top of the hill was a birch forest. The dense birch forest was filled with a lot of shrubs, some plains, some sea buckthorns, and a few wild walnut trees.

Yan Liqiang carried his bow on his back. With the dagger in his hand, he carefully cut his way through thistles and thorns on the hill. The vast place was filled with rolling hills and ravines. Although he saw the owl landed in here, he only realized after entering the area that looking for an owl or someone hidden here was akin to fishing for a needle in a pond, if not in the sea.

At times like this, the super vision Yan Liqiang had developed came in handy.

Under the illumination of the faint moon and starlight from the sky, ordinary people would see nothing but darkness on such terrain. Yet Yan Liqiang could still clearly see his surroundings with that minimal amount of light from the sky.

Yan Liqiang wandered around these hills for more than an hour.

His limping legs had recovered some strength and his burning lungs had also slowly cooled. However, Yan Liqiang was still feeling a little low on Qi. After all, his stamina wasn’t infinite. The long distance sprinting from earlier had practically worn his body out.

It would seem like he was still inexperienced. He should have brought a little food that could have replenished his calories with him this time.

Yan Liqiang wandered around in the forest while mumbling to himself. When he rushed out of the inn with Liang Yijie and the other guards from the Hui Clan Gathering, he didn’t expect so many things to occur, and that he would end up running here alone after the unexpected turn of events...

After going through the hardship of killing Aligujin, Yan Liqiang’s clothes were already quite damaged. When he was wandering around the forest, his clothes had also caught on some thistles and fine thorns quite a few times. By now, his clothes almost looked no different than the rags worn by beggars...

When Yan Liqiang passed by a small stream in the forest and saw that the water was clear with a few fish swimming in it, he immediately leaned forward to the stream at its side and started gulping the water to his heart’s content.

The sweet icy stream water instantly washed a considerable amount of Yan Liqiang’s fatigue away. From his past survival experience, one’s fatigue and hunger could be significantly reduced just by drinking enough water when one was physically exhausted or famished. This was one of the methods that could be used as a last resort for stamina recovery.

By gulping down huge mouthfuls of water, Yan Liqiang’s swollen and full stomach immediately tricked his body into feeling as though he was full from a meal. Some minerals in the natural stream water were also absorbed into Yan Liqiang’s body by his digestive system, giving him a small amount of nutrients. The water also quickly rehydrated Yan Liqiang’s body, quickly replenishing the water his body had lost during the long run earlier...

When Yan Liqiang was about to get up from the streamside after feeling he had essentially recovered his strength, his ears suddenly perked before a shocked look flashed across his face...

A sound was heard in the silent night breeze. That sound sounded so... so much like... Goldie’s bark...!

Yan Liqiang instantly stood up and listened carefully. He then started running downhill alongside the stream.

After running two hundred meters, the stream flowed down the gentle slope from the top of the hill. Below the hill was a huge grassland filled with dried needlegrass about the height of a person. Goldie’s barks were now clearer.

Yan Liqiang sheathed his dagger and switched to his Horned Python Bow. He bent down and tiptoed among the bushes as he quietly groped his way to where Goldie’s bark was coming from.

A few minutes later, a tent appeared about fifty meters ahead of Yan Liqiang...

There were about ten rhinodrake steeds and three spacious carriages parked outside the tent. One of the three carriages that had a canopy was rather lavish and seemed to be used for carrying passengers. On the other hand, the other two carriages which had no canopies were probably used for transporting goods. They were loaded with quite a number of things like luggage on them.

At first glance, it seemed to resemble a Shatu caravan.

A group of Shatu people was loading stuff onto the carriages.

Among the things being moved by those Shatu people, there were several metal cages with animals in them. There were three eagles and a vulture. The owl that Yan Liqiang saw just now was also locked up in the metal cage. As for the eagles and the vulture, Yan Liqiang had a feeling he had seen them flying in the sky just a few days ago.

Goldie was also in one of those metal cages. It was turning around anxiously in there while crying out.

As soon as a Shatu man placed his hand on the metal cage with Goldie inside and was about to load it onto an ox-drawn cart, Goldie unexpectedly bit his hand. Blood came gushing out all of a sudden. The Shatu man yelled painfully and promptly retracted his hand. In his anger, he immediately unsheathed the scimitar hanging on his waist. However, when another Shatu man saw that, he quickly walked over to Shatu man who had drawn his scimitar and smacked him hard across his face before berating him loudly in Shatu.

Although Yan Liqiang didn’t really understand the Shatu language, he still managed to catch a few words from that Shatu man’s loud berating.

‘Priest... found... strange dog... great efforts... capture... want to bring back...’

The Shatu man who got scolded didn’t dare to make any noises. He only nodded in fear and then unsheathed his scimitar. In the end, he found a wooden stick and inserted it through Goldie’s metal cage. With the help of another Shatu man, both of them lifted the metal cage onto a carriage...

Priest? What priest ? Did I mishear that or did I not hear it clearly...?

Yan Liqiang’s heart was racing wildly. His intuition told him that he seemed to have caught a huge fish. However, this fish was too huge in size that it might just swallow him whole. Yan Liqiang wasn’t certain whether he could handle it either, because someone capable of discovering and capturing Goldie in this wilderness was definitely not an ordinary person. Yan Liqiang had a feeling that these Shatu people were not ordinary either. Even the aura of those who were standing guard outside the tent seemed to be way more powerful than those Blackwind Bandits he encountered today.

Yan Liqiang licked his lips as all sorts of thoughts quickly ran through his mind.

While thoughts were running through Yan Liqiang’s head, the tent flap was suddenly lifted. A fat Shatu man and a slim Shatu man dressed in dark red apparel with both their heads full of small braids came out from inside the tent. They scanned the surroundings for a moment. Upon ensuring that nothing was out of the ordinary, each of them reached out to draw the tent flap open again. An elderly man who exuded an icy and mysterious aura came out from inside the tent, fully clad in black robes. His gray hair was threaded with terrifying white bone beads, the skin on his face was as dry as tree bark, and his forehead had a tattoo which looked like blazing flames.

The old man who came out last from the tent spoke two sentences in Shatu. The other Shatu men around him started packing up the tent, looking like they were about to leave this place...

The distance between them was too close; it was only about fifty meters. If he were to make a shot here and the Shatu people responded by charging toward him, he could only make another two shots at most before getting surrounded. He wasn’t sure how strong the old man was, but he certainly seemed extremely mighty. The other two Shatu men beside the old man also seemed to be very powerful and were definitely experts beyond Martial Warrior. If this turned into a close combat battle, it would probably be extremely difficult for him to escape...

Yan Liqiang didn’t expect to suddenly be faced with such a difficult choice either when he found the target he was looking for.

He clenched his teeth in the bushes while watching Goldie who was trapped in the cage and the strange old Shatu man. He was quickly analyzing the situation before his eyes, trying to decide if he should strike, and also trying to figure out just how to stay alive after he struck...

Just when Yan Liqiang was hesitating, something unusual suddenly happened nearby...

A sharp whooshing noise rang out in the air. Two arrows suddenly came flying out from the bushes toward the old Shatu man’s face from two hundred meters away.

Just when the two arrows were about to blow a hole through the old Shatu man’s head...

BANG! Strange flames suddenly appeared around the old Shatu man, shielding him like an eggshell. The moment those two arrows collided against the flames, they instantly caught on fire and were burnt to ashes...

Chapter 223: Valiant

Yan Liqiang was dumbstruck by the arrows which suddenly came flying out from the bushes in the distance and the mysterious flames which suddenly appeared around the old Shatu man.

With his cultivation of the Third Heavenly Layer in the art of archery, Yan Liqiang could tell just by listening with his ears that one of the two arrows shot at that old Shatu man was launched with a powerful bow of five piculs, while the other was from a powerful three picul bow.

However, these two deadly arrows were blocked by the fire which appeared around the old man when they were about to reach him.

Everything simply seemed too magical in Yan Liqiang’s eyes. He had never expected someone to actually be able to block arrows this way before.

The flames protected the old Shatu man like a glowing shield. It completely enveloped the old man. The flickering flames cast a red light on the dried up needlegrass around him, making it appear bloody. Yan Liqiang, who was hiding nearby, was indescribably shocked. If this was the old Shatu man’s cultivation, then he was simply terrifying.

Before Yan Liqiang could recover from his shock, the group of Shatu guards around the old man drew their weapons and pounced on the bush where those arrows had come from while yelling. It was as though they were in a frenzy.

The slimmer and taller Shatu warrior dressed in dark red, who had drawn the tent flap open for the old man earlier, took the lead and rushed out first. He started sprinting like a wild horse after walking out about ten meters. He unsheathed the longsword hanging at his waist with a snarl, then charged toward the bushes...

The light vibration of a bowstring rang out in the air.

It sounded like it was from a powerful five picul bow. Yan Liqiang was slightly taken aback.

Shortly after that...

A sharp arrow came flying out from the bushes toward the Shatu warrior’s face...

Yet that didn’t stop the Shatu warrior from advancing. When the arrow was about to reach his face, he lifted both arms to guard against it.

Clank...! The flying arrow was blocked by the Shatu warrior in dark red clothes... It was actually repelled...!

The arrow ripped the Shatu warrior’s sleeves, exposing the two gleaming metal bracers underneath on his forearms, which were nearly a foot thick. When the two metal bracers were brought close together, they formed a shield which repelled the arrow at a hair’s breadth.

That arrow had merely knocked the Shatu warrior, who was charging forward, back a step. Soon after that, the Shatu warrior continued charging forward. While running, the Shatu warrior retrieved something from behind him. A pair of sickles which looked like two half-moons, appeared in his hands. They then flew out from his hands, transforming into two icy cold gleams that cut into the tall needlegrass...

The needlegrass was sent flying from the ground like fireworks, scattering in all directions.

The moment the needlegrass scattered, two figures suddenly leaped up from where the arrows had come from earlier. They evaded the two flying and swirling cold gleams. When one of the figures leaped up, he had drawn the warbow in his hands once again. At the vibration of his bowstring, an arrow pierced through the throat of a Shatu man charging toward him. Blood came raining down, splattering on the dried grass plains...

.......

Hiding in the bushes, Yan Liqiang was stunned when he saw the two people suddenly pop up in the distance.

The pair consisted of a man and a lady. The man looked quite unfamiliar to Yan Liqiang. However, he had seen the lady back when Ye Tiancheng was taken down at Sun Bingchen’s banquet. The lady had disguised herself as a maid, and she managed to inflict serious damage on Ye Tiancheng at a crucial moment.

The lady was wearing a long maid dress that day. She possessed grace, beauty, and powerful martial arts, so Yan Liqiang had a deep impression of her. She was currently dressed in form-fitting Wanderer clothes which made her appear even more valiant with great murderous intent.

Yan Liqiang even asked Liang Yijie about the identity of that lady, and he was told that she was from the Wise Ruler Sect. Apparently, she had received orders to come to Gan Province to assist Sun Bingchen in taking down Ye Tiancheng. However, Yan Liqiang did not see that lady again after the incident. Little did he expect to run into her again here today.

Up until now, Yan Liqiang didn’t even know her name.

“Junior Martial Sister, I will leave the rest to you. The spirit talisman on that old Shatu dog will not last much longer and he can only use it once. I will go claim his lowly life...!” The man who was with the lady guffawed before he charged at the old Shatu man like a bolt of lightning.

The two swirling icy gleams flew back to the Shatu warrior’s hands again. The Shatu warrior wanted to stop that man, but the lady shouted. She trod on the needlegrass fluttering in the night wind and transformed into a sword gleam that halted the Shatu warrior wearing dark red clothes in his tracks before she drew him into battle.

The lady’s gleaming sword came down like a lightning bolt while she fluttered around elegantly like a willow in the wind. The Shatu warrior suddenly found himself enveloped in her sword gleam. Yet he didn’t show any sign of weakness either. With a snarl, he started brandishing the weapon which looked like a pair of sickles in his hands. The dancing weapon swept toward the lady like squalls.

An intense battle immediately ensued.

In just a flash, the sounds of weapons clashing against each other relentlessly rang out from where the two were fighting. The dried grass around them was sliced by their weapons and scattered in all directions like a torrent of arrows...

Another Shatu man dressed in gray ran out from sidelines. He raised the scimitar in his hand and hacked at the lady.

The sound of clashing weapons stopped. The lady’s figure swayed left and right, like willows swaying gently in the winds. The sword gleam flashed across and the Shatu guard’s severed head was sent flying. Fresh blood spattered everywhere...

The death of that Shatu guard didn’t intimidate the other Shatu guards who were charging toward her. Instead, it just made them even angrier.

“KILL...!” The other Shatu guards immediately charged head-on together fearlessly, surrounding that lady. Swords and sabers slashed toward the lady...

Among the sounds of clashing weapons, the heads of Shatu men were occasionally sent flying amidst the sword gleams. Headless bodies collapsed in a heap on the grassland.

...

Yan Liqiang couldn’t help but break into a sweat at the sight of so many Shatu men rushing toward the lady. He even had his arrow trained on those Shatu men. Yet, it didn’t take long for him to find out that the lady possessed exceptional martial arts skills. He only stopped worrying when he saw that she still had the upper hand despite being ganged up on by a group of Shatu men...

On the other side, the man who addressed the lady as his ‘junior martial sister’ moved like a hurricane, crushing everyone in his way. In just the blink of an eye, he had eliminated three Shatu men who were obstructing him and had managed to come face to face with the old Shatu man...

Chapter 224: Turn of Events

When two real experts crossed swords, their movements were as quick as lightning. They killed people easily as though they were cutting through vegetables. From the moment the two disciples from the Wise Ruler Sect emerged from the bushes, up until the male disciple made his way to the old Shatu man, the entire process merely took a few seconds.

A rumbling noise rang out.

Just when the disciple from the Wise Ruler Sect neared the old Shatu man, the other warrior beside him in dark red suddenly moved. His palms suddenly turned black with a metallic sheen on them. With an angry snarl, he pushed out his palms. Both his hands collided with the Wise Ruler Sect’s disciple’s thrusting sword. An explosion rang out, and the longsword was sent flying.

However, the moment the longsword was knocked away from the hands of the Wise Ruler Sect’s male disciple, an even more brilliant snowy white sword gleam came flying out from his sleeves. Other than the sword gleam, the figure of the male disciple from the Wise Ruler Sect who was rushing forward suddenly split into two. It was as though he had gained another shadow. The brilliant snowy white sword gleam also suddenly split into two. The Shatu warrior spread his arms open to catch the two sword gleams. However, a third sword gleam suddenly appeared between the two of them like a bird from the heavens. Before the Shatu warrior could even react, the third sword gleam had already circled around his neck...

His head was sent flying, and a fountain of blood came gushing out from the stump of his neck. The Shatu warrior was instantly killed by the male disciple from the Wise Ruler Sect.

Yan Liqiang felt parched while his blood raced from witnessing the scene. So this was how a real expert fought. Compared to experts like him, the Martial Arts County Trial Examination from back then was nothing but a child’s game. It made Yan Liqiang question himself. If he were in that Shatu warrior’s shoes, he probably wouldn’t be able to defend against a technique like that, and he would definitely be killed immediately.

This disciple from the Wise Ruler Sect was simply too powerful.

“DIE...!” The male disciple from the Wise Ruler Sect flashed like a bolt of lightning. Before the Shatu warrior’s body fell to the ground, he charged past the bloody rain from the sky. Raising the longsword in his hand, he leaped up and brought it down like a heaven-splitting great axe onto the flames which shrouded the old man...

Enveloped within the flames, the old Shatu man remained unmoving. However, the flame shield flickered and then slightly dimmed. At the same time, the male disciple from the Wise Ruler Sect was sent flying backward from the powerful impact.

The old Shatu man finally spoke. “Disciple from the Wise Ruler Sect...” His gaze bored into the disciple who was sent flying backwards. His voice was hoarse, yet he spoke fluent Chinese. The tone of his voice was chilling.

“That’s right. I am from the Wise Ruler Sect...!” The moment the male disciple’s foot touched the ground after being sent flying away for over twenty meters, he charged toward the old Shatu man again. “The priest from the Sacred Flame of the Shatu Alliance dares to appear in our Great Han Empire and incite trouble. Are you really treating the people of the Great Han Empire like air? Hahaha, I will be able to complete my Junior Martial Sister’s and my trial mission as long as we bring your head back to the Wise Ruler Sect. Today’s date will be marked as your death anniversary next year! Let’s see how many more blows your tortoise shell can take from my sword! DIE...!”

“Let me assist you, Senior Martial Brother...!”

The female disciple from the Wise Ruler Sect, whom Yan Liqiang had met before, managed to dispose every single Shatu guard who charged toward her in just a flash. The Shatu warrior who used a pair of sickles had been stabbed in the heart by a sword despite its magnificent brilliance. The lady then stepped on his chest and crushed his breastbone. With a crunch, a huge sunken depression was instantly made in his chest. He sprayed out a mouthful of blood and fell onto the ground. That seemed to be the end for him.

The lady yelled, then charged toward Sacred Flame priest too.

Despite their numbers, the number of Shatu people was reduced to only one in just a flash.

Yan Liqiang’s warbow was previously aimed at the old Shatu man. Yet the flames that appeared around him greatly intimidated Yan Liqiang. At first, he thought it was some secret technique from that old Shatu man. He only found out that it was some sort of spirit talisman that the old Shatu man carried on him when he heard the shouts of the disciple from the Wise Ruler Sect. Yan Liqiang had never heard about it before, but it seemed like it could form a protective shield around someone for a short period of time. Even an arrow shot from a five-picul powerful bow was rendered powerless against it. Knowing this, Yan Liqiang hesitated, wondering if he should strike and expose himself.

Little did Yan Liqiang expect that the moment he made up his mind to attack, there was no one else present apart from the Sacred Flame priest. It seemed like he wasn’t needed at all; just the two disciples from the Wise Ruler Sect alone were enough to control the situation. They were just so highly efficient at killing. In terms of close quarters combat, even ten Yan Liqiangs couldn’t even come close to the both of them.

After the female disciple from the Wise Ruler Sect rushed over to the male disciple, both of them joined hands and surrounded the old Shatu man in magnificent sword gleams.

The layer of flame shield around the old Shatu man formed by the spirit talisman was akin to the red hot steel at Yan Liqiang’s blacksmith workshop back at home. The flames radiated all around under the heavy blows. The shield seemed to grow dimmer after every attack it sustained.

Yan Liqiang instantly loosened himself up. From the looks of it, the two disciples from the Wise Ruler Sect would be able to tear the old Shatu man’s tortoise shell down sooner or later. The old Shatu man didn’t seem to be someone who possessed powerful martial arts either. The outcome seemed to have been set already. He only needed to remain as a spectator and retrieve Goldie at the end before leaving.

However, Yan Liqiang’s eyelids twitched all of a sudden. He suddenly realized that the fallen Shatu warrior, who supposedly died earlier from having his heart impaled by the female disciple’s sword and his breastbone crushed, was moving...

Yan Liqiang thought his eyes were either playing tricks on him or what he saw were post mortem spasms that occurred right after the Shatu warrior’s death. In that split second, Yan Liqiang nearly cried out because the supposedly dead Shatu warrior was suddenly up on his feet again. He flung his arm, sending his sickle-looking weapon flying. Like a ray of light, it flew toward the two disciples’ backs who were completely oblivious to the approaching danger...

At this moment, Yan Liqiang couldn’t afford to worry about keeping himself hidden.

Yan Liqiang abruptly stood up and cried out loudly, “WATCH OUT...!” With the Horned Python Bow in his hands, he promptly let loose an arrow which collided against the gleaming weapon the Shatu warrior had sent out like a bolt of lightning. The sudden impact instantly knocked it off its course...

At the same time, a loud noise erupted at the scene. Harsh red light filled the perimeter of a hundred meters. The defensive shield layer surrounding the old Shatu man shattered at the same exact moment. A few groans were also heard almost at the same time...

Chapter 225: The Moment of Life and Death

That instant was the moment of life and death.

In that split second, many things happened...

The moment Yan Liqiang released his arrow which knocked away the Shatu warrior’s weapon that was heading toward the two disciples from the Wise Ruler Sect, the protective shield shrouding the old Shatu man also shattered at the same time. Yan Liqiang’s eyes widened amidst the dispersed red light. He spotted the supposedly rigid corpse of the other Shatu warrior, who had been instantly decapitated by the male disciple from the Wise Ruler Sect, suddenly spring up from the ground. His pitch black palms suddenly struck out toward the back of the female disciple from the Wise Ruler Sect who was sent flying due to the impact of the protective shield....

A headless corpse could actually move and even assault someone...

Such an unbelievable scene was unfolding before Yan Liqiang’s very eyes, right at this moment.

“WATCH OUT, JUNIOR MARTIAL SISTER...!” The male disciple bellowed in rage, then bolted toward the headless Shatu warrior like a bullet. The longsword in his hands pierced the Shatu warrior’s torso right in the middle, creating a gaping wound about the width of a washbowl that spanned from his chest to his lower abdomen. However, the Shatu warrior suddenly grabbed the male disciple with both hands, slowing him down for a moment...

At that exact moment, before the harsh red light from the shattered protective shield faded, another dark shadow about three feet long flew out from the ground beneath the male disciple’s feet. It latched onto his leg for a moment, then started charging toward the female disciple from the Wise Ruler Sect...

The dark shadow was moving too fast. Everything happened without a warning. Despite Yan Liqiang’s superior vision, even he was unable to get a clear view of that dark shadow during that instant.

At that moment, Yan Liqiang released his second arrow as fast as possible...

When he shot the second arrow, he actually had a few targets – the Shatu warrior who had flung his weapon out from a distance, the other Shatu warrior who could still grab ahold of someone despite having no head, the dark shadow which came out from underground, and that old Shatu man...

Without any hesitation, Yan Liqiang shot his second arrow at the old Shatu man. It was an action done out of instinct. Even he himself couldn’t understand the reason behind his action. Before he let loose the second arrow, time seemed to suddenly slow down for Yan Liqiang. All he saw was the cold and sinister grin that broke across the old Shatu man’s face, certain that victory was in his hands. The old Shatu man then seemed to have heard Yan Liqiang’s shout, so he turned his head around in surprise to look at him...

Yan Liqiang’s arrow was flying toward the old Shatu man’s face who had turned around...

A sword gleam flashed and a splat rang out at the same time...

The dark shadow, which was rushing toward the female disciple from the Wise Ruler Sect, was split into two amidst the sword gleam. A cloud of green gas was released...

As for the splat... It was from Yan Liqiang’s arrow which pierced through the old Shatu man’s eye and blew his entire head off...

The moment the old Shatu man’s head was blown off by Yan Liqiang, the other two Shatu warriors who ‘rose from the dead’ instantly collapsed again in a heap on the ground at the same time. The two disciples from the Wise Ruler Sect also fell onto the ground nearly at the same time.

All of a sudden, no one was left standing on the battlefield.

The harsh red light had only slowly died down at this point in time.

Everything happened in just less than two seconds...

Yan Liqiang blankly stood up from the bushes and momentarily looked at the battlefield where no one was able to stand up again before he rushed over.

“WOOF, WOOF, WOOF...!” Goldie, who had been moved onto the carriage, immediately barked in excitement when he saw Yan Liqiang rushing over to it. It was so excited that it was circling about inside the cage.

What remained of the battle were corpses strewn all over the place, the bloodstained ground, and the strong stench of blood that filled the air. Apart from Yan Liqiang, no one else could stand up. The situation seemed especially terrible.

Since the cloud of green gas still hadn’t completely dissipated on the field, Yan Liqiang didn’t dare to rashly charge inside there. That was because he saw the female disciple from the Wise Ruler Sect collapse as soon as the cloud of green gas got to her. Hence, it was extremely obvious that the gas might be toxic.

The thing that released the gas was a colorful centipede which had already fallen onto the ground after being split into two. It was nearly a meter long, and it was as wide as a palm. Its head was larger than Yan Liqiang’s two fists put together. Just the sheer size of that centipede alone was enough to send chills down one’s spine.

The centipede didn’t seem to be dead despite being split into two. The dense, countless legs on either side of it were still moving. Although its huge head had fallen onto the ground, the two pairs of poisonous fangs on it were still moving.

Seeing that the centipede wasn’t dead yet, Yan Liqiang pulled out an arrow and released it. The arrow directly nailed the centipede’s head and half its body to the ground.

Yan Liqiang was still concerned because the moving corpses were simply too frightening just now. Hence, he shot the old Shatu man and the other two Shatu warriors that had moved three more times. He only let out a sigh of relief when those three corpses were also firmly nailed to the ground.

Yan Liqiang then ran to the carriages at the side and unlocked the metal cage which held Goldie captive. Goldie stuck its tongue out and excitedly circled around Yan Liqiang as soon as it regained its freedom.

“Quick, go over there and keep watch. Alert me if someone comes...!” Yan Liqiang pointed into the distance. Goldie, who was just released, immediately ran toward a hill which was a little further away from this grassland. That was the only place where steeds and carriages could enter the area. If any Blackwind Bandits arrived, Goldie would definitely be able to discover them immediately and warn him in time.

Only after settling that did Yan Liqiang cautiously approach the cloud of green gas.

The green gas appeared very suddenly but it also dissipated very quickly. In just the blink of an eye, it had thinned out considerably.

The male disciple from the Wise Ruler Sect was lying on the floor. However, since he was right next to the cloud of green gas that was about to dissipate, Yan Liqiang rushed over to him and held his breath. He crouched down, grabbed his legs, then dragged him away...

In just the blink of an eye, the male disciple’s lips had already turned dark. His body went rigid, akin to a heavy cast. His limbs were stiff, and Yan Liqiang found a bite mark from that huge centipede on the man’s lower left leg.

The male disciple from the Wise Ruler Sect seemed to realize that he was being dragged by Yan Liqiang. He opened his eyes, cast a glance at Yan Liqiang, then stammered with a hoarse voice. “I... I can’t make it... T-The poisonous gas... has reached my heart... My Junior Martial Sister can still be saved... There’s a pill in the white bottle I put in a medicine pouch in my chest... Let her take that...”

After he finished speaking, his face turned black. The powerful martial practitioner shut his eyes as his body suddenly turned cold and completely stiffened up...

Chapter 226: Rescue

Life is strong but also fragile. Looking at a young expert that amazed him earlier die just like this in front of him, Yan Liqiang couldn’t help but feel sorrowful.

Up until this point in time, Yan Liqiang didn’t even know the name of this disciple from the Wise Ruler Sect. However, it would seem like his cultivation in martial arts had far exceeded Yan Liqiang’s. He was probably a Martial Master, or even beyond that. He was definitely someone that could be described as a talented youth. Yet, a person with bright prospects ahead of him died just like that, right before Yan Liqiang’s very eyes.

Yan Liqiang felt conflicted because this scene reminded him of his previous ‘death’. It also caught him by surprise, given how sudden it was. Life and death was something that happened in a split second. The only difference between them was that Yan Liqiang had another chance to ‘restart’ it all. However, this disciple from the Wise Ruler Sect was gone for real.

Yet the circumstances before him now indicated that wasn’t the right time and place for him to be feeling all emotional. The wilderness was devoid of any sign of human habitation, and a large group of Blackwind Bandits could arrive at any minute. Hence, he had to hurry.

As instructed by the male disciple from the Wise Ruler Sect, Yan Liqiang groped around his upper torso and waist for a moment. As expected, he found a medicine pouch at his waist. There were a few bottles inside the pouch, and one of them was white.

Clutching the medicine, Yan Liqiang took another look at the cloud of green gas at the side. Although the gas had already thinned out, it hadn’t completely dissipated yet. Yan Liqiang looked more carefully at it and realized that the cloud of gas was actually floating in the air. It was clear about two feet above the ground. Just like thick gas in a fire, it was actually possible to breathe the air under the layer of thick smoke.

Seeing this, he didn’t waste any time and quickly rushed to the Shatu guard’s corpse at the side. Yan Liqiang sliced off a piece of fabric from the guard’s sleeve, then opened the canteen hanging on the corpse’s waist. He poured the water inside the canteen onto the fabric to wet it, then used it as a mask. Covering his face with the fabric, he charged into the cloud of gas that was still present and started crawling on the ground toward the female disciple from the Wise Ruler Sect.

Exercising great care, Yan Liqiang crawled forward while keeping his face close to the ground as he cautiously breathed while monitoring his physical condition. He would have to stop immediately if something was wrong, because it would be really terrible if he were to be poisoned also at a time like this. No fourth person would come to his rescue. Instead, the possibility of Shatu people coming here was very high.

The air he breathed in through the wet fabric had a trace of an indistinct but disgustingly sweet scent. However, it wasn’t that overwhelming anymore. The scent made Yan Liqiang’s tongue numb, as though he had just chewed on a pepper during a meal. His heart was racing wildly, and he stopped advancing immediately as soon as he felt his tongue going numb. After remaining still a few seconds later, he found out that the numbness on his tongue didn’t continue spreading. Feeling relieved, he continued crawling toward the female disciple from the Wise Ruler Sect.

When he reached the female disciple from the Wise Ruler Sect, the lady’s eyes were tightly shut. Her elegant face was quite pale and a green line had appeared between her eyebrows. The green line seemed like it was alive. It was gradually growing and spreading out, as though it was going to split into two...

Yan Liqiang didn’t dare to waste any time. He grabbed ahold of the lady’s arm and started crawling while dragging her along the ground, away from the cloud of smoke.

Although Yan Liqiang wasn’t that weak, fortunately, the lady wasn’t that heavy either. Therefore, he was able to drag her out from the gas very quickly.

Yan Liqiang made the lady sit upright on the ground and propped her against his thigh. He opened the white medicine bottle, forced her mouth open, and slipped the red pill with a nice fragrance inside it into her mouth. He then lifted her chin up so the pill could slide all the way down into her stomach.

After doing all that, Yan Liqiang laid her down again on the ground and seriously examined her for a moment.

Something magical happened. Not long after the pill reached the lady’s stomach, Yan Liqiang noticed the green line between her eyebrows stop growing. It then started to gradually fade under his gaze.

Yan Liqiang immediately stopped worrying.

“Since no one can move now, I guess I’ll have to clear up the battlefield by myself! From the looks of it, the old Shatu man wasn’t an ordinary man but some sort of priest. I can’t possibly waste an opportunity like this!” Yan Liqiang stood up and muttered to himself. Without any psychological burdens, he ran over to the old Shatu man he killed earlier.

At times like this, his first priority was to clean up the battlefield. He didn’t think of keeping everything for himself either; he’d just split it when the lady woke up.

The old Shatu man couldn’t be more dead. Not only that, he died a horrible death. Yan Liqiang’s first arrow penetrated his head through his face. His second arrow impaled his heart, nailing his corpse to the ground.

The unsightly death of the old man who once possessed a commanding presence reduced him to something that resembled a pile of black, pungent cow dung.

Knowing that this old man had a lot of tricks up his sleeves, Yan Liqiang refrained himself from directly searching the old man’s corpse with his hands out of careful consideration. Instead, he picked up a longsword from the ground, quickly cut open his clothes, and removed them to see just what the old man had on him.

What made Yan Liqiang speechless was that he wasn’t sure if big shots didn’t have the habit of bringing money pouches or some possessions with them, but this old man didn’t have anything on him – not even a money pouch or a medicine pouch. However, when Yan Liqiang removed the old man’s underclothing with the longsword, he saw a strange object on his wizened chest hanging from his neck.

The object was about the size of a palm. It looked like a round, rustic, shiny bronze antique mirror. On the object, there were rings of gorgeous yet mysterious inscriptions. Embedded right in the middle was a rare beast core crystal, about the size of a quail egg.

It was different from the core crystals Yan Liqiang had seen before. The rare beast’s core crystal on the bronze mirror had already dulled and lost its luster. Not only that, there was already a ring of fine cracks on it and it had long lost all of its spiritual Qi.

For this object to be on that lousy Shatu priest as his possession, it probably wasn’t something ordinary. Therefore, Yan Liqiang tugged this object off from the old Shatu man without any hesitation.

As soon as Yan Liqiang held it in his hand, he realized that the rare beast core crystal was actually a little warm. However, it was rapidly cooling down.

Could it be that this object was the spirit talisman which the disciple from the Wise Ruler Sect previously mentioned?

Yan Liqiang put the object away. The cracked and dull core crystal on it instantly reminded Yan Liqiang of something.

At this point, the cloud of poisonous smoke in the distance had completely dissipated. Yan Liqiang cautiously ran over to the huge centipede which had been split into two and impaled it with two more arrows. Suppressing the fear he felt in his heart, he jabbed around the remains of that centipede with the longsword in his hand. In the middle of the centipede’s body, Yan Liqiang spotted a dark, translucent and glowing sea green core crystal.

Once again, Yan Liqiang put away the core crystal of the rare beast. Just when he was going to continue looting, he heard a soft noise from the side. As soon as he turned his head around, he saw that the female disciple from the Wise Ruler Sect was awake and was now slowly opening her eyes...

When Yan Liqiang dragged the female disciple from the Wise Ruler Sect, he put her right beside the other male disciple. Hence, the moment the female disciple opened her eyes, she saw the long, lifeless face of that male disciple.

“Senior Martial Brother...!” The female disciple from the Wise Ruler Sect cried out in grief as she struggled to sit up. She threw herself onto the male disciple’s body and started weeping, heartbroken...

Yan Liqiang sighed and walked over to her. “My condolences, Lady...”

Chapter 227: A Real Man

“I remember you... You were with Sun Bingchen when Ye Tiancheng was taken down at Pingxi City last time! Why are you here?”

The female disciple from the Wise Ruler Sect only stopped crying after a long while. She lifted her head and looked at Yan Liqiang.

“It’s a long story. I remember you too. I didn’t actually expect to bump into both of you here...” Yan Liqiang pointed to the corpses on the ground and shook his head. “Can you move right now? It’s not safe to stay here for too long. There was quite a huge commotion here just now and since the Shatu people here and the Blackwind Bandits are a gang, I fear that the Blackwind Bandits might be here any minute now. When that happens, we won’t be able to escape even if we wanted to...”

The lady clenched her teeth and wiped away the tears from her face. She tried to stand up again, but could barely manage to do so. Her body swayed and her legs gave way beneath her. Just when she was about to fall, Yan Liqiang hurriedly took two steps forward and grabbed the lady by her arm to support her.

“Unhand me...!” With a determined expression, she tried to retract her arm, seemingly having an issue with Yan Liqiang touching her.

Yan Liqiang was extremely obedient. He instantly loosened his grasp and took a step back. The moment the woman pulled her arm back, her body involuntarily gave way and she crashed onto the ground again with a thud.

Everything went silent.

Yan Liqiang didn’t say anything. He just watched motionlessly at the side, allowing the lady to crash onto the ground.

The lady was prideful and obstinate, but Yan Liqiang had ways to deal with someone like her.

The lady made a few attempts to get up again. Yan Liqiang wasn’t sure if the poison in her body was still there or if it was the side effects of the detoxification, but her limbs were limp like noodles. After a few more attempts, the lady stopped moving. While panting heavily, she laid there on the ground and huge tears started rolling down her eyes again.

Yan Liqiang figured that the lady probably should not refuse his assistance at this point in time. While waiting for her to speak up, he didn’t expect that she would refuse to open her mouth at all. This lady was so stubborn to the point that she wasn’t ladylike at all.

The lady didn’t say a word. She just clenched her teeth and started struggling to get up by herself. Such a simple action was now extremely challenging for her right now.

Yan Liqiang shook his head and was at a loss for words upon seeing how stubborn this lady was. Just when he about to go loot the Shatu corpses, he heard Goldie’s barks from the hill in the distance.

The moment Yan Liqiang heard Goldie, his expression darkened. From Goldie’s barks, he knew that it had discovered that some people were making their way here.

On a night like this, the sounds of iron hooves reverberated far and wide. After Goldie barked a few times, Yan Liqiang heard the loud rumbles in the distance.

Without a doubt, the iron hooves that could only reach here at this hour would be none other than the Blackwind Bandits.

Yan Liqiang’s strength had yet to fully recover, and he had drawn his bow quite a few times. If he were to clash with such a large crowd of Blackwind Bandits, there was no way he would survive.

The lady managed to stand up again unsteadily. She picked up her longsword and stuck it in the ground to support her body, so that she wouldn’t fall down again.

“Let’s go, the Blackwind Bandits are coming...!” Yan Liqiang hurriedly told the lady.

The lady remained silent and unmoving. Her long eyelashes fluttered. She then calmly gazed in the direction of where the sounds of the thundering iron hooves were coming from with her deep eyes. She tightened her grasp on the sword hilt and moved a few steps. Standing in front of her senior martial brother’s corpse, she assumed a defensive stance. She started regulating her breathing while preparing to use every last ounce of energy left in her body to put up a desperate struggle with the incoming Blackwind Bandits.

“Are you thinking of battling those Blackwind Bandits here?” Yan Liqiang looked at the lady in shock.

The lady lifted her head and cast a cold glance at Yan Liqiang. The pride that ran deep in her bones showed no hesitation. Even death itself wouldn’t make her lower her head.

In her current state, any Shatu man on his rhinodrake steed could easily send her flying, let alone so many of them. Yan Liqiang didn’t expect this lady to be so strong that she could actually face death with equanimity.

Damn, Yan Liqiang had seen his fair share of capable women throughout his career in his previous life. Yet, they were nothing compared to the one before his very eyes. This lady was indeed manlier than many men.

The sound of iron hooves grew clearer over their short conversation.

Yan Liqiang clenched his teeth while looking at the lady’s face. He then made a prompt decision and suddenly chopped the base of the lady’s neck.

If the lady still had strength left in her, of course Yan Liqiang would be no match for her when it came to close quarters combat. However, the lady could barely stand up right now. So how could she even be a match for Yan Liqiang? Furthermore, she probably never expected Yan Liqiang to strike her. Thus, her body went limp after his attack. She shut her eyes as she immediately collapsed in a heap.

Yan Liqiang caught her in his arms this time instead of letting her crash onto the ground again. With the rope he found at the side, which had fallen onto the ground while the Shatu men were putting away the tents and their belongings, he tied her on his back. He swung the Horned Python Bow on his other shoulder, then started dashing toward the forest in the distance. After taking a few steps, Yan Liqiang stopped in his track. He turned his head around and looked at the lifeless male disciple from the Wise Ruler Sect. Clenching his teeth, he ran over to him again and grabbed his corpse before running back to the forest.

An ordinary person would have collapsed under the weight of a person on his back and another person in his arms. Fortunately, Yan Liqiang possessed a rather frightening amount of strength. The total weight of these two people was less than 140 kilograms, a weight he could still carry.

Goldie also popped out from the bushes and started running along with Yan Liqiang.

“Don’t follow me. The size of our target is too huge! Flee on your own and don’t let anyone catch you again...!” Yan Liqiang ordered Goldie while running.

Goldie seemed to instantly understand Yan Liqiang’s orders. It immediately jumped into the bushes at the front and vanished from Yan Liqiang’s sight.

By the time Yan Liqiang reached the edge of the forest, the sounds of the iron hooves and countless burning torches had already made it onto the plains where the corpses were scattered all over the place.

Yan Liqiang turned his head around when he heard the huge commotion from the Blackwind Bandits behind him. As soon as he did, he saw at least three hundred Blackwind Bandits rushing onto the plains. A few of them pointed in the direction he was headed towards and started yelling loudly on their rhinodrake steeds.

There was dried up needlegrass everywhere on the plains. When Yan Liqiang left, he had no choice but to go through the plains if he wanted to avoid meeting those Shatu men head on. Therefore, it was inevitable that he would leave a trail along the plains. The moment those Blackwind Bandits arrived, anyone among them with decent vision would be able to spot his footprints with just a single glance.

“Oh f*ck, gimme a break! I didn’t even lay a finger on your ancestral shrines...!” The Blackwind Bandits were so agitated, yelling in their strange language as they all dismounted from their steeds. Seeing the black mass rushing toward him with their scimitars raised as though they were hornets whose nest had been smashed, flattening the entirety of the needlegrass on the plains, Yan Liqiang was so scared that he quickly ran.

He fled for his life inside the forest, only relying on his memories.

However, running inside a forest with three people was more inconvenient than running alone. There was a limit to how fast he could go. As Yan Liqiang continued running, he realized that the footsteps, noises, and burning torches of the Blackwind Bandits pursuing him were drawing closer and closer. At this rate, they were going to catch up to him sooner or later. He might not even be able to outrun them even if he was escaping with just the lady on his back, let alone fleeing as three people.

No, he couldn’t go on this way!

Yan Liqiang recalled that he had seen a mountain cave up ahead when he first entered this forest. The cave was well hidden deep behind bushes and shrubs, and there were no ferocious beasts in there. Yan Liqiang clenched his teeth and dashed toward the cave.

A few minutes later, Yan Liqiang arrived at the small mountain cave. He put down the man he was carrying and the lady he had on his back and threw them into the mountain cave. He made sure to cover his trail well before quickly leaving the mountain cave and running off in another direction.

After running more than fifty meters, he saw the burning torches in the distance had drawn even closer. The distance between them had reduced to nearly a hundred meters.

Yan Liqiang abruptly stopped, retrieved his Horned Python Bow, nocked an arrow, and released it...

Following a swoosh, a Shatu man let out a blood-curdling scream and fell on the ground.

“Shatu dogs, come for me if you have a death wish...!” Yan Liqiang laughed loudly. Among the furious yells of countless Shatu men, Yan Liqiang turned around and started running into the distance. Countless angry Shatu men pursued him with their clenched teeth and reddened eyes...

Chapter 228: Pursuit

While fleeing for his life, Yan Liqiang ran further and further away from the mountain cave. His intention was to lead those Blackwind Bandits away from there. Whenever any Blackwind Bandits came too close to him, he would stop and turn around to shoot them with his arrows. As this went on, Yan Liqiang only had about twenty arrows left in his quiver, which would only last for just a little less than half an hour.

His arrows never missed their targets. By the time he finished all twenty arrows, he had taken down twenty of his pursuers. However, the remaining Blackwind Bandits were still chasing him relentlessly like a pack of starved wolves. While pursuing him, the Blackwind Bandits were still yelling angrily in their weird language. From what Yan Liqiang heard, their angry yells were things like ‘kill him’ or something along those lines...

That old priest seemed like someone very important to these Shatu people. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be pursuing him so relentlessly.

Without any supplies as all his arrows were gone, Yan Liqiang could only continue fleeing for his life.

Yan Liqiang initially thought he would be able to shake off his pursuers very quickly. With his physical qualities developed from Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing, and his cultivation in the Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps technique and superior vision, it would be difficult for those Shatu people to catch up to him in a forest like this without their steeds.

However, Yan Liqiang only half of that right.

After Yan Liqiang pulled away from the Blackwind Bandits who were pursuing him, he managed to gradually lose most of them because they couldn’t keep up with his pace. They lagged behind until they eventually vanished. However, there were still two Blackwind Bandits who instantly stood out from the others and noticed that Yan Liqiang had run out of arrows. During their pursuit, the distance between them and Yan Liqiang slowly got smaller.

Both of them were hidden among the big crowd before and didn’t rush to the front. It was evident that both of them were very cunning by keeping a low profile. Even Yan Liqiang didn’t notice people of such caliber hidden among the Blackwind Bandits that were pursuing him. They waited until Yan Liqiang stopped shooting because he ran out of arrows. They then slowly rushed to the front, overtook all the other Blackwind Bandits, and started chasing Yan Liqiang relentlessly.

Although they were inside the forest, those Blackwind Bandits weren’t any slower than Yan Liqiang. They were even slightly faster than him.

What made Yan Liqiang even more nervous was the raging murderous intent emitting from the two Blackwind Bandits. It was unwavering and as firm as steel. It made Yan Liqiang feel like they would pursue him to the end of the world and that they wouldn’t give up until they killed him.

Could it be that the old Shatu man was actually their father?

The thought flashed across Yan Liqiang’s mind.

Running at full speed, he could only hear the soft rustling noises of his clothes brushing past the plants around him.

Yan Liqiang’s ability to see in the dark was the only superior trait he had over the other two Blackwind Bandits. This allowed Yan Liqiang to respond faster and make quicker decisions than his two pursuers. It was the only reason why both of them still couldn’t catch up to him yet.

Yan Liqiang ran past countless trees and bushes, leaving them far behind. At the same time, birds were flying away from the trees because they were startled by his movements.

When Yan Liqiang passed by a gully that was several meters deep, he had no choice but to abandon the Horned Python Bow he was carrying in the bushes that were there. It was extremely inconvenient to run in a forest like this with his bow. So in a life or death situation like this, of course a Horned Python Bow wasn’t more important than his own life. He could still get his Horned Python Bow back, but no matter how good he was with his bow, it would be useless if he were dead and it would benefit those Blackwind Bandits who managed to kill him instead.

Knowing that Goldie was also running along with him somewhere not far from him was Yan Liqiang’s only comfort at a time like this. Goldie’s movements were very light in the forest. Yan Liqiang couldn’t see it, but he could just faintly sense it in his heart.

When Yan Liqiang went to the valley, his two pursuers also went to the valley!

When Yan Liqiang waded across the river, his two pursuers also followed suit!

When Yan Liqiang jumped several meters off a cliff and tumbled down along a hill full of weeds, his two pursuers also jumped off the cliff, tumbled down the hill, and continued pursuing Yan Liqiang relentlessly like maggots feeding on a corpse.

In such hot pursuit, Yan Liqiang had long deviated from the original route he had come from and ventured into unfamiliar territory in the wilderness. Since his body was already worn out from the long distance run from earlier, he was once again exhausted and he grew weary.

Yan Liqiang felt his legs growing weaker and his lungs getting stuffier. His breathing grew heavier too.

He made it through a craggy hill in front of him, then passed through a beech forest and another hill. His heart pounded against his chest at the scenery before him...

This was a U-shaped slope. Beside him was a precipitous cliff, and there was a ravine that was about a hundred meters deep. It stretched on for more than a thousand meters – he had reached a dead end. The ravine wall was steep and straight. It was impossible to climb down even if he wanted to. If he jumped from this height, the only outcome that awaited him when he landed was being turned into an environmentally-unfriendly bloody pulp. The precipitous cliff at the side was several meters above the ground and was as smooth as a mirror. Without the proper tools, it was impossible to scale it.

F*CK!

I really have to put my life on the line!

He heard footsteps less than a hundred meters away from him. It was already too late for him to turn back and find another route even if he wanted to...

Yan Liqiang clenched his teeth. He scanned his surroundings, then dived into a dense bush at the top of the ravine, into the crevice of the cliff.

The deserted plain above this ravine was bigger than a soccer field, filled with grass that was about as tall as a person.

When his pursuers rushed to this location from the hill, Yan Liqiang immediately concealed himself among the dense bushes and remained motionless...

The two Blackwind Bandits following Yan Liqiang studied the terrain. After only a brief discussion, one of them turned around and went up the hill at the side so that he could overlook the entire plain. The other one unsheathed the scimitar he had with him and cautiously inched toward the bushes...

When Yan Liqiang, who was hidden in the bush, saw their actions, he nervously started calculating his chances in his heart.

The two Blackwind Bandits knew he couldn’t escape so he was probably hiding somewhere in the plains. To prevent the possibility of Yan Liqiang finding an opportunity to escape unnoticed again when they both entered the plains, one of them stood on the hill where he could overlook the entire scene and block Yan Liqiang’s escape route at the same time. The other person went into the plains to search for him. The only thing that awaited Yan Liqiang the moment the person in the plains found him or when the person on the hill spotted him would be an attack from both sides.

To be honest, Yan Liqiang didn’t have any confidence in taking on any one of them in close combat because he had determined that their strengths were probably at least that of a peak Supreme Martial Warrior, or somewhere close to a Grade One Martial Master. His archery in the Third Heavenly Layer could completely suppress opponents who were Supreme Martial Warriors and Grade One Martial Masters. Both of them had been extremely cautious around him earlier. They hid themselves among the other Blackwind Bandits, not daring to come close to him. This made it evident that they didn’t have the confidence to block off or take his arrows head-on. If both of them were already Grade One Martial Master experts, his arrows wouldn’t scare them that much, regardless of how much of a threat they posed.

Although the sky was still dark after all this, it wouldn’t be long until daybreak. The darkness was favorable to Yan Liqiang and could be considered as an advantage to him. As soon as the sky turned bright, he would lose this advantage.

Since the two Blackwind Bandits had split up, leaving this place alive hinged on whether or not he could take both of them down separately. If he made a move, he had to strike one of them down as quick as possible. Only with this, he could stand a chance against the other person when he faced him...

Chapter 229: Striking Down

Yan Liqiang concealed himself among the tall bushes in silence, half squatting on the ground. He slowly regulated his breathing while he recovered his stamina. His eyes shone brilliantly like a cheetah’s, and he was saving his strength as he waited for something to happen...

More than half an hour had passed since Yan Liqiang had hidden himself in the plains.

The Blackwind Bandit, who was searching the plains, was slowly making his way toward Yan Liqiang’s hiding spot.

He searched directly and violently. He would take one step at a time and cautiously scan the bushes with his scimitar in hand. Whenever he found a place that could possibly hide a person, he’d sweep his scimitar across, sending blades of grass and leaves flying like a lawnmower. He slashed the weeds so mercilessly that they ended up being only about a foot tall off the ground...

Over the half-hour, traces of light had started appearing in the dark eastern sky. Daybreak was the coldest time in this wilderness.

Yan Liqiang could almost see a layer of frost forming on the leaves and blades of grass in front of his eyes...

Swoosh...! A strange noise rang out not far from Yan Liqiang. It was then followed by footsteps and the sounds of huge patches of grasses and leaves being cut. Yan Liqiang could hear the footsteps drawing closer to where he was hiding...

Coming... He’s coming...!

Yan Liqiang tightly gripped the dagger he was holding. Since he had been holding it in his hands for a long time, the handle was already drenched in his sweat. Aside from the slightly wet sensation, it didn’t really affect Yan Liqiang.

As the footsteps and the noise of grass being cut drew closer, Yan Liqiang could almost hear the Blackwind Bandit’s labored breathing.

The Blackwind Bandit had yet to sniff Yan Liqiang out over the past half an hour so he had used up quite a bit of stamina. Most importantly, he was starting to get irritated. Perhaps he was even starting to doubt if Yan Liqiang was hiding among the plains, or maybe he had used some sort of trick they didn’t know and had gone down to the ravine...

The other Blackwind Bandit was only less than two hundred meters away. If he didn’t wish to be attacked from both sides, he would have to finish the battle within ten seconds as soon as he made his first move. If he still couldn’t kill this Blackwind Bandit within ten seconds, then he would most likely be dead when the ten seconds were up.

Yan Liqiang once again reminded himself internally before he finally prepared to take action.

......

A pair of black pants, less than two meters away, came into Yan Liqiang’s view. As soon as he saw the black figure, Yan Liqiang finally moved. Instead of making violent movements, he merely tugged on the black string he had in his hand. He had removed the black string from his shirt earlier and tied it around the trunks of some bushes about a meter away. He even draped his clothes over some weeds behind the bushes. During a pitch black night like this, it would look as if a person were crouching there at first glance.

Yan Liqiang tugged on the black string, making the bushes slightly shake as though something was hiding behind them. When the bushes shook, Yan Liqiang’s clothes were exposed.

Upon seeing the bushes moving and catching a glimpse of clothing on it, how would the Blackwind Bandit respond under such circumstances?

The Blackwind Bandit instinctively turned toward that direction without even thinking. With a loud yell, he immediately swept across the bushes with the scimitar in his hand. The blade gleamed coldy and it noisily slashed through the air. The power and reaction speed of his swipe was suddenly a few times stronger compared to when he was cutting down weeds during his search.

Blades of grass flew in all directions. The shiny scimitar in his hands didn’t only cut the weeds, but it also split Yan Liqiang’s clothes in two...

The moment the Blackwind Bandit slashed toward the target set up by Yan Liqiang with his scimitar, Yan Liqiang immediately sprung up powerfully from the bushes he was hiding in. Like a bolt of lightning, the dagger in his hand came down violently on the Blackwind Bandit’s back.

As expected, the Blackwind Bandit possessed extraordinary strength. Feeling something was off behind him when his blade was met with air, he propelled himself forward without even thinking or turning his head around. He simultaneously swung his scimitar behind him...

However, it was a shame that he had underestimated Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang only tugged on the bushes to attract his attention which would create an opportunity for him to strike. Even Yan Liqiang jumping on him was a feint to delude him into responding incorrectly...

Two consecutive mistakes were enough to decide a winner in this fight, because his opponent would never expect Yan Liqiang to have another killing move.

His killing move wasn’t the dagger he struck out with, but the shortsword he was holding in his other hand.

The shortsword was the Black Scale he had received from Lu Peien as a gift back in Pingxi City some time ago.

The Black Scale was a dark, ordinary-looking and swarthy blade that was non-reflective. Yet, it was so sharp that it could cut through steel like mud. Penetrating armor and breaking weapons would only require a simple turn of a hand. Yan Liqiang had always kept the shortsword on him for self-protection. He had never taken it out or showed it to anyone either. Now was the right time to put the Black Scale to good use.

As proven by the facts, even a Supreme Martial Warrior expert, a level higher than Yan Liqiang, had committed two errors in a row that might cost his life. Therefore, cultivation realms didn’t necessarily mean everything. Most often, a person’s judgment, reflex, insight, mind, or environmental factors could affect the outcome of a battle.

When the Blackwind Bandit propelled himself forward and ran out of strength, the Black Scale silently came flying from Yan Liqiang’s right hand like a black snake. It was impaled on that Blackwind Bandit’s back, and the sword tip protruded from his chest.

As soon as the Blackwind Bandit faltered, he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

After Yan Liqiang blocked off the Blackwind Bandit’s attack from behind, he pounced forward like a ferocious tiger. Only at this moment, the dagger in his hand turned into a real murder weapon.

A cold icy gleam flashed across the grass. The Blackwind Bandit’s head was sent flying by Yan Liqiang’s dagger and blood splattered everywhere. When the head was flying in midair, the Blackwind Bandit still had a look of disbelief in his eyes...

Yan Liqiang gripped the handle of the Black Scale with his right hand again. To pull it out, he kicked the Blackwind Bandit’s back and the headless corpse instantly crashed to the ground.

Yan Liqiang turned his head around and looked at the Blackwind Bandit who was rushing toward him from a distance. With a dagger in his hand and a shortsword in the other, Yan Liqiang stopped running and charged at him head-on at him with an angry yell.

Both parties clashed against each other on the plains like two stray wolves in battle...

Yan Liqiang swung the dagger in his hand first, but it was knocked out of his hand by the Blackwind Bandit. Right after that, the scimitar in the Blackwind Bandit’s hands came swinging toward Yan Liqiang like a moon...

Chapter 230: Fighting With Life

As soon as they fought, Yan Liqiang could clearly feel that this Blackwind Bandit was stronger than the one before. His attacks were more violent and ruthless.

This Blackwind Bandit used a scimitar as his weapon, and his technique was fierce and powerful. Based on the attainment of his technique, he was far superior than that of Yan Liqiang’s. Every attack seemed to be aimed at Yan Liqiang’s head, neck, or the vital organs in his abdomen. Almost every attack was deadly. Any carelessness on Yan Liqiang’s part would lead to his death or heavy injuries.

Shrouded by the gleams of the man’s scimitar, Yan Liqiang felt as though he was a leaf caught up in a violent sea that could possibly be overturned by a gigantic wave at any moment. The fact that he could still fight hand to hand with this person was all thanks to his vision, arm strength, reaction speed, and his body techniques. Despite all that, Yan Liqiang could only barely manage to fend off his attacks with the shortsword in his hand!

Before the battle, Yan Liqiang was initially planning to rely on the Black Scale’s sharpness to break his opponent’s scimitar with a single strike, and hence greatly weaken the other party’s offensive power. However, after exchanging a couple of blows, he realized that the Blackwind Bandit’s scimitar was no ordinary weapon. Even after noisily clashing against Yan Liqiang’s Black Scale shortsword over twenty times, his scimitar was still unscathed and as sharp as ever.

Every time Yan Liqiang blocked or clashed against the Blackwind Bandit’s attack, he could vaguely sense a strange vital Qi in his opponent’s weapon. The vital Qi burned hot like an iron and actually traveled to his body through the weapons, making him feel as though his entire hand was getting stung by a hornet every time he exchanged blows with his opponent. His tendons, veins, and muscles were throbbing with burning pain.

Being able to project vital Qi during a battle was an indication of a true Grade One Martial Master. This Blackwind Bandit seemed to have only reached the gates of vital Qi projection. This meant that he was a Peak Supreme Martial Warrior that was about to progress into a Marital Master, which was about two levels more powerful than Yan Liqiang who had just progressed into a Marital Warrior.

If it wasn’t for Yan Liqiang’s powerful foundation, an ordinary martial practitioner who had just progressed into a Martial Warrior would probably be wiped out by this Blackwind Bandit’s scimitar in just a flash.

...

After enduring the Blackwind Bandit’s attacks for five minutes, Yan Liqiang had already sustained three more fine bloody cuts on his body. These were all from the Blackwind Bandit’s killing moves which Yan Liqiang had managed to evade by a hair’s breadth with the Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps technique. All of a sudden, the Blackwind Bandit let out a deafening yell and started spinning his arms like a hurricane. While spinning, the scimitar on his hand was like a tornado in the desert. Its shiny gleam vanished instantly and became a blur hidden inside the spiraling sandstorm.

A masked murderous intent was the most terrifying type of intent. Likewise, an invisible blade was the deadliest type of blade.

Yan Liqiang shivered in his heart because he knew this was the Blackwind Bandit’s ultimate technique...

While flying backward to retreat, Yan Liqiang stared at the gleaming scimitar that was spinning like a tornado. The Blackwind Bandit charged forward with his steps as quick as lightning. Every ounce of strength in his body erupted at this very moment. With one charging forward and the other retreating backward, the gleaming scimitar akin to a tornado was right in front of Yan Liqiang...

Yan Liqiang let out a loud cry. His excellent perception captured the biting cold killing intention concealed in the tornado at this very moment. With all the strength in his entire body, he dived right into the blurry light with the shortsword in his hand.

CLANG...!

An even sharper noise rang out from inside the violent tornado.

At that moment, he could at most see the shock in the Blackwind Bandit’s eyes behind his black veil. Yan Liqiang was delighted, but the burning pain on his arm from the vital Qi’s invasion was suddenly amplified by a few fold. The moment his shortsword rang out against his opponent’s scimitar, he felt the sensation of being stabbed by a burning hot iron wire. The burning hot iron wire pierced through his palm and went all the way to his shoulder, instantly causing his entire body to feel numb...

The powerful impact knocked both Yan Liqiang and the Blackwind Bandit back at the same time. Yan Liqiang’s hand, which was holding the Black Scale, started trembling and he almost lost his grip on the shortsword...

As expected of an expert. The disparity between the Blackwind Bandit’s and Yan Liqiang’s martial arts cultivation was immediately evident at this very moment. When the Blackwind Bandit was knocked back from the impact, he pressed the edge of his scimitar against the ground and lifted his body with an arch-like flip. However, he suddenly kicked one of his legs over his head like the poisonous tip on a scorpion’s tail. Before Yan Liqiang could even react in time, his chest was kicked. He let out a groan and was sent flying into the bushes ten meters away. When he landed on the ground, he immediately coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Damn!

Without a second thought, Yan Liqiang, who had fallen onto the ground, tried to get up again with a roll. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see the Blackwind Bandit charging toward him, wasting no time at all...

However, right at this moment, a short, unexpected figure silently scuttled out from the bushes two meters behind the Blackwind Bandit. It opened its jaw widely and bit the Blackwind Bandit who was approaching Yan Liqiang.

The black shadow that had dashed out from the bushes was none other than Goldie.

Goldie rushed out with a speed that was at least a few times faster than any ordinary dog. When Goldie was directly behind the Blackwind Bandit, it raised its head and bared its sharp teeth. It then bit down on the Blackwind Bandit’s crotch.

What stupefied Yan Liqiang was the fact that Goldie’s target turned out to actually be the Blackwind Bandit’s... balls...

His balls!

The Blackwind Bandit totally didn’t expect for someone come to Yan Liqiang’s rescue at this moment. Goldie’s was swift and close to him, so he was suddenly caught off guard. When the Blackwind Bandit felt something was off behind him, he sidestepped as fast as he could and tried to evade the attack. Even so, Goldie still managed to bite him hard on his inner thigh. The Blackwind Bandit couldn’t help but let out a blood-curdling scream before promptly kicking Goldie so hard that it was sent flying into the bushes at the side...

With that, the Blackwind Bandit was thrown off from his rhythm and he also sustained an injury on his thigh.

With the opportunity to gasp for a breath, Yan Liqiang immediately stood up with a roll and got into a defensive stance. In the distance, the Blackwind Bandit drew a sharp breath as he struggled to remain standing, almost losing his balance in the process...

“GOLDIE...!” Yan Liqiang yelled out worriedly because he had just seen Goldie getting kicked into the bushes.

When Goldie heard Yan Liqiang, it shook its fur and its head, then came out from the bushes. Crouching its body and baring its teeth like a wolf while growling dangerously, it glared at the Blackwind Bandit with an ominous glint in its eyes. It adopted an offensive stance and it seemed like it was actually be planning to attack the Blackwind Bandit with Yan Liqiang.

Good dog, what a good dog indeed. If Goldie had just bitten half a foot closer to the side, the Blackwind Bandit would have...

Yan Liqiang laughed heartily while watching the Blackwind Bandit’s crotch dripping blood. However, after only two laughs, he coughed up a mouthful of blood. Even so, he was still pleased.

“You... and your dog... shall die...!” The Blackwind Bandit finally spoke for the very first time. Although his voice sounded a little weird, he spoke fluent Chinese. He swiftly pressed a few spots on his thighs and his wound nearly stopped bleeding completely. He panted while glaring at both Yan Liqiang and Goldie. His eyes reddened and he seemed to be extremely furious.

Thinking about how he was nearly turned into a eunuch because of a dog, the Blackwind Bandit was eager to chop Yan Liqiang and his dog into pieces and cook them for dinner.

Yan Liqiang squinched his eyes and sneered coldly, “Oh really? It’s not certain yet who’s going to die in the end!” Although he seemed to be in an unfavorable position and was also injured, he still had some trump cards up his sleeves. Now that the Blackwind Bandit had an injured leg, it was inevitable that his movements would be slightly affected. If both of them continued fighting in their current conditions, Yan Liqiang’s chances of killing the Blackwind Bandit with his killing technique were much higher. Therefore, he wasn’t afraid in the slightest.

Although a cultivation realm represented a person’s strength, a person’s strength wasn’t limited by his cultivation realm.

The Blackwind Bandit sized up Yan Liqiang and Goldie. When he was about to charge toward Yan Liqiang, Yan Liqiang suddenly had a very exaggerated and shocked expression plastered on his face while looking behind the Blackwind Bandit...

“Don’t even think of trying that again. I’m not going to fall for it! You’re still too...” Before the Blackwind Bandit could finish his sentence, he let out a low groan. He lowered his head and saw the shiny tip of a sword protruding out from his chest. His expression then contorted into disbelief...

In the next moment, his head was suddenly sent flying and his body crashed loudly onto the ground. Standing behind him coldly with a sword in hand was the female disciple from the Wise Ruler Sect...

Chapter 231: Mo Ziye

Unbeknownst to him, the entire night had passed and the eastern sky at this time was already quite bright. The stars and moon above his head were now hidden in the clear and blue magnificent sky.

Yan Liqiang saw the female disciple from the Wise Ruler Sect appear, and only then did he slump to the ground and start panting heavily without a care for his image.

Since he had been tense during the life or death crisis, he really couldn’t feel anything just now. The moment he relaxed, the exhaustion of fighting all night finally caught up to him. ‘Burnt out’ was the phrase he would use to describe what he was feeling right now from his previous life. Every inch of his body, from his head to his toes, felt sore and painful. Even lifting his arms required a great deal of effort...

He first ambushed and killed Aligujin at the Hui Clan Gathering. Then he sprinted several tens of kilometers, disposed the old sinister Shatu man, and then he found himself being pursued to only end up fighting in deadly battles.

Yan Liqiang didn’t even remember exactly how many kilometers he had run tonight, how many people he killed, or how many times he clashed with the Blackwind Bandits.

Goddamm*t, he didn’t expect the day of him being wilder than John Rambo would come!

Yan Liqiang couldn’t help but laugh self-deprecatingly.

The dawn breeze blew from the valleys in the distance, causing the grass in the plains to sway like undulating sea waves. Yan Liqiang shivered when he felt the breeze. Only now did he realized that his clothes were almost drenched again, not sure if it was from his sweat or the dew from the bushes.

He had to find some food. He could recover his strength as long as he could quickly replenish his stamina and his calories. Otherwise, it’d be terrible if he encountered any more dangers.

Yan Liqiang truly understood how valuable life was after experiencing death once. While thinking, Yan Liqiang clenched his teeth and got up unsteadily. However, as soon as he gained stable footing, his legs slightly gave way beneath him. The ground felt like marshmallows and he was about to fall.

Fortunately, a hand grabbed him in time and held him up.

The figure of the female disciple from the Wise Ruler Sect appeared beside Yan Liqiang in a flash and steadied Yan Liqiang who was on the verge of collapsing.

“Don’t move...” The lady glanced at the wounds on Yan Liqiang. She then stuck the longsword she was holding into the ground and retrieved a medicine pouch from her waist. She took out a medicine bottle from the pouch, then ripped her sleeve off. While biting on the sleeve, she further ripped it into smaller strips of fabric and started dressing Yan Liqiang’s wounds.

Yan Liqiang was currently in a pathetic state. Apart from a few cuts from the recent battle, his clothes were quite torn from fleeing through those thorny bushes. In total, he had about twenty wounds of various sizes all over his body.

This was Yan Liqiang’s first time being this close to the lady. He could smell a faint fragrance coming from her. When the lady’s cold yet delicate fingertips came into contact with the skin around his wounds, Yan Liqiang felt as though he was electrified. Every strand of hair on his body stood on its end.

Yan Liqiang remained still as he allowed the lady to dress his wounds. His body was completely stiff. He secretly checked out the lady’s facial features – her eyebrows, eyes, and nose perfectly complemented each other. She was very attractive looking, yet she exuded an icy aura that shunned people from a thousand li away. She also exuded a trace of sorrow and obstinance...

Feeling the silence in the atmosphere between them, Yan Liqiang took the initiative to strike up a conversation as the lady didn’t seem to be much of a conversationalist either. “I guess we are kind of like comrades in arms after the incident tonight. I am Yan Liqiang! What’s your name?”

The lady didn’t lift her head up. She just continued dressing Yan Liqiang’s wounds attentively. She only serenely uttered her name a few seconds later. “Mo Ziye...”

“How did you find your way here?”

“You left traces behind along the way...” Mo Ziye’s voice remained quite monotonous.

Yan Liqiang thought about it and started laughing. Indeed there were a lot of traces left behind. The Blackwind Bandits he killed all the way up to where they currently were made the best road signs. The two Blackwind Bandits who chased after him cut their way through thistles and thorns, so they left quite a lot of clues behind too. Indeed, it wouldn’t be too difficult for an observant person to find their way here. Yan Liqiang just didn’t expect Mo Ziye to recover so fast, figure out that he was being pursued, and even make it in time to rescue him. Although this lady had an icy front, she was actually a loyal and compassionate person. If she wasn’t worried for Yan Liqiang’s safety, she wouldn’t have gone through so much trouble of tracking him down after waking up.

Mo Ziye’s movements were skillful and efficient. In just the blink of an eye, she had attended to Yan Liqiang’s deepest knife wounds.

After dressing Yan Liqiang’s wounds, Mo Ziye noticed that Yan Liqiang’s right arm was abnormally swollen. “What’s with this arm?” She gently pinched Yan Liqiang’s arm, causing him to draw a sharp breath.

“That guy you just beheaded was about to progress into a Martial Master. So he had the ability to project his vital Qi. When I was fighting with him earlier, his vital Qi got to me and I ended up with this...”

After listening to Yan Liqiang’s explanation, Mo Ziye examined Yan Liqiang’s swollen arm again. She then retrieved another medicine bottle from her pouch and handed it over to Yan Liqiang. “These are the Five Dispersion Pills from our Wise Ruler Sect. Just take two of them and you’ll be fine...”

Yan Liqiang accepted the medicine bottle and carefully poured out two orange-red pills. He immediately swallowed both of them in one go without any hesitation, then closed the bottle and handed it back to Mo Ziye.

Mo Ziye didn’t accept it. Instead, she just shook her head and gave the entire bottle to Yan Liqiang as a present. “Keep it. If your arm still isn’t better by tomorrow, take two more!”

“Thank you!” Yan Liqiang stashed the medicine bottle close to him.

“You’re welcome. I should be the one thanking you!” Mo Ziye looked straight into Yan Liqiang’s eyes. The look in her eyes slightly wavered and her voice contained a tinge of emotion. “Thank you for carrying my senior martial brother’s body all the way out there at a time like that too...”

“I was scared that you would come after me if I abandoned him there!” Yan Liqiang sighed. “We can’t bring the dead back to life. Besides, the old Shatu man who killed your senior martial brother died. With that, I guess he was avenged for. Try to get over it.”

As soon as Mo Ziye heard Yan Liqiang’s words, a sorrowful expression returned to her face. Tears welled up in her eyes once again, but she was trying to fight them back. Yan Liqiang walked over to the headless Blackwind Bandit’s corpse. He crouched down beside him and started fumbling around the corpse.

“What are you searching for?” Mo Ziye couldn’t help but ask.

“I’m searching for something edible. I’ve had a tough night. If I don’t eat something, I won’t be able to keep up!”

“I have some here...”

“No, save it for yourself. You’ll need it too. These Blackwind Bandits may be wretched, but there’s nothing wrong with their supplies and food rations. I’ll just find something to eat from them. I’m pretty sure you won’t be able to eat anything they have...”

While speaking, Yan Liqiang managed to find a big piece of air-dried beef jerky inside a small leather pouch on the Blackwind Bandit’s corpse.

When these Blackwind Bandits were out to commit a crime, weapons and rations were necessities they carried with them. Thus, if they were hungry, they had something to reach for immediately. Being able to eat anytime while traveling would not cause any delays.

In Yan Liqiang’ previous life, he would never eat something he found on a corpse. However, after so many experiences in this life, he got mentally stronger.

Yan Liqiang wolfed down his food. In a flash, he finished half of the one-jin beef jerky he found.

With such high-calorie food in his body, Yan Liqiang’s exhausted body slowly regained some strength.

Mo Ziye was very patient. She just sat beside Yan Liqiang and watched him devour his food in silence, neither speaking nor rushing him.

By the time there was only half a piece of beef jerky left, Yan Liqiang suddenly recalled Goldie’s ‘heroic contribution’ earlier. He beckoned Goldie, who was in the bushes, over and waved the beef jerky he was holding in the air. “Come Goldie, have some food...”

Goldie was lying on the ground. The previously fierce expression on its face from earlier had been completely replaced by a pitiful look. Goldie just whimpered and didn’t come over.

Sensing something odd, Yan Liqiang went over to his dog and spread the bushes apart. Upon a careful look, he realized that Goldie had broken one of its hind legs as a consequence of biting the Blackwind Bandit on his thigh. The man’s kick to Goldie from earlier had broken its leg. Goldie was just really intelligent; it half-crouched on the ground to bare its teeth at Yan Liqiang’s enemy, trying to help intimidate his opponent despite its broken leg...

Yan Liqiang was suddenly so moved that tears nearly fell from his eyes. He patted Goldie on its head and fed it the beef jerky. He cast a glance at Mo Ziye. “S-Sister Mo... Do you have more of the medicine you gave me just now?”

Mo Ziye was probably five or six years older than Yan Liqiang. So he thought for a moment and decided to address her as Sister Mo.

“This is your dog?” Mo Ziye took a few steps closer and looked at Goldie who was on the ground.

“That’s right. It’s a very smart dog and got hurt in order to save me. That medicine of yours probably works on dogs too, right?”

“Take it. Just apply it on the wound and wrap it up. The medicine will slowly seep inside!” Mo Ziya took out the medicine bottle from earlier and handed it to Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang accepted the medicine and ripped off a big piece of his sleeve. He then poured some medicine on Goldie’s broken leg and wrapped its short leg up with the fabric.

Although Goldie’s broken leg had been wrapped up, it still struggled to walk properly as it was slightly laming with only three legs.

Upon seeing this, Yan Liqiang quickly went back into the grassland and retrieved his outerwear which he had used as a decoy earlier. He fashioned it into a stretcher and used it as a canvas to carry Goldie. He sheathed the Black Scale, then stashed the Blackwind Bandit’s scimitar, which could withstand the might of the Black Scale, before he left the place with Mo Ziye together...

The sky was slowly turning bright. On their journey, they didn’t encounter another Blackwind Bandit.

“Sister Mo, on the way here, did you meet any Blackwind Bandits?”

“I did meet about ten of them. I killed them all...” Mo Ziye still had an icy look on her beautiful face. Yet, she seemed to have accepted the way Yan Liqiang addressed her...

Chapter 232: Agony

Yan Liqiang and Mo Ziye made their way back along the same route.

Along the way, they’d occasionally come across the bodies of the Blackwind Bandit lackeys whom Mo Ziye had killed. Apart from those, most of the Blackwind Bandits had withdrawn from the wilderness.

Yan Liqiang first returned to the gully where he had abandoned his Horned Python Bow. After retrieving his bow, he returned together with Mo Ziye to the mountain cave where he had hidden them earlier.

Mo Ziye didn’t speak much along the way. The atmosphere was very heavy. Yan Liqiang walked in silence. Although he survived, Mo Ziye lost her senior martial brother. Yan Liqiang didn’t know about the relationship between Mo Ziye and her senior martial brother. They could have been lovers or very close martial siblings. Regardless, he knew Mo Ziye was probably really upset right now. Since he could understand her feelings, he didn’t try to start a conversation.

By the time both of them reached to the mountain cave where Yan Liqiang had hidden Mo Ziye and her senior martial brother, the sky had already turned completely bright.

As soon as Mo Ziye recovered her strength, she went to rescue Yan Liqiang. Hence, her senior martial brother’s corpse was still in that mountain cave. Without waiting for Mo Ziye to open her mouth, Yan Liqiang took the initiative to move the corpse out from the mountain cave.

The disciple’s body, which was once in its prime, had completely darkened over just a short night. His complexion, which was as dark as coals showed just how toxic that centipede was. Yan Liqiang felt conflicted when he looked at the corpse. Mo Ziye’s eyes were once again glistening in tears as they silently cascaded down her cheeks.

“Sister Mo... It might be impossible for you to carry your senior martial brother’s body back to the Wise Ruler Sect alone. Should we cremate him here?” Yan Liqiang carefully asked.

Mo Ziye wiped away her tears and shook her head. “No need. We, the disciples of the Wise Ruler Sect, are all veterans of battles. We shall be buried where we die!”

After she finished her sentence, she started digging a pit with her sword in an empty spot near the mountain cave which could get ample sunlight.

Yan Liqiang put Goldie and his Horned Python Bow down and went over to help. With the Black Scale in his hand, he started digging too. In times like this, the sharpness of the Black Scale was very useful. As soon as Yan Liqiang stabbed the shortsword into the ground and pulled on it, a huge chunk of soil was cut open like a cake. With his hands, he was then able to scoop a huge amount of dirt out.

Both of them spent about an hour digging a huge pit about a meter deep. Yan Liqiang then lowered the male disciple’s remains into the pit and buried him. The forest had now gained another new grave without a headstone.

After they were done, Yan Liqiang finally remembered something when he saw Mo Ziye standing blankly before the new grave. He took out the shiny object that resembled a bronze mirror which he found on the old Shatu man, and handed it to Mo Ziye.

“Um... I found this on that old Shatu man back there. You can have it...”

Mo Ziye finally shifted her gaze from the grave to Yan Liqiang’s face. She seemed rather surprised, the sorrowful expression on her face shifted slightly. “Do you have any idea what this thing is?” She asked as gave Yan Liqiang an astonished look.

Yan Liqiang shook his head.”No, I don’t! I’m from a small place and I have never left Pingxi Prefecture. I’ve never seen anything like this before!”

“This is a spirit talisman with the core crystal of a rare beast embedded in it. It’s useless now but you can use it again as long as you can replace its core crystal with that of a rare fire beast. If you were to sell this thing, it can easily fetch you ten thousand taels of gold. After knowing this, do you still want to give it to me?”

The expression on Yan Liqiang’s face remained unchanged. He only gave her a small smile. “It’s just an object that is hardly worth more than my dog. Your senior martial brother sacrificed himself to kill that old Shatu man. Just keep it as a memento or as a spoil of war. At least your senior martial brother didn’t die in vain!”

Mo Ziye stared at Yan Liqiang for a few seconds. After making sure that Yan Liqiang’s words were genuine, she finally reached out and accepted the spirit talisman from him. “Thank you!” She expressed her gratitude to him again.

“What’s a spirit talisman? How come I’ve never seen one before?” Yan Liqiang casually asked.

“It’s an extremely valuable item. All spirit talismans are crafted by a talisman master, so they are very rare to come by. Among the Chinese and other tribes, there are not more than six known talisman masters in this world!”

Yan Liqiang drew a sharp breath. “Just who was that old Shatu man? How did he have something like this on him?”

“You’re saying that you still don’t know who he was after killing him?”

“You may find it unbelievable, but I honestly have no idea who he was. I didn’t know there was someone like him behind those Blackwind Bandits either!” Yan Liqiang smiled wryly. “I merely bumped into him by coincidence!”

“That person was no ordinary man. He was the priest of the Sacred Flame, a religious sect which emerged in the recent decades among the Shatu Alliance. In just a few decades, the Sacred Flame became the official religion of the Shatu Alliance and expanded rapidly, converting every Shatu Alliance aristocrat into a follower...”

“Why would someone like him appear at Lan Province of the Great Han Empire?”

“That’s because someone didn’t want Ye Tiancheng to return to the Imperial Capital alive. As Sun Bingchen’s personal attendant, how could you not know?” Mo Ziye’s voice turned serious. “This person ordered the Blackwind Bandits to come and stop you. Given the Blackwind Bandits’ strength, it wasn’t certain if they were enough to stop you. However, the priests of the Sacred Flame have extraordinary abilities and are able to control living creatures and animals. By allowing this person to move with the Blackwind Bandits, every move you make would not escape their eyes. With that, obliterating all of you would naturally be as easy as turning over a palm!”

“So you and your senior martial brother...”

“This person wanted to obliterate all of you guys. We, the disciples of the Wise Ruler Sect, came to assist Sun Bingchen because we received orders to find that person and intercept him in order to verify some information...”

“So you’re saying... Lord Sun has known about this since the beginning?” Yan Liqiang asked in disbelief.

The question silenced Mo Ziye for a good while, before she finally nodded slowly.

Yan Liqiang’s heart was instantly filled with agony...

Chapter 233: Treatment

Mo Ziye left.

After burying her senior martial brother, Mo Ziye bade farewell to Yan Liqiang and left the forest alone. She told him that she had to rendezvous with a few of her fellow disciples from the Wise Ruler Sect before returning to the sect together.

She and her late senior martial brother made up one of the smaller groups. There were still eight other disciples from the Wise Ruler Sect who were shouldering the same mission in this wilderness. The other eight people were grouped into three smaller groups too. They were either scouting or concealing themselves like hunters somewhere within a radius of a thousand kilometers from their current location.

With the Sacred Flame priest killed, Mo Ziye and her party accomplished the mission that was given to them this time. They had to return to the sect now to make a detailed report to their sect’s elders regarding the operation.

Yan Liqiang left too. He picked Goldie up, collected about ten arrows, and made his way back to the Hui Clan Gathering using the same path he had taken last night.

He didn’t have to rush like he did last night. Yan Liqiang didn’t have to hurry back because he knew Sun Bingchen and the rest wouldn’t be leaving the Hui Clan Gathering today. The bodies of the dead guards still needed to be taken care of, and the people whom Sun Bingchen had deployed to Gan Province to request for reinforcements had not returned yet. The Blackwind Bandits were still covertly watching them on the sidelines. With all these factors, Sun Bingchen would still have to stay at the Hui Clan Gathering for at least another day.

Since Yan Liqiang wasn’t in a hurry, he walked very slowly. Along the way, he had enough time to think and figure things out.

Yan Liqiang didn’t understand the tacit understanding and agreement between Sun Bingchen and the Wise Ruler Sect. Obviously, if Mo Ziye didn’t lie to him, then Sun Bingchen was already clearly aware that there were Blackwind Bandits and a priest from the Shatu Alliance’s Sacred Flame coming after their lives when they left Gan Province.

This was a dangerous game. While Sun Bingchen used himself and his people as decoys against the Blackwind Bandits, the party from the Wise Ruler Sect was searching for the person behind those Blackwind Bandits – the priest from the Sacred Flame of the Shatu Alliance.

Mo Ziye clarified that their objective in searching for that Sacred Flame priest was to ‘verify certain information’.

Naturally, that piece of information must have been extremely important, enough for both Sun Bingchen and Ye Tiancheng to be used as decoys. Therefore, Yan Liqiang could deduce what exactly they wanted to verify.

From Aligujin’s position among the Blackwind Bandits, he could determine that the Blackwind Bandits and the Shatu Seven Tribes were closely affiliated. It might even be possible that the Blackwind Bandits were formed by people from the Shatu Seven Tribes. On the other hand, the Sacred Flame held the power in the Shatu Alliance. In the past, the Shatu Seven Tribes and the Shatu Alliance had always been on hostile terms with each other due to historical reasons. This was also the reason why the Great Han Empire had taken in the Shatu Seven Tribes under her wings in the first place. But now, a priest from the Shatu Alliance’s Sacred Flame was leading the Shatu Seven Tribes’ Blackwind Bandits, and together they wanted to eliminate someone who might upset someone important upon his arrival at the Imperial Capital. What did this mean?

The Shatu Alliance and the Shatu Seven Tribes had begun to merge. Not only that, but they were also colluding with some important figures from within the Great Han Empire’s Imperial Capital. Just thinking about these key points was enough to make one shudder. Perhaps this was the news and information which Sun Bingchen, Mo Ziye, and many other people wanted to verify.

Yan Liqiang knew that someone like Sun Bingchen wasn’t simple, given the fact that he could reach his current position out of the millions of people. Political struggles were always cruel, so it was inevitable that one would have to scheme and pull some tricks. However, Yan Liqiang still couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that Sun Bingchen had led his party on despite knowing the danger that lied ahead of them. If he hadn’t done that, perhaps those guards from yesterday wouldn’t have been sacrificed in the battle without a cause.

Recalling Sun Bingchen’s reminder from yesterday, it seemed as if Sun Bingchen already clearly knew what they were about to face. That was why he said those things to him.

Sun Bingchen bestowed enough benevolence and generosity on him. However, he was almost callous toward the other ordinary guards.

With such conflicted feelings in his heart, Yan Liqiang journeyed back to the Hui Clan Gathering.

By the time he arrived at the Hui Clan Gathering, it was already noon and the sun was high up in the sky. The Blackwind Bandits who wreaked havoc outside the Hui Clan Gathering last night were nowhere in sight. The entrance was tightly shut and the number of patrols on top of the mud wall had significantly increased compared to yesterday.

When Yan Liqiang was still a thousand meters away from reaching the mud wall, the huge door opened. Yan Liqiang then saw Liang Yijie and a few other guards swiftly riding toward him on their rhinodrake steeds.

If Yan Liqiang could see the people on the mud wall, the people up there would have been able to spot him too.

It only took a brief moment for the rhinodrake steeds that rushed out from the Hui Clan Gathering to reach Yan Liqiang.

“Liqiang...!” Liang Yijie was even more worked up than usual when he saw Yan Liqiang. When the speeding rhinodrake horse was more than ten meters away from Yan Liqiang, Liang Yijie immediately halted his mount, jumped off, and quickly strode toward Yan Liqiang. He tightly grabbed Yan Liqiang by his arms and took a good look at him from head to toe. “Are you alright?” he asked with a concerned expression and a voice that was overflowing with emotions.

Yan Liqiang’s clothes were tattered and he had wounds all over him. He looked no different than a soldier who had just returned from the battlefield. Even the shoes he wore were completely ruined, his toes exposed to the air. “Brother Liang! I’m fine!”

Yan Liqiang smiled. Apart from feeling a little physically weak because he hadn’t completely recovered yet and a few minor injuries, Yan Liqiang felt fine.

“About last night...”

Yan Liqiang licked his chapped lips. “Brother Liang, let’s return first and then we’ll talk. I’m starving...!”

“Alright, we’ll go back first. Get on the steed...” Liang Yijie waved and the other guard pulled a rhinodrake steed over.

Yan Liqiang didn’t refuse either. He put Goldie on the saddle first before climbing on and riding back to the Hui Clan Gathering along with Liang Yijie and the other guards.

From the expressions on Liang Yijie and the other guards’ faces, Yan Liqiang could tell that they probably knew what he had done last night. They might not have seen him sneaking out last night, but everyone saw Aligujin who was killed by an arrow, which was then followed by the Blackwind Bandits’ panicked retreat. As long as they gave some thought to it, anyone could probably guess that it was Yan Liqiang’s handiwork after realizing that he was missing.

When Yan Liqiang arrived at the entrance of the Hui Clan Gathering, he discovered many of Sun Bingchen’s guards lined up on either side of the entrance. Everyone was silent, but they were all looking at him with admirable gazes as he rode past them.

The old chief from the Hui Clan Gathering, Lu Chang, and a group of fierce-looking men were also standing on either side of the path. Their eyes widened as they stared at him in amazement.

Yan Liqiang really felt as though he were a lone hero returning home in triumph.

The rhinodrake steed beneath him slowed down a little as soon as it entered the Hui Clan Gathering. A guard standing at the entrance immediately came over. He took the reins of the rhinodrake steed and walked in front to lead Yan Liqiang...

Yan Liqiang never expected to receive such treatment.

Yan Liqiang didn’t make it too far before he heard a bunch of men in the Hui Clan Gathering erupt into exclamations without turning his head around.

“I didn’t expect there to be such a hero by Lord Sun’s side! It only took him and his bow alone to make several hundred Blackwind Bandits piss their pants in terror...!”

Chapter 234: Secret Strengthening Method

“I was hiding amidst the rocks in the mountains just a few hundred meters away from the Blackwind Bandits. They were all wearing the same attire, so it was extremely difficult to differentiate between them. At first, I had no idea who their leader was so I didn’t make any moves against them. Instead, I quietly observed their movements until I discovered that one of them had been subtly giving nodding signals to a Blackwind Bandit. Then the second batch of Blackwind Bandits quickly approached the Hui Clan Gathering. Therefore, I decided to take a chance and shoot an arrow with that person as my target...”

Inside Sun Bingchen’s room at the inn, Yan Liqiang recounted the incident from last night to Sun Bingchen like a hero who had just returned.

Of course, his portrayal of the event had been adequately fabricated, but he still retained the original circumstances of the situation as much as he could without making a small slip. Even Sun Bingchen and Liang Yijie did not find any flaws as they continued listening.

Yan Liqiang did not mention that he was able to recognize Aligujin right away because he wouldn’t have been able to explain his reasoning anyway.

Sun Bingchen subtly nodded his head as he listened to Yan Liqiang speak. Indeed, it would be extremely difficult to make it this far if other people tried to do the same thing. However, with Yan Liqiang’s degree of eyesight and cautiousness, it was perfectly logical and reasonable for him to lock down the Blackwind Bandits’ leader through an imperceptible detail and alacrity. Moreover, this wasn’t the first time that Yan Liqiang had displayed his extraordinary observational skills. Sun Bingchen had already experienced it back when he was in Pingxi City.

After Yan Liqiang was done telling how he had disposed of Aligujin, he then brought up the next part of the story.

Yan Liqiang did not mention his own superb spiritual perception and perceptive ability because he felt that these abilities, along with the other related abilities to his Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing, were his trump cards. In consideration of that, he didn’t want to reveal them out that easily, which was why he only told them that he quietly followed those runaway Blackwind Bandits toward a plain that was several li away from the scene. He lost track of them in the end. Yet after all that, he surprisingly discovered that Goldie had been captured and locked inside a steel cage by those Shatu people. He followed them to a grassland in the mountain forest before discovering strange Shatu troops in the area.

The event that followed was the beginning of the sudden assault on the Sacred Flame’s priest by Mo Ziye and her senior martial brother from the Wise Ruler Sect. Yan Liqiang told Sun Bingchen and Liang Yijie exactly everything had happened, just omitting the conversation he had with Mo Ziye.

Due to the relationship between Sun Bingchen and the Wise Ruler Sect, Sun Bingchen would know about this matter sooner or later, thus Yan Liqiang did not feel the need to hide this from him. Moreover, Yan Liqiang believed that Mo Ziye would not disclose the conversation between the two of them even if she returned to the Wise Ruler Sect. Because of this, he decided not to reveal that certain fact. This was more like a tacit agreement between both parties.

Sun Bingchen and Liang Yijie did not expect that Yan Liqiang would still encounter such a thing. Since the recount was so thrilling, both of them continued to listen intently to Yan Liqiang. As Liang Yijie listened to the story, his eyes sparkled while Sun Bingchen’s eyebrows were raised.

“The ending is just like that. After I managed to help the female disciple named Mo Ziye from the Wise Ruler Sect by burying her senior martial brother, she said she was going to join the other senior and junior martial brothers at the Wise Ruler Sect. Meanwhile, I took Goldie who was injured and came back here...”

After Yan Liqiang was done talking, he picked up the teacup in front of him on the table and drank every ounce of water in one shot.

Sun Bingchen caressed his beard and softly muttered something before he stood up to search for the parcel inside the room for a stainless jade bottle. He then took out it out and handed it over to Yan Liqiang. “This Earthworm Herbal Cream is an imperial healing medication that His Majesty gave me before I left the Imperial Capital. It works miraculously on various kinds of internal and external injuries. You have worked hard for the night, Liqiang. Go have a rest first and take care of the wounds on your body...”

“Sir, I have a feeling that the collusion between the Shatu Alliance’s Sacred Flame and the Blackwind Bandits isn’t as simple as it seems...” Yan Liqiang tried to inquire about the matter.

“I know, it is indeed complex!” Sun Bingchen nodded his head. His expression was calm as he continued, “However, the Blackwind Bandits will be taking a breather for a little while after having gone through this fight. We still have to stay in the Hui Clan Gathering for two days to recover. You will do the same too, Liqiang. Remember, if you encounter such a thing next time, don’t take such risks...”

When Yan Liqiang saw Sun Bingchen’s reluctance to provide an explanation, he could only let out a helpless sigh in his heart before he took the bottle of imperial healing medicine that Sun Bingchen had given to him and leave the room with complicated feelings...

Liang Yijie followed him out of Sun Bingchen’s room and gave a meaningful pat on Yan Liqiang’s shoulder, “Take care of your recuperation. With your capabilities, you will definitely have the chance to shine once we get back to the Imperial Capital!”

Yan Liqiang replied with a sincere smile. “As long as we reach the Imperial Capital safe and sound, I’m satisfied with just seeing the world with Lord Sun!”

“I have already asked the inn to make something for you to eat. Eat first and then get some good rest. You don’t have to worry about anything for these two days. I believe the Blackwind Bandits will not have the guts to come again. If anything happens, just let the other guards in the troops handle it!”

“Alright!”

......

After parting ways with Liang Yijie, Yan Liqiang went straight to the dining area of the inn. Under the accommodating care of a few waiters at the inn, he was able to enjoy a warm meal.

There wasn’t a large variety of dishes. They had mutton, mutton soup, cooked rice, and a bit of salted vegetables.

Yan Liqiang had used up almost all of his physical strength last night, causing his body to become slightly weak. It was only when he saw these dishes that his entire body began to crave food. Without hesitating, he quickly cleared the dishes on the table all by himself.

Yan Liqiang only finally felt rather full after having four jin of mutton, two jin of rice, and a big pot of mutton soup all by himself.

The waiters at the inn didn’t expect that Yan Liqiang could eat this much food. Altogether, they served the dishes to Yan Liqiang twice.

After he was done with his food, Yan Liqiang sensed that his body had finally recovered a little. He ordered the clerk to bring two pails of hot water to his room before taking one jin of mutton with him. He then proceeded to the firewood pile near the kitchen in the courtyard to find two suitable pieces of firewood and returned to his room.

......

Goldie, whose leg was broken, lay quietly inside Yan Liqiang’s room, looking somewhat lethargic. Yan Liqiang brought some mutton for Goldie to eat first before taking Goldie into his arms and removing the cloth wrapped around its broken leg. After he was able to find a small knife, he meticulously shaved the fur surrounding the broken leg. He took out the bottle of imperial-made Earthworm Herbal Cream that Sun Bingchen had given to him and took a whiff of it. Carefully, he applied a layer of cream on Goldie’s broken leg and used a clean cloth to wrap it up again. He then used the small knife to trim two pieces of firewood, making them into two small splints that were suitable for Goldie’s leg. After he attentively bandaged up Goldie’s broken leg, he clapped his hands together and let out a sigh of relief.

“How do you feel now? Is it any better...”

Goldie whimpered for a while and passionately licked Yan Liqiang’s hand.

“You shouldn’t go anywhere or do anything for these two days. Let’s wait until you’ve healed up...”

Goldie actually gave him a nod, as if it understood what Liqiang was saying to it.

Just then, there was a sound at Yan Liqiang’s door. The clerk of the inn shouted from outside, “Dear patron, the hot water you’ve requested is here...”

Yan Liqiang rubbed Goldie’s head and placed him on the ground. He then went over to open the door, allowing the clerk to bring in the two buckets of hot water into his room. After closing the door, he took off his clothes and stood inside his room to scrub himself.

In a place like the Hui Clan Gathering, this would essentially be considered as taking a bath.

After he was done, he changed into a set of clean clothes and footwear. Even though the wounds on his body had yet to recover, Yan Liqiang finally felt revitalized.

It was now the afternoon, probably a little before one o’clock. Everyone in Sun Bingchen’s troop knew that Yan Liqiang had worked hard last night and required rest, so they didn’t bother him. The inn was fairly quiet as well.

Yan Liqiang didn’t have anything to do either. He decided to take an afternoon nap in his room so that he could regain his strength.

After two hours, Yan Liqiang got up and worked out. Afterward, he began the cultivation of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing.

Everything was as what Yan Liqiang had speculated.

During yesterday’s midnight, he was so exhausted that he felt like his legs were going to be crippled. He also felt like his lungs would burst at any moment and that he was about to vomit blood. When he began the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing and entered his cultivation state, Yan Liqiang felt the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth entering his body and splitting into two directions. One went through the muscles and nerves in both of his legs, and the other went directly into his lungs...

His legs, which were somewhat limp and sore, felt comfortable again after receiving the nourishment of the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth. It was as if he had just undergone a perfect foot massage. His lungs were affected in the same way as well. The remnants of fatigue and discomfort from before vanished within just a moment of time. Yan Liqiang was able to gradually feel a new sense of strength emerging from both of his legs. His lungs felt like they had expanded as well...

Yan Liqiang could not remember how many times he had performed Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing. In any case, by the time he stopped and opened his eyes, the daylight that previously poured in through the window from outside had faded. Unknowingly, half a day had already passed by.

Yan Liqiang’s eyes shone when he felt the newfound strength in his legs and his breathing becoming easier. He felt slightly excited at this new sensation. It was only at this time that Yan Liqiang could confirm that the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing was more effective after cultivating it again when his body was completely exhausted. Overall, the spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth allowed his body to become more powerful...

That extraordinarily terrifying strength...

That extra quick speed and reaction time...

As long as he was able to endure the pain, this rare and unexpected thing that ordinary people would have a hard time imagining or obtaining through their cultivation was already beckoning itself to Yan Liqiang.

On that note, Yan Liqiang was inspired by an idea that suddenly struck his heart...

Since the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth could strengthen specific parts and organs of the body that were exhausted through the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing, was it possible to enhance his vision after exhausting it as well?

If his vision became even more powerful, then...

Yan Liqiang suddenly jumped up because he had already thought of a way to test it out...

Chapter 235: Training

The fiery heat blowing from the blazing flames continued to rise up high into the air in the dark. The sparks from the flames were blowing in all directions like tiny fireflies.

Yan Liqiang stood outside the piles of rising flames like the rest of the guards and watched them burn. He watched the sparks dance about in the air and the pile of corpses slowly being incinerated inside the sea of flames.

Like the others around him, Yan Liqiang’s face was completely cast with the red lights from the flames. Even though the piles of flames were ignited at the mountain slope behind the Hui Clan Gathering, the flames had been ignited inside Yan Liqiang’s heart as well.

The twenty-six piles of rising flames were the last bit of heat that Sun Bingchen’s twenty-six guards had left behind in this world after they were killed in battle.

The silence felt slightly stifling. Everyone, including Sun Bingchen and Liang Yijie, solemnly stood around the fire piles. In addition, Yan Liqiang could still faintly hear the uncontrollable sobs.

The one who was crying was a young guard who had just turned twenty years old, not much older than Yan Liqiang. The reason why he cried was because his older brother was one of the twenty-six corpses in the burning flame.

The young guard was named Hu Haihe. He and his older brother hailed from the Imperial Capital. Since one of their uncles worked in the Imperial Cavalry Unit, his older brother was placed in the same unit because of his relationship with his uncle during his conscription. The reason for that was the Imperial Cavalry Unit was treated slightly better than the other armies that were stationed in the Imperial Capital. Afterward, when Hu Haihe joined the army, he also joined the Imperial Cavalry Unit because of his uncle as well. On top of that, he was stationed together with his older brother so that these two brothers would be able to look out for each other.

With Sun Bingchen as the Patrol Inspector this time, he and his brother were both transferred from their squad to follow Sun Bingchen to the northwest region.

In the battle two days ago, for the sake of protecting him, his older brother engaged in combat with the Blackwind Bandits on the battlefield. He was shot through the neck by an arrow, dying on the spot.

Yan Liqiang wasn’t aware that there was a pair of brothers among Sun Bingchen’s troops. It wasn’t until yesterday that he had learned of this information after listening to the other guards talking about it.

The brothers had bid their farewell on a battlefield. This could be considered a human tragedy too...

The flickering flame wavered inside Yan Liqiang’s eyes. The corpses burning in the hot flames incited a change to those who would not feel any pleasure from seeing them.

As Yan Liqiang watched everything unfolding in front of him, he was suddenly reminded of the celestial burial in Tibet that he and his good friends had witnessed in his previous life without knowing the reason why. At that time, he didn’t have the courage to watch the entire celestial burial process to the end. Just when that person appeared on the burial stage, followed by a large group of vultures in the sky, Yan Liqiang couldn’t help but run away since he knew what was going to happen next. Right now, as he watched the burning corpses expanding and decomposing from the heat of the flames, he felt calm instead. In his heart, a voice was telling him that if he had died in the battle two days ago, his body would have become ugly and disgusting within the flames. In the end, he would be nothing more than charred ashes. He could make his family sad and his enemies happy. Because of that, he decided that he would never allow himself to become the combustion of decaying carbohydrates no matter what.

All dangers were unpredictable. Death could also come and go without any given notice. The people you trusted and relied on might possibly lead you to the snare of death. Because of that, one would only require a single method if they wished to live, and that was to become stronger and stronger.

Yan Liqiang was calm on the outside. However, he started to tightly clench one of his fists inside his sleeves.

......

The fire continued to burn for two hours before it was finally extinguished and had become residual smoke. It was then that Yan Liqiang and the other guards gathered the leftover bone ashes into each of the clay pots labeled with names, which they had collected from the Hui Clan Gathering. The rest of the ashes and bones that had not been completely burned were buried instead without erecting a gravestone.

The lively twenty-six guards whom they were riding together on their rhinodrake steeds just a few days ago had now become a pile of ashes placed inside clay pots that their fellow brothers were holding.

In order to give some comfort to the remaining breathing guards with sullen faces, Sun Bingchen said, “When we return to the Imperial Capital, I will explain to His Majesty and consider the guards who died in battle this time as martyrs who sacrificed their lives to their country. Their compensation will be doubled too. Those with sons or brothers will be given preferential treatment when joining the army or will assume duties in the bureaucracy!”

“Thank you, sir!” Everyone expressed their gratitude toward Sun Bingchen together.

“Rest well tonight, everyone. Let’s brace ourselves for tomorrow and continue our journey ahead...” Liang Yijie added as he stood at the side.

“Understood!”

......

After the ceremony had concluded, Yan Liqiang and the others returned to the inn once more.

No one was in the mood to enjoy anything. With the exception of a few night watch guards, almost everyone returned to their own rooms after they went back to the inn. Yan Liqiang did the same.

Goldie wagged its tail when it saw Yan Liqiang entering his room before walking toward him inch by inch.

Yan Liqiang rubbed Goldie’s head. After checking the wound on its leg again, he let Goldie lie down at the side.

The effect of the imperial Earthworm Herbal Cream that Sun Bingchen had given him was indeed exceptional. In just one day, Yan Liqiang could feel that Goldie had already recovered substantially. The leg, which couldn’t move at all at first, was now being given an attempt to try to walk again. Even though Goldie was still slightly limping, it looked like it was making good progression. Perhaps in no time, the leg would be able to recover completely.

After experiencing the ordeal of a life and death situation this time, Yan Liqiang realized that having a dog like Goldie by his side was sometimes more effective than a human being. Thus, taking care of Goldie had become Yan Liqiang’s obligation and responsibility.

Yan Liqiang sat down silently when he returned to his room. After he had calmed his somewhat wavering emotions, he shut all the windows and doors of his room before drawing the windproof curtains on the windows. After that, he took out an incense stick and lit it up with the oil lamp inside the room, which he then placed inside an incense burner. Yan Liqiang placed the incense burner on the floor before blowing out the oil lamp fire.

When Yan Liqiang extinguished the oil lamp, the entire room quickly became pitch black, to the point that he wasn’t able to see his fingers even if he extended his hand. The whole room was illuminated by the single incense stick that Yan Liqiang had lit. A single red light was ignited amidst the darkness.

Yan Liqiang lay down on the floor and lifted up his head, focusing his gaze three meters away from him on the burning red light of the incense stick in the darkness.

Yan Liqiang’s posture on the ground was quite unique. His posture was as if he was a tiger, or perhaps a bit like planking in his previous life. His toes were planted on the ground and his entire body was positioned like a bridge, forming a straight line. Meanwhile, the strength that supported his upper body, stemmed only from his thumbs and index fingers on both hands. Not only that, Yan Liqiang’s eyes were wide and round as he stared, without blinking, at the red light on the tip of the incense stick just a few meters away from him. His entire attention was solely focused on the only light in the darkness.

Blinking was an act of instinct to relieve the eye fatigue. However, Yan Liqiang purposely controlled his eyes and prevented himself from blinking by staring closely at the red light.

In just a short while, Yan Liqiang’s eyes began to ache. Despite that, Yan Liqiang continued to prevent himself from blinking while staring at the red light. On top of that, the fingers that were supporting Yan Liqiang’s upper body began to ache and tremble as well. Even with all that pain, Yan Liqiang gritted his teeth and continued to hold on...

After a while, Yan Liqiang’s eyes were filled with tears which began to flow out due to him not blinking even once. Meanwhile, droplets of sweat began to endlessly roll down from his forehead...

This was the quickest method that Yan Liqiang had thought of within these past two days in order to strengthen his body and eyes to the state of extreme exhaustion, especially his eyes. This state was definitely a test toward his vision and eyesight.

The incense burned for almost an hour. When the incense had completely burned out, Yan Liqiang’s eyes were already completely red and stinging. They were slightly swollen too. Within the time of almost one hour under his control, Yan Liqiang couldn’t help but blink only four times. Meanwhile, two of his fingers felt like they were about to break as they trembled. His entire body was completely drenched in sweat.

Yan Liqiang got up from the ground, closed his eyes, and slowed down his breathing. After resting for a while, he began performing the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing.

Sure enough, the result was the same as yesterday. The Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth that entered his body began to flood toward his eyes, causing them to become cool and translucent in an instant. The other Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth, however, went toward his arms and began to nourish and strengthen the two fingers that had just endured a great test...

Chapter 236: Harvest

The next morning, when dawn had just arrived, Sun Bingchen and his men had already packed their belongings and were preparing to leave the Hui Clan Gathering.

The urns that contained the ashes of the twenty-six corpses from last night were stored in twenty-six leather baggage which was cushioned with hay on the inside as well. They hung on the saddles of each guard’s steed. Even if the journey was long and arduous, these urns would not break.

Even though some were wounded previously and did not manage to recover completely after two days of reconditioning, their mobility would essentially not be affected.

However, all of them could not be as relaxed as they were when they had left Gan Province as soon as they left the Hui Clan Gathering. Everyone made various kinds of preparations, ranging from sharpening their swords to feeding their steeds with enough fodder. They even carried a sufficient amount of dry provisions and water with them too. Most of the guards had also sought help from the blacksmiths at the blacksmith workshop in the Hui Clan Gathering to forge mirror armor plates that they could wear underneath their clothes.

Yan Liqiang also made some preparations during these two days as well.

He would still carry the Horned Python Bow with him, which was placed behind the saddle of his rhinodrake steed. At the same time, he had also upgraded his quiver. Normal quivers could only be filled with a total of thirty-six arrows. One quiver would be enough for a person to bring because of the physical limitation imposed during a battle. There weren’t many who were capable of shooting out thirty-six consecutive arrows, even if they were considered to be an exceptional archer. However, in Yan Liqiang’s case, this would not be a problem. Because of this, he would not only carry one quiver, but three quivers. In total, he would be carrying a total of 108 arrows with him.

Besides the quiver, Yan Liqiang even hung an ashwood spear and a shield on the saddle. It seemed that the bow and spear together made a complete set.

The atmosphere when leaving the Hui Clan Gathering was no picnic. Even so, the guards were slightly relieved when they saw three quivers hanging on Yan Liqiang’s saddle. Oddly enough, that gave them a sense of security, as if their minds were put to ease. Even if the Blackwind Bandits were to come again, there would be nothing to fear. With just with a draw of his bow, he could give everyone a confidence boost, because as long as Yan Liqiang was here, he could kill the Blackwind Bandits like he was playing around.

The exploits of Yan Liqiang’s first encounter with the Blackwind Bandits that day had been quietly circulating amongst the guards for the past two days. Some said that Yan Liqiang had slain more than a hundred Blackwind Bandits all by himself in that battle, while some even said that he had killed about eighty to ninety people in total. Regardless of the number, this terrifying figure was enough to make people be in awe and make comrades feel reassured.

When Yan Liqiang and the others were leaving, Chief Chang Lu of the Hui Clan Gathering took the initiative and personally escorted them to the doors of the mud wall. During these few days, the arrival of Yan Liqiang and the other men had generated a lot of income for the Hui Clan Gathering as they not only ate, drank, and slept in the inn, but also bought a lot of things for their provisions. Before they departed, Liang Yijie left Chang Lu five rhinodrake steeds that he had obtained from the Blackwind Bandits as the entire expense for Sun Bingchen’s men at the inn for the past two days. This caused Chang Lu to smile until his eyes were obscured, like a coyote with narrowed eyes.

In places like Lan Province and Gan Province, there was no need to worry about selling rhinodrake steeds because the northwestern provinces were originally teeming with them. Moreover, these were the finest rhinodrake steeds in the Great Han Empire, so selling them was of no concern. Countless horse dealers would wander to various parts of the northwestern provinces to collect steeds each year. In fact, the rhinodrake steeds that the Blackwind Bandits had left behind were of good quality and could be immediately used as military steeds. The five rhinodrake steeds that Liang Yijie gave him could generate revenue several times more than the expenses they spent at the inn, even if he casually sold them off. It was no surprise that Chang Lu was happy. Even if he decided not to sell them, the steeds would also be extremely useful by keeping them for his own use.

“Travel safe and good luck, everyone. Come back when you pass by next time...”

Yan Liqiang was already out from the Hui Clan Gathering, yet he could hear the sound of overly polite yet comical farewells coming from the Hui Clan Gathering market town.

Yan Liqiang lightly rubbed Goldie’s head who was also laying down on the saddle. On the other hand, Snowstorm Cloud was making loud noises while walking and shaking its neck, as if extremely reluctant to carry the dog on its back. Yan Liqiang had to use a lot of effort just to strap the injured Goldie onto the saddle just now. This rhinodrake steed had its own dignity too. Snowstorm Cloud had allowed Yan Liqiang to ride on its back, but when Yan Liqiang tried to subtly strap Goldie on its back, the rhinodrake steed displayed extreme resistance, unwilling to cooperate with him. But thanks to Yan Liqiang’s knowledge and skill in tending to a rhinodrake steed, he was able to appease Snowstorm Cloud after expending a lot of effort to do so.

Yan Liqiang looked at Ye Tiancheng who was currently on horseback in the middle of the formation. Several guards around him were watching him closely too. Ever since the encounter with the Blackwind Bandits, Ye Tiancheng had been strangely quiet for the past two days. He didn’t utter a single word the entire day and did whatever he was told to do without making a fuss. Ye Tiancheng lowered his head, not looking right or left, as he rode on the steed. His behavior was reassuring to the others.

In spite of that, Yan Liqiang knew that Ye Tiancheng clearly had something on his mind, something that was a definite contrast to calm demeanor he was showing on the outside. However, he didn’t have the slightest clue as to what Ye Tiancheng was planning to do. All he could do now was to proceed with caution.

The sky today was clearly much more serene than the previous days. Even though the chills from the end of winter still remained in the air, it was difficult to stop the smell of spring from emerging.

While breathing in the fresh air of the wilderness, Yan Liqiang’s thoughts started becoming lively as well. He thought about the changes he saw during his entry to the Heavenly Shrine last night. The two days of battle had caused the abrupt increase of ‘usable spirit points’ on the ‘toy capsule machine’ with the capability to create life to 178. At the same time, the ‘usable vitality points’ and ‘usable intelligence points’ had also broken through to 20,000...

In Yan Liqiang’s eyes, the Blackwind Bandits that had flocked in were considered as raw materials for his toy capsule machine.

However, Yan Liqiang could hardly share this secret harvest with anyone, and he could only keep it inside his heart. Meanwhile, it would also prove to be somewhat difficult for Yan Liqiang if he wished to activate one capsule with his vital Qi based on his current internal cultivation. In spite of that, Yan Liqiang had a feeling that the things accumulated in the toy capsule machine at the Heavenly Shrine would be put to great use sooner or later. He would only have to look at Goldie to come to that conclusion. As a dog, it was able to bring so much help to Yan Liqiang. If the toy capsule machine could create other animals like the eagle that the late Sacred Flame priest controlled, wouldn’t that also mean that he would have clairvoyance as an ability? And perhaps he could make the toy capsule machine start creating humans...

When that thought flashed through Yan Liqiang’s mind, his heart violently palpitated, which he managed to suppress afterward...

He had been through fire and water in reality during these past few days while Yan Liqiang’s life at the Divine Sword Sect in the Heavenly Realm was considerably more peaceful. Besides running simple errands of a storekeeper, Yan Liqiang would just spend his time cultivating or reading books.

He wasn’t able to bring back the cultivation realm and treasures from that world. However, the knowledge and experiences he had acquired from that world was forever his as long as he could grasp them well. No one would be able to take them away from him either.

The sound of a steed galloping rang in his ear. Yan Liqiang did not have to turn around to know that it was Liang Yijie who was approaching him.

Sun Bingchen was rarely directly concerned about the troops’ errands on most days. Generally, Liang Yijie would be responsible for handling the matters concerning all the troops. This man was worthy to be called the spine and backbone of the entire party.

“The ones who went to Gan Province to seek reinforcements aren’t back yet...” Liang Yijie said as he stared toward the direction of Gan Province. It sounded as if he was muttering to himself, but Yan Liqiang knew that Liang Yijie was actually talking to him.

“Lei Sitong never wanted Ye Tiancheng to make it out alive in the beginning. He knew we were flanked by the Blackwind Bandits, so there’s no way that the troops under him would recklessly come to aid us. Even if the guards that Lord Sun dispatched were able to find the troops who had escorted us before, the commander of those troops will find a random excuse. He’d probably say that he needed further instructions from Lei Sitong, or that they didn’t bring enough supplies, or so forth in order to easily delay their movements for ten days or half a month!” Yan Liqiang lightly chuckled helplessly and continued, “The reinforcements from Gan Province will never come...”

Sun Bingchen also knew that the reinforcements from Gan Province would never come. Dispatching his men to Gan Province to seek aid was just a facade to calm all the guards down. If someone said that Yan Liqiang did not understand all of this before, then he would have surely understood it by now after recuperating for two days.

“This is why we can only rely on ourselves for everything!” With a slight crease on his forehead and a frown on his face, Liang Yijie continued, “The Blackwind Bandits might not retreat that easily...”

Yan Liqiang’s eyes shone brilliantly as he said, “Brother Liang, have you heard of the phrase, ‘the fighting spirit is awakened by the first roll of drums, but depleted by the second, and exhausted by the third’? The Blackwind Bandits undoubtedly won’t retreat just like that. However, they suffered two heavy casualties ever since we encountered them in the first place. This was enough to dispirit them. I believe they are currently struggling to rise up again, otherwise, Lord Sun wouldn’t have allowed us to venture out from the Hui Clan Gathering before the reinforcements from Gan Province even arrived. I do have a plan in mind and I want to discuss with Brother Liang for a bit...”

“Tell me, what do you have in mind?” Liang Yijie quickly revealed an interested expression on his face when he asked the question.

Yan Liqiang licked his lips and explained, “Actually, we don’t have to wait for the Blackwind Bandits to come and respond to their attacks. We can take the initiative and use our opponent’s methods for a change. We can also set up a trap for the Blackwind Bandits to fall into it on their own accord, giving them a severe punishment...”

“What kind of trap?”

“As long as we find a suitable terrain, we can directly ambush them. Even if the number of Blackwind Bandits exceeds ours by several fold, we don’t need to be afraid...” Yan Liqiang said as he gestured with his hand to reiterate his plan to Liang Yijie.

Liang Yijie’s eyes glistened as he listened to the plan and found it promising. After muttering for a while, he faced Yan Liqiang and gave him a nod. “Liqiang, hold on for a second. I will discuss this with Lord Sun and see what he thinks of this.”

“Alright!”

Liang Yijie kicked the stirrup slightly and mounted on his rhinodrake steed before running straight toward Sun Bingchen who was standing in front of the troops.

Yan Liqiang watched Liang Yijie as he steered his steed toward Sun Bingchen and talked to him with his side facing Yan Liqiang. Afterward, Sun Bingchen turned his head around and glanced at Yan Liqiang who was standing at the back of the troops before muttering something for a while and giving a subtle nod...

Chapter 237: Ambush

Even though Yan Liqiang and the other guards had stayed at the Hui Clan Gathering for the past two days, Liang Yijie never stopped thinking about the Blackwind Bandits even once.

Ever since that night when the Blackwind Bandits retreated, despite the fact that Liang Yijie never managed to follow them to ascertain their concrete foothold and location, he would dispatch guards every day to keep an eye out on the passable roads near the Hui Clan Gathering. It was just so that they could pay close attention on whether the Blackwind Bandits would make a cunning way around to them and set up a surprise ambush.

In reality, after the Blackwind Bandits retreated, they never showed any signs of going around the Hui Clan Gathering to continue their ambush again.

That priest from the Shatu Alliance’s Sacred Flame was dead. Aligujin was also dead. The Blackwind Bandits had suffered consecutive losses during their operations twice, thus resulting in heavy casualties. In this situation, the leaderless Blackwind Bandits’ ability to act would undoubtedly be greatly reduced. Perhaps their internal forces were already in disorder, which led to a lot of disputes.

Despite the fact that the Blackwind Bandits did not show up after Yan Liqiang and the others had left the Hui Clan Gathering, he was certain of one thing. The large troop of the Blackwind Bandits would definitely appear behind Sun Bingchen’s troops.

The next objective for Yan Liqiang and the others after leaving the Hui Clan Gathering was to reach Fengming City of Lan Province.

The linear distance between Fengming City and the Hui Clan Gathering was only about four hundred li away. Even though this distance did not seem to be long on a map, in reality, they would need to tramp over mountains and go through ravines, facing a tough journey in the wild. Even with their rhinodrake steeds, it would still take them three days in the wild just to reach Fengming City.

Yan Liqiang and the others had to go through an extremely rough path. The road ahead was vast, yet almost deprived of people as the wilderness surrounded them everywhere. Meanwhile, this road was also considered to be a territory where the Blackwind Bandits were allowed to wreak havoc. Once Yan Liqiang and the others passed Fengming City and forged east, the population would be greater and the area would be more bustling with cities, one after another. Garrisons were everywhere in the Great Han Empire and in these places, the Blackwind Bandits would not dare to enter. Because of this, if the Blackwind Bandits weren’t content and wished to go after Yan Liqiang and the other men, then it would only be possible for them to continue their pursuit on the road from the Hui Clan Gathering to Fengming City.

Since this point was made apparent, the trap that Yan Liqiang and others had to set up would obviously be on this road.

A place like this could be quickly found. That evening, when Yan Liqiang and the others left Hui Clan Gathering, a valley appeared in their view. When they were passing through the valley, Yan Liqiang continuously observed the ridges on both sides.

This valley didn’t seem as dangerous as Wolf Fang Valley. Even so, the valley in question also posed as a strategic pass for this very road. The valley’s gorge was less than a hundred meters at its widest and about twenty or thirty meters at its narrowest. There were rocks and overgrown weeds inside the gorge as well. On the other hand, the sides of the valley were filled with ridges of uneven heights. The ridges were completely bare too as they only had rocks, nothing else. The lowest point of the area was about five or six meters in height, whereas the highest point was about a hundred meters tall. One would definitely not be able to rush upwards while riding on a rhinodrake steed. Most people would find it difficult to climb upward bare-handed in a place like this.

As Yan Liqiang rode the rhinodrake steed toward the gorge, he glanced around for a while before squeezing his feet against his steed, rushing toward the middle of the troops to be side-by-side with Liang Yijie. Both of them exchanged glances while riding on their steeds. They already knew what the other had in mind.

“Brother Liang, let’s set up here. We will choose an area around here. If the Blackwind Bandits dare to pursue us, we will teach them a hard lesson and punish them!” Yan Liqiang said to Liang Yijie.

Liang Yijie nodded, “Let’s ask for Lord Sun’s opinion!”

“Alright!”

Both of them then approached Sun Bingchen on their rhinodrake steeds.

Sun Bingchen was also observing the terrain and landform of this area. When he saw Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie approaching on their steeds, he already knew what they wanted to ask him. Therefore Sun Bingchen immediately nodded his head before they could even open their mouths. “If we set up an ambush here, we will definitely have the topographical advantage. Just do whatever you want to do. We will find somewhere outside of the gorge to set up our camp. Prepare yourselves!”

Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie nodded back in response.

Perhaps Yan Liqiang did not realize it himself, but Sun Bingchen’s dependence of him had gradually risen to the level comparable to that of Liang Yijie.

Since it was decided that they would set up an ambush in this area, the remaining matters were simple. There was only one thing to do, and that was to find a suitable place in this gorge to ambush their enemies. The conditions for choosing the ambush location were also simple. The first requirement was to find higher ground so that they could make use of the topological advantage to unleash maximum damage onto the pursuing Blackwind Bandits from an elevation. The second was that if the odds went against them, they could conveniently and immediately retreat. The Blackwind Bandits would not be able to catch up to them at once.

With these two requirements, Yan Liqiang and the others did not have to use too much effort to find a suitable ambush location in this valley.

The altitude from the ground of the valley was about eighty meters tall. If a human wished to scale the steep mountain walls on either of the two sides, it would essentially be an impossible feat even for a skilled climber, let alone for those riding on steeds. From Yan Liqiang’s perspective, if he wanted to climb over without relying on any tools, it would be very hard to do so.

The valley path had started winding and it was narrow. The bends and curves were about four to five li long. It would be a bit cramped if eight steeds were to walk on the pathway together. If they wanted to climb up the mountain ridges on the sides, they could only take a detour from the meandering valley through the back of the ridges before they could climb over.

Yan Liqiang and the others had set up their overnight camp on a hillside outside of the valley. After they were done setting up the tent, the remaining ten guards and ten wounded soldiers started a fire for cooking. Meanwhile, the other seven to ten people, including Sun Bingchen and Ye Tiancheng, got on their steeds once more and did a full circle toward the back of the ridges before leaving their steeds at the gully outside of the gorge. A few guards were assigned to look after the steeds while the others brought their equipment and climbed up the ridges. Everyone prepared themselves for the ambush and waited for the Blackwind Bandits to arrive.

Liang Yijie initially wanted Sun Bingchen to stay at the camp and not involve himself in the dangerous battle. However, Liang Yijie’s wish was overruled as Sun Bingchen said that he wanted to personally come and observe the situation.

Although Sun Bingchen decided to go, he naturally felt uneasy about leaving Ye Tiancheng at the camp. He feared that a minor accident might happen if he left him there, so he brought Ye Tiancheng along with him as it would be convenient to watch over him as well.

After everything had been set up, a group of them went to the top of the mountain ridge to find a sheltered area to rest. Covering their heads while eating dry rations, they weren’t allowed to light up fire or make loud noises. Every movement of theirs had to follow the orders that were given. Each one of them held their breaths, itching to take some action as they waited for the Blackwind Bandits to arrive.

The sky gradually became dark, yet the Blackwind Bandits were nowhere to be found. Yan Liqiang sat with his back against a rock as he took out his Horned Python Bow to tend to his bowstring.

The bowstring was made with the tendon of the Horned Python. Due to the nature of the bowstring, it was easy to take care of. One would only need to gently wipe the bowstring with a Horned Python’s meat and fat in order to maintain its tautness and buoyancy. In addition, one would not have to be afraid of the bowstring deteriorating even if it was exposed to water vapor.

Before he knew it, a young guard had managed to quietly shift to Yan Liqiang’s side. He sat beside him against the same rock. The guard asked Yan Liqiang a question with a voice filled with unconcealed and deep-seated hatred. “Guard Yan, tell me... will those Blackwind Bandits come?”

Yan Liqiang moved his gaze from the bowstring of his Horned Python Bow toward the inquisitive guard who had appeared in front of him. This guard was none other than Hu Haihe himself.

Chapter 238: Coming

Hu Haihe was a few years older than Yan Liqiang. He had fuzz growing around his lips, whereas Yan Liqiang had a clean face instead. However, when talking to Yan Liqiang, his tone and expressions were as if he was talking to a respectable elder.

Yan Liqiang looked at the young guard, and objectively speaking, this guard named Hu Haihe was quite handsome-looking. The combination of his nose and eyes reminded Yan Liqiang of Hu Ge who once starred in ‘Chinese Paladin’. Coincidentally, Hu Haihe also had the same surname, ‘Hu’. Yan Liqiang had already noticed that there was a handsome guy with the surname Hu amongst Sun Bingchen’s guards before, yet he never interacted with him. It wasn’t until something happened to Hu Haihe’s older brother that Yan Liqiang finally knew that Hu Haihe’s older brother was actually in their party as well.

If this were his previous life, Hu Haihe would have definitely attracted a lot of women if he became an actor according to his qualifications. However, in this world, where martial prowess was more preferred than facial appearance, he could only accept his fate and become a regular personnel of the Imperial Capital’s Imperial Cavalry Unit in the Great Han Empire. Even so, he was able to become one due to his connection with his relatives.

The hatred in Hu Haihe’s eyes was burning like two raging balls of wisps. Yan Liqiang knew right away what Hu Haihe was thinking with just a glance at his face.

“I don’t know if the Blackwind Bandits will ever come!” Yan Liqiang replied calmly.

Yan Liqiang’s reply had apparently stunned Hu Haihe because he didn’t expect to hear such an answer from Yan Liqiang’s mouth. He then asked again, “Guard Yan... doesn’t know either?”

“I’m not a celestial being, so how can I possibly know that? We are now kind of at war with the Blackwind Bandits and the situation is rapidly changing, so there are many possibilities as well as unexpected surprises. The Blackwind Bandits do not heed to my orders either. How can I be sure that they will come for certain? However, we deliberately did not clear the stools that the rhinodrake steeds left behind along the way. If the Blackwind Bandits are truly restless, they might follow our trails and pursue us all the way!”

“I understand now!” Hu Haihe lowered his head and muttered to himself. Afterward, he lifted his head again and looked at Yan Liqiang, hesitating to speak his mind.

Yan Liqiang felt sympathetic toward Hu Haihe, so he spoke with a gentler tone, “If Brother Hu needs my help, just say the word!”

“Well... C-Can I ask you to be my mentor?” Hu Haihe finally said what he wanted to say. His eyes gleamed as he gazed at Yan Liqiang.

These words suddenly put Yan Liqiang in an unexpected situation. He was very surprised at the question and looked at Hu Haihe before turning his gaze toward the other guards surrounding them. He realized that those guards were also looking in their direction with keen eyes, as if they already knew what Hu Haihe wanted to do.

Yan Liqiang shot a question back to Hu Haihe. “What do you wish to learn from me?”

“The art of archery!” Hu Haihe’s tone suddenly turned into a determined one. He clenched his fists tightly as he continued, “I want to avenge my older brother and exterminate these Blackwind Bandits and Shatu scums in the future...”

Yan Liqiang thought about it for a while before he shook his head. “I’m not that good either. I’m afraid I can’t become your mentor!” Hu Haihe’s expression in his eyes began to look dull upon listening to Yan Liqiang’s words. However, Yan Liqiang continued, “But if we manage to get back to the Imperial Capital, we can practice shooting together once we have the chance!”

Hu Haihe’s eyes instantaneously lit up and he looked at Yan Liqiang with an expression of gratitude. “Thank you!”

“You’re welcome. Rest well tonight and replenish your strength. If the Blackwind Bandits are really coming, you need to be powerful enough to fight them off!”

“Alright!” Hu Haihe nodded and shortly left afterward. The surrounding guards who were looking at them with gleaming eyes only turned their attention away when the young guard left and they proceeded to organize their equipment.

The atmosphere at the ridges was completely quiet and everyone was talking in extremely low voices. The only thing they could hear was the howling wind scraping by the barren rocks.

Three moons of different sizes that had already risen showered their radiance all over the ground from above. Everyone went and found a sheltered area to rest, each covering themselves with wind-resistant blankets that were used specifically in the fields. Sun Bingchen was no exception. As modest as he was, he stayed with the group of guards and even patrolled with them from time to time.

Yan Liqiang volunteered himself to become a sentinel and lay alongside the stones on the ridge to reconnoiter the mountain valley below, monitoring the situation in the far distance.

Yan Liqiang didn’t know when the Blackwind Bandits would come either, thus he could only wait in this place like a hunter.

Midnight had come in the blink of an eye, yet the Blackwind Bandits were still nowhere in sight. The howlings of the wild wolves were the only sounds echoing in the wilderness. Even so, Liang Yijie quietly approached him and said, “Go and rest first, Liqiang. Leave this area to me. I will keep watch and call you if there’s anything!”

“Alright!” Yan Liqiang replied without hesitation and swapped his post with Liang Yijie, leaving to rest. He went to the sheltered area he was at before and wrapped himself in a blanket while leaning on a rock. In just a few moments, he entered the Heavenly Shrine and then proceeded through to the Heavenly Realm. Yan Liqiang read books and cultivated in the Heavenly Realm, spending the day in peace. It wasn’t until he withdrew his consciousness and returned to his physical body that he began to soon fall asleep on the ground within a few moments time.

No one would believe that Yan Liqiang had already visited another world for a day in just a blink of an eye before returning to his physical body...

......

After an unknown period of time, Yan Liqiang was woken up by a strange sound in his ear which was planted on the ground when he was sleeping. The sound in question came from the ground. Although it sounded like it was coming from afar, it was faintly discernible as it sounded like it was coming from a drum.

Yan Liqiang opened his eyes abruptly and quickly rolled up.

At that moment, the waning moons began to fade from the horizon. There was still a hint of dusk in the sky, which was exactly the time before dawn.

Just as he got up, he noticed that Liang Yijie was already in front of him. With a voice full of excitement, Liang Yijie whispered to Yan Liqiang, “The Blackwind Bandits are coming...”

Yan Liqiang, Liang Yijie, and the other guard on night watch had already reached the resting area. They began waking up each of the dozing guards in small voices, allowing them to hastily make preparations.

Ye Tiancheng was woken up as well. However, with the fear of him making a ruckus, they quickly used a cloth and stuffed his mouth so that he would not be able to make a single noise or sound.

Those who were woken up quickly got into gear and watched the mountain valley below with nervousness and excitement.

“Everyone hide first and don’t expose your head. You will only move after you see me or Liqiang make the first move. Those who dare to expose themselves first will be dealt with by military law...” Liang Yijie’s face grew solemn as he established a final disciplinary precaution to the guards. Each of them nodded in response.

Within a few minutes, the Blackwind Bandits actually rushed into the dark valley like a pack of wild wolves. Judging by the number of heads, there were about seven hundred remaining Blackwind Bandits. Their strength in numbers was still there...

Yan Liqiang had already taken out his Horned Python Bow and placed the quiver in an area where he could conveniently retrieve his arrows from. He then excitedly licked his somewhat dried lips.

The people who would become the resources to his capsule machine had arrived...

Yan Liqiang had chosen a shooting area three hundred meters away from the other guards’ line of fire. He was responsible as the lead attacker. The remaining guards, on the other hand, were responsible for following up the attack...

Chapter 239: Kill Shot

The narrow structure of the mountain valley restricted the speed at which the Blackwind Bandits could pass through, especially in this landform that Yan Liqiang and the others had chosen to set up an ambush. Not only was this place tortuous, it was narrow as well. As the Blackwind Bandits reached the area, the steeds’ galloping suddenly became slower.

Yan Liqiang peeked through the crevice between the rocks and observed the Blackwind Bandits below him.

Even after not seeing them for a few days, the Blackwind Bandits looked the same as they did during their previous encounters. Each of them was riding on a rhinodrake steed while heavily clad in black uniforms, which obscured their eyes and mouths as well. All of them were wearing the same disguise too. In this sort of situation, outsiders wouldn’t be able to discern who among them was the leader or the minion through observation, save for their own people. Such organized uniforms indirectly protected the leader of these Blackwind Bandits so that his identity would not be easily exposed in battle, nor would he be decapitated in action.

The Blackwind Bandits were bustling about in large numbers in the mountain valley. Even so, Yan Liqiang still felt that the presence of these Blackwind Bandits seemed less imposing than the previous two encounters he had with them. As for how much they lacked, Yan Liqiang could not give any more details about that. In any case, he could sense that the Blackwind Bandits’ formation was somewhat scattered, and they were a lot noisier than usual. Even though the number of their men was copious and they blended well with their black uniforms together, Yan Liqiang could also sense weakness and confusion from their group. The Blackwind Bandits’ pursuit was more like a hysteria caused by embarrassment, which in turn grew into hatred. Their calm yet audacious impulse from before, however, was nowhere to be seen.

The Blackwind Bandits’ troops stretched to about seven or eight hundred meters long as they went through the narrow mountain valley. They were not aware of Yan Liqiang’s observation from above and only cared about smacking their rhinodrake steeds to hasten their speed through the valley. However, a few of them did manage to lift up their heads to inspect the steep ridges on the sides while riding on their steeds.

” Angeluga , sala...!” One of the Blackwind Bandits shouted to the others in the valley below after he surveyed the terrain with the ridges, urging them to pass through with haste. What that yelling Blackwind Bandit didn’t know was that Yan Liqiang had his gaze fixed on him just because of his words. The only one capable of urging the troops to move forward would have to at least be at the level of a leader of these Blackwind Bandits. Yan Liqiang was initially worried that he would not be able to find the leader of his enemies, but the shouts from this person had instantaneously exposed the true identity of their leader.

Although the yelling Blackwind Bandit could sense the danger lurking within the mountain valley and the disadvantageous grounds they were at, like the other comrades, he didn’t seem to think that Yan Liqiang and the others would actually turn around and set up an ambush against them.

The foremost troops of the Blackwind Bandits below were nearing Yan Liqiang’s position. The galloping sounds of the rhinodrake steeds were already distinct as Yan Liqiang was able to clearly hear them from his location.

Yan Liqiang leaned on the rock and took a deep breath. With an arrow nocked onto his bow, he began to countdown silently...

“Three... two... one...”

When he reached one, Yan Liqiang quickly turned around from behind the rock and released his arrow from above without even aiming at his target.

‘Whoosh...’

The arrow departed Yan Liqiang’s Horned Python Bow like a lightning bolt, carrying the stench of death with it. In an instant, the arrow shot through the eye of one of the Blackwind Bandits in the troop and pierced his brain.

“GAH...!” The Blackwind Bandit who urged the troops to advance as he hid amongst them cried out in agony as he was shot in the head. His blood splattered everywhere, and in that moment, he fell straight off his rhinodrake steed.

Yan Liqiang’s first shot was like a signal. After the first arrow was shot, the guards who lurking nearby began aiming their arrows at the Blackwind Bandits down in the mountain valley below almost at the same time. Some of these guards had bows, whereas the others without bows used crossbows instead.

In this type of terrain, the side that occupied the higher altitude would have the battle advantage. As long as they shot their arrows at those being squeezed in the mountain valley, albeit randomly, they would be able to hit their targets with high certainty.

In the midst of the clamor, about forty to fifty Blackwind Bandits were immediately shot down by arrows and they fell off their steeds. Some of the arrows even hit the rhinodrake steeds too. The steeds that were painfully shot at quickly went on a rampage in the gorge, slinging the Blackwind Bandits troops into chaos within moments of the unexpected assault.

A few quivers, which were completely filled with arrows, were placed in the area on Yan Liqiang’s right side. After he shot the first arrow, Yan Liqiang pulled out a second arrow as fast as he could and released it with a ‘whoosh’. One of the Blackwind Bandits quickly reacted by taking out his bow and arrow even when his troops were in disarray. Unfortunately, he was shot by Yan Liqiang in an instant and he fell off his steed...

Yan Liqiang quickly followed up his assault with his fourth arrow, then his fifth and sixth... All of these arrows were released within a breath of time and had already flown through those Blackwind Bandits’ heads.

The entire mountain valley was filled with the sound of screeches and screams...

Yan Liqiang did not randomly choose a target to shoot his arrows with. He shot with a specific target and choice in mind.

All of Yan Liqiang’s targets were the archers who quickly took out their battle bows that were hanging on their rhinodrake steeds to counterattack when they heard the first scream.

Not all the Blackwind Bandits had bows and arrows on their backs. Most of their weapons consisted of only scimitars. In this sort of situation, only the Blackwind Bandit archers had the capability of retaliating against the sudden assault. Because of that, Yan Liqiang’s targets were all archers in the troops.

As Yan Liqiang resumed his attack with his bow, he instantaneously sensed that shooting with his Horned Python Bow felt a lot easier than when he first encountered the Blackwind Bandits a few days ago. This was especially true for his right index finger and thumb. Ever since he achieved the desired enhancement through the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing during the past two days, Yan Liqiang could clearly feel that his two fingers were more stable, stronger, and resolved as he strung his arrows. On top of that, he felt more at ease and relaxed. He felt like he had adapted well to the bow as using it felt less strenuous to him as well...

In the midst of the chaos, some of the Blackwind Bandits had already begun striking back with their bows and arrows. Yet it was ten times more difficult to accurately shoot the arrows up toward Yan Liqiang and the innumerable number of guards hiding in the ridges above them because of the angle and height differences. The Blackwind Bandits’ counterattacks were scattered away as most of the arrows shot upward were either blown off by the wind or they hit the sides of the mountain and rocks that the guards were hiding behind, leaving faint marks left by the arrow pits. No matter what, their efforts were useless. In contrast to that, not only were the guards at Yan Liqiang’s side able to shoot arrows with greater prowess at a higher altitude, they were able to shoot their targets with greater ease too. The shrilling screams from the Blackwind Bandits who were shot continued to echo from the valley every second...

......

Before a minute was up, Yan Liqiang had emptied thirty-six arrows from his first quiver and claimed thirty-six lives. The group of Blackwind Bandits at the front who acted as pathfinders was completely shut down by Yan Liqiang’s Horned Python Bow. These people became resources for Yan Liqiang’s toy capsule machine in the Heavenly Shrine after they were done unleashing a series of painful screams.

......

Suddenly, while Yan Liqiang was shooting at the Blackwind Bandits below him, he began to palpitate with fear. He sensed someone’s bow being locked onto him, and without even thinking twice, he quickly dodged to one side and hid once more behind a large rock that was beside him.

Just when Yan Liqiang had shifted his position behind that particular rock, an arrow with a piercing edge swiftly whiffed by Yan Liqiang’s shoulder and flew to the previous area where he was standing before...

If Yan Liqiang reacted even a second too late, that arrow would have shot right through his face.

At that brief moment when the arrow flew by, Yan Liqiang was already swiftly pulling his arrow onto his bow and he darted out from behind the rock to shoot it at his perpetrator...

The Blackwind Bandit sharpshooter, who had just jumped off his rhinodrake steed and unloaded an arrow toward Yan Liqiang from behind the steed, was instead shot by Yan Liqiang’s arrow in the face, causing him to instantly fall onto the ground. The speed of the arrow was too fast, just like Yan Liqiang’s dodging ability. The Blackwind Bandit was ecstatic when he thought he had shot Yan Liqiang from the bottom of the valley. Yet within the blink of an eye, only Yan Liqiang’s silhouette shifted and he unleashed a counterattack with an arrow. In the end, the Blackwind Bandit’s life was taken away...

Impossible...!

That was the Blackwind Bandit sharpshooter’s last thought before he died. This was because among his acquaintances, he had never seen anyone who could counterattack with such agility and acuteness while dodging an incoming arrow during a critical situation before. This was already out of his expectations in regards to an archer...

What he didn’t know was that Yan Liqiang’s skills were indeed beyond his expectations...

......

Chapter 240: Great Victory

From Yan Liqiang’s perspective, this ambush was more like a one-sided massacre than a battlefield.

Those Blackwind Bandits inside the mountain valley were like animals trapped in a cage to the bow-wielding Yan Liqiang – helpless and powerless. As they scrambled in madness while being squashed together, they were picked out one by one and eliminated in a clean-cut fashion by Yan Liqiang’s Horned Python Bow.

The life of a human being at this moment was perceived worthless. Through Yan Liqiang’s four consecutive moves akin to that of a sailing cloud and flowing water – nock, draw, aim, and release – the lives of these Blackwind Bandits were worth the same as one arrow: ten copper coins only...

Each arrow Yan Liqiang released would guarantee a bloody flower to bloom on a certain Blackwind Bandit’s body.

There were some scattered arrows that came toward Yan Liqiang’s direction, but they did not pose any major threats to him at all. Even though there were some that threatened his life, Yan Liqiang was able to dodge those arrows with his supernatural spiritual perception. Subsequently, Yan Liqiang’s counterattack made the Blackwind Bandits in the mountain valley, who wished they could match his archery skills, shut their eyes for eternity.

On the other side, Liang Yijie and the other guards were gnashing their teeth in anger while delightfully unleashing a rain of arrows onto the Blackwind Bandits below mercilessly.

Even though Liang Yijie’s archery skills were not as good as Yan Liqiang’s, he was still able to kill each of the opponents in close proximity with successive shots. There wasn’t a hint of uncertainty in his skills either.

Liang Yijie’s criteria in choosing his targets were the same as Yan Liqiang’s – those who wielded bows and were capable of counterattacking.

Through the massacre that Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie had wrought, the Blackwind Bandits’ capability to retaliate began to decline. Their will to counteract their enemies’ attacks dwindled as well.

Most of the Blackwind Bandits were cunning too. When they saw Yan Liqiang and the others on higher ground, they quickly ran toward the cliffside where their opponents were and hid under the cliff wall so that the arrows could not hit them. However, when a majority of the Blackwind Bandits started hiding near the wall, Liang Yijie and the other guards simultaneously pushed down the rocks that they had piled up last night after letting out a battle cry. With some rocks as big as a football and some as small as grinding discs, the rocks tumbled down toward the mountain valley like a brick wall. Thousands of rocks rolled down from a height of seventy to eighty meters and crashed downward, injuring those who were knocked by the rocks while crushing others to death. This caused the Blackwind Bandits who had hidden themselves under the cliff wall to wail for mercy. Because of that, the scene in the mountain valley below became more chaotic.

Amidst the frantic screams and pandemonium, seven to eight Blackwind Bandits were striking their rhinodrake steeds, attempting to cross the area right below Yan Liqiang, which was also the area that was in front of the mountain valley. However, before the furthest Blackwind Bandit could even go two hundred meters out from the valley, they fell to Yan Liqiang’s Horned Python Bow one by one. All of them were shot down from their steeds before any could cross forward. This scene had thoroughly incited fear into the agitated Blackwind Bandits who were still in the middle of the mountain valley. They did not dare move forward, but instead chose to move backward.

Some of the Blackwind Bandits had already started retreating!

The other Blackwind Bandits at the end formation did not suffer heavy casualties at first. In the beginning, they only thought about moving forward. But once they discovered that they would only be turning themselves into nothing but targets by going forward, they began to retreat in hopes that they could leave this dangerous mountain valley. When the Blackwind Bandits at the back retreated, the ones in front and in the middle – who were still being attacked by Yan Liqiang and the others – could not hold up any longer and began to follow the others to retreat. In an instant, their retreating turned into fleeing. The Blackwind Bandits who were still alive began to turn their steeds around as they desperately escaped to the path that they had come from.

Yan Liqiang continued using his Horned Python Bow to kill the Blackwind Bandits. When he had slaughtered sixty to seventy Blackwind Bandit archers by himself, he started changing his strategy. He decided to not target the archers and he began to focus his aim on the frontmost troops which was also the group of Blackwind Bandits closest to him.

As they watched their comrades tumbling in succession like a harvested sorghum field, the Blackwind Bandits’ fear grew the closer they were to the frontline. No one wished to die next. In this circumstance, the Blackwind Bandits at the frontline decided to drop everything and turn their steeds around, initiating their getaway to escape...

It would be hard for the Blackwind Bandits to dispel their feelings of fear once they were infected by a panic-stricken state.

If the Blackwind Bandits could be compared to dominoes placed in the mountain valley, then Yan Liqiang’s deadly arrow was the hand that pushed down the first domino.

In the narrow mountain valley below, the fleeing Blackwind Bandits used their blades to stab the hips of their rhinodrake steeds, causing their blood to spill everywhere. The frenzied rhinodrake steeds started rushing and colliding toward the front without a care for anything else.

In this sort of situation, many of the Blackwind Bandits who jumped off their steeds to seek cover and retaliated with their bows and arrows were now embroiled in the surge of chaotic screams from their troops. When one of them was carelessly flung onto the ground by his own steed, countless others trampled over him as they ran to escape.

When the three quivers that Yan Liqiang had placed near his leg started running out, none of the Blackwind Bandits in the mountain valley had their chest facing him anymore. The remaining survivors had their backs facing him instead and they continued to flee in madness.

Yan Liqiang stood up with the Horned Python Bow in his hands and pursued the Blackwind Bandits while atop the ridge. He continued to shoot at them as he chased after them, killing those who were left behind one at a time...

“Quiver...” Yan Liqiang shouted as he ran toward the ambush line where Liang Yijie and the other guards were situated. Without delay, one of the guards threw a quiver filled with arrows at Yan Liqiang. He caught it with his hands and strapped it onto his back before continuing his pursuit toward the Blackwind Bandits in the mountain valley.

“Brothers, go for the kill...” The other guards were burning with fervor as well. Like Yan Liqiang, they took up their bows and crossbows. With their quivers on their backs, they jumped out from the rocks they were hiding behind and followed Yan Liqiang. They continued to pursue the Blackwind Bandits while unleashing their arrows at them...

The Blackwind Bandits below were slaughtered until their shrieks filled the air and their minds were struck with fear.

Everyone continued to run two thousand meters along the mountain ridge until they reached the end of the path – a thirty-meter-tall cliff. They saw the last Blackwind Bandit shrink his head under his steed’s belly while striking it and disappeared to a far corner in the mountain valley below.

All the guards remained quiet for a while as they watched the heavily beaten Blackwind Bandits run away with their tail between their legs. When they turned their gaze toward the black corpses akin to piles of cow dung lining the path in the valley, they began to cheer joyfully from the top of the mountain.

“We won, we won...”

“We have finally avenged our brothers...”

One of the guards cried, “Those rhinodrake steeds in the valley below are worth money. Don’t let them get away...”

......

Chapter 241: Gains

“Guard Yan, there’s a Blackwind Bandit here that’s still alive...!”

Hearing the shout from nearby, Yan Liqiang leaned over to pick up the Blackwind Bandit’s quiver which had fallen on the ground and carried it on his back. He then went over to where the guard was calling him.

A Blackwind Bandit was lying on the ground, his groaning barely audible. Lying next to him was a rock about the size of a basin which had rolled down from the mountain just now. There was a trace of blood on the rock, and the Blackwind Bandit’s right leg had been distorted beyond recognition. It took Yan Liqiang only one glance at this Blackwind Bandit to identify him as the person who was hit by the rolling rock which the crowd had pushed down the mountain.

The guard told Yan Liqiang, “We thought this guy was dead and was about to drag his body over there. Little did we expect to hear him start groaning and showing signs of life as soon as we touched him...”

“I didn’t expect this Blackwind Bandit to be this tough!” Yan Liqiang laughed. He then squatted in front of the Blackwind Bandit and pulled the black veil away from his face. Beneath the veil, a typical bearded Shatu man’s face in his thirties was revealed.

“D-Don’t... kill me...” The groaning Shatu man opened his eyes. He looked at Yan Liqiang and spoke in broken Chinese.

“So you know how to speak our language!”

“I have a wife... and a son... back home...” The Shatu man continued gasping for breath.

Yan Liqiang replied flatly, “Oh, is that so?” He stood up, then picked up the Shatu man’s scimitar from the ground.

Terror filled the Shatu man’s eyes. “Please... Please... I beg you... You Chinese still hold the Writ of Grace!”

This Shatu man was actually talking about the Writ of Grace to him in this situation? Yan Liqiang smiled, but his smile was rather icy.

“So you Shatu people are human, and us Chinese aren’t human? When you guys killed us with your weapons, did you all think about the Writ of Grace? Now that you don’t have a blade in your hands, you suddenly remember the Writ of Grace? How many of our traveling merchants have the Blackwind Bandits killed over these years? I bet you guys can’t even remember it yourselves. When you all strike, have you ever let someone go out of mercy? The Blackwind Bandits’ reputation has been built upon countless deaths and destruction of Chinese families. I’m afraid that even God wouldn’t agree with me letting you go this time, you ingrate...!” Yan Liqiang spat. He raised the scimitar up and brought it down upon the Blackwind Bandit’s neck, beheading the Blackwind Bandit whose eyes were as big as saucers.

Crimson blood immediately soaked the yellow sand on the ground.

Yan Liqiang kicked the Blackwind Bandits’ head and tossed the scimitar aside. He then looked at the few silent guards at the side. “Whether these bastards are dead or alive, you must stab them or behead them first before anything else. You mustn’t let them live. Do you all know how these Blackwind Bandits treated our traveling merchants these past years? They nailed all the male traveling merchants they captured on wooden stakes, skinned them alive, and let them die in in pain under the sun. As for the females, they severed their limbs after raping them, regardless of their age. When they met pregnant women, they cut their wombs open to take their babies out. Then they either strangled the babies to death, or even ate them. These Blackwind Bandits are animals that deserve to be chopped into pieces. Even calling them animals is an insult to animals themselves. That’s why you mustn’t show them any mercy. If you were the ones who fell into their hands, I’m afraid a quick death would be nothing more than wishful thinking...”

The soldiers exchanged glances and replied through clenched teeth. “Understood!”

The few guards walked away and continued cleaning up the battlefield. Not far away, there was a Blackwind Bandit lying on the ground with an arrow impaled on his back. The guards went over and looked at him. One of them remembered Yan Liqiang’s words. He clenched his teeth, drew his longsword, and stabbed the Blackwind Bandit’s back...

Yan Liqiang who saw that from the side could only secretly shake his head.

The guards who followed Sun Bingchen on his patrol this time were all soldiers from the Imperial Capital. Many of them probably had not actually fought on a real battlefield before. These guards might not be inferior to the veterans in Gan or Lan Province in terms of martial arts, but they certainly had never been exposed to the cruel experiences the veterans had gone through. Hence, they lacked the fortitude and drive of the Northwestern soldiers. Putting aside everything else, if the soldiers from the barracks here cleaned up the battlefield, they would definitely end the lives of those Blackwind Bandits who weren’t dead yet on the ground instantly without a word. There would be no hesitation. For the so-called finishing blow, the safest was to behead the target or at least sever half the person’s neck instead of just stabbing the body once or twice more. This was because people who were decapitated or people who survived with half-broken necks would be useless on a battlefield. A person who could survive after being stabbed seven to ten times was definitely not a myth. There were one or two extremely lucky people out of every thousand.

All this knowledge and experience were imparted to Yan Liqiang by the soldiers from the Qian Su’s Weaponsmiths Quarter when he was still there. They were also rules which had been passed down among the military barracks and soldiers in the northwestern part for many years. Behind these rules and experiences were countless lessons stained by blood and tears.

These guards around Sun Bingchen were still a little too soft toward their enemies.

Even so, these kinds of things really took some time to get used to. Seeing that the guards had learned how to perform a finishing blow before checking, Yan Liqiang continued cleaning up the battlefield. The other few guards he led were collecting the longbows and quivers of arrows which were scattered all over the place...

On the other hand, Liang Yijie led several guards to round up all the riderless rhinodrake steeds which were wandering around in the valley.

Although the Blackwind Bandits didn’t carry money on them when they came to carry out their tasks, their rhinodrake steeds were very valuable. Not only that, these Shatu people’s weapons, like their scimitars and longbows, were of superior quality...

By the time everyone finished cleaning up the battlefield, the whole morning had passed. The sun was high up in the sky, indicating that it was almost noon.

After a final count, everyone found a total of 190 riderless rhinodrake steeds in the mountain valley, 260 Blackwind Bandits’ corpses, and nearly 200 weapons such as scimitars and bows. They also easily found two or three thousand arrows which were still usable. After Yan Liqiang’s demonstration, several injured Blackwind Bandits who were still alive were quickly finished off by people who were cleaning up the battlefield.

When everyone came together to pile up the things they had gathered from the battlefield at the mountain valley’s exit, everyone fastened their gaze on the pile of spoils before their eyes. No one expected it to be this much.

In the previous battle, there was a total of seventeen casualties from Yan Liqiang’s side. They were all either grazed or shot by arrows when the Blackwind Bandits retaliated from the bottom of the valley. Among them, twelve had minor injuries and four were moderately injured. One of them was quite severely injured, but fortunately the injury wasn’t fatal and he could still hold on. At least they could get a respite for now. Only two died in the battle from getting accidentally shot in the vital parts of their body by those Blackwind Bandits at the bottom of the valley and couldn’t be saved. With these sacrifices in exchange for such victory and gains, this battle could be described as glorious.

Many guards were quietly looking at Yan Liqiang in their party. The respect in their gazes thickened because they knew Yan Liqiang was the person who proposed to ambush the Blackwind Bandits. During the battle just now, Yan Liqiang was also the person who had killed most of the enemies and scared the Blackwind Bandits out of their wits the most. Seeing that Yan Liqiang was still able to draw his bow and kill a Blackwind Bandit at the bottom of the valley with every single shot he made as though he was hunting hares was reassuring to many of the guards. Despite being outnumbered by those Blackwind Bandits beneath them, they weren’t intimidated. Instead, they were able to perform at their best.

Lord Sun certainly had a discerning eye for recognizing talent!

–That was what most of the guards were thinking in their hearts.

“Everyone fought bravely against the enemy today. This stunning victory wouldn’t be possible without everyone’s effort.” Looking at the collected spoils and achievements, Sun Bingchen stood in front of everyone as he looked at the crowd with a burning gaze and spoke. “There’s no need to turn in the spoils we gained this time. All of you may discuss and share them among yourselves. Once we reach the Imperial Capital, I will also report to the higher-ups regarding everyone’s achievements today. Your contributions shall be awarded.”

All the guards cheered at once. The depression and pressure that had built up over these few days were instantly swept away...

After saying all this, Sun Bingchen once shot Yan Liqiang another meaningful glance filled with admiration...

At this moment, Yan Liqiang didn’t seem as happy as the other guards. He even had some regrets deep down in his heart. If he were given a cavalry of three hundred men again to ambush and follow up with a victory, he would surely eliminate every single Blackwind Bandit so that they would never be able to wreak havoc anywhere else.

After his first encounter with the Blackwind Bandits, Yan Liqiang realized that his other self was quietly awakening somewhere in his heart. What his other self yearned for was a powerful army that could purge Heaven and Earth...

When Yan Liqiang met Sun Bingchen’s gaze, he only gave him a humble smile.

“Liqiang, your contribution was indispensable to our stunning victory this time. However, our mission this time is to safely escort Lord Sun back to the Imperial Capital so we cannot afford to get involved with these Blackwind Bandits from the Northwest for too long. Let them escape for the time being. At least the Blackwind Bandits have suffered serious casualties and won’t be able to recover in a short time. When we get the chance to return to the Northwest again in the future, we will definitely eradicate these Blackwind Bandits once and for all. Let’s kill those scourges and avenge for our brothers who have lost their lives...!” Liang Yijie walked over to Yan Liqiang’s side and patted him on his shoulder.

Yan Liqiang chuckled too and breathed out a long sigh of relief. “You are right, Brother Liang. We shall let those Blackwind Bandits live a little longer. We will eradicate them sooner or later anyway...”

As soon as he finished talking to Liang Yijie, Yan Liqiang felt someone’s gaze on him. He turned his head and saw Ye Tiancheng watching him from a distance with his wavering gaze. When he noticed that Yan Liqiang had turned his head toward him, he lowered his gaze and grew silent again...

Chapter 242: Along The Way

After leaving Fengming City, the party continued all the way to the east. They saw more people along the way, and the cities they passed through flourished more than the last. The journey became a lot smoother for Yan Liqiang’s party.

Those nefarious Blackwind Bandits never appeared again, and they seemed to have become nothing more than a distant memory.

On the other hand, the prestige behind Sun Bingchen’s identity as a patrol inspector began manifesting itself again. Every time Sun Bingchen arrived at a new destination, they would be received by local officials. Under such circumstances, it wasn’t easy for anything to happen to their party.

Even so, Yan Liqiang didn’t let his guard down. He was always prepared because he had a vague feeling that the Blackwind Bandits wouldn’t be the only ones who wanted to stop Ye Tiancheng from reaching the Imperial Capital. Aside from openly using brute force like the Blackwind Bandits, there were various ways to kill someone. Sometimes, just a single embroidery needle, a drop of poison, a flying knife, or even a punch or slap from an expert was enough to easily claim someone’s life. Compared to the Blackwind Bandits, these were harder to defend against.

Undertaking a mission like this and being around a bomb like Ye Tiancheng, who could say for sure that he wouldn’t be sacrificed as an innocent victim of a conflict or assassination?

In the face of such crisis and urgency, Yan Liqiang didn’t slack in his cultivation either. Every time they arrived at a new destination that was not in the wilderness, Yan Liqiang persisted in cultivating three to four hours daily as soon as they settled down and as long as the environment allowed him to.

After they left the Hui Clan Gathering, Yan Liqiang’s luggage gained another item – a bunch of incense sticks.

Yan Liqiang lit up an incense stick in the darkness. He stayed low on the ground like a tiger, using only two fingers to support the weight of his body while he steadily stared at the burning end of the incense stick. When his eyesight and fingers hit their limits, he’d recover his strength with Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing. This was a method Yan Liqiang had ‘invented’ to train his eyesight and finger strength.

Under this kind of training while traveling east with Sun Bingchen and his party, Yan Liqiang was able to stare intently at the incense stick without blinking over a longer period of time. His eyesight was improving and his finger strength was also rapidly improving. Drawing a bow gradually became easier and his stamina was also steadily improving.

Not only that, Yan Liqiang was also able to significantly broaden the effects and techniques of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing, thus gaining better insight. He even had many training ideas that involved combining Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing with other techniques. However, since they were rushing along with their journey every day, he couldn’t implement them and these ideas could only stay in his mind for now.

To Yan Liqiang, meeting the officials along the way and experiencing the customs of various places while traveling by Sun Bingchen’s side were also great benefits.

......

It was the third lunar month of the spring season, the banks of Huichun River were decorated by the red flowers and green willows. The plants were lush and the larks were flying. In the evening, the sunset reflected off the rippling water. A double-decker huge riverboat, about fifty meters long, was drifting on the river. Amidst the undulating voices of the sailors on board, the boat steadily docked at the wharf outside of Hui Provincial City.

After the boat was docked and its mooring rope was quickly fastened, the workers at the wharf quickly moved two wooden staircases to the deck of the huge riverboat.

“We have arrived at the Hui Province’s wharf! Passengers in the cabin, please ensure that you have all your personal belongings with you and prepare to disembark...!”

The sailors on board shouted with their reverberating voices. Upon hearing them, the merchants and travelers in the cabin made their way to the deck of the boat to descend the wooden staircases and get off the boat in succession.

Yan Liqiang also followed the disembarking crowd and came out from the passenger cabin on the second floor. He stood on the second-floor deck of this huge riverboard, took in the beautiful scenery on both sides of the Huichun River, and exhaled deeply.

Today was already the seventh day of the third lunar month in the 13th year of the Yuanping reign. Nearly two months after leaving Gan Province, Yan Liqiang had finally arrived at Hui Provincial City.

Situated right next to the Imperial Capital, Hui Province was also the western gate of the Great Han Empire’s Imperial Capital. Beyond Hui Provincial City, the area toward the east was labeled as the ‘Western Capital Region’ on the map – one of the Imperial Capital’s ‘Four Regions’. This so-called ‘Western Capital Region’ basically translated to the vast region west of Imperial Capital.

Yan Liqiang had already changed into his new attire. Dressed in a green leather robe and donning a small hat, he also carried a sack on his back, looking no different than a servant boy from a wealthy clan.

Just when Yan Liqiang was observing his surroundings, Sun Bingchen, Liang Yijie, and Ye Tiancheng came out from the cabin in succession.

Like Yan Liqiang, everyone had changed into their new attire.

Sun Bingchen looked like a wealthy merchant. Liang Yijie changed into the martial attire of a courtyard guard and Ye Tiancheng was in the disguise of a bookkeeper. However, compared to Yan Liqiang and the rest, this old ‘bookkeeper’ appeared to be a little ‘unwilling’. Although his handcuffs and shackles were removed, Liang Yijie had sealed a few of the acupoints in Ye Tiancheng’s body. Apart from being able to walk, his arms were limp at his sides. Looking feeble, he was ‘supported’ by Liang Yijie and he couldn’t even speak.

A week ago, when they left Feng Province, Sun Bingchen’s party split into two midway. The other guards continued on with Sun Bingchen’s ensign flags as they paraded ostentatiously through towns, entering Hui Province from another route. On the other hand, Sun Bingchen secretly left the party with Yan Liqiang, Liang Yijie, and Ye Tiancheng. After disguising themselves, the group of four quietly crossed the Hui Provincial border from another route. They boarded this huge boat from a place called Fengming City yesterday and traveled down the river. After two days of travel, they finally arrived in Hui Provincial City.

Yan Liqiang was secretly impressed by Sun Bingchen for choosing to keep things under wraps. Truth be told, although nothing really happened during their journey over the past few days, Yan Liqiang was always on edge. The closer they were to the Imperial Capital, the more Yan Liqiang felt as though he was approaching the dragon’s lair or the tiger’s den. When Sun Bingchen pulled this trick, Yan Liqiang finally knew that he wasn’t the only one who was secretly worried.

“Come, let’s get off the boat!” Sun Bingchen came out from the cabin and nodded.

“Be careful...” Liang Yijie shot Ye Tiancheng a warning look. Yan Liqiang walked in front, followed by Liang Yijie who was ‘supporting’ Ye Tiancheng, and Sun Bingchen walked behind them. The group descended from the deck on the second floor.

“Both of you watch your steps. Don’t fall into the water...” The sailor working on the boat even reminded Liang Yijie on purpose when he saw him ‘supporting’ Ye Tiancheng.

“Thank you for the reminder, Brother. Our bookkeeper easily gets seasick. He cannot even stand up without support after a two-day boat trip...” Before Liang Yijie could even speak, Yan Liqiang had already cleverly replied to the sailor with a smile, just like any qualified servant boy.

The group got off the boat and found themselves on the busy wharf of Hui Provincial City. Hui Provincial City’s river wharf was several times larger than the river wharfs Yan Liqiang had seen before. The crowd stretched as far as the eye could see – boats docked at the wharf were like trees in a forest and goods from everywhere were piled up a like mountain on this wharf.

“Old Master, I will find us a carriage...” Since four of them walking together with Ye Tiancheng in tow was still a little too eye-catching, Yan Liqiang immediately volunteered to find a carriage.

“No need for that. Someone will come fetch us!” Sun Bingchen shook his head.

As soon as both of them finished speaking, a spacious carriage arrived before Sun Bingchen. The coachman jumped off the carriage and asked respectfully, “Excuse me, are you Lord Huang?”

“That’s right!” Sun Bingchen nodded.

A look of relief immediately appeared on the coachman’s face. “I have received orders from our Old Master to pick you up. Please get on...”

Sun Bingchen, Liang Yijie, and Ye Tiancheng sat inside the carriage at the back. Yan Liqiang took a seat beside the coachman.

After everyone was seated, the coachman shook the reins. The carriage turned around and started moving briskly.

Yan Liqiang didn’t expect Sun Bingchen to have already made arrangements in Hui Provincial City. Now, that was how it should be! After all, they were working for the Emperor. It would be inexcusable if they didn’t have a few helpers to provide assistance...

Yan Liqiang secretly breathed a sigh of relief on the carriage. If it were possible, how he wished this carriage could whisk them all to the Imperial Capital in just the blink of an eye. That would end this horrible mission...

Chapter 243: Woken Up With A Start

Since many people were on the road, the carriage couldn’t go too fast due to the heavy traffic. But at least it was still moving. Yan Liqiang sat beside the coachman with his eyes slightly squinched, pretending to observe the scenery of Hui Provincial City and the pedestrians on the streets in curiosity. In reality, he was trying to sniff out any threats among the crowds.

The coachman knew his manners very well too. He just drove the carriage in silence the entire time. He didn’t ask any questions either, so Yan Liqiang had some peace and quiet to himself.

The carriage didn’t enter Hui Provincial City. After leaving the wharf, they took a little detour on the public road outside the city and arrived at the entrance of a rather secluded manor in the eastern part of Hui Provincial City by sunset.

The manor was built in a lush peach forest, away from the public road. The scenic area was sparsely populated, and the closest village, which was a quiet place, was a li away from the peach forest.

As soon as the carriage came to a stop, Yan Liqiang saw a fine-looking middle-aged man in his fifties or sixties standing at the entrance, as he watched the approaching carriage with sparkling eyes. He was dressed in green robes and had a beautiful long beard.

Yan Liqiang was the first to get off. He went to the carriage at the back and opened the door so that Sun Bingchen, Liang Yijie, and Ye Tiancheng could get off the vehicle.

As soon as the man saw Sun Bingchen come out from the carriage, he immediately walked over to him.

Sun Bingchen’s face also broke into a smile when he saw the middle-aged man.

“Lord Fu!”

“Lord Sun!”

Both of them cupped their fists to each other in greeting. The gaze of the person whom Sun Bingchen addressed as Lord Fu then fell on Ye Tiancheng’s face. A brilliant shimmer flashed across his eyes. “So this is whom Lord Sun has brought from Gan Province?”

“That’s right!” Sun Bingchen nodded.

“Good work, Lord Sun. This way please!”

“Please!” Both of them then took the lead and walked through the entrance.

Yan Liqiang looked at Liang Yijie who gave him reassuring look in return, so Yan Liqiang followed him and they went in together.

Facing the main entrance of the manor was a screen wall. Behind it was a pond with two corridors on either side. The group walked through the corridor and arrived inside the manor. A few servants dressed in black that were inside the manor immediately came over, ready to receive orders.

Yan Liqiang glanced at the servants in black and realized that they had a refined aura and were very steady on their feet. They didn’t look like servants at all with the solemn and icy looks on their faces. Instead, they seemed more like martial practitioners who were dressed in servant clothing.

“Lord Sun, I have already prepared a secret room in the manor. You may temporarily keep him there. There’s no way he can escape from there...”

Sun Bingchen turned his head around to look at Liang Yijie and gave him a nod. Liang Yijie then handed over Ye Tiancheng to the servants in black and let them take him away.

Yan Liqiang finally let out a sigh of relief.

For the remaining amount of time, Lord Fu wished to spend it privately with Sun Bingchen alone. Both of them seemed to have something to discuss so Sun Bingchen didn’t make Liang Yijie and Yan Liqiang stay either. Instead, both of them were allowed to have their meal and rest.

The manor had also prepared dinner for Liang Yijie and Yan Liqiang since they were Sun Bingchen’s personal attendants. However, both of them were to have their meals in another courtyard separately, away from Sun Bingchen.

The manor’s servants retreated after serving seven dishes and soup to Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie.

After the servants were gone, Liang Yijie habitually tested the food with a silver needle he carried with him. Upon verifying that the silver needle didn’t change color, he nodded to Yan Liqiang and both of them proceeded to enjoy their dinner.

While they were eating, Yan Liqiang asked Liang Yijie a question softly after making sure that there was no one else around. “Brother Liang, who is Lord Fu?”

“Lord Fu is the Crown Prince’s advisor!”

“The Crown Prince’s advisor?” Despite the fact that Yan Liqiang had been in this world for quite awhile now, he was still dumbfounded by this official position [1].

Liang Yijie looked left and right, then lowered his voice. “Before the current Emperor succeeded the throne and was still the Crown Prince, Lord Fu used to coach His Majesty in horsemanship. Do you understand?”

“Ah, so this advisor was His Majesty’s former riding coach!”

“Well, that’s pretty much it!”

“Why is he here now?”

“Lord Fu’s hometown is in Hui Provincial City. Two years ago, Lord Fu returned home for his parent’s funeral. Since he hasn’t fulfilled his three-year filial mourning [2], he is still staying in Hui Provincial City.”

Yan Liqiang nodded in understanding and secretly breathed a sigh of relief...

Since Lord Fu served the Emperor and Sun Bingchen also trusted him, he had nothing to worry about.

......

By the time Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie finished their meal, the sky was completely dark. The servants in the manor naturally led both of them somewhere for them to rest.

Traveling in disguise for the past few days had made Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie extremely tense. They almost never had a day of good sleep. Now that they were allowed to rest, Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie didn’t say much and just returned to their own rooms which were adjacent to each other in the same courtyard.

However, Yan Liqiang didn’t rest when he returned to his room. After checking the room once and ensuring that there were no issues, he shut all the windows, the door, and put out the light in his room. He lit up the incense stick he brought with him and started cultivating.

As soon as the incense stick burned out and Yan Liqiang had just finished a round of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing, he heard movements coming from the courtyard outside. Sun Bingchen had returned and his room was in the same courtyard.

As Sun Bingchen’s subordinate, Yan Liqiang stopped cultivating when he realized that Sun Bingchen was back. He opened the door and went out.

An old man, who seemed like the steward of the manor, carried a lantern and escorted Sun Bingchen back to the courtyard.

“Sir...”

Sun Bingchen smiled at Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie who had come out from their rooms. He waved at both of them. “Yijie, Liqiang, both of you have worked hard these two days. I’ll be fine here. Go back and have a good rest. I will call both of you if something comes up.”

Seeing that Sun Bingchen had returned to his room, Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie exchanged looks and also returned to their own rooms.

Yan Liqiang continued practicing a few more rounds of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing before he washed up and went to bed. After spending another uneventful day in the Heavenly Realm, he finally fell onto the bed and slept...

Around midnight, Yan Liqiang, who was sleeping on his bed, suddenly opened his eyes.

He didn’t know why he suddenly woke up with a start out of the blue with his heart palpitating.

Yan Liqiang sat up on the bed and listened attentively with his ears. It was silent outside the window of his room. The moonlight flowed like water, shining on the peach blossoms in the yard which cast shadows on the windows. Only the sounds of crickets chirping could be heard. Nothing seemed to be out of place.

‘Am I just too tense?’ – Yan Liqiang muttered in his heart.

Just then, a miserable scream suddenly came from outside...

Chapter 244: The Banes of Heaven and Earth

The blood-curdling scream in the dead of night stabbed into one’s ears like a sharp knife.

As soon as Yan Liqiang heard the blood-curdling scream, he immediately sprung up from his bed without thinking. He quickly draped his clothes over himself, wore his shoes, took his weapon, then swung his door open and rushed out.

When Yan Liqiang rushed out, Liang Yijie also rushed out from the room adjacent to his, carrying a long sword with him. Both of them exchanged glances and then rushed to the entrance of Sun Bingchen’s room together.

“Sir...!” Liang Yijie shouted. Sun Bingchen’s door had also been swung open. Sun Bingchen came out of the room, frowning. His wavering gaze fell on the courtyard in the distance. Before Sun Bingchen could even say anything, an unpleasant laughter that sounded like sand rubbing against a damaged pot rang out in the courtyard where Yan Liqiang and the rest were. Amidst the laughter, a black figure flew toward them from a roof in the distance like a nightingale. When the figure was more than thirty meters in the air, he hurled something toward the courtyard before he landed.

“SIR, WATCH OUT...!” Liang Yijie’s gleaming sword flashed out and he was instantly in front of Sun Bingchen, shielding him.

It turned out that the black thing wasn’t a hidden weapon. After falling to the ground, it rolled a few times before coming to a stop. Yan Liqiang glanced at it under the bright moonlight, only to discover that it was a human head. The neck was still dripping blood, the face had a furious expression, and the head had a beautiful long beard. The owner of this head was none other than the master of the manor – Lord Fu, whom Yan Liqiang had only just met once!

The advisor to the Crown Prince who had just met Sun Bingchen recently was beheaded in just the blink of an eye, and his head was tossed before Yan Liqiang.

“Lord Sun, how’s this for a greeting gift?” The nightingale-like figure who tossed the head to them stood on the roof in the courtyard where Yan Liqiang was. He was looking down at Sun Bingchen and the other two from up above and laughing strangely.

The man was fully clad in black with unkempt hair. His face was so thin that his cheeks were sunken. Only his eyes glowed green like ghost lights on his extremely pale face without a trace of blood. At first glance, he was as creepy as a thousand-year-old corpse that had just crawled out of a grave. Not only that, Yan Liqiang couldn’t tell his age either.

As soon as this person appeared, Yan Liqiang, who was also in the same courtyard, felt every hair on his body standing on its end and his heart was pounding hard. A faint powerful aura had completely shrouded the entire courtyard. Trapped in this aura, Yan Liqiang felt as helpless as a fish on a pan, waiting to be grilled. His own life and death were not in his hands.

Sun Bingchen swept his gaze across the head on the floor and grief flashed across his eyes. He then raised his head to glare at the man standing on the roof. He uttered bitterly, “The Banes of Heaven and Earth, the Black and White Impermanence [1]...”

“Hahahaha, I didn’t expect Lord Sun to have heard of us. How truly flattering...!” All of a sudden, the man standing on the roof laughed like a maniac.

“Assassinating an official of the imperial court is a serious crime that warrants the nine familial exterminations...!”

“Serious crime...?” The man snorted coldly in disdain. His creepy eyes glowed like ghost lights. “My brother and I have taken seven hundred, if not, five hundred lives. We’ve been wanted by the authorities for decades. What difference would one more life make?”

“Are you here to kill me too?”

Black Impermanence stuck his similarly pale tongue out to lick his lips and laughed creepily. “I would love to pluck your head off to play with it. Unfortunately, we have only been asked to pluck two heads off this time. We’ve already taken one off. The other one would be that person you brought here with you. As for you, since you are an important person to that old Emperor, we’ll be leaving your head attached to your neck for a few more days and claim it when someone offers a good price, hehehe...”

Just then, a few more blood-curdling screams rang out from another courtyard nearby. Following the screams, a figure ran across the roof with lightning speed and appeared on the roof of the courtyard where Yan Liqiang and the rest were staying in.

The person who appeared before them had a similar appearance to Black Impermanence’s. His face was devoid of color and he was a bag of bones, also looking like he had crawled out from a grave. The only difference between them was that he was clad in white. If the one dressed in black was Black Impermanence, then this one dressed in white was undoubtedly White Impermanence.

White Impermanence was also holding a bloody severed head in his hand, a head that belonged to Ye Tiancheng.

Ye Tiancheng’s eyes were wide open, and the expression on his face was twisted in terror.

“You brought the head?” Black Impermanence asked.

“I did!” White Impermanence nodded and chuckled creepily. “This fellow was a cunning one. Quite a character he was. By the time I arrived, he had already cleared half of his acupoints and meridians with a few silver needles. Given another two hours, he probably would have escaped...”

“Hehe, how can the people who we have our eyes on possibly run away from us? Since we’ve got the heads already, let’s go...”

“Let’s go!” Both of them cast another glance at Sun Bingchen, then soared from the rooftop without saying anything as they prepared to leave.

Liang Yijie howled in rage and suddenly jumped up. The tip of the longsword in his hands went for both of them like dozens of cold stars.

Black Impermanence snorted coldly in mid-air. His hands, which looked like a pair of demonic claws, cut through Liang Yijie’s sword light. With a twist, the longsword in Liang Yijie’s hands was reduced into metal fragments and turned into something that resembled a fried dough twist. His sword light immediately dulled. Black Impermanence waved his sleeve and Liang Yijie instantly fell to the ground with a groan. He staggered a few steps back with a pale face.

“Junior, I will spare your life this time for the sake of that Hundred Swords geezer. The next time you overestimate your own capabilities, watch out for your head...” Black Impermanence’s voice lingered in the courtyard, but both of them had vanished into the dark sky without a trace, just like two wisps of smoke.

After Black and White Impermanence left, Yan Liqiang only then felt that the aura that shrouded the entire courtyard was instantly lifted.

A layer of cold sweat had already formed on Yan Liqiang’s back over this short encounter. From the beginning to the end, Black and White Impermanence didn’t even look at him once. They treated him like air. Even so, the immense pressure during the moment of life and death just now still made Yan Liqiang feel as though he had toured around the gates of hell. He didn’t strike out either because he knew it would have been futile no matter what, given his current strength. Having his Horned Python Bow with him on his back would probably have made no difference. The disparity between his strength and his opponents’ was simply too great. He wasn’t even on the same level as his opponents, so there was no way he could pit himself against them. He would really be courting death if he struck out recklessly.

Sun Bingchen trudged heavily to the severed head on the ground in sorrow. He gently picked it up from the ground as tears immediately cascaded down his cheeks...

Yan Liqiang opened his mouth, but he didn’t know what to say. They traveled all the way from Gan Province to Hui Province and overcame all sorts of hardships. Yet, no one expected they would encounter two terrifying experts like that in Hui Provincial City just when they were about to enter the Imperial Capital. They took away Ye Tiancheng’s severed head with just a wave of their sleeves, instantly rendering Sun Bingchen’s careful schemes, as well as Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie’s efforts over these days futile.

The entire process was as simple as a well-rehearsed stage play. It was so unreal, so illusory, and so fleeting. Yet the severed head in Sun Bingchen’s hands and the increasingly clamorous noises in the manor told Yan Liqiang that everything he had just experienced was real.

Yan Liqiang could already feel the immense power of the person whom Sun Bingchen and the Emperor was dealing with before they even got to the Imperial Capital.

That person didn’t want Ye Tiancheng to enter the Imperial Capital alive, so he was beheaded in Hui Provincial City. As for Lord Fu who served as the advisor to the Crown Prince, that was probably a warning to Sun Bingchen and the Emperor in the Imperial Capital.

Yan Liqiang didn’t know why, but he instantly felt relieved the moment he saw Ye Tiancheng’s severed head. He didn’t feel sorry at all, and was even secretly rejoicing. But of course, Yan Liqiang didn’t dare to let his face show his emotion, given the current situation he was in...

Chapter 245: Imperial Capital

At noon, on the 18th day of the third lunar month in the 13th year of the Yuanping reign, a spring rain fell on the capital city of the Great Han Empire. The historically rich capital city, which had a thousand years of history, was shrouded in the misty rain.

In this slightly chilly spring rain, Yan Liqiang’s party finally arrived at the Great Han Empire’s capital.

“So this is the Imperial Capital?” Yan Liqiang looked at the tall city wall which towered like a behemoth in the distance. He couldn’t help but turn his head around to ask Hu Haihe who was beside him under the heavy spring rain.

“Guard Yan, this indeed is the Imperial City. We’ll just have go straight along this road. Ahead of us is the Imperial Capital’s West Glorious Gate. There are three city gates on the western side of the Imperial Capital. The West Glorious Gate is just one of them...” Hu Haihe’s voice was laced with sadness and exhaustion. Yan Liqiang noticed that Hu Haihe couldn’t help but caress the bag hanging on his mount while he spoke. His brother’s ashes were inside the bag.

Yan Liqiang only nodded and didn’t say anything else. He lightly squeezed his steed’s abdomen with his legs to keep pace with the rest. At the same time, he also pushed Goldie’s head, which had poked out from his raincoat, back inside.

The battle with the Blackwind Bandits seemed like it was only yesterday. Yet, people who were sacrificed in the battle could never return again. The person that those people sacrificed their lives to protect ultimately didn’t make it to the Imperial Capital alive either. This made Yan Liqiang doubt the significance of the journey they had made all the way from Pingxi City.

The entire party seemed to be quite depressed. All ensign flags were put away and not shown. Everyone just sullenly rode on their steeds and pressed on in the rain.

The commotion in Hui Provincial City was so huge that it delayed their journey for several days. In the end, even the local authorities came to settle the matter. Yan Liqiang and the rest ended up waiting for the other guards to arrive at Hui Provincial City, then converged with them to return to the Imperial Capital together.

However, Ye Tiancheng was no longer in the party.

Sun Bingchen’s silhouette appeared to be rather desolate in the drizzle, yet he stood tall and remained unyielding. Yan Liqiang looked at Sun Bingchen’s silhouette and he could pretty much guess his feelings at this moment.

A courtier of the Emperor and a felon who was going to be sent to the Imperial Capital had died in Hui Provincial City without rhyme or reason. Of course, the murderers were going to be arrested, but Sun Bingchen who was involved in this incident could also face trouble as well. If someone were to find fault, then one of the factors that contributed to Ye Tiancheng’s death was the fact that Sun Bingchen took the liberty to put a serious felon of the imperial court in a disguise, separated themselves from the main party, and made their way to Hui Provincial City without giving Ye Tiancheng solid protection. If this incident were to be investigated, Sun Bingchen would inevitably be implicated.

As Sun Bingchen’s personal attendant, he would also be held responsible for failing to protect Ye Tiancheng.

Yan Liqiang was secretly muttering in his heart. He had already thought things over on their way here. He didn’t really care about being held responsible because he had nothing much to begin with. He wasn’t receiving any benefits from the Imperial Capital. To date, he still hadn’t received his official rank either. Hence, he didn’t really mind losing what he never received in the first place.

However, there was still something else that bothered Yan Liqiang – just where did Ye Tiancheng get those silver needles?

Yan Liqiang found two long silver needles on Ye Tiancheng’s corpse. When they were discovered, the two silver needles were still inserted in two major acupoints on his body. Ye Tiancheng was using the two silver needles to clear his acupoints and meridians, hoping to regain his freedom.

He had not given Ye Tiancheng any silver needles, much less Liang Yijie and Sun Bingchen. Therefore, that could only mean that the silver needles on Ye Tiancheng’s body were given to him by someone in the party who could come into contact with him. Throughout the entire journey, there were at least twenty or thirty people who could have possibly come into contact with Ye Tiancheng before Sun Bingchen split up from the guards with Ye Tiancheng in tow. Therefore, it was extremely obvious that someone in their party had given in to Ye Tiancheng’s temptation and had secretly handed him the silver needles.

With Ye Tiancheng’s eloquence and slyness, it was probably not too difficult for him to tempt an ordinary guard into making a deal with him.

The way Sun Bingchen handled this incident was extremely intriguing. He ordered Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie to refrain from further disclosing this incident and told them to keep it a secret from the other guards in the party. Since Ye Tiancheng was dead, he was ready to move on from this incident.

Yan Liqiang could more or less understand Sun Bingchen’s intention. If this matter got out among the party, then the little comradeship within remaining party, which had been built up through the experiences everyone had together, would probably be tested in the blink of an eye. Since it would be very difficult to find the culprit, everyone would end up suspecting each other and all the previous trust they had between them would be lost.

This was perhaps the most humane decision Sun Bingchen had ever made throughout the entire journey.

...

The group arrived at the West Glorious Gate of the Imperial Capital. The city wall and its gate tower which extended over thirty zhang in height made Yan Liqiang take a few more glances at them. After Sun Bingchen identified himself, the party entered the city without a hitch.

It was needless to mention the Imperial Capital’s prosperity. Unbeknownst to Yan Liqiang, the previous curiosity he had for this city gradually faded when he finally arrived here in person. The more cities he went to, the more he understood that the characteristics of a city were actually decided by the locals. The Imperial Capital was the Imperial Capital, not because of how huge and how beautiful this city was, but because it was the heart of this vast empire. The people who held the highest authority in this empire basically lived in this city. Hence, this city was different than the rest. In other words, this city was full of hidden impressive individuals. Therefore, the things that were truly worth his attention here were still the people.

Not long after the party entered the city, everyone parted ways.

Hu Haihe and the other guards went to report to the cavalry unit so that they could complete their mission and return to their station. With that, they’d have no direct relevance to Sun Bingchen unless they were reassigned to carry out a mission for Sun Bingchen again. Sun Bingchen brought Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie back to his residence in the Imperial Capital.

Sun Bingchen’s residence in the Imperial Capital was located somewhere in Carriage Alley. The size of the residence wasn’t huge, but it was pretty clean and tidy. Judging from its exterior, it would appear to be the residence of an above-average clan instead of a wealthy clan. The three of them stopped. Yan Liqiang only realized that they were at Sun Bingchen’s residence when Liang Yijie leaped off his rhinodrake steed to knock on the door.

“This residence is just a temporary shelter. A person can’t occupy more than a square meter while standing up or seven feet while lying down. Therefore, a house doesn’t need to be too big, and it doesn’t have to be lavish either. It’s good as long as it is habitable...” Sun Bingchen seemed to have noticed the doubts in Yan Liqiang’s eyes, so he patiently explained it to Yan Liqiang.

“Liqiang still has much to learn!” Although Yan Liqiang completely didn’t agree with Sun Bingchen’s words, he still nodded.

Liang Yijie knocked a few times before the door opened. An old servant with an umbrella peeked through the door crack, showing half his face. When he saw Liang Yijie and Sun Bingchen on the other side of the door, a look of pleasant surprise finally appeared on his face. “Ah, you have returned, Old Master...”

Chapter 246: Entering the Palace

There were only three servants in Sun Bingchen’s residence – an old man, an old woman, and a servant girl.

The old man’s surname was Li, and he was married to the old woman while the servant girl’s surname was Xu. The three of them were refugees who had met Sun Bingchen earlier in the year and were offered shelter, so they stayed by his side and became his servants.

Sun Bingchen lived a very disciplined and simple lifestyle. Therefore, even upon his return, there was no feast. After a simple meal and giving out a few orders, all of them retired to their own rooms.

Since it was Yan Liqiang’s first time at Sun Bingchen’s residence, he was given one of the side rooms to sleep in for the night.

That night, after Yan Liqiang completed his evening regime and cultivation in the room alone, he tossed and turned, finding it difficult to fall asleep. This strange city, the strange environment, and the dangerous encounters he met along the way had Yan Liqiang worried about his future for the very first time, because he was aware that his current position and cultivation were as insignificant as dust in a place like the Imperial Capital. In dangerous situations, he might just be wiped off from the surface of the planet without a trace of his shadow left if he wasn’t careful enough.

Constantly striving to become stronger was the only way to determine one’s destiny!

Staring at the not quite new mosquito net on the bed and listening to the rain hitting the roof tiles, Yan Liqiang’s gaze became determined as he secretly made a decision. He was going to request a leave of absence from Sun Bingchen within the next two days. He would find a place somewhere around the Imperial Capital to improve his strength and various aspects of his cultivation for a certain amount of time, and try to at least progress into a Supreme Martial Warrior. He would develop his archery into the Fourth Heavenly Layer, and the Golden Bell Shield technique into the First Heavenly Layer. That would at least give him a more decent foundation. Otherwise, a fifteen-year-old youth who had just progressed into a Martial Warrior would be nothing in a place like the Imperial Capital. He definitely wouldn’t be able to make it far just by relying on his wits and stroke of luck without any solid cultivation and strength.

Unlike soldiers, personal bodyguards of high-ranking imperial court officials like Sun Bingchen had a bit more freedom. Although personal bodyguards had military ranks, they were more like helpers or aides hired by high-ranking officials of the imperial court like Sun Bingchen. Hence, they weren’t bound by strict rules. Personal attendants requesting a leave of absence to cultivate was very commonplace, because it was common for martial practitioners to cultivate in seclusion. Yan Liqiang recalled that Sun Bingchen had a personal attendant whom he had never seen before. According to Liang Yijie, that personal attendant had requested for a year’s leave to return to his sect and cultivate in seclusion.

Yan Liqiang only felt more at ease after making such a decision. He entered the Heavenly Realm and spent another day there. After coming back to his senses again, only then did he fall into a peaceful slumber.

Early the next morning, Yan Liqiang got out of the bed before the sky even turned bright. After washing up and completing his morning regime, he had a simple breakfast with Liang Yijie and Sun Bingchen together before he rode with Liang Yijie and escorted Sun Bingchen into the palace.

Sun Bingchen sat in a horse carriage. The coachman was old servant Li from the residence.

It was sunny today. The main streets of the Imperial Capital were already bustling with activity early in the morning. The crowds were lively and the traffic on street was endless. Yan Liqiang rode on his rhinodrake steed behind the carriage. He was looking around in curiosity while listening to Liang Yijie explain the streets and buildings in the city to him.

...

“This is Shunyi Store, which carries rare items from all parts of the nation...”

...

“If you continue down this street, you will reach the Thousand Immortals Platform. That place has one of the most magnificent landscapes in the Imperial Capital. The culinary delicacies around that area are also the best within the Imperial Capital...”

......

“The Provincial Military Governor’s Office is on that side. It is responsible for public security and criminal justice in the Imperial Capital. However, influential figures gather like clouds here. Anyone here might just be related to a high official of the imperial court, or is a relative of the Emperor. Therefore, the Provincial Military Governor from the Imperial Capital has a really tough job. If you don’t care enough, you’ll be criticized by the citizens. If you care too much, you might offend someone. That’s why it’s very rare for any Provincial Military Governor to be able to work for more than a decade in the Imperial Capital... ”

......

It was rare for Yan Liqiang to have a walking map beside him. While Liang Yijie explained, Yan Liqiang also kept his words in mind.

“After passing this street, the most famous Weiyang Street in the Imperial Capital is just up ahead. The four famous courtesans of the Imperial Capital are from the four major entertainment quarters of Weiyang Street...” Liang Yijie pointed to the road and told Yan Liqiang this when they went past a junction.

“Brother Liang, don’t the famous courtesans work in pleasure quarters? Why in the entertainment quarters too?” Yan Liqiang curiously asked.

“There are also women from the pleasure quarters in the Imperial Capital. But since they’re called the ‘famous courtesans’, why would they work in pleasure quarters where people can just easily pay for their services? Of course the famous courtesans would be in the entertainment quarters where they are rarely seen by unrelated people, and they only perform on stage when the entertainment quarters are open. The last time I went to watch Feng Shishi’s guqin performance, and it indeed has a distinctive quality that will resonate in your ears for three days...” Liang Yijie said as the expression on his face showed that he was reliving the experience. “Let’s wait till you are free, I shall take you there to listen to it once. You definitely won’t regret it!”

After listening to Liang Yijie, Yan Liqiang finally understood and suddenly realized that the so-called famous courtesans, whom Liang Yijie referred to, were more or less like those celebrities in his previous life. However, since there were no professions like actors or singers in this world, all women who performed the arts and served people were all regarded as ‘courtesans’. In reality, the meaning behind ‘courtesan’ wasn’t as derogatory as it was in his previous world.

Yan Liqiang already knew that this world lacked entertainment when he was in Pingxi City. Therefore, any performance that can be performed on stage, whether it is performed or sung, would attract a high number of high-ranking officials, noblemen, and fans who had time and money to spend. That was probably how famous courtesans were born.

“Oh yes, Brother Liang, is Lord Sun going to the palace today to attend the court?”

“Today is the 19th. There’s no need to attend the court because court is only held once a month, on the first day of every month.”

Yan Liqiang was dumbfounded for a moment. He must have watched too many television dramas in his previous life to think that the officials entered the palace to attend the court every day. Upon hearing Liang Yijie’s words, Yan Liqiang rubbed his face in embarrassment. “Ahem ahem, I see. I thought Lord Sun was going to the palace to attend a court...”

Liang Yijie looked left and right, then suddenly lowered his voice and spoke with a slightly grave expression on his face, “His opinion wouldn’t mean much even if he were to attend the court. The six parts of the Imperial Capital are pretty much controlled by the Grand Chancellor. He also oversees the central cabinet and the imperial court. Topics discussed in the court are all things that the Grand Chancellor wishes to discuss. Whatever the Grand Chancellor says counts as the final say. Due to this reason, Lord Sun has always feigned sickness to avoid attending the court over these two years...”

“What the eye doesn’t see, the heart doesn’t grieve over...” Yan Liqiang sighed.

“That’s pretty much it...”

“Has Brother Liang seen His Majesty before then? I wonder what kind of person His Majesty is?”

Liang Yijie pondered for a moment. “I guess His Majesty can be considered a benevolent ruler...”

“Ahem, ahem...”

Liang Yijie seemed to have something else to say, but he heard two coughs from Sun Bingchen in the carriage. Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie exchanged looks and smiled at each other, then dropped the subject.

Half an hour later, the carriage stopped at the square outside a magnificent royal palace. The square was covered with white jade and was decorated with dragons. Guards clad in armor were seen standing around. Sun Bingchen got off the carriage when they arrived. After giving some instructions to Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie, he smoothened out his Second Grade High Official [1] uniform. Led by another guard, he stepped onto the arch bridge, crossed the moat in the square, and walked through the tall, dark red palace doors.

There was a parking lot for carriages next to the square. The parking lot was bigger than a soccer field, so it could accommodate several hundred carriages without any issues. There were a few rows of houses next to the parking lot, which were the servant quarters. They were resting and waiting areas for guards of high-ranking officials like Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie. To put it simply, they were like tearooms.

Sun Bingchen entered the palace to have an audience with the Emperor. Although they were Sun Bingchen’s guards, both Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie didn’t have the privilege to enter the palace. Hence, they could only wait at the servant quarters.

When Liang Yijie led Yan Liqiang into the servant quarters, there were already quite a number of guards in their uniforms, chatting with each other over tea while they waited.

“Why, if it isn’t Guard Liang who serves Lord Sun! I heard you ran into The Banes of Heaven and Earth in Hui Provincial City! Not only did you lose the person you should have been watching over, but you also were nearly ended by their hands, hahahaha...!”

The moment they stepped into the servant quarters and before Yan Liqiang could even take a good look around the place, an ear-piercing voice traveled into Yan Liqiang’s ears.

Chapter 247: A Trap

Even a deaf person could hear the mockery in that voice.

Yan Liqiang frowned slightly and turned toward the source of the voice. He didn’t even need to search for the person who spoke because he was already standing up.

He was a tall and strongly built man dressed in a blue outfit. His figure was probably two Yan Liqiangs put together. Even if he was clothed, one could still see his strong muscles underneath. With his flat face, sinister eyes, and those barely noticeable eyebrows put together, they left a deep impression on people because they made people feel uncomfortable. Apart from that, the man also had a scar which ran from his left earlobe to his left cheek. Though faded, it was still quite noticeable. It marred the man’s face like a crimson centipede.

“I don’t even think it’s an embarrassment to lose to experts like The Banes of Heaven and Earth. After all, my cultivation is not just a level inferior to theirs!” Liang Yijie smiled coldly. “Xu Lang, we are both Martial Grandmasters and in the same cultivation realm. If you think having one scar on your face isn’t enough, then let’s agree on a time to meet at the Imperial Capital’s Arena of Life and Death, so both of us can duel each other until one of us dies to see where we stand. If you don’t have the guts, then scram! Don’t stand here and make a fool out of yourself by running your mouth...!”

Liang Yijie was pretty much berating that person at the end of that.

Upon hearing Liang Yijie, the eyes of the person named Xu Lang instantly reddened. His face unexpectedly broke into a sinister smile as he licked his lips. “Why not? I’ve been waiting to get a taste of your Taibai Thirteen Slash technique. That’ll settle it. One month from now, we shall settle this once and for all at the Arena of Life and Death. I hope you won’t chicken out on that day!” After saying that, Xu Lang looked around at everyone. “I would like to ask everyone here to be our witnesses for today.”

“Sure!”

“No problem!”

Some guards among the crowd in the room immediately responded.

“Since Brother Xu and Brother Liang have set up a duel, why don’t I become Brother Xu’s partner? After all, good things come in pairs!” A thin guard beside Xu Lang stood up while he spoke, and he looked at Yan Liqiang with an insincere smile. “I heard Lord Sun recruited another personal attendant in Gan Province by the name of Yan Liqiang. That must be you, Little Brother. Are you brave enough to go up to the Arena of Life and Death with me as Brother Liang’s partner, I wonder?”

“You from the Gao Clan, I suggest you don’t overstep your boundaries! If you want to play so badly, wait till I finish off Xu Lang, then we can duel each other!” Liang Yijie’s expression instantly turned frosty. His eyes gleamed coldly as he stared at the person who stood up to invite Yan Liqiang to a duel.

“Hahaha, could it be that Lord Sun’s personal attendants are all so cowardly that they don’t even dare to stand on the Arena of Life and Death?” The person ‘from the Gao Clan’ shot Yan Liqiang a look of contempt, then chuckled mischievously. “You from the Liang Clan, do not talk about finishing anyone off. We’ll talk if you can make it out alive...”

“Brother Liang, how does this Imperial Capital’s Arena of Life and Death work?” Yan Liqiang turned his head around and asked Liang Yijie before he could even say anything.

“Participants in the same cultivation realm who are willing to duel will be responsible for their own life and death.” Liang Yijie answered bluntly.

After hearing that, Yan Liqiang nodded, then looked at the person ‘from the Gao Clan’ with a smile. “I am currently only a Martial Warrior. If you can find a Martial Warrior too, I don’t really mind dueling him in the Arena of Life and Death!”

“So Lord Sun’s newly recruited personal attendant is merely a lowly Martial Warrior! Hahaha! What a joke! It seems like Lord Sun has indeed run out of help. No wonder why the felon in his custody got beheaded by someone in Hui Provincial City, turning him into the butt of a joke...!” As soon as the person ‘from the Gao Clan’ and Xu Lang heard that Yan Liqiang was only a Martial Warrior, both of them roared with laughter together as though they had just heard a joke.

When the other guards in the servant quarter heard that Yan Liqiang was only a Martial Warrior, all of them stared at Yan Liqiang in surprise as though they had never expected Yan Liqiang’s cultivation level ‘to be so low’. Indeed, a Martial Warrior could be proud of himself in a small village in the countryside. However, in a place like the Imperial Capital, it would be ridiculous for a mere Martial Warrior to become the guard and personal attendant of a high-ranking imperial court official. Putting aside the rest, the guards and personal attendants in this servant quarter were at least Grade One Martial Masters. It had been a long time since a Grade One Martial Warrior could even set foot in this servant quarter on this side of the palace.

Liang Yijie couldn’t restrain himself from rushing over there, but Yan Liqiang pulled him back. He was still calmly looking at the two people who were laughing like mad. “I am only fifteen years old and I am only a Martial Warrior. What is so funny about that? All of you might not be stronger than me when you were my age. Lord Sun chose me as his personal servant not for my martial capabilities, but for my other strengths.”

“You have other strengths?” The person ‘from the Gao Clan’ immediately stopped laughing and probed.

“Of course.” Yan Liqiang replied with a poker face and looked around. When he saw everyone in the servant quarter looking at him attentively with curiosity written on their faces, he continued calmly. “My biggest strength is being able to make those shameless and despicable people pounce on me and bark at me like mad dogs as soon as they see me. When Lord Sun has me around him, he can easily identify those shameless and despicable people without wasting too much effort!”

“Hahaha. Well said!” When Liang Yijie, who was about to pounce on those people, heard Yan Liqiang, he couldn’t help but roar with laughter. The others guards and personal attendants in the servant quarter were also secretly commending Yan Liqiang when they heard him. A few of them couldn’t even stifle their giggles. No one could really rival Yan Liqiang’s standards in his insults. Without any curse words, he still managed to roast them good.

When the person ‘from the Gao Clan’ heard that, his smile was instantly wiped off his face that had turned as black as a pot’s bottom. He glared at Yan Liqiang coldly as a murderous look flashed across his eyes.

“This is the palace’s servant quarter. There are rules to be observed here. Do not blame me for being rude to whoever that starts a fight here!” Just then, an armored man who looked like a general appeared at the entrance of the servant quarter with a few guards. He looked at the four people who were confronting each other in the servant quarter and warned them coldly.

......

Liang Yijie shot a glare at Xu Lang and the person ‘from the Gao Clan’, then led Yan Liqiang to an empty table in the servant quarter wordlessly. Xu Lang and the person ‘from the Gao Clan’ looked at the man standing at the servant quarter’s entrance, then exchanged looks with each other before they also sat down...

.....

Although Yan Liqiang appeared to be calm on the surface, it was quite the opposite in his heart. He didn’t expect trouble to come knocking so soon on his second day in the Imperial Capital. Thinking carefully again, Xu Lang’s provocation was definitely not driven by sudden impulse. He seemed to have infuriated Liang Yijie on purpose by seizing the opportunity in challenging Liang Yijie to a duel of life and death. As for that person ‘from the Gao Clan’, he was probably trying to find out more about Yan Liqiang before he deliberately humiliated him to damage Sun Bingchen’s reputation.

Liang Yijie seemed to have come to a realization as well. When he opened his mouth earlier, he seemed to have fallen into the trap which had been set by the others. The look in his eyes involuntarily turned grave...

“Brother Liang...”

“It will be fine!” Liang Yijie smiled and shook his head to Yan Liqiang. “Things that are meant to come will inevitably come...”

“Those two are?” Yan Liqiang asked in a low voice.

“The personal bodyguards of Lord Sun’s political enemy. They’re not good people. I have some history with that Xu Lang and I taught him a lesson before...”

Chapter 248: The Universe’s Like A Stage

Just when Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie were resting in the servant quarter outside the palace, Sun Bingchen had already entered the palace. Guided by a eunuch from the palace, they went through countless doors and corridors before they arrived at a secluded royal study inside the palace.

“Please wait for a moment, Lord Sun. His Majesty is inside and has instructed that there’s no need to report if you have come. You may go straight in!”

“Thank you, Eunuch Xue!”

“You are most welcome!” The eunuch who led Lord Sun here smiled until his eyes were squinched. “We all work for His Majesty. Your humble servant understands that Lord Sun who is always on the road has it a lot tougher than me!”

Sun Bingchen nodded, then pushed open the door to the royal study and went in. Eunuch Xue shut the royal study’s door behind Sun Bingchen.

“Lord Sun is having anin audience with His Majesty! Please refrain from coming within fifty meters of the royal study! Those who violate the rule will be beheaded...!” Eunuch Xue shouted so loudly outside that his sharp voice could be heard from the inside. He then walked away from the door.

Dressed in his dragon robe, a man with a delicate and handsome face sat behind a table. On the table was a pile of memorials. As soon as he saw Sun Bingchen push the door open, he instantly stood up behind the table and looked at Sun Bingchen excitedly.

“Greetings, Your Majesty...” Sun Bingchen bowed deeply to the Emperor of the Great Han Empire.

“Lord Sun, forego the formalities!” The Emperor immediately came out from behind the table and went in front of Sun Bingchen. Taking a good look at Sun Bingchen from head to toe, he suppressed his emotions and asked with a slightly quivering voice, “That person... have you found him...?”

“Your Majesty is the ruler of an empire. The universe is in your chest – the rising sun and moon are in your grasp.[1] You should always maintain your composure!” Sun Bingchen was rather composed.

“We already knew that Lord Sun was back since yesterday. I tossed and turned all night, finding it difficult to fall asleep. If I wasn’t concerned about people talking or attracting too much attention, I would have summoned Lord Sun to the palace last night...!” The Emperor of the Great Han Empire lifted his head and let out a long sigh, worries etched on his face. “Lord Sun’s journey to the northwestern region is what has been on my mind lately. That day, Lord Su sacrificed ten years of his lifespan to peer into the secrets of Heaven. The words he left for I were: ‘Over ten thousand miles of rivers and mountains, not a soul is present in nine out of ten cities. The nation bathes in blood and the jade dragon shatters.’ Our hope lies in this person. The Great Han Empire is troubled by internal strife and foreign aggression – the perils of future unknown. How can I not be anxious...?”

Sun Bingchen inhaled deeply, then slowly nodded. He spoke with a solemn tone, “Your Majesty, the Heavens indeed bless the good. I, your humble servant, did not fail you... I have found that person!”

The Emperor got excited again and couldn’t restrain himself from grabbing Sun Bingchen’s hands. “Is that person in the Imperial Capital now...?”

“I, your humble servant, have already brought him to the Imperial Capital. He is right outside the palace as we speak!”

Upon hearing Sun Bingchen’s reply, the Emperor’s face flushed with delight. “Then why didn’t Lord Sun bring him into the palace to let me meet him?!”

“Your Majesty, he is only a youth and he is currently only my personal attendant who has yet to receive his official rank. How can he possibly enter the palace to have an audience with Your Majesty? If I recklessly brought him into the palace to meet you, I’m afraid it might not be a good thing for Your Majesty either!”

“Right, right, right. I am too impatient. Indeed, we must not be reckless in this matter. The lack of patience in small matters will spoil great plans...” The Emperor clenched his fist as he tried to suppress the excitement in his heart. He then quickly resumed with his questions. “What is the name of that youth? How old is he? What is his family background like?”

“The youth’s surname is Yan, and his name is Liqiang. He is fifteen years of age this year and he is the son of a blacksmith from Pingxi City in Gan Province...”

“The surname is Yan... So it was Yan...” The Emperor murmured to himself, then clapped his hands loudly. “Why didn’t I think of that?! ‘Daringly boasts to devour the heavens in two mouthfuls’... Doesn’t the character ‘Yan’ have two mouths on top of it?!” When the Emperor spoke up to this point, he turned toward Sun Bingchen in enthusiasm again. “I wonder if there’s anything else that is special about this youth?”

“He is indeed a special one. He placed first among the top three in last year’s Martial Arts County Trial. Not only that, I heard something marvelous about him as soon as I arrived in Pingxi City!”

“What was it about?”

“The locals were saying that this youth met a deity in his dreams and he received a wondrous method imparted by a deity to save drowning people. It was proven to be extremely effective and many hopeless victims who drowned were successfully revived through this wondrous method. The method spread itself in Pingxi City last year and it is said to have saved countless lives. It is indeed a great contribution...”

As soon as the Emperor heard that, his eyes were almost sparkling in disbelief. “Who would have thought of meeting a deity in a dream and receiving the teachings of a wondrous method? Just what exactly is this life-saving wondrous method? Has Minister Sun ever tested the method?”

“That wondrous method involves performing moxibustion on the navel of a drowned victim who has stopped breathing and cannot be rescued. It grants a chance in reviving them. By the time I arrived in Gan Province, it was already winter. No one was swimming, so I didn’t encounter any drowned victims. However, I instructed my personal attendant, Yijie, to visit the rural villages in Pingxi City to investigate this matter. He found a few children who had been rescued with this method, thus proving this to be true!”

“Marvelous! Little did I expect the method to be this simple. It is indeed unheard of. If this method can be propagated throughout the empire, countless deaths from drowning among billions of my people will be significantly reduced, and the tragedies of broken families can be prevented. Just this method alone can save countless people...”

“Yes. That is why I have said that this method is a great contribution. Most importantly, after Yan Liqiang rescued someone with the said method back then, he took the initiative to impart the knowledge to his fellow villagers instead of keeping it to himself. From this, we can see how benevolent he is!”

“How did the claim about receiving teachings from a deity in his dream come about?”

“I, your humble servant, have already thoroughly investigated this. According to the physicians and eyewitnesses in Pingxi Prefecture who saw Yan Liqiang perform this method for the very first time, this statement came from Yan Liqiang himself after he rescued the victim back then...”

“Then how did Minister Sun discover him?”

“In regards to that, Your Majesty is indeed blessed by the Heavens. When I, your humble servant, went northwest, I was at a loss what to do. I was only thinking about how to take Ye Clan down. Little did I expect that the moment I arrived in Gan Province, I caught wind of a huge incident in Pingxi City. Not only that, the incident was related to the Ye Clan. Have you heard about this incident, Your Majesty?”

The Emperor nodded. “I have already seen the memorial presented by the supreme court!”

“Then Your Majesty should know that the Ye Clan’s incident in Pingxi City was exposed mainly thanks to Yan Liqiang...”

“Oh?” The Emperor immediately raised his eyebrows. “Why is it him again?”

Sun Bingchen recounted the incident and Yan Liqiang’s involvements in it again...

After hearing about Yan Liqiang’s keen eyesight which allowed him to discern the disguised Shatu man with just a single glance, then tailing him to Ye Xiao’s bawdy den before finally alerting the entire city, the Emperor couldn’t help but sing praises about his courage and astuteness.

After hearing how Sun Bingchen tested Yan Liqiang with his screen for the first time and Yan Liqiang’s performance after becoming his personal attendant, particularly during the exciting battles between them and the Blackwind Bandits, the Emperor was stunned. “What? Minister Sun, you are saying that the young Yan Liqiang is the enemy of a hundred enemies on the battlefield? The godlike arrows he released are swift like lightning bolts, and he has already attained the Third Heavenly Layer in the art of archery? Not only that, he also possesses an astonishing amount of strength which allowed him to draw his bow tirelessly, and is able to kill more than a hundred Blackwind Bandits with his bow alone until they fled in all directions? This is not the strength that a youth like him should possess...”

“Indeed. I have personally witnessed all this and many other guards in the party can testify to this too. Without Yan Liqiang, I’m afraid only less than one-third of the guards in the party would have made it back alive. Even I didn’t expect Yan Liqiang to possess such capabilities at such a tender age. It was a pity that Your Majesty didn’t get to personally witness that. If you did, you surely would believe that all I have said are complete truths. Yan Liqiang leaped off his steed and sprinted across the battlefield, boldly obliterating enemies within the radius of a thousand meters like a valiant general. I, your humble servant, may have observed countless individuals, yet I have never met anyone of this caliber!”

“How did he come to possess such skill in archery? Is he apprenticed to a master?”

“I, your humble servant, have questioned him before. He claims that he self-taught himself in the art of archery. However, I am conjecturing that he probably received teachings in archery from the deity in his dreams. He was just afraid that telling the truth would lead to criticism, so he would rather claim that it was self-taught. In the beginning, he didn’t even want to reveal his cultivation in archery. It was only when we encountered the Blackwind Bandits, when he had no choice but to expose his abilities for the sake of rescuing his comrades...”

“What a character! So Lord Su really did not lie to me...” The Emperor stood up again excitedly and began pacing around in circles inside the study room.

“Yes, of course Lord Su didn’t lie to you, Your Majesty!” Sun Bingchen sighed again. “When I, your humble servant, met Yan Liqiang, I was skeptical at first too. I just couldn’t be completely certain that he was indeed the person that Your Majesty requested for me to search for, because there are a number of gifted youths in this vast empire. However, the more time I spend with Yan Liqiang, the more I see his phenomenal qualities. If he isn’t the person Lord Su is talking about, then I am not sure who else is capable of doing all this. It’s not just Yan Liqiang, even the dog he keeps is out of the ordinary. It is extremely gifted and has done a few meritorious deeds along the way...”

Sun Bingchen then proceeded to tell the Emperor about Goldie.

“After listening to Minister Sun, I am even more curious to know what this Yan Liqiang looks like!”

“Definitely not now, Your Majesty. We still need to find the right timing!”

“Tell me how, Minister Sun.”

“Yan Liqiang is still young. Despite his meritorious performance while escorting me back to the Imperial Capital, it would be too suspicious for Your Majesty to show an interest in him and promote him upon his arrival at Imperial Capital. We can station him somewhere Your Majesty can see, so you can slowly observe and think about how to best utilize him. On the other hand, this will also allow him some room for growth. While we were traveling these few days, I noticed that the encounter between Yan Liqiang and The Banes of Heaven and Earth in Hui Province greatly affected him. He seems to have the intention to cultivate again and breakthrough. At a time like this, perhaps it will be wiser for us make use of this favorable situation and push the boat in the direction of the current...”

While listening to Sun Bingchen, the Emperor gradually unknitted his eyebrows...

Chapter 249: New Arrangements

Sun Bingchen was in the palace for nearly three hours before he finally came out. During the three hours, Yan Liqiang, who had been staying in the servant quarter, understood one thing – the undercurrents in the Imperial Capital of the Great Han Empire were probably more intense than he had imagined.

He and Liang Yijie had just returned to the Imperial Capital yesterday. Today, someone in this servant quarter was already looking to duel Liang Yijie and him. This duel was most likely directed at Sun Bingchen. To some people, perhaps ordering The Banes of Heaven and Earth to kill the Crown Prince’s advisor in Hui Provincial City was still not a strong enough deterrent, given the fact that Sun Bingchen had eliminated the Ye Clan in Gan Province and displeased them. Therefore, one of Sun Bingchen’s personal attendants had to die. Only that could serve as an intimidation and a good lesson for Sun Bingchen.

Duels in the Arena of Life and Death were completely legal in the Imperial Capital. In fact, this tradition had been passed down for thousands of years. From distinguished high ranking officials to ordinary citizens, for anyone who found themselves in situations of love and hate that couldn’t be solved with the laws to the point where both parties were mutually exclusive like water and fire, the Arena of Life and Death became a place for many to publicly settle a dispute. Long ago, there were ministers from the imperial court who challenged each other to a duel in the Arena of Life and Death due to their difference in political views. However, this was later banned. Aside from that, guards and attendants like Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie were not prohibited from dueling in the Arena of Life and Death.

As soon as Sun Bingchen came out from the palace, the guard on duty outside came into the servant quarter to inform Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie. Both of them then left the servant quarter to escort Sun Bingchen back to his residence in Carriage Alley.

When they left the servant quarter, Yan Liqiang secretly thought to himself that the news about one of Sun Bingchen’s personal attendants being only a Martial Warrior would probably spread like wildfire in the Imperial Capital in less than two days.

By the time they returned to Sun Bingchen’s residence, the servants had just finished preparing lunch. After the three of them finished their lunch, Sun Bingchen summoned Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie into his study at the same time.

“Yijie, I heard that Vice Minister Qu’s personal attendant, Xu Lang, challenged you to a duel in the servant quarter?” Sun Bingchen had a rather grave expression on his face.

“I didn’t expect you to have heard about it, sir. I was just going to tell you about that!”

“Of course I knew. As soon as I excused myself from His Majesty, someone already informed me about the incident in the servant quarter when I was still in the palace. The moment Xu Lang opened his mouth today, it was evident that he was trying to provoke you so that you would fall into his trap!” Sun Bingchen sighed again. “Although his behavior appears to be directed to you on the surface, it was directed to me in reality. You got involved because of me!”

Liang Yijie’s face was relatively calm instead. “The resentment between Xu Lang and I hasn’t been just a day or two. If it weren’t for our positions, I would have fallen him with my sword. We have never seen eye to eye with each other and Xu Lang is always after my life. Why would I not want to settle this once and for all with him? Now that an opportunity has presented itself, I shall accept it. It is not certain yet who is the one that has fallen into a trap!”

“You should be aware that over the past few months since our departure from the Imperial Capital, Xu Lang has been cultivating in seclusion. I heard that after he came out from seclusion, his cultivation significantly improved and isn’t far from the next advancement. Xu Lang’s provocation this time was definitely premeditated since long ago!”

“A duel of life and death is not as simple as comparing cultivation realms. A person’s judgment, situational responses, fighting spirit, and even luck are all extremely important factors. Since ancient times, the number of cases where a lower-ranked martial practitioner kills a higher-ranked one is too many to count, not to mention the fact that Xu Lang and I are on par in terms of cultivation. Even if he was a realm above me, I still wouldn’t be afraid of him!”

“Since I have already returned to the Imperial Capital, there is no need to worry about my personal safety. My battlefield lies in the imperial court, not outside. For the subsequent month, you should take a break from your work. I have nothing much for you anyway, so you can find a place to peacefully cultivate in seclusion and prepare yourself for the Arena of Life and Death!”

“Understood!” Liang Yijie cupped his fists to Sun Bingchen and didn’t decline. After accepting the challenge from Xu Lang, he definitely needed to go into seclusion for a period of time to prepare for this battle of life and death.

“And Liqiang...” Sun Bingchen’s gaze suddenly fell on Yan Liqiang and the expression on his face immediately softened too. “There’s something I would like to discuss with you!”

“Go ahead, sir!” Yan Liqiang was secretly wondering what Sun Bingchen wanted to discuss with him.

“We were fortunate enough to have had your support during the journey from Gan Province this time, Liqiang. I indeed made the right choice in choosing you as my personal attendant back in Gan Province on that day!”

“You are flattering me, sir. These are all what Liqiang is supposed to do. Compared to how you eliminated a scourge for Gan Province and the citizens of Pingxi Prefecture, my contribution means little to nothing sir!”

“There’s no need to be humble, Liqiang. Even in the Imperial Capital, people who possess your abilities at your age are rare to come by!” Sun Bingchen waved his hand. “Admittedly, I chose you as my personal attendant in Pingxi City back then because of your abilities and personality, Liqiang. Most importantly, I still do not wish for you to be overlooked in Pingxi City. In the few days after leaving Hui Province, I thought that I shouldn’t make you stay around after we arrived at the Imperial Capital. At your age, this is the time to properly cultivate your abilities. Making you stay by my side might seem as though you are being regarded highly, but it will tarry you in the long run...”

Yan Liqiang was taken aback by Sun Bingchen’s words. He was actually hesitant about requesting for a leave of absence from Sun Bingchen at this moment. Little did he expect for Sun Bingchen to actually be thinking further ahead of him. “Please don’t say that, sir. I have learned a lot while staying by your side too!”

“Haha, never mind about learning those social niceties, worldly wisdom, and gibberish in the bureaucracy, Liqiang. Given how bright you are, you will naturally pick up those things when the time comes without needing to learn from me. In this world that advocates martial arts, one still needs to rely on their strength and cultivation in order to stand above everyone and become the country’s pillar. By the time Liqiang achieves the strength and cultivation, everything else will come too! You are only fifteen years of age and still young. If you can focus on cultivating for five or ten years and elevate your cultivation realms by a few more levels, brilliant prospects will naturally follow! By then, all the fame, glory, wealth, and honor will be at your fingertips!” Sun Bingchen stroked his beard and told Yan Liqiang this with a smile.

“Sir, what are you trying to say...”

“I have arranged for a more suitable position for your current situation, Liqiang. You will be stationed at the Deer Villa in the western outskirts of the Imperial Capital...”

Upon hearing that Sun Bingchen was going to assign Yan Liqiang to the Deer Villa, Liang Yijie shot him a surprised look. However, he didn’t make any further comments.

Yan Liqiang was scratching his head rather cluelessly. “Sir... where is this Deer Villa you speak of...?”

“The Deer Villa is another manor owned by royalty in the outskirts of the Imperial Capital. His Majesty used to practice archery and martial arts there when he was still young. He now rarely visits the Deer Villa, so it is usually very quiet there. There aren’t many officers there either, so disturbances are minimal and it is ideal for Liqiang to cultivate in peace. As my personal attendant, by right you should be assigned to the Imperial Cavalry Unit which just happens to be stationed at the Deer Villa. Therefore, it is perfectly reasonable for Liqiang to become a guard at the Deer Villa. You may pack your belongings tonight. From tomorrow onward, you will be released from your duty as my personal attendant and will report to the Deer Villa...”

“Sir...”

“Liqiang, you don’t have to say it. I know what you want to say. I, Sun Bingchen, serve His Majesty. Likewise, working for me by my side would mean that you also serve His Majesty. The Imperial Cavalry Unit is also directly under His Majesty’s command, and therefore you will still be serving His Majesty at the Deer Villa. It is no different than working for me by my side and I am still grateful for it. You don’t need to worry about my side either. Even without you and Yijie around, as an official of the imperial court, new arrangements for me will be taken care of. There will not be any issues!”

What else could Yan Liqiang say? Sun Bingchen had made arrangements for everything before he could even make a peep. Hence, Yan Liqiang stopped with the pretension. He only sincerely cupped his fist to Sun Bingchen and spoke with a solemn voice, “Thank you for the blessings, sir!”

“Liqiang, you have earned this through your numerous contributions and assistance too. Oh right, a few capable experts whom His Majesty took in before also live inside the Deer Villa in seclusion. If an opportunity presents itself, there is no harm in seeking guidance from those experts, Liqiang. I am certain that you will find it very rewarding...”

Chapter 250: Loyalty First

Although Sun Bingchen’s arrangements were somewhat unexpected, his words were perfectly reasonable and logical. Hence, Yan Liqiang never doubted Sun Bingchen’s intention in ‘resigning himself’ to release and assign Yan Liqiang to Deer Villa.

In Yan Liqiang’s eyes, Sun Bingchen was a complex person. For the sake of completing his mission as a Patrol Inspector, he led a group of escorts and himself into dangerous situations without any hesitation and regarded human lives as worthless. The harshness and coldness in Sun Bingchen’s personality once shunned Yan Liqiang away so much that he didn’t even want to get too close to him. Yet toward him, Sun Bingchen’s heartfelt concern and care for Yan Liqiang moved him.

......

After leaving Sun Bingchen’s study, Yan Liqiang returned to his room and started pacing back and forth. After pondering for a bit, he finally retrieved some papers and a brush before he started writing something from his memory.

In just half an hour, Yan Liqiang wrote down a complete copy of the ‘Five Elemental Poison King Divine Technique’ he had obtained.

After the papers were dried, Yan Liqiang rummaged through his luggage again and retrieved the three rare beast crystal cores which he had stashed in a pouch in the compartment. Two of them were from Pingxi City, along with the ‘Five Elemental Poison King Divine Technique’. He obtained the remaining one from the centipede last time when he killed some priest from the Sacred Flame.

After verifying the three crystal cores in the pouch, Yan Liqiang kept the pouch and the copy of secret manual he wrote on him. He then left his room, made half a round in the yard, and arrived at the door to Liang Yijie’s room. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door.

“Brother Liang, are you in?”

The door opened with a creak, revealing Liang Yijie. He looked at Yan Liqiang. “You’re looking for me, Liqiang?”

“Yes, Brother Liang. I have something to tell you, may I come in?”

“Of course, come in!” Liang Yijie smiled and immediately welcomed Yan Liqiang into his room.

As soon as Yan Liqiang entered, he scanned Liang Yijie’s room and saw the luggage he was packing and some weapons. “You’re packing, Brother Liang?”

“Yes. Lord Sun has ordered me to prepare quickly and go into seclusion without wasting any more time!”

“Where will you seclude yourself?”

“The mountain behind the Xiangshan Dojo outside the Imperial Capital. I am a friend of the dojo master there so I can just inform him when I arrive!” Liang Yijie smiled. From the expression on his face, he didn’t seem to be nervous about the battle of life and death which would take place in a month from now. Instead, he had the demeanor of a great general. “Oh right, why were you looking for me?”

Yan Liqiang didn’t say much. He just took out a copy of the ‘Five Elemental Poison King Divine Technique’ manual he wrote just now and the three precious crystal cores he had stashed near his chest. He handed them to Liang Yijie. “Brother Liang, these are for you. See if they will be useful to you!”

Liang Yijie curiously accepted them. As soon as he flipped open the ‘Five Elemental Poison King Divine Technique’ manual Yan Liqiang had prepared, the expression on his face couldn’t help but contort as he gasped. He immediately shot a look of surprise at Yan Liqiang. “Liqiang... This... Where did you get it from?”

“Brother Liang, I found this on a corpse by chance when I was in Gan Province last year. I have a feeling that it is an unusual secret manual. But since I have no idea what circumstances surrounded it, I never told anyone about it after obtaining it. I just memorized the secret manual before I incinerated it!” Yan Liqiang gave him an explanation, then showed him the three core crystals in the pouch. “I found two of them along with this secret manual and got the other one some time ago. Since Brother Liang is going to battle someone in the Arena of Life and Death in a month’s time, I figured only these can be of aid to you. Two of the five-elemental rare beast core crystals are still lacking. If Brother Liang can find the other two rare beast core crystals, you will be able to condense a Five Elemental Poison King Core Crystal in your dantian in just a few days according to the secret manual. With that, as long as Brother Liang uses this against Xu Lang during your battle in the Arena of Life and Death, victory will definitely be in your grasp. Since the ‘Five Elemental Poison King Divine Technique’ is a technique you have cultivated, it will not be considered as an external force. Therefore, it is not against the rules to use this in the Arena of Life and Death!”

Liang Yijie stared at Yan Liqiang in a daze. After Yan Liqiang finished speaking, his gaze shifted between Yan Liqiang’s face and the items in his hands before he broke out in laughter. Feeling extremely moved, he patted Yan Liqiang’s shoulder hard. “Liqiang, my good brother! I, Liang Yijie, wasn’t wrong about you after all! You are definitely a brother for life! But I can’t possibly accept these things from you!”

“Why not, Brother Liang?! Why can’t you accept them?” Yan Liqiang was slightly worked up. “These are sincere gifts from me! It might be difficult to find the other two five-elemental rare beast core crystals in other places, but didn’t Brother Liang say that the Imperial Capital is full of surprises and that one can buy almost anything as long as they have money? I have some money here too. Please take if it can be of use to you, Brother Liang!”

“You misunderstand me, Liqiang!” Liang Yijie smiled and sat him down. “Do you know the origin of this ‘Five Elemental Poison King Divine Technique’?”

Yan Liqiang shook his head. Realization only dawned on him when he saw the look on Liang Yijie’s face. “Ah, could it be that Brother Liang knows about it?”

Liang Yijie nodded as the expression on his face turned grave. “I happen to have heard about it from my master. This ‘Five Elemental Poison King Divine Technique’ is a secret technique which originated from the Poison King Sect. I refuse to accept these items because the ‘Five Elemental Poison King Divine Technique’ is a secret manual that no one has ever succeeded in cultivating. Not only that, this secret manual once caused quite a lot of bloodshed where many lives were lost. However, everyone who cultivated according to the content in this secret manual to form the Poison King Core Crystal in their dantian all died as a result of their body exploding without exception. No one has ever survived it. This secret manual eventually vanished from the eyes of the world. It has been many years since anyone last heard of it. The last time it appeared was about sixty years ago. Therefore, your cluelessness on the circumstances surrounding this secret manual is understandable, Liqiang!”

“Oh, why did that happen?”

“That is because this ‘Five Elemental Poison King Divine Technique’ was conceived from an exceptional genius in the Poison King Sect who wished to attain the Heavenly Bestowment and thus be known as a founder. Unfortunately, he was the first to die from cultivating the secret manual he created himself. Quite a number of people who obtained the secret manual were later tempted by the might of the ‘Five Elemental Poison King Divine Technique’ and went on to cultivate it. In the end, none survived. So now you know why I can’t accept this...”

Yan Liqiang was stunned and couldn’t help but shudder. He didn’t expect the ‘Five Elemental Poison King Divine Technique’ secret manual he obtained to have such history – it was a semi-finished product that could only have been created by a madman and a genius. Fortunately he never got the chance to cultivate it yet because he couldn’t fulfill the prerequisites. If he did, he would have cultivated it a lot sooner and he would have met the same fate.

Truth be told, Yan Liqiang was actually wondering if he could buy two rare beast core crystals somewhere in the Imperial Capital to cultivate it when he was escorting Sun Bingchen to the palace this morning. He had taken the risk in giving this secret manual to Liang Yijie this time because he wanted to help him. Little did he expect that his action would unintentionally save his own life and successfully prevent him from falling into this great pitfall and thus meeting his end.

If he didn’t give the secret manual to the Liang Yijie this time, he would probably be killed by it at any time. If he died this time, having the Heavenly Realm or the Heavenly Stone would have been for nothing.

Yan Liqiang wiped the sheen of cold sweat on his forehead away. “Thank you, Brother Liang. If it wasn’t for you, I might have just cultivated it at any given moment!”

Liang Yijie let out an emotional sigh. “This is thanks to Liqiang’s spirit of loyalty and good fortune. It would be best for you to not take this thing out again. If someone saw it and word got around, you might find yourself in big trouble...” Liang Yijie pressed the secret manual Yan Liqiang had written between his hands. The papers instantly turned into ashes and fell to the ground. He then returned the three rare beast core crystals into the pouch and handed it over to Yan Liqiang again. “Keep this, my good brother...”

Chapter 251: Farewell

The encounters between people were truly fascinating. Yan Liqiang didn’t expect to leave Sun Bingchen’s side and suddenly receive a new position and job so soon after they arrived at the Imperial Capital together.

To this regard, Yan Liqiang didn’t really mind. He was instead very grateful to Sun Bingchen. He had followed Sun Bingchen to the Imperial Capital for the sake of experiencing and witnessing the marvel of this world. It was pretty nice for him to experience a change of pace now.

Early the next morning, after officially bidding farewell to Sun Bingchen, Sun Bingchen had Liang Yijie personally escort Yan Liqiang to Deer Villa in the western outskirts of the Imperial Capital.

Yan Liqiang rode on Snowstorm Cloud. Goldie, who had already recovered from its injury, was bouncing around Snowstorm Cloud merrily. It was the third lunar month in the spring season – the outskirts of Imperial Capital were decorated with brightly-colored blossoms and green willows. As soon as they exited the city gates of the Imperial Capital early in the morning, the road was already filled with passersby and carriages. Since the weather was fine, many people came out early in the morning on their steeds or on their carriages to go for a hike in the spring. There were quite a number of historical sites and scenic spots around the Imperial Capital. Also, there was quite a number of private gardens and villas that belonged to the influential officials. The traffic on the road was like an endless stream.

Liang Yijie’s luggage and longsword were hanging from the saddle of his steed. After escorting Yan Liqiang to Deer Villa, he would go into seclusion to prepare for the battle of life and death with Xu Lang in a month’s time.

Yan Liqiang also hung his Horned Python Bow on his steed’s saddle. Despite the fact that both of them were armed with weapons, they weren’t questioned when they exited the city gates. Yan Liqiang looked around on his rhinodrake steed. People who carried weapons like bows or sabers with them were everywhere. Some of them were even ridiculous – they had long-ranged weapons like spears, pikes, or lances on their steeds. No one batted an eyelid at them either; everyone had grown accustomed to these strange sights.

“Brother Liang, the citizens of Gan Province can be considered tough. From what I see today, the citizens of the Imperial Capital seem to be even tougher than those from the northwestern provinces!” Yan Liqiang exclaimed in amazement to Liang Yijie on his rhinodrake steed.

“Liqiang, allow me to enlighten you. The citizens of the Imperial Capital are not really tough – it’s more like this is where the dignitaries gather, so hidden dragons and crouching tigers are everywhere. Internal strifes are present everywhere, from the imperial court to the countryside. If the Great Han Empire is a lake, then the Imperial Capital would be the deepest part of the lake. The major sects of the world each have their own dojos set up in the Imperial Capital – major merchant groups and aristocratic clans also have branches here. Not only that, the provincial governors and influential officials from different provinces also have connections to the military here. The many people you see riding on this road with their warbows and long-ranged weapons are most likely guards. Not only that, many of them are also the sons of meritorious officials in the Imperial Capital. Their way forward is none other than pursuing a career in the military. Therefore, bowmanship, horsemanship, and wielding long-ranged weapons are all essential skills. Since they can’t put their skills to good use in the city, they often find companions to train and spar outside the city. Those who hold long-ranged weapons and war bows are average citizens. Since land in the Imperial Capital is extremely expensive, quite a number of dojos and sect branches are built outside the city. These people armed with weapons are all either heading to the dojos outside the city or the other major sect branches to train...”

“But there are really too many people studying bowmanship, horsemanship, and long-ranged weaponry in the Imperial Capital! I don’t think this many people are studying to master those in other places...”

“Hahaha! Given how smart you are, why haven’t you figured it out yet, Liqiang?!” Liang Yijie laughed heartily on his steed. “Bowmanship, horsemanship, and the study of long-ranged weapons are all battle techniques on military battlegrounds. Since these battle techniques are a lot more useful and effective than other martial art battle techniques, they are also highly sought after in the military. Therefore, with a solid foundation in these, one will naturally find it easier to climb the military ladder and be promoted. In the Imperial Capital, countless people, ranging from wealthy nobles to average citizens, have single-mindedly set their hearts on reaching the goal of becoming an official. Those average citizens in particular chase after that goal like wild geese...”

Yan Liqiang racked his brains for awhile before finally comprehending it. “Oh, I see! And I was wondering why there were so many people armed with warbows and other long-ranged weapons coming in and going out of the Imperial Capital, despite the fact that this place is not a frontier...”

“If we are going to talk about it, I think this path will best suit you, Liqiang!” Liang Yijie gave Yan Liqiang a meaningful glance. “Liqiang, your current strength lies in bowmanship and horsemanship. As soon as you have a bow in hand, you can cleanly sweep a battlefield of a hundred soldiers alone. Being a personal attendant by Lord Sun’s side will not give you many opportunities to put your strength to good use and you may even end up being overlooked. If you join the military, just your cultivation in archery alone will be a highly sought-after skill. Getting promoted through the ranks will be a breeze. This is also the reason why Lord Sun is willing to let you go. Otherwise, he wouldn’t let such a talented individual like you go so easily.”

Yan Liqiang smiled humbly. “I am not as impressive as Brother Liang claims. I am merely a humble Martial Warrior who is lagging too far behind Brother Liang...”

“There’s no need to be modest, Liqiang. The only limiting factor to your cultivation is your age. Given enough time to cultivate, I believe you will definitely surpass me by the time you reach my age. I am not an expert on battlegrounds, but after seeing your performance against those Blackwind Bandits the other day, I am certain that if Liqiang were to serve in the army in the future, you would definitely be the one unrivaled valiant general who can lead a magnificent army with thousands of men and steeds on the battlegrounds...!”

“To be honest, I think it might even be better if I don’t become some unrivaled valiant general in my entire life!” Yan Liqiang said with a smile.

“Why is that so?” Liang Yijie questioned him in puzzlement.

“A peaceful world where people live in harmony will have no need for valiant generals!” Yan Liqiang lifted his head and gazed at the rosy clouds of dawn. “I only want to travel around, appreciate the sceneries of this flourishing world and live life to fullest before finally settling down somewhere to start some small businesses with a few like-minded friends and become a billionaire. Then I want to live a simple life with the woman I love. We’d cultivate together to strengthen our bodies and live a long, healthy life. By the time I’m old, I want to play with my grandchildren and enjoy a loving family life – a life like this is really not a bad one!”

“It would be great if things really go as you wish. However, I’m afraid that such a peaceful and balanced lifestyle is hard to come by. In the world we live in, there has never been a shortage of people who burn with the wild ambitions of a stray wolf. Some people will not even bat an eyelid at sacrificing millions of lives or turning this flourished world into a living hell just for the sake of achieving their selfish goals. The current state of affairs in the Great Han Empire is enough to make Lord Sun sigh day and night. Therefore, the lifestyle you speak of may be nothing more than just wishful thinking...”

Yan Liqiang also sighed inwardly when he was reminded of the ‘major events’ that would take place in the Great Han Empire in the coming years, feeling that his thinking was indeed wishful. Although the Great Han Empire could still be roughly considered stable in the coming years, the White Lotus Society was staging an internal uprising. The tension and conflicts with the Dark Ram Tribe and the Chaman people in northwestern and eastern borders were intensifying with each passing day. A few vassal states in the south would even throw themselves into the arms of the New Crescent Dynasty. These incidents were indeed not good omens. Apart from that, the rivalry between the monarchical power and imperial power in the Imperial Capital would be in full swing. After giving it some thought, rather than fantasizing about a peaceful life, this vast empire would probably plunge into the raging battle flames and sink into chaos at any unforeseen circumstance...

Troubled times in human history never descended without rhyme or reason. Various omens would be present before chaos descended.

As a mere Martial Warrior, it was useless for him to think that far. Yan Liqiang cast away all those thoughts in his mind and changed the subject. “Oh right, how did the feud between you and that Xu Lang from yesterday start, Brother Liang...?”

“That Xu Lang lusts after women and likes to act as he pleases. One time, I happened to run into him somewhere in the Imperial Capital’s outskirts. He was teasing and humiliating a woman who was sightseeing out there. I couldn’t help but teach him a lesson and that was how we became enemies. Back then he didn’t have the Vice Minister to rely on. By the time he ended up serving this current Vice Minister, that is when we both became like oil and water that don’t mix because that person is also political enemies with Lord Sun in the imperial court...”

“I see!” Yan Liqiang nodded. “Even so, you have done the right thing, Brother Liang! Trash like him is just waiting to be cleaned up. You should have chopped that bastard’s back then...!”

“I didn’t know what kind of person he was yet on that day, so I only gave him a small lesson. This time, I shall end this with him once and for all in the battle of life and death...”

“Have a good seclusion, Brother Liang. I will come and cheer for you on your big day and watch you behead that dog...!”

“Hahaha, sure...!” Liang Yijie laughed loudly.

After the incident from yesterday, Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie both got closer to each other. They were practically like brothers now. Both of them talked while they walked. Before they even realized it, they had arrived at Deer Villa...

Chapter 252: Deer Villa

Outside Deer Villa was a large phoenix tree forest [1] and a lake full of lotus flowers. The road, which could accommodate up to four carriages side by side, was directly connected to the public road outside. After passing through the beautiful phoenix tree forest, one would find themselves at Deer Villa. From afar, Deer Villa was surrounded by high and dark crimson walls. The tops of pine trees, bamboos, and locust trees could be seen peeking above the high walls at different places. Beyond the diverse forest were a rock garden and a pavilion which sat on the high artificial mountain.

As a royal estate, Deer Villa had a majestic grandeur.

The people of the Imperial Capital were probably aware that Deer Villa was just beyond the phoenix tree forest and that unauthorized people were not allowed inside. Therefore, no one would deliberately wander aimlessly along this road, lest they got into trouble. This caused the area outside of Deer Villa to appear even quieter.

“Liqiang, Deer Villa is just ahead of here. The manager here is Eunuch Liu from the palace. Lord Sun already informed a eunuch in the palace yesterday and settled all the necessary procedures. Just go in and report your name. Someone will bring you to Eunuch Liu.”

Yan Liqiang looked away from Deer Villa and nodded. “Alright, I will keep that in mind, Brother Liang! I can manage from here.”

“Well then, take care of yourself. Do not let this opportunity go to waste!” Liang Yijie looked at Yan Liqiang as he shared his heartfelt wishes. “I know that Liqiang isn’t someone who will be content with loneliness. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have chosen to come here with Lord Sun. However, there is a galaxy full of talents within the Imperial Capital. It is indeed not easy to stand out from the crowd. As long as you are truly capable and can endure loneliness, the opportunity to make a difference will definitely come to you. By then, you will naturally rise above others. Although Deer Villa is quiet, it is a royal property. You must do your best to seize any opportunity you may come across here, Liqiang...”

“Brother Liang, you mean to say...”

“Liqiang, you are so smart, how can you not get it?” Liang Yijie smiled. “Well, I’ll stop here. We’ll see each other again in a month! I hope by then you will have forged ahead in your cultivation...!” Having said that, Liang Yijie waved at Yan Liqiang and quickly turned his steed around. With a light squeeze to the abdomen of the steed beneath him, it broke into a run and carried him far, far away in just the blink of an eye.

Yan Liqiang mulled over it for a moment while rubbing his chin as he watched Liang Yijie’s fading silhouette. He then smiled and murmured to himself. “Could it be that Brother Liang is reminding me to seize the opportunity to cling onto an influential person while cultivating here? The most influential person here is Eunuch Liu. Could it be that he is also someone that is very impressive in the palace?”

If Shi Dafeng was here and heard that the manager of Deer Villa was a eunuch from the palace, he would probably hold some contempt in his heart. However, as a person who had lived two lives, Yan Liqiang had heard about those eight-thousand or nine-thousand-year-old tales from quite a number of classical fictions and historical plays [2]. Therefore, after knowing that the manager of Deer Villa was a eunuch, he didn’t dare to have even the slightest amount of contempt in his heart.

Yan Liqiang only put his thoughts aside when he saw Liang Yijie was already far away. He called out to Goldie and unhurriedly rode toward Deer Villa on Snowstorm Cloud.

He wasn’t sure why, but he was suddenly reminded of Wei Xiaobao from ‘The Deer and the Cauldron’ novel at this moment. In the novel, Mao Shiba mistakenly brought Wei Xiaobao from a brothel in Yangzhou to the capital. Wei Xiaobao then managed to find himself in the imperial palace where he didn’t expect his life to change forever. Yan Liqiang wondered if he had Wei Xiaobao’s luck.

When there was still a distance between him and the main entrance of Deer Villa, Yan Liqiang saw that the two rows of soldiers standing guard there were already looking at him. He got off his steed and strode over, pulling his rhinodrake steed along with him.

“Halt! Who goes there?”

One of the soldiers immediately shouted when he saw Yan Liqiang approaching.

“I am Yan Liqiang. I am reporting myself today to Deer Villa. Please let me meet Eunuch Liu!” Yan Liqiang politely told the soldier who was standing guard at the main entrance of the Deer Villa.

“So you are Yan Liqiang?” A mustached military officer in his thirties who was standing guard at the entrance came forward and sized Yan Liqiang up.

“Yes, I am!”

“Fine then, follow me!”

“I brought a steed and a dog with me. Are they allowed to come in too?” Yan Liqiang inquired patiently.

“What kind of place do you take Deer Villa for? Do you think you can just bring anything in here?” The military officer shot a glare at Yan Liqiang and snorted. “Leave your steed here, there is a stable in the villa. The soldiers here will make the necessary arrangements. As for your dog, don’t say that I did not warn you: if it dares to come anywhere near the main entrance of Deer Villa, don’t blame me if it is dead!”

Upon hearing the military officer’s words, Goldie, who had followed Yan Liqiang here, immediately bared its fangs before he could even speak. It was growling at the military officer who spoke, showing its hostility toward him. This surprised the military officer.

“Goldie, go play somewhere else for a while. I will call you again in a bit...” Yan Liqiang instructed Goldie. Goldie cast a glance at Yan Liqiang, then turned around and ran into the phoenix tree forest nearby.

After Goldie ran off, Yan Liqiang followed the military officer into Deer Villa.

Yan Liqiang was stunned as soon as he entered Deer Villa. The majestic grandeur of this royal garden was simply incomparable to any other ordinary place. Every visual, object, brick, tile, plant, and tree in this place showed great creativity. The beauty of nature and culture were combined into one.

Yan Liqiang followed the officer while muttering in his heart. The Old Summer Palace probably looked almost like this if it wasn’t destroyed.

After making several turns in Deer Villa, Yan Liqiang finally arrived outside a courtyard that was well-hidden among the shades of trees. There were two guards outside the courtyard. When they saw the military officer with Yan Liqiang, the military officer was immediately stopped.

“Please inform Eunuch Liu that the person he has been expecting has arrived!” The military officer cupped his fists to the two guards.

One of the guards took a good look at Yan Liqiang, then walked into the courtyard. Half a minute later, he came out and only wordlessly nodded to the military officer who had escorted Yan Liqiang here, and led Yan Liqiang into the courtyard.

There was a bridge and a flowing stream inside the courtyard. The birds were singing and the flowers were fragrant. Beneath a lush and old pear tree, a fair-skinned and beardless old eunuch with graying hair sat in a rocking chair. He was dressed in purple robes. His eyes were shut and he was leisurely basking in the morning sun. Two other younger eunuchs who were about the same age as Yan Liqiang served the old eunuch by his side. One of them was half crouching beside the recliner, focused on controlling the rocking of the chair with his hands as though he was a ‘human motor’. The other eunuch was fanning a small exquisite stove nearby, boiling some water. When Yan Liqiang arrived, the water had just started bubbling on the stove.

The guard who brought Yan Liqiang inside bowed and reported, “Eunuch Liu, I have brought him here...”

“Alright, you may retreat...” When the old eunuch who was sitting in the recliner heard the voice, he slowly turned his head to the side and opened his eyes. He waved his hand and gestured for the guard to retreat.

“So, you are Yan Liqiang?” The old eunuch asked indifferently, leaning against his recliner.

“Greetings, Eunuch Liu!” Yan Liqiang bowed to the old eunuch respectfully. He couldn’t help but stare at the old eunuch again. This was Yan Liqiang’s first time meeting a eunuch in flesh over his two lifetimes. Apart from the absence of facial hair, the eunuch who was sitting on the recliner didn’t really appear to be any different than most ordinary people. Although his voice was slightly high-pitched, it wasn’t too piercing to the ears. On the contrary, it was quite melodious and pleasant to hear.

“Do you know how to brew tea?” Eunuch Liu suddenly asked Yan Liqiang an unexpected question.

“I can boil water and make tea, but I am no expert...” Yan Liqiang replied calmly.

“Little Chun, step aside. Let him make my tea!”

Upon hearing the old eunuch’s order, the little eunuch who was tending to the small stove stood up and handed over the fan he was holding.

Yan Liqiang didn’t say anything. He came over, crouched on the floor, and started fanning with the fan in his hand...

Chapter 253: Arrow In The Wind

Yan Liqiang didn’t find anything particularly unacceptable about making a pot of tea for an old eunuch, nor did he find it humiliating. In fact, he had a great mindset toward this.

When he was still a greenhorn in his career back in his previous life, for the sake of forming good relationships with clients to secure a deal, he not only made tea for clients, but also did things like cleaning his client’s toilet bowl at their house, fixing the water pipes, and carrying an elderly up the stairs on his back. Not to mention, he also had the experience of visiting places with his things and a smile, but ended up getting thrown out. In comparison to those experiences, making a pot of tea was a mere trifle.

If Eunuch Liu were a client of his, he would definitely be a very important, major client. In reality, Eunuch Liu was not only a major client, but also his superior. This made it even less of an issue for Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang secretly sympathized with the eunuch, but there was no discrimination.

The water on the small stove had started boiling. Yan Liqiang focused on fanning the fire. When the firewood in the stove was almost burned up, Yan Liqiang tossed in a few more from the wooden box next to the stove. That firewood was not ordinary firewood either, they seemed to be branches from osmanthus trees.

Yan Liqiang estimated the time. When the water on the small stove was completely boiled, and he let it boil for almost another five minutes before he lifted the kettle up. Using his tea drinking experience in his previous life, he carefully washed his hands with water at the side, then picked up the tea set. He first rinsed all the vessels with hot water, rinsed the tea leaves, filled the teapot up again, and covered it before he finally poured it into the drinking cups. He then served the cup of tea he had prepared to the old eunuch with both hands.

Yan Liqiang had no idea what kind of tea he had just brewed, but it was probably very expensive tea. When the tea leaves were soaked in the boiling water, they rolled in the water like delicate bamboo leaves. The aroma of the verdant tea leaves wafted from the cup, carrying the fragrance of the spring breeze.

“Eunuch Liu, the tea is ready...”

When Yan Liqiang was making the tea just now, Eunuch Liu was still lying on the recliner and basking in the sun. He seemed to be relaxing, but he cracked his eye open to observe Yan Liqiang’s every move, not missing even the slightest change in his expression and his hand movement.

Eunuch Liu only changed his posture when Yan Liqiang brought the tea he had prepared before him. Eunuch Liu got up into a sitting position and stretched his body before he reached out for the teacup.

“Be careful, Eunuch Liu. The tea is still quite hot...” Yan Liqiang instinctively reminded him.

“Well, I like my tea hot...” The old eunuch squinched his eyes at Yan Liqiang and picked up the teacup without a care.

Yan Liqiang’s eyes immediately widened because the moment that old eunuch picked up the teacup, it was as though the steam rising from the tea inside the cup was frozen at once. By the time the old eunuch’s lips touched the rim of the teacup, a thin layer of frost seemed to have formed on the surface of that exquisite teacup. The old eunuch then promptly downed the scalding hot tea of nearly a hundred degrees Celsius along with the tea leaves. He even smacked his lips as though he wasn’t satisfied yet...

So it seemed like this old eunuch was also an expert.

Yan Liqiang was quite surprised.

The old eunuch set the cup down, cast a glance at Yan Liqiang, and finally nodded. The tone of his voice greatly softened too. “Not bad. You are someone who knows your etiquette well. Good. Where did you learn this set of tea-making etiquette?”

“I wasn’t taught, I merely learned this from past observation!”

“Where are you from?”

“Pingxi Prefecture in Gan Province!”

“What do your parents do for a living? It is certainly not easy to be chosen by Lord Sun. I am guessing you are from an influential bureaucratic clan?”

“My hometown is in the countryside. My father is a blacksmith who makes a living by smithing weapons in the village. We are not that wealthy. It has always been just me and my father since I was young. I haven’t gotten much experience in the ways of the world. Therefore, I would like to ask for Eunuch Liu to forgive any errors and negligence on my part. I am indeed fortunate to be chosen by Lord Sun!”

“Not bad, not bad. No wonder you know your manners well. I see that you are actually a child from an underprivileged family too...” The old eunuch’s gaze on Yan Liqiang softened slightly.

The fact that Eunuch Liu said ‘too’ allowed Yan Liqiang to instantly gain some understanding about his family history and sympathy for him. After all, not many people who were born with a silver spoon in their mouth would choose to become a eunuch. Despite the fact that these eunuchs seemed to hold high positions, authority, and were fawned upon by others, they actually had it rough.

“Eunuch Xue from the palace sent someone here to deliver his regards yesterday. He mentioned that you always followed Lord Sun faithfully by his side, and that he regarded you very highly for your diligence and contributions. Lord Sun serves the Emperor. Serving him means that you also serve the Emperor. Therefore, your contributions and loyalty toward Lord Sun are also for His Majesty. I am fond of competent individuals who are loyal to His Majesty!”

“I have only done what is expected of me!”

“Ah, yes, Eunuch An also complimented your outstanding talent for attaining the Third Heavenly Layer in your cultivation in the art of archery at such an age. He also mentioned that you could draw a powerful five-picul bow and stand against a hundred enemies alone with just a bow in your hands. When you were escorting Lord Sun on his return journey, you killed over a hundred Blackwind Bandits alone and scared them out of their wits. Is that true?” Eunuch Liu suddenly looked at Yan Liqiang with great interest.

“This outcome was only made possible through the united effort of all the guards!”

“Did you bring that powerful five-picul bow here?”

“I did. I left it with the rhinodrake steed I rode here!”

“Little Li, you are a fast runner. Go fetch his bow and a quiver of arrows...!”

At Eunuch Liu’s order, the little eunuch who was rocking his recliner responded and immediately ran outside. In just a short while, he returned with Yan Liqiang’s Horned Python Bow and a quiver of arrows.

Eunuch Liu finally stood up from the recliner. He accepted the bow bag and took out the Horned Python Bow. After giving it a try, he nodded. “Not bad. This is indeed a powerful five-picul bow...” He handed the Horned Python Bow to Yan Liqiang after he finished speaking. “How far can you shoot with this bow?”

“Within the range of a thousand meters.” Yan Liqiang replied nonchalantly. At this moment, he knew that the old eunuch wanted to assess his capabilities, so there was nothing for him to hide.

“Oh? I would really love to see it!” Eunuch Liu raised his eyebrows and scanned around the courtyard. In the end, his eyes lit up as he suddenly pointed into the distant sky. “Do you see that kite? Do you think you can hit it?”

The kite that Eunuch Liu pointed to was at least six to seven hundred meters away from the courtyard Yan Liqiang was in. Not only that, it was flying at an altitude of more than two hundred meters in the sky. The swallow-shaped kite about the size of a bamboo dustpan was gliding in the spring breeze.

Ordinary people could probably only barely make out that there was a kite flying in the sky across this distance with their vision.

From the looks of it, that kite was being flown in Deer Villa. Yan Liqiang wasn’t sure who had the time to be flying a kite here either...

“I will try...” Yan Liqiang looked at the kite with his squinted eyes, then retrieved an arrow. He weighed the arrow on his hand for a moment before he gently nocked it onto the bowstring of the Horned Python Bow. He slowly lifted his bow and aimed into the distant sky. Just when he was about to pull the bowstring back, he suddenly stopped to ask a question. “Oh right, Eunuch Liu. A crowd might be standing in the area beneath that kite. If I shoot like this, the arrow might fall into the crowd and injure the innocent bystanders or even kill them!”

“Hahaha, I did not expect you to consider things so thoroughly in spite of your young age!” The old eunuch laughed. “Rest assured, I wouldn’t approve of such disgraceful acts like taking lives lightly either. The areas beneath and behind the kite consist of Deer Villa’s forest. There’s no one around so you need not worry...”

“Great!” Yan Liqiang nodded and promptly drew the Horned Python Bow open like a full moon.

Yan Liqiang’s eyes narrowed as he immersed himself into the concept of archery. After seven or eight seconds of silence, his bowstring vibrated and the arrow flew out from his grasp like a thunderbolt with a whoosh...

Under the watchful gaze of Eunuch Liu and his two little eunuchs in the courtyard,

the kite in the sky fluttered almost as soon as Yan Liqiang’s arrow was released. It was then carried away by the wind and vanished without a trace.

Yan Liqiang didn’t aim for the kite. He instead cut off the string that was attached to it.

Compared to the size of the kite, its string was so fine that it was barely visible. Over this distance, just being able to spot the kite in the sky was not an easy feat for ordinary people. Most people wouldn’t even be able to see the string, let alone shoot it. More importantly, since the kite was swaying, the string attached to it was also moving. One can only imagine the challenge of hitting such a target...

This required not only the Third Heavenly Layer in archery, but also great strength, good control, and ability to judge the surrounding environment – including wind speed, temperature, humidity, and other factors that might influence the arrow’s trajectory and its precision – alongside that frightening eyesight. Not a single one of these conditions could be dispensed with.

The Third Heavenly Layer in archery made it possible to hit the kite. Yet the comprehensive strength exhibited in being able to hit the string below the kite far exceeded the standard of the Third Heavenly Layer in archery...

The moment Yan Liqiang released the arrow, the courtyard instantly fell silent.

Chapter 254: Yingyang Commandant

The two little eunuchs beside Eunuch Liu stared at Yan Liqiang with their widened eyes. One of their jaws dropped in surprise. The other one was rubbing his eyes as though he couldn’t believe that the kite’s broken string had anything to do with the arrow Yan Liqiang released.

If he could break such a fine kite line over this distance, then wouldn’t ending the lives of others be as easy as turning his hand over?

The two little eunuchs were rather doubtful, but Eunuch Liu could see everything clearly with his eyesight.

Yan Liqiang put away his bow after making the shot, then cupped his fist to Eunuch Liu. “Thank you!”

Eunuch Liu started clapping and let out a few hearty laughs, seemingly very pleased. “Not bad, not bad! As expected of the Third Heavenly Realm in archery! Although there are also people who have attained the Third Heavenly Realm in archery among the Imperial Cavalry Unit, very few of them possess such eyesight and arm strength! I guess you are right to come here. Deer Villa used to be a place for His Majesty to practice his bowmanship back in the days. As a sovereign, His Majesty highly favored battlefield techniques...” While speaking, Eunuch Liu turned his head to the side and looked at one of the little eunuchs. “Little Chun, go inside and bring me the box Eunuch An delivered yesterday.”

“Right away!” The little eunuch by the name of Little Chun jogged into the house upon receiving his order. In just the blink of an eye, he came out with a wooden box of about a square foot in length. Eunuch Liu gave him a look, and Little Chun immediately presented the wooden box before Yan Liqiang and handed it over to him.

“Eunuch Liu, this is...”

“Hohoho, you will know once you open it...”

Yan Liqiang opened the wooden box. Inside was a set of crimson attire. It appeared to be the uniform worn by officers of the Imperial Cavalry Unit. There were also boots, a belt, and other things in there. A palm-sized bronze metalpaiza 1 was placed on top of the uniform set. There was an image of a soaring falcon on that paiza. The words ‘Imperial Cavalry Unit’ were inscribed to the left of that falcon. On the right side of the paiza were the words: ‘Yingyang Commandant’.

As expected, Yan Liqiang immediately understood after taking a look at the attire and the paiza. Although Yan Liqiang was already mentally prepared, he still couldn’t help but feel a little excited when he saw that paiza for real.

“Thank you, Eunuch Liu...!” Yan Liqiang bowed deeply to the old eunuch who was looking at him through his squinched eyes.

“No need to thank me, this is a gesture of good will from Eunuch Xue. Besides, according to the military rules, you can be considered a distinguished individual for attaining the Third Heavenly Layer in archery. In addition to your military exploits in eliminating those Blackwind Bandits when you escorted Lord Sun on his journey, it is perfectly reasonable for you to be appointed as a Yingyang Commandant. From the moment you put on this attire, you will be an officer of the Imperial Cavalry Unit. Keep in mind that the Imperial Cavalry Unit serves the Emperor. We will listen to only His Majesty and not anyone else. Understand?” Eunuch Liu gave Yan Liqiang a meaningful glance.

“Rest assured, Eunuch Liu. The many hardships and tribulations I experienced when escorting Lord Sun on his return journey all the way from Gan Province to the Imperial Capital allowed me to clearly identify which side I am on...”

Eunuch Liu was very satisfied with Yan Liqiang’s answer. “From now on, you shall be appointed as the superintendent of the archery range at Deer Villa. The duty of the archery range’s superintendent is easy. You will be responsible for patrolling Deer Villa’s archery range. Outsiders are not allowed to enter the villa. His Majesty also rarely visits this place since he started reigning. Therefore, this should be an easy job. If you get bored inside Deer Villa, you are allowed change into plain clothes and wander around the Imperial Capital occasionally. How does this position sound to you?”

Yan Liqiang simply couldn’t ask for more. To put it bluntly, this position was basically equal to getting paid for doing nothing. He just needed to stroll around the villa every day to fulfill his duties. He would have lots of time to cultivate or do whatever he wanted to do. If he landed a job like this in the government sector back in his previous life, he’d probably be smiling even in his dreams.

“I will obey Eunuch Liu’s arrangements!” Yan Liqiang immediately responded in an obedient manner.

“Good, do your job well. If you have free time, you might as well spend it on your cultivation. With skills, you will not need to worry about your future...”

“Yes, I will definitely not let you down, Eunuch Liu!”

“Little Li, show Commandant Yan around. It is his first time at Deer Villa so he is not informed of the rules here. You may brief him!” After Eunuch Liu’s instructions, he turned to Yan Liqiang again. “You may ask Little Li if you have any questions!”

“There is one more thing, Eunuch Liu...”

“What is it?”

“I have a dog that followed me all the way to the Imperial Capital from Gan Province. This dog seems to understand humans particularly well and has even made several contributions during the journey. It exposed some hidden Blackwind Bandits and also saved me from danger before. I was going to bring it in, but the guard at the entrance wouldn’t let me. Hence, I would like to ask Eunuch Liu for your approval to let me bring my dog in here. I can promise you that my dog will never cause any trouble inside Deer Villa!”

“What a dog! It actually followed you all the way from Gan Province to the Imperial Capital?!” The old eunuch had a look of surprise on his face. He wouldn’t find it strange if Yan Liqiang told him that someone had followed him here. But if it was a dog, then that was quite a story.

Yan Liqiang nodded.

“How rare for a dog to be this loyal, for it to have followed you all the way here over thousands of li. Just let the guard know that I have given you the permission to bring this dog inside Deer Villa. He is not allowed to make things difficult for you!”

“Thank you, Eunuch Liu!”

“In this world, there are many people who are even worse than dogs. They have even forgotten how to write the words ‘loyalty’ and ‘righteousness’. How can I possibly bring myself to make things difficult for such a loyal dog?” Eunuch Liu sighed.

Seeing that the old eunuch had laid back down on the recliner again, Yan Liqiang didn’t bother him any further. He took the wooden box and left the small courtyard where Eunuch Liu and the eunuch called Little Li were at.

“How should I address you, Little Eunuch?” Not long after they exited the courtyard, Yan Liqiang spoke up with a smile. Although Little Li seemed to be at a lower position, it was never Yan Liqiang’s habit to scorn or look down on people like him. He was instead even more respectful to them.

“Oh, I dare not accept Commandant Yan addressing me this way. You may just call me Little Li...” Little Li was startled as he hurriedly waved his hands at Yan Liqiang. It was important to note that Yan Liqiang’s current position was simply far superior to his.

“Don’t worry about it. We are both children from poor families. We have been fated to cross paths here. Let’s look out for each other from now on!”

Yan Liqiang’s words seemed to have struck a chord with Little Li, cheering him up all of a sudden...

Chapter 255: Extreme Cultivation (1)

Deer Villa spanned over an area of more than 7,600 mu. As a royal garden, apart from the small number of buildings, the place was filled with scenic gardens and forests. Eunuch Liu was the manager of Deer Villa. Under Eunuch Liu was a battalion from the Imperial Cavalry Unit. The other artisans, servants, and maids in the villa totaled up to about five hundred people.

Deer Villa kept many exotic animals. The most commonly seen animals were the sika deer and peacocks. These animals didn’t even require care from people. They lived a leisurely and carefree life at Deer Villa.

The archery range in Deer Villa spanned over an area of four thousand mu in the mountain forest. As the superintendent of the archery range, Yan Liqiang was given a private courtyard right next to the mountain forest. His daily routine involved strolling around the mountain forest and visiting the archery range. As long as there were no forest fires or outsiders partying in the mountain forests, he basically had nothing much to do.

As a place with an archery range, training equipment like bows and arrows were indispensable. Not only would they never run out, but they were also in abundance. In the archery range’s storeroom, there were tens of fine bows, ranging from one-picul war bows to ten-picul powerful war bows. Deer Villa seemed to have everything one could possibly ever need. All those fine bows were Horned Python Bows. Not only that, but they were created by famous bowyers. From the looks of their qualities, they were far superior to the Horned Python Bow that Yan Liqiang was currently using.

Here, his meals would be delivered to him and his dirty laundry would be washed for him. He didn’t need to worry about anything. Not to mention, he was also entitled to receive a high monthly salary in silver as a military officer of the Imperial Cavalry Unit.

The time, venue, and conditions were all offered to him. If he still couldn’t cultivate properly under such circumstances, Yan Liqiang probably wouldn’t be able to forgive himself.

Therefore, after Yan Liqiang was given a tour around Deer Villa by Little Li on his first day. After getting a rough idea about the circumstances here, Yan Liqiang secretly formulated an ‘extreme cultivation plan’ for himself in his mind.

The core of this ‘extreme cultivating plan’ was the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing. What the entire plan consisted of was to completely deplete his stamina every day, then allow his body to receive the strengthening and cleansing from the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth under the miraculous effects from performing Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing. Based on Yan Liqiang’s past experience, this kind of cultivation would be the fastest way to increase his strength exponentially. It looked like the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing could only truly bring out its drastic effects under such extreme conditions. It truly made him feel as though he was reborn every time he received the strengthening.

However, as the saying goes: ‘good tools are the prerequisite to the successful execution of a job’. Apart from firm determination, some other necessary tools also needed to be prepared to carry out this ‘extreme cultivation plan’.

Yan Liqiang had made mental sketches of the tools that he needed to wring out his body’s potential when he was making his way here from the Imperial Capital. The night he arrived at Deer Villa, Yan Liqiang found some paper and a brush and quickly sketched out the tools he needed in his room. In the very next morning after completing his morning regime and finishing the breakfast which had been delivered to him by the servants here, he changed into his brand new clothes. With his Yinyang Commandant paiza hanging from his waist, he made a beeline for the artisan’s workshop in Deer Villa with Goldie in tow.

In Deer Villa, which could be considered the royal garden where the Emperor trained, damaged properties required repairs and certain demands had to be met. Therefore, there were many artisans and craftsmen in Deer Villa who were responsible for carrying out these duties.

The artisans in Deer Villa all gathered in the same workshop. There were all sorts of artisans in this workshop, ranging from carpenters, stonemasons, blacksmiths, lacquerers, painters, tailors, and cobblers.

“Ah, Commandant Yan. What brings you here so early in the morning? If you need anything, just let someone relay the message for you!”

As soon as Yan Liqiang walked into the artisan’s workshop, the supervisor of the artisan’s workshop immediately welcomed him with a smile.

The supervisor of the artisan’s workshop in Deer Villa was a chubby man whose surname was Wen. He had a pair of small eyes which disappeared into squints when he smiled. They became acquainted with each other when Little Li brought Yan Liqiang to the workshop yesterday. He knew that Yan Liqiang had been recommended to Deer Villa by one of the eunuchs in the palace. Not only that, but he was also well-received by Eunuch Liu and was hence promoted into Yingyang Commandant as soon as he joined the Imperial Cavalry Unit. Furthermore, he was even allowed to bring a dog with him into Deer Villa. Supervisor Wen had long treated Yan Liqiang as some wealthy child from some influential clan. The only thing he was worried about was not having any opportunities to curry any favors with him. Even without his speculations about Yan Liqiang’s background, his current position as the Yingyang Commandant was enough to deter his negligence. After all, the gap between an ordinary artisan supervisor and a military officer was exceptionally large.

“Good morning, Supervisor Wen. I am here to seek help from a few masters in the blacksmith workshop to help me smith something. Is that too much trouble?”

The morning sun shone on Yan Liqiang’s face, instantly making the smile on his face a lot more dazzling.

Supervisor Wen was taken by surprise. “No problem at all! Just let us know whatever you need, Commandant Yan! All the blacksmiths happen to be in right now. Let me show you the way!”

“Haha, thank you!”

Under Supervisor Wen’s lead, Yan Liqiang chatted with him while they made their way to the blacksmith’s workshop.

The blacksmith workshop in Deer Villa was half a size bigger than the one back in Yan Liqiang’s home, and there were more than ten workers in it. When both of them arrived, the group of blacksmiths had already started smithing away noisily inside the workshop. The blacksmith workshop usually prioritized serving Deer Villa. If there was nothing much going on in the Deer Villa, these blacksmiths would then be tasked with smithing some weapons for the soldiers of the Imperial Cavalry Unit.

Upon noticing Supervisor Wen’s arrival at the blacksmith workshop with Yan Liqiang, the master who was directing the other blacksmiths inside the workshop immediately came over. “Is there a problem, Supervisor Wen?” he asked respectfully.

“This is Commandant Yan, superintendent of Deer Villa’s archery range. Commandant Yan would like your help in smithing something...” Supervisor Wen explained and cast a glance at Yan Liqiang. Without any delay, Yan Liqiang took out a sketch from his chest and handed it over to the blacksmith. “Take a look at this, master. This is what I need. Do you think you can build it for me?”

His father was a blacksmith and he could be considered half a blacksmith himself. Therefore, Yan Liqiang was extremely polite to the blacksmiths here.

When Supervisor Wen saw the piece of paper Yan Liqiang took out, he couldn’t help but lean his head in from the side to take a look at the diagram on the paper too.

The diagram on Yan Liqiang’s paper was very clearly sketched out, with the appropriate measurements indicated. Some of the finer details were even supplemented with larger diagrams and written descriptions. Even so, both of them still couldn’t quite determine the purpose of the object in question while observing the diagram.

If that object was a weapon, then it would be a little too bulky and unwieldy. Neither of them had ever seen such a weapon before. Besides, that object had no blade attached to it. It was just thick and solid. A few of the finer details and mechanisms gave off the impression that it was some sort of tool instead. If this was a tool, both of them still couldn’t figure out its purpose.

The blacksmith frowned as he studied the object that Yan Liqiang had drawn for a good while before he raised his head. “Well... Commandant Yan, we can make this object and it isn’t that complex to build either. However, without knowing what exactly this object is for and what purpose it serves, it would be hard for us to grasp the appropriate heat control when we smith this...”

“Well, this object is something I have designed for martial arts and stamina training!” Yan Liqiang patiently explained while pointing to the diagram. “This pole is six feet long. The depression here will make it easier to hold and fit better into my grasp, so make sure it is firm enough. The grooves and protrusions on the surface and top of this iron column form a locking mechanism which can be fastened to a metal bolt, so focus on the precision here...”

“So this thing... can be assembled together?” The idea suddenly clicked for the blacksmith.

“That right. As long as we make more of this, they can be assembled together to make it thicker or longer...”

“Well then, how heavy should this pole be?”

“350 jin!”

“Make it five?”

“Let’s make five first for me to try it out. How long will it take?”

“You may suspend the other ongoing work in the workshop first. Prioritize completing the object Commandant Yan needs first...” Supervisor Wen interrupted from the side with an order.

“Then we will be able to get this ready before tomorrow evening!”

“Great, I will leave this to Supervisor Wen and all the masters here! I will come to pick it up tomorrow night!”

“Hahaha, how can we possibly make Commandant Yan take a trip here? When the blacksmith workshop is done with this, I will send someone to deliver it to Commandant Yan!” Supervisor Wen informed with a smile at the side.

......

After leaving the artisan’s workshop, Yan Liqiang returned to his residence. He immediately carried the Horned Python Bow on his back with a quiver of arrows and went off to ‘patrol’ the archery range...

On the evening of the next day, as soon as Yan Liqiang returned with Goldie from his ‘patrol’ drenched in his own sweat, he saw Supervisor Wen driving a carriage with a few strong-looking blacksmiths in tow. The carriage stopped at the entrance to his courtyard outside and they were carefully unloading some goods from the carriage...

“Be careful, be careful! Take care not to slip and drop it...!” Supervisor Wen stood next to the carriage as he instructed a few shirtless blacksmiths who were unloading the things Yan Liqiang needed.

The things Yan Liqiang needed were currently on the carriage. There were five of them in total. Each of them was pitch-black, thick, solid, and two meters long. From their exteriors, they looked like cannon barrels. But the difference between them and cannon barrels was the fact that they were solid and easier to create...

Each of them weighed 350 jin. It took two of those burly blacksmiths to barely move them from the carriage...

Chapter 256: Extreme Cultivation (2)

“Supervisor Wen, I didn’t expect this to be delivered so early. Come, let me do it...”

“Ah, Commandant Yan!” Supervisor Wen greeted Yan Liqiang with enthusiasm. “We are just about done...!”

Yan Liqiang smiled when he saw how cautious the blacksmiths were. He went over and placed his Horned Python Bow down against the door, then walked to the carriage. He picked up a huge metal pole in each hand, instantly unloading two big fellas in one go. He shocked the people around him who were witnessing his strength for the very first time.

As soon as Yan Liqiang came over, he was able to quickly and efficiently unload the few strange metal poles from the carriage in just the blink of an eye.

After an audible gulp, Supervisor Wen’s eyes twitched as he cautiously asked, “Commandant Yan, can you check to see if these are what you want?”

“Yes, they are. Thank you, Supervisor Wen...”

“Glad to hear that. Just look for me if you need anything else in the future, Commandant Yan. Apart from these cultivation tools, if you need any fixtures or fittings in your residence, just let me know. The furniture that the Deer Villa carpenters craft are highly sought after by countless people in the Imperial Capital!”

“Sure, I will keep that in mind!”

“Well then, I shall take my leave now. Commandant Yan must be exhausted from your patrol today. Please retire early!” When Supervisor Wen noticed Yan Liqiang’s lingering gaze on those strange, thick and heavy metal poles, he didn’t make any further comments and tactfully excused himself.

“Take care, Supervisor Wen. I will see you off here!”

“No need, Commandant Yan, no need!”

After watching Supervisor Wen’s carriage disappear into the willow trees, Yan Liqiang opened his courtyard door and moved his custom-made poles inside.

Yan Liqiang was already quite worn out from an entire day of working in the woods. After moving the thick metal poles into the courtyard and briefly testing them out, Yan Liqiang left them alone and went back to do his usual night routine.

......

After finishing his morning regime and breakfast early the next day, Yan Liqiang was bursting with energy. He stood before those thick and heavy metal poles in the courtyard again. After placing all three poles side by side, he connected them together by passing a metal chain through their handles and the designated holes he had left on them. Fastening them on his back, he then retrieved the bow bag with his Horned Python Bow. With heavy footsteps, he left the courtyard and trudged up the mountain.

The three huge metal poles together weighed 1,050 jin in total, exceeding 500 kilograms. Yan Liqiang carried them as though they were part of his clothes and continued on with his daily tasks.

Under such conditions, every step Yan Liqiang took depleted the stamina in his body. The physical challenge of this inhumane training was outrageous enough, let alone talking about cultivating with these three poles on one’s back.

By the time Yan Liqiang arrived at the archery range with the huge metal poles on his back, he was already sweating profusely and panting. Even so, Yan Liqiang still had to straighten up his back, shakily take out his Horned Python Bow, and begin to practice his bowmanship...

In just less than half an hour, the hand that Yan Liqiang was holding the bow with started trembling, followed by his legs. Then his muscles, bones, tendons, meridians, and even the cells in his body were trembling...

Large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead into his eyes, irritating them.

Yan Liqiang finally let loose the arrow. His legs beneath him suddenly gave way and he fell to the ground on his bottom...

Since he was carrying a few heavy metal poles on his back, his body unconsciously leaned back when he fell backward. The weight of those thick and heavy metal poles pulled him down onto the ground and flattened the grass around him. He looked like a tortoise flipped on its back in his current pathetic state.

Yan Liqiang gazed at the blue sky and the treetops. After panting heavily for a while, he untied the canteen from his waist and gulped down a few mouthfuls of water. Clenching his teeth again, he flipped over with great difficulty and struggled to get up from the ground...

...

In the afternoon, Yan Liqiang fainted from physical exhaustion for the first time right where he was cultivating. By the time he regained consciousness, more than an hour had passed by and he felt that his palm was little moist. Looking down, he discovered that it was Goldie who was licking his palm.

“I can do it, I can definitely do it...!” After consoling himself, Yan Liqiang continued getting up with great difficulty and began shooting again.

In the past, his arrows would never miss his targets. However, they grew unstable under such extreme conditions today and hitting the targets became increasingly difficult.

It was difficult to shoot and walk at the same time. In the end, even breathing became difficult. As if he was being tortured, the pain on his shoulders and back from being bound by the metal chains grew numb.

.....

On his first day, Yan Liqiang returned to his residence three hours earlier than usual.

Yan Liqiang initially wanted to persist a little longer, but the state of his body told him that if he insisted on returning at the same time as yesterday, then what awaited him would be fainting for the second time. If he passed out again today, he would probably only regain his consciousness if someone rescued him. His body had long been pushed to its limit.

Throughout the entire day, Yan Liqiang’s clothes were repetitively soaked by his own sweat, dried, then soaked by his sweat again. Yan Liqiang didn’t even know how much sweat he had shed.

Under such conditions, the water in his canteen was long gone. Yet he was still extremely thirsty. Even so, Yan Liqiang persisted as he pushed his body to its limits again and again.

The moment he undid his metal chain when he returned to his residence, Yan Liqiang softly plopped down on the ground like a worn out rag. It took him a long time to regain the ability to move again. With unsteady steps, he went over to the sweet water well in his courtyard and weakly tossed the wooden bucket into the well. After exhausting his physical strength, all he had was his feeble hands to pull the rope to lift up half a bucket of water.

The half bucket of water was like a celestial elixir in Yan Liqiang’s eyes. He immediately leaned his head into the bucket and gulped down mouthful after mouthful of water.

The sweet, crystal clear water revitalized Yan Liqiang’s body like rain flowing into arid fields. With the help of this little strength he regained, Yan Liqiang sat beside the water well in a lotus position and he immersed his mind into his dantian.

A significant amount of vital Qi had accumulated in his dantian from his cultivation over the past months. It had formed into a ball of energy about the size of a chicken egg. After slightly hesitating for a moment, Yan Liqiang clenched his teeth and pushed the ball of condensed vital Qi in his dantian with great difficulty. He pushed it through the entrance of the Heavenly Shrine, and finally into the Heavenly Stone housed deep inside.

This was originally a vital step to allow the ‘toy capsule machine’ to continue producing capsules and giving birth to new life forms. The amount of vital Qi required to create new living creatures was massive. With Yan Liqiang’s current cultivation level, he actually didn’t have to do that because the little vital Qi he had was akin to a drop of water in the ocean. However, clinging to his idea of overexerting his body by completely clearing out the vital Qi inside his dantian and embracing the notion of ‘not letting his fertile water flow into other people’s fields’, he pushed the ball of vital Qi condensed through cultivation with great arduousness. He moved it into the Heavenly Stone inside the Heavenly Shrine to store it for the time being, similar to how he would store his savings in a bank.

After doing these things, Yan Liqiang’s body felt as though it was a garbage bag which had just been completely emptied out. Without much energy or strength left, he clenched his teeth and stood up unsteadily. Leaning against a tree near the courtyard wall, he lifted his heavy arms, coordinated his numb body, and started cultivating Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing.

His first few movements were slightly sluggish due to the numbness in his body. Yan Liqiang couldn’t even sense the spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth. Even so, Yan Liqiang still earnestly performed the required movements and breathing exercises for every stance. By the time he reached the Three Forces Qi Channeling First Stance, an unprecedented and immense amount of spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth suddenly poured forth from the crown of Yan Liqiang’s head to the soles of his feet.

The immense amount of energy was so powerful that the moment it bore through Yan Liqiang, he felt as though he was a piece of meat being skewered by a barbeque stick. The spiritual Qi flowing through him came from Heaven and Earth, suspending him in midair. At this moment, Yan Liqiang felt his body expand countless times to the point he could support both Heaven and Earth, before it shrank countless times again, turning into dust and becoming one with the void. He felt as though he was being tossed into a furnace. Endless spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth infiltrated his body through every pore, inflating him like a balloon before it started altering his muscles, tendons, and meridians...

A strange aura of light suddenly rose from Yan Liqiang’s body. In this brilliance, a small bow representing the Fourth Heavenly Layer realm in the art of archery appeared before it was suddenly absorbed into his body again.

Yan Liqiang was indescribably astonished to have actually attained the Fourth Heavenly Layer in the art of archery under such circumstances.

However, that wasn’t all. After the brightness from the breakthrough faded, another aura of light rose from Yan Liqiang’s body again. In this brilliance, there was a gold, antique bell. The golden antique bell immediately turned into a silhouette and was absorbed into Yan Liqiang’s body from the crown of his head. This golden bell indicated that Yan Liqiang’s Iron Head technique from the various body techniques in the Golden Bell Divine Protection Technique’s first layer realm was successful.

Was he dreaming...?

But the surprise was far from over...

In the vacant dantian, the spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth started transforming into strands of vital Qi as they condensed in Yan Liqiang’s dantian... More and more...

Chapter 257: Two Different Worlds

Yan Liqiang’s consciousness was completely immersed in Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing. His entire body was moving solely on his instincts.

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed. Yan Liqiang only came back to his senses after he heard the series of knocks coming from outside the courtyard and realized that unbeknownst to him, he was already lying on the ground under the tree with the last Right Chest Baring Side Lying stance in the Crouching Body Diagrams as a closing move, as though he had been sleeping all this time...

“Commandant Yan, are you in? I am here to deliver your dinner...!” A familiar voice came from the other side of the door. When Yan Liqiang heard the voice, he immediately got up from the ground with a roll without checking the condition of his body. He went over to the courtyard’s entrance and opened the door.

The kitchen servant from Deer Villa who had been delivering Yan Liqiang his meals these past few days stood respectfully outside the door, carrying a three-tier food box.

“Thank you!” Yan Liqiang reached out to accept the food box and nodded to him.

“I am just doing my job. The manager said that Commandant Yan can just tell us if there is anything you wish to eat...”

“Alright...”

......

Realization only dawned upon Yan Liqiang after he returned to his courtyard again with the food box. His current physical condition was obviously different compared to before and seemed to have fully covered. Apart from hunger, he didn’t feel any discomfort.

Yan Liqiang carefully sensed his dantian and actually discovered a newly condensed ball of vital Qi in there. Judging from its volume, it was at least a third more than the vital Qi he had previously cleared out.

Just when his consciousness was immersed in his dantian and he was rendered speechless from the shock of discovering the newly condensed vital Qi there, his stomach started rumbling like thunder. He wasn’t sure if this was a misperception, but the growl of his stomach sounded louder than usual. Not only that, even his intestinal peristalsis felt stronger.

Taking in the aroma of the food in his food box, Yan Liqiang couldn’t wait any longer. As soon as he opened all the lids, the aroma of the meal that was prepared by the royal chef of Deer Villa permeated the air in his courtyard. Goldie had already brought its bowl in the yard to him while wagging its tail and it circled around Yan Liqiang excitedly.

“Here, this is yours...” Yan Liqiang emptied a plate of ribs from his food box into Goldie’s bowl. He also took out his own meal. He then took out the rest of the dishes and wolfed them down until nothing was left.

The portion of his meal in the food box was enough; it even came with a delicious bowl of venison soup. The same portion was enough to fill Yan Liqiang’s stomach for the past two days. Yet, Yan Liqiang only felt half full after finishing this meal. He had a feeling that he could probably stuff himself with at least another half portion of the same meal.

After finishing his meal and feeling that his body had recovered a little more, Yan Liqiang took the food box out of the courtyard. The servant who delivered his meal was still waiting outside.

“It would be nice if the portion from tomorrow onwards can be half a size bigger than today’s...”

“Understood, your humble servant will keep it in mind!”

“Thank you!”

......

Returning to his courtyard once again, Yan Liqiang still found it hard to believe that he had successfully cultivated the Iron Head technique and attained the Fourth Heavenly Layer in the art of archery just now when he thought about it. He scratched his head and spotted a wooden stick that was about a foot long with the thickness of a duck egg. After hesitating for a moment, he picked the wooden stick up. Clenching his teeth and shutting his eyes, he bashed the wooden stick on his head...

The wooden stick snapped into two, but Yan Liqiang only felt a light impact against his head. He felt around the area. It wasn’t swollen or bleeding, and the skin wasn’t even broken.

“Oh, this Iron Head technique has really been successfully cultivated...” Yan Liqiang murmured to himself. “Since the Iron Head technique can be cultivated so easily, wouldn’t it be very easy to cultivate the other various body techniques like the Iron Throat, Iron Arm, Iron Shoulder, Iron Palm, Iron Fist, Iron Elbow, Iron Claw, Iron Finger, Iron Leg, Iron Crotch, Iron Knee, and Iron Back techniques through this method? If I successfully cultivate all of them, that means that I would advance into the first layer of the Golden Bell Shield. According to the book, my physical endurance will increase more than five fold as soon as the first layer of The Golden Bell Divine Protection Technique is successfully cultivated, rendering ordinary fists, kicks, and sticks ineffective. The secret manual also indicated that it even takes a decade for people with great aptitude to successfully cultivate the first layer of the Golden Bell Divine Protection Technique. I wonder how long it will take me...? Oh right, I can also try out that lightness skill secret manual that I cheated off of Ye Tiancheng...”

As Yan Liqiang spoke while sorting out his cultivation ideas, his eyes also gradually lit up...

...

The next day, Yan Liqiang continued with his extreme cultivation as he did on the first day. However, the three huge metal poles which felt extremely heavy on his back yesterday suddenly felt a lot lighter when he carried them again this morning.

Going out with the heavy load on his back, Yan Liqiang looked at the mountain path in front of him and immediately strode quickly toward the mountain...

Today, Yan Liqiang returned to the courtyard an hour later than yesterday. Not only that, he didn’t black out in the middle of his cultivation during daytime and the intensity of his cultivation also increased significantly. At the end of it, he completely exhausted his physical strength and cleared out all the vital Qi in his dantian before he weakly walked back to his courtyard again...

Two days later, another aura of light suddenly rose from Yan Liqiang’s body when he was cultivating Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing in his room at night. Following that, the silhouette of a golden bell sank into Yan Liqiang throat, indicating that he had successfully cultivated the Iron Throat technique from the various body techniques in the first layer of Golden Bell Divine Protection Technique...

A few days later, when Yan Liqiang went out in the morning with a heavy load of about a thousand jin on his back, he could still run quite swiftly as though he was flying. He could even sprint on the mountain path...

.....

When Yan Liqiang was carrying out his daily extreme cultivation in the Deer Villa, he didn’t waste his time in the Divine Sword Sect in the Heavenly Realm either.

Since his idea of extreme cultivation was effective, he made use of the same idea in the Divine Sword Sect to rapidly raise his physical strength. In any case, he only had one life in the Heavenly Realm. If he died there, then he would only have benefited a little from it. Getting a GAMEOVER in the mysterious Heaven Realm which allowed him to peep into the future and the Divine Sword Sect meant that everything would collapse along with his death in there. Getting locked out from that realm forever was an ending Yan Liqiang never wanted to meet.

Yet Yan Liqiang didn’t expect that when he was just about to go all out in the Divine Sword Sect and silently rake in a fortune, an unforeseen mission from the sect suddenly fell on his shoulders, thus shattering his peaceful life in the Divine Sword Sect...

Chapter 258: The Sect Task

Time: The ninth day of the eighth lunar month in the 17th year of the Yuanping reign in the Great Han Empire.

Venue: Mountain gate of the Divine Sword Sect, Heavenly Realm...

Yan Liqiang bumped into Qiu Yi, or better known as Manager Qiu, again in Tianqiao Hall. He could not help but shiver when he saw the way Manager Qiu fake smiled at him.

This morning was just like any other usual morning for Yan Liqiang. He led Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng to Tianqiao Peak as they checked the stocks that were supposed to be placed in the store. While they were in the middle of the job, Attendant Huang appeared to deliver Yan Liqiang a message that Manager Qiu wanted to see him immediately. Yan Liqiang did not want to put Attendant Huang in a difficult spot, so he put down whatever was in his hands and obliged. He let Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng continue checking the stocks while he immediately left for the office in Tianqiao Hall.

Yan Liqiang had not seen Manager Qiu for quite a while. Come to think of it, it had been more than three months now. For the past three months, Yan Liqiang was like a free bird on Tianqiao Peak. His life was so carefree that he almost forgot about this person. Now that Manager Qiu was in front of him, Yan Liqiang realized that while he might have forgotten all about Manager Qiu, the latter obviously had not forgotten about him.

“Greetings, Manager Qiu!” Yan Liqiang only glanced at Manager Qiu once after he entered the room. For the rest of the time, he simply stared at the ground to avoid eye contact. He tried to keep a cool face while he courteously bowed toward Manager Qiu.

“Not bad, not bad at all! We have not met for three months, and look at you now, Liqiang! The profoundness of your cultivation is even deeper now!” Manager Qiu’s small eyes shone with an aura of despicable darkness as he observed Yan Liqiang closely from head to toe. Then, he faked his friendliness as he complimented Yan Liqiang as passionately as possible.

This was the perfect example of the idiom: the weasel paying a New Year Call to the chicken, with no good intentions.

“Manager Qiu, you are being too nice. My cultivation is nothing. I am one of the weakest external disciples. I don’t even deserve your compliment!”

“Oh, are you trying to imply that this job at Tianqiao Peak is a burden to your cultivation?”

“Please don’t misunderstand, Manager Qiu. This is not what I mean. I am really lucky to have been assigned to Tianqiao Peak under the care of Hall Master Su. Otherwise, I would still be cleaning toilets, let alone the chance to study the secret manual!”

“Hmm, it’s good that you understand!” Manager Qiu nodded in satisfaction. As he picked up the teacup in front of him and gently blew at the hot tea, his eyes swayed from the tea to Yan Liqiang, “Before I forget, what was the secret manual that you picked in the Hall of Scriptures? Is it the Violet Mist Divine Technique, the Origin Returning Divine Technique, or the Primordial Unity Geng Metal Internal Cultivation Technique?”

F*ck you, whatever I choose to cultivate is none of your freaking business!

Yan Liqiang was cursing in his heart, but he retained a calm and obedient look on his face, “I am a person without much talent, and this is my first time trying to cultivate an internal technique. So, I didn’t dare to pick those tough techniques. Instead, I picked the Ten Dragons Ten Elephants Divine Technique, which was an easier one. I just want to get a hold of the feel and perfect my basics so that I can become more confident. I would have chosen one of the three scriptures if only I had progressed into a Supreme Martial Warrior.”

“You are surprisingly mature in making decisions given your age. Everything was taken into consideration. Not bad at all!” Manager Qiu laughed as he sipped on his tea, “No wonder Attendant Huang praised you all this time. He said that everything was neatly managed ever since you took over the job. You monitored the account closely, and you left out nothing! Impressive, indeed!”

Yan Liqiang’s heart was beating like a drum as he heard the way Manager Qiu praised him. This was all too familiar to him. Figuratively speaking, someone who praised you in such a way would be the one pushing you into the grave.

“Thanks, Manager Qiu. You are too nice. I am new here, and there is still so much that I need to learn. There are certain aspects that I need to improve in. I really hope Attendant Huang would be willing to teach me!”

“No need to be humble, I have been watching you. Even Hall Master Su likes you,” Manager Qiu laughed a little before he continued, “Attendant Huang is getting old. He is no longer as active as you young people. Even your brain is faster than his. This is the time for you to take up more challenges and learn new things. We have a batch of stocks we need to send over to Four Seas Courtyard from Tianqiao Peak tomorrow. At the same time, we need a few men to deliver the stocks, from Four Seas Courtyard, up north. You, bring your two men along – Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng, was it? Get ready and head over to Four Seas Courtyard!”

The north. The stocks. Four Seas Courtyard. When Yan Liqiang connected the dots, the first thing that came to his mind was the Storm Army of the northern part of the Great Han Empire. From their location here at the Divine Sword Sect, they would need to travel through half of the Great Han Empire to the reach the Storm Army in the You, Liao, and Xing Provinces. This was an extremely long journey that would take them at least four months to travel back and forth. Any minor accident along the way could easily delay this journey up to half a year, not to mention all the hazards and dangers they might bump into.

“Manager Qiu, this... Not that we don’t want to take this job, but the three of us are all too weak to safeguard the stocks from any harm along the way...” Yan Liqiang said with a reluctant face.

“This is not what I ask of you...” Manager Qiu persuaded, “All you need to do is to follow the group until they reach the destination. Then, get our customer’s feedback and opinion on our stocks, that’s it. After all, Four Seas Courtyard is only our middleman – we can’t just trust everything they say. That’s why I need one of our own to do this. Out of all the servant disciples at Tianqiao Peak, I deem you guys as the best candidates.”

“What about the store?”

“You have already done your part, let Attendant Huang take over the job temporarily. It’s been decided. Get ready, all three of you. Gather here at the entrance around a quarter past five tomorrow morning. You will meet with the people from Four Seas Courtyard and depart from here.” Once Manager Qiu was done with the job assignment, he waved his hand at Yan Liqiang, signaling him to go away as if Yan Liqiang was an annoying housefly. “Go away. I have other jobs to attend to...”

When you are under pressure, learn to bow. Yan Liqiang clenched his teeth as he had no choice but to bow to Manager Qiu before he exited the room.

Manager Qiu watched Yan Liqiang walk away. With a cold smile, he sneered, “Just because Hall Master Su likes you, you think you are safe now? I barely even need to move my fingers to finish you off...”

Yan Liqiang’s heart was filled with anger and resentment as he was walking away. However, he knew that this was unavoidable. As a newbie with no background at all, it was necessary for him to face these challenges and tests before he could be taken seriously in the Divine Sword Sect. This was just like the old days when he was being bullied in his workplace. He could get used to it. The only thing that Yan Liqiang felt guilty about was that he had dragged Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng into this unintentionally.

Chapter 259: The Reason

By the time Yan Liqiang was back at the store, the chores were almost complete. Attendant Huang had already left, but Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng were still there, waiting for Yan Liqiang.

“Leader, why did Manager Qiu want to see you?” Gu Zexuan was the first to ask. He blinked at Yan Liqiang, “Why did I feel that Attendant Huang was looking at me and Huipeng with weird eyes? He even let out a sigh before he left. I feel like he had something to tell us, but he held back.”

Yan Liqiang glanced around to make sure nobody was around before he spoke in a low volume, “Manager Qiu met me just now to give us a task. Tomorrow, we will escort our Four Seas Courtyard acquaintances as they deliver the stocks up north to the Storm Army. This might take a while...”

Both Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng were stunned to hear this from Yan Liqiang. Gu Zexuan was the first to respond, “What the hell is this? We are just three little nobodies in the Divine Sword Sect. Who are we to escort valuable stocks? Shouldn’t they be sending experts? This is such a long journey, and what can we help them with? Even if we put aside the fact it will be a rough journey, we are surely going to get ourselves killed if we encounter any danger. Also, let’s not forget that there are disciples in the Divine Sword Sect who sacrifice their lives trying to accomplish missions every single year...”

“Manager Qiu said that we are only tagging along to get some feedback or opinions from our customers...”

“If it’s really for such a simple reason, then the Four Seas Courtyard can do it. There’s no need for all the three of us to go through such trouble...”

Yan Liqiang smiled at his two companions with guilt, “I’m really sorry. I did not intend to drag you both into this.”

“Manager Qiu was intentionally screwing you over!” Gu Zexuan suddenly realized.

Yan Liqiang nodded.

“But... Leader, you haven’t been meeting with Manager Qiu lately. There was no chance for you to even piss him off. Why is he doing this to you?” Gu Zexuan was dumbfounded.

“I don’t know which part of me he does not like either. I’ve only met him once before this – when I went to seek permission from Hall Master Su to enter the Hall of Scriptures. I had a very short conversation with him, but I don’t remember being rude to him.” Yan Liqiang shook his head as he recalled the event. “During our lifetimes, we will get along well with some people without any reasons, but at the same time, haters don’t need a reason to hate us. Just now, I was trying to ask Manager Qiu to let me complete the task alone without involving both of you, but he chased me out without even giving me a chance at all.”

“I think Manager Qiu is jealous of your looks. Hahaha! Compared to that old grumpy man, Leader, you are like a blooming flower!” Gu Zexuan laughed. “Life in the Divine Sword Sect is getting boring anyway, I was just thinking about taking a break to travel. Now we have been given a chance to explore the world with Leader. It is better to travel ten thousand li than read ten thousand books. What do you think, Huipeng?”

“Right, I would like to explore the world too and gain some experience,” Zhao Huipeng answered with a monotonous tone and gave Yan Liqiang an amiable smile.

Yan Liqiang was moved by their responses. He placed his arms firmly on Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng’s shoulders, “Since we can’t avoid it, let’s get everything ready this afternoon. We leave tomorrow with the people of Four Seas Courtyard. There is nothing much we can do if we stay in the Divine Sword Sect every day. Let’s take this as a getaway!”

“Okay!” Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng both nodded their heads.

“There you are...” A voice could be heard from afar right after they finished their conversation. The voice was followed by the appearance of a bald, chubby, and jovial man who seemed to be a little younger than twenty, “Liqiang, I have been looking for you. The things you ordered are ready, but they are too heavy. I had to deliver them up here using a cart and they make me sweat like a dog. You must treat me to dinner at Meteor Tower.”

The chubby man was Sun Weizhen, a disciple of the Divine Sword Sect. Unlike the other disciples, Sun Weizhen was a disciple of an artisan of the Divine Sword Sect. His duty was to learn craftsmanship from Hall Master Su and others at the Tianqiao Peak artisan workshop. Sun Weizhen was one of the disciples Hall Master Su thought highly of as he was clever and talented; he did not have other shortcomings except that he was a foodie and liked to loaf around. Yan Liqiang did not know Sun Weizhen when he first came to Tianqiao Peak. They got to know each other naturally after crossing paths several times on Tianqiao Peak. Since Sun Weizhen, Yan Liqiang, Gu Zexuan, and Zhao Huipeng were similar in age, they had a lot in common to talk about. Just like that, Yan Liqiang gained another friend on Tianqiao Peak.

Sun Weizhen was talking in such excitement that he was oblivious to the mood that the trio was in. Only after he finished speaking did Sun Weizhen sense that something was not right. He carefully observed the trio’s faces before he curiously asked, “What happened?”

Gu Zexuan repeated the story to Sun Weizhen.

“What? That’s ridiculous!” Sun Weizhen yelled in disbelief. “Liqiang, since when did you piss off Manager Qiu?”

Yan Liqiang shrugged, “Do I look like a fool who would do such a thing?”

“That’s weird...” Sun Weizhen frowned, trying to make sense of what happened. Before long, he suddenly yelled out loud and clapped his hand, “Oh! I know what happened!”

“What?” Gu Zexuan asked curiously.

“He wants to make sure that you will not be able to take part in the Sect Tournament at the end of the year.” Sun Weizhen looked at Yan Liqiang in all seriousness, “Tianqiao Hall has come up last in the tournament for years without fail. But you, Liqiang, might be a game-changer. You have progressed as a Martial Warrior at such a young age. Even Hall Master Su was impressed. Plus, you have such a handsome face that will put everyone to shame. With your image, as long as you take part in the tournament and get yourself a good rank, you will surely be famous in the Divine Sword Sect. All the elders and the hall masters will instantly remember you. However, if you take this job, it will take you at least five months before you can come back. You will surely miss the tournament and your chance to make a name for yourself.”

“Damn. This must be the reason. That pig!” Gu Zexuan cursed before he turned to Sun Weizhen, “Can you do us a favor and talk to Hall Master Su? If someone must take the job, let it be Huipeng and me. Count our Leader out. Let him take part in the year-end Sect Tournament. With his skill and image, it will be a piece of cake for him to come out at the top among the other external disciples.”

Sun Weizhen helplessly looked at Gu Zexuan, “Hall Master Su is on a business trip. He is not in the Divine Sword Sect. I heard that he will only be back after two weeks. There’s nothing I can do...”

“Forget it. It is useless to say anything at this point!” Yan Liqiang shook his head. “He does not dictate my future here in the Divine Sword Sect. He can stop me from entering the tournament this year, but I bet he can’t do the same thing again next year. After all, he is not the only decision maker here...”

“Liqiang, you are such an optimist!”

Yan Liqiang smiled, “Let’s go and see the things I ordered!”

“Leader, what things did you order from him?” Gu Zexuan asked curiously.

“You will know once you see them...” Sun Weizhen smiled mischievously.

The four of them left the store and in no time, they were in one of Tianqiao Peak’s courtyards.

The things Yan Liqiang ordered from Sun Weizhen were on a three-wheeled cart. They were four metal poles which were exactly the same design as the ones he ordered from Deer Villa. The only difference was that the metal poles he ordered from Deer Villa were free of charge, whereas in the Divine Sword Sect, every disciple had to pay for custom-made items from Tianqiao Hall. Those four poles were made from thick iron, and they cost Yan Liqiang eighty taels of silver even after a discount.

“Wow! Leader, what is this for?”

“This is for building stamina!”

Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng could only stare at Yan Liqiang with their eyes wide open, baffled upon hearing this.

Gu Zexuan tried lifting up a pole; no matter how hard he tried, he could barely lift it a few inches off the cart. Zhao Huipeng tried too, and it was the same for him. After all, each pole weighed 350 jin – it was indeed too heavy for them to lift.

“Each pole here is 350 jin. It is really a difficult task to lift them up. I don’t know how is this possible for Liqiang,” Sun Weiqing chuckled.

Yan Liqiang was aware that Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng were both skeptical, but he remained silent. He simply held one pole in each hand and lifted the two poles in a breath before he put the poles back onto the cart.

This stunt was enough to bewilder all three of them as they were left there with their mouth wide open.

“Let’s go. We should store these at my place.”

Yan Liqiang sighed a little. He had waited for quite a while for these poles to be made; now that they were finally ready, he was assigned a job and could not use them. Ultimately, it would be an inconvenience to carry such heavy items with him throughout the long journey.

Tianqiao Peak was a place full of gossipers. At such a time when Manager Qiu had his eyes on him, it would be a wiser choice for Yan Liqiang to keep a low profile. They pushed the cart straight to Yan Liqiang’s place and placed the poles there.

For the rest of the day, the trio packed for the trip. Clothes, weapons, and medicine were extremely important, so they had to make sure they brought enough for the journey. At night, Yan Liqiang reserved a private room at Meteor Tower for a banquet. He invited Sun Weizhen, Huo Bin, Ma Liang, Hu Tiande, and Li Kai for a simple farewell dinner.

These people had made quite a fortune ever since they started working together with Yan Liqiang on the earth vinegar. Therefore, they formed a strong bond. They were a team now, and this restaurant was their usual hangout place.

Upon finding out that Yan Liqiang had been set up by Manager Qiu, every one of them felt unfair for him.

Hu Tiande was sitting next to Yan Liqiang. After a few cups of wine, he squinted his eyes and leaned over to whisper to Yan Liqiang, “Liqiang, you need to gain Manager Qiu’s trust. Otherwise, life will be tough for you here at Tianqiao Peak.”

“Manager Qiu oversees Tianqiao Peak, and I’m only his subordinate. I can only do whatever he commands,” Yan Liqiang replied calmly.

Hu Tiande smiled bitterly, “You know what I mean, Liqiang. If you ever need help, just tell me. The Divine Sword Sect is a big name, but there will always be politics like any other place.”

“I’ll thank you in advance then, Brother Hu.” Yan Liqiang smiled as he toasted with Hu Tiande.

“The earth vinegar is indeed a short-term business. Price for the earth vinegar had been plummeting since the third batch. There is not much to profit out of this anymore. Many in the Divine Sword Sect jumped on the bandwagon, so there’s no way to increase the price. Luckily, I heeded Liqiang’s advice and sold off my third batch early, so I earned a little more. Now that we have some cash in our pockets, we wanted to discuss some potential business plans with you, Liqiang. Who would have guessed you would be dispatched for a job, and we will not be able to meet you for the coming half of the year.” Hu Bin said in disappointment.

“Once we are back from the job, there will certainly be another opportunity. Worry not, my friend, there will always be money for those who want to earn.”

“Fine. Let’s toast. We wish Liqiang, Zexuan, and Huipeng a safe journey...”

“Cheers...!”

......

Chapter 260: Escort

Yan Liqiang, Gu Zexuan, and Zhao Huipeng woke up from their slumber the next day before dawn. After a moment of preparation, they slung their bags on their backs and left Tianqiao Peak. Before a quarter past five in the morning, they managed to reach the mountain gates of the Divine Sword Sect.

When the three of them arrived outside the gates of the Divine Sword Sect, the sky in the east had just begun to shine. The sun wasn’t even out yet. Despite that, the wide road outside the mountain gates was already bustling with all sorts of activity. About three hundred primed carriages and rhinodrake steeds of the same number – as well as twice the number of personnel – had already gathered at the roadside, shouting about and making noises.

“Sh*t. There are so many carriages. How many things are they actually pulling?” Gu Zexuan widened his eyes as he watched the spectacle in front of him.

“Twenty thousand Pearl Blossom Steel bladed weapons in addition to the impedimenta for the journey – a fleet of three hundred carriages is not nearly enough...” Yan Liqiang said in a casual manner after sweeping his gaze over the carriages.

“Ah, you already knew what was inside the carriages, Leader. I was also at Tianqiao Peak, how come I didn’t hear any news about it?”

“This can be considered as classified information within the sect, so most people have no knowledge of it. The secrecy is sanctioned for the fear of this information leaking out, which would lead to problems during the journey. I only caught wind of it by accident. Come, let’s go report our arrival, otherwise someone might claim that we don’t know any etiquette...”

“Alright, Leader. We will heed your words!”

Zhao Huipeng would sometimes talk less than ten words in a day, which was why Yan Liqiang and Gu Zexuan would be the ones talking most of the time when the three of them were together while he listened at the side. Those who didn’t know him would definitely assume that Zhao Huipeng was a mute. In reality, however, only Yan Liqiang and Gu Zexuan knew that he always preferred to not talk in front of a crowd. This was his personality which could not be forced to come about.

After randomly inquiring one of the people in the fleet, Yan Liqiang and the other two managed to find the fleet’s leader, an escort leader surnamed Feng of the Four Seas Escort Agency.

The Four Seas Escort Agency was an institution that belonged to the subordinate of the Divine Sword Sect’s Four Seas Courtyard. Most of the members of the escort agency were disciples of the Divine Sword Sect and had statuses within the sect. Moreover, the Four Seas Escort Agency specialized in escorting and protecting people. This batch of items was designated to the Four Seas Courtyard for transportation within the Sword Divine Sect. The final implementation, on the other hand, was handled by those people at the Four Seas Escort Agency under Four Seas Courtyard.

The escort leader surnamed Feng had a burly physique and a bearded face. His eyes were bright, and his ears were huge on his dignified face. With just one glance, one could tell that he was a ‘member of the society’ with expert martial skills and rich experiences under his belt. He definitely represented the figure of ‘an elder brother’.

“Are you three the ones Tianqiao Peak dispatched to follow us to the north?” Escort Leader Feng creased a frown when he saw Yan Liqiang and the others, as if he was displeased with them.

Upon seeing Escort Leader Feng’s expression, Yan Liqiang remembered the expression on the HRs at his previous company when they saw the fake educational background and diplomas the interviewee had brought during the career interview.

“Yes!”

“Where are your paizas? Show them to me!”

Yan Liqiang and the other two handed over their respective paizas to the escort leader surnamed Feng. He took did a cursory inspection of their paizas before he tossed them back and bluntly asked, “Did you offend someone on Tianqiao Peak?”

“Well... We don’t even know who we offended. Manager Qiu was the one who arranged for us to come!” Yan Liqiang calmly said.

“Forget it. Let’s not talk about this crap!” Escort Leader Feng impatiently waved his hand and continued in a gruff voice, “I will only explain my own rules. The three of you will follow us escorts. You must listen to me throughout the entire excursion. When I say move, you move. When I say stop, you stop. Whatever I ask you to do, you will do them. Those who dare not listen and try to act smart, I will make him regret that he was ever born into this world. I might be an escort leader of the Four Seas Escort Agency, but I am still a manager of the Four Seas Courtyard. It would be extremely easy to punish you three young kids, understand?”

“Understood!”

“Chen Hu...” Escort Leader Feng turned around and called out to a person nearby.

A thirty-year-old man quickly rushed over when he heard the calling and said, “Escort Leader, did you call for me?”

“These three are from Tianqiao Peak. They will follow you. Teach them the rules...”

“Alright!” The man named Chen Hu then gave a cursory glance at Yan Liqiang and others before continuing, “You lot come with me...”

And just like that, Yan Liqiang and the other two followed Chen Hu who immediately arranged errands for them thereafter. The three of them were assigned to follow three carriages that were carrying goods. On top of guarding the goods, they were also responsible for taking care of the rhinodrake steeds pulling the carriage. As they followed the group, they were not allowed to move around by themselves. Even their meals, drinks, and bowel movements had to be controlled and permitted by Chen Hu. They had to be present on time when called as well. Should they try to disobey him, the whip in Chen Hu’s hand would start flying around with loud cracking sounds...

Three hours after Yan Liqiang and his friends arrived, the first ray of dawn finally emerged and shone on the surface of the earth. The large fleet of carriages outside the gates of the Divine Sword Sect subsequently moved according to Escort Leader Feng’s roaring order: “Begin the escort...” Like a long snake, the fleet slowly started moving. All of the people in the fleet, including those on their steeds and driving the carriages – with the exception of Yan Liqiang and the other two – began reciting the work chant in succession as if they were singing a song.

“The Four Seas Escort Agency traverses the four seas. We are men of reason – with words we persuade, not with violence and anger. Those who do not heed to us will be greeted by our swords and spears. Without business, there are no tasks for us. Since your hands won’t work on us, why choose to sour our friendship? Since you hear me as your friend, why not seek to plunder another man elsewhere? With a friend on the land you stand, a war you will not face. The gray clouds will clear for the sunny skies. If we don’t meet here, we will meet somewhere without crossing swords. Friends should be loyal to one another. Kindness will bring wealth – disloyalty and injustice will not be tolerated. Keep those words in mind and you will be a hero wherever you go.”

The one-sided triangular flag of the Four Seas Escort Agency was planted on top of that carriage. Yan Liqiang listened to the majestic work song of few hundred old men while sitting on top of the carriage, thoroughly immersed in the atmosphere of a brotherhood. At that moment, he was quite interested in the situation. This job wasn’t as boring as he had initially thought. He used to receive packages from Jingdong Express and Shunfeng Express all the time, so he never felt strange about it. He only understood when he came to the other world that the line of logistics and transportation on foot wasn’t work that an ordinary person could perform.

If there was a train or car, it would have been more convenient to transport the goods. To be honest, it wouldn’t be difficult to make trains, cars, or anything related to those. In order to build those, the most important thing would be a steam engine. The principle behind a steam engine wasn’t that complicated, but because the people in this world were used to using animal power and manpower, no one ever thought of it in the first place.

Was it possible to receive Heavenly Bestowment through the invention of the steam engine?

A thought emerged inside Yan Liqiang’s head. He then shook his head, discarding the thought, unable to stifle a laugh. What was the use of thinking about these useless things...

Chapter 261: Terrifying Power

On the 17th of the fourth lunar month at Deer Villa...

The sunlight was so radiant and enchanting that it was a bit too dazzling. The sounds of birds chirping and insects in Deer Villa made the whole area seem secluded and peaceful. The luxuriant pear tree in Eunuch Liu’s courtyard provided ample cool shade...

After Eunuch Liu had lunch, he proceeded to lie down on a lounging chair under the pear tree and took a nap. Meanwhile, he was served by two other eunuchs that fanned him at the side. Eunuch Liu’s nap was the same as usual – it lasted for about two hours. He only woke up when it was nearly quarter past two o’clock.

When the eunuchs saw Eunuch Liu waking up, they quickly passed a towel to him, served him a cup of hot tea, and gave him a bowl of lukewarm bird’s nest soup...

Eunuch Liu used the towel to wipe his face and he rinsed his mouth with the herbal tea. Finally, he picked up the porcelain bowl akin to white jade and took his sweet time to drink the warm bird’s nest soup.

“Hmm, the bird’s nest soup today is pretty good. It’s a bit different than the white gourd bird’s nest soup I used to have. The soup base is fresher, and the bird’s nest seems clear and transparent as well. Not bad, not bad. How did the chef stew this soup...” Eunuch Liu commented in a slightly high-pitched voice while he tasted the soup.

Little Chun immediately responded with a bow beside him. “The chef used tender chicken, good ham, and fresh mushrooms to concoct this soup. If Eunuch Liu likes it, we will ask the chef to prepare it the same way next time...”

“Then make it once every three days. If this excellent food is sampled too many times, it will become meaningless. Every three days. I still want to leave a desire for my taste buds...”

“As you wish, Eunuch Liu!”

After taking two more spoonfuls, Eunuch Liu slightly slowed down his hand movement as if he had thought of something, “Right, what day is it today...”

“17th. The 17th of the fourth lunar month...” Little Li quickly replied.

“It’s been a while since I last saw that newcomer Commandant Yan. It must have been a month already...”

“Hmm, Commandant Yan arrived on the 20th of last month. In the next three days, he will have been at Deer Villa for a full month...”

“What has Commandant Yan been doing these few days? How come I haven’t heard any news about him or seen him at all?” Eunuch Liu thoughtlessly asked as he continued to drink the soup.

“I heard that Commandant Yan has been leaving early and coming back late these days. He lingers in the mountain forest at the archery range every day. You can only spot him in his living quarters in the morning or late at night...”

“Oh?” Eunuch Liu halted the movement of his hand with an interested expression. “Has he not been leaving Deer Villa for the past few days?”

“I did ask the guard about that yesterday. Commandant Yan has never left Deer Villa this month. The servant tasked with delivering his meals was able to see him every day...”

“And?”

“I also heard that Commandant Yan requested two batches of customized stuff at the blacksmith’s workshop in Deer Villa, all of which were heavy ironware. The people at the blacksmith’s workshop said that these things are for Guard Yan’s cultivation...”

“Commandant Yan’s shoes have been wearing out really quickly these days. He would allegedly damage a pair of shoes nearly every day. A few days ago, Commandant Yan asked someone to send him twenty pairs of shoes in one go...”

“That’s right. Commandant Yan also took a sturdy ten picul bow from the storehouse...”

“The servant who delivers Commandant Yan’s meals said that he saw him basking in red light when he went to deliver food to him once. He thought that Commandant Yan was on fire but realized that wasn’t the case in the end...”

“Also, Commandant Yan’s meal portion seems to have doubled all of a sudden ever since he came to Deer Villa a month ago...”

Little Li and Little Chun took turns speaking as they complemented each other’s sentences. With just a few lines, they had relayed Yan Liqiang’s month of activities at Deer Villa – significant or minor – to Eunuch Liu in its entirety. Little Li and Little Chun were basically acting as Eunuch Liu’s eyes and ears in Deer Villa. Everything that happened within Deer Villa could hardly escape the attention of those two.

“Damaging a pair of shoes every day and taking a strong ten picul bow. His meal portion has doubled within a month...” As Eunuch Liu muttered, he suddenly raised his snow-white eyebrows and his eyes gleamed with realization. He then lightly put down the half-eaten bird’s nest soup and stood up, “The weather is nice today. I haven’t strolled around Deer Villa for a long time now. I am going to take a walk. You two don’t have to follow me...”

Little Chun and Little Li exchanged glances and lowered their heads at the same time, “Understood!”

When he was done speaking, Eunuch Liu leisurely left the courtyard by himself...

......

At the same time when Eunuch Liu left the courtyard, drops of hot sweat were dripping down from Yan Liqiang’s forehead in the forest where the Deer Villa archery range was. The beads of sweat rolled down one by one and landed on the soil beneath his feet...

Currently, the topless Yan Liqiang was motionless with his eyes closed. Within the shadows of the swaying trees in the forest, he was half-squatting, somewhat akin to that of the Horse Stance and somewhat different than that, as if he were a statue. On Yan Liqiang’s back were two heavy shackles binding the eight thick metal poles in their place like a bundle of firewood. At the same time, both his hands were fixed in the position of a basic spear technique while he wielded a metal pole that was more than eight meters long without making any movements. This metal pole consisted of the four similarly thick metal poles strapped together to make one extremely long pole.

Each metal pole weighed 350 jin. The total weight of the metal poles on Yan Liqiang’s back exceeded 2800 jin.

Meanwhile, Yan Liqiang’s ‘long spear’, which was made out of four connected metal poles, weighed 1400 jin...

However, at this moment, the force that Yan Liqiang had to endure with both of his hands had already far exceeded the weight he bore on his back. This was due to the fact that he was balancing the ‘long spear’ like how he held a normal spear – his hands at the end of the pole and on the pole were less than three feet apart. Under the law of the lever, the force that both of his hands endured by maintaining this posture with a large 1400 jin pole was certainly greater than the said weight...

Yan Liqiang had already possessed an extremely sturdy body before he began this cultivation. Because of the frequent training, Yan Liqiang’s original sturdy body had become that of a metal statue where the lines of his muscles were more apparent. Each protruding muscle was filled with the power akin to that of an explosive dynamite. His sweat would flow down the lines of his solid muscles like a stream through the mountain peaks, drenching the soil underneath him...

Yan Liqiang had maintained this position for more than two hours.

This position was the result of the trial and error Yan Liqiang experienced during the past few days. While maintaining this position, the muscles and nerves in every inch of his body, be it his legs or arms, would reach the optimal results of his training...

That weird squatting posture was to strengthen the effects of the Deft Lightness Jump technique which was also known as the ‘Cloud Dragon’s Ten Transformations’ technique...

The remarkably powerful long spear that he assembled was able to develop the strength of both his hands while refining his basic spear technique of ten years at the same time...

On the other hand, the load on his back had begun shifting the forces throughout his body...

This posture consumed most of his energy and exhausted him the swiftest. Coincidentally, the effectiveness of this posture also proved to be the strongest above all.

Yan Liqiang then closed his eyes...

Every cell in his body was roaring like steel tossed into a smelting furnace. Yan Liqiang’s spiritual world, on the other hand, was able to remain tranquil even in this state. In this peaceful state, Yan Liqiang had forgotten the feeling of fatigue and the excessive consumption of his energy. The surrounding Heaven and Earth had been integrated into his perception.

Suddenly...

Eyes shut, Yan Liqiang felt a burst of cold murderous air rushing toward him from behind.

Under the beguilement of the murderous intent, the giant eight-meter long spear that remained motionless in Yan Liqiang’s hand reflexively shifted, exchanging the position of the tip of the spear with the end. He exerted force on his feet and turned around, twisting his waist and strode forward before he lunged ahead. His silhouette shifted in a sudden motion as his spear thrust forward in the direction of the murderous air like an arrow leaving the string...

Yan Liqiang only felt the spear in his hand slightly shake as if something had clashed with it. However, he didn’t really care because the energy from the vibration was too insignificant to change the course of his attack...

A ‘bang’ rang out in the air. Yan Liqiang clashed with the silhouette that rushed toward him at a faster speed as he turned to face the unknown assailant. After breaking a pine tree with the thickness of a thigh, the silhouette ended up falling to the ground pathetically.

This person was wearing black headgear and a black night outfit in the middle of the day, which made him seem extremely suspicious.

Yan Liqiang could not understand how a person like him was able to enter Deer Villa. However, when he saw the person on the ground, he did not stop. Instead, he let out a roar and drifted ten meters away from his position like a lightning bolt. After that, he jumped three meters upward with an eight-meter-long metal pole that he had been using as a spear. He swung it up in an instant and with an overwhelming stance, he focused his pole and swung it hard toward the person on the ground.

“It’s me...” A sharp scream rang out from the person who had fallen to the ground.

When Yan Liqiang heard this voice, he quickly shifted his strength and slammed the eight-meter-long metal pole three feet away from the target...

With a ‘bang’, the ground was left with a giant pit. The surrounding area around the pit seemed to have shaken slightly. And the person on the ground was startled like a frightened monkey the moment the metal pole struck the ground. Without a care for grace or elegance, he rolled over like a lazy donkey and swiftly shifted to the side. After that, he bounced up from the ground like a startled monkey and scurried ten meters away from the commotion.

“Eunuch Liu...?” Yan Liqiang stopped and looked at the black-clothed man.

The man clad in black took off the black headgear and revealed an aged face. This man was indeed none other than Eunuch Liu himself. However, the current expression on his face as he looked at Yan Liqiang was akin to that of seeing a ghost. He looked like he had a hard time believing what had happened. There was a touch of shock and shame amidst the anger from his embarrassment...

Eunuch Liu wanted to say something when he opened his mouth, but as he did so, he felt a disturbance in his Qi and blood within his chest. He then proceeded to cough up a mouthful of blood...

Chapter 262: Invincible Extraordinary Power

“Ah, Eunuch Liu, is that you? Are you alright...?” Upon seeing Eunuch Liu spit out blood, Yan Liqiang quickly threw the eight-meter-long weapon on the floor and rushed toward him, inquiring about his condition with great concern.

“I’m fine, I’m fine. I heard that you’ve been cultivating diligently in this archery range for the past few days. Initially, I wanted to come here and test your abilities, who knew... cough cough...” Before Eunuch Liu could finish, he began coughing violently as if his lungs had been damaged like leaking air bag. Yan Liqiang hurriedly patted Eunuch Liu’s back and slowly brought his breathing back to normal. After two whole minutes, Eunuch Liu’s complexion gradually returned to normal. He then waved his hand slowly as a gesture to Yan Liqiang to stop patting his back.

“The strength of the young will always triumph against the old...” Eunuch Liu shook his head and continued, “When I assaulted you, I was only using forty percent of my strength. I intentionally used my murderous intent to stir you just because I wanted to see the strength you would unleash should you encounter a situation with imminent danger. But I didn’t expect your reaction and power to be this devastating. I couldn’t even stand against that...”

Yan Liqiang scratched his head and said in an embarrassed tone, “I didn’t expect the assailant to be Eunuch Liu either either. Please forgive me...”

“It’s not your fault. It’s my fault for not anticipating such strength from you. This is truly an extraordinary power...” At this point, Eunuch Liu seemed to have noticed the heavy poles that were strapped on Yan Liqiang’s back with shackles. The weapon that he tried to attack Eunuch Liu with just now was also thrown down on the ground. This long spear assembled with four eight-meter-long metal poles seemed like it could truly make one’s blood curdle. Eunuch Liu then continued, “Are these the items you commissioned from the far away blacksmith workshop?”

“Yes, that’s right. These are the items that I commissioned from the blacksmith workshop!”

“One weighs how much?”

“350 jin!”

Upon hearing Yan Liqiang’s words, Eunuch Liu glanced at the large item on the ground and sucked in a mouthful of cold air. As he kneaded his still somewhat painful wrist, he muttered, “That means the thing you hurled toward me weighs about 1440 jin in total...”

“Yes, that’s about it...”

“The six things on your back must weigh...”

“2100 jin...” Yan Liqiang said in honesty. Even though he preferred to not publicize his business, Eunuch Liu had already seen everything. As a result, he felt that there was no need to hide anything in front of Eunuch Liu any longer.

Eunuch Liu listened to his answer and walked toward the item that Yan Liqiang had thrown on the ground. He took a deep breath and bent down, attempting to lift it up. However, even with all of his strength, he could only prop up the pole from the ground. Meanwhile, the other end of the pole was still touching the ground. After that, he finally put down the pole while gasping for air.

Eunuch Liu’s cultivation realm was considered high, yet this did not mean that his physical strength was undeniably stronger than Yan Liqiang’s. Despite the boost to one’s power as their cultivation realm increased, the boost had a limit. It would not give his power a sudden impetuous upgrade. Moreover, the boost was actually based on the person’s potential and internal cultivation. In addition to Eunuch Liu’s old age, his physical strength was not as powerful as before. Hence, it was normal for him to not be able to lift the metal pole that Yan Liqiang had used previously.

“Indeed, this weighs over 1400 jin...” Eunuch Liu shook his head before he shifted his gaze toward Yan Liqiang, “How did you manage to lift this heavy thing up?”

“I don’t know either!” Yan Liqiang put up a facade, pretending to not know the truth, “Ever since I broke through the Horse Stance, I feel my strength growing stronger each day. This month, I have been cultivating on a daily basis ever since I came to Deer Villa. My strength began to increase as well...”

“Then this is your inherent extraordinary power...” Eunuch Liu muttered to himself, “There was a general in the Great Han Empire two hundred years ago who was just like you, a person with inherent extraordinary power and a big appetite...”

“That’s probably it...” Yan Liqiang said as he scratched his head.

“Let me see you pick up this thing again...”

Yan Liqiang abided Eunuch Liu’s words and proceeded to bend down. Without much effort, he picked up the large pole with his hand.

When Eunuch Liu saw Yan Liqiang pick up the metal pole with such ease, his eyebrows unconsciously twitched. He then looked around at his surroundings before he pointed at a giant rock nearby, “Try to see if you can smash that giant rock into smithereens...”

The giant rock was about the size of two oxen heads. It was lying on top of a bunch of grass patches and seemed to weigh about four to five tons.

“Eunuch Liu, this is will make quite a commotion...”

“There’s no one else besides you and me here. Don’t worry. I will have the final say in this place. Don’t make me have you apologize for this...”

Upon hearing Eunuch Liu’s words, Yan Liqiang decided to keep quiet. He gazed at the rock as he wielded the eight-meter-long metal pole and let out a roar before rushing toward it. When the distance between him and the rock was about ten meters, he began spinning the metal pole with both of his hands and continued rushing forward. There wasn’t any technique to it and it was as simple as smashing the pole down with all his might...”

“Bang...” A loud sound rang out. The rock that was about the size of two oxen heads was smashed into smithereens from the center, causing debris to fly everywhere.

Once the giant rock was smashed, Yan Liqiang retracted his metal pole and stood without a change in his expression.

Eunuch Liu observed at the side and continued to dart his gaze around the smashed rock and Yan Liqiang’s body. A gleam then appeared in his eyes after witnessing such a demonstration. He didn’t utter a single word after that. It wasn’t until half a day had passed that he finally asked Yan Liqiang a question, “Well... does Lord Sun know about your inherent extraordinary strength?”

“When I followed Lord Sun last time, I did demonstrate this in front of a group of guards by lifting up shackles that weighed 300 jin, just like this time. However, Lord Sun has never witnessed something like this before...” Yan Liqiang shook his head in response.

“Does this mean that I am the first person to witness your extraordinary power?”

“I guess so!”

“You must have been cultivating the spear technique just now, right?”

“That’s right. Eunuch Liu is very perceptive. I am currently cultivating a basic spear technique. I have never learned of any other advanced spear techniques before!”

Eunuch Liu sighed, “With your strength at this level, even if you have not yet learned any advanced spear techniques, as long as the weight of your weapon can keep up with your speed, no one would be able to block the thrust of your spear and the wallop of your pole. I almost received a monstrous beating from you just now, let alone other people. I heard that you have taken a sturdy ten picul bow too. Is the strong five picul bow no longer suitable for you?”

It was at this point that a shred of dejection appeared on Yan Liqiang’s expression, “I don’t want to hide this from Eunuch Liu, but I accidentally broke the five picul bow during practice a few days ago. Therefore, I went to the storehouse and took a strong ten picul bow to practice with instead...”

“The situation in the Imperial Capital is complicated. It is best that you refrain from allowing too many people to know about your inherent extraordinary power for now!”

“Eunuch Liu, thank you for the reminder. I understand!”

“Mm, if you need anything within these few days, feel free to ask. If you need something special, you can come and find me directly...” Eunuch Liu swept his gaze at Yan Liqiang’s feet as he spoke. The pair of ordinary martial art shoes that he was wearing was already damaged when he smashed the giant rock with the metal pole due to the immense strength he had exerted on the ground. The shoes were unable to sustain such power, thus leading to their destruction, causing his toes to peek through the holes. It was at this moment that Eunuch Liu finally realized why Yan Liqiang was quick to ‘wear out’ his shoes...

“Alright, I will remember that. Thank you, Eunuch Liu!”

“Mm!” Eunuch Liu’s voice was still resounding in Yan Liqiang’s ears, but as he lifted his gaze up to look at Eunuch Liu, he had already vanished.

Yan Liqiang did not think too much of it either. He felt that Eunuch Liu had no evil intentions toward him, so after Eunuch Liu left, he decided to continue his cultivation in the forest since the day was still young and he still had a lot of energy left in his body. By doing so, he hoped that he would be able to reap a greater result after he recovered from the training later on.

Within this month, Yan Liqiang realized that the result of the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing had already overthrown his initial expectations. With the exponential increase of his stamina each day, he realized that using his physical strength to the point of exhaustion within a short period of time proved to be increasingly difficult. The only thing he could do now was continuously increase the load on his body.

The prologue of the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing foretold that Marshal Yue also possessed such a terrifying power of the world. But based on Yan Liqiang’s perception, he felt that the effectiveness of the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing cultivation in this world seemed to be more dreadful and grim than that of his previous life on Earth due to the abundance of the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth and energy. The result he reaped from the past few days had also exceeded his expectations.

Yan Liqiang never thought that he could present that many surprises to Eunuch Liu today. As Yan Liqiang continued to practice in the archery range, Eunuch Liu was already sitting on a carriage and leaving Deer Villa in a hurry. His destination was none other than the Imperial Palace itself...

Chapter 263: Hoard As Rare Commodity

“Is there really a person with such valor and vigor?” Eunuch Xue stood up unconsciously after listening to Eunuch Liu’s account. He stared at Eunuch Liu with a shocked expression and his voice rose two pitches higher, “That Yan Liqiang is just fifteen years old based on Lord Sun’s previous explanations...”

“If I didn’t see it with my own eyes and experience it first hand, I would never believe that a fifteen-year-old youth could actually possess such extraordinary power. The thirty-foot-long metal pole which weighed more than a thousand jin looked like a normal wooden pole in his hands as he jabbed that thing toward me with a whoosh. I was careless and almost fell to it in just one move. This is true, raw power that no stratagem can win against. Even if my cultivation base is higher than his, he has already closed the gap between our cultivation levels with just his power at that precise moment...” Eunuch Liu lifted up his wrist while explaining to Eunuch Xue as he rolled up his sleeves, “Look at this, Big Brother. My wrist is still somewhat swollen ever since I received the bludgeon of his pole from that time!”

Eunuch Liu was an elder of the imperial palace who had the ability to handle situations with ease due to his bountiful experience. As soon as he arrived at the imperial palace from Deer Villa, he was able to meet Eunuch Xue in one of the private rooms in the Directorate for Royal Apparel after a brief notice. What the outsiders didn’t know was that both Eunuch Liu and Eunuch Xue entered the palace together when they were very young. Even though they were eunuchs, they had been helping and relying on each other throughout their lives as brothers. Additionally, both of them were trusted by the Emperor. Their relationship was also considered quite special.

“When Lord Sun came to us that day, he only said that this youth was a person of great potential. Amongst the youths, he is considered to be a rare talent who is meticulous, loyal, and trustworthy. Lord Sun did not mention that this youth would have such a capability like this...”

“If Lord Sun knows about it, we won’t be discussing this topic now. I believe that Lord Sun doesn’t even know Yan Liqiang possesses such capability. Otherwise, Lord Sun would have kept him by his side. With a little bit of guidance, he will be bound for greater purposes. Lord Sun would never let him leave that easily and ask other people to give him a new job...”

“Then, my brother, what you mean is...”

“Isn’t this the reason why I came to discuss this with you right now? With the treacherous ministers and traitors led by Lin Qingtian dominating the current political situation in Imperial Capital, they have been casting hostile eyes at the Emperor while pressuring him. You and I clearly know about the situation regarding the Emperor. At this moment, the Emperor is trying to bring in people of talent. Big Brother, you haven’t seen it with your own eyes. But if you did see it, you will know that even peerless and exalted champions who already exist in this world might just be mediocre at the age of fifteen. We have pledged our loyalty to the Emperor, so it is natural for us to think of a way to keep this kind of peerless talent for him. This kind of person is spectacular at just the age of fifteen. I know he will not bite back at the Emperor even after ten years passed by...”

“Brother, what you’re saying is that we should put in more consideration on behalf of the Emperor due to our pledged loyalty to him. Otherwise, when those treacherous rebels manage to usurp the throne, we will surely not be allowed to live!” Eunuch Xue solemnly nodded, “What’s Yan Liqiang’s current job at Deer Villa?”

“He is a superintendent of the archery range but as a sinecure awarded as the Yingyang Commandant!”

“As you said, a Yingyang Commandant’s position is indeed a little too low. He is a dime a dozen amongst the Imperial Cavalry Unit!” Eunuch Xue creased a frown on his forehead and began pacing around the room, “With both of our abilities, it will not be a problem to promote Yan Liqiang a few positions higher within the Imperial Cavalry Unit. However, if we truly wish to win his heart and make him truly useful for the Emperor, I’m afraid we still have to properly plan and prepare first...”

“Whatever we can give to him, Lin Qingtian and his accomplices will be able to do the same as well, or perhaps more than what we are capable of, simply because he is a person of high position with privileges. On top of that, he was able to make connections with several true heroes and peerless warriors too. What he thinks might be rare now might not be scarce in the future. In my opinion, Yan Liqiang is young, kind, and affectionate. He even brought his dog along to travel from Gan Province to the Imperial Capital. Unable to part with it, he even came to me to ask for pardon on behalf of his dog. Right now, he is alone and has no one to depend on. Now is the right time to allow him to return. If we let this moment slip by, I fear it might be too late when he truly rises to the top one day!” At this point, he clenched his teeth before he continued, “I’m saying this only to you, Big Brother. I feel that it is best if the Emperor could handle this matter personally. You must not delay this any longer and avoid stirring up more trouble. Under the grace of heaven, the young man will not be completely indifferent and harbor deep gratitude toward you!”

......

After an hour had passed, Eunuch Xue realized that the man sitting behind the imperial desk had a new, bizarre expression on his face as he was personally giving his account on Yan Liqiang’s matters in the royal study with proficiency. He had no idea whether the man was delighted or angry while listening to his report. As Eunuch Xue continued to look at the expression in the man’s eyes, his felt his chest begin to tighten. He did not dare to continue the rest of his account from there on.

After all, the man sitting in front of him was the Emperor. Even if Eunuch Xue had become audacious, he would not dare to teach this man how to run things around here.

“Alright, I understand...” That man finally put down the memorial in his hands after a long while and said in a calm tone, “It’s good that you and Liu Tao are both exceedingly faithful to me. You even paid close attention to those with useful talent outside of the palace for me too!”

“This is my duty!” Eunuch Xue stared at the wood grains of the lacquered floor in the royal study without the slightest courage to lift up his head, “I am Your Majesty’s eyes and ears. Whatever your faithful servant sees or hears, Your Majesty will the notified of everything. Your Majesty conquers all corners of the land, so the heroes and champions of the world are your subjects. Naturally, they should be of service to you!”

“Alright, I understand. Step down...” The Emperor had an indifferent expression on his face as he waved his hand lightly to Eunuch Xue.

“Understood. Your humble servant will take his leave!” Eunuch Xue moved backward and headed toward the door to leave the royal study.

“Wait a moment!” The Emperor swept his gaze toward Eunuch Xue’s head of silver hair and surveyed him for a while. Suddenly, he sighed, “When you and Liu Tao first came to serve me, both of you were still in your early youths. Now, both of you have gray hairs all over your head. Later, I will have the imperial physician deliver some Qingwu Pills to you. Give Liu Tao some when you see him. Take care of your bodies, both of you. I am still young, so you aren’t allowed to be old just yet...”

Tears abruptly flowed down on Eunuch Xue’s cheeks. He bowed deeply the man behind the imperial desk and sobbed, “Your humble servant... thanks Your Majesty...”

......

It wasn’t until Eunuch Xue left the royal study that the Emperor’s calm expression began to morph into a complex one, perhaps with a hint of excitement. What Eunuch Xue didn’t see just now was the tightened fist that the Emperor had placed below the imperial desk when he spoke about Yan Liqiang. It was only now that the Emperor was able to relax his fist.

The Emperor faced one of the windows in the royal study and gazed into the distance. That distance was where Deer Villa was situated.

“Can this be what they call an awl-point finding its way out of the bag? It’s only been a month and you have already shown your capability and talents. At first I intended on paying you a visit after a few months, but looking at the situation now, I don’t think that’s possible anymore. Well, it’s fine if it’s ahead of the anticipated time. If we are to go with the flow, then so be it...” The Emperor muttered to himself while revealing a faint smile on his lips. He was feeling exceptionally good at this moment because he was finally somewhat convinced. God was still taking his side after all...

......

Just as Eunuch Liu’s carriage was rolling out of the Imperial Capital, Lu Peien was just opening the curtains of his carriage to look at the humongous city wall of the Imperial Capital and its hustling large crowds. He then ordered the coachman, “After you enter the city, turn right and go to the Gan Provincial Guild Hall first...”

The two carriages passed by each other at the gates to the city...

Chapter 264: No Hindrance

Yan Liqiang was utterly oblivious to the matters happening outside of Deer Villa!

Eunuch Liu’s sudden appearance today did not change his cultivation regimen. He continued on as usual and overexerted his physical strength and stamina to the limit repeatedly before arduously dragging his empty husk of a body back to his residence in exhaustion.

When he took off the 2,800 jin burden by putting down the pole in his hands and subsequently untied the chains on his body, the light sensation that he had anticipated and missed for so long immediately came back to Yan Liqiang. This caused his body to feel ethereal in an instant, as if he had just risen from hell to the clouds above. Yan Liqiang almost grunted from feeling too comfortable.

It would be extremely difficult for those who had not experienced this sort of struggle to understand this feeling. Putting down a simple thing could sometimes bring tremendous joy to one’s body and spirit, allowing them to feel beyond satisfied.

The person who came to deliver food to Yan Liqiang arrived at the appointed time. Yan Liqiang was caught by surprise when he noticed that there was an extra nourishment – a whole stewed pheasant with ginseng. With just a whiff of the aroma, one would feel refreshed, especially from the aroma of the old ginseng. Although Yan Liqiang was not entirely proficient in understanding medicinal herbs, he could tell that the ginseng was extremely valuable based on its appearance. The ginseng was already quite old.

Normally, this type of expensive ingredient and medicinal material would not be present on the kitchen menu due to the large population in Deer Villa because no one could afford it. Since they had delivered this dish to Yan Liqiang, he did not hold back and devoured everything they served him, but not before splitting the stewed pheasant into half for Goldie, who was already drooling. He chewed the entire ginseng in pieces as if he were ginseng was also chewed into pieces like he was eating a carrot.

As expected of the ginseng. Once it entered his stomach, Yan Liqiang could feel its warmth slowly spreading to his entire body from within, making him feel quite comfortable. This type of ingredient was more beneficial than the food he usually had.

“Oh right, is there a special feast at Deer Villa today? You even brought stewed pheasant with ginseng for me.” After Yan Liqiang consumed the food, he casually asked a question as he returned the meal box to the servant.

“Eunuch Liu is the one who personally asked the chef to make that stewed pheasant with ginseng for Commandant Yan!”

Yan Liqiang was slightly surprised. He then smiled at the servant and said, “Alright, thank you for the trouble!”

......

After watching the servant leave with the meal box, Yan Liqiang rubbed his face before he proceeded to lock the door and returned to his courtyard.

Having rested in the courtyard for a while and pacing around to help with his digestion, he felt refreshed. Thus, Yan Liqiang returned to his private room and began his crucial daily cultivation and strengthening process.

Yan Liqiang was startled by the rate of progression of his cultivation during the past few days. Various breakthrough phenomena took effect on Yan Liqiang’s body in just two to three days. Sometimes, the phenomena would occur several times per day, thus becoming a common occurrence to him. Because of this circumstance, Yan Liqiang did not dare to cultivate in his courtyard anymore. Instead, he returned to his private room so that his movements would be scaled-down and would not attract too much attention.

If Yan Liqiang disclosed his one month’s cultivation speed and progress to anyone, he could startle a lot of people into thinking that he was talking about myths. However, all of that wasn’t a myth. It was something that Yan Liqiang truly understood as ‘no hindrance’.

Today was a bit special, probably because of the effect from that old ginseng. Yan Liqiang had just entered the Three Forces Qi Channeling First Stance when he felt the greater abundance of Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth rushing into his body from his surroundings like water being discharged from a dam. That was when the strengthening process began.

A few moments later, the breakthrough phenomena appeared on Yan Liqiang’s body. A golden light began to envelop the surrounding area around his body. Instantly, a golden yet antique bell appeared as well. Subsequently, the golden antique bell turned into a ray of light and merged with the crotch area below Yan Liqiang’s lower abdomen.

From the moment Iron Head technique achieved its success, this was the thirteenth time that the various body techniques of The Golden Bell Divine Protection Technique had achieved an advancement within this month. The Iron Crotch technique was the hardest to cultivate, which was why it was the last to achieve its success. Recently, the breakthrough phenomena of the techniques seemed different than the ones from before. As soon as the image of the golden ancient bell merged into his crotch area, Yan Liqiang’s muscles and bones began to crack and explode like firecrackers. Afterward, a miniature golden ancient bell appeared in Yan Liqiang’s head, throat, back, arms, shoulders, abdomen, palms, fists, elbows, fingers, legs, knees, and crotch areas. These miniature golden ancient bells then slowly merged into one, forming a larger bell. Yan Liqiang’s body was completely enveloped within the bell. In the end, the bell shrunk and merged into Yan Liqiang’s body once more.

At that moment, Yan Liqiang could hear a distinct bell ring in his ears. The sound of the bell echoed within every cell in his body, causing all his cells to resonate simultaneously. As the cells resonated, his skin gradually became golden. When the lingering bell sound began to fade, Yan Liqiang’s complexion finally returned to normal.

The first layer of Golden Bell Divine Protection Technique: Success.

Despite that, Yan Liqiang still continued his cultivation. The majestic Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth and energy maintained its endless flow into Yan Liqiang’s body. The first round of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing wasn’t complete yet. Again, a stream of white light swept around him. And within that light, clear images of four propitious clouds appeared. Afterward, these images quickly merged into Yan Liqiang’s legs...

The fourth layer of Cloud Dragon’s Ten Transformations: Success.

Half an hour later, another blue light appeared around Yan Liqiang’s body. This blue light appeared to be a majestic-looking long spear. As soon as the image appeared, the tip of the spear trembled, causing three blue rays to merge into Yan Liqiang’s forehead, chest, and his dantian in the lower abdomen area.

There were three grades altogether for basic spear techniques. The appearance of this phenomenon, on the other hand, symbolized Yan Liqiang’s basic spear techniques which had been perfected completely. One could even cultivate to a higher class within the first grade of the spear technique.

However, this was not the last breakthrough phenomenon for today...

Just when Yan Liqiang was cultivating the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing for the third time, his whole body suddenly glowed in a bright red light, as if he was being set on fire. The entire room was illuminated in bright red, and within the red light, the shadows of a large sinister python and a virile tiger emerged for fifteen minutes before it slowly dissipated and vanished.

These were the phenomena of advancing toward Supreme Martial Warrior.

......

After an unknown period of time had passed, Yan Liqiang finally recovered from the state of cultivating Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing, feeling as if he had been reborn. The blood flow in every part of his body was replenished to its limit. His Qi was akin to that of a dragon, and his blood to a tiger. Yan Liqiang only slightly moved his arms and legs, yet the muscles in his body burst into a series of explosions.

Once the dantian had been opened, one would be able to become a Martial Warrior, thus gaining the ability to cultivate Qi. And once the Martial Warrior sufficiently cultivates their Qi and blood throughout their body, then they would be able to advance toward becoming a Supreme Martial Warrior.

“Is this Supreme Martial Warrior?” Yan Liqiang was slightly surprised, but not overjoyed. This was because he already expected the outcome. During these few days of cultivating, he felt that he was nearing the advancement to Supreme Martial Warrior, which might have been within a few more days. However, he didn’t expect today to be the day.

Yan Liqiang only revealed a shocked expression after he used his inner sight to check on his dantian. The vital Qi inner force coagulated by the Ten Dragons Ten Elephants Divine Technique he had cultivated inside his dantian had already formed a giant elephant. This elephant was completely golden, which made it seem extremely dignified. The more shocking part was the dissimilarity of this golden elephant to that of a normal one. Normal elephants only had two tusks, whereas this golden elephant inside his dantian had six tusks. Moreover, each tusk seemed like it was made of silver and they looked bright and lustrous...

A Qi cauldron from the dantian sat on the back of the giant elephant.

Therefore, the cultivation of the incomplete secret manual of Ten Dragons Ten Elephants Divine Technique ended here. Advancing toward Supreme Martial Warrior was the end goal of the cultivation. However, this secret manual never stated that his vital Qi inner force in his dantian would condense into a giant elephant after advancing to Supreme Martial Warrior. Based on the explanation from the manual, the vital Qi should condense into Qi masses. Back then when he and Master Liu Guiyuan talked in the Heavenly Realm, he added that when this cultivation technique stabilized after advancing into Supreme Martial Warrior, the Qi mass inside his dantian would sometimes cause a light image of an elephant to appear. Liu Guiyuan also made an additional arrangement. Once Yan Liqiang advanced to Supreme Martial Warrior cultivation, the latter should leave a mark somewhere in the Divine Sword Sect so that Liu Guiyuan could come and look for Yan Liqiang by himself and impart the next section of the Ten Dragons Ten Elephants Divine Technique to him...

What was going on? Yan Liqiang was somewhat confused. But at that moment, he could not find anyone to explain what had happened to him.

Yan Liqiang checked his body thoroughly. He only felt relieved when he noticed there was nothing strange in particular despite sensing the Six-Tusked Elephant that was more powerful than any Qi mass he had ever felt before.

......

The next day, as Yan Liqiang decided to leave the courtyard to continue his cultivation, he realized that the items he carried on his back and held in his hand felt much lighter than before.

Fortunately, he still has some unused ‘stocks’. As a result, he continued to increase the weight without a second thought.

Originally, he had eight large metal poles on his back, which weighed about 2,800 jin. Now that two more poles were added, the weight of the items on his back now summed up to 3,500 jin. Meanwhile, two large, bulky metal poles were added to the original one he wielded. Without extending the length of the metal poles, he secured the two metal poles in the middle and the end of the original metal pole. In that instant, the weight of the metal pole increased from 1,400 jin to 2,100 jin...

Yan Liqiang felt that he could add more weight to his weapons. Unfortunately, he had already used up the two custom-made heavy metal poles from the blacksmith workshop at this point. There were no extra metal poles left. If he wished to add more, he would have to ask the blacksmith workshop to make another batch for him.

However, today was already the 18th. Tomorrow marked the day of Liang Yijie and Xu Lang’s arranged duel in the Arena of Life and Death. Yan Liqiang thought about it for a while and realized that having the blacksmith make one today was impossible. He decided to wait for the day after tomorrow to ask the blacksmith workshop to make a few more poles for him.

These things on his back and hands seemed like a lot, but in reality, they had smaller volumes since metals were naturally heavy. Based on the density of the metal, the weight of one cubic meter would be 7.8 tons. All the metal poles, including the ones on his back and hand were less than half a cubic meter, which was why they didn’t seem particularly conspicuous.

As Yan Liqiang continued his training throughout the day, he finally realized that the hand grip of the metal pole he wielded had already been imprinted with an apparent grip mark. This handprint seemed life-like as the mark was etched half an inch into the metal. Even the fingerprints were obvious to the naked eye as if they were engraved on the surface.

When night came for him to return to the courtyard for dinner, he noticed a bowl of stewed pheasant with ginseng amongst the dishes again...

......

On the 19th of the fourth lunar month, Yan Liqiang finally left Deer Villa, where he had stayed for a month, and went back to the Imperial Capital.

Chapter 265: Meeting An Old Friend In A Distant Land

Yan Liqiang did not travel back to the Imperial Capital on horseback this time. He insisted on leaving behind Snowstorm Cloud at Deer Villa and even decided to not bring Goldie along with him. After changing to a set of fresh casual clothes, he then went to greet the guards and began his journey on foot directly from Deer Villa back to the Imperial Capital.

Could you imagine the fleeting delight of a man who had been carrying a thousand jin of weight every day suddenly going on a journey in a lightweight manner? Yan Liqiang felt as if he were truly treading on air; the ground underneath his feet felt as if they were made of clouds. He even felt like he could go wherever the wind was blowing when a breeze blew by. If there weren’t too many people on the street – some that might be easily startled, he would have attempted to use his Cloud Dragon’s Ten Transformations technique to test how fast he could run.

This improvement within a month was colossal.

However, it was a bit unfortunate that he would still have to wait until he completed the sect mission in the Heavenly Realm before returning to the Divine Sword Sect to be able to learn the follow-up technique of the advancement to Martial Master of the Ten Dragons Ten Elephants Divine Technique. The least amount of time to complete that would take around four or five months. Although it would impossible for Yan Liqiang’s cultivation base to advance into Martial Master during this period of time, he would still be able to strengthen his power and increase the cultivation realm of various techniques using the limited cultivation method. Undoubtedly, the increase of a cultivation realm could increase one’s power, but the power manifestation of the so-called ‘realm’ in the end would still have the attack damage output. On the other hand, Yan Liqiang was able to understand the principle behind defeating ten people with immense power after the short fight he had with Eunuch Liu, which further confirmed that Yan Liqiang had chosen the correct path. As long as he could continue increasing his strength, he would be able to increase the breakthrough, strengthening, and the limits of his damage output as well. His power would also continue to increase. The upgrade of his cultivation base wasn’t the only path he could choose to strengthen himself.

The Imperial Capital remained lively with the bustling crowds. Yan Liqiang had already arrived at the Huaien Square at the Imperial Capital, which was close to the Arena of Life and Death.

This was the location of Liang Yijie and Xu Lang’s appointed match. Meanwhile, the time was set at about ten o’clock in the morning.

When Yan Liqiang arrived, there was already a crowd nearby the Arena of Life and Death. This sensation was as if everyone was waiting for an open-air movie screening to begin. The arena was built ten feet above the ground with the circular bluestone arena seven to eight meters in diameter. This stone area was surrounded by a spacious public square, and the public square was surrounded by the streets. On the sides of the street were tea houses and wine shops.

The windows inside the tea houses and wine shops near the Arena of Life and Death were already filled with people, as if they knew that there would be experts fighting today. Yan Liqiang looked toward the surroundings and noticed that it was densely packed.

Most of the people who had gathered here early were martial cultivators. A majority of them had come from the dojo and gathered together in a mass. Their uniforms were of the same design and color too. Since this type of duel between two experts would be interesting and exciting, this assembly was a rare chance for many martial cultivators to watch, emulate, and learn as there were no cameras in this era.

As Yan Liqiang looked around him, he realized that Liang Yijie hadn’t arrived yet. There were only a few people wearing law enforcement uniforms maintaining order near the entire Arena of Life and Death. They refused to let unrelated individuals get too close to the arena.

Meanwhile, below the Arena of Life and Death, everyone was immersed in the discussion and speculation of victory and defeat of today’s battle. There were even some who had set up a gambling spot in the scene for all to bet their money.

“Liqiang...”

Yan Liqiang heard a familiar voice amidst the noisy surroundings. When he heard this voice, he quickly turned his head around and saw a person in a blue robe standing at the side of the street, waving at him with a smile.

That familiar figure and smile belonged to none other than Lu Peien.

“Sixth Brother!” Like meeting an old friend in a distant land, Yan Liqiang ran over to him without any hesitation and grabbed Lu Peien’s hand with excitement, “Why are you in the Imperial Capital?”

In Yan Liqiang’s eyes, Lu Peien did not change at all. On the other hand, Yan Liqiang seemed to have undergone a drastic change in Lu Peien’s eyes. After a few months of not seeing each other, Yan Liqiang had grown a head taller. His body structure had become stronger and he was more towering than before. The greatest change of all would be Yan Liqiang’s temperament, which had become enigmatic yet astute, bold yet graceful. He had a radiant look in his eyes also. The black pupils in his eyes would flicker like starlight at times, which made him seem valiant and full of vigor.

Upon seeing the change in Yan Liqiang, Lu Peien could only sigh for his family’s Ninth Sister. The two of them were not fated for each other in the end. Yan Liqiang was sincere at that time, but Ninth Sister seemed somewhat hesitant. Her feelings toward Liqiang had been complex all along, and when she missed the chance to be with him, the opportunity never came again. Inevitably, it was a pity for both of them. However, Lu Peien felt a bit relieved about the situation. Even if Yan Liqiang could not become his brother-in-law, he could still be a brother and a friend to him. Liqiang was a person of unwavering loyalty, so he was nothing less than family to him. Presently, in Pingxi Prefecture, Lu Clan in Huanglong County and the Yan Clan in Qinghe County were like families, so nothing really changed.

“I have just arrived here yesterday in the evening...” Lu Peien kept his thoughts to the back of his mind as he studied Yan Liqiang from head to toe. A smile appeared on his face as he said, “After not seeing you for a few months, you have really changed a lot, Liqiang. Seems like your cultivation base has improved splendidly. I can’t even see through you anymore!”

“Sixth Brother, why did you come to the Imperial Capital all of a sudden? Are you on some kind of business?”

“Of course I am. Liqiang, can you guess why I am here...”

As the two of them continued to chat at the side of the street, a crowd could be seen bustling about nearby. In this sort of situation, one could discern the people in the surrounding area with clarity. There was no need to worry about someone hearing their conversation as long as they did not shout or scream at each other.

Yan Liqiang looked at Lu Peien for a few seconds and quickly replied, “Did Brother Lu come here because of the lotus root briquette?”

Even though Yan Liqiang had arrived at the Imperial Capital not too long ago, he realized that during the past few days that a city like the Imperial Capital had a greater market for the lotus root briquette in comparison to Pingxi Prefecture. The Imperial Capital had a large population and wider boundaries too. With the exception of the surrounding villages where they could burn firewood to cook, eight or nine out of ten households in the city would use coal or charcoal for their daily cooking. The sight of black smoke rising from the chimney of every household, including the imperial palace during breakfast and dinner, could very well be described with the word ‘magnificent’. Every time Yan Liqiang entered or left the Imperial Capital, he could see several people pulling black coal carts to sell them in the city, which made it seem like coal industry was huge here.

In this sort of place, there would definitely be a big market for the lotus root briquette.

“Liqiang, you are indeed bright and perceptive to guess it right away. It was the old man’s desire for me to come to the Imperial Capital this time!” Lu Peien replied as he darted his gaze toward the surroundings. He then lowered his voice and said, “The old man wanted me to check on the situation in the capital and see whether we can extend the lotus root briquette business here. If we can take the first opportunity to do so, making profits will be the next thing on our minds. So, the old man wanted to see if it is possible to cleave a path for the Lu Clan in the Imperial Capital...”

Yan Liqiang understood everything immediately. The old man of the Lu Clan was indeed experienced and vicious...

Chapter 266: The News

Lu Peien smiled, “I understand what you mean, Liqiang. This place is like a big pond filled with big fish and big crocodiles. Lu Clan is only a small fish, and we know our place. I have only two tasks for this trip. The first is for money and to look out for any feasible business opportunities that we can invest in. Second, Old Master said that the Imperial Capital is a place full of hidden talents. It is full of dojos and martial experts. Remember the Revival Pill we fed to your father? The person who gave this pill to Old Master is now the supervisor for the Soul Mountain Sect in the Imperial Capital. The Soul Mountain Sect is quite influential in this capital, and their business allies run a few coal yards. If we can build a business relationship with the Soul Mountain Sect, our clan’s hopeful talents might have the chance to study at their Imperial Capital branch.”

“Oh, I see. Have you visited the Soul Mountain Sect already?”

“No, I have not. I arrived in the Imperial Capital yesterday. Then I went to Lord Sun’s residence to look for you. Your father wanted me to pay you a visit on his behalf. He was worried that you might spend more than what you earn in the capital, so he wanted me to bring you some money. However, I was told by the servants in Lord Sun’s residence that he was not at home, and that you were no longer working for him. They also told me that you had gone to Deer Villa. Later, I heard the news that one of Lord Sun’s men would be dueling today. I guessed you would be here to watch, so I came here and waited for you. If you didn’t show up, I would have had to look for you in Deer Villa.”

Yan Liqiang felt warm upon hearing his father’s concern and his request for Lu Peien to bring him some money across this distance. “How is my father?”

“He is fine, of course. The blacksmith store is on fire. Everyone in Pingxi Prefecture knows that the weapons from the Yan Clan’s blacksmith store are of reliable quality with reasonable prices, especially the kukri knife you designed. It is the hottest selling item and it has become the signature of the Yan Clan’s blacksmith store. Your father is very busy dealing with his apprentices every day. Oh yes, your father has been promoted to be the Liuhe Town Constable by the county magistrate. He is currently the decision-maker of Liuhe Town. Hahaha...”

“My dad is now the Liuhe Town Constable?”

Yan Liqiang somehow felt that it was a little funny upon hearing the news, but he felt glad at the same time. The previous Liuhe Town Constable was from the Hong Clan. Since the waning of the Hong Clan, the town constable post had been vacant for some time. Yan Liqiang didn’t expect for Yan Dechang to get the position.

“Your father is a man with principles. He is fair to everyone. Now that his business is good, he even donated money to fix the roads and schools. He is a popular man now in the town. Everyone likes to look for him if they run into any trouble.”

“I’m worried my father might have too much free time. Now that he has some work to do, I feel less worried,” Yan Liqiang smiled.

“Liqiang, what is your position at Deer Villa?”

“I’m the superintendent of the Deer Villa archery range!”

“Superintendent?” Lu Peien frowned. This was not a common job title, so Lu Peien had never heard of this before. “Is this some kind of official position?”

“I guess so.”

“What is the rank?”

Yan Liqiang rubbed his face as he was a little shy to give his answer, “Not a high-ranked position, just a Yingyang Commandant!”

“What?” Lu Peien’s relaxed face was suddenly replaced by a stunned expression as he heard this. He almost thought he heard it wrong. “Liqiang, are you saying that you are now a Yingyang Commandant?”

“Yes, but this position doesn’t have much authority in the Imperial Cavalry Unit and I don’t have any followers. My duty as the superintendent of the archery range is to patrol Deer Villa’s archery range. It’s an easy job and I have a lot of free time to cultivate.”

“Even though you don’t have any authority, a Yingyang Commandant is still a Yingyang Commandant. Plus, it’s a Yingyang Commandant in the Imperial Cavalry Unit who takes direct orders from His Majesty. Therefore a Yingyang Commandant is considered a high position in the Imperial Cavalry Unit...”

Lu Peien was slightly excited after hearing the news. He never expected Yan Liqiang to become a Yingyang Commandant of the Imperial Cavalry Unit within half a year. It was unbelievable, almost like magic to him. Becoming an official servant in the empire was not a rare occurrence; in fact, some people said that there were more than enough official servants that you might bump into one of them at any time. However, a Yingyang Commandant was a high rank, even among the Commandants. Qian Su worked half his life in the Gan Province military camp and was currently managing a weaponsmith quarter, but was only ranked as a Feiyang Commandant; so Yan Liqiang would technically be Qian Su’s superior. The general of Gong Barracks in Huanglong County, Gong Tieshan, was also a Yingyang Commandant, so he was the same rank as Yan Liqiang. The difference, however, was that Gong Tieshan was actually given an army to command while Yan Liqiang was not. However, taking into account Yan Liqiang’s young age and the fact that he was in the Imperial Cavalry Unit, this was already a huge feat for him.

Lu Peien always felt that Yan Liqiang was a capable individual. He would be able to achieve success wherever he went. However, such a huge achievement in such a short period of time was really something Lu Peien could not even imagine. This would be something most people could never achieve in their lifetimes.

“Your father will definitely be happy to know that you are now an official Yingyang Commandant. The Old Master will also jump in excitement once he knows that...!”

“Hehe! I’m just lucky. I contributed a little along the journey, and fortunately enough, Lord Sun took good care of me.”

Lu Peien surely did not know the story of how he got himself the Yingyang Commandant position, but Yan Liqiang did not want to brag, so he tried to keep his story as simple as possible.

Just as Lu Peien wanted to add on that, they both heard noises coming from the Arena of Life and Death. The crowd started cheering, “They are coming! They are coming!” Through the crowd, two men appeared on both sides of the street as they calmly headed to the center of the stage.

Yan Liqiang immediately noticed one of them. It was Liang Yijie, and he was wearing a black suit, holding a sword in his hand. There were seven more youngsters walking alongside Liang Yijie: five males and two females, all wielding weapons as well. Those were probably Liang Yijie’s friends, and they were here to support him.

“Liqiang, if you are free, stop by the Gan Provincial Guild Hall. I will be staying there for the next few days as I will be in the Imperial Capital for quite a while.”

“Sure, Sixth Brother. Carry on with your work. I will certainly visit you at the Gan Provincial Guild Hall soon!” Yan Liqiang nodded.

Lu Peien briefly spoke to Yan Liqiang further before he left the crowd. He did not stay to watch the fight with Yan Liqiang. After all, this occasion was not suitable for Lu Peien to appear to be too close to Liang Yijie.

Now that Lu Peien had left, Yan Liqiang walked through the crowd as he headed toward Liang Yijie.

“Brother Liang!”

“Liqiang!” Liang Yijie smiled instantly upon seeing Yan Liqiang. He passionately patted Yan Liqiang’s shoulder as he announced to his friends, “This is the brother I have told you guys about. His name is Liqiang. He is a friend indeed! Don’t underestimate Liqiang here! He may seem young, but he is a capable young man!”

Liang Yijie spoke highly of Yan Liqiang in front of his friends, and the seven friends were immediately impressed by this. They all looked at Yan Liqiang as though there was a flower on Yan Liqiang’s face...

Chapter 267: The Death Duel

Yan Liqiang could see from the way Liang Yijie introduced him that the latter had mentioned him many times before in front of his friends, probably in regards to the Blackwind Bandits incident. For Yan Liqiang, he did not like to blow his own trumpet, so he humbly shook his hands in denial.

“Brother Liang, you are exaggerating. I was just lucky! Besides, you took such good care of me from Gan Province all the way to the Imperial Capital, so I am in debt to you!”

“Haha! We have been Yijie’s friends for years – it is rare to see him praise anyone to such an extent. He told us that you are a master of archery, Liqiang. He even said that you are worth a hundred opponents simultaneously and a prodigy in archery cultivation. Let’s have a match someday!” The person who spoke was a young man in his twenties, standing right beside Liang Yijie. He stood out as the tallest in the group, even taller than Liang Yijie by a few inches. He had a dark complexion which complemented his bright eyes.

While this man was excitedly talking about the archery match he wished to have with Yan Liqiang, the latter also noticed that the man’s broad shoulders and long arms were in perfect proportion. Calluses could be seen growing on his right thumb and index finger. It was immediately apparent to Yan Liqiang that this man was accustomed to archery, and most likely good at it too.

“Haha! Liqiang, let me do the introductions. This man who wants have a match with you is Zhang Yunduan. He always wants to have a match whenever there is a worthy opponent in archery.” Liang Yijie continued to introduce the rest of the group to Yan Liqiang too. Their names were Yuan Beihong, Zhang Rui, Yin Yajie, and Miao Yushen, while the two girls were Feng Ting and Hua Ruxue respectively.

It was a well-mixed group as each of them had their own unique abilities. Yuan Beihong was a huge muscular man with a pair of fierce-looking eyes, highlighted by a pair of thick eyebrows. Among everyone, Yuan Beihong had the most special weapon – a pair of iron sword breakers [1] that he carried on his back. Zhang Rui was the thinnest among them, and he was always smiling with witty-looking eyes. He carried a rapier, and it was hard for Yan Liqiang to tell whether it was actually a weapon or a decorative item. Yin Yajie was a handsome-looking man with perfect facial features. He seemed to be always cool and collected, and he was the only one in the group who kept a mustache, making him appear more mature. Miao Yushen was a gentleman who dressed like a wise scholar. He carried a paper fan and appeared to be a very observant man. Yan Liqiang noticed that Miao Yushen had already examined him from head to toe a few times ever since Liang Yijie was introducing him to the group.

As for the girls, Feng Ting was a beauty with a perfect oval face. She was wearing a green dress which brought out the grace in her. She carried a pair of crescent-shaped knives on her waist. Hua Ruxue, on the other hand, wore a white dress. Her attractive eyes, perfect figure, facial appearance, and temperament made her a peerless beauty.

More than half of the crowd’s gazes were fixated on Hua Ruxue’s beauty ever since they arrived.

“Isn’t the girl in the white dress Hua Ruxue, the Sword Fairy?”

“That’s right. I saw her at Chuiyue Restaurant last time. She indeed looks like a fairy!”

Yan Liqiang could not help but overhear the whispers among the crowd. It seemed like Hua Ruxue had stolen the limelight even though Liang Yijie was supposed to be the main character today.

Xu Lang also had eight to nine men by his side. There were a few familiar faces in the group which Yan Liqiang recognized. Those were the men Yan Liqiang met in the servant quarters the other day, including the man who provoked him. His name was Gao Yufeng, and he was a bodyguard who worked for Vice Minister Qu, just like Xu Lang.

Xu Lang and his gang appeared to be full of confidence. They saw Liang Yijie from afar, and Xu Lang held his head high without a trace of fear in his eyes. He even gestured a throat-slashing sign at Liang Yijie to intimidate him while his gang laughed.

The Arena of Life and Death was filled with people, but as soon as both teams arrived, the crowd automatically gave way for them to enter the center of the stage.

“Brother Liang, be careful. Since Xu Lang invited you to the duel himself, he must be well-prepared!” Yan Liqiang advised Liang Yijie in all seriousness.

“This is a duel of life and death, of course I will give it my best. I have always wanted to confront this man. Now that I have been given the chance, I will not let this life and sword of mine go to waste without a good fight!” Liang Yijie laughed heartily. He patted Yan Liqiang’s shoulders and nodded toward his friends before he leaped onto the stage. It was a graceful leap as his body twisted in the air – he accurately took another step in the air and landed on the corner of the stage which was three zhang away with both feet.

This was merely a sneak peek into the martial skills he mastered, but it was enough to silence the crowd surrounding the stage. They were undoubtedly impressed as they all stopped chatting and turned their attention to him.

On the other side of the stage, Xu Lang wasted no time as he followed suit and leaped onto the stage. He stared at Liang Yijie as he laughed like a hyena as the scar on his face moved like a living centipede. “Liang Yijie, today’s date will be your death anniversary next year!”

“Keep the crap to yourself! You are looking for death, and I will give it to you!”

Looking at Liang Yijie and Xu Lang, the two referees standing in the middle of the stage wearing law enforcer uniforms asked, “Do both of you clearly understand the rules of this stage?”

They both nodded.

“To avoid any confusion, let me repeat the rules once again. Both of you are deemed to voluntarily take part in this death duel on this stage. No one outside the stage is allowed to give any sort of support to the both of you. Violators of this rule will receive the death penalty. Weapons, concealed weapons, and armor are allowed on stage, but they may not be dipped in poison. This battle will not stop until one of you succumbs to death, or if both parties agree to stop the fight. If you agree and accept the rules of the battle, place your fingerprint on the consent form! The battle will start once I hit the gong.” One of the referees read the rules aloud, and as he finished reading, his colleague took out the agreement. He handed it to Liang Yijie, and after Liang Yijie printed his fingerprint on the paper, Xu Lang printed his too.

Once the two contestants placed their fingerprints on the agreement, the referees quickly rushed out of the ring. Without any delays, they took out a gong and raised the hammer in the air for a few seconds. With everyone holding their breaths, the referees hit the gong, signifying the start of the battle.

Clang...!

As soon as the gong rang, Yan Liqiang saw Liang Yijie lunge toward Xu Lang. Xu Lang, who was on the other side, ran toward Liang Yijie too. They met at the middle of the ring and greeted each other with the white and red flashes of swords. It was followed by sounds of weapons clashing against one another.

Chapter 268: A Setup

This was the second time Yan Liqiang witnessed Liang Yijie’s martial skills.

He first saw Liang Yijie’s martial skills in Pingxi City when Sun Bingchen took Ye Tiancheng down with a setup. His skills were impressive, and Yan Liqiang was in awe of witnessing such great martial art skills.

Now, Liang Yijie was once again moving like a dragon on the stage – his sword flashing as fast as lightning. Compared to the last time, his skills were even better now. However, to Yan Liqiang, it was not as impressive as it was a few months ago.

During the last fight, Yan Liqiang could not even see the moves clearly as they were too fast for him. However, in this fight, Yan Liqiang’s eyes could catch every move Liang Yijie made, and he even felt that Liang Yijie’s pace was not fast enough.

Xu Lang, on the other hand, was giving it his best shot. They were both equally good – it was hard to tell who would win. Xu Lang’s huge saber was enough to send shivers up anyone’s spine by itself, and his every move of his was lethal as each one could end Liang Yijie’s life if he was not careful enough. His body movement and footwork were in sync in such a weird, perfect way that it made everyone’s heart throb anxiously.

As Yan Liqiang watched, he imagined himself battling Xu Lang. In his mind, he pictured every possible scenario and every move Xu Lang might make, and how he would fend off Xu Lang’s attacks to win the battle.

If he was in Liang Yijie’s position while using that sword, he definitely wouldn’t be able to beat Xu Lang. Xu Lang’s battle experience, tactics, and saber mastery were far more superior, and Liang Yijie’s sword would not be able to bring out any of his skills. By using that sword in this battle, not only would Yan Liqiang lose, he would even die under Xu Lang’s sword as he had no other option other than to try his best to avoid attacks by leaping in between openings. However, if he could swap to another weapon, such as a six hundred jin long spear, Xu Lang would not be able to even touch him. This would be like an elephant holding grass while fighting a monkey with a twig. The elephant might lose in this case. However, if the elephant held a big tree as a weapon, that would be another story.

For example, for this move, he would not even need to jump up as he could stab forward with his spear and turn his defensive stance into an attack while Xu Lang would only be able to back off.

Not only that, he would not need to waste his energy by waving his sword like Liang Yijie. He could just sweep his spear horizontally, a simple yet aggressive method. Everything within a five-meter radius would be hit, and Xu Lang would not be able to fend it off. Xu Lang was putting an extreme amount force onto his knife, so this method would be able to knock away his saber and hurt the web of his thumb at the same time. If Xu Lang did not back off in time, he would break his spine. If he leaped, Yan Liqiang could add another Blazing Plain Spear technique and destroy him in mid-air, sealing his escape path. Even if Xu Lang retreated in time, Yan Liqiang could just stab him with the long spear. The arena was very limited in space, so he would not be able to avoid that.

Then, there was this move where Xu Lang was swinging at Liang Yijie with his saber. For Yan Liqiang, he would not need to change his technique or hasten his pace to fend off Xu Lang. Yan Liqiang only needed to use the spear like an iron staff and hit Xu Lang on the head. Xu Lang’s saber would always be knocked away whenever it met Yan Liqiang’s long spear, no matter the technique. This was because his strength was far superior to Xu Lang’s.

Xu Lang’s technique kept changing throughout the battle, but to Yan Liqiang, he felt that this was a little superficial. It lacked something, probably something tougher.

The battle on the arena continued, with lights flashing and both the contestants leaping and charging at each other. The audience held their breath throughout the fight. Most of them could not even decipher the techniques and moves as the fight was going on at a pace that was too fast for them. For Yan Liqiang, he could see that both Liang Yijie and Xu Lang were equally good, and it was hard to predict the result. Xu Lang’s potential must not be underestimated, especially since he was confident enough to challenge Liang Yijie in this battle of life and death.

The duo exchanged hits for another ten minutes. Suddenly, a bright red aura appeared on Xu Lang’s body. It was as bright as hell’s fire, and through the red aura, a three-headed serpent began throwing flames into the air. It was indeed a terrifying scene.

The crowd gasped aloud when they witnessed this.

Xu Lang’s saber began to glow like fire as soon as this Dharmic projection appeared. With every slash, the glow split in three directions, making it hard for the crowd to guess the direction of his attack. Liang Yijie’s sword was instantly overshadowed by the flashes of Xu Lang’s saber. Xu Lang stood on the arena as he laughed with a demonic shriek, “Liang Yijie, go to hell!”

“Yijie, look out!” screamed Hua Ruxue, who had been standing beside Yan Liqiang.

Yuan Beihong, Zhang Rui, Qin Yajie, Miao Yusen, and Hua Ruxue couldn’t help but take an anxious step forward with their faces as pale as paper...

Yan Liqiang, on the other hand, had his eyes fixed on Xu Lang’s saber; his hand was in his sleeve, making faint movements – he was imagining that Xu Lang was attacking him. To break this attack, Yan Liqiang would need a spear, and he would use the spear like a fist. He would perform the Turning Tiger in the Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist technique: a quick spin with a half-squat and an attack upward, like a tiger turning its head and roaring at its opponent. Then, he would follow with a flick and a stab, welcoming the opponent’s attack with an attack just as vicious. Before Xu Lang’s saber could reach him, his spear would have reached Xu Lang first, puncturing his body.

“I see you have completed your cultivation on your Hell Serpent Saber technique. The serpent in your Dharmic projection has grown out its third head instead of just two. No wonder you dared to challenge me in a battle of death.” It seemed that Liang Yijie’s fate was sealed, with his body completely surrounded by the saber’s glow; however, Liang Yijie’s calm voice echoed across the arena, suggesting otherwise.

“So what if that is true? I’m going to cut you into two today!” Xu Lang roared with laughter like a beast.

“So, you think you are the only one here who had been cultivating?” Liang Yijie’s voice descended, followed by a blinding white light rising up into the air. Through the light, an image of a majestic waterfall projected itself into the air, as if water poured from the sky itself.

This was Liang Yijie’s Dharmic projection!

Yan Liqiang never imagined that Liang Yijie’s Dharmic projection would be something as breathtaking as this. It was an absolutely stunning poetic scene with the waterfall that looked like it connected the earth and the heavens.

With the rise of the Dharmic projection came another flash of sword light on the arena. The sword light swept through the ground, breaking up Xu Lang’s saber light effortlessly.

Xu Lang’s Dharmic projection, hell’s fire, started to relinquish as it was touched by the waterfall.

“I can’t believe it. You have cultivated to the level of Sword’s Waterfall in your Taibai Thirteen Slash technique!” Xu Lang yelled out with his voice which was filled with a mixture of anger, resentment, and even a trace of fear.

“Yijie, good job!” Zhang Rui, who was standing near the stage, clapped and yelled in excitement. Everyone there to support Liang Yijie felt relieved now; on the opposite side, those supporting Xu Lang had their faces turning pale in horror.

Yan Liqiang sighed in relief too. He couldn’t help but imagine if he had to face Liang Yijie now. If Liang Yijie was his opponent, what would he do...

BAM! A loud noise came from the arena, and Xu Lang’s body was thrown into the air before he fell hard onto the edge of the stage. Blood oozed like a fountain from one of his arms. Liang Yijie wielded his sword, ready to make his next move. He aimed the tip of his sword at Xu Lang’s throat and thrust the sword forward as fast as lightning...

It seemed that a winner was about to be born here as Liang Yijie was seconds away from claiming Xu Lang’s soul with the sword...

Suddenly, Yan Liqiang felt his heart tremble a little. His instinct as a powerful archer alarmed him of something unusual, and he turned his head around...

An arrow shot out from a far away location at the speed of sound. It overtook Liang Yijie and struck Xu Lang’s thigh, dragging him down the stage...

Xu Lang shrieked in pain...

This happened too fast. Before Liang Yijie could even react, Xu Lang was already lying flat on the floor.

“How dare you set him up on the Arena of Life and Death? Are you even a real man?” The man who had come with Xu Lang, apparently named Mister Gao, jumped to his feet as he pointed at Liang Yijie with an angry face.

“I can’t believe you are this despicable!” The men who came with Xu Lang started to yell as they took out their weapons, trying to protect Xu Lang from any further injuries.

This started a commotion as the crowd surrounding the arena started protesting, “What a jerk! Liang Yijie, you are too much of a jerk! How dare you arrange for a sharpshooter to kill your enemy on the Arena of Life and Death! You are not a man!”

Chapter 269: Powerless To Defend

The turn of events surprised everyone, including Liang Yijie and Yan Liqiang.

Liang Yijie, who had already gained the upper hand with victory within his grasp, was suddenly thrust into a new role. The arrow which shot Xu Lang instantly forced Liang Yijie to face a thousand accusing fingers.

Most people were blind followers; only a few could truly grasp the details and circumstances of the battle between Xu Lang and Liang Yijie. For most of the audience standing below the Arena of Life and Death, this was merely a show to them. Quite a number of them were even spurred on by the surrounding atmosphere the moment they saw Xu Lang get injured by an arrow that came from outside the Arena of Life and Death, and they immediately attacked Liang Yijie with criticism.

Yan Liqiang was one of the people who understood the entire situation. At that time, Liang Yijie could have killed Xu Lang on the spot in the next moment. So why would Liang Yijie even need anyone to interfere from the outside? Besides, he wasn’t that kind of person.

In that split second, only two words flashed across his mind – a conspiracy! Liang Yijie would be powerless to defend himself if Xu Lang were injured by an arrow at a time like this.

“Out of the way...!” After looking in the direction where the arrow had come from, Yan Liqiang was the first to respond. He let out loud yell and promptly ran toward that direction. At a time like this, the only way to prove Liang Yijie’s innocence was to catch the culprit who shot the arrow. Other people might not have figured out where the arrow had come from yet, but Yan Liqiang was able to immediately determine that with his keen sense.

The arrow was released from a window on the third floor of an inn in the distance. The inn was located at a far intersection down the street, about 150 meters away from the Arena of Life and Death.

Under the influence of some contentious people, the onlookers near the Arena of Life and Death surged toward Liang Yijie while yelling. The traffic on the road was impenetrable. Yan Liqiang yelled and bolted toward the surging crowd. With just a push, the first two people at the front fell down with a surprised yelp. Like dominoes, the seven or eight people behind them also fell. Yan Liqiang’s physical strength simply wasn’t something they could withstand.

After pushing away a few more people in the surging crowd, the tips of Yan Liqiang’s feet left the ground as he leaped high up into the air, traveling a few zhang. When he was about to land after leaping over ten meters, his foot lightly landed on the shoulder of one of the riled-up onlookers below him. He then switched seamlessly from the Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps technique to the Cloud Dragon’s Ten Transformations technique. Before anyone from the riled-up crowd below him could even react, Yan Liqiang’s silhouette flashed like a lightning bolt and passed the large noisy crowd of onlookers. Landing on the street away from the crowd, he galloped in the direction of the inn, each stride carrying him a few zhang forward.

Yan Liqiang’s figure swept past the hundred-meter-long street swiftly like a gale, causing the pedestrians to cry out in alarm.

In just the space of a few breaths, Yan Liqiang arrived at the inn. Instead of going in and bolting upstairs, he went directly below the room on the third floor and made a leap. His figure swirled into the air like a transforming Cloud Dragon. Then he landed on the window ledge more than ten meters above the ground, on the third floor of the inn which faced the street. He punched through the tightly-shut wooden window, shattering it into countless pieces. The fragments of the window blasted into the room. Following the blow he delivered, Yan Liqiang also went inside the room through the broken window.

There was no one in the room. The door was shut but left unlocked. Only a longbow and two arrows were scattered on the ground.

Yan Liqiang immediately made a beeline for the door, pulled it open, and rushed into the inn. After turning a corner, he heard movement. It was a servant who was about to come check up on the room. Before the servant could even open his mouth, Yan Liqiang grabbed him and questioned him loudly, “The person who stayed in this room just killed someone, where is he?”

Yan Liqiang’s appearance startled the servant. His arm strength even anchored the servant in place. If Yan Liqiang directly inquired about the person who stayed in that room, the servant might not necessarily answer him right away. However, as soon as he heard from Yan Liqiang that the person had killed someone, his countenance changed as he promptly pointed downward. “T-The... guest just went downstairs and left the inn through the back door...”

“What was he wearing?”

“Short gray robes...”

Yan Liqiang released the servant when he heard that. He charged downstairs and went out the inn’s back door.

Outside the inn’s back door was an alley that was about a few meters long. However, there was not a single soul in the alley. Yan Liqiang rushed out of the alley and found himself on a street. The street was crowded with pedestrians. Looking around, he saw no one dressed in gray nearby. That person was long gone, like a drop of water which had disappeared into the ocean...

Another figure appeared beside him. Zhang Rui had rushed out from the alley behind him. “Did you find him?”

Yan Liqiang cast a glance at him, shook his head, and spoke regretfully, “I couldn’t find him. He escaped!”

When Yan Liqiang ran to the inn from the Arena of Life and Death, he spotted Zhang Rui’s figure dart out from the crowd like a fish after him. Zhang Rui probably figured out what was going on after seeing the situation in the guestroom.

Both of them quickly returned to the inn to question the servants and owner of the inn. From there, they discovered that the guest on the third floor had checked in two days ago. As for his facial features, neither the servants nor the owner could provide a clear description. All they knew was that he had a bushy beard...

Bushy beard? Yan Liqiang secretly shook his head. This was the easiest and simplest disguise to fool people. It seemed like the culprit had come prepared.

......

The entire chase lasted less than three minutes. By the time Yan Liqiang and Zhang Rui returned to the Arena of Life and Death, the place was filled with angry shouts from the surrounding audience. The crowd was furious and Xu Lang seemed to have fainted from his injury. Liang Yijie’s explanations were completely drowned out at this moment.

“HOW DESPICABLE...!”

“HOW SHAMELESS!”

“I didn’t expect Sun Bingchen’s guard to be this kind of person...”

With just a glance, Yan Liqiang could tell that quite a number of people were influencing the emotions of the other onlookers within the crowd. However, there was nothing he could do at a time like this.

Liang Yijie was talking to a law enforcer about something in dismay, but the law enforcer firmly shook his head. “Guard Liang, I think you should follow us to the Law Enforcement Office. Otherwise, it will make things difficult for us. This is the rule...”

“Liang Yijie was already winning just now. Why would he need to play dirty like that...?!” Yuan Beihong yelled indignantly.

The law enforcer shook his head. “I didn’t say Guard Liang did it. However, someone has been schemed against and gotten injured on the Arena of Life and Death. The rules have been violated. Therefore, it is only appropriate for Guard Liang to be taken in for questioning...”

Yan Liqiang went over to Liang Yijie’s side and told him about the discovery he made at the inn in a soft voice.

Liang Yijie patted Yan Liqiang’s shoulder and nodded to him. He announced loudly, “Brother Yuan, say no further. I, Liang Yijie, would never commit such disgraceful act. A man of moral integrity does not fear any slanders. There’s no harm in me paying the Law Enforcement Office a visit!”

Chapter 270: Beauties Love Heroes

Liang Yijie only came out from the Provincial Military Governor’s Office at noon.

Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie’s friends were all waiting in the teahouse across the street from the Provincial Military Governor’s Office. As soon as they saw Liang Yijie come out, everyone rushed up to him.

“How did it go, Brother Liang?” Zhang Rui was the first to speak.

“What else could they do? They only asked me if I was the one who hired the archer and if I knew him, along with a bunch of other boring questions...” Liang Yijie replied while shaking his head, looking grave and stern. “A constable took a few law enforcers to the inn to investigate. The owner and servants were taken in for questioning at the Provincial Military Governor’s Office. In the end, they couldn’t make any conclusions because they didn’t have any conclusive evidence. Naturally, they had no choice but to release me!”

“Damn, this must be part of Xu Lang’s plan! If Xu Lang could suppress you on the Arena of Life and Death, then that person wouldn’t have made the shot. If you suppressed Xu Lang, not only would that arrow save his life, but it would also get you into trouble and tarnish your reputation by putting you in a plight that you cannot defend against. How ruthless!” Yuan Beihong spat.

“Why would I fear the schemes of these clowns if I have a clear conscience?” Liang Yijie responded unyieldingly.

Yin Yajie shook his head and said gloomily, “You may be right, but public opinion is powerful enough to melt metal. Defamation can destroy a man. The Imperial Capital is a small place – how will Brother Liang possibly establish yourself here if these people tarnish your reputation? That lowlife, Xu Lang, did not only escape with his life from the Arena of Life and Death. He also managed to incriminate you! How wretched!”

Liang Yijie observed the situation on the street, especially the few law enforcers who were looking in their direction at the entrance of the Provincial Military Governor’s Office. “This is not the place for discussions, let us go to the Bright Moon Restaurant!”

“Alright!” Everyone nodded in agreement.

......

They made reservations at the Bright Moon Restaurant for a private room as early as yesterday since they were all ready to celebrate with Liang Yijie after his duel. Little did anyone expect that today’s duel would turn out to be so complicated.

Yan Liqiang didn’t really speak much along the way. He just followed Liang Yijie and the others to the private room they had reserved at the Bright Moon Restaurant. While everyone was talking about the incident just now, Miao Yusen snapped the folding fan in his hand closed as though he suddenly recalled something. He then turned to Yan Liqiang with sparkling eyes. “How did you discover the culprit who was hiding in the room on the third floor of the inn? The arrow was shot too suddenly. At the time, all I could determine was the direction it came from, but I wasn’t able to pinpoint exactly where it was shot from. Please don’t get me wrong, Brother Liqiang. I am not suspecting you. I am merely curious!”

Everyone else in the room turned their gazes toward Yan Liqiang’s face. “It’s nothing. I often analyze changes in the trajectories of arrows in the air when I practice archery, so I am very perceptive of arrows. When I sensed that incoming arrow, I had this very strong intuition that told me that it came from the inn over there...” Yan Liqiang replied calmly.

At a time like this, there was no way Yan Liqiang would admit that he could sense the strange atmosphere on the scene with his keen senses. Instead, he tried to give a plausible explanation using the theory of bullet motion that he had read about in his previous life. It would be fine as long as it sounded logical.

“Intuition?” Miao Yusen frowned slightly, looking as though he was trying to digest Yan Liqiang’s words.

“Oh Brother Liqiang, I frequently practice archery myself too. How come I don’t have this ‘intuition’ of yours, and why can’t I sense the changes in the trajectory of arrows after they are released?” Zhang Yunduan, who wanted to compete with Yan Liqiang in archery before, was also staring at him.

“When an arrow leaves the bowstring, it might look like it is following a straight path over a short distance. But if you observe it over a long distance, it actually follows a curved trajectory. Airflow, temperature, humidity, and even terrain can slightly influence the path of a flying arrow. As long as you pay more attention to these things, you will slowly gain this perception!” Yan Liqiang continued with a serious tone. Everyone around the table seemed to be thinking as soon as they heard the explanation.

“Do not doubt Liqiang’s words, everyone. His power of observation has always been exceptional...” Liang Yijie spoke up. “When I first met Liqiang, Lord Sun asked him a question to test his observation skills...” When Liang Yijie briefly recounted how Sun Bingchen tested Yan Liqiang with his screen back then, everyone exclaimed in amazement as they no longer doubted Yan Liqiang’s explanation.

“However, today’s incident has gotten you into trouble, Yijie. Among the crowds gathered around the Arena of Life and Death, I noticed that quite a number of people deliberately created disturbances to personally attack you. It was so obvious that everything was planned. The culprit who shot the arrow escaped without leaving any clues behind too. I suspect that person might have worn a mask or put on a disguise. The officers at the Provincial Military Governor’s Office couldn’t count on the owner or the servants of the inn at all. Ever since you returned with Lord Sun, I’ve been sensing some surging undercurrents in the Imperial Capital. Why don’t you retreat from the Imperial Capital for now, Yijie? Find a place and seclude yourself for a period of time. By the time your strength moves on to another level, this incident should die down and you can return again. The way to fight is knowing when to advance and when to retreat...” Yin Yajie suggested to Liang Yijie gravely.

“That’s right. Brother Yin has a point. Yijie, you should give it some consideration. As the saying goes: While the green hills last, there will be wood to burn!” Zhang Rui nodded in agreement at the side.

“Well...” Liang Yijie started muttering to himself irresolutely.

“It was obvious that Xu Lang wanted to get rid of you when he challenged you to a duel. I worry that even if they failed this time, they will find other ways to kill you instead of giving up. I also caught wind that things are getting pretty heated between Lord Sun and them in the imperial court recently. He directly indicted the other party with eleven serious crimes and at the same time, countless people are also trying to impeach Lord Sun. Yijie, you serve Lord Sun. Tarnishing your reputation means that they are also tarnishing Lord Sun’s. Getting rid of you will be the equivalent to getting rid of Lord Sun’s capable arm. While they deal with Lord Sun in a political manner in the imperial court, they wouldn’t bother so much when it comes to you...” Yin Yajie pointed out apprehensively.

“Thank you for the reminder, Brother Yin. I will give it careful consideration!”

“I heard that the scenery at Jinling has been beautiful these few days. I was just thinking of visiting that place for a few days. Would you be interested in joining me to travel to Jinling, Brother Liang?” Feng Ting spoke up. Her cheeks were flushed, but she was gazing at Liang Yijie with her sparkling eyes.

Yan Liqiang was taken aback. He looked at Feng Ting, then took a good look at the expression on Liang Yijie’s face and saw how the rest tried to hide their grins. Realization immediately dawned upon him...

“Of course Brother Liang would be interested in joining you!” Yan Liqiang smiled before Liang Yijie could even reply. “When I was traveling with Brother Liang back to the Imperial Capital, he sang praises about Sister Feng Ting to me. He told me how spirited, beautiful, and intelligent you are and that you are a lady who possesses rare qualities and is also his precious confidante. When Brother Liang was at Gan Province, he brought me with him to buy a bejeweled flower hairpin from the western region as a gift for Sister Feng Ting. It is very gorgeous and rare in the Imperial Capital. Unfortunately, that hairpin was lost when we encountered the Blackwind Bandits on our way here. Brother Liang was upset about it for quite a long time. Isn’t that right, Brother Liang?”

Liang Yijie stared at Yan Liqiang with a dumbfounded expression. He didn’t expect Yan Liqiang to make up these kinds of stories and tell them like it was the truth. The eyes of the lady by the name of Feng Ting glowed with excitement. She happily threw Liang Yijie a shy glance while biting her lip. The blush on her face immediately extended down to her neck, making her look extremely charming...

Chapter 271: Pleasant Surprise

“Liqiang, what were you driveling about just now? When did I ever say those words to you? You even made up the story about that bejeweled flower hairpin...” Liang Yijie looked at Yan Liqiang with an expression as though he was unsure of whether he should laugh or cry.

When everyone came out from the Bright Moon Restaurant after the meal, Yan Liqiang and Liang Yijie bid their farewells to the others. With the excuse of escorting Yan Liqiang back, Liang Yijie seized the opportunity to pull him to the side and blurted out the words he had been suppressing all this while.

“Brother Liang, don’t you like Sister Feng Ting?” The way Yan Liqiang gazed at Liang Yijie looked as though he had experienced something similar before. “Sometimes your eyes will betray your feelings even if you don’t want to admit it. Sister Feng Ting took the initiative today, what else is there to hesitate about, Brother Liang? Since Brother Liang was too shy to admit it, I said it on your behalf. You should’ve seen your expression just now. The moment Sister Feng Ting invited you to Jinling, you blushed up to your ears, your heart raced, and your blood rushed to your head. That was my first time seeing Brother Liang blush! If you didn’t like Sister Feng Ting, you wouldn’t react that way...”

Liang Yijie was a valiant man. He wouldn’t even frown when taking a life. Even a valiant man like him became a blockhead when it came to romance. Yan Liqiang had met someone who didn’t know how to confess to the girl he liked and would even deliberately avoid the question sometimes in his previous life. However, Liang Yijie was the first he met in this life. When Feng Ting spoke up at the dining table just now, Yan Liqiang knew Liang Yijie had feelings for her through observation. Yet Liang Yijie was still too reserved. He was actually at a loss on how to respond to the lady’s sudden bold move. Since he was nervous, Yan Liqiang helped Liang Yijie break the wall between them.

“I really wonder why you seem to know these things better than we do despite your young age?” Liang Yijie shook his head while smiling wryly. He simply couldn’t wrap his head around Yan Liqiang’s words.

“It’s not like I know a lot about this. I only know that if two people have mutual feelings toward each other, then they should just say it out loud instead of beating around the bush. In this world, countless regrets are born from unsaid feelings...”

“I am nothing but a boorish man who wanders around the world without settling down. Now that I am serving Lord Sun, there may be countless unknown perils and battles ahead of me. If I lost to Xu Lang in the duel today, I would be a corpse on the Arena of Life and Death. Under such circumstances, how can I possibly bring myself to hold her back?” Liang Yijie sighed as he poured his heart out.

“Brother Liang, you may be afraid of holding Sister Feng Ting back, but how do you know if that’s actually how she feels? Maybe she doesn’t even mind about what you said. No matter what happens, she will be happy as long as you cherish her and love her. She can be by your side through all the ups and downs in life!”

“But about leaving the Imperial Capital...” Liang Yijie was still slightly hesitant.

“I think Brother Yin is right. Rather than waiting to be assassinated by someone in the Imperial Capital, it’s better to temporarily retreat from this chaos and come back when the time is right!” Yan Liqiang looked around the street, then lowered his voice slightly. “If what Brother Yin said is true, I have a feeling that when Lord Sun took the initiative to indict that person, he was already prepared to be indicted in return. He probably already has made plans to leave the Imperial Capital by taking advantage of the situation. In that case, why doesn’t Brother Liang take a step ahead of them...?”

“Huh. What makes you think that way?” Liang Yijie looked at Yan Liqiang in surprise.

“It’s very simple. With the power and influence of that person in the imperial court, he isn’t someone Lord Sun can simply impeach with just a memorial to the Emperor. So why did Lord Sun still move forward with that while knowing this? It wasn’t like he didn’t know that his underlings would retaliate.” Yan Liqiang gave him a wise smile. “I think Lord Sun is retreating for the sake of advancing. He’s seizing this opportunity to leave the Imperial Capital to assume a new post somewhere else. With Lord Sun’s experience and reputation, he will at least be reassigned as a high official at a place governed directly by a provincial governor. Perhaps Lord Sun feels that he will gain the ability to move around more freely and thus be able to better aid His Majesty in the Imperial Capital!”

“Liqiang, sometimes I really wonder how your brain develops!”

“By letting nature take its course, of course!” Yan Liqiang laughed. “No need to see me off, Brother Liang. I will return to Deer Villa by myself. Sister Feng Ting and the rest are still waiting for you over there!”

“Alright, you be careful too. That Gao guy wanted to get you involved in the servant quarters that day. Lord Sun has really stirred up a hornet’s nest in Gan Province this time. They are making a move on the people around him to serve as a warning to him. You’ve also been following Lord Sun for quite some time now and have made several contributions. Be wary of them!” Liang Yijie warned Yan Liqiang seriously.

Yan Liqiang smiled. “Rest assured, Brother Liang. I am merely an insignificant person. They probably don’t even take me seriously. Furthermore, I don’t usually come out from Deer Villa. They won’t be able to find trouble with me even if they wanted to. I’ll be careful. Take care of yourself too, Brother Liang!”

“Alright, you take care too!”

“Right. See you again next time!” Yan Liqiang waved at Liang Yijie, then strode away.

Liang Yijie stared after Yan Liqiang’s silhouette for a while as his impression of Yan Liqiang grew complicated and profound. Liang Yijie had never met another individual of the same age who could compare with Yan Liqiang. His worldly insight and his unique way of handling matters sometimes even made Liang Yijie feel as though there was someone else beneath Yan Liqiang’s youthful appearance.

......

After parting with Liang Yijie, Yan Liqiang didn’t tarry any longer in the city. He immediately made his way out of the city and headed back to Deer Villa. The incident with Liang Yijie on the Arena of Life and Death today increased Yan Liqiang’s awareness of the surging undercurrents in the city and the cunningness of their opponents. At a time like this, focusing on his cultivation in Deer Villa and reaping the benefits of doing so would be the best course of action. As for the power struggle in the Imperial Capital, Yan Liqiang couldn’t care less since he recalled that the positions of both the Emperor and the Grand Chancellor would still be the same four years into the future; the structure didn’t change much. This situation was akin to that of a long-distance race – with one party deeply rooted in its current position while the ambitions of the other party raged ever more so. The outcome of the battle wouldn’t be determined over a short span of time. During these four years, his strength would probably grow to an unimaginable extent. By then, why would he fear anything?!

Yan Liqiang successfully returned to Deer Villa without running into any problems. At the main entrance of Deer Villa, he saw Little Li, who served Eunuch Liu, eyeing the road. He seemed to breathe out a sigh of relief as soon as he spotted Yan Liqiang.

“Commandant Yan, you have finally returned! Eunuch Liu has ordered me to await your return here and bring you to him immediately!”

When the soldiers standing guard at the entrance of Deer Villa saw that Eunuch Liu actually sent Little Li to the entrance to wait for Yan Liqiang’s return, every single one of them was both envious and jealous of Yan Liqiang. At Deer Villa, Eunuch Liu had never been this kind to an ordinary commandant. Commandant Yan was indeed favored by Eunuch Liu.

Yan Liqiang followed Little Li to Eunuch Liu’s courtyard. On their way there, Yan Liqiang asked why Eunuch Liu was looking for him. Little Li just shook his head, saying that had no idea why Eunuch Liu was looking for Yan Liqiang either.

Soon after, Yan Liqiang saw Eunuch Liu.

“Liqiang, would you be interested in studying the spear technique and the art of archery?”

Eunuch Liu’s first question upon their meeting stunned Yan Liqiang for a moment.

“Eunuch Liu, you mean to say...?”

“Ahem, ahem...” Eunuch Liu coughed twice, then gracefully picked up his teacup and took a sip. “I think I saw you practicing the fundamentals of the spear technique the other day. It is already quite solid enough for you to proceed onto real spear techniques. While your cultivation in archery is decent, it seems like you have never received any guidance before. There is still room for improvement and more variations. Hence, I am asking if you would be interested to seek some expert guidance on your spear technique and art of archery.”

“Of course I would be interested! Would any martial practitioner pass up a chance like this?” Yan Liqiang immediately replied.

Eunuch Liu instantly smiled complacently. His delicate old face suddenly looked very much alive. “That’s good to hear. Let me introduce you to two teachers...”

“From where?”

“Do you remember being told that the mountain beyond Deer Villa is a restricted area that no one should enter without permission when you arrived here?”

“Yes, I do!” Yan Liqiang replied.

“Your teacher is on that mountain behind the Deer Villa archery range...”

Chapter 272: Expert

After completing his morning regime early the next morning, Yan Liqiang didn’t go to the archery range like he usually did. Instead, he changed into a fresh set of clothes. After quickly tidying himself up, he went to the mountain behind the archery range alone.

The mountain behind Deer Villa’s archery range was a restricted area. Apart from a few specific servants in Deer Villa, ordinary people were prohibited from freely entering the area. The reason was none other than the few special figures who lived on that mountain.

Those figures were highly-skilled individuals who lived in seclusion in Deer Villa. Even Eunuch Liu had to show them courtesy, reason being the fact that these people had guided the Emperor when he practiced archery in Deer Villa in the past. Hence, they could pretty much be considered His Majesty’s mentors.

Yan Liqiang had no clue as to why these people lived in seclusion on the rear mountain. He wasn’t informed of their names either. Yan Liqiang didn’t even know how many people were living in seclusion on the mountain beyond the archery range. The only thing he knew was the fact that he seemed to be extremely lucky!

Granted with the chance of learning from these people was an opportunity that couldn’t necessarily be bought with money. After meeting Eunuch Liu yesterday, he was given two bronze paizas. He was told that if he went to the mountain beyond the archery range with those in his hands, he’d be able to learn from those who lived in seclusion there.

The bronze paizas Eunuch Liu gave to Yan Liqiang looked extremely ordinary. Both of them were only half the size of a palm, marked with the vestiges of time. One of them had a warbow engraving and the Chinese character ‘Ji’, while the other had a spear engraving and the Chinese character ‘Li’. Eunuch Li explained to Yan Liqiang that the former would allow him to study the art of archery from an old man surnamed Ji on the mountain, while the latter would allow him to study the spear technique from an old man surnamed Li. Yan Liqiang was also told that the two old men would impart knowledge to him at the sight of those bronze paizas. As to whether he could grasp those skills, that would largely depend on his capability and comprehension.

Yan Liqiang also inquired Eunuch Liu about the reason behind offering him such precious opportunities. The response he got was because Eunuch Liu felt that Yan Liqiang had the potential, so he wanted to help him succeed by giving him these opportunities.

Eunuch Liu’s answer sounded perfectly reasonable to Yan Liqiang. He also regarded the two bronze paizas given to him by Eunuch Liu as certain privileges of the person in charge of Deer Villa, so he didn’t delve too deeply into it either.

Therefore, Yan Liqiang went to the mountain behind the archery range in the morning, carrying the bronze paiza with the character ‘Li’ on it with him. He was quite curious to find out what he could learn.

Eunuch Liu described the mountain terrain to Yan Liqiang yesterday. Although it was a secluded place, there was still a gravel road that led to many areas. After leaving his residence, Yan Liqiang followed the gravel road for about ten minutes before he found himself in a secluded spot behind the archery range.

There was a waterfall about one or two meters wide, formed by the water from the mountain stream which drizzled along the precipitous cliff on both sides. The waterfall wasn’t that tall; it was only about thirty meters high. The water current wasn’t that rapid either and it certainly lacked the grandeur akin to that of ten thousand galloping horses. It cascaded down like a watery fabric from afar instead. When the mountain breeze blew, the water beads from the waterfall drizzled down like misty rain.

The waterfall swished down from above, forming a turquoise pool at the bottom. Next to the pool was a thatched cottage.

The thatched cottage was quite shabby. The wall on one side seemed like it was about to collapse and was supported by a few wooden sticks. There was also a small vegetable plot in the yard of the thatched cottage which seemed to be fenced. However, it looked as though the vegetable plot had been abandoned. The bitter cauliflower had grown about a meter tall, along with a bunch of green foxtails, mixed in with other plants like chives and leek. Two broken hoes and damaged wooden buckets were left among the weeds. A stray kitty had even made a home in one of the damaged wooden buckets.

If this scenery was seen outside of Deer Villa, Yan Liqiang would most likely have thought that a beggar lived here instead of some hermit.

Yan Liqiang approached the cottage and looked at the surroundings. Thinking that this was probably the place as it matched Eunuch Liu’s description, he cleared his throat. When he was about to say something, a rough and impatient voice rang out from the inside of the thatched cottage. “If you don’t have any business here then scram! Don’t disturb my sleep...!”

Yan Liqiang looked at the sun that had already risen high above the roof of the thatched cottage, but didn’t comment any further. Following Eunuch Liu’s instructions, he took out the unremarkable bronze paiza instead and spoke loudly toward the thatched cottage. “I carry a bronze paiza with me! Please bestow your arts upon me, Elder Li!”

Upon finishing his sentence, Yan Liqiang stood outside the fence and waited in silence.

Five minutes later, the door of the run-down thatched cottage was pushed open from the inside with a creak. An old man dressed in tattered clothes held together by a straw rope on his waist emerged. His messy gray hair sat on top of his head like a bird’s nest. The old man strode directly to Yan Liqiang and snatched the bronze paiza from his hand without a word. After identifying it carefully, he stashed the paiza into his chest. His shiny eyes sized up Yan Liqiang through the gaps of his messy gray hair. “So, you want to learn spear techniques?”

“Yes!”

“What is your name?”

“Yan Liqiang!”

“You are from the Yan Clan?” The old man seemed slightly baffled.

“Yes!”

“Very well. Let me tell you the rules of studying spear techniques under me. I will only be responsible for teaching and I will only say it once. It is up to you whether you can grasp, apply, and comprehend it. If you can’t grasp it, then you should just scram early!” the old man explained to Yan Liqiang fiercely.

“Understood!” Yan Liqiang nodded calmly.

“If you wish to learn from me, you will have to complete your basic spear technique first and attain the third level. Have you passed your basic spear technique yet? If you haven’t, then go do that...”

“I have completed my basic spear technique...” Yan Liqiang replied with composure.

“You did?” The old man took a serious glance at Yan Liqiang. He then pointed to a gigantic millstone at the edge of a pine forest several hundred meters away. “Do you see that hill over there? Come find me again by the time you roll that millstone from the foot of the mountain up to the top without relying on any tools but your hands. If you are unlucky enough to accidentally get crushed by that millstone to death, then that’s your problem...” The old man looked away from Yan Liqiang and yawned after saying all that. He then returned to his thatched cottage without saying anything else.

Yan Liqiang looked at the millstone in the distance, then walked over to it without saying anything.

The millstone was surrounded by weeds and there was a layer of moss at the bottom. The ground beneath the millstone had sunk about half a foot deep from its weight. It would seem as though this millstone had been abandoned for a very long period of time. In front of it was a slope that stretched five to six hundred meters. The slope was quite rocky and there was a gully. Not even an inch of the area was flat. Looking at the hill, Yan Liqiang was reminded of those precipitous hills he had conquered with a bunch of other fellow off-road lovers in his previous life. This hill could greatly challenge the performance of a four-wheel drive. Yet, that old man surnamed Li wanted him to roll this huge millstone from the foot of the hill up to the top with just his hands.

Yan Liqiang tried pushing the huge millstone to gauge its weight and discovered that it weighed a little more than two tonnes, just about the same weight as a Jeep Wrangler. What a coincidence.

It was simply impossible for an ordinary person to push such a huge millstone from the foot of the hill to the top. Even it was on flat ground, it would still be extremely difficult for a person to push this huge and rough millstone over a few hundred meters if he wasn’t Hercules, let alone pushing this up a craggy slope. One might not even achieve the strength required to do so even if he trained for a lifetime.

Shifting his gaze to the top of the hill then back at this huge millstone in front of him, Yan Liqiang’s face broke into a smile...

Chapter 273: Gaining Another Master

For most people, pushing a huge, two thousand jin millstone from the foot of the hill to the top was pretty much a ‘mission impossible’ because this task posed a great challenge and required a ridiculous amount of strength.

Huge millstones were normally pulled by oxen or horse to level the ground when fixing a road. It would be quite challenging for even two oxen to pull this huge millstone uphill, let alone a person.

However, Yan Liqiang was an exception. Furthermore, he didn’t think that this Elder Li was joking around when he told him to push the millstone to the hilltop. That was because it would be impossible for someone to learn powerful spear techniques without possessing great physical strength. Yan Liqiang deeply understood this point over these days. Skills could make up for the lack of strength to a certain extent. Likewise, strength could also transcend skills to a certain extent. However, to excel in martial arts and spear techniques, one must unite both strength and skills. When Elder Li asked if he had perfected his basic spear technique, he was actually assessing the basic skills he had with the spear. He ordered Yan Liqiang push the millstone uphill because that was the minimum requirement for his strength. The more absurd the prerequisites were, the more powerful the techniques he would be taught later.

At this point, Elder Li probably had two objectives – one of them was to make Yan Liqiang quit after learning the difficulties. If Yan Liqiang was truly determined to learn from him, then he would train his strength for a few years first and persevere until his physical strength allowed him to push this millstone to the hilltop. Without any talent and willpower, it would be impossible for an ordinary person to train his physical strength to this level even if he took three years, five years, a decade, no, even a lifetime...

Yan Liqiang didn’t roll the millstone to the top of the hill because he felt that it would take too long. Instead, he directly lifted the millstone that weighed about two thousand jin with his hands and walked up from the foot of the hill.

The huge millstone was set on a conspicuous position at the highest point of the hilltop with a loud thud. Yan Liqiang only had a drop of sweat on his forehead. A sudden gust of cool wind blew across the hilltop. Yan Liqiang looked at the small thatched cottage at the foot of the hill. With a faint smile on his face, he strode downhill, approached the thatched cottage again, and yelled, “Elder Li, I have pushed the millstone to the hilltop! Please bestow your arts upon me!”

It hadn’t been three, five, or ten years since Yan Liqiang left and returned. Merely ten minutes had passed, less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn [1].

Yan Liqiang yelled, but there was no sound from the thatched cottage. After a while, Yan Liqiang yelled again, but still there was no response. After some time passed, when Yan Liqiang was just about to yell for the third time, an angry voice finally rang out from inside the thatched cottage. “You damn brat, don’t go thinking that I wouldn’t dare to do anything to you just because you brought a bronze paiza here! I will cripple your legs today and teach you some manners first for trying to act smart and fooling me...!”

As soon as the voice was heard, the door of the thatched cottage flung open from the inside with a loud noise. Elder Li came out furiously with his dishevelled hair and shabby clothes, holding a pitch-black iron fire poker that was about three feet long in his hand. Without saying anything, he rushed toward Yan Liqiang and immediately swung the fire poker toward his legs.

F*CKKK!

Yan Liqiang was shocked. However, he already had his guard up when he saw Elder Li barge out from the thatched cottage with a poker in his hand. The moment he swung the poker, Yan Liqiang reflexively evaded with Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps without delay. He flipped backward over the distance of a zhang and Elder Li’s poker met air.

“Not bad. No wonder why you dare to be insolent around here. I see that you have learned how to dodge like a cat or dog. Seems like I have underestimated you...” Elder Li snorted coldly. His figure flashed again as he thrust the poker toward Yan Liqiang’s legs again.

When the poker came flying at Yan Liqiang, he suddenly felt that he wouldn’t be able to dodge this one. He had a feeling that no matter how he tried to evade or jump over the poker, it would still ultimately hit his legs. When the poker came down the second time, it no longer looked like a stick to Yan Liqiang. It looked more like the shadow of his legs – who could possibly hide from his own shadow? It would have been great if that poker was only a shadow. Before the poker hit him, Yan Liqiang could already feel the force that was going hit his legs. He reckoned that even with the first layer of The Golden Bell Divine Protection Technique under his belt, his legs were probably going to break...

“ARE YOU BLIND, YOU DAMN OLD MAN!? LOOK BEHIND YOU...!” Yan Liqiang shouted furiously in the moment of desperation. He didn’t even try dodge; he just stood there in place, glaring at that sloppy old man unyieldingly.

The poker abruptly stopped, right up against the fabric of his leg pants and below his right knee. The poker that was moving stopped in just a split second. Yan Liqiang’s shin was fine, but the fabric of his trousers instantly had a two-finger long tear where the poker had made contact.

His pants clung to his shins. The poker tore the pant leg but his shin was fine, including every single hair on his leg. Such control of strength was simply unbelievable and as fascinating as magic.

Yan Liqiang stared at the tear made by the poker on his skintight pants. All of a sudden, he felt parched and involuntarily gulped a few times. Everything just felt so unreal.

The old man stopped and turned his head around to take a look. Indeed, that huge millstone had disappeared from the foot of the distant hill, and there it was at the hilltop. The sight of it stunned the old man because he knew how challenging it was to push that huge millstone to the highest point of the hill.

The old man turned his head back and stared at Yan Liqiang. The expression on his face darkened. “Say it. Who helped you push that millstone up there? I will smash his bones to pieces for trying to pull tricks in front of me!”

Yan Liqiang smiled coldly. He raised his head and had a look of defiance on his face. “It’s just a millstone of two thousand jin. Why would I need anyone’s help if I can easily move it up there myself?”

“You’re telling me that you moved it up there yourself?”

“Of course. Didn’t you tell me to come find you again when I moved it up there?”

“You do know what consequences you will face if you lie to me, right? I only wanted to cripple your legs just now. If you keep up this charade, don’t blame me if I break all your limbs!”

“Naturally. I will take responsibility for my own words!”

“Fine then. Go to the hilltop now and bring that millstone before me. Since you can move it up there in such a short time, then it surely wouldn’t be difficult for you to move it back down again. I will give you seven minutes. If you can’t bring it back, I shall break all your limbs so badly that you won’t be able to recover for ten years! You are welcome to try escaping if you want to!” The old man stared at Yan Liqiang coldly and struck the ground with the end of the poker.

“Fine, wait here then!” Yan Liqiang cast a glance at the old man. Without saying anything else, he turned around and strode to the hilltop under the old man’s gaze. In just a few minutes, Yan Liqiang arrived at the hilltop. He mustered his strength and lifted the gigantic millstone up with his hands, then placed it on his shoulder and came down from the hilltop with large strides. He walked in front of the old man and set the huge millstone down on the lawn outside the thatched cottage with a loud thud, instantly making a large depression.

The old man’s eyes shone brilliantly and his lips quivered when he saw Yan Liqiang actually move the huge millstone back to the bottom of the hill. As soon as Yan Liqiang set the millstone down, the old man suddenly grabbed him with his strange hands without any explanation. He seized Yan Liqiang’s wrists at lightning speed, then felt his bones, tendons, and muscles with his fingers, just like some bone fortune teller. He studied Yan Liqiang carefully, from his wrists, arms, elbows and to his back...

“Ah... what are you doing...?” Yan Liqiang yelped. His skin broke out in goosebumps from getting groped by an old man.

“Don’t move if you want to learn from me...!” The old man solemnly berated him. Yan Liqiang stopped moving, but the old man’s hands didn’t stop. After reaching Yan Liqiang’s back, he started feeling every spinal disc of his before finally moving onto his thighs, knees, and calves. The old man stood up again and looked at Yan Liqiang. His chilling gaze was enough to make Yan Liqiang’s hair stand on end.

“Oh right, you said your name was Yan... Yan something...?” The old man’s voice suddenly softened by tenfold. He even squeezed out a friendly smile to Yan Liqiang, flashing his yellowish teeth that had been stained from smoking, causing Yan Liqiang to shiver involuntarily.

“My name is Yan Liqiang!”

“Right, your name is Yan Liqiang. It’s a good name – courteous and self-reliant!” The old man nodded in approval. “From today onward, I shall be your master and you shall be my disciple...”

“Wait... this...”

“What? You want to back out now?!” The expression on the old man’s face suddenly turned fiendish as he shot a glare at Yan Liqiang. “When I asked you to move this millstone up the hill, doing so means that you are acknowledging the fact that you will be my disciple. I never bother with that nonsense when accepting a disciple. All I care about is the sincerity. You can’t back out now. It’s not that bad to be my disciple anyway. I will impart all my ultimate spear techniques to you – what else can you possibly complain about? You should know how many people cried and begged just to learn a little from me and I rejected all of them. You are indeed blessed to be accepted as my disciple...”

Yan Liqiang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Why did he always end up meeting people who were aggressive when accepting disciples? Was this his destiny? Even though this old man was a little strange and sloppy, he didn’t seem like a bad person. People who lived peacefully among the wilderness in seclusion instead of chasing after wealth, fame, and luxurious lifestyles couldn’t be all that bad. After all, how could one be bad if he didn’t squander? The old man’s spectacular display of skill in swinging the poker just now showed that he was definitely an impressive individual. Naturally, it was only appropriate for Yan Liqiang to call him ‘Master’ if he wished to learn from him.

Thinking up to this point, Yan Liqiang found more peace with himself. He smoothened out his clothes and bowed deeply to the old man. With a solemn face, he said, “Greetings, Master!”

Chapter 274: Imparted Wisdom

“Hahaha, God has finally answered me! Even I, Li Hongtu, have a disciple now! All I did was sleep in my thatched cottage and a good disciple came to me on his own accord to inherit my exceptional skills and techniques, hahaha...!”

As soon as Yan Liqiang called him ‘Master’, the old man started rejoicing and laughing like mad. He jumped and shouted around Yan Liqiang as though he had gone crazy. Yan Liqiang couldn’t help but slowly feel emotional upon seeing how being called a ‘Master’ could make the old man this excited and happy like a child.

The old man jumped around for a good while before he slowly quieted down. He beamed at Yan Liqiang just like a mother-in-law seeing her son-in-law. “Call me Master again! I like it! No one has ever called me that!”

“Master!”

“Oh! One more time...!”

“As long as Master likes it, I can repeat it a hundred times for you!” Yan Liqiang also chuckled, feeling that this old man was rather cute like an old child. “Master, Master, Master, Master...”

“Awww, hahahaha...!” Li Hongtu couldn’t stop laughing heartily. All of a sudden, he stopped mid-laugh as though he recalled something. He looked at Yan Liqiang nervously. “Oh right, did that eunuch surnamed Liu give you any other bronze paizas to learn any other techniques apart from the one you gave me earlier?”

“I have received another bronze paiza for learning the art of archery. It has the character ‘Ji’ engraved on it...” Yan Liqiang replied earnestly.

“Ah, you mustn’t go there...” Li Hongtu suddenly became nervous and quickly stopped him.

“Why not, Master?” Yan Liqiang gave him an odd look.

“That guy surnamed Ji is a bastard and a scoundrel! He’s definitely not a good guy...!” Li Hongtu hissed through his teeth.

“Is that so?” Yan Liqiang was a little vexed. “I just want to learn the art of archery...”

“In any case, you must not find that Ji guy before you master my technique!”

Yan Liqiang considered it for a moment and thought that he shouldn’t bite off more than he could chew. After all, learning the art of archery wasn’t an urgent matter since he had already attained the Fourth Heavenly Layer, so he nodded. “Alright, Master! I promise I won’t find that person to learn the art of archery before I master your techniques!”

“If you insist on going in the future, you have me bring you there, lest you get deceived by that Ji guy!”

“Alright, I will ask Master to accompany me if I want to go there in the future!” Yan Liqiang nodded.

“Yes, that’s the way to do it!” Li Hongtu’s face broke into a smile again.

“Oh right. What spear techniques do you know, Master? Which one are you going to teach me?” Yan Liqiang stealthily changed the subject.

Li Hongtu’s face glowed when he heard Yan Liqiang’s question and seemed rather pleased with himself. “Hahaha, I know many spear arts and spear techniques – Pear Blossom Spear, Yang Clan Spear, Yue Clan Spear, You Clan Spear, Back-thrusting Horse Spear, Star Shattering Spear, Blazing Plain Spear, Tyrant King Spear, Nine Heavens Ten Earths Spear, Rakshasa Spear, Great Formation Spear, Small Formation Spear, Double Spear, Hook Sickle Spear, Ten-Step Spear, Dragon Tiger Spear, Mother-Son Spear, Six Harmonies Spear techniques... I know them all. The Great Formation Spear, Small Formation Spear, Hook Sickle Spear, and the Ten-Step Spear techniques are for the infantry in battle formations, while the You Clan Spear, Horse Thrusting Spear, and Tyrant King Spear techniques are for horseback riding. The Pear Blossom Spear technique is for women while the Dragon Tiger Spear is a special spear technique for lefties. The Six Harmonies Spear technique shares the same origin as the Six Harmonies Fist technique. The Mother-Son Spear technique is an unusual one. Every spear technique has its own beauty...”

Yan Liqiang was stunned from just hearing the names of those spear techniques alone. “Master, are you saying that you are ready to teach me all those spear techniques?”

“Of course...” Li Hongtu’s smile suddenly faded as he shook his head, “Not!”

“Ah, no...?” Yan Liqiang choked. “Then what are you going to teach me?”

“The real skills in spear techniques, of course!”

“Real skills?” Yan Liqiang had a doubtful look on his face. “You mean to say that those spear techniques you mentioned are not real skills, Master?”

“Of course!” Li Hongtu seemed to be proud. “There are hundreds and thousands of spear techniques. Each of them has their own countless variations. In essence, there are only two styles: offensive and defensive, or it can be defensively offensive or offensively defensive. Regardless, there is only one objective behind these two styles and that is killing someone. It’s all about being the first to stab your spear into someone else.

All those spear techniques I mentioned just now are the same – they may seem like real skills with multiple realms in other people’s eyes, yet those fancy movements and realms mean nothing to me. That doesn’t classify them as real spear techniques!”

“Then what is a real spear technique to you, Master?”

“If a real spear technique has one defensive move, it will never take more than two moves to kill. If it has no defensive move, then it is deadly the moment it strikes. There is no need for you to brandish your spear for half a day like a monkey. Those spear techniques that require one to go through various dazzling moves before killing someone are techniques practiced by fools. As the saying goes, ‘Wisdom is imparted through a sentence, not a thousand scrolls.’ Those so-called spear techniques are the thousand scrolls – I will teach you one skill only, and in just one sentence. Grasping a little will be enough for you to go a long way. The little bit of knowledge is a mystery within a mystery that carries boundless possibilities in altering the Yin and the Yang. This Yin and Yang may mean life and death, or victory and defeat. The moment you grasp it, even a magnificent army with thousands of men and horses will not intimidate you. Taking a life will be as easy as lifting your arm. Any battles you face will be a cinch, as you will rarely find formidable opponents. This little bit of knowledge will allow you to easily pick up any spear technique with just a single glance. The ability to obliterate dragons and tigers will be at your fingertips. Do you want to learn something like this?”

Damn. Yan Liqiang’s blood raced at Li Hongtu’s words. He simply couldn’t believe that such miraculous spear techniques even existed in this world.

“Yes, of course I want to learn! I want to learn even if it costs my life!” Yan Liqiang rubbed his hands together eagerly. “Just tell me what I have to do, Master!”

“Ahem, ahem...” Li Hongtu coughed twice, then suddenly pointed at the pool of water at the base of the waterfall. “There’s a spear in the plunge pool. Get in the water and retrieve it first...”

“Master, how did that spear end up in the water?”

“A few years ago, I saw some plump perches in the pool so I speared a few to make soup to go with my wine. I had a bit too much to drink after that and tossed the spear into the pool...”

“I’m afraid the spear has become rotten from being soaked in the pool for so long. Why don’t you tell me the design of the spear, Master? I will get someone to temper a new one...”

“The spear is made out of special material. It was tempered with all-natural Dragon Spine Steel. It’s an extremely rare spear, so I’m afraid you won’t be able to find it elsewhere...” Li Hongtu shook his head.

“What kind of material is the Dragon Spine Steel...?”

“The Dragon Spine Steel is one of the Earth Treasures that is not man-made. It is the best material for spear handles and it cannot be bought with money. Back then, the palace treasury had only one Dragon Spine Steel. The spear in the plunge pool was a gift from His Majesty!”

“Alright, I will retrieve it then...” Upon hearing that there was such a valuable spear in the pool, Yan Liqiang cut the conversation short. He went directly to the edge of the pool at the base of the waterfall with Li Hongtu and quickly stripped his clothes, leaving only a pair of short pants on.

“The spear is somewhere there...” Li Hongtu pointed to somewhere in the middle of the pool. “Try searching underwater around there. You should be able to find it!”

“Alright, leave it to me, Master!” Yan Liqiang assured him, then dived head first into the pool.

The turquoise and limpid pool had some rocks and water plants at the bottom. Under the sunlight, the scenery was as beautiful as the dragon palace and it kind of reminded him of Jiuzhaigou from his previous world. Yan Liqiang was a good swimmer in his previous life, and that went without saying in this life. He dived into the water and moved his limbs, swimming to the heart of the bottom of the pool like a fish.

There was no mud at the bottom of the pool. It was covered by only a layer of fine sand and rocks. Yan Liqiang landed on his feet and started searching around, taking one step at a time. Sure enough, he felt something long and hard under his feet after taking a few steps. That was probably a metal spear pole.

Yan Liqiang scooped the spear pole out from the fine sand and rocks with the top of his foot. The action made him realize that the weight of the spear was no less than four hundred jin. The length of the spear was about three meters, which was also about a zhang long. If it weren’t for his exceptional physical strength, he wouldn’t be able to lift such a heavy object out of the water even if he discovered it.

With such a heavy object in tow, of course he wouldn’t be able to swim back up to the surface. In the end, Yan Liqiang carried the spear, found his bearings in the water, and walked toward the shore.

Yan Liqiang resurfaced at the edge of the pool with a splash, revealing the upper half of his body. One of his hands was still gripping the spear. He approached Li Hongtu, “Master, is this the spear?”

Perhaps the spear had been soaked in the pool for too long, but its pole was already covered by a layer of brownish gray substance, causing the spear to look extremely unremarkable. Apart from being heavier than average steel, Yan Liqiang couldn’t recognize the value of this so-called Dragon Spine Steel spear.

“Yes! Put your clothes on first!” Li Hongtu exclaimed, then effortlessly took the spear weighing about four hundred jin with one hand. Taking it into his hands, he gazed at it from top to bottom emotionally and gently caressed it in nostalgia.

Yan Liqiang put on his clothes again as quickly as he could.

“Master, why does this Dragon Spine Steel spear look like...”

Li Hongtu smiled slightly, then violently lunged at a limestone about the size of a millstone at the side of the pool with the spear in his hand. The spearhead instantly pierced the limestone like it was a piece of tofu. With a single jolt of his hand, the huge limestone immediately burst open and its fragments scattered in all directions. The moment the spear handle in his hands bent, it straightened back again with a low hum. The layer of dirt on the spear was shaken off and vanished instantly.

A cold, gleaming spear was then revealed before Yan Liqiang’s eyes...

Chapter 275: The Question

“Catch!” Li Hongtu examined the big shiny spear made of Dragon Spine Steel in his hand for a second before he threw it at Yan Liqiang. Yan Liqiang’s reflexes were quick and he caught the spear swiftly.

Like an ugly duckling turning into an elegant swan, the spear instantly glowed with its beauty, and it was absolutely stunning.

Yan Liqiang gently caressed the spear’s handle. After the dirt covering the surface was gotten rid of, the spear was restored to its original appearance. It was now smooth and shiny with its unique metallic glow. A natural fish scale pattern decorated the entire handle. The spearhead, which was a little longer than a foot, was unbelievably sharp. The spear gave off an aura full of mystery and divinity. Anyone wielding the spear would instantly look like a god of war.

Yan Liqiang recalled the moment this spear pierced the rock with ease as it bent almost ninety-degrees. The spear sprang back into its original straight shape as if nothing had happened. It was unbelievable for such a weapon to exist with such tenacity and flexibility at the same time. Yan Liqiang had never seen a metal weapon with such great properties, almost defying the law of physics as he knew it, and he was impressed.

“Master, can I... try out this spear? I want to test the unique ability of the Dragon Spine Steel.” Yan Liqiang asked for Li Hongtu’s permission.

“Haha! Go ahead, I was going to offer it up anyway! You would really be something if you can break this spear! I would call you my master instead!” Li Hongtu laughed nonchalantly.

Yan Liqiang took the spear and nodded as he searched around for something to try the spear out on. Coincidentally, there was a wheel-sized rock just a few steps away. Yan Liqiang approached the rock with the spear ready. He blindly threw the spear at the rock, with no skills or techniques, only using his hands.

The four-hundred jin spear jetted through the air, fueled by the crazy amount of force from Yan Liqiang. It shrieked through the air at the speed of sound and hit the rock like a bomb. The rock was instantly blown away like a soft piece of tofu, shattering into a thousand pieces, scattering across the ground.

All Li Hongtu knew was that he heard the spear shriek as it flew out from Yan Liqiang’s hand before the rock exploded right in front of him. He turned his eyes to Yan Liqiang, and he saw Yan Liqiang looking at the spear as if it were his lover. A normal person might be too ignorant notice this, but Li Hongtu was an expert and owner of spears: it would take a horrifying amount of force to make the spear shriek in such a way while throwing it into the air.

The rock was now completely ruined, and rock powder floated in the air like a haze. Yan Liqiang hurriedly took a few steps back, trying to avoid the powder from falling all over his body. Then, he glanced at the spear. To his surprise, the spear was as good as new, as if the impact just a second ago was nothing. There was only a white line on it and it was just rock powder which could be easily wiped away with a finger. After wiping away the powder, Yan Liqiang could not even find any sort of evidence that might suggest that it had just gone through the impact seconds ago! This was almost heaven-defying! The spear was stronger than anything Yan Liqiang had ever seen! With the force Yan Liqiang exerted just now, there would be marks left on any kind of metal weapon, but not the Dragon Spine Steel!

“This Dragon Spine Steel is invincible to all weapons. Neither fire nor water can corrode it. Even if you knock it with pig iron, it will not harm this spear even after the pig iron is broken into pieces, let alone a common rock. Try throwing the spear into a fire for three days and three nights. This spear will not even melt,” Li Hongtu confidently boasted.

Yan Liqiang smirked as he admired the spear in his hand. Then, he laid the spear flat on the ground with one hand and pressed his foot down on it...

Yan Liqiang applied a great amount of force on it, and the spearhead instantly cut a deep line into the ground. The handle was bent into a curve. “Ha!” Yan Liqiang held his breath and used all his energy to try to bend the spear even further.

As he squeezed more energy into the handle, the spear bent a little more than ninety degrees.

The spear was soon bent into a semi-circle. As Yan Liqiang tried to push its limit a little more, his face turned beet red as well since he was using every muscle in his body. However, as hard as he tried, the spear could not be bent any further.

“Be careful...” Li Hongtu warned.

Yan Liqiang eased the force he was exerting on the handle by a little, but the spear instantly bounced up into the air like a prawn. Before Yan Liqiang could even react, a force as fast as lightning slapped him.

Whoosh! Yan Liqiang felt his feet detaching from the ground, and his whole body was sent into the air by the force. He flew a few meters away and dropped onto the ground, rolling seven or eight times like a wheel before he finally came to a stop.

Yan Liqiang’s clean clothes were instantly stained with dirt, causing him to look rather pathetic.

“Amazing! Amazing!” Yan Liqiang laughed as he flipped upright from the ground. He bolted back to where Li Hongtu was standing and yelled in excitement, “Master, this Dragon Spine Steel spear is super amazing!”

“Of course! Why else would I say that Dragon Spine Steel is a rare treasure?” Li Hongtu laughed as he passed the spear back to Yan Liqiang, “See for yourself, did the spear bend even a little?”

Yan Liqiang took the spear and examined it himself. The spear was indeed straight, not even a little crooked. Yan Liqiang carressed the spear lovingly, “Master, where can we find more Dragon Spine Steel? Maybe I’ll make myself another spear just like this one in the future!”

Li Hongtu paused a little before he asked, “Have you ever heard of a place called Hell Island?”

“Hell Island? Where is that place?” Yan Liqiang asked.

“Hell Island is an island deep in the southern sea. It is rumored that the place is one of the most dangerous places you can ever find. Not many experts have wandered into the island and come back alive. The Dragon Spine Steel can only be found in the cave below the volcanic mountain in the island. That is why it is such a rare treasure. Luck must be on your side for you to find it!”

“Master, have you been to Hell Island?”

Li Hongtu was immediately offended as he stared at Yan Liqiang with wide eyes, “If I went to the island, do you think I would still be here alive to be your master?”

“Haha! Master, you are an extremely blessed person with amazing abilities! Even if you went there, you would be able to come back alive!” Yan Liqiang cheekily replied.

Li Hongtu was obviously flattered by Yan Liqiang’s answer, and his face turned from angry to happy, “You’re a smart one! Although your master has not been to Hell Island, I would sure be able to come back alive even if I did. Forget about finding the Dragon Spine Steel for yourself. Just make sure you complete your training with me and I will give this Dragon Spine Steel spear to you. Then you can use it whichever way you like!”

Yan Liqiang shook his hands, “How can I accept such a rare treasure as a gift?”

“Why not? I don’t use it anyway. Who else should I pass it down to if not my disciple? There’s only one condition: make sure you complete your training with me, and I must warn you, it is not an easy job!”

Li Hongtu’s speech instantly awakened Yan Liqiang. As he eagerly rubbed his hands, Yan Liqiang asked eagerly, “So, Master, you said you were going to teach me some real stuff if I passed the challenge. What is the real stuff?”

Li Hongtu squinched his eyes as he stared at Yan Liqiang, “Before I teach you some real stuff, let me ask you one question. Do you know why the handle of a spear must be flexible and strong at the same time? Pikes, lances, and javelins all look similar to the spear, and they all have solid, stiff handles. Why is the spear different?”

“Well...” Yan Liqiang hesitated. He was not expecting this question. Although the question seemed like an easy entry-level question, he was somehow at a loss as to how to answer it.

Chapter 276: Secrets

Such is the world we live in. There will always be someone who can find the answer to complicated questions, while the more basic and simple questions are sometimes even tougher to get an answer to. This was because these simple questions were usually the fundamentals – like why do apples fall onto the ground? Why are the earth and bubbles round? As simple as these questions sound, only people with true wisdom can answer them. To answer simple questions like these, it would take a complete understanding of the nature of the world we live in.

Why must the handle of a spear be flexible? This question tested Yan Liqiang’s understanding of the properties of a spear.

Although Yan Liqiang had technically lived two lives, with his brain stuffed with all kinds of scientific knowledge and life experiences, he could not think of an answer to Li Hongtu’s question no matter how much he tried squeezing his brain.

At last, Yan Liqiang relented. With a shameful look, he turned to Li Hongtu, “Master, I have never really given any thought to this question before. I have been practicing my basic spear techniques with a stiff spear to strengthen my arms. As time passed, I became too comfortable with it that I even forgot that a spear can be flexible. Now, it seems that I have been wrong the whole time...”

“The basics of spear techniques are none other than blocking, holding and thrusting. Other techniques such as splitting, snapping, poking, twirling, and intertwining are all derived from those three basic moves. This is also true for other long-ranged weapons such as pikes, lances, and javelins. So, it is not a problem for you to practice using a stiff spear. However, if you want to achieve greater success in your spear technique without understanding its true principles, it would be impossible!” Li Hongtu shook his head.

“Master, why must the spear handle be flexible?”

Li Hongtu mischievously blinked at Yan Liqiang, “Tell me, why are your hands flexible but strong? Why are you able to extend and retract your hands whenever you like? Why are your fingers not the same length and size?”

“Well...” Yan Liqiang scratched his head, clueless.

Li Hongtu opened his arms wide as he explained, “Human hands are the most exquisite gifts in a human body. The hands of a warrior give him the ability to go to war and kill his enemies while using all kinds of weapons to protect his homeland. The hands of a chef give him the ability to cook all kinds of heavenly dishes. The hands of a carpenter give him the ability to build buildings, furniture, and everything else he can imagine. Humans can do anything with a pair of hands, even change his surroundings or be a king! That is why hands are born flexible but strong, extendable and retractable, long and short, thick and thin. This leads to an ever-changing Yinyang field. With these changes come all possibilities!”

The more Li Hongtu spoke, the more excited he became, and his eyes lit up.

This was like a kick in the head for Yan Liqiang. He was shaken as Li Hongtu’s words enlightened his world like a candle in a dark room.

“Master, do you mean that the flexibility in a spear is just like the flexibility in our hands? It can form an interchangeable Yinyang field too?”

Li Hongtu stared into Yan Liqiang’s eyes as he continued, “The flexibility of a spear is exactly what the Yinyang field is! When you are in a battle, this Yinyang field variation gives you the edge, and thus you will have full control over your opponent’s life. With just a spear, you can conquer the world and do everything fearlessly. This is why the spear is crowned as the king of all weapons. Everyone knows that, but not many know why exactly. In fact, other weapons can be called as the lord, the knight, the tyrant, the brave, or whatever they like, but the spear will always be the king!”

“Master, how do I gain control of the Yinyang field?”

Li Hongtu enthusiastically beamed, “Nine words. Memorize by heart, understand by mind, apply by hand!”

All Yan Liqiang knew was that he knew nuts about what Li Hongtu just said. Although none of the nine words were new to him, when they were all put together, it formed a sentence he could not understand. It was just too deep for him. It was beyond his understanding.

“Master, how do I put these words into practice?”

“This is what I want to teach you. The real stuff I’ve been talking about. Once you master this, you will be able to see through all kinds of spear techniques or skills. It will be like child’s play in your eyes, no matter what your opponents do! This is the one skill which can defeat a million skills!”

Yan Liqiang was so moved upon hearing this. He could feel his own blood boiling. He couldn’t wait to learn, “Master, I need to learn this now, no matter what!”

“Hahaha!” Li Hongtu laughed, “Of course. You are my disciple. I will force you to learn it, even if you don’t want to! Now, watch!”

As he spoke, Li Hongtu grabbed the Dragon Spine Steel spear. He started by squatting down and holding the spear vertically with both his hands. Then, he started shaking his hands, and the spear started to vibrate in response. Soon, his whole body was vibrating, and the spear resonated in sync.

Li Hongtu had been pitching his secret skill for so long, and it sounded too good to be true. Now that it was time to demonstrate, Yan Liqiang almost fainted watching it. This was such a simple exercise. Even a ten-year-old could do this, let alone Yan Liqiang.

This simple exercise was the way to master the ultimate spear technique? Yan Liqiang was doubtful.

“Is that clear?” Li Hongtu asked.

“Master, I am clear about the action, but what is the hidden reason behind it?”

“You are doubting this, aren’t you? You don’t believe that such an exercise can help you master the ultimate spear technique I told you about, do you?” Li Hongtu could see what was on Yan Liqiang’s mind.

“A little... yes...” Yan Liqiang said, a little embarrassed.

“A sentence of truth is better than a whole library of lies. To master real skills, people always assume it takes tough and impossible training. In fact, most often than not, it is not as complicated as they think!”

“But Master, what is the secret when practicing this?” Yan Liqiang asked.

“Hahaha! You are a diamond in the rough! Of course there is a secret. Come closer...” Li Hongtu blinked at Yan Liqiang.

Just seconds ago, Li Hongtu was proudly articulating his techniques, and now he was acting all mysterious. Yan Liqiang did not bother with it, so he moved his ear closer to Li Hongtu.

There was absolutely nobody nearby, yet Li Hongtu checked around to make sure it was a safe place before he moved his lips closer to Yan Liqiang’s ear. With a hand covering his mouth, he whispered in Yan Liqiang’s ear, “Remember. There are two secrets to it. First, free your hand and relax your body. Second, the most important four words – focus on your ears!”

Once he finished the sentence, Li Hongtu took a step back and spoke with his normal tone, “Do you remember everything I told you just now?”

Yan Liqiang nodded, albeit feeling that it was a little absurd, “Yes!”

“Hahaha! Good! You will understand the first secret once you practice enough. The second secret is the most important one. Never tell a single soul about it, except your own disciple. Do not even trade the four words with even a million gold bars. The move I showed you just now looks like a simple exercise anyone can practice. There is nothing special to it. However, apply the second secret to it, and you will be able to master the essence of the ultimate spear technique. Without this, you can practice till the cow comes home, and nothing will happen other than gaining some stamina. So, keep this secret to yourself, and nobody can learn anything even if they imitate everything you do. Understood?”

“Understood! Don’t worry, Master. Unless I have a disciple, I will never pass this secret onto anyone!” Yan Liqiang pledged.

“Sigh... There are too many people with ill intentions. If they discover such an easy technique to master the ultimate spear technique, the world will be in chaos, and I will have blood on my hands. Besides, this secret is the essence of Chinese martial arts. I will be damned if the other races learn about it. This is why we have to be careful about it. This secret can never be passed through writing, only by word of mouth!” Li Hongtu suddenly yawned after he finished speaking. He pointed at the pool under the waterfall, “From now on, you must practice every morning on that rock beneath the waterfall. Make sure you practice till noon.”

“Master, when will I able to complete the training?”

“Haha! That is not up to me. You will know once you succeed in your training. Now, I must take a nap. I have already taught you everything. Take your time and practice. And also, Liqiang, fix my hut when you are free. There’s some leaking on the roof.” Li Hongtu yawned again as he walked towards the hut, leaving Yan Liqiang standing there alone.

Yan Liqiang looked at the spear in his hand, then at Li Hongtu who was strolling away. Everything seemed surreal...

Chapter 277: Spear Shaking

Based on Yan Liqiang’s past experience, one would find it embarrassing to proclaim that the secret manuals one obtained were of any value if they were obtained without going through any trials or tribulations. After being apprenticed to a master for the very first time this morning, he didn’t expect the process of being imparted the so-called ‘exceptional spear technique’ by his master would be as simple as an action along with a four-word message –’Focus on your ears.’

Yan Liqiang was stunned on the spot for a good while, with the Dragon Steel Spine spear in his hands, before he came back to his senses and smacked himself hard on his head.

“Are you stupid? Who said valuable things can only be obtained through many trials and tribulations? Purchasing that Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing manual that barely anyone cared about from a street vendor with just a few yuan – wasn’t that enough to prove this? Perhaps the best things are the easiest to obtain, and the most powerful spear technique is the easiest to cultivate. It’s just that ordinary people are too narrow-minded, ignorant, and have bad mindsets!”

Yan Liqiang mumbled to himself before his eyes finally lit up again. Recalling the meeting between him and Li Hongtu, he realized that his master might seem unreliable at times, but he never joked around with him when he imparted the spear technique to him. Li Hongtu even had the demeanor of a great, dignified master in spear techniques, especially when he was expounding the theory of spear handle’s flexibility and the Yinyang field. His words enlightened Yan Liqiang as his explanation greatly improved Yan Liqiang’s knowledge and understanding of spear techniques. It would seem like the proverb, ‘A single conversation across the table with a wise man is worth a decade’s study of books,’ wasn’t an exaggeration after all.

If one wished to gain the control of the spear’s Yinyang field and hence attain the ultimate spear technique, then one would need to start with the spear shaking.

Yan Liqiang’s gaze grew determined as he watched Li Hongtu return to the thatched cottage. He decided that he must persist in his training to see just what the ‘real spear technique’ was capable of...

The pool was right in front of him. Looking at two rocks that were peeking out from the pool’s surface which the waterfall was pounding against, Yan Liqiang stripped his clothes again without further delay until he was left with only a pair of underpants. He then picked up the spear once more and walked into the pool like he did earlier. He walked along the bottom of the water to the plunge pool while holding his breath, then lifted himself up onto a rock.

The rock was wide at its base, and its narrower top was a foot above the water surface. There were only a few spots on the rock’s surface that were smooth enough to stand on from water erosion The areas that Yan Liqiang could stand on were only half the size of his sole – barely enough for a person to plant their feet on it. Exposed to running water all year round, part of the rock’s surface which stuck above the water was as smooth as a crystal ball. Yan Liqiang could barely shake the four-hundred-jin spear like Li Hongtu. In addition to the wetness, the resistance and vibration that traveled from the spear handle to his body caused him to slip and fall into the water with a big splash...

A minute later, Yan Liqiang picked up his long spear and climbed up the rock again. After shaking it for a bit, he plopped into the water once more along with his spear.

Refusing to give up, Yan Liqiang climbed onto the rock again. However, he fell into the pool again with a plop less than a few seconds later.

Yan Liqiang lost count of how many times he had fallen into the pool throughout the entire morning and was extremely exhausted. He only realized now that the seemingly simple exercise Li Hongtu made him do wasn’t as simple as it looked. Not only that, but it was also an arduous challenge.

If he didn’t have to hold a spear in his hands, he would be able to stand on that rock for three days and three nights without a problem, regardless of how slippery the rock’s surface was above the water. Even if he was holding the spear, he could still stand on it without any problems as long as the spear remained stationary. However, as soon as he started shaking the spear according to Li Hongtu’s instructions, the difficulty of maintaining his balance on top of the slippery rocks was instantly raised to an infernal level.

Since his hands, body, and spear were moving, as soon as the four hundred jin-spear started shaking, the impact of the vibration and the rebound from the spear handle was like a violent dragon. It traveled to Yan Liqiang’s hands, body, and feet mercilessly. Maintaining his balance on such a small rock under such circumstances would require every muscle, bone, tendon, and even cell in his body to harmonize with the vibrations and movements of the spear. While remaining still on his feet, he had to maintain a dynamic balance with great difficulty and completely dissolve the force coming from the spear with his body...

Such a demand could simply be deemed as absurd.

Yan Liqiang exerted his strength on the spear. The four hundred-jin spear accumulated the force, then sent it back even more violently along with its vibrations. While Yan Liqiang had to maintain his balance, cultivate, and dissolve this forceful wave, and he also had to steadily continue transmitting his own strength into the spear through the vibrations...

After only a few tries, Yan Liqiang felt that this cultivation was like sparring with an expert who was much heavier than him and possessed a physical strength that was on par with his. Moreover, this was the kind of spar that was perpetual at all times...

Although the four hundred-jin spear wasn’t as heavy as the stuff Yan Liqiang carried on his body over the past few days, the strength and stamina required for this kind of cultivation were even more absurd than the training Yan Liqiang was doing before. This was truly extreme cultivation.

At this moment, Yan Liqiang finally understood why Li Hongtu asked him to only come to practice every morning. Even with his current strength, it would take all his strength to persevere throughout the entire morning after falling into the pool countless times. His entire body felt as though it had been hollowed out.

The only little comforting thing to Yan Liqiang was the fact that he finally didn’t have to be drenched in his smelly sweat every day under such training circumstances because his sweat would be washed away in the pool of water.

When the sun was high up in the sky, Yan Liqiang once again fell into the pool of water from the rock. He let the spear sink to the bottom of the pool while he remained still, panting weakly as he floated on the water surface like a corpse for a while. By the time his body recovered some strength, he swam to the edge to get dressed and returned to the Li Hongtu’s thatched cottage.

“Master, I am done with my cultivation for the morning. I will come and fix your thatched cottage in the afternoon...”

A few seconds later, only a mutter came from the thatched cottage. “Alright. Don’t come in the afternoon, that’s the time for a good nap. Wait till evening when someone comes to deliver my meal and fix it when I wake up to eat...”

Yan Liqiang smiled with resignation. “Do you have any other orders, Master?”

“Nope. Oh right, just come and go by yourself from now on when you come to cultivate in the morning. There’s no need to trouble yourself in coming to pay your respects. I will call you if anything comes up...”

“Alright, I will let you return... to your rest, Master.”

As soon as Yan Liqiang turned around, a soft snore came from the thatched cottage again...

......

Yan Liqiang started cultivating Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing again when he returned to his courtyard.

This time, the immense amount of energy and spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth that poured into him was no less than the amount Yan Liqiang received when he was undergoing his previous extreme cultivation.

When the immense of energy and spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth filled Yan Liqiang’s body to the brim, another wave of spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth divided itself into three at the same time. One of them gushed forth to his hands and started strengthening him all the way from his fingertips to his shoulders. Another wave gushed forth to his feet. What came as the most unexpected surprise to Yan Liqiang was the other wave that actually gushed forth to his lungs...

Yan Liqiang didn’t know whether to cry or laugh about him falling into the water, holding his breath to retrieve his spear, and climbing back onto the rock again countless times this morning.

He even lost count of how many times he performed Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing. His physical condition only fully recovered and slightly strengthened a bit after sunset. Yan Liqiang then went back to the mountain behind the archery range again to fix Li Hongtu’s thatched cottage.

For the next few days, Yan Liqiang spent his morning shaking the Dragon Spine Steel spear in the pool on the mountain behind the archery range. By afternoon, he’d return to his residence wearily and continue using Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing to recover his stamina and also strengthen himself.

As time went on, Yan Liqiang was able to gradually maintain his balance on the rock for a longer period of time – from one minute, to two minutes, to three minutes...

Strangely enough, as the time Yan Liqiang could remain standing on the rock increased, the Cloud Dragon’s Ten Transformations technique he was cultivating improved rapidly despite the fact that he no longer deliberately enhanced the speed of his body and legs every day. In just a week, it consecutively ranked up two layers, attaining the sixth layer realm at a shocking speed...

Chapter 278: Escorting to Jinling

Yan Liqiang trained hard at Deer Villa during the day and was making rapid progress. Before going to sleep at night, he didn’t forget to spend a day in the Heavenly Realm to continue his journey with the Four Seas Escort Agency of the Divine Sword Sect in transporting the goods.

Compared to the trip where he had to escort Ye Tiancheng to the Imperial Capital with Sun Bingchen last time, traveling with the Four Seas Escort Agency’s party made Yan Liqiang feel as though he was going on a trip with his buddies instead.

The party spent more than a month on the road and they encountered several thefts along the way. It was very interesting to see the thieves choose to make their move in the wilderness. They’d leave a tree trunk or a few huge rocks in the middle of the road to block the escort party’s path.

In this kind of situation, the escort party would usually stop and the escort leader who was responsible for delivering the goods would remind everyone to proceed cautiously. At the same time, he would also let someone shout the work chant of the Four Seas Escort Agency out aloud and fly the ensign. The obstructing rocks or tree trunks would then be moved out of the way before they resumed their journey.

Most of the time, the courage of those bandits and heroic outlaws would wane as soon as they heard the work chants of the Four Seas Escort Agency. After all, no one would dare to stir up trouble with the agency because most people knew that the Divine Sword Sect, one of the four major sects, was behind it. Anyone who succeeded in laying a finger on the Four Seas Escort Agency in the past ended up being relentlessly pursued by experts deployed by the Divine Sword Sect. By now, those people were already long dead. Therefore, no heroic outlaws would really dare to make a move against the escort party unless they were tired of being alive.

Perhaps a minority of those powerful stealthy bandits or ruffians were not intimidated by the Four Seas Escort Agency and the Divine Sword Sect. These people would dare to rob even bureaucracy funds and valuable tributes for the Emperor if they were tempting enough. However, the goods transported by the Four Seas Escort Agency on this trip were nothing special. They were all necessities for the military. Firstly, they were not rare items, and secondly, they were useless to those experts. So naturally, they wouldn’t come to find any troubles with the party.

In rare cases, the outlaws who set up the obstacles would even rush down the hills or forests on either side of the road. They’d show their faces to the escort leader and speak to him in some secret language known to only those who adventured the world. The escort leader wouldn’t make a move on those who dared to show their faces either. He’d gift them with two jars of wine from the carriage instead and make small talk. With the respect given by the Four Seas Escort Agency, these outlaws would willingly walk away complacently and let the escort party be on their way while drinking the wine brewed by the Divine Sword Sect.

The entire journey might have been daunting, but they didn’t actually run into any real danger.

The only thing that was more troublesome than those forest outlaws or bandits were those checkpoints set up along the roads in every county and prefecture in the Great Han Empire to collect taxes and duties. There were simply too many of them. Some counties had only one checkpoint while others had multiple checkpoints. Not only that, some of the checkpoints were privately set up by local clans or influential clans, so they were very difficult to deal with.

The ones who set up the checkpoints were the local tyrants. However, some low-ranking officers would still be stationed at most checkpoints. These officers were nobodies who were below average in terms of their martial capabilities. Unfortunately, these weaklings were representatives that held bureaucratic responsibilities, and they could care less about the Four Seas Escort Agency. After all, their targets were the escort agencies and caravans in the first place. At a time like this, the escort leader could not do much other than show the official letter from the Storm Army. The official letter stated that the goods transported by the fleet of carriages were all armaments ordered by the Storm Army and therefore hoped that the authorities could allow the party to pass by and waive any taxes and duties that might be imposed on them.

After verifying that the goods transported by the carriages were indeed armaments, the local officers at some of the checkpoints who were either concerned about the fate of their nation or knew the fighting prowess of the Storm Army would let the party go without a second look upon seeing the official letter. However, the officers at some checkpoints still wouldn’t care despite seeing the official letter and knowing that the transported goods were armaments for the Storm Army. They wouldn’t let the party pass unless they were paid with some silver. Under such circumstances, the escort agency had barely any choice but to quietly shell out some silver to avoid problems. After receiving the payment, only then did the bureaucratic officers allow them to pass.

The challenges that the escort agency had to overcome during the journey to deliver some goods were real eye-openers for Yan Liqiang. It included those heavily guarded passes and the people they encountered like the heroic outlaws, low-ranking officers, and traveling merchants. Not only had he seen all sorts of people out there, he also learned a lot of things and he finally understood the difficulty of doing business and what life was like for people of the lower social class in this era.

The escort party traveled across prefectures and counties. After more than a month of travel, they were finally halfway to their destination. In the evening on the seventh day of the ninth lunar month in the 17th year of the Yuanping reign, the party finally arrived outside Jinling City in the Southern Capital Region, one of the Imperial Capital’s ‘four regions’.

The escort party was not allowed inside the borders of the Imperial Capital. Jinling City was merely one of the stops they had to make. After arriving at Jinling, the escort party would have to take a detour by going around the ‘four regions’ and use an alternative route along the Ling River as they continued northward. They would only arrive at their destination after another month on the road.

......

“Keep walking everyone, let’s do our best to arrive at Jinling City before nightfall. Everyone must be quite worn out from traveling all day and night over this past half month. When we arrive at Jinling City, everyone will get a day’s rest...!” Escort Leader Feng announced loudly as he gazed at the emerging silhouette of Jinling’s city wall in the distance on his rhinodrake steed.

Everyone in the escort party cheered happily as soon as they heard that they would be able to rest in Jinling City. The party’s morale was instantly boosted. Even the coachmen cracked their whips loudly in excitement.

Yan Liqiang sat in one of the escort carriages, leaning against the door. One of his legs which dangled outside the moving carriage swayed along with its movement. He squinted his eyes and gazed at Jinling City in the distance. After traveling for more than a month with the escort agency exposed to the weather, it was inevitable that Yan Liqiang’s face would be slightly weather-beaten and his skin would also be slightly tanned. After leaving the Divine Sword Sect for a few days, Yan Liqiang changed out of his disciple attire and changed into a set of plain black form-fitting clothes that the other escorts were also wearing. He also tied a kerchief around his neck so that he could wipe his sweat when he was hot and also use it to cover his nose and mouth when there was a sandstorm. He looked just like a lowly adventurer.

The prosperity of Jinling City could be observed from their current location. They were about twenty li away from Jinling City, yet the public road was already crowded with bustling traffic and there was an endless stream of travelers and merchants. From afar, the strategically located Jinling City seemed to be surrounded by a unique atmosphere.

A strange feeling welled up in Yan Liqiang’s heart as he gazed at Jinling City. He didn’t expect to find himself so close to the heart of the Great Han Empire once again after traveling around inside the Heavenly Realm. Jinling City was the southern gate of the Great Han Empire’s Imperial Capital. Rumor had it that about a thousand years ago, Jinling City used to be the capital city of the Great Han Empire. In reality, Liang Yijie was probably also touring around Jinling City these few days with a beauty by his side.

After those unenthusiastic coachmen heard the escort leader’s words, everyone seemed as though they were suddenly rejuvenated – their hips weren’t sore anymore, their feet no longer ached, and their shouts were filled with vigor. Yan Liqiang couldn’t help but feel curious. He recalled that the last time when they were given a break, these people weren’t this happy.

“Brother Niu, why is everyone so happy after hearing Escort Leader Feng’s words...?” Yan Liqiang asked the coachman beside him.

The coachman was surnamed Niu; his full name was Niu San. He was a tanned man in his forties, a low-ranking coachman under the Four Seas Escort Agency who was responsible for driving the carriage. After riding this carriage for about a month, Yan Liqiang naturally got closer to this coachman. On this journey, Yan Liqiang didn’t only have to take care of the steed that was pulling this carriage, he also had to cover for Niu San sometimes when he needed to rest. He’d switch to Niu San’s seat, take the reins, and play the role of a coachman. Therefore, he wasn’t left with much opportunities to cultivate during this period of time. His skills in driving a carriage improved by leaps and bounds instead, and he was already catching up to Niu San.

“Ahem, ahem... You’re still young, Liqiang. You will understand why when you’re a little bit older. Jinling City is a great place and many people in our party are still single. The thing they looked forward to the most on this trip was getting a chance to rest in Jinling while passing by. Of course, this didn’t escape Escort Leader Feng’s discerning eye...”

Although Niu San’s reply was vague, Yan Liqiang could catch the subtle message he was trying to convey. Furthermore, the manly smile on Niu San’s face made it even more obvious.

Yan Liqiang didn’t say anything afterward.

“My lady, look at how handsome that young man on that escort carriage is. This is really a rare sight...!” A voice traveled to Yan Liqiang’s ears, and he sensed someone’s gaze on him. He turned around and realized that there were two young beautiful ladies on a carriage that was traveling beside their fleet on the road. Both of them were gazing at Yan Liqiang with their sparkly eyes through the window of their carriage.

Compared to girls from ordinary clans, the two ladies on the carriage were bolder and their gazes were more direct.

Yan Liqiang smiled at the two ladies, but he didn’t say anything. He turned his head away and pulled up the kerchief tied around his neck so it covered most of his face. To Yan Liqiang, this was the third function of his kerchief – it acted like the sunglasses of those celebrities in his previous life.

The party, which seemed as though they had been injected with steroids, finally made it to Jinling City before nightfall. However, the party didn’t enter the city due to the high accommodation cost inside the city. They directly went to a place called the “White Stone Village” outside the city and settled down at a decent but cheap depot.

The so-called ‘depot’ was a little different than an inn. The depot could accommodate guests like an inn, but it was also much wider and more spacious than an inn. There was also a warehouse dedicated to storing things in there. The guests of the depot were mainly caravans, escort parties, and merchants with goods.

Chapter 279: Ripping Open The Sky

When the party arrived at the depot, everyone started getting busy after they reserved a large private courtyard. A number of them were occupied with unloading the goods from the carriages to store them in the warehouse. Meanwhile, Yan Liqiang, Gu Zexuan, and Zhao Huipeng were assigned to release the steeds from the carriages and bring all of them into the stable.

“Leader...”

Yan Liqiang had just brought two batches of steeds to the stable. He was leading the third batch of steeds when Gu Zexuan suddenly appeared behind a pile of hay next to the stables and pulled him to the side.

“Oh? Are you done with your tasks?” Yan Liqiang cast a glance at Gu Zexuan.

“Haha, almost!” Gu Zexuan smiled mischievously.

“Where’s Huipeng?”

“Still helping out with unloading the stuff!”

“If you have something to say, then say it quickly!” Yan Liqiang scanned his surroundings. “If Old Tiger Chen catches you slacking off again, the three of us will have to wash the carriages again as punishment...!”

Old Tiger Chen was Chen Hu’s nickname. Escort Leader Feng assigned him as Yan Liqiang, Gu Zexuan, and Zhao Huipeng’s ‘immediate superior’. Since Chen Hu had been strict to the trio during their journey and always had a fierce look on his face whenever he talked to them, the trio eventually addressed Chen Hu as Old Tiger Chen. There was a time when Gu Zexuan was caught by Chen Hu over some trivial matters and it ended with a sleepless night of washing all the carriages in the escort party. It went without saying that the task was completed with Yan Liqiang and Zhao Huipeng’s assistance.

“Haha, Old Tiger Chen is jealous of your handsomeness so he deliberately makes things difficult for us. Huipeng and I are merely the victims of your handsome face, Leader!” Gu Zexuan teased mischievously.

“I will resume my duties if it’s nothing. I’ll talk to you later...”

“Hey hey hey, don’t go first!” Gu Zexuan quickly pulled Yan Liqiang. He licked his lips, then looked at Yan Liqiang as though he were trying to win his favor. “Leader, do you want to... go out with us tonight?”

When Gu Zexuan said that, the look that flashed across his eyes seemed all too familiar to Yan Liqiang. It was the exact the same look that a friend of his gave him in his previous life when he discovered porn for the very first time and invited Yan Liqiang to ‘study’ with him.

“What is there to see in Jinling?” Yan Liqiang asked on purpose.

“Haha, don’t you know that Jinling is the place where the beauties of the world gather? I heard that the Qinhuai River smells like rouge when those beautiful women from the pleasure boats at the banks or on the river pour the water they use to wash their faces with every morning into the river. Leader, don’t you want to go experience it?”

“Fine then, let us go there together later if we have time after dinner!” Yan Liqiang didn’t even try to act all strait-laced and nodded instead. Although Yan Liqiang already had his fair share of experience with these kinds of things in his previous life, he was still rather curious about the place Gu Zexuan mentioned. Since he was already in this world, there was no harm in paying that place a visit.

“Yes! That’s a promise then!” Gu Zexuan had a look of excitement on his face.

“Eh, Old Tiger Chen is coming...!” Yan Liqiang gave Gu Zexuan a warning look. Gu Zexuan promptly ducked and escaped behind the pile of hay.

Yan Liqiang led the few steeds into the stable and tied them up. As soon as he came out from the stable again, Chen Hu came over with a fierce expression on his face and asked roughly, “Yan Liqiang, did you see Gu Zexuan?”

“Ah, I saw him unloading the goods at the carriages just now!” Yan Liqiang pointed into the distance. “Look, right there! Isn’t Gu Zexuan over there?”

Chen Hu turned his head and saw that Gu Zexuan was indeed busy working. Even so, he still snorted coldly. “After you bring those steeds in, go to the guys working in the depot and let them give our steeds some concentrated feed!”

“Alright!”

“And also...” Chen Hu’s gaze roamed over Yan Liqiang’s face. The expression on his face was replaced by a look of displeasure. “You are a member of the escort party. Don’t go around showing off when we are on the road just because you have an attractive face. Don’t think that I didn’t notice you were smiling at those two girls today. What’s there to smile about? The Four Seas Escort Agency is part of the Divine Sword Sect. Don’t tarnish the reputation of our sect. Us men who travel across the world only care about one word –’justice’. We depend solely on strength, got it? Strength...”

When Chen Hu talked about strength, he raised his arm that wasn’t much thicker than Yan Liqiang’s thigh and patted his bicep twice. He looked at Yan Liqiang with pride before he turned his head around and left like a proud fighting cock.

What the f*ck is your problem?! – Yan Liqiang cursed inwardly. He rubbed his face helplessly and continued working.

...

By the time the escort party settled down at the depot and had their dinner, the sky had already turned dark.

In the eyes of the people in the escort party, Yan Liqiang and the other two were weaklings. They would still be worried even if they were watching over the goods. Therefore, the three of them instantly found themselves idle after they settled down. Needless to say, they wouldn’t be assigned any more tasks. Since Escort Leder Feng had given them a break today, he allowed people who were idle to move around freely in groups of three or more and expected them to report back the next morning before lunchtime. Yan Liqiang and the other two changed their clothes and groomed themselves before they slipped out of the depot to stroll around Jinling City.

The weather was fine tonight; the moon was high and the stars covered the sky. The three of them felt refreshed as soon as they came out from the depot and their moods were lifted greatly. Both Yan Liqiang and Zhao Huipeng were laughing loudly at Gu Zexuan’s perfect imitation of Chen Hu’s gestures and facial expressions when he spoke to Yan Liqiang. The night breeze was filled with joy.

It had only been a few minutes since they left the depot when Yan Liqiang suddenly spotted colorful sky lanterns drifting in the night sky several li ahead of him. They embellished the night sky, lighting it up with colors.

“Ah, what are those?” Zhao Huipeng, who was usually quiet, couldn’t help but ask in curiosity.

“Hahaha, those are boat lanterns. Usually at night, they are released by those pleasure boats on Qinhuai River to tell the patrons that they are open for business. Huipeng, look at the countless boat lanterns in the sky and you will know just how many pleasure boats and beauties are on Qinhuai River.” Gu Zuxuan gazed longingly into the distance.

“How do those lanterns... float into the sky?” Zhao Huipeng was still amazed.

“The boat lanterns are made of paper and thin bamboo frames, so they are very light. As long as the cotton wick under the boat lantern is lit, the boat lantern will fly...”

“It’s that magical?” Zhao Huipeng was quite indifferent toward the beauties, yet he was showing great interest in those boat lanterns instead.

“If Huipeng is interested, we can buy two later at the river bank!”

“Sure!” Zhao Huipeng nodded earnestly.

The so-called boat lamps were natural sky lanterns in Yan Liqiang’s eyes. He just didn’t expect these sky lanterns would become tools to bring in business by the pleasure boats in this world. It was a rather original approach to use them as a business opening hour indicator.

Although the sky was already dark, many people were still out on the road. The three of them asked someone for directions, then they went directly to the Qinhuai River.

The banks of the Qinhuai River were like a sea of lights, filled with an endless stream of tourists. It was truly a magnificent sight. Pleasure boats of various sizes filled with the laughter of girls stretched up to ten li along the Qinhuai River. There were also all kinds of restaurants and entertainment quarters along the river banks. Listening to the traditional songs while taking in the faint scent of osmanthus flowers and the rouge fragrance, even Yan Liqiang couldn’t help but be impressed by the prosperity of the place and deem the experience as eye-opening.

Yan Liqiang guessed that if the concept of red light district existed in this world, then the river banks of the Qinhuai River were probably the largest red light district here. It was no wonder that this place was so famous – it attracted countless people to sightsee and spend their wealth extravagantly.

The three of them walked around while enjoying the food. Not only was this place filled with beauties, but it was was also filled with all sorts of delicacies which filled the trio’s tummies.

Strolling once around the Qinhuai River, listening to a beautiful woman playing a few songs on her pipa, and singing a few songs on one of the pleasure boats, the three of them returned to the depot in satisfaction.

“Wow, just listening to a few songs on that pleasure boat while sipping on tea has cost each of us a tael of silver. That’s really expensive.” Zhao Huipeng was immediately shocked when he heard how much they had spent earlier after they disembarked from the pleasure boat and went to the riverside.

“Shh, not so loud, Huipeng! You think a tael of silver is expensive? Let me tell you, we only enjoyed some tea and music. This is still relatively cheap. You haven’t even seen those who spend lavishly!”

“For real?”

“Ask Leader if you don’t believe me!” Gu Zexuan looked at Yan Liqiang enviously. “Speaking of which, as expected of Leader! I thought you had zero experience in this. Little did I expect for you to be such a natural when you toasted with the beauty just now. You didn’t even seem to be shy at all and you maintained your composure just like an experienced womanizer. The gaze of that lady who played the pipa just now was constantly on you, Leader. Her gaze was especially tender when she played her final song, ‘The Phoenix Seeks Her Mate’. There must be some intentions behind it. If Leader said that you wanted to stay the night, I’m sure even the madame of that pleasure boat wouldn’t charge you hahaha...”

Yan Liqiang chuckled too. “Alright, it’s getting late. We had our fun, so let’s return to the depot!”

The tourists at the banks of the Qinhuai River had decreased at this time. The music gradually faded. The bugs under the willow trees and among the plains by the river started chirping. Quite a number of vendors had closed their stalls. If they didn’t want to spend the night outside, then it was almost time to return.

Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng nodded.

The three of them had barely taken a few steps when Yan Liqiang suddenly felt a strange chill. His chest suddenly tightened as though something had gripped his heart. It abruptly stopped Yan Liqiang’s footsteps.

“What’s wrong, Leader?” Gu Zexuan asked.

Before Yan Liqiang could even speak, the dark night sky suddenly turned bright. As far as his eyes could see, it was as though it had suddenly turned into daytime along the riverbank.

Yan Liqiang snapped his head up and saw a glaring light rip the night sky open. Countless meteors streaked across the sky like rain, leaving behind long fiery trails. Sonic booms rumbled endlessly in the sky like thunder. The clouds were instantly torn apart by the blaze in the sky.

Chapter 280: Catastrophe

The unexpected anomaly in the sky caused not only Yan Liqiang to snap his head up but also Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng who were beside him at the same time. They were all staring at the rumbling, falling fireballs in the sky with their mouths agape.

“What are those?!” Gu Zexuan asked in shock while Zhao Huipeng’s jaw dropped in surprise.

Yan Liqiang’s mind was drawing a blank at this moment because the scene that unfolded before his eyes was so shocking that it numbed his nerves. To be honest, he had only seen this in movies and animations in his previous life, and the ones that contained such a scene were all related to natural disasters and extinction without exception.

However, time didn’t allow him to be lost in his daydreams at this time because under the gazes of three pairs of eyes, a fireball was falling from the sky at a terrifying speed. It appeared in their field of vision, dyeing the waters of the Qinhuai River crimson.

Quite a number of passengers on the pleasure boats went to the forecastle to gawk at the anomaly in the sky above them.

“GET DOWN...!”

Yan Liqiang yelled. Before Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng could even react, Yan Liqiang had knocked both of them down on the grass by the river.

BOOOM...!

The loud explosion shook the ground and pierced Yan Liqiang’s ears like the sound of thunder. Yan Liqiang’s chest was pressed tightly against the ground. At that exact moment, he felt the entire ground vibrating like a drum that was being beaten by a giant. The tremors traveled from his chest to his body, instantly causing the blood in his entire body to surge.

The terrifying shockwave swept through with a blast of heat. Yan Liqiang lifted himself up from the ground and saw that a row of restaurants nearby had collapsed in a flash. Countless roof tiles scattered like snowflakes in the violent wind...

Crack! The old willow tree next to them which had been hollowed out by termites was struck down by the shockwave. It crashed into the ground, just less than two meters away from them. Some willows by the riverside toppled, exposing their roots.

The waters of the Qinhuai River immediately turned violent, surging over several tens of meters high. A few dozen beautifully-decorated pleasure boats on the river swayed, crashed, and toppled over from the impact of that terrifying shockwave. The top decks of some of the two or three-tiered pleasure boats were crushed in a flash. Wooden fragments flew about and the entire boat was broke into pieces...

The sky lit up again. Several thousand meters away, a fireball directly plunged into the Qinhuai River under Yan Liqiang’s gaze...

The moment the fireball fell, all the pleasure boats within the radius of several hundred meters disappeared in the glaring light. The waters of the Qinhuai River surged several hundred meters vertically, rendering the pleasure boats on the river into leaves in turbulent water. They were thrown high up into the air before they came crashing down, smashing into pieces. The once tranquil river swelled violently, forming a huge wave that towered over several tens of meters. It rolled the pleasure boats around and loomed toward the banks. Under the force of the water, the capsized pleasure boats crashed into the willow trees along the river, breaking them with terrifying destructive power.

The three of them were still on the grass by the river. The river water came gushing toward the three of them from afar as though a floodgate had just been opened. The water level of the river rose rapidly and churned.

“Get up and run...!!” Yan Liqiang immediately leaped to his feet and yelled loudly. He grabbed Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng by their hands and quickly bolted into the distance.

About two hundred meters away, there was a countryside farmland beyond the road by the levee and the collapsed houses. There was a hill on the farmland that stood several tens of meters above ground level.

At the beginning, Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng didn’t even realize what was going on. They were just running along with Yan Liqiang. After running across a distance and seeing the surging waves of the Qinhuai River and the rolling pleasure boats, only then did both of them realized what was going on as they continued bolting frantically toward the hill with Yan Liqiang.

Just when the three of them made it up the hill, the tumbling waters of the Qinhuai River were hot on their heels. They engulfed the crops in the fields. The surging river carried the remnants of half a pleasure boat. It chased the three of them while pushing the soil and mud of the fields like a bulldozer, not stopping until the three of them finally made it to the top of the hill...

Yan Liqiang and the rest didn’t stop until they reached the highest point of the hill where they stopped to catch their breaths. The rolling and surging waters of the Qinhuai River only stopped rising after it covered seven or eight meters of the hill vertically. However, the river wave went beyond the area. It continued engulfing the riverbanks before it rolled into the distance.

Yan Liqiang stood on the hill and surveyed the area. Several thousand meters away, where the first fireball landed, the area was initially a bustling night market. Beside the night market was a small town. Right now, both the night market and small town had vanished. Only a paddy field in the distance was ablaze...

Further away, Jinling City was already engulfed in flames that scraped the sky.

Yan Liqiang saw a fireball land directly on Jinling City. Several hundred meters of Jinling City’s magnificent city wall disappeared into a white light...

In the sky, fireballs were still raining from the sky in succession...

At this exact moment, Yan Liqiang knew his face was definitely drained of color even without looking in the mirror. An indescribable wave of fear and terror made his body quiver involuntarily. It was only at a time like this where one would come to truly realize he was only as tiny as a dust particle in this vast universe...

“W-what are those?” Zhao Huipeng asked with his trembling voice as he stared at the scene that was unfolding before his very eyes.

“Meteors... Those are meteors...” Yan Liqiang replied blankly.

All of a sudden, heaven and earth were once again engulfed in a bright light. Under Yan Liqiang’s gaze, an even bigger fireball streaked across the blue dome of heaven, lighting up the northern skies in red. It broke through countless layers of clouds, dropping like a falling star.

Looking at the direction where the falling fireball would land, that was where the Imperial Capital of the Great Han Empire sat!

Yan Liqiang instantly held his breath!

The moment the fireball landed, the world seemed to stand still for a moment.

In the dark night, the intense light of the fireballs rose in the horizon and expanded. The clouds in the sky were instantly engulfed by the expanding light like fallen dominoes...

Shortly thereafter, the earth quaked and the mountains shook. The destructive tremor caused the city wall of Jinling City to collapse along with countless houses and buildings. The earth was filled with agonized screams.

Chapter 281: Destruction

In just ten minutes, the unexpected catastrophe had turned the world upside down. Yan Liqiang, Gu Zexuan, and Zhao Huipeng witnessed the entire calamity with their very own eyes!

By the time the meteors vanished completely from the sky, the world was left with the aftermath of the disaster. Raging flames were everywhere, consuming everything in their path. In the distance, Jinling City had almost become a ruin among the fires. As far as the eyes could see, not even one completely intact building was in sight.

The flames in Jinling City dyed the distant sky crimson. The paddy fields that stretched into the distance were still being rapidly consumed by the raging flames and rolling smoke.

The water around the hill in the field quickly receded and once again returned to the Qinhuai River. However, not even one pleasure boat could be seen on the river. Only pieces of wood and wreckage from the pleasure boats remained. There were also countless corpses drifting along the river’s surface. The river that was once filled with rouge was instantly turned into an abattoir swarming with disaster victims.

The bustling red-light area was reduced into ashes in just the blink of an eye and the strategically-located ancient city was turned into a sea of flames. For the past few minutes, the number of victims of the sudden calamity was unknown.

Tears unknowingly cascaded down Yan Liqiang, Gu Zexuan, and Zhao Huipeng’s faces as they watched everything that unfolded before their eyes.

The three of them were rather fortunate. If they were still on the pleasure boat just now, they would probably be no different than those broken planks drifting along the Qinhuai River by now even if they managed to somehow survive this. If the three of them were in one of the buildings just now, they would be buried under the collapsed building. When the first fireball fell, the three of them had just disembarked. They were able to respond in time and acted swiftly by bolting up the hill in this field when the waters of the Qinhuai River violently swept away everything, thus escaping the calamity by a fluke.

“Why is this happening? Why is this happening..?” Gu Zexuan muttered to himself as tears rolled down his cheeks. He was staring blankly at everything before him. He survived, yet the scene before him almost shook him to his core...

Zhao Huipeng’s face was pale and he was biting his lip hard as his entire body trembled.

This wasn’t real, this wasn’t real... Everything before his eyes wasn’t real. This had happened in the Heavenly Realm and the Heavenly Realm only existed because of him. It was a parallel dimension to the real world. The catastrophe that unfolded before his eyes was merely an event from the future. All of this hadn’t occurred in reality, it hadn’t...

Yan Liqiang was the first to come back to his senses. He secretly kept reminding himself in his mind that the disaster before him hadn’t happened yet. This was merely a vision of the future in the Heavenly Realm. Everything before his eyes was only a VR game. It didn’t happen yet and no one had died yet. There was no need to panic. He must keep living in the real world and this parallel realm...

With such thoughts running through his mind and the continuous self reminder, Yan Liqiang’s eyes gradually showed resolve. He cast a glance at Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng who hadn’t recovered from the shock. Clenching his teeth, he grabbed them by their shoulders and gave them a few hard shakes. Both their gazes slowly shifted to his face. “Zexuan, Huipeng, at least we made it out alive...”

“Right, at least we are still alive... We’re still alive...” Gu Zexuan slowly refocused his gaze as he slowly clenched his fist.

“Leader, what should we do now...?” Zhao Huipeng looked at Yan Liqiang with hopeful eyes. At a time like this, only Yan Liqiang’s unwavering gaze could give him strength.

Yan Liqiang pointed to the remnants of the pleasure boats and the banks of the Qinhuai River which were left in complete shambles by the powerful waves. “We’ll leave this place first and go down there to see if there are any other survivors. Then we will return and regroup with the rest from the Four Seas Escort Agency at the depot and figure out our next course of action from there...”

“Right, Leader! We’ll follow you!”

Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng exchanged glances with each other, then nodded heavily.

......

Yan Liqiang led both of them down the hill again from the peak. Although it was still late at night, the starlight and moonlight from the sky, as well as the raging flames in the distance were enough to allow Yan Liqiang to get a clear view of his surroundings.

The night wind blew. Apart from the smoky smell, there were also faintly audible anguished wails and cries.

Just below the hill where the three of them had taken shelter, there was a pleasure boat that had snapped into two. When the wave receded, half of the remaining pleasure boat was still stuck askew in the mud. The crops in the surroundings were in a complete mess and damaged beyond recognition.

The pleasure boat was like a half-broken drawer, wide open and divided into two tiers. From the outside, one could see the things scattered around inside – the exquisite furniture and calligraphy paintings looked like globs of paste now. The three of them searched around the messy cabin. It only took them a short search to discover a person.

It was a woman who was drenched from head to toe. From her attire, it would seem like she was one of the maids on the pleasure boat. She was buried under a damaged wooden screen and some debris. Yan Liqiang moved them away, only to discover a large wound on her forehead. Part of her skull had sunken in and she had stopped breathing. There was no pulse on her neck either. Her wide-open eyes showed the frozen look of terror on her pale face.

Yan Liqiang sighed inwardly and reached out to shut the maid’s eyes.

“Leader, look at this thing here...!” Gu Zexuan cried out nearby.

Yan Liqiang quickly clambered over the pile of junk in the cabin and went over to him. “What is it?!”

“This...” Gu Zexuan pointed to a scattered box in the cabin. The box wasn’t that big. It was only a square foot, but it was extremely gorgeous. Through the gap between the box and its lid, one could even see the overflowing silver inside it...

Yan Liqiang thought for a moment before he picked up the box and opened it. He divided the silver in the box into three and shared it equally with Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng.

Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng hesitated for a moment, wondering if they should accept it.

“After this incident, chaos will definitely ensue. By then, we will find ourselves in difficult situations if we have no money. Someone will claim this ownerless wealth even if we don’t. There’s nothing wrong with this silver – it will definitely come in handy if we take it with us. Even if it’s not of any use to us, we can still use it to help others...” Yan Liqiang said solemnly while stashing away his share. Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng exchanged glances before they stashed away the two remaining shares for themselves.

“Apart from the silver, look for edible food that can be easily taken with you. It would be best if you can find some tools to make a cloth pouch that can be tied around your waist, the type that won’t restrict your movements and is easy to conceal from others...”

“Leader, what will that cloth pouch be for?” Gu Zexuan asked in confusion.

“To store any edible food we can find. Any amount of food might just be able to save your life at the most critical moment...”

This was the knowledge that Yan Liqiang had learned from television shows in his previous life. In the aftermath of a disaster, a food shortage was the first problem that all survivors would encounter. Although Yan Liqiang wasn’t certain of the magnitude of this catastrophe and the death toll, one thing was certain – the Great Han Empire would descend into great chaos after tonight...

The fallen meteorite which caused the powerful earthquake crashed in the direction of the Imperial Capital, which was several hundred li away from their current location. Judging by the commotion coming from the Imperial Capital’s direction earlier on, perhaps not even a hydrogen bomb explosion could pack such a punch. A bone-chilling conclusion couldn’t help but to creep into Yan Liqiang’s mind – perhaps... there weren’t many survivors in the capital city of the Great Han Empire...

......

The three of them exited the smashed pleasure boat. The cropland beneath them was still submerged in water. It was muddy everywhere, but the three of them couldn’t be bothered by that. They waddled out from the muddy field and made their way to the ruins by the river that the earthquake had left.

Sure enough, the three of them could hear a faint cry for help among the ruins as soon as they arrived...

Upon hearing the cry for help, all the three of them started searching every nook and cranny around the ruins under Yan Liqiang’s lead. Twenty minutes later, the three of them managed to rescue the first survivor from the ruins...

Chapter 282: Disagreement

By dawn, Yan Liqiang, Gu Zexuan, and Zhao Huipeng’s exhausted bodies had trudged through the devastated roads, making their way past the collapsed buildings and ruins. Surrounded by the anguished howls and cries along the way, they returned to the depot where the Four Seas Escort Agency’s party stayed last night to meet up with the rest first.

During a great catastrophe like this, the trio’s strength was akin to that of an ant in the torrent – insignificant.

The three of them worked the entire night and only managed to barely rescue about a dozen survivors from the ruins and the river. A few of them actually lost their lives not long after they were rescued due to severe injuries. The remaining survivors were more or less injured. The three of them could only rummage among the ruins of a collapsed medicine store to find some medicinal supplies. They distributed them to the wounded and helped bandage them. After doing their part, they left. At this point in time, this was the best Yan Liqiang and the other two were capable of doing.

Chaos was present everywhere along the way. Many places were still on fire. Plumes of smoke rose to the sky. The area surrounding Jinling City was in complete disorder. Yan Liqiang didn’t see any bailiffs from the Law Enforcement Office nor any soldiers. The survivors were all lost and grieving. The sight before his eyes looked as though it was an apocalypse.

Yan Liqiang’s mind was also greatly affected and shocked last night. The total number of dead bodies he’d seen over his two lifetimes hardly amounted to the number he saw last night. After dawn, corpses could be seen along the Qinhuai River, submerged in the water. There were men and women, both young and old. The scenery was hellish.

When the three of them returned to the depot, it was equally chaotic there. All the buildings in the depot had also collapsed. Two courtyards were ablaze and the fire had also consumed the goods in a few warehouses.

“God, why are you doing this to me...?!” The owner of the depot was kneeling before the collapsed buildings, wailing while beating his chest. In front of him laid a few distorted dead bodies. Among those corpses were the depot owner’s wife, two sons, and daughter. The once happy and beautiful family was destroyed overnight, leaving only one person behind alive in this world.

The three of them saw similar tragedies on their way back to the depot.

.....

The walls of the courtyard that the Four Seas Escort Agency reserved had similarly collapsed along with the two rows of houses in there. More than thirty people from the Four Seas Escort Agency were gathered in the courtyard, cleaning up the mess and moving the goods out from the collapsed warehouse.

The escorts were extremely vigilant. When they heard the first commotion outside last night, a few of them who stayed in the depot ran out from their rooms to investigate. Due to this, none of them were trapped when the buildings in the rear courtyard collapsed. As for the steeds in the stables, most of them were still safe and sound in there since it was a thatched shed, except for a few that had run away from being startled when the stable collapsed.

However, not many of the escorts who went out last night returned at the agreed-upon time.

“Have you three seen Escort Leader Feng?” One of the escorts from the Four Seas Escort Agency immediately approached them upon their return and questioned them with an extremely anxious look on his face.

Yan Liqiang and the other two knew this escort too. His name was Wang Hui. Like Chen Hu, he was also a capable subordinate of Escort Leader Feng. Wang Hui happened to be one of the people who had stayed behind last night.

Yan Liqiang shook his head. “We didn’t see Escort Leader Feng.”

A look of disappointment immediately flashed across Wang Hui’s face. “What about our other brothers from the escort agency? Have you seen them?”

“The three of us weren’t with the rest from the escort agency last night, so...”

Wang Hui waved his hand impatiently before Yan Liqiang could even finish his sentence, showing no interest in further conversing with three of them. “Stop dawdling about then, get over there and help clear out the goods from the warehouse...”

Yan Liqiang and the other two were merely insignificant figures in the escort party. During such a catastrophe, Wang Hui didn’t even bother to know where the three of them went last night or if they were injured. He probably didn’t even care if they were alive or dead...

Yan Liqiang calmly cast a glance at Wang Hui and remained stood in the same spot. Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng were going to make a move, but both of them stood still when they saw that Yan Liqiang didn’t move.

“WHAT IS IT? DID YOU ALL NOT HEAR ME?” Wang Hui immediately flew into rage at Yan Liqiang’s defiance. He pointed at Yan Liqiang right in front of his nose and shouted, “ARE YOU ALL LOOKING FOR TROUBLE? GET GOING!”

As soon as Wang Hui started yelling, the others from the Four Seas Escort Agency stopped working immediately, throwing curious glances in their direction.

Yan Liqiang’s gaze toward Wang Hui turned sympathetic. Wang Hui might be a competent escort, yet he couldn’t cope with the situation before him. It was obvious that Wang Hui wasn’t too bright and couldn’t get a clear view of the overall situation.

Yan Liqiang swept his gaze across the people in the courtyard who had stopped working. Terror and hopelessness were written on all of their faces at this moment. In the face of such a plight and suddenly losing their leader, these people who were so used to following orders were at a loss. Therefore, they just followed whatever Wang Hui ordered them to do.

“I feel that we shouldn’t be in such a hurry to move those goods out from the ruins at this moment. Our top priority should be deploying our resources to Jinling City to gather information on the current situation. We should find out if the bureaucracy and Law Enforcement Office there are still operating, the number of survivors among the guards in the city, and see if we can cope with the current situation.” Yan Liqiang commented with composure.

Wang Hui started laughing out of anger. “Oho, a brat like you dares to teach me how to go about my work?”

Yan Liqiang wasn’t upset. “Escort Leader Feng is the leader of this party with rich experience. He has always been self-disciplined and very thorough in handling affairs. When Escort Leader Feng left the depot yesterday, he brought a few people with him, saying that he was going to visit a few friends in Jinling City. Now that a calamity has befallen us at Jinling, Escort Leader Feng would have definitely returned to the depot last night to handle the situation here if he were safe, or at least sent someone to inform us so that we wouldn’t be worried instead of not showing up and leaving us in the dark. Although I wish that Escort Leader Feng will return to us safe and sound, the current situation is telling me that something happened to Escort Leader Feng last night and he couldn’t return. It is very likely that he has perished. I am afraid we have no choice but to prepare for the worst...”

“NONSENSE...!” Wang Hui lashed out furiously. “How dare you curse Escort Leader Feng?! I will cut off your tongue...!”

“Escort Wang. I’m afraid you don’t have the seniority to cut off my tongue yet.” By now, Yan Liqiang had completely calmed down.

“What did you say?” Wang Hui’s face instantly contorted. Pressing down on the clip at his waist, Wang Hui’s Yanling Saber [1] was unsheathed from its scabbard with a whoosh. Its sharp and snow-white blade was stark against Yan Liqiang’s neck, threatening to slice it. “I, your father, will cut your pretty face up today...!”

Yan Liqiang was still smiling without an ounce of fear on his face. He used his eyes to warn Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng not to act recklessly. The gaze he held on Wang Hui promptly turned bitingly cold. “You’re right about my pretty face. However, you need to be clear that I am neither a pretty face from the Four Seas Escort Agency nor the Four Seas Courtyard for that matter. I am an official disciple of the Divine Sword Sect. Back then, I went to the sect with the key to the Lock of Requital from Elder Shi from the Divine Sword Sect. The person who admitted me into the Divine Sword Sect was none other than Elder Jiang from the sect, and I am the servant disciple who has been personally promoted and assigned to Tianqiao Peak by Hall Master Su himself. According to the rules of the Divine Sword Sect, other than the Commandment Courtyard, who has the rights to punish me, cut off my tongue, or behead me? When can a mere escort from the Four Seas Escort Agency under the commandment of the Four Seas Courtyard possibly overrule the Divine Sword Sect’s Commandment Courtyard, ignore the rules of the Divine Sword Sect, and punish a servant of Tianqiao Peak? Are you aware of the consequences you will face if you lay a finger on me today? Even if you can go into exile and have no fear of being chased after your life by the Divine Sword Sect’s Commandment Courtyard, do you not worry about endangering your family and children?”

The expression on Wang Hui’s face contorted as he listened to Yan Liqiang’s words. Cold sweat immediately rolled down his forehead...

Chapter 283: The Edge

Wang Hui’s face turned pale and his hands holding the Yanling Saber were shaking. Yan Liqiang sighed as he extended a finger and pressed on the saber against his neck, “I never fought, and I never wanted one. I kept quiet simply because I wanted to. It doesn’t mean we are going to take whatever sh*t you give us. All three of us are on a team to complete the Tianqiao Hall’s mission. This mission has nothing to do with the Four Seas Courtyard. So, who do you think you are to yell at us? Put your sword down, please. If you accidentally hurt us, I don’t think you would be ready for the consequences...”

“You are only a nobody from Tianqiao Hall, how dare you disrespect us? I swear, once we arrive home, I’m going to complain about you to the Commandment Courtyard. Let’s see how well you can take the consequences!” Wang Hui yelled at Yan Liqiang loudly, but he had already taken the saber away from Yan Liqiang’s neck unconsciously.

“Haha! Complain if you want to, but first, do you think you will be able to go home?” Yan Liqiang stared at Wang Hui calmly.

“What do you mean?” Wang Hui stared back at Yan Liqiang.

“We have been following the escort agency party throughout the journey, with only one mission – to complete the trade safely and call it a day. Then we will head back home to report ourselves. Now, Escort Leader Feng is gone, and we are in the midst of a disaster. Judging from what you are doing now, you were actually hoping to create a bigger mess and endanger every one of us. You want to go home? I don’t think anyone here would be able to go home alive!”

“I was only ordering everyone to retrieve the goods from the mess, what is wrong with that?” Wang Hui clenched his fist as he took a step closer to Yan Liqiang, “I, Wang Hui, have been serving the agency for decades! Everyone knows what kind of person I am. Everything I do is for the agency! You are trying to provoke us and ruin my reputation! Explain yourself, or else I will teach you a lesson even if I have to die!”

“Fine. You want me to explain myself then let me speak. Let me tell you how you have been endangering everyone’s lives!” Yan Liqiang said with a stern face, “We are now in the middle of a disaster, and we have no news of Escort Leader Feng until now, so it is very unlikely for him to return safely. Other than him, only less than a third of those from the agency have been able to return alive. Do you think we will be able to deliver the goods to the Storm Army even if we retrieve the goods? In this situation, the most important thing for us to do is to dispatch someone to Jinling City and find out the situation there. Then, we won’t be doing things blindly, and we can plan from there. And yet, here you are, asking us to retrieve the goods while doing absolutely nothing about the situation. Obviously, this is your first mistake.”

“Who can say for certain that Escort Leader Feng is dead for sure? What if he comes back?” Wang Hui’s face turned red, probably out of shame. Yet, he defended his stance.

“Fine. Let’s just say that he returns. You have been in the agency for such a long time, don’t you know that the agency only lives with its men?” Yan Liqiang’s tone turned icy, “At this time, Jinling City and the surrounding towns in must be in chaos, and the situation is unclear. The agency must have lost many of its men yesterday. Now, we are clearly short of manpower. Don’t you think it is more important for us to figure out the way to survive? The escort mission will only be successful if our men survive. Let me ask you this. Now that Jinling City is a mess, with no accessible roads, and the fact that we are running out of food, why do you think we should retrieve the goods first? Can we even eat the goods? Do you expect us to just stay here with no food and water, and somehow be able to survive? This is your second mistake...”

“Well...” Wang Hui had never been good with words, but upon hearing Yan Liqiang’s speech, he was now at a loss for words. Everything Yan Liqiang said made perfect sense. The agency would be nothing if all its men were gone. After last night’s event, the agency had lost many of its men, and now they were deprived of manpower. The manpower it possessed now would not be good enough to secure the goods. If these remaining men were lost, then the goods would be as good as gone.

Everyone in the agency had been busy retrieving the goods, but upon hearing what Yan Liqiang said, they silently stared at each other and stopped whatever they were doing. They couldn’t help but silently agree to what Yan Liqiang had said. Indeed, the most important thing for them now, was survival. There was no way they would be able to guard the goods while starving themselves half-dead.

Yan Liqiang noticed the silence in the room, so he calmly continued, “According to history, chaos ensues after a catastrophic disaster. The disaster had just taken place, so chaos will follow very soon, though it hasn’t happened yet. We all know what kind of goods we are delivering. Think about it. We can waste all our energy retrieving the goods, but what will happen if the chaos breaks out? Those ill-intended persons will take the opportunity and rob the hell out of us. This is why retrieving the goods now is like digging our own graves. Once anyone knows what kind of items we have with us, I don’t think anyone here will be able to live...”

Everyone’s countenance contorted as soon as they heard Yan Liqiang, including Wang Hui who immediately broke out in cold sweat.

Everyone in the agency knew that the goods they were delivering to the Storm Army, were weapons made by Tianqiao Hall using Pear Blossom Steel. These were not extraordinary weapons and could be easily bought in the market. However, with the disaster which just broke out, the city would be in disorder. Everyone would want to get their hands on a weapon. The goods they had with them were as eye-catching as a burning torch in complete darkness – everyone would be tempted to steal them. Thinking about all the ill-intended people that would flock over to them to rob their weapons sent a shiver down everyone’s spines.

They had not thought much when Wang Hui gave the order to retrieve the goods. However, now that Yan Liqiang had reminded them, they realized what a stupid idea it was. It was suicidal.

Wang Hui was overcome with shame. He suddenly raised his hand and gave himself two tight slaps on the face. He then cupped his fist to Yan Liqiang with a shameful look on his face, “Brother Liqiang, I, Wang Hui, am a brute who is only good at fighting. I apologize for what I did to you just now, please forgive me. The escort agency party is blind without our leader, and I have run out of ideas. I gave stupid orders and almost got everyone killed. Brother Liqiang, you are a smart person... Please, tell us, what should we do now?”

Everyone else from the escort agency had their hopeful eyes on Yan Liqiang now. Most of them were also brutes that only knew how to fight. They might be good when facing enemies, however, in such a critical situation, they were just as panicked and clueless as Wang Hui.

“Do you trust me?” Yan Liqiang asked everyone in a low volume.

“Brother Liqiang, you are a disciple of the Divine Sword Sect. We trust you. You would not do anything to harm the sect or the Four Seas Escort Agency. Give us your orders, we will trust and follow you...” Wang Hui was the first to declare his trust, and everyone else nodded.

“Since everyone trust me, well, I suggest that we can start with a drama, and talk about the rest later...”

“A drama?” Wang Hui was confused, and so was everyone else. Nobody knew what Yan Liqiang meant.

However, they immediately realized what Yan Liqiang was trying to do when he suddenly started to yell at Wang Hui with a loud voice while stamping his feet...

“Fine! Kill me if you dare! Chop me into few pieces! These exquisite porcelain jars were custom-made goods that we ordered from the Gan Province, and they are worth thousands! We had already made it clear to you guys that the Four Seas Escort Agency will be be held responsible if there are any damages to the goods! Now, there are so many jars which are broken, and you are trying to blame the earthquake yesterday! Is that how you want to do business? You think just because your leader is not here, you don’t need to pay the price? If your agency does not compensate in complete amount for the broken porcelain jars, we, Dechang Trading, will give you guys trouble!”

The courtyard where the escort party stayed for the night was relatively quiet. There had not been anyone around when they were arguing just now. However, with Yan Liqiang raising his voice like that, everyone in the depot would be able to hear it...

The escort party had only arrived since yesterday, and nobody in the depot knew what they were delivering yet. With Yan Liqiang yelling at the top of the lungs, everyone in the depot knew that the escort agency had been delivering ‘exquisite, custom-made porcelain jars from Gan Province’. With a simple drama, Yan Liqiang had resolved a potential risk.

At this time, nobody would be interested in a few broken porcelain jars.

“Yeah! Our Young Master is right! No matter what, you guys need to compensate! The jars were in perfect condition when we handed it to you, so it is your responsibility to make sure they are in such condition! Why else would we pay you? You think you can bully us just because we have less people? Justice will prevail!” Gu Zexuan, who had been standing beside Yan Liqiang, helped with the drama.

“We didn’t say we are not going to compensate, had we? It was just a few sh*tty pieces of jars! We lost many of our men too, so we need time to arrange about the compensation! Our leader is not here, it is not up to a mere escort like me to negotiate compensation!” Wang Hui was not too simple with his head after all, he quickly understood Yan Liqiang’s intentions after he winked at him and started retorting loudly.

Chapter 284: Chaos Descends (1)

All of Jinling City was in ruins.

When Yan Liqiang and the Four Seas Escort Agency arrived in the city, this was what they saw. Collapsed walls, houses on fire, and buildings that had been reduced to rubble. They could not even find a building that was still standing.

Yan Liqiang had no idea what the city looked like prior to the earthquake, but the scene in front of him now reminded him of the pictures he saw online after the Tangshan and Wenchuan earthquakes.

Other than the earthquake, a few meteors had fallen straight onto the city last night. The meteors had bombarded the city, leaving craters ranging from tens to hundreds of meters in diameter on the ground. Everything within the radius of a thousand meters from the huge craters was reduced to ashes. Nothing could have survived it, not even a cockroach.

The city which was once the city of dreams, was now a ghost town. Apart from the ruins, only dust and the scent of blood lingered in the air.

Those who survived the catastrophe were covered in blood. Their faces were full of soot, and they were either wandering like soulless zombies, searching for the remains of their loved ones, or sitting among the ruins, grieving for everything they had lost overnight as though they had lost their minds.

Corpses filled the city wherever Yan Liqiang went, and they were of all ages and walks of lives. It was a gruesome sight.

To make matters worse, the bureaucracy buildings and Law Enforcement Office were wiped off the map with a bang when a meteor had fallen less than two meters away from them in the city.

The army which was based in the city had set up their camps in the city. During the incident, most of the soldiers were conducting their training in the foxholes. Therefore, when the walls collapsed, the soldiers were not impacted by the meteor crashes and explosions, but they were all buried in the ruins of the massive city wall.

Even the city gate had collapsed when Yan Liqiang and the escort party arrived. They had to climb through the mountain of debris to enter the city.

Upon entering the city, Yan Liqiang saw a soldier who was still in his uniform. He was in a mess, and he stood by the collapsed wall with a pair of blank eyes. He seemed to be devastated by the catastrophe. Yan Liqiang tried calling him twice, but the soldier did not respond. Instead, he stood by the ruins as he mumbled, “It’s all gone! It’s all gone!”

Wang Hui and the others who stayed behind in the depot and never stepped foot into the city were deeply shocked by the sight. They finally knew what Yan Liqiang said was true. Law and order did not exist in the city anymore. There was simply no one to govern the city. They had nobody to rely on other than themselves. Survival was now the priority. The escort mission could only go on if they survived.

Wang Hui’s face turned pale as he saw the craters with a diameter of a hundred meters across the southern part of the city and the empty space around them, “I’ve been to Jinling City before. This spot used to be the busiest part of the city, Jinling’s Eighteenth Square. All the best restaurants and music were here. Escort Leader Feng brought some men here to meet his friend. If they were meeting at Jinling’s Eighteenth Square, then...”

If Escort Leader Feng was meeting someone at Jinling’s Eighteenth Square last night, then it only meant one thing – he had vanished. Even his remains could never be found again, so there would be no way for him to come back.

Even before Wang Hui finished his sentence, everyone had understood the implication. The sight before their eyes once again proved that Yan Liqiang was right. If Escort Leader Feng had not been back by morning, it was very unlikely for him to be alive...

Now, everyone in the escort party was looking at Yan Liqiang with respect. He had proven himself as a person with accurate judgment. He was able to predict the outcome of the event long before anyone else had realized it. This was wisdom and a power great enough to earn him respect.

Yan Liqiang noticed the difference too. Everyone had been looking at him with eyes filled with respect. This was something he had been hoping for. The escort party was now in shambles without a leader and everyone feared for their lives. If he chose to remain silent and do whatever he was told to, he might just lose his own life in the Heavenly Realm. That would be bad, because he needed the Heavenly Realm to peek into his own future.

He turned his eyes away from the steamy meteorites on the ground and stared at his companions with unbelievably calm eyes, “Escort Leader Wang, do you remember which part of the city people bought or sold daily necessities such as rice?”

“I think... I do. It’s near the western gate. There was a market where locals traded daily necessities.”

“Great. Let’s go check out that place. Maybe we can find some food. After that, we must leave the city as soon as possible. This city is now filled with corpses. Unless the army arrives in time to clear the streets, the city will be infected with diseases and we won’t be able to come in again. Remember, we are running out of time, so we must hurry.”

Everyone nodded, and Wang Hui led the way through the ruins to where the western gate used to be.

As they walked, Gu Zexuan walked up to Yan Liqiang and whispered, “Leader, there may still be some survivors under the debris.”

“I know...” Yan Liqiang nodded as he looked at Gu Zexuan, “We could’ve saved some people if we were here last night. But not now, we are short on time. Indeed, some people might still be alive, but the current situation doesn’t allow us to tarry too long here. Look at us. We have no water and food. Jinling City will soon explode with chaos and diseases. We must ensure our survival before we think about rescuing them. Everyone in the escort agency is putting their life in my hand right now, I can’t lead them to death!”

Gu Zexuan looked around the city that was filled with rubble and craters as he sighed helplessly.

......

Somewhere in the middle of the ruins in the city, a group of men dressed like peacocks was scavenging around. Before long, they carried a wooden box out from the rubble. They opened the box, and each one of them screamed in excitement, “We are rich! Rich! There really are treasures hidden in here! Now, all this money belongs to us! Muahahaha!”

While the men were celebrating, Yan Liqiang and his men came up from the other side of the ruins. They bumped into each other, and the group of men nervously took out their weapons and confronted Yan Liqiang’s men, “Who are you people....”

Chapter 285: Chaos Descends (2)

The people around Yan Liqiang were all the escorts from the escort agency, except for Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng. When they saw those people drawing their weapons, everyone also reflexively drew the swords and sabers they carried with an audible whoosh.

The atmosphere immediately turned hostile. There were about twenty men in the other party, nearly twice the size of Yan Liqiang’s party that had entered the city.

A bald, bearded man with slanted eyes and freckles all over his face came forward from the crowd. “Where are you from, my friends? Right now, Jinling City is a big piece of cake that is up for anyone to take. Our brothers here are merely looking for some money to spend, we have no intention of stopping anyone. Are you guys here to stir up some trouble?” he said fiercely, baring his yellow teeth at Yan Liqiang and the rest.

Yan Liqiang gave a cursory glance at the people standing across from them. There were about twenty of them, ranging from twenty to forty years old. All of them were dressed in fine silk and jewels. However, their ill-fitting clothes made it obvious that the items had been picked up from somewhere else instead. Many of them were adorned in necklaces and all kinds of gold and silver jewelry. Without even looking at them, Yan Liqiang could already smell the stench of rats on these people. These homeless night crawlers must have miraculously survived the disaster last night and were prowling the city for money while celebrating right now.

Neither Wang Hui nor the other escorts from the Four Seas Escort Agency spoke. At a time like this, their gazes were naturally on Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang expressionlessly looked at the bunch of thugs from Jinling City in front of him. “We are only passing by here to find someone. Let’s mind our own business and avoid any misunderstandings. Now, if you will excuse us, we need to get over to the other side.”

The man who spoke to Yan Liqiang looked up and down at him along with the warbow on his back. Yan Liqiang didn’t put his bow down as he remained unperturbed. The formidable temperaments of Wang Hui and the rest, trained over their years at the escort agency, were intimidating enough to make him feel a little apprehensive. After a few seconds of consideration, that man waved his hand and retreated a few steps with the others. Although they gave way, they were still holding onto their weapons as they cautiously watched Yan Liqiang and the rest with slight hostility in their eyes.

Yan Liqiang cast a glance at them and took his first step. Wang Hui and the rest followed him while still holding onto their weapons. Both parties cautiously brushed past each other, not letting their guards down or putting their weapons away until Yan Liqiang and his party had walked several meters out.

Prior to entering the city, Yan Liqiang had found a warbow and a quiver of arrows at the depot. The warbow belonged to one of the escorts from the agency who never returned after going out last night. His weapons were still undamaged underneath a pile of rubble, so Yan Liqiang picked it up for himself. The warbow was only an ordinary three-picul bow. Although it was nothing compared to the five-picul Horned Python Bow Yan Liqiang used before, it was decent enough for him to kill someone a hundred or two hundred meters away. With a warbow on his back, the confidence to face any danger immediately returned to Yan Liqiang. So far, neither the escorts from the agency nor Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng were aware that Yan Liqiang was a skillful archer because Yan Liqiang had never used a warbow in front of them.

“I didn’t expect anyone in Jinling City to be raking in wealth from the dead in broad daylight without anyone stopping them...” Wang Hui told Yan Liqiang with a grave expression.

“This is only the first day, so the situation may be even more chaotic. We shouldn’t stay too long – let’s leave as soon as possible...” Yan Liqiang told everyone, and they nodded in agreement.

No one would have known if they hadn’t gone to the city. As soon as they entered the city, everyone realized that the situation in Jinling City was just as Yan Liqiang had expected. The bureaucracy had ceased functioning, soldiers were nowhere in sight, and chaos was everywhere. People were already taking advantage of the situation. Signs of disorder were already rearing their ugly heads.

Yan Liqiang and the rest made it past countless ruins and arrived at their destination under Wang Hui’s lead, surrounded by heartbroken cries and anguished wails.

The marketplace had been reduced to shambles. Not even a soul was in sight, save for the various broken shop signs that still recounted the liveliness of the place. The group found a collapsed grain shop and started clearing away the rubble. It didn’t take them very long to clear out the broken door, windows, pillars, and brick fragments. After clearing most of the stuff, the group found the stocks of the grain shop.

They found food, then more than ten jin of salt among the ruins of a salt shop at the side. Each of them carried a sack of rice weighing about thirty kilograms and prepared to return to the depot outside the city.

It had barely been ten minutes since they left the marketplace when they suddenly heard a voice from one of the ruins they were passing by.

“Help... Help...!”

The voice came from behind a nearby broken wall and it sounded like a lady.

“Everyone, put the sacks down first. We’ll go take a look together...” Yan Liqiang frowned. He put down the sack of rice he was carrying and ran toward the rubble. Wang Hui and the rest exchanged glances, then hurriedly followed behind Yan Liqiang.

Although Yan Liqiang had long convinced himself to steel his heart at times like these, he simply couldn’t ignore a lady’s cry for help and decided to check things out.

Yan Liqiang’s footsteps were swift. Before he even reached behind the broken wall and rubble, he heard what sounded like countless footsteps and a bunch of laughing men. While running, Yan Liqiang took out the bow he carried on his back.

Crossing the broken wall and debris, he saw seven or eight men surrounding a lady who was curled up on the floor in a rock garden behind the collapsed house. They were laughing gleefully. The lady’s clothes had been torn, revealing her fair, delicate shoulders which were pinned on the ground. The men surrounding her were laughing lasciviously while running their hands all over the lady’s face and body.

“Ohohoho, this missy’s skin is really soft...”

“She has a really beautiful face too, what a chick! I saw her a few days ago going in and out from the Zheng Residence. I heard that her clan is in straitened circumstances so she came to Jinling City to rely on her relatives. Little did I expect her to be lucky enough to actually still be alive...”

“STOP! WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING?” Yan Liqiang bellowed from several dozens of meters away.

The men who surrounded the lady turned their heads around. Coincidentally, they turned out to be the bunch of thugs that Yan Liqiang and the rest ran into earlier...

“We meet again, brat! Are you deliberately looking for trouble with us?” The bald thug with slanted eyes turned around and drew his blade once again. He shot a glare at Yan Liqiang. “F*ck off, or else I’ll...”

Before he could even finish his threat, an arrow went past his mouth and pierced the back of his head...

Chapter 286: Acts When It’s Time

Blood splattered on the surrounding thugs’ faces. The body of the bald thug with slanted eyes fell backward. The thugs who were surrounding the lady froze for one to two seconds, unable to even react to the turn of events in time...

Yan Liqiang had struck too swiftly. The moment he made his move, he seemed like he had zero intentions of stopping. During the span of one or two seconds, Yan Liqiang’s hand moved at the speed of lightning. His bowstring vibrated slightly, sending out three arrows. The three thugs surrounding the lady immediately fell dead to the ground with arrows lodged in their throats.

The remaining thugs finally came back to their senses. They unsheathed their weapons with an angry yell and charged toward Yan Liqiang.

By that time, Gu Zexuan, Zhao Huipeng, Wang Hui, and the rest had also arrived behind Yan Liqiang. At the sight of those thugs charging in their direction with their weapons, all of them clashed head-on with them without any hesitation.

Yan Liqiang joined in too. He drew his bow while running, rapidly firing arrows with a whoosh.

The distance between the two parties consisted of several meters. The few thugs charging closest to the front barely even touched their shadows before the four of them were shot down by Yan Liqiang’s arrows in quick succession.

That finally sent a chill down the other thugs at the back. With their courage stolen, their pace was slightly slowed down. Even so, the two parties inevitably clashed against each other...

A figure flashed past Yan Liqiang’s side like a leopard – it was Zhao Huipeng! With a thrust, his long sword pierced one of the thugs’ chests in front of him. At the same time, the force from his body also sent the thug flying. Then, with a beautiful turn of his body, he slashed another thug on the neck. His victim’s head dropped to the ground and blood gushed out like a fountain.

Gu Zexuan charged forward too. Compared to Zhao Huipeng, the longsword in his hand moved more ‘elegantly’. When he crossed swords with one of the thugs, he twirled his longsword to knock his opponent’s blade away. Then he seized the opportunity to thrust his blade and puncture a hole through the thug’s belly...

In the Divine Sword Sect, Zhao Huipeng and Gu Zexuan were nobodies; they were merely external disciples of the sect. Even so, their strength still far exceeded that of the thugs from Jinling City. Both parties were on completely different levels. As soon as they clashed, the disparity between their strengths was made apparent. The weaker side immediately paid the price with their lives.

“CHARGE...!” Wang Hui bellowed in rage and stormed forward, bringing his Yanling Saber down on one of the thugs’ heads with a force so great that it could split Mount Hua. The thug raised the blade in his hand in an attempt to block the attack. However, Wang Hui’s Yanling Saber directly knocked his weapon out of his grasp, then sliced him all the way down his shoulder and cleanly amputated his arm with one fell swoop.

“ARGHH...!” The thug let out a blood-curdling scream and fell to the ground. The blade of the Yanling Saber gleamed coldly before it slit the thug’s throat, abruptly silencing his screams.

At the mercy of experienced escorts like Wang Hui, these thugs couldn’t stand a chance against them either.

Another thug with a plaster on his face raised his blade and struck out at Yan Liqiang. Yan Liqiang leaped lightly in midrun, causing the thug’s blade to sweep right beneath his soles, meeting only air. While he was in midair, Yan Liqiang delivered a flying knee which landed squarely on the thug’s face and bashed his face in. The thug’s cervical vertebrae immediately snapped with a loud noise from the heavy blow and he instantly lost his life as a result.

While he was in the air, Yan Liqiang drew his bow and released an arrow. Another thug who was seven or eight meters away took an arrow to his throat and was shot down.

While falling to the ground, Yan Liqiang reached behind him to retrieve another arrow. He swiftly evaded an attack with the Wind Shadow Steps, then stabbed a thug in his throat ruthlessly with the arrow in his grasp, opening a deep, bloody wound. He then pulled the arrow out, quickly spun around, nocked the arrow on his bowstring, and sent it flying. One of the thugs charging at him was shot down again...

During the close combat, Yan Liqiang’s movements – starting from his flying knee attack to landing on the ground and releasing his second arrow – were as smooth as moving clouds and flowing water. In just the blink of an eye, he had killed four people...

The thugs that charged at Yan Liqiang’s party definitely didn’t expect for them to be this brutal and powerful. Half of their allies were weeded out in a matter of seconds. The remaining ones were so scared out of their wits that they completely lost the will to fight. Someone in the group then let out a terrified scream before all the thugs turned around and fled with their tails between their legs...

Sadly, at a time like this, there was no way they could successfully escape.

Many among the group of escorts behind Gu Zexuan and Wang Hui who had just arrived didn’t even get the chance to be involved in the action when they noticed the thugs starting to flee for their lives. With their backs exposed to them while fleeing, there was no way the escorts would let them go so easily. They promptly rushed forward, raised their blades, and brought them down as though they were hare hunting.

In the midst of the miserable screams, almost all the fleeing thugs fell dead on the ground, save for one that was still alive.

“DON’T COME HERE! DON’T COME ANY CLOSER! ANY STEP CLOSER AND I WILL KILL THIS WOMAN! YOU BETTER MARK MY WORDS!”

The last remaining thug yelled at the top of his lungs as though he had lost his mind. He grabbed the lady they were bullying earlier and held her hostage in front of him. He took out a dagger and pressed it directly against the lady’s fair neck. The tip of the dagger pierced into her skin, drawing drops of blood which leaked down her neck. The thug peeked out with only half his face from behind the lady while threatening Yan Liqiang and the rest who had surrounded him. “ALL OF YOU, OUT OF MY WAY! OR ELSE I’LL KILL HER... I’LL KILL HER...!”

An arrow suddenly protruded out of that thug’s eye. The shrieking thug’s body went stiff before his upright body collapsed to the ground.

Yan Liqiang set his bow down and went over.

The woman was slim and fragile-looking. Her hair was disheveled, her face was tear-stained, and shivers wracked her body. She was hugging her shoulders, pulling her torn clothes together to cover her exposed fair and creamy skin. Crouching on the floor, she watched Yan Liqiang approach with her wide, dark eyes which were clouded with fear and helplessness.

Yan Liqiang took off the clothes he was wearing. He kneeled down and draped it over her. “Are you alright, lady?”

“Thank you...” The lady’s voice was soft, melodious, and very pleasant to the ears. She lifted her gaze to meet Yan Liqiang’s, “Can... Can you all take me away from here?”

“What is your name?”

“I am Yu Qing...”

“Where’s your family?”

The lady gave him a miserable smile and swept her gaze across the ruins around them. “Gone... They’re all gone...”

Chapter 287: Response

Although Yan Liqiang thought that he could steel his heart, he soon realized that it was still impossible when he saw ruins around him and the bloody corpses scattered around the lady.

He reckoned if the completely defenseless lady was left here, she would probably end up worse than a rabbit thrown into a wolf’s den. In a disorderly place like this, the twisted side of humanity would rear ugly its head. The corpses on the ground explained it all.

Yan Liqiang cast a glance at Wang Hui and the other people from the escort agency. Although they were men who could kill without any remorse, empathy and sympathy were in their eyes the moment they saw the lady called Yu Qing. One could imagine what the lady would face had they not heard her pleas for help or if they had come one step too late.

“Brother Liqiang, there are so many of us and we are on an escort mission anyway. This lady is not heavier than a box. I think there’s no harm in bringing another person along...” Wang Hui was the first to speak up. The tone of his voice then softened as a pained expression flashed across his face. “She is almost the same age as my daughter back home...” he mumbled to himself and sighed.

“We’ve already killed their people. If we leave this little lady here, I’m afraid that their other companions will come back for revenge after we leave...”

“Chief always said that those who roam the corners of the world should be mindful of loyalty. We should help those in distress to the best of our ability as good deeds for our next life!”

“Right, right, right, that’s it!”

Everyone started talking all at once.

Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng remained silent. But the way they looked at Yan Liqiang was enough to convey their thoughts.

Everyone had taken notice of Yan Liqiang’s performance in the battle just now. Nearly half of the bodies on the ground were Yan Liqiang’s work. Although no one said anything, they were all astonished by his cultivation in archery and decisiveness during the rescue. Everyone began to see Yan Liqiang in a new light. Their gazes were filled with reverence as the group quietly started viewing him as a leading figure from this very moment.

“Can you ride a steed?” Yan Liqiang asked the lady named Yu Qing.

“Yes!” The lady clenched her teeth before she replied.

“Great, follow us then!”

Everyone felt as though they were relieved from a burden at Yan Liqiang’s approval.

The lady stood up and nodded to Yan Liqiang.

“Let’s go...” Yan Liqiang turned around and walked off.

“Liqiang, look at the stuff on the ground...” Wang Hui signaled to him with his eyes, then glanced at the bodies of the thugs on the ground.

Valuables spilled out from the clothes of quite a few corpses lying on the ground. There were gold, silver, and various jewelry. The group, including Wang Hui and Gu Zexuan, looked at the corpses on the ground strangely.

“These people deserved to die a million deaths. The valuables on them are now ownerless and shall be declared our spoils of war. Search the bodies and take all the valuables! We will go back and split them amongst ourselves!” Yan Liqiang announced without hesitation. Upon hearing this, smiles appeared on everyone’s faces.

They all proceeded to search the corpses. It took them only a short while to find all the valuables that these thugs had picked up earlier and pack them into big bundles.

While everyone was searching the thugs’ bodies, Yan Liqiang noticed that Yu Qing had wiped her tears away and silently put on the clothes that were draped on her. She walked over to the thug who held her hostage earlier and crouched next to him. Forcefully prying open the fingers of his hands that were balled into tight fists before he died, she took the thug’s dagger and its scabbard, sheathed the weapon, and carried it on her.

The lady seemed to be gentle, yet there was a type of strength in her gentleness that distinguished her from an ordinary girl.

“This is an ointment for cuts. You can apply it on the wound on your neck so that it won’t leave a scar!” Yan Liqiang went over to the lady, took out a bottle of ointment produced by the Divine Sword Sect, and handed it over to her.

“Thank you...” The lady lifted her gaze and stared deeply at Yan Liqiang before she accepted the ointment. She hesitated for a moment before asking, “May... May I know your name?”

“I am Yan Liqiang!”

The lady nodded.

......

After clearing the battlefield, everyone returned to their original positions and picked up the sacks of husked rice they left at the roadside again before they continued to make their way back to the depot.

They had just experienced a battle and everyone was unscathed. Not only that, they had also gained two big sacks of considerably valuable spoils of war and rescued a lady in the process. The group returned to the depot in a completely different mood than when they entered Jinling City.

The lady by the name of Yu Qing followed everyone quietly.

As for those dead thugs, no one would care about them even if they were rotting among the ruins at a time like this.

......

By the time they returned to the depot, the other group had also returned.

The party was split into three groups earlier. One went to Jinling City to make sense of the situation with Yan Liqiang. The other group searched around the banks of the Qinhuai River for the rest of the people that they had lost contact with. The few who couldn’t move around conveniently due to injuries stayed back in the depot to look after their belongings.

Compared to Yan Liqiang’s group that had returned from a rewarding journey, the group that set out to find their other missing companions returned with only a corpse in tow and a footman who was still alive with a broken leg.

The corpse was dripping wet and half of the bones in the body seemed to have been shattered. His chest area was swollen and a broken log was lodged under his left ribs. The corpse was none other than Chen Hu. The search party had fished him out from the Qinhuai River...

There were another seven or eight footmen and escorts who made it back to the depot after Yan Liqiang and the rest left. Even though they all were sporting some injuries, they were lucky enough have survived the calamity from last night.

The final headcount of those who made it back alive to the depot was only forty-six people, including Yu Qing whom they had rescued earlier...

According to those who came back alive, most of the people from the escort agency made plans to eat out at a restaurant in the city yesterday and even reserved the entire restaurant. Some got drunk so they left early, thinking to stroll around the city to get some fresh air. Little did they expect a fireball to hurl down from the sky and strike a few hundred meters away from the restaurant they dined in. One thunderous blast and the restaurant was completely razed to the ground. They were knocked away from the impact, and by the time they woke up, it was already noon the next day...

Recounting the incident from last night, the few men who made it back couldn’t restrain their tears.

Chen Hu’s corpse was buried in an empty land near the depot. They dug a pit in the ground, wrapped his body with a few straw mats they found, buried him, and made a simple grave. As for those who had ‘gone missing’, everyone could only assume that most of them had perished without a trace.

......

The dead wouldn’t come back to life again, but the living would have to stay strong and move on.

By evening, a big bonfire and a small bonfire were lit in the courtyard where the Four Seas Escort Agency’s party was staying at the depot.

A big pot was placed over the big bonfire. The sacks of husked rice that Yan Liqiang and the rest found in Jinling City were emptied into it, then stir fried with some salt. The stir-fried husked rice would then be carried by everyone so that they could eat some right away whenever they were hungry. Food that wouldn’t perish easily and were easy to carry around could be life-saving during critical situations. This was a natural disaster survival tip that Yan Liqiang had learned from the older generations in his previous life.

Perhaps some people in the escort party still doubted Yan Liqiang’s judgment during the daytime. But now, everyone firmly believed in Yan Liqiang’s words without a doubt.

Yan Liqiang huddled around the smaller bonfire with Wang Hui and the remaining escorts, discussing their future plans.

“I believe everyone is aware of the current situation. Let us sit together to discuss what we should do next and determine our best course of action...”

Surrounded by the heavy atmosphere, Yan Liqiang looked around and was the first to speak up...

Chapter 288: Devising A Plan

The light from the fire reflected on the faces of Wang Hui and his men. These men had been on the road for so long that their faces were rough, baptized by hardship. Now, under the orange glow of the fire, their faces appeared as if they were made of copper, and they looked tougher than ever.

The structure of an escort agency was simple and highly effective. Simply put, it followed a bureaucracy. The agency boss was the chief, and underneath him was the escort leader. The escort leader led the escorts while the escorts dispatched runners who would do the groundwork. The agency boss rarely went out into the field. Escort leaders would head most of the projects just like project managers. During an escort service, the escort leader would manage everyone, including the runners. Among the escorts, everyone helped each other while they each had their own specific roles to perform, covering all imaginable aspects. The escorts represented the core characters in an agency. Runners would often be promoted to escorts once they were deemed qualified, while escorts could also be promoted to become escort leaders. An escort leader would be treated like a shareholder, where he would qualify to obtain the dividends, or shares of the profits. That would be similar to a senior manager in the modern world.

Now, Escort Leader Feng was gone. Only three escorts survived including Wang Hui. The other two escorts would be Wang Sheng, and another man with his face covered with a beard called Gong Dequan. Gong Dequan had only managed to return back at noon today.

He was not really comfortable with the Yan Liqiang’s sudden rise of status in the escort agency. However, he respected the decision, and he was also impressed by Yan Liqiang’s wisdom throughout the event in Jinling City. So he accepted it, hoping only for the best for the agency.

Yan Liqiang had finished speaking by now, and the three escorts remained quiet. Finally, Wang Hui broke the silence, “Since nobody wants to speak, allow me to offer my opinion. I think we will not be able to accomplish the mission this time. We only have forty men right now and there is no way for us to deliver the goods which require hundreds of manpower. Even if we were request backup from headquarters, it will take three or four months. During that time, nobody can assure the safety of our men here. We went to Jinling City today, and Brother Liqiang was right about it. Jinling City is now a stateless place with no order. Thieves and robbers are everywhere. To make matters worse, the weather is getting warmer now. Jinling City will be infested with plagues or chaos.”

“And it’s not only in Jinling City. We all saw the disaster happen last night. It was an extremely big one, perhaps the biggest in history. Even in Jinling City itself, so many people lost their lives that the whole city was gone, and we don’t know about the situation in other places. I think the entire Great Han Empire might be affected...” Wang Sheng said with a stern face as he aimlessly poked the fire with a stick. “Even if we request for backup and they manage to reach us here and we are able to guard the goods safely here, it is still uncertain if we can deliver the goods much further. The bridges might be broken, and we will be stuck there...”

“I passed by the Jinlan Bridge today. It has already collapsed. To deliver the goods, we must find another route. But even then we would still have no idea if the route will be accessible...” Gong Dequan sighed and said in disappointment, “It seems that God does not want us to get our job done this time. Even if the Chief were here, he would not be able to complete the job. This job is doomed to fail...”

“Not only are we unable to deliver the goods to the Storm Army, we can’t bring the goods back either. With so many goods with us, we are vulnerable, and Escort Leader Feng is not here either. If we bump into any dubious people, we will easily become their food. We will die, every last one of us...” Wang Sheng added.

The escorts fell silent again. Then, they had their eyes on Yan Liqiang. Wang Sheng and Gong Dequan signaled at Wang Hui, and Wang Hui spoke again, “Brother Liqiang, we are just three uneducated people with nothing much in our brains. Please, tell us, what should we do now?”

Yan Liqiang knew this job would end in failure. This was an era where transportation was still largely dependant on human power and horses. Any natural disasters or big events, in addition to such a massive loss of men, would mean that completing the job was virtually impossible.

However, he knew that he was in no position to make any decisions. Otherwise, he would be held as the scapegoat if anything went wrong. The three escort had to reach an agreement before he could give any further comments.

“All three of you are experienced escorts who have gone through tough times. Since you all agree that this job cannot be carried out any further, I can only agree because I’m helpless too!” Yan Liqiang looked at the three escorts, “The important thing now is that we must discuss three matters.”

“Brother Liqiang, please tell us, what are the three matters?” Gong Dequan asked.

“First, since this job cannot be completed, we must find a way to minimize the loss. We must understand that Tianqiao Hall spent a great amount of effort to produce these weapons. There are twenty thousand of such weapons. This is enough for eight army regiments. These weapons mustn’t fall into the hands of ill-intended people, even if we can’t deliver them to the Storm Army!”

“That’s right! Just like what happened earlier today when we bumped into those thieves in Jinling City. These weapons must not fall into their hands. Otherwise, it would be our sin. Fortunately, Brother Liqiang reacted quickly over the matter. Now, everyone thinks that we are delivering porcelain. Nobody gives a damn about porcelain now in Jinling City!” Wang Hui nodded, while Wang Sheng and Gong Dequan followed.

“Brother Liqiang, what is the second matter?” Wang Sheng asked.

“The second matter is survival. We must find a way to survive and make sure that everyone in our team returns to the Divine Sword Sect alive!”

All three escorts nodded instantly. It was already a miracle for them to remain alive, and their will to stay alive was even stronger now. This was especially true for them since they were all men with families to care for.

“What is the third one?” Gong Dequan asked.

“For the third matter, let’s put ourselves in the shoes of the Sect Lord and the elders. What happened yesterday will surely reach their ears in a few more days. Once they hear about the news, their main concern will be the situation in the Imperial Capital, not the job.”

Yan Liqiang’s words stunned the three escorts. He stared at them with a stern face, “Afterall, this failed mission will only cost the Divine Sword Sect twenty thousand weapons, but the situation in the Imperial Capital is going to impact the future of the whole empire. You all witnessed the disaster yesterday. Most of the impact was in the direction of the capital. Nobody knows what is happening in the capital now. As for the Sect Lord and the elders, they will be deeply concerned. If anything goes wrong in the Imperial Capital, we are the closest men they have to the capital. So, we must think and act on behalf of the Sect Lord and the elders. Get the information on the situation of the capital, and pass the information to the sect. If we can help them get accurate information about the situation of the capital, this will be a great contribution to the sect.”

Wang Hui, Wang Sheng, and Gong Dequan were all at a loss for words. They had never expected that in such a time when everyone was lost, Yan Liqiang could still find an opportunity to make a contribution. Additionally, it was such a great idea, and all three of them could not find a reason to disagree...

“Brother Liqiang, just tell us what to do!” Wang Hui cut to the chase...

Chapter 289: Action

The aroma of cooked rice inside the steel pot permeated the air in the courtyard. The scent of rice significantly calmed the survivors of the calamity. Up until this point in time, most of the people hadn’t eaten anything else apart from the little leftovers in the escort party. Each and every single one of them was still terrified and at a loss. The burning bonfires and nostalgic aroma of rice caused warmth of the past to appear in everyone’s heads. A glimmer of hope was slowly ignited in their hearts.

Sitting around the other bonfire, Yan Liqiang shared all his thoughts and plans with the rest without holding any information back.

After listening to Yan Liqiang, Wang Hui, Huang Sheng, and Gong Dequan exchanged looks with each other. None of them spoke, but they were able to read each other’s thoughts through their exchanged glances.

The three of them weren’t able to think of a better plan than the one Yan Liqiang had proposed.

“Great, let’s do that!” Wang Hui suddenly slapped his thigh.

“Who will you bring with you to investigate the situation in the Imperial Capital, Brother Liqiang?” Huang Sheng inquired.

“I think it will be enough with just Brother Wang and myself. It’ll be harder to move around in larger numbers. With just the two of us, it’ll be easier for us to move around and we can also look out for each other!” Yan Liqiang bluntly told Huang Sheng and Gong Dequan. “Anyway, some of us will need to stay back to watch over the things here and move the goods out after we leave. We only have one day left. After the preparations are done, we will have to leave Jinling City after nightfall tomorrow!”

“Alright, there’s no time to lose. Brother Liqiang and I will set out tonight. The rhinodrake steeds can see well in the dark so there should be no problem for us to travel at night. We’re not that far from the Imperial Capital so we’ll definitely return before tomorrow evening. The escort party’s steeds are still around, so I’ll have someone prepare them and we’ll depart right away...” Wang Hui also had a vigorous and decisive personality. He had already gotten to his feet while speaking.

“If Brother Wang Hui and I can’t make it back before tomorrow evening due to some accident, don’t wait for us. Just proceed according to plan – pack up the goods and continue on the road. We will catch up with you all. If we can’t, then we shall meet up in Feng Provincial City!”

“Alright!” Wang Sheng and Gong Dequan nodded.

They all stood up from their spots around the bonfire, ended their discussion, and got to work right away.

Yan Liqiang searched for Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng first, then told them his plan and briefed them. Both of them got worked up as soon as they heard Yan Liqiang. “Leader, both of us can go with you too...!” Gu Zexuan immediately expressed his disapproval. Although Zhao Huipeng remained silent, his gaze was extremely firm.

“We are only going to the Imperial Capital to check out the situation and gather information. It’ll be inconvenient if too many of us go!” Yan Liqiang explained, then lowered his voice and patted their shoulders. “The three of us are from Tianqiao Peak. If all of us go, how many from the escort agency will have to go too? If none of them go in this kind of situation, they would think that we are trying to take all the credit for this. There’s no telling what they will do next. We can only make it through this if all of us unite at a time like this. So let’s stop fighting. Wang Hui and I shall go while you both shall remain here and move with the rest from the escort agency...”

Gu Zexuan was a smart person. The moment Yan Liqiang said that, he instantly understood his concern. The admiration he had for him grew even more in his heart. It was impressive that Yan Liqiang was still considering these small details even at a time like this.

Zhao Huipeng clenched his fists tightly. “If only I progressed into a Supreme Martial Warrior or beyond that – I would be more of a help to you during times like these, Leader...”

Yan Liqiang smiled at Zhao Huipeng. He gave him another two heavy pats on his shoulder with his hand that was resting there. “Your performance today has really gained a whole new level of respect from me, Huipeng. I didn’t expect you’d be able to strike so valiantly and fiercely today. I believe that the Supreme Martial Warrior realm will not be your finish line. How can the three of us stop at being mere Supreme Martial Warriors? There’s still a long road ahead of us...”

Yan Liqiang’s words warmed Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng’s hearts. Both of them nodded at him heavily, no longer feeling dejected.

“Oh right, where is Yu Qing?”

Yu Qing was the lady that Yan Liqiang and the rest had rescued in Jinling City earlier today.

“That girl is doing some needlework over there,” Gu Zexuan replied.

“Needlework?” Yan Liqiang asked curiously.

“Yes. You’ll know if you go look over there, Leader. She has some fine skills...”

......

The lady was indeed doing some needlework near the burning bonfire. Her head was lowered while she worked attentively on a cotton fabric dyed in blue in silence.

Yan Liqiang and the rest had found the fabrics from one of the collapsed warehouses in the depot. They were originally the merchandises of a traveling merchant. However, the traveling merchant was never seen again after the incident last night. When the people in the escort party were cleaning up the depot, they retrieved the bundles of fabric from beneath the debris, proving to be useful right now.

The lady cut the fabric, then rolled and folded each piece up at a fixed measurements before sewing them together, leaving a slit that could be pulled open by a string. The lady’s hands turned the pieces of fabric into pouches which looked like long, thin pockets that could be tied around waists.

After the cooked rice in the metal pot had cooled down, it was filled into the pouches she made and then distributed to everyone from the escort agency as rations that they would bring with them in the following days.

Yan Liqiang was instantly relieved upon seeing Yu Qing’s dedication. He believed that the lady would definitely be able to leave with the people from the escort agency and that they wouldn’t abandon her either.

A lady who could hold back her tears after experiencing such a great catastrophe and still do needlework for others in an unfamiliar environment would definitely be able to survive!

......

Yan Liqiang didn’t have much to prepare – just a hooded cape for escorts that could defend against the cold, a bow, two quivers of arrows, a sword, as well as some rations and water.

After Wang Hui prepared himself, he brought out two of the most powerful rhinodrake steeds among the escort party.

Under the gazes of everyone in the escort party, both of them climbed onto their rhinodrake steeds. With the shake of the reins, the two rhinodrake steeds sped off into the darkness...

The lady who was doing the needlework lifted her gaze and watched Yan Liqiang’s silhouette disappear into the darkness with a longbow on his back. Her long lashes fluttered slightly. In her absent-mindedness, the needle in her hand slipped. A drop of blood oozed out from her fingertip...

Chapter 290: Destruction

As the southern gate of the Great Han Empire’s Imperial Capital, Jinling City was only several hundred li away, which was not too far. The Imperial Capital was basically a highly-populated, flat piece of land where economy thrived. There weren’t many craggy mountain roads that were hard to travel on in the area. One could usually come and go as they pleased on a swift steed.

Yan Liqiang and Escort Wang Hui rode their rhinodrake steeds in the darkness, swiftly galloping north from Jinling City under the stars. The sounds of iron hooves thundered throughout the silent night. They passed by collapsed bridges and roads that had been cut off. Villages, cities, and towns on either side of the road were all reduced to ruins. Under the moonlight, they would occasionally see craters ranging from tens to hundreds of meters in the outskirts. The ground around those craters was barren and pitch black.

Among ruins of the villages, the heart-wrenching and anguished cries of those who were fortunate enough to survive drifted faintly with the night breeze. One could still see the burning farmlands and forests at the impact site in the outskirts. The rolling smoke was thick, but no one cared. Both them ran into a few other riders hurrying along the road. Both parties exchanged cautious glances under the dark night sky as they brushed past each other before speeding off in the opposite directions...

The further they traveled northward, the more deserted it became. As the magnitude of the destruction they saw along the way increased, the fewer survivors they bumped into. The sightings of gigantic meteorite craters became more frequent. Both Yan Liqiang and Wang Hui felt as though they were riding into an uninhabited region.

If the road was cut off, both of them would take a detour. If the bridge collapsed, they would have their steeds swim across the river. Their mood and facial expressions grew heavy at the current state of the once extremely prosperous heart of the Great Han Empire.

To be honest, Yan Liqiang already had a hunch in his heart when he watched the largest meteor fall toward the Imperial Capital and the series of events that ensued last night. Although Yan Liqiang wasn’t knowledgeable in quantum physics in his previous life, he at least knew about nuclear explosions. He had never been to Russia, but he had heard some of the theories behind the Tunguska event on the Internet. Not only that, but he had also seen the disasters that meteors could bring about in movies. Thanks to the knowledge and readings he had accumulated during his previous life, he was able to immediately determine the significance of this catastrophe.

Since he was at the border of Jinling City, he wouldn’t feel satisfied until he verified the aftermath with his very own eyes. It was no lie that he still had an unbelievable glimmer of hope in his heart telling him that perhaps things weren’t as serious as he thought and that there still might be some miracles.

After traveling for nearly an entire night, they found that the road ahead of them was blocked off again right before daybreak. The difference compared to last time was that the road was completely cut off by a mountain. The path ended abruptly and there was nothing around except for rubble and towering cliffs ahead of them...

Yan Liqiang abruptly reined in his steed. The sweaty rhinodrake steed beneath him halted, then immediately started pacing around the same spot. “Brother Wang...” Yan Liqiang turned his head around and shouted.

“This is Jinque Pass. I used this route when I came to the Imperial Capital with the escort leader. The Imperial Capital is just seven to ten li beyond this pass...” Wang Hui gulped as he took in the scenery before his eyes while riding. “Jinque Pass is supposed to be in between this mountain, how come...”

“There must have been a landslide here last night. Are there any other routes besides this one?”

“There’s a town about ten li south from here. There’s a smaller road that bypasses Jinque Pass there...”

“Let’s go there and take a look...”

“Agreed...” Wang Hui turned his steed around then galloped swiftly southward along the foot of the mountain. In just a short while, they managed to cover a distance of about ten li.

However, as soon as they arrived at the place that Wang Hui mentioned, they realized that the town had disappeared. Not to mention, the road had also vanished. The landslide had buried everything, leaving only a person wandering around the rubble like a lonely lost soul.

Yan Liqiang and Wang Hui dismounted as soon as they spotted that person and went over to him.

It was a man in his forties, dressed in a torn law enforcer uniform without his hat. He was staring vacantly at the ruins as he paced around there.

He was the first uniformed personnel Yan Liqiang had come across during their journey.

“Excuse me, Brother. Are there any roads that lead to the Imperial Capital around here?” Yan Liqiang asked.

The man finally turned his head around slowly at Yan Liqiang’s voice. He stared at Yan Liqiang lifelessly as a bone-chilling grin broke across his face. “Gone... Gone... All gone... Little Hua is gone... Little Ying is gone too... The town is gone... Everything is gone...” The person turned his head around again after saying all that, then resumed pacing around the rubble.

“Liqiang, I’m afraid this person has lost his mind...”

Yan Liqiang cast a glance at the person and sighed. “Brother Wang, is there any other way?”

“I only know these two ways through Jinque Pass to reach the Imperial Capital from Jinling City. Since the terrain has changed, perhaps we will find another way if we go further south...”

Yan Liqiang lifted his head to look at the mountain that was blocking their path. “Let’s leave our steeds here instead and go over that mountain to take a look...” he simply said.

“Alright!” Wang Hui scanned the surroundings once. “But not here, it would be too eye-catching. If anyone passes by and takes our steeds with them, it will be difficult for us to return. We should find a more obscure spot up ahead!”

“How thorough of you, Brother Wang!”

“You flatter me, Brother Liqiang. This is merely the little experience I have gained from decades of escort journeys...”

Both of them rode a few more li toward the front until they saw small gully. The rhinodrake steeds were left in a more obscure spot in the small gully with their reins tied to a big rock. They then untied the sack of concentrated feed from the rhinodrake steeds and put them into their mouths so they could eat and recover their strength. After doing all that, they both started scaling the mountain from the bottom of the gully.

They both were quite physically strong. It took them only less than two hours to finally reach the top of the mountain.

By the time they made it to the mountaintop, the sun had just risen from the eastern horizon. The first rays of dawn shone upon the land. Standing at the peak, both of them saw the Imperial Capital...

Although the Imperial Capital was still about seventy or eighty li away, they could still get a clear view of the landscape to the north of the mountain.

The land was bleak and desolate...

The Imperial Capital had vanished...

The city had vanished...

The people had vanished...

The villages had vanished...

The river had vanished...

Everything was gone...

Even deities were unlikely to survive such heavenly might, let alone the flesh of mere mortals.

As far as their eyes could see, the entire landscape to the north of the mountain was as bleak and barren as the moon’s surface. Only a massive crater with the diameter of a few li was left on the land where the Imperial Capital once sat. The entire side of the very mountain they were standing on which faced the Imperial Capital was scorched black and all the trees growing there had fallen...

Countless high-ranking officials, dignitaries, wealthy merchants, royalties, and citizens living in the heart of the Great Han Empire were reduced to dust overnight, along with the innumerable wealth and boundless power in the city...

Yan Liqiang’s mind was stunned when he really took in the sight before his eyes. His hands and legs trembled. He could even hear himself gulp.

“Done... the Great Han Empire is done for...” Wang Hui paled as he mumbled to himself absent-mindedly.

The scene before them was no doubt the most terrifying catastrophe that could befall this nation. Yan Liqiang didn’t know what would happen next. However, he was certain that the fate of everyone in the Great Han Empire would be rewritten after today. The sight before their very eyes was definitely an ill omen...

“Brother Wang, let’s... go back!” Yan Liqiang bit his own tongue to sober up.

......

By the time they returned to Jinling City again, it was already evening. The two rhinodrake steeds seemed to have reached their physical limits after running for an entire night and day. As soon as they returned to the depot, Wang Sheng and Gong Dequan who had been waiting there immediately rushed up to them...

“How’s the situation in the Imperial Capital?”

Chapter 291: Surging StormTranslator: Myuu Editor: Myuu

“The Imperial Capital is gone?”

“Gone? What do you mean?” Huang Sheng and Gong Dequan exchanged glances and asked skeptically.

“Not even a single brick in the Imperial Capital was left. There is only a massive crater. The land within a radius of a thousand li is barren, not a single soul in sight. It’s like... the barren land we passed by near the Mountain of Flames in Yi Province years ago...”

When Wang Hui claimed that the Imperial Capital was gone, both Huang Sheng and Gong Dequan might not have understood him. However, both their expressions contorted as soon as Wang Hui mentioned the barren land near the Mountain of Flames in Yi Province. They were as petrified as wooden chickens.

“Oh my God, just how many people died?” Huang Sheng’s face was drained of color.

“Not only that, Liqiang and I realized that the region to the south of the Imperial Capital, which is here around Jinling, wasn’t that severely affected when we climbed up a mountain near Jinque Pass. There was a landslide on Mount Jinque. The western and northern sides of the Imperial Capital seemed to be more severely affected. The Four Regions to the north of Mount Jinque have turned into barren wastelands. I’m afraid that the number of casualties might just total up to be several million...”

“If that’s the case... then isn’t... isn’t the future of the Great Han Empire... in jeopardy...?” Gong Dequan immediately thought of the aftermath and his tone grew heavy.

“We’ll worry about the Great Han Empire later. We’ll be sitting ducks at this point if we keep hanging around Jinling. There’s no telling when assistance will come, so we only have ourselves to rely on!” Yan Liqiang interjected. “How’s the preparation going here in the depot?”

“We spent an entire day working together since last night. Everyone managed to get all the goods out. Apart from a few slightly damaged boxes, the goods are all pretty much safe!”

“The carriages which are still in working condition are ready!”

“Then we shall proceed according to plan tonight!”

The three escorts nodded without saying anything else.

“Oh right, Brother Wang. To boost everyone’s morale, we should split all the valuables we seized from the city yesterday with everyone before we continue with tonight’s operation. If some of us accidentally get split up along the way, it will come in handy too...”

“Ah, those things... How are we splitting it, Liqiang?” Wang Hui seemed to be unsure for a moment.

The valuables they seized from the thugs they killed in Jinling City yesterday were put away after they returned to the depot. Since Yan Liqiang didn’t say anything about it, they didn’t split the valuables. Besides, Yan Liqiang had killed most of the thugs, nearly half of them in fact. Therefore, he definitely earned the rights to decide on how to settle those valuables according to the rules of the escort party and the reputation he had garnered. Wang Hui assumed that Yan Liqiang wasn’t planning on splitting those valuables for the time being, so he didn’t expect it to be Yan Liqiang’s first agenda upon his return today.

“By the number of all our brothers in the escort agency of course. Oh yes, count that lady by the name Yu Qing in too, as a form of insurance for her. Hopefully the three of you are fine with that?”

How could the three of them possibly have any objections? Yan Liqiang had all the rights to keep half of the valuables for himself. If he was willing to share, what else could they say? Furthermore, the three of them were so secretly moved by Yan Liqiang’s generosity in spite of their current situation that they saw him in a new light. Such an individual was hard to come by even in the Divine Sword Sect. After observing Yan Liqiang’s intelligence, decisiveness, generosity, and his bottled-up talents, the three of them were quite certain that he would definitely go far in the sect.

“Since Brother Liqiang said that, we shall do just that!” Wang Hui nodded.

“I, Huang Sheng, can only say that I am impressed by Brother Liqiang’s generosity!”

Gong Dequan didn’t say anything. He only raised a thumb at Yan Liqiang and had a look of admiration on his face.

Yan Liqiang only responded with a small smile. The valuables might seem like a lot, but it was nothing much to him. He was apprenticed to the Sect Guardian of the Divine Sword Sect and would succeed as the next Sect Guardian. This menial amount of valuables hardly amounted to anything. Although his actions seemed like they were for everyone, it was actually for his own sake. The calamity that the escort party faced this time was pretty much an opportunity for him to rise above being an external disciple of the Divine Sword Sect. If his reputation spread among the sect, it would be justifiable for Liu Guiyuan to officially accept him as his disciple without making it seem too abrupt and suspicious. With that, his status in the Divine Sword Sect would change and everything would be different from then on...

How could these escorts possibly see through Yan Liqiang’s thoughts?

.....

Shortly after that, it was dinner time. When Wang Hui divided the valuables they seized from Jinling City yesterday into more than forty portions and distributed them, everyone in the escort party cheered joyfully. They simply couldn’t believe that they would be given a portion of the valuables. Almost everyone who was still alive in the escort party each received money and jewelry that were worth about two hundred taels of silver. This amount greatly exceeded the income that most people would receive for an escort trip like this.

The group of people who just escaped from a calamity suddenly got a windfall. The party’s low morale almost instantly shot through the roof as light began to return to many people’s eyes.

There were only collapsed buildings in the depot. Apart from Yan Liqiang and them, no one else was around. The owner had disappeared after burying his wife and children. The remaining staff members in the depot ran away to find other ways to survive. The other few merchants who were fortunate enough to survive were also aware that they shouldn’t prolong their stay in Jinling City as great chaos and a major epidemic might just break out at any moment. Early this morning, before Yan Liqiang and Wang Hui returned, those merchants dug out some valuables that were easy to carry around, found a few steeds, and fled. They didn’t even want their goods which were trapped under the rubble anymore.

After finishing dinner, everyone in the escort party started moving when the sky turned completely dark.

Huang Sheng and Gong Dequan had prepared more than thirty carriages. After the goods were loaded back onto the carriages, Yan Liqiang and the rest personally drove the carriages in the dark without carrying any torches. They traveled along an empty, small road in total darkness, then arrived at a medium-sized impact crater several hundred meters to the west of the depot. The boxes on the carriages were then moved into the crater one by one...

Everyone returned to the depot again and made another trip to the crater with another batch of boxes. After the boxes were deposited into the crater, they made yet another trip...

Seven to eight trips later, all the goods in the escort party were deposited into the impact crater. The crater was almost completely filled by the boxes. Everyone then released the steeds from their carriages and made some simple tools with wooden planks. With the help of the steeds, the crater was then filled with the surrounding soil. They also made sure to cover it up well so that it wouldn’t be discovered.

By the time they finished everything, almost an entire night had passed. Everyone prepared their stuff and rations, then left Jinling to set out on a journey back to the Divine Sword Sect with each person leading a pair of steeds...

At this point in time, news about a calamity striking the Imperial Capital of the Great Han Empire had spread like wildfire. A storm of chaos that would engulf the entire Silver Continent finally descended from the heavens...

Chapter 292: Sending UpdatesTranslator: Myuu Editor: Myuu

The temporal elasticity between the Heavenly Realm and reality was seven days. This meant that Yan Liqiang could only stay in the Heavenly Realm for seven days at most before he had to exit and return to reality, just like a save point in a game. If he prolonged his stay, the Heavenly Realm would ‘collapse’, as how Fu Guang described it.

This was the first time Yan Liqiang had stayed a full week in the Heavenly Realm ever since he had come to possess it. He’d always stay a day in each realm to preserve the balance of temporal distortion between the realms. The Heavenly Realm had always been exactly four years, four months, and eleven days ahead of reality. However, Yan Liqiang had unknowingly reached the upper limit – which was a week in the Heavenly Realm this time.

The escort party arrived at Jinling on the seventh day of the ninth lunar month in the 17th year of the Yuanping reign and left Jinling at dawn on the tenth day of the ninth lunar month. After traveling for three days, they crossed the border of Feng Province in the afternoon on the 13th day of the ninth lunar month, which was quite far from Jinling. The scorching sun was high above their heads. While riding, Yan Liqiang felt a quake in his sea of consciousness. A message then appeared directly in his mind...

“Warning. Warning. The temporal distortion between the Heavenly Realm and reality will approach its limit in eight hours. Please evacuate from the Heavenly Realm within eight hours. Please evacuate from the Heavenly Realm within eight hours. Failure to do so will result in the collapse of the Heavenly Realm...”

“Warning. Warning. The temporal distortion between the Heavenly Realm and reality will approach its limit in eight hours. Please evacuate from the Heavenly Realm within eight hours. Please evacuate from the Heavenly Realm within eight hours. Failure to do so will result in the collapse of the Heavenly Realm...”

“Warning. Warning. The temporal distortion between the Heavenly Realm and reality will approach its limit in eight hours. Please evacuate from the Heavenly Realm within eight hours. Please evacuate from the Heavenly Realm within eight hours. Failure to do so will result in the collapse of the Heavenly Realm...”

The three messages that suddenly popped up in Yan Liqiang’s consciousness stunned him for a good while before he returned to his senses. Unbeknownst to him, he had actually stayed a week in the Heavenly Realm.

Those seven days were like a dream to Yan Liqiang.

Since they left Jinling, Yan Liqiang had been on edge over the past few days.

Roads were cut off and refugees were everywhere. Confusion and rumors sprung up everywhere. Terror filled the populace. No one dared to even stay in their homes or in the cities. Those with malicious intentions started exploiting the situation. Troubles and mishaps grew in frequency along their return journey. The multitude of surprises they got in a day forced everyone in the party to stay on their toes at all times.

Yan Liqiang and the rest left Jinling City with two steeds per person. In just three days, nearly all the extra rhinodrake steeds were lost due to various unforeseen circumstances. Fortunately, everyone was still safe. Just yesterday, they were ambushed by a random Battalion Commandant and a few hundred soldiers. The Battalion Commandant attempted to commandeer all the steeds in Yan Liqiang’s party and ordered all of them to get off and walk back. His attitude was tyrannical and both parties confronted each other. A fight nearly broke out. In the end, Yan Liqiang stunned everyone with his skill in archery by shooting the red tassels off the Battalion Commandant’s helmet. It was only then that their attitude softened. Both parties reconciled with Yan Liqiang’s party by leaving their extra rhinodrake steeds behind so everyone could still leave with at least one steed each.

“Watch out, incoming...” Yan Liqiang snapped back to his senses from the Heavenly Realm’s warning when he heard Wang Hui’s reminder. He looked up ahead and realized that unbeknownst to him, a cloud of dust had risen from the ground behind the small hill up ahead.

As soon as Wang Hui’s voice died down, Huang Sheng leaped off his steed. He crouched on the ground and stuck a sharpened bamboo tube that he carried on his waist into the soil. He leaned his ear in to listen, then jumped up with an immediate conclusion. “About five thousand of them – that’s two cavalry regiments...”

“Let’s stop here first to avoid them...” Everyone immediately nodded at Yan Liqiang’s suggestion. The encounters they faced over these three days had caused everyone to be on heightened alert. It would be wise to give way when encountering such a large troop on the public road. Otherwise, they might end up becoming pulps under the countless iron hooves of their own frightened steeds.

There were elms on either side of the public road and a hill nearby. Everyone immediately got off the public road and took a break on the plains below the hill.

A few minutes later, Yan Liqiang heard the sound of thundering hooves. Seconds afterward, a huge, dark armored cavalry rushed past Yan Liqiang and the rest on the public road like an endless dark torrent.

This was Yan Liqiang’s party’s first time seeing any armed forces marching in the Imperial Capital’s direction since they left Jinling City, and it had been a week since the great catastrophe.

Based on the efficiency of information dissemination in this era and the procedures for mobilizing troops to travel northward, it was amazing that anyone was even brave enough to deploy cavalry units within just seven days. It was notable that the Great Han Empire’s laws stated that mobilizing any troops without any permission or transferring orders from the Emperor and the military was a serious crime that could warrant a clan execution.

Yan Liqiang’s party had been traveling south over the past few days. They bumped into wave after wave of Wanderers. However, this was their first time seeing armed troops traveling north.

A black-bordered red ensign fluttered past Yan Liqiang’s party. On that sign was the character for ‘Sun’.

Yan Liqiang’s party only resumed their journey after the troops were gone. By evening, they finally arrived at Feng Provincial City and settled down at one of the inns there.

The citizens of Feng Provincial City were similarly anxious.

News about Jinling and the Imperial Capital turned into a major earthquake when it reached the city. Many didn’t dare to stay inside their houses; they moved into the wilderness outside the city instead and set up simple tents. Some only draped two pieces of cloth and a mosquito net on a huge tree and stayed there.

It was crowded outside the city, but the inn was empty. Even so, the situation in Feng Provincial City still wasn’t as chaotic as it was in Jinling City. With groups of soldiers patrolling the area, it was still relatively safe here.

The Four Seas Courtyard of the Divine Sword Sect had a store in Feng Provincial City. After Yan Liqiang and the others settled down, they immediately went to the Four Seas Emporium to meet the manager there. Using the falcon post which would only be deployed in the case of an emergency, they penned a letter to report the various situations they’d seen and heard in Jinling City and the Imperial Capital, especially the latter. The letter was then sent to the Divine Sword Sect with the falcon postal service...

It went without saying that the letter was written by Yan Liqiang. For the sake of giving a clear picture to all the big shots in the Divine Sword Sect, Yan Liqiang even sketched a vivid picture of the scenery that he and Wang Hui had seen from the mountaintop. This picture was sent as an ‘attachment’ with the letter by the falcon.

Even without reading the letter, they would definitely be able to make the most accurate judgment on the current situation of the Imperial Capital and the heart of the empire with just a single glance of Yan Liqiang’s drawing.

The accuracy and authenticity of information conveyed through picture were incomparable to simple words. Based on the knowledge Yan Liqiang gathered from his previous life, the amount of information that a picture could convey was at least five times more than text!

Yan Liqiang sighed as soon as he settled everything. It seemed like the hardships they had gone through these days weren’t in vain. Without a doubt, the letter he delivered would definitely be the most detailed and complete firsthand information the Divine Sword Sect would receive regarding the catastrophe...

By the time he returned to the inn they were staying at, the warning message popped up again in his mind...

“Warning. Warning. The temporal distortion between the Heavenly Realm and reality will approach its limit in four hours. Please evacuate from the Heavenly Realm within four hours. Please evacuate from the Heavenly Realm within four hours. Failure to do so will result in the collapse of the Heavenly Realm...”

“Warning. Warning. The temporal distortion between the Heavenly Realm and reality will approach its limit in four hours. Please evacuate from the Heavenly Realm within four hours. Please evacuate from the Heavenly Realm within four hours. Failure to do so will result in the collapse of the Heavenly Realm...”

“Warning. Warning. The temporal distortion between the Heavenly Realm and reality will approach its limit in four hours. Please evacuate from the Heavenly Realm within four hours. Please evacuate from the Heavenly Realm within four hours. Failure to do so will result in the collapse of the Heavenly Realm...”

Yan Liqiang hastily grabbed a small bite to eat and returned to his room. He looked at the pitch black sky outside and sighed. After recovering some strength by cultivating two rounds of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing, he sat on his bed during the final two hours. He focused his mind on the rhombus-shaped exit in his sea of consciousness for a while and was then transported out from the Heavenly Realm...

Chapter 293: Anxious Heart

“Big brother, do you want to buy flowers?”

Perhaps Yan Liqiang had been standing too long at the western city gate of the Imperial Capital since his figure was still like a statue amidst the bustling traffic. A little girl who was selling flowers nearby finally went over and shyly called out to him, thinking to sell him the flowers she had gathered.

Her voice forced Yan Liqiang to snap back to reality. He lowered his head and saw a little girl about five or six years old standing in front of him. She was holding up a bunch of brightly colored marigolds as she looked at Yan Liqiang with her hopeful eyes. “Big brother, look at these flowers. I plucked them from the hill this morning, so they’re still fresh. This bouquet only costs ten copper coins...”

The flower girl had an emaciated face. She was dressed in rather faded light blue clothes which had been patched in some places. When she raised her hands, her sleeves slid all the down to her elbows, perfectly proving how ill-fitting her clothes were. Her small hands which were holding the flowers seemed rather callused with some cracks on the backside. Not only that, but there were also several fine cuts on her palms.

One could tell that this little girl was from a poverty-stricken family with just a glance and that she was out selling flowers to make ends meet.

It was the fourth lunar month and spring was still in the air. People who came out from the city gates, especially in the afternoon, were mostly out for a leisure walk and sightseeing. The little girl was selling the fresh flowers she gathered there. If those wealthy young lords and ladies who were either sitting in carriages or riding on huge horses were in a good mood, they might just fish out a few copper coins to buy her flowers. There were also a few other children selling flowers nearby. It seemed like they were from a village not far from the Imperial Capital. Despite being the Great Han Empire’s capital, there were also poor people in the Imperial Capital. Not only that, but there was also quite a number of less fortunate people at the bottom of the social hierarchy.

Yan Liqiang was dazed by the little girl’s wide and dark eyes. They reminded him of a photo from Project Hope which he had seen online in his previous life. The little girl in front of him had the same eyes as the little girl in the picture.

Since Yan Liqiang didn’t speak, the little girl had no choice but to try to market the flowers in her hands. “Look, big brother. If you take these flowers back and put them in a vase, they can last for a few days. You can also give them to a big sister. I know many big sisters who love marigolds. If big brother doesn’t like to look at them, these flowers can be used for cooking too. They have cooling and detoxifying effects...”

“Alright, I will buy the flowers!” Yan Liqiang smiled, then searched his body. He found a silver fragment that was worth less than five maces, then put it in the little girl’s hand before he took her marigolds.

“Ah, big brother, do you have smaller change? I don’t have the change for this silver...” the little girl said with a troubled face.

“No worries, you can keep the change!”

The little girl blinked her eyes when she heard Yan Liqiang’s reply. After finding out that he wasn’t joking with her, a brilliant smile broke across her face. “Thank you, big brother...” The little girl gripped the silver fragment Yan Liqiang gave her and ran off. After a few steps, she abruptly stopped as though she recalled something. She turned around and bowed to Yan Liqiang, then ran toward another boy about the age of seven or eight who was also selling flowers nearby and handed over the silver fragment to him.

“Brother, the big brother over there gave me five maces of silver and told me to keep the change! This will be enough to pay your tuition fee this month at the martial arts dojo in the village! Now you can train there and mother won’t need to do laundry for others...!”

Yan Liqiang could vaguely hear the little girl chirp to the little boy.

“By the time I learn martial arts and grow up, I will be able to protect Yingying and mother from the bullies. Then, I will also be able to earn money and buy tons of good food and beautiful clothes for both of you!” The little boy shook his fist and said all of that in an extremely earnest voice. The little girl looked at her brother with a smile on her face.

Watching the scene in front of him, Yan Liqiang stared at the marigolds he was holding as he felt even more conflicted. He raised the marigolds to his face, took a deep breath, then walked toward the gates and entered the city.

It was the afternoon of the 28th day of the fourth lunar month in the 13th year of the Yuanping reign!

Ten days, four months, and four years before this city would be destroyed!

Four years later, on the seventh day of the ninth lunar month in the 17th year of the Yuanping reign, a meteor would fall from the sky at night. This city and everyone who lived in it would be completely wiped out...

If nothing changed, then the little girl from just now would disappear from this world along with her mother and brother in the catastrophe that would occur in four years time.

Yan Liqiang was standing by the city gates in a daze earlier because he was looking at the magnificent city walls and the crowds that were passing through the gates. Unbeknownst to him, his mind had wandered for half a day while recalling the inevitable disaster that would strike in four years.

Among those who were coming in and out of the city gates, there were merchants who were always on the move, energetic-looking young men, innocent young ladies flying their kites, bow and sword-wielding warriors, numerous wealthy clans traveling with fleets of carriages and horses, and happy families that were out on a leisure trip...

At this point in time, no one living in this city would expect everything around them to dissipate like a mirage in four years.

If it was possible, Yan Liqiang would rather have everything that happened in the Heavenly Realm to be a mere a nightmare instead of the impending future.

What could he do? How could he save all these people from being reduced to ashes? How could he save everyone?

These thoughts kept running through Yan Liqiang’s mind endlessly. The pressure was suffocating him!

This wasn’t just about three or five lives, certainly not three or five hundred people either. He was looking at the lives of a few million to even several million people...

A few days ago, Yan Liqiang was still feeling complacent about his own strength back at Deer Villa. Right now, Yan Liqiang immediately felt just how truly pitiful, weak, and helpless he was.

At this point in time, who would believe him if he shouted at the top of his lungs to warn everyone to evacuate because there was a catastrophe that would annihilate the Imperial Capital in a few years time? This would probably lead to an ending where he wouldn’t be able to save a single soul because everyone would just think of him as a madman trying to mislead the public with lies. He’d be arrested and be thrown into prison. In the Great Han Empire, anyone captured by the authorities for publicly promoting the extraordinary and spiritual ideas to incite fear into people’s minds, would be decapitated without question because these were taboos to the ruler.

What should he do?

Yan Liqiang was at a loss...

After practicing spear techniques the whole morning away on the mountain behind the Deer Villa archery range, Yan Liqiang remembered the appointment he had made with Lu Peien. He left Deer Villa and came to the Imperial Capital again, thinking of meeting up with him...

It had only been twenty days since he last met Lu Peien.

Lu Peien had come to the Imperial Capital this time due to the lotus root briquette. Establishing this business and opening up a new prospect in the Imperial Capital would definitely take more than two or three days. Therefore, Lu Peien should be staying at the Gan Provincial Guild Hall during this period of time...

Yan Liqiang’s heart was filled with anxiety as he entered the city with the marigolds he bought in his hands. He didn’t feel like something was off until he walked a hundred meters in – he was being followed as soon as he entered the city...

Chapter 294: Fight

His trip to the Imperial Capital today was purely spontaneous, so no one could have known about it. Why was he being followed?

Yan Liqiang strolled around the main street acting as though nothing had happened while thoughts started running through his mind.

Over this period of time, he had been cultivating Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing. After progressing into a Supreme Martial Warrior, his spiritual perception, eyesight, and hearing ability improved greatly. Therefore, he knew he definitely wasn’t imagining things.

The first thing that crossed Yan Liqiang’s mind was Xu Lang’s gang.

The last time he returned to the Imperial City was the day Liang Yijie and Xu Lang had their duel on the Arena of Life and Death. The other party had probably noticed him when he supported Liang Yijie. In addition to the time when someone provoked him in the servant quarters, he was probably already on their watchlist. It wouldn’t be surprising if the other party was aware of his job at Deer Villa right now. Even without knowing when he would return to the city, he couldn’t rule out the possibility that they would have arranged someone to guard the western gate of the Imperial City to watch when he’d return.

Yan Liqiang kept thinking and found that this was the only logical conclusion he could draw. Apart from Xu Lang and the people who stood with him, he had never really gotten into any other conflicts with anyone else in the Imperial Capital. Furthermore, Sun Bingchen wouldn’t pull tricks like this if he wanted to find him.

While thinking, Yan Liqiang took a whiff of the marigolds he was holding. A cold smile slowly broke across his face.

Yan Liqiang didn’t turn around despite feeling a pair of eyes on his back. He just kept on walking. Ten minutes later and after crossing two streets, he noticed a secluded alley at the side of the road. He turned into the narrow alley and sped up his pace. When he accelerated, he could clearly hear the other set of footsteps trailing behind him moving faster.

Several meters into the narrow alley, there was a corner. Yan Liqiang went there and waited by the wall. He then concentrated with his ears and slowly counted the footsteps in the alley.

Before Yan Liqiang could count to ten, the running footsteps had reached the alley’s corner.

Yan Liqiang wasn’t sure why, but while he was listening to the footsteps, a figure running toward the corner of the alley emerged in his mind. It was as though Yan Liqiang could see the figure’s stride length, arm swing angle, as well his height and physique. It felt so strange. Yan Liqiang wasn’t aware of when he had gained such an ability. However, the situation at hand didn’t allow him to think too deeply because the footsteps were approaching...

Without thinking, Yan Liqiang suddenly rushed out from the corner and rammed his shoulder hard against the other person’s. It looked as though they had gotten into an ‘accident’ after turning the corner.

With Yan Liqiang’s physical resistance from the Iron Shoulder technique, his extraordinary strength, powerful footwork and body techniques, ramming someone’s shoulder was not inferior to an ordinary person swinging a huge hammer from the corner of this narrow alley. If an ordinary person took this hit, he would end up with serious injuries or a broken shoulder or arm.

The person who was tailing Yan Liqiang didn’t seem to expect his ambush at the corner of the narrow alley. However, his reaction speed was fast enough. As soon as Yan Liqiang’s shoulder touched his clothes, he abruptly slid backward like a mudfish at lightning speed. In terms of speed, he wasn’t slower than Yan Liqiang. On the contrary, he was even slightly faster than him.

At that split moment, Yan Liqiang’s shoulder felt as though it had collided into a greased spring. The force from his shoulder was undone before it could even travel to his opponent through the collision. The reaction, speed, and abilities of that person were beyond Yan Liqiang’s expectations. Perhaps not even Liang Yijie could react to his ambush with such ease.

With just that, Yan Liqiang was able to determine that his opponent was an expert. He initially thought the person who followed him was a mere nobody. Little did he expect for the other party to actually use a sledgehammer to crack a nut

by assigning an expert to wait for him by the city gates. Could it be that their objective was not only to follow him, but also be prepared to strike at any moment?

The thought flashed across Yan Liqiang’s mind. Following the principle of ‘to strike first is to gain the upper hand’, Yan Liqiang’s feet moved without hesitation. He propelled himself forward like an arrow at the retreating figure. At the same time, he jabbed his fist into his opponent’s lower abdomen.

With his terrifying enhanced strength, Yan Liqiang’s fist flew at that person like an artillery shell.

The force of his fist far exceeded the force from his shoulder from earlier. His fist shrieked through the air. Explosive noises rang out in the narrow alley. Even the airflow around Yan Liqiang was subtly disrupted.

The countenance of that person who evaded Yan Liqiang’s ambush immediately contorted right at this moment.

That person growled and put his palms out to resist Yan Liqiang’s fist in an attempt to stop his attack. However, the man had obviously underestimated the power behind Yan Liqiang’s fist. His palms didn’t manage to absorb the impact of Yan Liqiang’s punch. His arms involuntarily bent from the impact instead. His hands were pushed back against his body and his whole body collided into the wall behind him heavily.

However, the opponent’s body techniques were simply too nimble. The moment his body collided into the alley wall, he kicked it with his foot. A few bricks on the alley wall instantly cracked, revealing a spider web pattern on the surface. Leveraging himself, he did a beautiful spin, flipping over the top of Yan Liqiang’s head.

As soon as he landed, one of Yan Liqiang’s hands was already making a grab for his throat like a tiger claw.

The funny thing was that the person didn’t even move after he landed. He just allowed Yan Liqiang to grab his throat and let himself fall into his grasp.

That person was a middle-aged priest in his forties, sporting a long beard while dressed in a gray robe. His slanted eyebrows extended toward his temples and beneath them was a pair of beautiful upturned almond eyes, a feature rarely seen on men. He was actually a decent-looking man. The man was looking at Yan Liqiang calmly. As he swept his glance over Yan Liqiang’s long green gown and his other hand that was still holding the marigolds, an enigmatic smile broke across his face.

Yan Liqiang narrowed his eyes as he coldly demanded, “Who are you? Why are you following me?”

“My name is Fang Beidou. I followed you because I wish to see what is so special about the person who will save the world from its impending doom...”

Chapter 295: The Mysterious Man

Save the world from its impending doom?

Yan Liqiang’s eyes lit up as he sized up the man who looked like a daoist priest. He wasn’t sure if this person was a liar or spouting nonsense because he was trying to escape. Yan Liqiang had never even dreamed of saving the world. These people who wandered the world were usually charismatic and were able to convince others of the most ridiculous tales. Not only that, they were also great at reading minds. They always blabbered about things like the gods, the nation, and its people. They’d use all kinds of deceitful tricks to lead the ignorant ones by their noses. The scammers in his previous life were really nothing compared to these people.

Even so, he really had no clue as to why why Xu Lang would assign someone like this to set him a trap. Wasn’t he thinking too highly of Yan Liqiang?

“Do you know Xu Lang?” Yan Liqiang got straight to the point as he stared at the expression on the daoist priest’s face, looking for any signs of change in his pupils. This was a ‘little tip’ Yan Liqiang had picked up from his previous life – one would be able to tell if someone was lying through pupil dilation and subtle changes in facial expression.

The daoist priest smiled and spoke calmly. “Who is this Xu Lang you speak of? I have not met such a person. However, I caught wind of a person by that name who was injured by a hidden arrow when he was fighting with someone else on the Arena of Life and Death a few days ago in the Imperial Capital. That was quite some news!”

Through the shifting of his pupils and facial expression, Yan Liqiang realized that this daoist priest was indeed not lying. Or perhaps he should say that the daoist priest was a better liar than he had anticipated.

Yan Liqiang’s thoughts ran through his mind at lightning speed. After staring at the daoist priest for another moment, he loosened his grasp. Then he turned around to leave the alley without saying anything else.

The daoist priest was slightly surprised. He hurriedly chased after him.

Yan Liqiang paused in his tracks without even turning his head around. “Do not follow me again. Otherwise, don’t blame me for being rude!” he warned coldly.

The footsteps behind him immediately stopped. As soon as Yan Liqiang took a few steps toward the alley’s exit, the daoist priest’s voice suddenly rang out from behind him again.

“Are you really indifferent about the catastrophe that will happen in four years?”

His words stunned Yan Liqiang as though he had been electrocuted. Yan Liqiang halted his steps and slowly turned his around to look at the daoist priest. The priest was still standing in the same spot as he watched Yan Liqiang with eyes that were as tranquil as water.

“What did you say?”

“I said, are you really indifferent about the catastrophe that will happen in four years?”

The corners of Yan Liqiang’s mouth twitched before he pointed at the priest and lashed out at him. “Is your head all messed up from eating too many pills?! You must be dreaming about this catastrophe! Do you know who I am and who I serve?! How dare you spout all this nonsense to me and try to delude people with lies! You better watch out before I arrest you and have you beheaded!”

Yan Liqiang turned around after berating the daoist priest then quickly made a beeline for the alley’s exit without even stopping.

“I live in the White Dragon Temple on Mount Xiaoyun outside the Imperial Capital. You may find me there anytime if you wish to see me!” The daoist priest called out to Yan Liqiang from behind. However, Yan Liqiang didn’t stop walking.

“A young man in green will enter the West Glorious Gate in the afternoon of the 28th, with marigolds in his hand. The Will of Heaven is indeed everchanging – a man’s world is mutable, seas become mulberry fields!”

When Yan Liqiang exited the alley, the daoist priest’s strange song drifted into his ears. Yan Liqiang turned his head around, only to realize that the daoist priest was no longer in the alley.

Yan Liqiang looked at the green clothes he was wearing today and the marigolds in his hand. Although he looked calm on the surface, his mind was already in a spectacular mess. A strange feeling welled up in him. Yan Liqiang might have been somewhat wary of the daoist priest’s words earlier, but he actually couldn’t remain calm any longer after the priest mentioned the catastrophe that would happen in four years. The first two lines of the song he sang seemed to foretell that Yan Liqiang would enter the Imperial Capital through the West Glorious Gate, dressed in green while holding marigolds. The last line –’man’s world is mutable, seas become mulberry fields’ was also somewhat questionable, because this was a poem by Chairman Mao from Yan Liqiang’s past life.

Who is this daoist priest?

How did he know about the catastrophe that will happen in four years time?

What did the things he told him today mean? The poem from Chairman Mao, is that purely coincidental or is there something deeper to it?

Countless questions emerged in Yan Liqiang’s heart, making it stir uncontrollably.

Yan Liqiang stood blankly in the street for a good while before he cleaned up his thoughts. He suppressed all the questions and worries in his heart, then took a deep breath. After getting his bearings, he made his way to the Gan Provincial Guild Hall.

...

The Gan Provincial Guild Hall was located on Qianju Street in the Imperial Capital, occupying an area of more than ten mu. It was further divided into several huge and extremely grand courtyards. Every province of the Great Han Empire had a designated guild hall in the Imperial Capital. These guild halls were like a combination of liaison offices and the chamber of commerce for their respective provinces. Any relevant officials or merchants of a certain caliber could stay in the guild hall. Not only that, the guild halls were also used to receive guests and gather various news from the Imperial Capital. For many foreigners, the guild hall of their respective provinces would be their most trusted place in the Imperial Capital.

Four guards stood outside the Gan Provincial Guild Hall. Yan Liqiang approached the entrance, looked up at the signboard, then went inside the guild hall.

The guards took a single glance at Yan Liqiang. One of them who looked like he was in his twenties took a step forward and stopped Yan Liqiang politely. “Little brother, this is the Gan Provincial Guild Hall. Please go elsewhere if you want to sell flowers!”

Yan Liqiang was a young-looking fifteen-year old boy who hadn’t reached his coming of age. He was plainly dressed and holding a bunch of marigolds, not looking particularly out of the ordinary. Yan Liqiang didn’t know whether he wanted to cry or laugh when the guards standing at the entrance actually mistook him for coming here to sell flowers.

“I am here to look for someone!” He spoke up.

As soon as Yan Liqiang opened his mouth, his familiar Gan Provincial accent stunned the guard who stopped him. His facial expression relaxed slightly. “Who are you looking for, little brother?”

“I’m looking for...” Yan Liqiang was about to finish his sentence but was unexpectedly interrupted by a familiar voice from behind. “Liqiang...”

Yan Liqiang turned his head around and saw that a gorgeous carriage had arrived at the entrance of the guild hall. Lu Peien poked his head out from the carriage’s window with a look of surprise on his face...

Chapter 296: Gan Provincial Guild Hall

The carriage door swung open. Lu Peien hurriedly alighted from the carriage when he saw Yan Liqiang. Another middle-aged man in his forties got off along with Lu Peien. Donned in a long, sapphire blue silk gown and a jade thumb ring, he was a stout man with a pair of extremely lively eyes.

“Liqiang, I didn’t expect to see you today! Fancy running into you as soon as I arrived here...!” Lu Peien walked over with a smile on his face.

“Important people like Sixth Brother is always busy. I was initially planning to wait until night time in the guild hall if Sixth Brother was not around, so you can treat me to dinner...” Yan Liqiang chuckled.

“Hahaha, I’m not that important! I’m merely someone with the fate of an errand boy!” Lu Peien laughed heartily. He then dragged Yan Liqiang toward the middle-aged man in the sapphire blue gown at the side for an introduction. “Liqiang, I would like to introduce you to Manager You. Just like us, he also hails from Gan Province. Not only is he the hall master of the Gan Provincial Guild Hall, but he is also the president of Gan Province’s Chamber of Commerce. I went out for lunch with Manager You before unexpectedly running into you when we came back!”

“Brother Liu, is this Liqiang the very same talented young man from Pingxi City that you told me about before? The one who Lord Sun appointed despite his young age, moved from Gan Province to the Imperial Capital, and is currently the Yingyang Commandant of the Imperial Cavalry Unit?”

“Yes.” Lu Peien nodded.

Manager You was indeed a smooth talker. He was discreetly questioning Lu Peien all that while making it seem like he was showering Yan Liqiang with compliments.

The way Manager You carried himself reminded Yan Liqiang of those big shots he was acquainted with in his previous life. The moment Yan Liqiang laid eyes on Manager You, he knew he was a distinguished man. People like him were usually extremely capable and highly successful individuals, no matter where they went.

“You’re flattering me, Manager You. I am merely fortunate enough to have been taken up by Lord Sun. I still have much to learn from you, Manager You!” Yan Liqiang replied humbly.

Seeing how humble Yan Liqiang was despite his age, Manager You’s opinion of him immediately went up a notch. There were plenty of youths in the Imperial Capital who enjoyed their success at a young age and Manager You even knew a few of them. However, all of them were from prestigious clans without an exception. This was Manager You’s first time meeting someone like Yan Liqiang who was so mature for his age.

Manager You scanned Yan Liqiang once again as the smile on his face grew wider. “I am around the same age as Brother Lu. Since we are all from Gan Province and fate has brought us together in the Imperial Capital, Liqiang may call me Brother You if you don’t mind! Do not hesitate to come to me if you require any assistance in the Imperial Capital next time!” he said generously.

“Thank you, Brother You!” Yan Liqiang replied promptly.

“Oh right. Why are you here and not inside, Brother Liqiang?” Manager You inquired.

The facial expressions of the guards who stopped Yan Liqiang immediately expressed nervousness as soon as they heard Manager You’s question. How could they possibly expect the fifteen or sixteen-year-old youth before them to be someone so important, that the hall master would politely address him as ‘brother’ during their first meeting?

Yan Liqiang merely joked to them about being mistaken as a child selling flowers, causing both Lu Peien and Manager You to roar with laughter.

“Please forgive them, Brother Liqiang. These guards at the entrance of the Gan Provincial Guild Hall made a mistake like this after meeting you for the first time because they have never seen you before!” Manager You coughed twice and looked at those guards with a straight face on purpose as he reprimanded them. “Look at yourselves! Is something wrong with your eyes that you don’t know how to look at people? You guys think Brother Liqiang is here to sell flowers at the guild hall just because he was holding flowers? If I come with a horse one day, would you all think that I am here to sell horses too?”

The guards hurriedly apologized to Yan Liqiang.

“Don’t worry about it...” Yan Liqiang waved his hand with a smile. “Please don’t be too harsh on them, Brother You. These guards are merely performing their duties. It is all thanks to them that the Gan Provincial Guild Hall is kept safe!”

“Hahaha, Brother Liqiang sure is good with words!”

......

The trio exchanged some pleasantries at the entrance before they went into the guild hall together. Manager You cordially invited Yan Liqiang and Lu Peien to stay for dinner at the guild hall. Seeing that Lu Peien didn’t refuse the offer, Yan Liqiang accepted the invitation too.

Knowing that Yan Liqiang was here to find Lu Peien, Manager You kept the conversation short and left after informing them that he was taking his leave to make arrangements with the kitchen for a Gan Provincial whole lamb banquet.

Yan Liqiang followed Lu Peien back to the room he was staying at in the guild hall.

The room he’d been staying in was one of the most spacious suites in the guild hall. His two bodyguards and attendants lived right next door.

It so happened that there was a flower vase by the entrance to Lu Peien’s room, so Yan Liqiang put the marigolds he’d been holding in it.

“Hahaha, you even brought flowers for me today, Liqiang...” Lu Peien laughed.

“Sixth Brother, just what kind of person is this Manager You for him to actually be the manager of the Gan Provincial Guild Hall and the president of the Gan Province’s Chamber of Commerce in a place like the Imperial Capital?” Yan Liqiang couldn’t hold back his question any longer after settling the flowers.

“Liqiang, have you heard of the Datong Monetary House?” In the drawing room, Lu Peien gestured to Yan Liqiang to take a seat in one of the two chairs.

“Datong Monetary House. Yes, of course I have. It is the most well-known monetary house in the northwestern part of Gan Province and other provinces like the Lan, Qing, Yun and Ding Provinces. Isn’t it owned by a certain Zhong Clan in Lan Province? What has it got anything to do with Manager You?”

It went without saying that Yan Liqiang knew about the Datong Monetary House. The silver promissory notes among the windfall he discovered from the Shatu people in Pingxi City back then were from the Datong Monetary House.

“The You Clan is also an influential clan in Kangcheng Prefecture of Gan Province. They own many properties and are also related to the Zhong Clan from Lan Province by marriage. With the Zhong Clan’s support, of course no one can vie against Manager You for being in charge of the Gan Provincial Guild Hall and the Gan Province’s Chamber of Commerce!”

“Oh, I see!” Yan Liqiang finally understood. Among the wealthy influential clans in the northwestern provinces, if the Zhong Clan from Lan Province claimed that they ranked second, no one would probably dare to claim that they are ranked at the top. With the support from the Zhong Clan, everything would naturally be a cinch for him.

Lu Peien smiled. “Although Manager You has the support from the Zhong Clan, he is still a very capable man with rich social networks and opportunities. Therefore, many matters can be settled a lot easier with Manager You’s assistance!”

“Are you planning to involve the You Clan, Sixth Brother?” Yan Liqiang asked him directly.

Lu Peien narrowed his eyes. “The water in the Imperial Capital runs deep. The moment the lotus root briquette is promoted, it will stir up interests from all parties. With someone who knows the Imperial Capital well in our group, the success rate of this business will increase. Getting Manager You onboard is the same as having half the Zhong Clan with us. Although this will make it seem like our benefits will be diluted, we will definitely get more in return compared to doing a one-man show as long as we can make it big...”

“I’m guessing that this is going to happen by the looks of it, Sixth Brother!”

“It’s still a little too early to say that, but at least we are starting to see something...”

“Then I’ll have to congratulate you in advance, Sixth Brother!”

“Perhaps I may even settle down in the Imperial Capital and move my home here!”

“Ah, don’t...” Yan Liqiang’s heart tightened the instant he heard Lu Peien’s plan of possibly moving to the Imperial Capital, and he subconsciously opened his mouth to stop him.

“What are you trying to say, Liqiang?” Lu Peien stared at Yan Liqiang an odd look in his eyes.

Yan Liqiang calmed down. A thought flashed across his mind as his face broke into a smile. “I meant to tell you that you shouldn’t make such a hasty decision, Sixth Brother. There are too many internal strifes in the Imperial Capital. It’s better to be more careful!”

“Of course!” Lu Peien nodded. “If this really happens, I’m afraid that only I can watch over this business in the Imperial Capital as I will act as an advance party for my clan. If the children of the Lu Clan are to train in the Soul Mountain Sect’s Imperial Capital Branch in the future, we will definitely need a place to stay here too. Wait here for a moment, I will go retrieve the things from your father...”

While speaking, Lu Peien got up and went over to the next room. After a short while, he re-emerged with a parcel for Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang opened the parcel, revealing two sheets of silver promissory notes from the Datong Monetary House, each worth a hundred taels. Apart from that, there were also two winter protective clothes and a tightly-sealed can...

“Your father worries about your well-being in the Imperial Capital. He wonders if you have enough money to use, or if you have been eating well and keeping yourself warm enough. He told me that you love salted apricots that are sold in your hometown and specifically asked me to bring some for you in case you get homesick in the Imperial Capital. They’re tightly sealed in the can, so you can store them for a long time without worrying about them going bad.”

Looking at the things Lu Peien had brought all the way here and imaging his father’s deeply concerned face, Yan Liqiang immediately felt a little teary...

Chapter 297: Fellow Countrymen

Yan Liqiang’s dinner was Gan Province’s authentic whole lamb roast, served by a restaurant in the Gan Provincial Guild Hall.

In addition to Lu Peien and Manager You, the latter also invited three more people to dine with them. All of them hailed from Gan Province and were running small businesses in the Imperial Capital. One of them was a leather and fur dealer surnamed Wu. The other was a timber merchant surnamed Liu and a medicine dealer surnamed Wen. Leather, fur, medicine, and timber were things that could build a business reputation even outside of Gan Province. Apart from these, there were also quite a lot of products from Gan Province. Yet only a few of them could truly survive in the Imperial Capital market.

In this era, most people who were away from home tended to stick together. Those who were from the same sect, the same school, or the same town were the easiest to get along with, thus building a rich and complex social network. Yan Liqiang didn’t particularly dislike this idea. Most people couldn’t avoid this kind of thing unless they were gods who didn’t live in the mortal world.

After knowing Yan Liqiang’s identity, everyone around the dining table was more respectful toward Yan Liqiang. They even went out of their way to flatter Yan Liqiang a little. Even so, Yan Liqiang remained modest and humble, returning the same politeness and respect to his fellow countrymen from Gan Province without an ounce of arrogance. Thanks to Lu Peien and Manager You’s efforts in keeping the conversation going, the dinner was quite a pleasant one. At least Manager You and the others seemed to have a great time.

Yan Liqiang never really felt how special his status as the Yingyang Commandant in the Imperial Cavalry Unit was until he came into contact with these people. It was only after the dinner today that he realized his status was not only special in these people’s eyes, but super amazing to them.

According to Manager You’s explanation, there was only a total of three people from all of Gan Province who managed to get a job in the bureaucracy at the Imperial Capital before Yan Liqiang arrived. Among these three people, one of them was the director of the Bureau of Transportation under the Ministry of War with the military ranking of Rank Five Standard Class, surnamed Huang. The other was the ministerial vice director of the Palace Secretariat with the military ranking of Rank Six Standard Class, surnamed Cheng. The remaining one was the administrative assistant of the Imperial Academy of Medicine, similarly with the military ranking of Rank Six Standard Class surnamed Ma. These three individuals were pretty much the three representatives from Gan Province at the Imperial Capital’s bureaucracy. Their reputations were not only renowned in their respective hometowns, but also throughout Gan Province. Manager You would always seize the opportunity to visit their residences every year with local specialties from Gan Province as gifts during the new year or any festivals.

After these three people, Yan Liqiang was the fourth Gan Province native who managed to make it big at the Imperial Capital. The youngest among the first three was Assistant Ma who was in his forties. Therefore, Yan Liqiang would be the youngest out of all of them.

Since he was young, he had boundless prospects ahead of him.

Upon careful reflection, Yan Liqiang realized that if he hadn’t established a relationship with Sun Bingchen and made only a small contribution by luck without leaving much of an impression on their way to the Imperial Capital, then getting a job in the bureaucracy in a place like this as a newcomer would be as difficult as ascending the heavens. This was all dictated by everyone’s chances and luck. The capable ones might not even get to his position if they weren’t given the opportunity. If those with such opportunity weren’t capable enough, they would similarly miss the great opportunity in front of them. Yan Liqiang just happened to have the opportunity and was slightly capable, so he was able to establish himself in the Imperial Capital despite his young age, thus becoming the object of envy for many.

The dinner lasted late into the night. Only then did everyone leave in high spirits.

Since it was already dark, Manager You insisted on sending Yan Liqiang back to Deer Villa with the guild hall’s carriage. Yan Liqiang didn’t reject the offer either. When he was leaving, Manager You, Lu Peien, and the other shop owners who dined with him also came to see him off.

Yan Liqiang just got into the carriage when Manager You handed a package to him. “Brother Liqiang, this is a congratulatory gift from me and the other shop owners. Congratulations on your promotion to Commandant Yingyang of the Imperial Cavalry Unit! You are the pride of Gan Province. Once again, we wish you a bright future, Brother Liqiang. This is no more than a token of our friendship as fellow countrymen, please don’t decline it!”

Yan Liqiang couldn’t really feel the weight of the small package in his palms. It felt like it only weighed a few jin. As soon as Yan Liqiang tried to weigh it, he already knew the package probably consisted of silver promissory notes. Otherwise, this congratulatory gift from the shop owners would only amount to merely several dozen taels of silver. That would be a little too disgraceful and unbefitting of their statuses as shop owners who could take their business all the way to the Imperial Capital.

Lu Peien stood at the side, silently smiling.

“Liqiang will accept it gracefully since it is everyone’s goodwill!” Yan Liqiang accepted the package with a smile. “I usually stay in Deer Villa where I am expected to perform my duty. I don’t get that many chances to visit the Imperial Capital so I may not be well-informed. If there is anything at the Gan Provincial Guild Hall, just send someone with a letter to me at Deer Villa!”

A knowing smile appeared on Manager You and other shop owners’ faces when they heard Yan Liqiang. After exchanging a few more pleasantries, they personally saw Yan Liqiang off at the Gan Provincial Guild Hall and watched his carriage leave.

.....

“Brother Lu, does Brother Liqiang have a wife back in Pingxi Prefecture?”

After the other shop owners left the Gan Provincial Guild Hall, Manager You pulled Lu Peien to the side and whispered the question to him.

This question was the biggest regret for the Lu Clan. When Lu Peien heard Manager You’s question, he sighed inwardly yet still retained the smile on his face. “You have a plan in mind, Manager You?”

Manager You laughed and shook his head. “I was merely curious because Brother Liqiang is a young and promising man. It’s still too early to be talking about plans for him. I’m sure Brother Lu is aware of the circumstances surrounding the Imperial Capital. With all that power struggle, who would dare to get involved? If Brother Liqiang isn’t posted in the Imperial Capital, he would indeed be a son-in-law who is hard to come by. But it is exactly because Brother Liqiang has boundless prospects ahead of him in the Imperial Capital that I dare not be too presumptuous...”

“I see!” Lu Peien nodded. “Brother Liqiang doesn’t have a wife yet back in Pingxi City, but...”

“But...?”

“But Brother Liqiang is very enthralled by cultivation and is very enthusiastic about it. He once said to me that he wouldn’t marry anyone unless she is a peerless beauty who understands him!” Lu Peien replied with a deadpan expression.

...

Yan Liqiang sat in the carriage, observing the brightly lit street of the Imperial Capital and the bustling crowd in it through the window with an incomprehensible look.

Despite being cheerful and lively around Manager You and the rest at Gan Provincial Guild Hall earlier, Yan Liqiang couldn’t force himself to look happy and pretend he was at ease when he was truly alone. He simply couldn’t shake off the feeling that everyone and everything before his eyes were nothing more than colorful fragile bubbles which would suddenly burst at any moment...

The face of that mysterious Daoist priest by the name Fang Beidou, whom Yan Liqiang encountered today, loomed in his mind...

Unbeknownst to him, rising flames scorched the night sky to the north of the Imperial Capital and illuminated the entire sky. Groups of fire wardens blew their whistles while pushing the water carts and water hoses. They passed by Yan Liqiang’s carriage, rushing over to the place where the fire had broken out...

Yan Liqiang watched the scene from the carriage, not feeling particularly bothered. After all, fires were common in cities. Since the fire wardens were already making their way to the scene, there was nothing much to worry about.

When the carriage arrived outside the West Glorious Gate, Yan Liqiang realized that the number of soldiers stationed there had increased unknowingly. They were thoroughly checking all the people, steeds, and carriages that were exiting the city.

When the Gan Provincial Guild Hall’s carriage was exiting the city, the soldiers immediately opened the carriage door. They checked both the outside and inside, not leaving even the bottom of the carriage unchecked. After verifying that there was nothing suspicious, only then did they allow Yan Liqiang’s carriage to pass through the city gates.

Not long after they left the city gates, the approaching sounds of thundering iron hooves rang out behind them. It was closely followed by several tens of rhinodrake steeds zooming past Yan Liqiang’s carriage, rushing ahead of the road in front of them. The riders were all burly and energetic men dressed in combat clothes, carrying swords and sabers with them...

The carriage stopped right in front of Deer Villa’s entrance. Yan Liqiang got off and rewarded the coachman with a silver fragment he retrieved from his chest. He then walked toward the entrance of Deer Villa with the two small packages in his hands while the coachman showered him with gratitude.

“Ah, Commandant Yan is back! Hurry and open the door...!” A low ranking officer standing guard outside Deer Villa immediately broke into a smile at Yan Liqiang’s return, then opened the gates to let him in.

By now, everyone was aware that Yan Liqiang was highly regarded by Eunuch Liu. Who would dare be irreverent around him?

“Thank you for your hard work, brothers!” Yan Liqiang politely greeted the soldiers at the entrance.

“You are most welcome!” The low ranking officer who was guarding the entrance looked as though he was overwhelmed by Yan Liqiang’s words.

......

Returning to his small courtyard, Yan Liqiang started scanning the area as soon as he entered his house. He realized that some of the arrangements he had secretly set inside had been moved around. Someone had secretly intruded this place. In all of Deer Villa, even the two little eunuchs serving Eunuch Liu’s side wouldn’t dare to enter his house without his permission. Who was it that dared to come in?

While Yan Liqiang was thinking about this, the faint scent of blood wafted into his nose. He scanned the room again and immediately picked up a sword which was hanging on the wall before he went upstairs.

He found the intruder before he even had to search around.

The intruder was dressed in black and wearing a face veil, lying motionlessly on the ground of Yan Liqiang’s bedroom. Trails of blood which seemed to come from the person in black stained the bedroom floor.

Yan Liqiang didn’t approach the person directly in case it was a trap. He went over to the side of that person on the floor instead and lifted the veil with his sword first...

A breathtaking and exquisite face was then revealed before Yan Liqiang’s very eyes.

He was stunned upon seeing the face.

The person dressed in black turned out to be the Sword Fairy, Hua Ruxue...

Chapter 298: Hua Ruxue

Yan Liqiang and the Sword Fairy met each other about twenty days ago when Liang Yijie battled Xu Lang on the Arena of Life and Death. Hua Ruxue was relatively quieter than the crowd around her and was a lady of very few words. Even so, she still left a deep impression on him – her peerless beauty and her angelic temperament could make almost anyone secretly do a double take on her. Her reputation as the Sword Fairy was indeed well-deserved.

Due to his young age, Yan Liqiang was considered to be Liang Yijie’s younger brother, so he didn’t really stand out among the crowd that day. He only managed to exchange two or three sentences with Hua Ruxue. Yan Liqiang didn’t particularly covet Hua Ruxue, and the latter also maintained a courteous and polite manner toward him. Both of them didn’t really interact much with each other from the beginning to the end. Yet the lady whom Yan Liqiang had only met once before was lying on his bedroom floor and seemed to be critically injured.

Hua Ruxue lay motionlessly on the ground, eyes tightly shut and her face as pale as paper.

Yan Liqiang was dazed for a moment before he picked Hua Ruxue up from the ground and placed her on his bed without any hesitation.

Hua Ruxue still had a pulse and was breathing shallowly. The wound on her chest was still bleeding.

Looking at her wound, Yan Liqiang tried to recall the first-aid knowledge he had in his mind. Turning around swiftly, he shut the door and windows upstairs so that the wind wouldn’t come in. At the same time, he lit up a few lamps in the room and moved them to a table by the window. The lamps illuminated the room, bringing a trace of warmth back into the room.

Under the warm light, Hua Ruxue’s beautiful pale face looked fragile and delicate. Even her lips had lost their color.

After doing all that, Yan Liqiang retrieved his medicine pouch. He thought for a moment, then fetched the sewing box in his room too.

“Sister Hua, I really don’t want to take advantage of you. But I’m afraid you won’t survive if you are left untreated in your current state. Medical practitioners care for their patients like parents, so please excuse me...!” Yan Liqiang took a deep breath while looking at the unconscious Hua Ruxue. Regardless of whether she could hear his words, he still informed her before he got to work and cut open the dark clothes she was wearing with a pair of scissors.

Her dark gear had buttons located under her armpits. However, if he wanted to undo the buttons, he’d have to flip her over. In order to avoid causing further injuries since he wasn’t sure of her condition, the best method was to cut open the patient’s clothes when administering emergency treatment.

This was the first time Yan Liqiang had ever peeled off a girl’s clothes in this lifetime. Although he had a pair of scissors in his hand, his heart was thumping against his will.

A layer of white undergarment was revealed beneath the dark clothes that were cut open. At this point in time, it was already dyed crimson by her own blood. Yan Liqiang calmed his mind, then proceed to cut open the white undergarment too. Beneath the white undergarment was another white undershirt. After cutting that open, bandages that looked like those used to wrap mummies came into his view. They bounded the most feminine features of Hua Ruxue tightly, squashing them mercilessly.

Yan Liqiang’s hand couldn’t stop trembling again when he saw the bandages. The strips were dyed crimson by her blood, forming a sharp contrast against the fair round globes beneath them that were threatening to spill out. Yan Liqiang clenched his teeth and cut open the bandages with determination. The two massive globes that were being squashed down immediately bounced out like wild horses that had been released from their reins. They came to life and jiggled!

“Wow, damn, I couldn’t tell they were this huge that day! Did she bind herself like this that day too...?” Yan Liqiang wiped the sweat off his forehead, trying his best to not stare at them. He ripped open the blanket on his bed and picked the cotton out of the quilt. Then, he carefully wiped the blood away from Hua Ruxue’s body to reveal her wound.

The wound was located right below her left breast. On the underside, there was a two-inch wound. It was quite deep with a zigzag shape that looked as though it was caused by some sort of weapon and it was still bleeding profusely.

Yan Liqiang looked at the wound and realized that it would be very difficult to stop the bleeding by simply relying on the bandage. To stop the bleeding, he’d have to suture the wound. However, since the wound was close to her breast, he would inevitably have to touch it while performing his task.

Yan Liqiang glanced at Hua Ruxue again. At this point in time, she was even paler – she looked no different than snow.

“I can’t be bothered too much, I’ve got to save her first...!” Yan Liqiang clenched his teeth and picked up the sewing box at the side. He pulled out a long needle, bent it into a hook, heated it in a flame to sterilize it, then threaded the needle with a strong white cotton thread and tied a knot. After calming his mind, he started suturing her wound.

This was the hardest task Yan Liqiang ever had to perform in this lifetime. His brows were already beaded with sweat and his hands were trembling. Even so, Yan Liqiang clenched his jaw and persisted until he was completely done suturing the wound.

As expected, the bleeding immediately stopped as soon as the wound was closed up.

Yan Liqiang wiped the sweat away from his forehead and rushed downstairs. He found a bottle of aged wine from Deer Villa, dipped a cotton ball in the wine, then started cleaning up and disinfecting the wound. After that, he retrieved Jinchuang ointment from his medicine pouch. He propped Hua Ruxue up and let her lean against him while he dressed her wound. After feeding her an Essence Nurturing Pill to treat her internal injuries and recover her vital Qi, Yan Liqiang gently laid her down on the bed again and put a blanket over her.

Yan Liqiang had done his very best. As to whether she could survive her injuries, that would all depend on Hua Ruxue’s fate.

He glanced at Hua Ruxue’s bloodied clothes, soiled bandages, and the blood on the bedroom floor. Yan Liqiang shook his head, tidied up everything, and wiped the blood off the floor. He went into the yard downstairs, lit a pile of firewood, and burned the stuff to ashes.

Since his private courtyard was close to the archery range and there weren’t many people around, no one would ever notice him burning stuff in his yard at night.

After he was done with that, Yan Liqiang returned to his upstairs bedroom to check on Hua Ruxue’s condition.

Although she was still unconscious, her lips were regaining their rosy color thanks to the proper care Yan Liqiang had administered. Even her breathing had slowly evened out.

Upon seeing Hua Ruxue’s improvement, Yan Liqiang finally breathed a sigh of relief. He went to the room adjacent to his bedroom, lit up an incense stick, and started training his eyesight in the darkness, followed by Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing as his night regime. Afterward, he washed up in the yard and went back to the room next to his bedroom upstairs. Sitting cross-legged, he entered the Heavenly Realm and resumed his life there...

The Yan Liqiang in the Heavenly Realm and the group of people from the Four Seas Escort Agency only stayed a night in Feng Provincial City. Then resumed their journey back to the Divine Sword Sect...

......

Early next morning, Yan Liqiang was already up when the sky was still dark outside. He went into his bedroom first and found Hua Ruxue still lying on his bed. Yan Liqiang was totally relieved to find that her complexion was a lot rosier. After completing his morning regime, he locked up his courtyard and went off to practice his spear technique at the waterfall on the mountain beyond the archery range...

Goldie had been in heat over the past two days so it seemed to be a little agitated. Hence, Yan Liqiang decided to just let it take some time off and allowed Goldie to wander off to wherever it wanted to play. Therefore, even he himself didn’t know where it had run off to...

Chapter 299: Dragonlike Spear

After twenty days of training, Yan Liqiang could now stand steadily on the slippery rock, and he started to grasp the spear-shaking method.

His mind was wandering with thoughts, and with no better way to shake the thoughts away, he focused all his might on training. That was the only escape for him anyway. All he wanted was to temporarily forget about the inevitable catastrophe in the Imperial Capital four years from now.

The Dragon Spine Steel spear, despite its massive, four hundred jin weight, shook faster as Yan Liqiang exerted more energy on the handle.

Yan Liqiang closed his eyes and focused on his sense of hearing. Every cell in his body, along with every vein, every muscle, and even his bones vibrated along with the spear. Only his feet were firmly attached to the rock as though they were rooted...

Yan Liqiang had no idea how long he had been shaking the spear in his hands. All he knew was that as he was exerting more and more energy into the spear, it vibrated more and more vigorously, and he felt the vibrations on his hands intensifying too. Keeping his eyes closed, he could slowly sense that the spear was coming to life. It was no longer a mere object. Instead, it became like a wild python fighting to escape Yan Liqiang’s grip. Yan Liqiang’s body was now numb from the vibration. He could no longer feel his own hands, feet, or body. The only support he had was none other than the willpower in his heart. He was determined to not give up, and that was the only thing that kept him going as long as he was breathing...

Just as Yan Liqiang thought that he was at the brink of his limit for the day, a loud noise suddenly rang out in his head.

Buzz...

It was as deep and loud as a roaring dragon, and it came from the spear in his hand.

Yan Liqiang opened his eyes. Without him realizing it, he was shaking the spear at such a high frequency that he could no longer see it with his own eyes. At this point, the Dragon Spine steel spear had turned into something like a steel tuning fork as it continued to make loud humming noises...

This noise acted like a mysterious energy field as it penetrated Yan Liqiang’s body. He could not understand why, but he could slowly feel his own hands and feet, which were numb just seconds ago, again through the humming noise. If he were to describe the feeling, it would be akin to frozen food thawing after being taken out from the fridge.

Streams of water from the waterfall fell on the vibrating spear handle, and they instantly turned into countless fine water droplets that bounced off the spear like playful dancing elves. The streams of water turned into water droplets, which then turned into finer droplets that created a dense mist which shrouded Yan Liqiang. When the sun above him shone down, a little man-made rainbow was formed above the pool.

As the spear continued humming, Li Hongtu, who had been sleeping all this while in the thatched cottage and rarely came to see Yan Liqiang train, suddenly rushed out of the cottage. He stood by the pool of water as he stared with his eyes and mouth wide open. He simply could not believe what he was witnessing and even rubbed his eyes. He was staring at Yan Liqiang who was now shrouded by the mist with a little rainbow over his head...

Thump! Just as Yan Liqiang regained his senses, he suddenly felt like his energy had been drained a few seconds later. He could no longer hold the wild python in his hands, and the spear slipped into the pool of water. This sudden change made him lose his balance, and he fell into the water too.

Yan Liqiang dragged himself out of the water and sat on the side to catch his breath. He realized his master was already there, staring at him weirdly.

“Master. Why are you here?” Yan Liqiang gasped as he wiped away the water on his face before walking up to Li Hongtu.

“How did that feel?” Li Hongtu asked as he stared at Yan Liqiang, “Did you notice anything unusual?”

“Well... At first I felt my whole body go numb, like I didn’t even own it anymore. However, when the spear started making noises, I felt my body coming back to life again. I stopped feeling numb, and I slowly regained my senses.” Then, Yan Liqiang paused as he scratched his head in embarrassment, “Master, is my progress too slow? I’ve been practicing for twenty days, but all I achieved was being able to stand on the rock firmly...”

“Do you know how much time I took to steadily stand on the rock and make the spear roar like a dragon?”

“Errr... I don’t know, maybe ten days?” Yan Liqiang blindly guessed.

“Hahahaha!” Li Hongtu burst into laughter. When he stopped, he inhaled deeply as he stared at Yan Liqiang with a serious face, “Close enough. I used a little more than ten days, but you are not doing too bad either. You are progressing at a good pace.”

“Really? I feel like I’m not progressing fast enough. I’m not up to your standard...” Yan Liqiang mumbled.

Li Hongtu rolled his eyes as he heard what Yan Liqiang said. He ordered, “Pick up that spear.”

Yan Liqiang was a little surprised to hear this, but he proceeded to do as he was told. He jumped into the pool and picked up the spear. He held the spear carefully in his hand as he walked up to Li Hongtu.

“Stab twice with the spear...” Li Hongtu ordered.

“Stab where?”

“In the air, of course. Anywhere. Do I look like I’ve lived enough and I want you to stab me?” Li Hongtu yelled.

Yan Liqiang chuckled as he held the spear and walked to the empty space in front of him. He stabbed the air, pulled back the spear, and stabbed again.

Wait a minute...

Yan Liqiang could already notice the difference in his stabs just by stabbing twice. It was a random stab, but the spear created a shadow in the air. It cut through the air with high precision. Yan Liqiang could wield the spear with ease like it was a part of his body. Not only that, the speed of his spear seemed to be faster than it was before.

Yan Liqiang couldn’t get enough of that feeling, so he continued with another two moves. Everything seemed so easy to him now.

He was overwhelmed with excitement, “Master, is this what you have been talking to me about?”

“This is just the start. You will learn the real stuff after this. In the path of cultivation, you either go forward or fall behind. Keep on practicing diligently every day, and do not stop,” Li Hongtu said with a stern face as he pointed at the pool, “From tomorrow onward, practice on the rock as usual in the morning, but after your lunch break, practice shaking your spear in the water.”

“In the water?”

“Of course. Practice until you can shake the spear underwater for an hour straight without taking a single breath. Now, go on. I’ll go back to sleep...” Li Hongtu said as he started yawning.

“Yes, Master. I shall leave now. I’ll be back tomorrow...” Yan Liqiang left the spear in the water, then he changed his clothes and left.

Li Hongtu watched Yan Liqiang leave with solemn face. He only turned around and strolled back to his thatched cottage when Yan Liqiang was far away.

Yan Liqiang missed what happened next. The moment Li Hongtu turned around, the solemn expression on his master’s face vanished and was replaced by an extremely excited expression instead. Li Hongtu’s eyes brightened. His aged face flushed and he excitedly held his fists together in excitement as he mumbled to himself. “It took me seven years to master that! Seven years! And you did that in only twenty days! Twenty days and you are already at this level! How can there be someone this gifted in the world?”

......

Yan Liqiang, on the other hand, did not return home. He instead had another agenda. He went to meet Eunuch Liu. He greeted the eunuch and went ahead to look for Little Li and Little Chun to find out what happened in the city last night.

Little Li and Little Chun were Eunuch Liu’s eyes and ears. They reported everything that happened in the city to Eunuch Liu on a daily basis.

The news Yan Liqiang gathered was that the Vice Minister of Works, Zuo Teng, was assassinated in his home just last night...

Chapter 300: Under The Same Roof

When Yan Liqiang finally returned to his residence, the servant who had been delivering his daily meals was already there with a basket full of food.

“Commandant Yan...” The servant saw Yan Liqiang and greeted him politely with a smile as he passed him the food basket, “Here’s your lunch...”

“Well, what do we have here?”

“A few dishes with fresh veggies, deer meatballs, and stewed ginseng turtle soup. These were all meticulously prepared by the chef himself!”

“Great. My training has been exhausting lately. Can you inform the chef to prepare a soup that can help with physical recovery for the next few days?”

“Sure, I will bear that in mind...”

“Thank you...”

“You are most welcome, Commandant Yan...”

Yan Liqiang calmly nodded with a smile as he accepted the food basket. He pushed open his front door and entered his courtyard while the servant stayed outside as usual.

Carrying the lunch, Yan Liqiang walked into the house and headed straight to the second

floor. He pushed the door of the bedroom open and walked inside.

Suddenly, a sharp shiny sword sprang from behind the door, resting directly on Yan Liqiang’s neck.

Yan Liqiang knew it was Hua Ruxue without even looking. Besides, the sword only moved based on her instinct rather than murderous intent.

Hua Ruxue still looked pale, but her condition seemed to have significantly improved compared to last night. At least she could hold the sword steadily. The moment Yan Liqiang saw her, his eyes landed on her body involuntarily.

Hua Ruxue was wearing Yan Liqiang’s black training clothes. Although Yan Liqiang was strong and fit, the set of clothes looked tight on her because she was a busty woman. She tried to button up the two buttons near the collar, but unfortunately, due to her good body shape, only one could merely be done. The tight clothes showed off her curves and the exposed fair skin at the collar area could make people get lost in their wildest fantasies.

Hua Ruxue would usually tightly bind her chest, but Yan Liqiang had burnt away her strap and clothes yesterday as they were soaked with too much blood. Since she couldn’t find anything here which she could use to bind her chest when she woke up, she simply took one of his clothes to cover herself up.

To Yan Liqiang, Hua Ruxue looked more seductive like this.

The Hua Ruxue in front of him right now was much more feminine and approachable compared the stunning and ethereal Sword Fairy he met during their first meeting.

“Where are you looking at...” Noticing that Yan Liqiang’s gaze was on that certain part of her upper body, Hua Ruxue immediately blushed and raised her sword, with the tip touching his neck.

“Hey hey hey, careful, don’t just simply move your hand.....” Yan Liqiang lifted his chin and yelled. “I was just looking at my clothes, what’s wrong with that? The clothes you’re wearing belong to me. I’ve had them for years, and we have developed a special bond. I didn’t even blame you for touching my things and yet you’re blaming me now. This is unfair...”

“Last night... were you... were you the person who... helped me... helped me clean up my wound...?” Hua Ruxue’s cheeks were flaming, and her hand that was holding the sword started trembling. It took a lot of effort and energy for her to confront Yan Liqiang.

The truth was, Hua Ruxue had just woken up for less than half an hour and found herself lying naked under the blanket. The wound on her chest had been carefully treated and bandaged in a special way. The other parts of her body were unhurt. This had caused Hua Ruxue to fall into deliriousness, mixed with feelings of anxiousness and shame.

“I’m the only person who lives here. Who else in Deer Villa would be so kind as to dress your wound other than me?” Yan Liqiang glanced at Hua Ruxue, then gently pushed the sword away from his neck with two fingers. The sword was effortlessly moved away by Yan Liqiang as Hua Ruxue’s hand was weak. “Someone would have definitely arrested you if they saw your appearance here in that black suit. It wouldn’t matter if you were a male or female, you would either be thrown into prison or have bled to death by now. You should thank me for being able to stand instead of pointing the sword at the one who saved your life...”

Yan Liqiang then walked toward the table and placed the food on it. “Stop daydreaming, come and eat something. You need to food to replenish your strength. You lost too much blood last night. I made it just in time to feed you an Essence Nurturing Pill, but that was not enough...” In the meantime, he had taken out the food from the basket. The room was soon filled with the fragrance of food.

“Why... why did you help me?” Hua Ruxue lowered her sword and walked toward Yan Liqiang. She was perplexed.

“Please, put down the sword. I feel like I’m being interrogated with that sword in your hand...”

Hua Ruxue slid the sword back into her scabbard.

“Since you still think of my place as a safe hideout after yesterday’s situation, it at least proves that I’m not a bad guy in your heart. Hence, I shall not spoil my own reputation and disappoint you, right?” Yan Liqiang smiled and gave Hua Ruxue a wink.

“I will repay your kindness for saving me, but... you better forget everything you saw yesterday and pretend nothing happened!” Hua Ruxue said as she bit her lips.

“Hahaha... don’t worry. I’m a forgetful person. I could have forgotten about it all if you didn’t mention it!” Yan Liqiang laughed and joked, trying to ease Hua Ruxue’s embarrassment. “Just relax and stay here for these two days while you are still healing. I live here and Deer Villa is considered to be quite remote. Normally, no one will come over and outsiders are prohibited. Those servants in Deer Villa do not dare to enter the courtyard without my permission either. Let’s discuss further after you have recovered enough to leave on your own!”

“Don’t you want to know what had I did yesterday? Are you not worried that I might bring you harm?”

“I heard that the Vice Minister of Works, Zuo Teng, was assassinated, but I’m not close to him. I didn’t even know what the killer looked like. It could be a man, a woman, or even a demon. Also, I’m the Yingyang Commandant of the Imperial Cavalry Unit, so this is not under my jurisdiction. The death of an officer in the capital city is none of my business! I don’t see how you will get me involved in this,” Yan Liqiang said in a carefree manner while serving a bowl of stewed ginseng turtle soup to Hua Ruxue. “Sit down and try this, we have a good chef here at Deer Villa. There’s only a pair of chopsticks here, you can use it first while I go find another pair...”

After saying that, Yan Liqiang went downstairs. In just a flash, he was back with a pair of chopsticks which he made from the tree branches in the yard.

“Please, go ahead and eat!” Yan Liqiang said while taking the lid off the pot. He flipped it over to use it as a bowl and started to enjoy his meal. “I trained the entire morning. I’m starving now...”

Seeing that Yan Liqiang had begun to eat, Hua Ruxue looked at the bowl of soup in front of her. She took a small fetch of the soup and sipped politely.

Hua Ruxue was unable to eat much. She stopped eating after drinking the small bowl of soup. Yan Liqiang devoured the rest.

The meal helped break the ice between the two. The room was much less tense now after they were both full.

“Can you... can you please buy me two sets of clothes which will fit me from the city?” Hua Ruxue requested shyly. She looked better now after the meal.

Yan Liqiang glanced at Hua Ruxue and gulped a little as he made a serious face, “Hmm... This is a tough one... I must apply for a day off from Eunuch Liu if I want to leave Deer Villa. But I just applied for a day off yesterday, and I’m afraid that I can’t do this again within the next few weeks. There are some maids in Deer Villa, but if I request maid clothes from them, it might raise some suspicions. Anyway, you’re not going out these few days, so just bear with it and rest in this room.”

Of course, Hua Ruxue wouldn’t know that Yan Liqiang was just being a perverted jackass here. She believed whatever Yan Liqiang said without a second thought.

Still, it was a little too early to celebrate. As soon as they finished their meal, he took the food basket downstairs for the servants to take it away. When he went back to the second floor, he found out that he had been locked out of his own bedroom.

Hua Ruxue’s voice came from within the room, “It’s not convenient for a male and a female to stay in the same room. I will stay in this room for the next few days. I noticed that there is a bed in the room next door. Please stay in that room. I need to heal in silence for the next few days. A meal each day will be sufficient. Please do not come in to disturb me while I’m healing. I might hurt you by accident...”

Did this once in a lifetime opportunity to feast his eyes just slip through his hands?

Yan Liqiang was taken aback. There was nothing he could do other than laugh awkwardly. He returned to the room and continued cultivating Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing...

And just like that, Hua Ruxue stayed in Yan Liqiang’s courtyard...

At night, when the sound of rushing water came through the wall when Hua Ruxue was taking a bath, Yan Liqiang’s fifteen-year-old virile body reacted for the first time as his heart began racing...

Chapter 301: Ice and Fire

Even with Hua Ruxue around, Yan Liqiang’s daily life in Deer Villa carried on as usual. Instead of becoming easier, it got even more exhausting because his master, Li Hongtu, raised the difficulty of his training. Yan Liqiang had to continue cultivating under the waterfall after lunch despite his exhaustion from the morning training. The fact that the subsequent training was to be done underwater made it ten times more difficult than before.

Water was about seven hundred times denser than air. At this density, the movements of a spear would encounter greater resistance. Hence, more energy and explosive power were required to shake it. One would comprehend this if they thought about the difference between running on a road versus underwater. Not only that, the vibrating spear would generate water ripples which carried pressure that would constantly batter against Yan Liqiang, making it even more difficult for him to maintain his balance. To top it off, Yan Liqiang couldn’t breathe underwater. Therefore, all these things had to be performed by only relying on one mouthful of air...

Li Hongtu’s objective was to make Yan Liqiang persist for an hour underwater.

Without shaking the spear, Yan Liqiang felt that he could hold his breath underwater for an hour with some practice. However, he had to maintain his balance while shaking a spear underwater for an hour. With such intense stamina consumption, he also had to constantly resist the water pressure. Yan Liqiang doubted anyone in this world could ever succeed in this kind of training.

Since his master had spoken, Yan Liqiang would have to press on despite the difficulty.

With that, Yan Liqiang returned to his small courtyard with his physical strength and stamina completely drained after his daily cultivation regimen. It was not an exaggeration to say that he was so exhausted that he almost had to crawl home every day.

In the dark days of cultivation, Hua Ruxue became the only source of color in Yan Liqiang’s life.

Sitting at the same table as Hua Ruxue during lunch every day, watching her elegantly eat and engaging her in a small conversation had become a rare enjoyment for Yan Liqiang. He secretly imagined her as a beautiful private coach from the gym in his previous life because it was natural for men to like showing off in front of beauties. This was why one-on-one private coaching lessons from a beautiful female coach were extremely effective. During each meal, Yan Liqiang constantly reminded himself to never give up despite the difficulty while watching Hua Ruxue.

With this kind of persistence, Yan Liqiang could feel himself improving despite the daily hardships he had to face. At a time like this, the effects of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing were once again harnessed. When Yan Liqiang performed his night regime, he could feel the changes brought about by every round of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing. Overall, it was strengthening his entire body, starting from his head to toe – more stamina, more explosive power, quicker pace, stronger endurance...

The capacity of Yan Liqiang’s lungs expanded even more with the pressure they were exposed to and the rounds of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing he performed every day. This allowed Yan Liqiang to hold his breath underwater for a progressively longer time period.

Day by day, Yan Liqiang was making progress. Yet Hua Ruxue’s road to recovery wasn’t as optimistic as he expected. Apart from the visible wound under her chest, she also seemed to have sustained a rather serious internal injury which impeded her recovery. Every three days, Hua Ruxue would fall into great pain at night.

At first, Yan Liqiang didn’t notice Hua Ruxue’s internal injury until they had lived three days together. He heard the faint agonized moans coming from her room when he was sleeping in his. Quickly realizing that something was wrong, he got up and rushed to her room. Knocking on the door, he asked, “Are you alright?”

“Don’t... come in...!” Hua Ruxue’s voice from the other side of the door was weak but extremely determined.

Yan Liqiang hesitated for a moment and returned to his room instead of going into hers...

Three days later, Yan Liqiang heard strange noises coming from Hua Ruxue’s room around midnight again. Hua Ruxue didn’t make any sounds this time. Instead, it sounded like she was clawing out the wood with her nails while enduring the tremendous pain.

Yan Liqiang got up and knocked on her door again.

“Are you alright?”

“Don’t... come in...” The voice from the room was slightly hoarse.

Yan Liqiang did not go in. During lunch the next day, he noticed five distinct claw marks on the mahogany wood of her bed. She appeared to be rather weak too on that day.

“You have other injuries on your body?” he asked Hua Ruxue.

“Internal injury...” she replied simply.

“Do you need any medicine? I’ll think of something if you require them. There’s quite a lot of medicinal herbs available in Deer Villa...”

“This internal injury is...” Hua Ruxue was about to say something, but she changed her mind. “Nevermind. You’ll just have to know that there’s no effective cure for it. I will cope with it!”

Three days later, the sounds of nails dragging across wood rang out again from Hua Ruxue’s room around midnight. Yan Liqiang would wake up every time to check up on her. However, her response to him was always the same –”Don’t... come in...”

......

In just the blink of an eye, they had been living together for twenty-one days...

When Yan Liqiang cultivated Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing tonight, there was a sudden change. While his lungs were being strengthened by the energy and spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth, he suddenly felt as though an invisible barrier in his nose had been torn down and the smell in the room suddenly became distinct. Another unfamiliar and strange warm current rose from his lungs. It gushed from his lungs to his kidneys like hot water, making them feel nice and warm like two hot water bottles.

The strengthening of one organ in his body was actually linked to another organ, bringing about changes in the other. This was unprecedented...

In that exact moment, two sentences he once read in the manual suddenly resurfaced in his mind –

The lungs pertain to metal and open into the nose!

The kidneys pertain to water and open into the ears!

Metal produces water...

Yan Liqiang didn’t know how long he had been immersed in that warm and comfortable state. He only snapped back to reality when he heard the sounds of nails clawing into wood again. Looking at the night sky from the window, it was already midnight as expected...

Hua Ruxue was a little loud tonight. The noise sounded like a porcelain tile scratching against the wall. Apart from the clawing sounds, Yan Liqiang also heard the faint agonized moans again which he hadn’t heard for many days.

He quickly rushed out of his room and knocked on Hua Ruxue’s door. “Are you alright?”

This time, there was no reply from her. He heard something fall instead.

Yan Liqiang shouted twice again, but failed to get any response from inside. Without thinking, he applied a little force on his hands, broke the door lock like a sheet of paper, and quickly strode into the room.

It was dark inside but Yan Liqiang could still clearly see Hua Ruxue lying on her bed motionlessly. When he rushed over to her side, he saw that her eyes were closed and her face was pale like paper. He felt for the pulse on her neck and realized that she was as cold as ice. So terrifyingly cold that there was not a trace of warmth left in her.

“Wake up! Wake up...!” Yan Liqiang shook her, but he found out that she wasn’t even responding. In just the blink of an eye, he realized that there was a layer of frost on the back of her hands and her body was slowly turning stiff...

Yan Liqiang was so shocked that he panicked. He didn’t even know how to deal with the situation. Upon seeing Hua Ruxue freezing, he took off his clothes without any hesitation and embraced her tightly in his arms, attempting to warm her up with his chest.

Hua Ruxue looked exactly like a beautiful ice sculpture at this moment. Embracing her was no different than embracing a block of ice.

Not only that, it seemed like there was a trace of strange cold Qi in her body. When Yan Liqiang held her in his arms, the cold Qi automatically assaulted Yan Liqiang and invaded his body...

BOOM...!

As soon as the cold Qi invaded Yan Liqiang’s dantian, the sleeping golden Six-Tusked Elephant that was condensed out from Ten Dragons Ten Elephants Divine Technique suddenly burned up and glowed brilliantly. Its entire body was covered in golden flames that instantly evaporated the cold Qi that invaded Yan Liqiang’s body without leaving a single trace behind.

The ring of golden flames on the gigantic elephant mercilessly engulfed the cold Qi in Yan Liqiang’s body, then invaded Hua Ruxue’s body...

Just a few seconds later, Hua Ruxue finally stirred. She was like someone who felt the warmth of fire after freezing in the darkness. Her subconsciousness dictated her to reach out to the ball of warmth, hold it tightly in her arms, melt it into her body, and become one with it...

Chapter 302: Traceless Spring Dream

By the time Yan Liqiang woke up, sunlight had flooded the bedroom through the window. It passed through the dark yellow curtains of the room, bathing the room in a warm, yellow light.

When Yan Liqiang tried to recall the incidents from last night, his mind went blank for two seconds before he shot up from the bed.

A faint fragrance lingered on the bed, but the pillow beside him was empty. Yan Liqiang pulled the blanket away and noticed the vibrant crimson spots on the sheets.

He leaped off the bed, rushed to the wardrobe butt-naked, and swung the wardrobe door open.

As expected, a set of clothes was missing.

Hua Ruxue had left. The incident from last night was nothing more than a spring dream that had vanished without a trace upon his awakening.

Yan Liqiang stood blankly before the wardrobe, feeling somewhat lost and empty.

He looked at his own reflection in the huge and gorgeous bronze mirror in front of the wardrobe. After staring at it blankly for a short while, he spotted the two fresh bite marks on his chest...

Gently caressing the bite marks on his chest and recalling Hua Ruxue inability to restrain herself from biting his chest while moaning last night, Yan Liqiang’s face broke into a knowing smile...

......

Yan Liqiang arrived on the mountain beyond the archery range two hours later than usual.

Li Hongtu, who was rarely seen in the morning because he was usually asleep in the thatched cottage, was unexpectedly standing at the edge of the pool.

Looking at Li Hongtu’s emotionless face, Yan Liqiang felt a little guilty for some reason. He went up to his master and greeted him, “Master!”

“Why are you two hours late today?!” Li Hongtu gave him a stern look. He pointed straight at Yan Liqiang’s nose and started berating him, “So you think you can start slacking because you feel content enough with your current cultivation?! You should know that the path of cultivation is an extremely arduous one to take! You will never be invincible and deadly without putting in the hard work to forge your way ahead vigorously!”

Li Hongtu continued berating Yan Liqiang with the same breath while pointing at him for a full three minutes before he finally stopped.

“Well, Master...”

“What do you have to say?” Li Hongtu glared at him.

Yan Liqiang had a pitiful expression on his face. “Master, I did not intend to be late. The cultivation over these few days has been really taxing. I blacked out during my training at night and slept the entire night away on my bedroom floor. As soon as I woke up, I quickly rushed here...”

Li Hongtu was taken aback. “You still train at night after you go home?”

“Yes, I train up to four hours every night before I sleep!”

“What kind of training?”

“Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist technique, A Series of Blows technique, some eye exercises, and a lightness skill technique known as the Cloud Dragon’s Ten Transformations technique...”

“That many?” The stern look on Li Hongtu’s face was immediately replaced with a look of pity. “Why didn’t you say so earlier...?”

“Well, you didn’t ask...”

Li Hongtu’s tone of voice immediately softened. “Forget about that Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist technique. By the time you truly grasp the skill I pass onto you, you will be able to apply the spear technique on the fists too. By then, your fist techniques will naturally increase by a few realms. Even the most basic Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist technique will be able to shatter the Heavens and Earth. You may continue training the Series of Blows and lightness skill techniques, but in appropriate amounts so that it won’t affect your training the next day. Otherwise, it will only do more harm than good. Remember, your foundation lies in the spear technique. As long as you solidify the foundation, the cultivation of other techniques will naturally come to fruition. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Master...”

“Tell that eunuch I request the Deer Villa’s kitchen to serve you Dragon-Tiger Ten Ingredients Tonic soup once a week. There’s good stuff in Deer Villa’s storehouse, so you don’t need to hold back for their sake. If the eunuch refuses, I will remove his bird’s nest...”

Yan Liqiang nodded as he humbly accepted the instructions. “Understood!”

Li Hongtu twirled his beard while frowning. After thinking to himself for a moment, he spoke up. “Let’s postpone the training for this afternoon. We’ll call it a day so you can rest and recover your stamina before we resume as usual tomorrow. From now on, you’ll have a one day break in the afternoon every two days. Let me know if you experience any physical discomfort...”

“Understood!”

“Alright, go!” Li Hongtu waved at him before he yawned and strolled back to his thatched cottage.

Yan Liqiang watched Li Hongtu until he went into his cottage, then secretly stuck his tongue out. He stripped his clothes, exposing his naked torso and the two fresh bite marks on his chest to the air. With a plop, he dived into the pool and fished out his spear, then lifted himself up on a rock and started shaking the spear...

The way Yan Liqiang shook the spear now was completely different than how it was a month ago. As soon as he had the four-hundred-jin Dragon Spine Steel spear in his hands, he could start vibrating it at a high frequency without any warm-ups or preparation, causing it to hum like the growls of a dragon...

The flying droplets that landed on the vibrating spear instantly dissipated into clear mist that shrouded Yan Liqiang. Under the sunlight, a beautiful rainbow arched above the pool like a dreamy illusion...

......

After completing his morning training, Yan Liqiang returned to his small courtyard at noon and quietly finished the sumptuous lunch that was served to him alone.

Recalling those wonderful days of having a beauty by his side while looking at the empty room today, Yan Liqiang could only shake his head regretfully with a wry smile on his face.

Even though Li Hongtu allowed Yan Liqiang to take a break this afternoon, Yan Liqiang found his thoughts to be wandering around today and lost his mood to cultivate.

All of a sudden, the face of a certain daoist priest appeared in his mind. Yan Liqiang’s heart stirred as he recalled his meeting with the priest and the conversation they had. The desire to investigate this matter kindled in his heart.

......

Yan Liqiang changed into casual clothes after lunch and left Deer Villa on Snowstorm Cloud.

In just less than an hour, he arrived at the foot of Mount Xiaoyun outside of the Imperial Capital. He stood at the foot of the mountain and looked up. Mount Xiaoyun wasn’t steep but it was shrouded by clouds, causing it to give off an air of profoundness despite its height. The mountain was the garden of the Imperial Capital. Many people came to sightsee on the mountain since the weather was fine today.

After leaving Snowstorm Cloud in an inn at the foot of the mountain, Yan Liqiang started trekking up the mountain.

Yan Liqiang thought the White Dragon Temple would be easy to find. To his surprise, out of the eight tourists and three woodcutters he asked, none of them had ever even heard of the place. Yan Liqiang wandered around the mountain for half a day before he finally met an old herb gatherer. When the old man heard that Yan Liqiang was looking around for the daoist temple, he frowned and hesitated for a good while before speaking. “I have been gathering herbs on Mount Xiaoyun for decades. Never have I ever heard of any White Dragon Temple here. But I do know where the Heaven Gazing Temple, Three Immortals Temple, or Seven Stars Temple are... Oh right. I saw a dilapidated daoist temple when I was gathering herbs around a deserted area on the mountain behind Mount Xiaoyun two years ago. The temple did not have a name, but it seemed like someone was living there. It could be the White Dragon Temple you are looking for, young man...”

After asking the herb gatherer for directions to that unnamed temple, Yan Liqiang stepped foot onto the mountain behind Mount Xiaoyun...

Chapter 303: I Love You, Cui Hua

The path behind Mount Xiaoyun was secluded and winding. Visitors were considered rare in these parts. Most places did not have accessible paths either 一 there was only a small pathway that a person could barely pass through in between the dense thicket and rocky walls.

Yan Liqiang followed the herb gatherer’s guidance through the path behind the mountain. He was searching for the daoist temple that the herb gatherer mentioned while progressing forward. Eventually, he caught sight of the temple nestled in a remote cove behind Mount Xiaoyun.

Truthfully, Yan Liqiang wasn’t really sure whether this daoist temple was the White Dragon Temple that the daoist priest named Fang Beidou mentioned that day. However, there were only a handful of daoist temples in Mount Xiaoyun. The other temples were famous and well-known. If this daoist temple wasn’t the White Dragon Temple, then Yan Liqiang didn’t know where else the White Dragon Temple would be located.

Yan Liqiang had already made up his mind. If this daoist temple wasn’t the White Dragon Temple he was looking for, then he would go back right away, give up the search for that daoist priest, and disregard the thought of whether that daoist priest was truly deceiving him or not.

In the hillside outside of the daoist temple, there were two vegetable gardens that were surrounded by bamboo fences. There were several plum trees planted beside the vegetable gardens as well. In the nearby distance, there was a brook where the water was made to stream directly into the garden through a small irrigation canal. Although the crops weren’t growing luxuriantly, they were flourishing nonetheless. The scenery in front of him was somewhat rustic, which also indicated that someone inhabited this daoist temple at the same time.

The temple was built just beside the vegetable gardens. The dark red color of the exterior wall had already mottled terribly. There was a damaged rock above the original entrance to the temple where the front structure had already disappeared. With some difficulty, he could see the word ‘temple’ on the incomplete signage.

The entire temple wasn’t huge. Looking at it from the outside, there only seemed to be about four or five rooms.

The gates to the daoist temple were open. The paving slabs were unusually clean, as if they had just been washed just a few moments ago.

Yan Liqiang walked inside without hesitation after he had observed the appearance of the daoist temple.

Before he could take ten steps further into the gates, the view of a courtyard appeared in front of him. There was a luscious and sturdy old pine tree in the courtyard with a number of birds chirping on top of it. Below the tree were a stone table and two stone stools, where a stove was placed on top of the table, bubbling with boiling water. There were two tea sets placed beside the stove too. The daoist priest whom Yan Liqiang met the other day was wearing a set of plain white robes as he stood right under the pine tree while gazing at Yan Liqiang with a smile. There wasn’t an expression of surprise on his face, as if he had already known that Yan Liqiang would come to this place.

“Please excuse me for not going out to greet you when you came to visit. I can only welcome you in good faith and serve you some tea that I have picked from the mountains...”

Yan Liqiang’s gaze then shifted toward the arranged tea sets on the table with a shocked expression on his face. He decided to come here today spontaneously and did not detect anyone following him after he went up into the mountains. How could this daoist priest have known that he was coming?

This daoist priest seemed to be the only person inside the temple.

“How did you know I was coming?” Yan Liqiang asked while walking toward the pine tree.

“When a magpie cried in the courtyard this morning, I felt a jolt in my heart and knew that an honored guest would come visit based on a quick calculation. Because of that, I made a small preparation!” The daoist priest explained as he watched Yan Liqiang approaching closer before sitting down. It was only then that the priest smiled and sat down as well. With the boiled water, he made Yan Liqiang a pot of tea and continued, “This wild tea goes well with the spring water from the mountains. There’s a special taste to it...”

As expected, this daoist priest was quite resourceful. However, in the eyes of an ‘experienced’ person who had stopped being ostentatious for many years, the priest’s pretentious method was like child’s play to Yan Liqiang. Yan Liqiang took a cursory glance at the bubbling tea leaves inside the cup and undoubtedly did not drink it. Instead, he glared at the daoist priest. Slamming his palms on the table, he quickly reversed roles and said, “That’s it, let’s cut this nonsense. I did not come here to look for you just to experience rural tourism. Let me keep it straight. What is the meaning behind the confusing things you said to me that day? I don’t understand it at all, not even half of it. I came to Mount Xiaoyun today out of curiosity and to verify whether you are a lunatic or a trickster. I will give you fifteen minutes to convince me of your bullsh*t and then tell me why you approached me in the first place. If you can’t finish your explanations within this time frame, I will leave immediately and never come back to look for you again!”

Fang Beidou seemed to have been choked by those words. The smile that was on his face a moment ago suddenly became stiff. He stared at Yan Liqiang, which was followed by Yan Liqiang relentlessly staring back at him. Both men continued to gaze at each other without making a peep for about two minutes before Fang Beidou finally let out a sigh and put down the kettle in his hand. Afterward, he took out a silk sachet from his chest and placed it on the table. As he pushed the sachet toward Yan Liqiang, he spoke in a relaxed manner.

“My master left this silk sachet for me before he passed away. You can open it and take a look inside!”

Yan Liqiang glanced at Fang Beidou without any attempt to hide his suspicion. He did not open the silk sachet right away. Instead, he pinched the sachet first. As he did so, he realized there weren’t any sharp objects or poisonous insects inside but only a piece of paper. It was only then that he opened the sachet and took out a neatly folded piece of paper before he unfolded it to reveal the two sentences written on it.

“A young man in green will enter the West Glorious Gate in the afternoon of the 28th, with marigolds in his hand. The Will of Heaven is indeed everchanging – a man’s world is mutable, seas become mulberry fields.”

These two sentences were the exact words that Yan Liqiang heard the other day.

“What’s the meaning of this?” Yan Liqiang asked Fang Beidou.

“This is what my master entrusted to me before he passed away last year!” Fang Beidou became dejected as he answered, “Before he died, he told me that a calamity will plague the Great Han Empire in four years. Countless people will turn to ash during this catastrophe. There will be an endless and horrific war and man-made misfortunes after the tragedy that exceeds natural disasters by a hundred fold occurs. In the next fifty years, there will be the danger of extermination to the hundreds and millions of Chinese descendants. And the only thing that can change this all is one person. This person has been liberated from the physical world and is not restrained to the numbers, thus he has the ability to change destiny. This person is the only one who can change everything. When my master was done, he then gave me this silk sachet to open during the 4th lunar month this year. When the time came, he said I would be able to follow the words inside the silk sachet and find that person...” Fang Beidou looked at Yan Liqiang with a determined look, “On the 28th, I arrived early at the West Glorious Gate of the Imperial Capital and waited. It wasn’t until the afternoon that I saw you in green with marigolds in your hands while walking into the city. This is why I followed you. You are that person...”

F*ck!

Yan Liqiang was stunned. He looked at Fang Beidou before turning his gaze toward the silk sachet in front of him, unable to believe what he had just heard. However, if the entire thing turned out to be an act, how could the person directing this act possibly know about the calamity that would befall the Great Han Empire in four years? How could this person predict that he would be wearing green clothes while holding marigolds as he entered the city from the West Glorious Gate? If this person truly had such a talent, was there anything else that he could not do in this world? If so, why would he need to make a fool out of a nameless nobody?

After half a day passed, Yan Liqiang finally gulped down his water and inquired, “Who is your master?”

“My master is Su Baiya, the greatest sorcerer of the Great Han Empire, proprietor of the star observation platform in the Imperial Capital, and the imperial astronomer of the Great Han Empire. Originally, my master told me last year that he still had at least ten more years to live in the future. However, when he was doing a night observation of the stars, he discovered that the stars were unusual. There was an omen of great evil to the entire future of the Great Han Empire as well as the danger of the extermination of its people. Because of that, he exhausted ten years of his lifespan to predict the whereabouts of that change of destiny...” Fang Beidou answered while two drops of tears rolled down on his cheeks...

Yan Liqiang sighed, “I’m afraid your master made a mistake. Even though I consider myself decent among my contemporaries – in fact, a bit stronger than the others... I still don’t have that kind of capability!”

“No, you do. You definitely have it. My master is never wrong!” Fang Beidou’s eyes were red as he looked at Yan Liqiang with confidence that exceeded that of Yan Liqiang’s, “My master said you have been liberated from the physical world and are not restrained to the numbers. You can do what ordinary people can’t do, which means you must have the ability to change the world...” Fang Beidou said as he stood up immediately to straighten out his clothes before kneeling to Yan Liqiang, “Fang Beidou respectfully greets my lord!”

“What are you doing?” Yan Liqiang was startled and swiftly jumped up from the stone bench.

“My master wanted me to acknowledge you as my lord as soon as I met you and help you alter the incoming catastrophe of the Great Han Empire...”

Yan Liqiang abruptly raised his voice and said, “Hey hey hey. First things first. The money I earn is only enough for me to spend. Don’t assume you can make me pay you to do things just by following me around. Besides, your master is making me do something that is beyond my capabilities. Let me repeat this, I don’t have the capability to do that...”

“Does that mean you will watch hundreds of millions of Chinese people die and not show sympathy when you see countless people lose their lives? Are you reluctant to save them?” Fang Beidou stood up and vehemently glared at Yan Liqiang. When Yan Liqiang saw the agitated expression on his face, he realized that he had no idea how many days those words had been buried deep inside his chest.

“I’m leaving. Just treat it like I didn’t even come today and did not hear those nonsensical things you said. Take those words and tell them to the Emperor or the Grand Chancellor. Telling me is useless. I am just a mere Yingyang Commandant...” Yan Liqiang said as he continued to walk toward the exit of the daoist temple, “Who knows if you are telling the truth or lies, or trying to lay trouble for me...”

Fang Beidou’s silhouette flashed and instantaneously appeared in front of Yan Liqiang, blocking his path. He gritted his teeth and glared at Yan Liqiang with an agitated expression, “What do you want me to do to make you believe me?”

“Do you acknowledge me as your lord?” Yan Liqiang asked in return to his question.

“Yes!” Fang Beidou solemnly nodded.

“Since I am your lord, are you going to do whatever I tell you to do?” Yan Liqiang asked again.

“Yes!” Fang Beidou gave a solemn nod once more with a holy glow on his face, “For the sake of granting hundreds of millions of people in the Great Han Empire a chance to live, whatever my lord asks me to do, I will do it. Even if I have to sacrifice my life or smash my body into pieces, it will be worth the effort!”

“Fine, I will give you your first order!” A smile curled up on Yan Liqiang’s face as he continued, “Strip now and wear nothing, do not hide your face either. You will run from here to the Imperial Capital city today, then make one round around the city butt naked while shouting ‘I love you, Cui Hua. I love you Cui Hua...’”

Fang Beidou froze instantly...

Yan Liqiang’s order was a direct reproduction of the scene in ‘The God of Cookery’ where Stephen Chow’s character made Tang Niu excrete in front of everyone just outside the elevator, but it ten times more difficult than the movie scene itself.

Upon seeing Fang Beidou’s dull stares and quivering lips, Yan Liqiang shook his head and sighed, “Then how about this... let’s not make things difficult for each other. Just carry on your life as a daoist priest, drink your tea, and live an idle life. When you feel that the Imperial Capital is not a safe place to live, just run somewhere far after four years and continue living in seclusion. Meanwhile, I will continue my life as a Yingyang Commandant, cultivate my martial arts, and pick up girls. I will do everything that is within my power. Henceforth, we will go our separate ways...”

When Yan Liqiang was done, he left the daoist temple and went down the mountain.

Yan Liqiang returned to the inn where he left Snowstorm Cloud and paid money to retrieve the steed. Afterward, he rode on Snowstorm Cloud and headed back home.

Just as he left Mount Xiaoyun a few moments ago, Yan Liqiang heard a commotion. Countless people and women in particular were screaming behind him on the public road. When he turned his head around, he saw a naked man with disheveled hair dashing across the road while frightening the crowd along the path, especially a number of young women who had come out for a walk. A handful of people screamed while covering their eyes with fright. Some even fainted on the spot.

“I love you, Cui Hua! I love you, Cui Hua...!” A naked man screamed as he ran past Yan Liqiang like a gust of wind. He even used his lightness skill to hasten his speed like a fleeing horse...

Sh*t, he was serious...

Yan Liqiang almost fell off his steed from the shocking situation...

Chapter 304: Ascending Mount Liang

The streaking incident had caused such a commotion that news of it spread throughout the entire Imperial Capital in just one day. The next day in Deer Villa, Yan Liqiang heard someone talking about it. This rumor had a number of versions to it. One of the versions was that an expert cultivating in the mountains had fallen into Qi deviation, thus leading to streaking in madness. Another version said that the person in question had lost his senses because of love, resulting in frantic streaking. However, the third version, which was the most widely circulated in the public, was a combination of the first and second version. The third version was that the streaking man was indeed an expert who fell in love with a woman named Cui Hua at the same time. The day he lost his senses and went streaking was he heard news of Cui Hua marrying someone else. During his cultivation, he fell into Qi deviation, thus leading to that horrific episode.

In any case, Fang Beidou’s performance yesterday had caused quite a stir in the Imperial Capital city.

The only thing that gave Yan Liqiang some relief was that Fang Beidou wasn’t caught even after running around the Imperial Capital in his naked state. Simultaneously, no one knew that the streaking man was Fang Beidou himself despite the fact that the rumor was heavily discussed.

However, Yan Liqiang was still unable to derive any joy from the event because of the dubious nature of the words that Fang Beidou told him the other day. He was a bit skeptical and wouldn’t dare to believe his words entirely. If a stranger suddenly came out and told you that you were a savior of the world and wanted to save the world with you, that sort of thing might’ve still been able to deceive quite a number of people in this era. But for Yan Liqiang who had lived two lives and had seen numerous tricksters and swindlers, he wasn’t burning with righteous indignation, nor did he develop any noble thoughts in his head. More importantly, Yan Liqiang knew what would happen after four years. At this moment, he had no clue how much he could change the world with his own power, or how many people he could save. During these few days, he was vexed from thinking about this issue almost every day. The only way to take his mind off from that was to use cultivation to occupy himself. Yan Liqiang did not have the confidence to bear the heavy responsibility of saving the nation and its people. He particularly did not like being taken hostage by morality. Wasn’t this sort of thing that an Emperor, a Grand Chancellor, or all those historical relics and peerless heroes would do? What about a nameless nobody like him who had just advanced to Supreme Martial Warrior with no power or authority?

Initially, the reason why Yan Liqiang said those things to Fang Beidou was to make him quiet after learning how difficult it would be. After all, Tang Niu from Stephen Chow’s movie didn’t really go in front of everyone in the elevator to defecate.

However, what surprised Yan Liqiang was that Fang Beidou really stripped himself naked and ran around the Imperial Capital in broad daylight with such flawlessness, resolution, and determination, leaving everything behind him...

It wasn’t until this moment that Yan Liqiang felt that he had done a foolish thing. He dug a pit in an attempt to intimidate Fang Beidou, but he didn’t expect that this person would actually have the courage to jump into the pit. At that point, Yan Liqiang realized that he had been dragged into the pit as well. He couldn’t keep himself out of the business anymore and remain indifferent toward the matter.

Three days later, taking advantage of his afternoon break, Yan Liqiang came to Mount Xiaoyun once again.

The difference between this visit and three days ago was that Yan Liqiang felt that he wasn’t going up Mount Xiaoyun this time, but Mount Liang.

“How can you be this stupid and make him run around naked? You should have made him do more difficult things, like comparing strength with him, or make him collect all seven dragon balls, or make him build a railgun. Any of those is better than having him streak through the city. This is just great, you have dug yourself a pit...” Yan Liqiang sighed while walking on the trail behind Mount Xiaoyun.

The sunlight today was bright. Birds were chirping endlessly in the mountain forest. Wild flowers were blossoming everywhere and the scenery was great. Even so, Yan Liqiang was not in the mood to go for an outing at this moment.

This path was the same one he had trekked three days ago, so he was basically familiar with the trail. Yan Liqiang kept on walking and quickly arrived at the dilapidated White Dragon Temple.

The gate to the White Dragon Temple was tightly shut. Yan Liqiang approached the gate and gently knocked on it a few times. After a while, he heard subtle footsteps coming from the temple toward the gate. This was followed by a pair of eyes that peeked through the crack on the door as they peered outside with caution. When the other person realized it was Yan Liqiang, he then opened the gate with a clack.

The person who appeared in front of Yan Liqiang was none other than Fang Beidou. However, compared to the Fang Beidou from several days ago, this Fang Beidou was in a completely different disguise.

The clothing that Fang Beidou was wearing wasn’t a robe but a long normal gown. The daoist bun hairstyle on his head had also been unraveled, which turned into a normal hairstyle. Even Fang Beidou’s long beard was gone as a bushy beard had taken its place.

Of course, Fang Beidou could not have grown that much facial hair in just three days. Because of that, Yan Liqiang could instantly tell that the beard on Fang Beidou’s face was fake. It had been attached to his face.

Three days ago, Fang Beidou was being pretentious to Yan Liqiang with his sage-like behavior under the pine tree. He didn’t expect that he would appear like a wanted fugitive three days later after looking at him.

Yan Liqiang, who was previously gloomy, wanted to laugh after looking at Fang Beidou’s change in appearance. However, he forced himself to hold back his laughter and said his first words in an indifferent tone, “Cough... cough... I didn’t expect you to change your look. I almost didn’t recognize you.”

“My lord, I have already completed your first order. Is there something else you want me to do?” Fang Beidou looked at Yan Liqiang with a piercing gaze as he spoke vehemently.

“Well... let’s talk inside!” Yan Liqiang entered the daoist temple as Fang Beidou locked the gate behind him.

Under the same pine tree and the same table, Yan Liqiang sat down and took out a stack of silver promissory notes from his chest and slammed them on the table.

These silver promissory notes were the ones from the Datong Monetary House. Each note had the face value of 10,000. Altogether, there were ten notes. They were a part of the silver promissory notes that Yan Liqiang had previously raked in from the Shatu people in Pingxi City, which was 490,000 in total. Hence, these silver promissory notes were only a part of that.

100,000 in silver promissory notes was already a stupendous amount that could make one go crazy. Even in a place like the Imperial Capital, these notes would be enough to buy a large piece of good cropland and a mansion to live in, allowing one to live a lavish life where one would never worry about food or clothes.

“Here’s your 100,000 silver promissory notes. Take them!” Yan Liqiang said as he pushed a stack of silver promissory notes toward Fang Beidou.

“What do you mean by this?”

“You have two choices. The first is to take these 100,000 silver promissory notes as my compensation for your emotional suffering. Once you take these silver promissory notes, we can treat it as if nothing had happened. You will go your own way while I will continue toward my difficult path. Also, you can’t give me those speeches about saving the nation and its people anymore...” The moment Yan Liqiang finished this sentence, Fang Beidou rose to his feet instantaneously. Due to his rage, his face immediately flushed red. His fists were already tightly clenched together as he furiously glared at Yan Liqiang. He almost couldn’t contain himself from punching Yan Liqiang’s face.

“What’s the second choice?” Fang Beidou asked after he took a deep breath.

Yan Liqiang looked at him emotionlessly and said, “The second choice is that I will truly become your lord from now onward. You will become my retainer and do whatever I ask you to do. I will not explain or give my reasons in telling you to do these things, but I can guarantee that whatever I ask you to do, it is for the sake of saving people in the end. I cannot guarantee that I will definitely prevent all the calamities and tragedies from happening in the future, but I can assure you that I will do my very best. As for the outcome of that, I will leave it to the will of the heavens. If you choose the second choice, then take this money anyway because the next thing I’m going to ask you to do is to spend a lot of money!”

“Fang Beidou respectfully greets my lord!” Fang Beidou groveled before Yan Liqiang without hesitation.

This time, however, Yan Liqiang didn’t jump up or hide from the sight of this gesture. Instead, he straightened his posture and sat on the stone stool, accepting the salutations from Fang Beidou solemnly and calmly.

Watching Fang Beidou grovel at his feet, Yan Liqiang had a strange feeling inside his heart. He never thought that one day he would be called a lord after setting foot into this world.

“Alright, sit down!”

Fang Beidou took a deep breath and sat down on the stone stool beside him again.

“Once you take a step out from this daoist temple, you don’t have to behave this way in front of others anymore. Only we should know about the relationship between us two. My name is Yan Liqiang, so just call me Liqiang. On the other hand, I will address you as Brother Fang. We have only been acquainted since yesterday at Mount Xiaoyun. I went for a stroll yesterday and mistakenly entered the path behind Mount Xiaoyun. After stumbling upon the White Dragon Temple, I met you and had a conversation over tea. We had quite a congenial conversation and became friends as we realized we understood each other. This is the process of how we met each other. Remember that!”

“Don’t worry, my lord. I know what I should do now!” Fang Beidou said as he returned to his normal self. Looking at the 100,000 taels of silver on the table, he inquired, “Can you tell me what you intend on having me use these silver promissory notes for?”

Yan Liqiang smiled. A peculiar luster flashed in his eyes before he asked Fang Beidou a question, “Do you know about the court bulletin that the imperial court publishes?”

Chapter 305: Running Newspaper

“Court bulletin?” Fang Beidou creased a frown on his forehead and asked, “Are you talking about the court bulletin that the imperial court publishes?”

“Yes, that’s right. It’s the court bulletin that the imperial court publishes!” Yan Liqiang replied with a nod.

“I already know what a court bulletin is. I’ve seen it before too. May I know why you are asking me about this?”

Yan Liqiang smiled, “Very simple. What I want to say is that we should also start publishing newspapers...”

“Ah?” Fang Beidou widened his eyes and looked at Yan Liqiang with a baffled expression, “Doesn’t the imperial court have high officials under them that run this court bulletin? How can an ordinary person interfere with that? Moreover, isn’t one court bulletin enough? If I were to run one, where’s the sense in copying the court bulletin word for word every time?”

Yan Liqiang knew Fang Beidou had a really slow reaction on the matter just by looking at his expression. This was hardly surprising as the people in this world were already used to the only type of newspaper that had existed in this world for numerous years, which was the court bulletin. The moment he mentioned newspaper, Fang Beidou’s first thought was the court bulletin. He also felt that things of the same content would not require another copy. The court bulletin was the official newspaper of the Great Han Empire, which was equivalent to internal reference in the future. It was a tool that the imperial court used to publish announcements to the lower ranks. Those who could see the court bulletin were officials and members of government organizations. Generally, ordinary people would not be able to read the information published on the court bulletin.

“I’m not talking about the court bulletin, but something similar to that. I call this thing a newspaper. The court bulletin is meant for various ranking officials in the imperial court and various ranking bureaucrats. The newspaper I want to start is not limited to the officials. Anyone can read it, especially the common people!”

Fang Beidou remained stunned for a long time, unable to return to his senses, “Isn’t that still the same as the court bulletin? One can learn about the news within the court just by inquiring someone. Moreover, decrees and various information released by different departments are extremely dull and uninteresting. What’s the use of my lord relaying those things to the people? Who would read them?”

Realizing that Fang Beidou’s form of thought was still trapped inside the model of the court bulletin, Yan Liqiang decided that he could only patiently explain the concept to him once more, “The first distinction between the newspaper I mentioned and the court bulletin is that the target group of readers is different. The court bulletin targets the officials of diverse ranks in the Great Han Empire, whereas the newspapers I mentioned targets ordinary citizens. The second difference is the method of distribution. The court bulletin is issued by the imperial court and the government for free, whereas my newspapers aren’t free to read as this requires people to buy them with money. They can only read the content of the newspaper after paying for it. And that concludes the second difference.”

“The third difference between these two is the published content itself. As long as the content is related to people’s daily lives and interests them, everything will be included. Information regarding decrees and whatnot by the imperial court will only take up a small section. The other sections will include a variety of new and interesting news happening within the Imperial Capital and the surrounding areas. There can be statements of criticism from certain people, notices from people in finding people or items, stories told from the storytellers in those teahouses, advertisements from merchants and businesses alike, and so forth...”

Fang Beidou was considered to have seen much of the world, yet after listening to Yan Liqiang’s explanation about the content that could appear on the newspaper, he couldn’t help but become dumbfounded, “This... newspaper... can still... can still include these things!”

“Of course they can. If I say it’s possible, it is possible!” Yan Liqiang confidently laughed. The values he mentioned that existed in this type of newspaper were based on the examination of time and history, so there was no way he could be wrong about them. The reason why the people in this world hadn’t thought about this concept was because their form of thought had always remained within the circle of the court bulletin, which was why they would never expect that newspapers could be made like this. As for the so-called ‘court bulletin’ of this world, it was actually made more or less like a book. A copy of the court bulletin was about the size of a book that consisted of a bountiful number of chapters. After the court bulletin is published, these copies could be regarded as official documents and archives – which would then be shelved. The concept of text-based fast consumer goods such as newspapers was completely absent from this world. In everyone’s mind, things with words printed on paper were books. No one knew what a newspaper was.

Meanwhile, Yan Liqiang’s idea of running a newspaper was the product of steady planning in recent days.

How could one mitigate the number of dead people to a few million from the calamity in four years? This question had been swirling in Yan Liqiang’s mind for the past few days. He considered an array of possibilities in his head and discovered that the outcome of the calamity was impossible to avoid. After a few considerations, he found that the only way to avoid the calamity was to make everyone leave the Imperial Capital and the Four Regions when the calamity occurred. There were only two ways to do that. The first was to become the Emperor of the Great Han Empire within these four years while also getting rid of the Grand Chancellor. As the Emperor, he would stand by his word, and with the blessing of an invincible leadership aura, one word from him could make the entire Imperial Capital and its surroundings to go into an exodus. This would allow millions of people to enter a great migration phase. Otherwise, the second way would be to warn everyone of the calamity beforehand.

It would not be difficult to alert just one person. The difficult part would be to warn millions of people in the Imperial Capital and the surrounding cities. To achieve this, he needed a strong information platform. Otherwise, even if he lost his voice as a result of yelling, only a few people would hear it. Additionally, not many would believe in what he had to say.

The government was a channel that could release warnings to the public with haste. However, even though Yan Liqiang had command over this channel, he had zero confidence that the bureaucrats in the imperial would listen to his words four years later and hastily release news that could affect the stability of the entire Great Han Empire. Because of that, the most reliable method to save people and avoid calamity would be to possess an information channel comparable to or better than the government’s. By then, when he released the warning in advance, everyone would immediately know about it and evacuate before the calamity would strike. This was the only way, and the best solution that Yan Liqiang could think of based on the experience and knowledge he accumulated from his past two lives...

The easiest way to bring about a channel for releasing and spreading information in this world would be the newspaper.

The difference between this and Yan Liqiang’s previous life was that this era seemed to be devoid of any control or licensing system on news publication. You can print whatever you wanted without the restriction of issue numbers or book numbers without getting permission from anyone. As long as one did not spread fallacy to deceive people or publish rationals that would give rise to rebellion, no one would try to interfere. Just like those bookstores that marketed their own printed publications, there were no restrictions. In this sort of publishing environment, it was simply a diamond era for print media.

After hearing Yan Liqiang’s explanation, Fang Beidou quickly understood what Yan Liqiang’s desired newspaper would look like.

“So your intention is to have me take these 100,000 taels of silver to run a newspaper business....”

“Yes, that’s right. You can go to the Imperial Capital to find and buy a printing workshop first. As for the rest, we can slowly discuss how we will execute it...”

Chapter 306: Go All Out

Yan Liqiang felt refreshed as though a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders when he left the White Dragon Temple and descended the mountain. He felt like he was walking on air and his mind was immediately as clear as the vast sky and the wide ocean.

Lately, the future catastrophe had been weighing down Yan Liqiang’s heart like a boulder. He tossed and turned in his sleep every day, unable to rest well because he was thinking about how to deal with it or if there was anything he could do. Now that he made up his mind, all the pressure instantly vanished.

This time, Yan Liqiang decided to press his luck and gamble, regardless of love, hatred, emotions, justice, or simply because he wanted to shout at the top of his lungs at those ignorant people. One would never live life to the fullest until they went all out for once.

He didn’t think he was noble either; he had merely done what he was supposed to. Similarly, if he’d known about the Great Sichuan Earthquake a few months in advance back in his previous world, he would think of every possible way to notify the people about the impending disaster.

Since the Internet, media, and newspapers didn’t exist in this world, Yan Liqiang had to start from scratch.

He would run a newspaper to provide full coverage across all the capital regions of the Great Han Empire in four years time.

Then, he would find an opportunity to provide breaking news a few months prior to the catastrophe so that everyone could make the necessary preparations to evacuate.

It didn’t matter even if the newspapers would be shut down by the authorities in the end because they would have accomplished his mission by then.

This was Yan Liqiang’s plan. This was all that could do.

When Yan Liqiang was making his way down the mountain, a sudden burst of inspiration filled him as soon as he relaxed. It was filled with all sorts of newspaper content and marketing strategies he’d seen in his previous life. He couldn’t help but laugh at some of the interesting memories.

It was still early after Yan Liqiang left Mount Xiaoyun. He thought of Hua Ruxue and rode to the Imperial Capital on Snowstorm Cloud.

The entrance to the Imperial Capital was still heavily guarded compared to his previous two visits. Quite a number of soldiers lined both sides of the entrance. Everyone that passed through the city gates would be examined. Those who wore hats were asked to remove them, both the insides and outsides of the carriages were checked, and all transported goods were carefully examined.

Hearing the coachman ahead of him say that it was inconvenient to unload the fodder he was transporting, a squad commander at the city entrance immediately picked up a long spear. After signaling a few soldiers around him with his eyes, all of them started stabbing the fodder on the cart. It was only after verifying that there weren’t any bloodstains on the arrowheads did they then allow the whole cart of fodder into the city.

Noticing an old man dressed in gray lining up in front of him, Yan Liqiang politely asked, “Old Sir, do you know why the security check in the city has suddenly become so strict? I remember it wasn’t this strict yet during my last visit some time ago!”

The old man turned his head and looked at Yan Liqiang. Finding that Yan Liqiang was quite decent-looking and polite, he spoke slowly, “A few days ago, the Vice Minister of Works, Zuo Teng, was assassinated in his residence. Rumor says that it was the work of someone from the White Lotus Society. How can they not tighten the city’s security now that someone from the White Lotus Society managed to infiltrate the Imperial Capital and assassinate a high official of the imperial court?”

White Lotus Society? Yan Liqiang was taken aback. He didn’t expect something like this to happen during his absence in the Imperial Capital.

“I did catch wind of Zuo Teng’s assassination, but how is this related to the White Lotus Society?”

“I’ve no idea. I only heard rumors about Zuo Teng being assassinated for killing many White Lotus Society followers when he was a prefectural governor at Qu Province back then, thus embroiled in a blood feud with them where they saw him as their archenemy!” Speaking up to this point, the old man looked around before lowering his voice slightly. “According to the merchant groups in the Imperial Capital, news from Qu Province a few days ago claimed that after Zuo Teng was assassinated by the local White Lotus Society members, the Law Enforcement Office’s entrance was splashed by dog blood and vandalized with the graffiti of many disgraceful words that night. It basically said that Zuo Teng would be the example of those lousy officials who dared to suppress the White Lotus Society’s followers...”

“Oh, how bold of them... Thank you for the information, Old Sir!” Yan Liqiang pretended to be shocked and cupped his fist to the old man.

“Oh well, it sure hasn’t been peaceful here...” The old man shook his head and immediately took two steps forward to be examined when his turn came.

At that exact moment, Yan Liqiang’s heart wasn’t as calm as he appeared on the surface. It was in a spectacular mess. –Could it be that Hua Ruxue is someone from the White Lotus Society?

His heart suddenly skipped a beat when he thought about the old man mentioning Qu Province. If he wasn’t mistaken, the White Lotus Society would start revolting and creating huge commotions in the Qu, Huang, and Yue Provinces in a few months time. So this meant that the assassination of Zuo Teng might really be related to the White Lotus Society’s movements after all. It felt like he was being used to boost their morale before the movement.

Even so, it was difficult for Yan Liqiang to associate Hua Ruxue with the White Lotus Society whenever he recalled her delicate and lovely face...

Yan Liqiang led Snowstorm Cloud into the city. After thinking for a moment, he continued on toward Sun Bingchen’s residence. Over the few trips he made to the Imperial Capital, he had never visited him. Since he had time today, it was only appropriate for him to pay him a visit. In any case, Sun Bingchen was also seen as one of Yan Liqiang’s benefactors in other people’s eyes. Yan Liqiang was also curious as to how Sun Bingchen was coping with the struggle against the Grand Chancellor and if he could be of any assistance to him. At the same time, he also wanted to consult Sun Bingchen on the finer details of running a newspaper.

There was an endless stream of pedestrians and carriages on the main streets of the Imperial Capital. Yan Liqiang couldn’t speed up or bring Snowstorm Cloud to a gallop. He could only let it trot slowly toward Sun Bingchen’s residence.

...

A young thug dressed in form-fitting clothes was leaning against the wall near an alley at the side of the main street. He was basking in the sun with a straw in his mouth while scanning the pedestrians on the street. His eyes suddenly lit up as soon as he noticed Yan Liqiang, or to be more precise, Snowstorm Cloud beneath him.

Even in the bustling Imperial Capital, Yan Liqiang’s steed was still extremely eye-catching. Snowstorm Cloud was half a head taller than ordinary rhinodrake steeds and had a glossy coat.

The thug eyed Snowstorm Cloud a few more times and gulped, then took a good look at Yan Liqiang’s face. He spat out the straw he was chewing and turned into the alley beside him...

Yan Liqiang had sensed the thug’s gaze. He only cast an indifferent glance at the alley then averted his gaze, feeling unconcerned.

Confidence came with mastery. As he spent his days training in the Deer Villa until he lost track of time, he was getting stronger day by day. Looking at these people now, Yan Liqiang felt no different than a strong man looking at children who had just learned to walk. They didn’t bother him at all...

Chapter 307: Foxes In The City, Rats In The Temple

There were many crowded alleys in the Imperial Capital. When Yan Liqiang rode into a less crowded street, a figure dressed in gray suddenly rushed out from one of the nearby alleys and collided squarely into Snowstorm Cloud.

Yan Liqiang was taken by surprise. He immediately pulled on Snowstorm Cloud’s reins and brought it to a halt. The figure who rammed into Snowstorm Cloud with his shoulder suddenly let out a miserable yell and fell to the ground while screaming, “Ouch, someone hit me with his steed! Someone hit me with his steed! My bones are broken! My bones are broken...!”

His yells attracted quite a lot of attention on the streets. Five more people suddenly rushed out from the alley at the side and surrounded Yan Liqiang who was riding on his steed. All of them were glaring fiendishly at him.

Among the five people who rushed out from the alley, one of them was the thug that Yan Liqiang noticed earlier.

“Watch where you’re going, brat! Did you know you just knocked someone down?” A half-bald man with an oily face grabbed Snowstorm Cloud’s bridle and glared at Yan Liqiang. He had a muscular physique and was dressed in green clothes which left his belly exposed to the air. “How dare you still be up on your steed! Get off right now!”

“Right, right, right! Look at this rude young man! He has the nerves to still be on his high horse after knocking someone down in the Imperial Capital...!”

“Get that brat off from there and send him to the authorities...!”

The two thugs at the side ganged up on Yan Liqiang. An ordinary youth would probably be really intimidated by them.

Yan Liqiang watched the scene unfold before his eyes on his rhinodrake steed, feeling like it was all too familiar. It seemed like extortion scams were all the same, no matter which world he was in. This was as skillful as they could get.

Looking at the fearful expressions of the pedestrians around them, quite a number of them seemed to know these thugs. The owner of an umbrella shop looked as though he wanted to stand up for Yan Liqiang, but he was quickly pulled back in by his wife.

Yan Liqiang shot a lazy glance at the few thugs who tried to look fierce and waved them off. “Alright, get out of the way now. Since I’m in a good mood today, I won’t hold you guys accountable for this. I’ll treat this as an entertaining performance you guys have put on for me today. Now if you’ll excuse me...”

The thugs who were ganging up on Yan Liqiang at the side couldn’t help but quiver for some reason as soon as they saw his lazy glance. The haughty words they wanted to say were suddenly stuck in their throats. The man who was holding onto Snowstorm Cloud’s bridle seemed like he was the group’s leader. He was the only one who was still putting up the act, unwilling to give up. “Hey, brat. It seems like you won’t know how tough Master Guo is until you get a taste of his power. You’re still not getting off? I will make you...!”

While the leader was speaking, he tried to make a grab for Yan Liqiang’s clothes to drag him off his rhinodrake steed. Yan Liqiang’s gaze turned icy, thinking to teach that thug an unforgettable life lesson as soon as his claw came anywhere near him.

“GUO SI! STOP RIGHT THERE...!” A yell suddenly rang out from an alley at the side.

Seven or eight young men dressed in homespun fabrics with rolled up sleeves came out from the alley together. All of them were glaring at the swindling thugs.

When Guo Si turned his head and noticed the young men who came out from the alley, his countenance slightly contorted as the corner of his eyes twitched. “Xu Enda, mind your own business...!” he warned coldly.

Interesting...

Yan Liqiang didn’t expect this turn of events. Instead of taking action, he sat quietly on his steed and watched the scene before him.

“I wouldn’t care if you swindled somewhere else, but I have to if you’re doing it at the Prosperous Spring Square!” A young man with thick eyebrows and a square face came forward as he stared intently at Guo Si. “Many people make a living here at Prosperous Spring Square. You’ll destroy this place’s reputation by swindling here. With fewer people coming to the square, how are these folks going to carry on with their lives?! That’s why I must make it my business! Besides, you guys are born with working limbs. There is a lot of work in the Imperial Capital. People are hiring every day at the great enclosure outside the eastern gate and the Hundred Clans Market outside the western gate. Although the jobs laborious, the money is clean and enough for you to survive! You will be able to spend that money with a clear conscience, knowing you earned it through honorable means! Do you not think your actions are disgracing your ancestors?”

The young man with thick eyebrows made a very valid point. After hearing his words, the thugs at the side didn’t even dare to look him in the eye. Only their leader, Guo Si, was still gnashing his teeth with an ominous glint in his eyes. “Xu Enda, don’t go thinking you can be insolent toward I, Guo Si, just because you have a few relatives in the Imperial Cavalry Unit. I’ll teach you a lesson if you piss me off! It’ll be wise for you to get out of my way now...!”

“What if I don’t?” Xu Enda took another step forward and stared intently at the thug named Guo Si.

“You must have a death wish...!” Guo Si scanned the crowd that had gathered around. An ominous glint suddenly flashed in his eyes again as he released Snowstorm Cloud’s bridle. A dagger slid out of his sleeve and he lunged at Xu Enda.

Yan Liqiang was already prepared to intervene. However, he instantly realized that he didn’t have anything to worry about.

The young man named Xu Enda was extremely nimble. When he saw Guo Si thrusting a dagger at him, he took a pole from someone standing beside him. With a swing, the pole landed squarely on Guo Si’s wrist, knocking the dagger out of his grasp and promptly drawing out a pained howl out from him. Xu Enda then jabbed the pole into his abdomen, sending Guo Si to the ground.

Xu Enda lifted the pole and got into a stance. Guo Shi did a side roll, got up to his feet, and ran into an alley at the side while covering his wrist. While running, he turned back and spat, “Xu Enda, just you wait and see...!” The other thugs, including the one who pretended to be dead, immediately fled ignominiously when they saw Guo Si running away, not daring to linger around much longer either.

Yan Liqiang lifted his leg and nimbly got off his rhinodrake steed. He cupped his fist and smiled at Xu Enda. “Thank you for the help, brothers!”

“Hahaha, no worries!” Xu Enda laughed heartily. He tossed the pole to the other young man standing next to him, then took a look at Yan Liqiang and Snowstorm Cloud. “What a fine steed you have here. It can fetch quite a lot in the Imperial Capital. Those people were eyeing your rhinodrake steed and tried to extort you after noticing how young you are. There are many thugs and scammers in the Imperial Capital, but the folks from Prosperous Spring Square are all kind people...”

“Indeed, I can tell by looking at all of you!” Yan Liqiang chuckled too.

“Alright. Be more careful next time, brother. We still have to go find some money now, or else we won’t be able to put food on the table for dinner tonight...!”

After exchanging a few more words with Yan Liqiang, Xu Enda led the other youths with him toward the western city gates.

Yan Liqiang watched their disappearing figures and secretly nodded to himself. As the saying went, ‘In a village of ten families, there must be someone who is sincere and trustworthy.’ These people were the reason Yan Liqiang felt everything he was doing wasn’t for naught. If this city was completely filled with degenerates who lacked the morality of the olden days, then Yan Liqiang would just let the Imperial Capital perish without any remorse.

...

Ten minutes later, Yan Liqiang arrived at the entrance of Sun Bingchen’s manor and knocked on the door. A few seconds later, the old servant surnamed Li cautiously peeked through the door crack. He was clearly taken aback when he noticed Yan Liqiang on the other side of the door.

“Old Master Li, I am here to visit Lord Sun. Is he in?” Yan Liqiang smiled at him.

“Lord Sun left the capital two days ago!” An unexpected reply came out from the old servant’s mouth.

“Ah, he did? Where did he go?”

“To Yue Province to perform his duties as the Yue Provincial Governor!”

...

Yan Liqiang didn’t expect Sun Bingchen to have left the Imperial Capital two days ago. This probably meant that the trip northwest and the fight with the Gan Province’s Ye Clan on the imperial court had come to an end. Although Sun Bingchen had left the heart of the empire, he was still working at the top position at the other place. Hence, Yan Liqiang couldn’t make a conjecture about who really won the battle on the imperial court this time.

Wait...

Yan Liqiang stopped abruptly with his rhinodrake steed. – Yue Province... Isn’t that the place that’s going to be the most severely affected by the White Lotus Society’s movements?

Chapter 308: Hiring

Yan Liqiang recalled hearing about the uprising of the White Lotus Society in the Heavenly Realm before. It was extremely chaotic, especially in the Qu, Huang, and Yue Provinces. Not only did the White Lotus Society breach the city, they also massacred the local influential clans. Any imperial court officials who fell in their hands couldn’t escape. Many of the officials from the three provinces were killed by them...

Since Sun Bingchen was going to Yue Province to perform his duties as the provincial governor, Liang Yijie would probably follow him there too. That’d be no different than venturing into the lion’s den. Naturally, Yan Liqiang was quite worried about them.

It was only at this moment Yan Liqiang realized that he knew too little about the specific details regarding the White Lotus Society’s uprising in the southern provinces. All he had was only some vague information gathered from rumors. He was really clueless about the individuals, the time, the venues, and events related to the uprising.

He decided he should probably pay more attention to news on the White Lotus Society’s uprising in the three provinces during his next trip to the Heavenly Realm as it might come in handy.

Yan Liqiang secretly made the decision in his heart.

As far as reality was concerned, the White Lotus Society’s uprising was still unknown. However, in the Heavenly Realm, the uprising in the three provinces was already history. The inside stories and course of events had been exposed and made known to the public, so it wasn’t a secret anymore. If he managed to get a good a grasp of the information on the uprising in the Heavenly Realm, he would be able to predict the future and maximize the value of information asymmetry. Three days of foresight would lead to lifetime prosperity. If he knew things four years in advance, then he should put that knowledge to good use.

Riding on his rhinodrake steed while pondering about it, Yan Liqiang had unknowingly arrived at the western city gates of the Imperial Capital. After another round inspection by the authorities, he exited the city.

Yan Liqiang was initially planning to return to Deer Villa. On second thought, he made his way to the Hundred Clans Market instead.

The Hundred Clans Market was a little town outside the western city gates of the Imperial Capital. A huge employment marketplace was formed in an open space by the river in the town, near the public road. Of course, the term ’employment marketplace’ didn’t exist in the Great Han Empire. However, the people who gathered here were all laborers seeking to be hired as porters, laborer workers, servants, maids, or palanquin bearers. Outside the eastern city gates of the Imperial Capital was a place known as the ‘Great Enclosure’. An employment marketplace had also been established there. Compared to the one in the Hundred Clans Market outside the western city gate, it was more high-class. More artisans gathered in the employment market there. Hence, people who wished to build furniture or houses would search for carpenters or stonemasons at the eastern city gates.

The employment market at the Hundred Clans Market was almost the same as the labor markets Yan Liqiang had seen in his previous life. Although it was already afternoon, the crowd in the open space near the riverside was still densely packed. The people gathered there were either waiting for a job or negotiating wages with their potential employers.

Yan Liqiang wasn’t that lavishly dressed. Despite being plainly dressed, Snowstorm Cloud was too eye-catching. In the end, Yan Liqiang was swarmed by very enthusiastic brokers as soon as he arrived at the riverside of the Hundred Clans Market.

“Young Lord, are you looking for maids? I have a few with me. They are all very obedient refugees! Why don’t you follow me and have a look? You can use them as seasonal workers or even slaves...!”

“I have a few wet nurses here who have just given birth recently! They’re the best at taking care of children. If you have children at home, they will definitely be able to plump them up. Breastmilk is a very great nourishment and it is suitable for both the young and the old. The wet nurses are very obedient too. I’m sure you will like them, Young Lord...!” The broker winked at Yan Liqiang while introducing the wet nurses. He was smiling lecherously and showing off his yellowish teeth, hoping that Yan Liqiang would get what he was hinting at.

“My maids have worked for the high officials before so they know their manners best. You can hire them to serve the young and old at home...!”

“I have the cheapest maids and wet nurses available! If Young Lord isn’t happy with their service, you may switch to another within seven days...!” Another broker squirmed his way to Yan Liqiang and started promoting his goods.

Yan Liqiang could only sigh inwardly after listening to the brokers. His heart went out to the people of the lower social class because of the challenges they had to face in life. Normally, the lower the social class they were in, the more they could offer for the sake of surviving, especially the women that weren’t very skilled in labor. Yan Liqiang wondered if the young lords in the Imperial Capital would often come here to pick up maids and wet nurses for different purposes. He could pick up the obvious hints behind those brokers’ words when they tried to introduce him the maids and wet nurses.

“I am here to find a few friends. Does anyone know where Xu Enda and the rest are...?”

As soon as the brokers heard Yan Liqiang’s words, their interests waned and the crowd dispersed. Only one of them pointed toward a willow forest nearby and said, “I think Xu Enda is over there...”

“Alright, thank you!” Yan Liqiang cupped his fist to him and made his way toward the willow forest. It didn’t take him long to find Xu Enda and the rest talking to a paunchy man who looked like a steward under a willow tree.

Yan Liqiang didn’t approach them upon seeing this and stopped somewhere in the distance.

Since he had keen hearing senses that surpassed the average human being and the group didn’t bother to lower the volume of their conversation either, Yan Liqiang was able to hear their entire discussion.

“If we work together for half a day, everyone will get paid twenty-five copper coins. If one meal is provided, then that’ll be twenty copper coins. We can’t go lower than that! If we are to work a full day and be provided a meal, that will be thirty-eight copper coins as the lowest rate. We will give Steward Liu a discount of two copper coins...” Xu Enda, the guy who stood up for him earlier on the streets, seemed like he was in a tough spot.

“Too expensive, too expensive! I only get twenty-eight copper coins at most for working a full day with only one meal provided. Are you going to accept that? If not, I’ll look for someone else!” The paunchy steward raised his voice and looked at Xu Enda’s group pompously. “I only came to you because you all are familiar faces in the city...!”

Xu Enda clenched his teeth. “Steward Liu, why don’t you add a few more copper coins or provide us another meal? Moving bricks is an intensive job. Not only that, we are expected to work from seven in the morning to seven at night. It is very exhausting with very minimal breaks in between. I’m afraid we won’t be able to last with only one guaranteed meal...”

The paunchy steward immediately looked displeased as he snorted coldly, “How can you be so picky? It’s good enough that you are being offered a job. Last time I came here, I hired some foreign workers at the cost of only twenty copper coins per day. I’ve already given you all a pretty sweet deal. Let me ask you again, are you taking the job or not? Otherwise, I’ll look for someone else...!”

“You may look for someone else then, Steward Liu!” Xu Enda had calmed down.

“Hmph, so ungrateful...!” Steward Liu swung his sleeve in anger and walked away without even looking back.

“Brother Xu, why did you...” After Steward Liu left, a young man beside Xu Enda couldn’t help but voice out his concern.

“Little Fifth, the offer was simply too low. Putting aside how tiring the work is, if we accepted this job, we’d be ruining the economy of the Hundred Clans Market and we’d be offending many people. In the future, Steward Liu will lower his offer even more. We’re all earning money through hardships, so there’s no need to make things even more difficult for other people. Just let those who have come to settle down at the Imperial Capital earn that money...”

Upon hearing Xu Enda’s explanation, the other young men around him nodded without any saying anything else.

Yan Liqiang watched and listened in the distance, feeling that Xu Enda was indeed a reliable person. He led his steed past two willow trees and approached them.

“Ah, Little Brother! So we meet again, what a coincidence!”

Xu Enda’s group turned their heads around when they heard the sounds of iron hooves and found Yan Liqiang coming toward them with his rhinodrake steed. Xu Enda immediately greeted him with a smile.

“I need to hire a few long-term workers in a few days and thought of all of you, so I came over to see you. Would you be interested?” Yan Liqiang told them with a smile.

Upon hearing that it was a long-term job, Xu Enda exchanged glances with the few young men around him as their eyes lit up. Long-term jobs provided stable income and more money in the long run compared to short-term jobs. Of course they were all interested.

Xu Enda licked his dried lips and cautiously asked, “What kind of long-term job are we looking at, Little Brother? We are all boorish men who aren’t capable of meticulous work.”

“I need help with some deliveries in the Imperial Capital as well as moving some stuff and doing some chores in a workshop. Not too exhausting and it’s all honest work...”

“How much are you paying?”

“If you and your brothers are interested, let’s fix it at two taels of silver per month for now, excluding meals! You will be paid monthly.”

The two young men beside Xu Enda could no longer suppress their delighted squeals. All of them were urging Xu Enda to quickly accept the offer with their gazes. A job like this was hard to come by and a dream come true. The group felt as though falling meat pies from the sky had hit their heads. They were dizzy with excitement.

“Little Brother, are you serious about that?”

“Yes. Take these five taels of silver as the deposit!” Yan Liqiang fished out a piece of silver from his chest and handed it over to Xu Enda. “In three days time, come back and meet me here again in the afternoon. If I don’t appear, take the deposit as your compensation. Is that alright?”

“Of course... No problem!” Xu Enda gripped the solid silver in his hand and nodded vigorously.

“Alright then, see you in three days time...!”

......

Xu Enda and the rest were still dazed even after they watched Yan Liqiang leave on his rhinodrake steed.

“Brother Xu...!” Xu Enda didn’t return to his senses until the young man beside him, known as Little Fifth, called out to him. He looked at the rest with his glistening eyes. “We met our lucky star today...!”

.....

Yan Liqiang returned to Deer Villa, cultivated a few rounds of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing after dinner, then entered the Heavenly Realm in a hurry.

Thinking about the White Lotus Society’s uprising in the Qu, Huang, and Yue Provinces, Yan Liqiang so badly wished to push his steed to full speed and return to the Divine Sword Sect with the people from the escort agency to gather some relevant information...

What Yan Liqiang didn’t expect was that the raging waves brought upon by the chaos in the Heavenly Realm had begun to slowly manifest in the wake of the Imperial Capital’s destruction...

Chapter 309: The White Lotus Chaos

While gazing at the afterglow of the setting sun, a large group of people suddenly came running toward the public road. The scene stunned Yan Liqiang’s party. The group stopped on the public road as they watched people sprinting across the hill, the vegetable fields, and the wilderness from two li away.

“What’s this? A special welcome ceremony? That’s a little too passionate...” Yan Liqiang squinted his eyes at those people in the distance as he muttered to himself.

No one around him responded because no one in the party knew what was going on. Why did such a huge crowd come rushing out from the wilderness ahead of them?

“Brother Wang, what is up ahead from this area?” Yan Liqiang squinted his eyes and asked Wang Hui. Since he had the best eyesight out of everyone in the party, he was able to see the flying beads of sweat and the terrified expressions on the faces of the people rushing toward them from a few li away. Many of them carried simple bundles with them. Some were looking after the elderly and the young. Many were running and looking behind them in horror, as though there was a tiger chasing them.

“Twenty li ahead of us lies the Shidu County Town of Peiling Prefecture within the Yuan Province. After we pass through Shidu County and Copper Ridge, we will arrive at the southern part of the Great Han Empire...” Wang Hui looked at those running people in the distance with a frown while answering Yan Liqiang’s question mindlessly. These seasoned escorts who traveled extensively were like walking GPS maps. A few of them could probably travel with their eyes closed and still be able to accurately pinpoint their estimated location.

Today was the second day of the tenth lunar month in the 17th year of the Yuanping reign in the Heavenly Realm.

It had almost been twenty days since Yan Liqiang and his party had left Feng Provincial City. Over the course of these twenty days, everyone had only rested a day in Feng Provincial City. After leaving the provincial city, they made their way south and overcame countless obstacles on the road. They traveled a few thousand li and were more than halfway back to the Divine Sword Sect.

“Wait, something must have happened up ahead. Otherwise, these people wouldn’t be running all over the place...” Gong Dequan immediately pointed out.

Of course, Yan Liqiang could tell that something was off. Even if there really was a tiger, such a large crowd wouldn’t be running toward them as if their lives depended on it. There was only one possibility that could make so many people flee for their lives – someone was chasing them. Not just three or five of them, but a large group.

“Get ready, everyone! We will turn back if the situation doesn’t look right!” While Yan Liqiang was announcing this, he had already taken out the warbow he was carrying on his back. “Brother Hui, are there any other routes to bypass Shidu County?”

“Yes, there is. If we were to bypass Shidu County, we will have to make a detour of two days!” Wang Hui replied.

“So be it. If something really happened up ahead, we will have no choice but to take a detour...” Yan Liqiang replied heavily. “Everyone wait here first. I will go over there and ask a few people to find out what’s going on!”

As soon as Yan Liqiang finished speaking, he suddenly flinched because he spotted a man on top of a hill in the distance. The man suddenly leaped out from behind the hill on a rhinodrake steed. He stood there on the hill, riding on his agitated steed as he stared coldly after the fleeing crowd ahead of him.

He was fully dressed in a set of simple leather armor, and a black headband. He carried a warbow on his back and held an ashwood spear. From his attire, he didn’t seem like a soldier from the Great Han Empire. What shocked Yan Liqiang was the white lotus flower he saw on his black headband.

Yan Liqiang thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. After taking another careful look, there was indeed a white lotus flower embroidered on the man’s black headband.

Yan Liqiang had never seen someone in this get-up before. However, the white lotus flower on the man’s black headband instantly caused three words to appear in his mind –’White Lotus Society’. He had heard that the paladins of the White Lotus Society dressed like this...

After the man’s appearance on the hill, a cavalry of a few hundred men emerged behind him in just the blink of an eye. They were all dressed differently – some wore leather armor, some wore padded armor, and some wore rattan armor. They wielded various types of weapons too. Not only that, only a third of them rode on rhinodrake steeds while the remaining had ordinary horses. The only thing they had in common was the black headband with a white lotus flower on it.

Everyone grew more terrified at their appearance as they continued to flee for their lives. At the same time, black smoke was rising up to the sky in the distance.

“White Lotus Society...!” Wang Hui shouted beside Yan Liqiang.

The paladins from the White Lotus Cavalry that appeared on the hill also noticed Yan Liqiang’s party on the public road. After all, a few dozen people riding on rhinodrake steeds was quite eye-catching. Besides, the distance between both parties wasn’t considered far for mounted troops.

After a brief silence, the first paladin who appeared on the hill waved his hand. Several hundred men immediately rushed downhill and split into two groups. A group of them was riding on rhinodrake steeds. There were about a hundred men rushing straight toward Yan Liqiang’s party. The remaining men further split into two groups, seemingly trying to flank the fleeing crowd so they couldn’t escape.

“GO QUICKLY, I WILL BRING UP THE REAR...!” Yan Liqiang yelled. Everyone in the party quickly turned their steeds around and started galloping in the direction they had come from.

Yan Liqiang stayed behind the party and slowed down the speed of his rhinodrake steed. At the same time, he turned his head around to look at those paladins from White Lotus Society that were rushing downhill.

The paladins from White Lotus Society that had split into two groups when they rushed downhill caught up to the fleeing crowd in just the blink of an eye. Yan Liqiang saw a few of them raise their weapons in the air. The gleaming weapons sent a few heads flying. Some of the fleeing people were beheaded from behind by those paladins that had caught up to them...

Miserable and terrified cries resonated across the hill and wilderness.

“Those who kneel shall be spared! Let this be the example to those who dare to escape and oppose the saints...!” The paladins from the White Lotus Society snarled. Quite a number of people who were initially running away immediately kneeled down at the shock of the bloody scene, not daring to continue their escape. The paladins chased those who were still running for their lives and flanked them. Their weapons danced without discrimination and blood splashed everywhere...

The wind blew from the hill, carrying the scent of blood.

It didn’t take very long for the cavalry that was chasing Yan Liqiang’s party to close in on them until they were only three hundred meters apart. The person leading the group was the first who appeared with his steed on the hill earlier. It looked like he was the leader of these mounted troops.

Yan Liqiang clenched his teeth. He turned around on his rhinodrake steed and drew his bow...

An arrow shot out like a shooting star.

As soon as his bowstring vibrated, the arrow pierced through the forehead of the leader riding in the front, knocking him off his steed...

Chapter 310: Retaliation

Seeing Yan Liqiang shoot down the cavalryman riding at the front, angry yells erupted among the White Lotus Cavalry that was chasing Yan Liqiang. More than a dozen archers in the cavalry immediately retrieved their bows and opened fire on Yan Liqiang.

Whoosh... Whoosh... Whoosh... Whoosh... Whoosh...

A bunch of arrows flew sparsely in the air with poor accuracy. More than ninety percent of them landed about five to ten meters away from Yan Liqiang. They fell on either the roadside or into the bushes, nowhere near Yan Liqiang. One of them managed to come as close as two meters away from him. The most accurate one flew straight toward his upper torso with decent accuracy. Even so, an arrow like that posed no threat to Yan Liqiang.

When the arrow came flying toward him, Yan Liqiang was able to determine that it was launched by a mere two-picul warbow and the archer had just attained the first heavenly layer in the art of archery.

He had to admit that the White Lotus Cavalry was a lot inferior to those Blackwind Bandits he encountered in reality.

The Blackwind Bandits roamed the northwestern region and everyone was adept in horseback archery. In a group of a hundred men where everyone could do horseback archery, there were at least seven or eight outstanding archers. On the other hand, there was only a little more than ten archers riding among the White Lotus Cavalry of more than a hundred men. Apart from the group leader whom he had taken out with a single arrow earlier, there was only one other barely decent archer among the remaining archers.

Yan Liqiang felt relieved as soon as the White Lotus Cavalry opened fire at him.

The arrow launched by the two-picul bow was reaching the end of its flight over the distance and losing its momentum. Without waiting for the arrow to get any closer, Yan Liqiang knocked it away with the warbow he was holding. The arrow didn’t even touch a strand of his hair.

When he knocked that arrow away, Yan Liqiang’s bowstring vibrated again, sending out another arrow. It pierced the throat of someone riding among the White Lotus Cavalry and he promptly fell off his galloping rhinodrake steed.

The second victim to Yan Liqiang’s arrow was the archer who had slightly better aim.

The White Lotus Cavalry cried out in alarm when they saw the second person get knocked down. The cavalry that relied solely on their numbers probably didn’t expect the person staying at the end of their targets would be this ruthless.

This was a running battle.

The White Lotus Cavalry hurriedly prepared to shoot their second set of arrows. However, Yan Liqiang was much faster than them. Before they even released their second set, Yan Liqiang had shot out his third arrow.

Another person in the cavalry chasing after Yan Liqiang fell off his steed with a miserable scream. He fell into the countless stamping hooves and went silent in just the blink of an eye.

The third victim to Yan Liqiang’s arrows was the cavalryman who managed to shoot his arrow within a two-meter radius of Yan Liqiang from earlier.

In a pursuit like this, Yan Liqiang would first eliminate the leader of his opponents, followed by the archers in the opposing party who could pose a threat to him at a distance. Therefore, archers with the better cultivation realm would die sooner.

Although some people among the cavalry were still trying to shoot Yan Liqiang down after his three shots, none of their arrows reached a radius of five meters around him.

With their skills in archery, they might be able to dish out damage in large scale cavalry showdowns by relying on their numbers and probability. However, when it came to pursuing a single target like this, they would find themselves completely useless.

Yan Liqiang squeezed his rhinodrake steed’s abdomen and leaned to the side. Synchronizing himself with the rocking horseback, he calmly drew his bow. In less than a minute, more than ten arrows were quickly released. Among the screaming White Lotus Cavalry that was chasing him, more than ten of them were knocked off in succession...

All of a sudden, the cavalry realized that they couldn’t shoot out any more arrows. All the archers had been killed by the young man that they were pursuing. Upon this discovery, Yan Liqiang’s pursuers slowed down involuntarily.

“NEIGHHHH...!” Yan Liqiang reined his galloping steed in, causing it to neigh on the public road. The steed stood up on its hind legs before stamping its front hooves heavily on the ground. It turned to the side and faced the roadside.

Yan Liqiang held his bow and stared coldly at the White Lotus Cavalry that was pursuing him from two hundred meters away.

The White Lotus Cavalry suddenly stopped too as everyone looked at Yan Liqiang and the warbow in his hands. They couldn’t stop the chill running up their spines as the expression on their faces contorted.

None of the arrows from their side could hit their target. Yet, their target was able to kill someone on their side from several hundred meters away whenever he drew his bow. How could they win this battle?

Although the White Lotus Cavalry was larger in number, everyone’s courage had been robbed by the bow of death in Yan Liqiang’s hands. They trembled with fear, fearing that they’d be the next one to be down their mounts.

Both parties fell into a brief silence...

A bearded man in the cavalry raised his saber and roared, “Fear not, brothers! He’s all by himself! Put your backs into it and get him...!”

As soon as he finished speaking, an arrow went into his mouth. It pierced through the back of his head. The protruding black arrowhead that gleamed coldly was stained with fresh, warm blood.

The man’s eyes widened as he swayed on his steed before falling off. The people around him quickly backed down in shock.

Yan Liqiang lifted his bow and released another arrow. The cavalryman closest to the front was shot in the throat and knocked off his steed.

Yan Liqiang lifted his bow again. The few men at the frontline quickly lowered themselves without thinking. They turned their steeds around and dashed in the opposite direction.

Wherever Yan Liqiang pointed his bow, color would drain from his opponents’ faces. They’d lay low on their rhinodrake steeds and turn their steeds around, trying to avoid him...

Chaos immediately descended upon the cavalry of more than a hundred men.

Even so, Yan Liqiang still released his arrow. Another person closest to the front was knocked off his rhinodrake steed again.

Yan Liqiang nocked another arrow onto his bowstring and aimed it at the cavalry. He then squeezed his rhinodrake steed with his legs, making it dash toward his opponents.

Every time his bowstring vibrated, another person in the opposing party was taken down...

Watching Yan Liqiang charge toward them on his rhinodrake steed and nocking another arrow onto his bowstring, the last bit of morale and courage in the cavalry were finally crushed. In the blink of an eye, everyone in the cavalry of a hundred men scrambled to flee in the opposite direction. They all seemed like they wanted to hide their heads under their rhinodrake steeds so badly. No one dared to even keep their heads high...

On the public road, Yan Liqiang charged at the cavalry of a hundred men alone, with his lone steed and a single bow...

Chapter 311: Tiger Charging Into a Flock of Sheep

“L-Leader... How ruthless of you...” Gu Zexuan murmured to himself as he watched the scene from afar, unable to tear his gaze away.

Everyone from the escort agency party who had made it far enough to stop on a small hill was stunned by Yan Liqiang’s retaliation. The sight of him chasing away more than a hundred people alone was a great shock to them.

This was because Yan Liqiang had never really fought anyone at close quarters before during their travel. He had only exhibited his skill in archery once at most. No one expected him to be so bold and powerful on the battlefield either. With just one bow, he was able to annihilate the White Lotus Cavalry of around a hundred men that was chasing them.

Even for proud veterans like Wang Hui, Huang Shen, Gong Dequan, and the rest, this was the first time they had ever witnessed one person chasing away more than a hundred people. It was only at this point in time did they realize that Yan Liqiang was an entirely different person on the battlefield. His deadly arrows flew at lightning speed while robbing courage and reaping souls.

While Yan Liqiang gave chase to the White Lotus Cavalry, the warbow in his hands twanged, raining arrows that knocked fleeing riders off their steeds one after another. The group of more than a hundred men was reduced to hunted hares that were powerless to even retaliate.

“Huipeng, where are you going...?”

While the group was watching the scene intently, Gu Zexuan’s yell suddenly rang out. Wang Hui and the rest turned their attention toward them, only to discover that Zhao Huipeng was thinking of rushing back there on his rhinodrake steed. However, he was stopped by Gu Zexuan who grabbed onto his steed’s reins.

“I am going back to help Leader...!”

“I wish to return too, but I know that I am not as capable as Leader. If I rush in there and get surrounded by the White Lotus Cavalry, it’ll be harder for Leader because he’d have to rescue me. I might even get him into a sticky situation...!”

“Zexuan is right. I’m sure Liqiang was confident when he had us go first and stayed back to bring up the rear. If we recklessly rush back in there, we’d be screwed with any changes in the circumstances. With a bow in Liqiang’s hand, no one will be able to come within a radius of several hundred meters from him. Recklessly charging in and engaging our enemies in close combat will only end up hindering him instead...” Wang Hui explained.

“What if Leader is in danger? We can’t just watch him battle alone!” Zhao Huipeng, who was usually quiet, appeared to be unusually stubborn right now.

“You guys stay here. Huang Sheng and I will head back to Liqiang and provide him support midway. Since you all are moving in a larger number, quickly leave this area if the situation gets worse. Don’t linger around. We will catch up to you all with Liqiang later!” Wang Hui spoke and threw a glance at Huang Sheng, who nodded to him in return. Without further comment, both of them checked their weapons, then shook their reins and galloped away.

......

On their way here, Yan Liqiang drew from his experience of escorting Sun Bingchen back to the Imperial Capital and hung three quivers full of arrows on his saddle. With a total of 108 arrows, he was sufficiently equipped with ‘ammunition’. Hence, Yan Liqiang didn’t think of conserving any arrows while chasing after the White Lotus Cavalry. The bowstring in his hand twanged unceasingly, sending out arrow after arrow. In just the blink of an eye, he shot down another twenty fleeing men and completely emptied a quiver.

The three-picul war bow was already enough to handle the White Lotus Cavalry. With such a bow in Yan Liqiang’s hands, drawing it was so simple and effortless. He wouldn’t feel tired even if he had to release several hundred arrows, much less several dozen.

When he passed by a corpse lying on the ground, Yan Liqiang inserted his bow back into the bow bag. He flipped his body and hid under his rhinodrake steed’s abdomen with the help of the stirrups. The moment he flashed past the corpse, he picked up a three or four meter-long ashwood spear from the ground. He then flipped back onto the steed with the spear in hand and continued his chase to the front.

The ashwood spear he picked up from the ground was obviously manufactured with the distinctive style of the weaponsmith quarter in the Great Han Empire. The three or four-meter-long ashwood handle was first dried in the shade, then soaked in tung oil for a few months. It was then taken out and affixed with a foot-long, sharp spearhead. The spear had no other unnecessary decorations, yet it was extremely durable. The spear handle could even last for several decades. Compared to those so-called ashwood spears Yan Liqiang had seen in his previous life, this was completely different.

When those fleeing men realized that Yan Liqiang was no longer firing arrows, someone turned his head around and saw him picking up a spear. “That person ran out of arrows. Go back and slay him...!” He immediately yelled with newfound courage.

Yan Liqiang had two more quivers full of arrows hanging behind his saddle, but that person failed to notice them.

Upon hearing that Yan Liqiang had run out of arrows, seven or eight fleeing men in the cavalry stopped immediately. They turned their steeds around, brandished their weapons, and charged at Yan Liqiang with a yell.

Seeing the people turn around, many among the cavalry that were being chased by Yan Liqiang like hares reined in their steeds and stopped. They then bared their teeth and charged toward Yan Liqiang with a snarl.

The White Lotus Cavalry which was overwhelmed by Yan Liqiang’s bow finally found an outlet to drain the fear in their hearts...

Both parties rushed toward each other. In just the space of a few breaths, Yan Liqiang collided head-on with the seven or eight cavalrymen.

Yan Liqiang let out a long yell. The spear in his hands immediately turned into a phantom image of a huge flower – more than a meter wide in full bloom on the public road. In just less than a second, the spearhead darted out eight times consecutively at lightning speed, piercing the throats of the men who rushed toward him...

When Yan Liqiang rode past those seven or eight people, their figures swayed on their steeds before they all collapsed to the ground at the same time, leaving behind their rhinodrake steeds that loitered around.

This scene immediately scared the wits out of the remaining people in the cavalry who initially wanted to rush up. Who would expect Yan Liqiang to actually be even more terrifying with a spear after he set down his warbow? No one among the seven or eight people on their side managed to actually land a blow on Yan Liqiang. That youth was the harbinger of death...

With that, the newfound courage of those men immediately dwindled like a candle lit in a hurricane. The group turned their steeds around again and resumed fleeing while wailing in terror...

Yan Liqiang was still stunned by the magnitude of his spear attack. Before he swung his weapon, he didn’t think he would be capable of such a powerful move. This had far exceeded the limits of his spear technique’s realm. When he swung his spear, everything felt so normal before the powerful move exploded from him.

Yan Liqiang carefully recalled the sensation he felt the moment he swung his spear. Realization suddenly dawned upon him. When he swung his spear, he didn’t think about everything before his eyes – not whether he was in the Heavenly Realm or reality. He merely thrust his spear with the insight and judgment he had gained during his spear technique cultivation in reality...

Although he had different bodies between the two worlds, they still shared the same soul and mind.

Even though cultivation and its realms couldn’t be transferred between two different physical bodies in two different worlds, the experiences and insights, especially in cultivation, could be shared. As a whole, they brought about great benefits to his martial cultivation in another world. As a result, the limits and standards of his spear techniques in the Heavenly Realm had undergone exponential improvement thanks to his spear technique realm in reality...

Likewise, the benefits of his experiences and insights in the Heavenly Realm could also be harnessed in reality. With different experiences and insights mixed together, he could make rapid progress in his cultivation in both worlds...

......

Yan Liqiang cut through his enemies like a hot knife through butter. No one was able to stand against him. After catching up with them, he sent another ten men flying. The White Lotus Cavalry scattered in all directions.

Yan Liqiang went off the public road into the wilderness, rushing toward the group of men who had surrounded the fleeing commoners and were attacking them.

Since they were mounted on regular horses, it made the riders appear a lot shorter than Yan Liqiang who was mounted on a rhinodrake steed. Looking at these riders from a rhinodrake steed was like looking at people riding on donkeys from a horse – one had to look down and the other had to look up. Engaged in battle, the taller person would have the overwhelming advantage.

Furthermore, the speed and endurance of a regular horse were significantly inferior to those of a rhinodrake steed’s. Yan Liqiang rushed head-on toward the cavalry on his rhinodrake steed, like tiger charging into a flock of sheep. In just the blink of an eye, more than twenty riders in the White Lotus Cavalry were either sent flying or were knocked off their horses.

The fleeing commoners parted to give way as soon as they saw Yan Liqiang charging toward them. Without any instructions, all of them ran toward Yan Liqiang.

The White Lotus Cavalry was ganging up on those commoners while Yan Liqiang was chasing after them for their lives. These cavalrymen who were tigers before the fleeing commoners were reduced into sheep before Yan Liqiang. Quite a number of commoners managed to escape through the opening Yan Liqiang had created among the cavalrymen who were surrounding them...

Upon seeing Yan Liqiang’s display of strength, the White Lotus Cavalry moved away from those commoners and started to gather around instead, trying to surround and kill him. Unfortunately, those riding on regular horses couldn’t catch up to Yan Liqiang. Even if they did manage to block his path by chance, they were quickly taken out. Although the cavalry was larger in number, a few hundred of them were made into fools by Yan Liqiang alone and suffered utter defeat...

The commoners started running in all directions when they saw the opportunity. Some rushed into the forest, while the smarter ones climbed onto the horses which once belonged to the dead cavalrymen that Yan Liqiang defeated. In just the blink of an eye, all of them vanished from sight.

......

Chapter 312: News

SNAP...!

The ashwood spear handle in Yan Liqiang’s hands finally snapped. A cavalryman’s breastbone shattered instantly after he was hit by the spear. Fresh blood sprayed out from his mouth while he was sent flying over ten meters from his horse by Yan Liqiang’s spear. He landed among the weeds and stopped breathing almost immediately.

Yan Liqiang wiped away the blood staining his face while murderously glaring around.

More than ten men wearing black headbands riding on regular horses paled when they met Yan Liqiang’s gaze. They immediately turned their horses around and fled without thinking. Twenty to thirty corpses remained on the ground within a ten-meter radius around Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang took another look at the ashwood spear’s broken handle in his hands and tossed it on the ground.

The spearhead was long broken. Yan Liqiang even lost count of how many lives he had taken.

With Yan Liqiang’s monstrous strength, the supposedly sturdy spearhead was broken under the immense force. Even so, a spear with broken spearhead was still a spear, and it was still just as terrifying in Yan Liqiang’s hands. He used the spear handle like a long rod. Be it swinging, smashing, or sweeping, no one could withstand his attacks. Now, even the spear handle was also broken.

The ashwood spear handle in Yan Liqiang’s hands shrieked menacingly and explosively through the air with every movement. Just the sound alone was enough to scare the group of soldiers out of their wits. Those who dared to come at him were turned into ghosts by the spear in his hands.

The spear might have considerable weight in the hands of others, but it was so light in Yan Liqiang’s hand. In fact, it was almost as weightless as a chicken feather, and it felt off in his hands. At this moment, Yan Liqiang was starting to miss the Dragon Spine Steel spear in the real world...

After tossing the spear handle, Yan Liqiang still didn’t feel satisfied while watching those people escaping. He immediately retrieved his warbow without the slightest hesitation.

Whoosh...

Whoosh...

Whoosh...

In the blink of an eye, seven arrows were fired and another seven riders with black headbands fell from their horses. All the remaining riders were like birds startled by the mere twang of a bow. No one dared to get any closer to Yan Liqiang.

The sounds of rushing iron hooves rang out from behind him.

Yan Liqiang turned around with his bow. As Wang Hui and Huang Sheng drew closer to him, the former shouted to him and pointed into the distance. “Run, Liqiang! A horde of cavalry is coming this way from the mountain...!”

Yan Liqiang looked in the direction where Wang Hui was pointing. Indeed, flying dust was rolling behind the hill – an indication of an incoming large troop of cavalry. The distance between their location and the rolling dust was approximately ten li. They were probably coming from Shidu County, the same location as where the White Lotus Cavalry had come from earlier. Therefore, the cavalry that was riding toward them from that direction must be from the White Lotus Society too.

Looking at the wilderness before him, everyone had pretty much escaped. Only corpses remained in the area and on the hill. The ones wearing black headbands were all killed by Yan Liqiang, while the rest were killed by those cavalry soldiers who surrounded them earlier...

“Let’s go...!” Yan Liqiang promptly made a decision. Without further delay, he turned his steed around, galloped onto the public road with both Wang Hui and Huang Sheng, then retreated northward.

A few riders from the White Lotus Cavalry tried to give chase, but Yan Liqiang fired a few shots and took out three of them. The remaining riders were petrified and could do nothing but watch Yan Liqiang and the other two leave the scene on their steeds.

...

In just a short while, Yan Liqiang and the other two rendezvoused with the rest from the escort agency at the agreed location. Aside from them, there were also a few other commoners who were lucky enough to have escaped by nabbing a rhinodrake steed from earlier.

“Go! Let’s leave this place first, we’ll talk later...!” Yan Liqiang announced, then quickly retreated northward with everyone.

They retreated until the sky darkened.

Fortunately, it seemed like the destination of the cavalry from Shidu County wasn’t up in the north. They went down the other fork in the public road and traveled westward. After galloping for more than hour on their rhinodrake steeds, Yan Liqiang’s party could no longer see the rolling dust that followed the large troop of cavalry behind them.

Everyone had initially planned to return to the Qugu County Town where they passed by in the morning, but by the time they returned to Qugu County, they discovered the entire county was already in chaos. Fleeing crowds were seen everywhere. The county town gates were shut tight to prevent people from going in and out. Those who lived in the villages outside the county town had begun to escape with their families. It would seem like news about the upcoming arrival of White Lotus Army had gotten around.

As last resort, Yan Liqiang’s party had no choice but change directions. Not daring to stay at the county town of Qugu County either, they could only travel along a minor road without any rest to bypass the county town. They only reached a dilapidated temple near a small mountain village more than seventy li north of the Qugu County Town after dark and settled down there.

...

“Hu Cheng’an and family would like to thank Young Lord for saving us...!”

The firewood they found from outside was turned into a bonfire inside the dilapidated temple. The steeds that had been running for half a day were resting outside while feeding on fodder and were taken care of by a few people from the escort agency. As soon as the group settled down, the people who followed the members from the escort agency walked over and prostrated to Yan Liqiang.

“Please get up, please get up...” Yan Liqiang hurriedly helped Hu Cheng’an get up.

Hu Cheng’an was a slightly chubby and capable man in his thirties who was looking at Yan Liqiang emotionally. He had a wife and two young sons who appeared to be only seven or eight years old.

“What’s going on with these people from the White Lotus Society?”

“I’ve no idea either. Right after noon today when we were still at home, quite a number of people ran into the village from the county town and told us that a troop of more than ten thousand men coming from the Copper Ridge had stormed the county town. They took control of the county town effortlessly, murdered the county magistrate, and hung his head on the city wall. Those people were capturing everyone and forcing them to join them. Those who disobeyed them were beheaded. They also deployed cavalry soldiers to seal off some of the roads. When the villagers heard the news, everyone panicked. My family quickly packed a few things and tried to escape, but the cavalry had already rushed to the village. We had no choice but to escape with the other folks through the mountain behind the village. Little did we expect to encounter another cavalry as soon as we made it past that mountain. Then the rest came after meeting you, our savior...!”

“They came out from Copper Ridge?” Yan Liqiang furrowed his brows.

“That means something might have happened to the south of Copper Ridge. I wonder how serious the situation is and if we can avoid that place on our way back...” Wang Hui had a grave expression on his face.

“Let’s ask around for the exact news tomorrow first. At a time like this, information will be our top priority. We must plan ahead before we move. Otherwise, we might unknowingly march into the lion’s den...” Yan Liqiang let out a sigh. He didn’t expect the way back to the Divine Sword Sect to be such an arduous one. When he recalled the words from Fang Beidou about wars arising in the wake of those natural disasters, he had a bad premonition in his heart. The Great Han Empire was at its frailest and most chaotic time right now due to the recent catastrophe in Imperial Capital...

“I guess we can only do that...” Wang Hui, Huang Sheng, and the rest had a look of worry on their faces.

“Young Lord, the sweet potatoes are ready...!” Unbeknownst to Yan Liqiang, Yu Qing was already standing behind him as she handed over a perfectly roasted sweet potato to him.

The sweet potatoes were dug up somewhere around the dilapidated temple. The small mountain village was still in a state of panic and confusion. Many carried torches and moved their things away overnight...

.....

It took them three days to truly grasp the situation. After that catastrophe in the Imperial Capital, Yan Liqiang once again stayed in the Heavenly Realm for three consecutive days.

This time, the White Lotus Society staged an uprising in the Yuan, Hong, and Xiang Provinces at the same time. They got the commoners involved, besieged cities, and took control of the villages. The territories to the south of Copper Ridge were in a complete mess. Imperial court orders were lost and the local authorities already had enough on their plates. The heart of the empire was instantly smashed. In just a few days, the White Lotus Society that was wreaking havoc in the different provinces managed to bring out a few ‘armies of a million men’...

At the same time, another even more horrifying and disturbing news got around – about ten days ago, the Chaman people defeated the Storm Army. Millions of armored cavalry breached the Dragon Snake Pass to the north and reportedly entered the territory of the Great Han Empire...

Chapter 313: Acquaintance

“Did you kill someone last night?”

When Li Hongtu suddenly appeared at the edge of the pool looking Yan Liqiang with an unprecedented and serious gaze, Yan Liqiang couldn’t help but pause. He had just arrived at the waterfall and had barely been shaking his Dragon Spine Steel spear for less than two minutes.

He looked at Li Hongtu in confusion, wondering if he was joking with him. “No, Master. Why would I have killed someone last night? It has been a long while since I last fought with anyone!”

“When did you last kill someone?”

“Probably when I was escorting Lord Sun back to the Imperial Capital. Why?”

“Weird, that shouldn’t be the case...” Li Hongtu frowned at Yan Liqiang and gave him a suspicious look. “I was just listening to you shaking your spear in the house and it obviously sounded different from yesterday. It’s tinged with this extra murderous rage today. You wouldn’t be able to make this kind of sound if you’ve never killed with a spear technique. Moreover, you didn’t kill only one person. Killing just one person wouldn’t be enough to draw such murderous rage out from your spear...”

Yan Liqiang’s heart skipped a beat as he gulped. “I practiced the entire day in Deer Villa yesterday, Master. How could I possibly kill anyone without going out? Perhaps you are mistaken, Master...?”

Yan Liqiang was telling both the truth and a lie. Of course he didn’t kill anyone in reality. However, he had indeed killed many people with his spear technique in the Heavenly Realm.

“How can I be mistaken?” Li Hongtu glared at Yan Liqiang. “Tell me, will a mouth that has eaten meat still look the same as a mouth that hasn’t eaten any meat?”

“Urm... Is there any difference?”

“Of course there is! A mouth that has eaten meat will still have grease in it no matter how much you wipe it. Even if there is none, you can still find the piece of meat in your stomach. A mouth that has not eaten any meat will not be stained with grease and no meat will be found even if you cut open your stomach. Likewise, cultivating a spear technique before killing anyone with it is a certain type of feeling. After killing someone with the spear technique, cultivating it will feel different. There will be subtle changes in your grasping strength, your stance, the distance between your fingers, the shaking rhythm, and your state of mind. These changes can be observed through the sounds. Other people may not catch the murderous rage in your spear technique, but you can’t hide it from me. Now, explain yourself honestly – did you or did you not sneak out from the Deer Villa last night after dark to kill someone?”

Li Hongtu’s words nearly had Yan Liqiang kneeling before him.

Yan Liqiang couldn’t even hear the difference in the buzzing noises he made from spear shaking today and the previous few days. However, he was aware that after gaining some experience from killing people with the spear technique recently in the Heavenly Realm, there were some changes in his grasping strength, his stance, the distance between his fingers, his rhythm, and his state of mind. Yan Liqiang merely felt that he could move better by making such adjustments. Little did he expect these subtle changes to immediately be picked up by Li Hongtu. Damn, that was really too terrifying.

“Master, I swear to the Heavens that I really stayed in Deer Villa the entire day yesterday without going out. If you don’t believe me, you can go ask around to find out if anyone was murdered with the spear technique around the Imperial Capital last night. Oh right, now that you mention it, I remember I was dreaming last night for some reason. I dreamt that I was a soldier on a battlefield. I was holding an ashwood spear and fighting a tough battle with my enemies. In my dream, I killed many with my spear technique. The dream was so real that it was still vivid in my mind when I woke up this morning and it felt as though I had experienced it myself. I wonder if this could be the impact of this dream...?”

“Ah, you had this kind of dream?” Li Hongtu stared at Yan Liqiang in shock. He only lowered his head after a good while and seemed to be thinking deeply as he stroked his beard while murmuring to himself. “Hmm... that sounds possible... Though a little too far-fetched...” After pondering for a moment, he lifted his head again and asked him skeptically, “Have you ever had such a strange dream before?”

“Frequently!” Yan Liqiang nodded seriously. The expression on his face was akin to a witness swearing an oath on the holy bible in court. “I frequently have violent dreams like these. They are all so vivid that it’s like they actually happened. I can’t forget about them even after waking up. I had another strange dream in the past that caused an incident. Now, nearly everyone in my hometown knows that I have strange dreams...”

Yan Liqiang unobtrusively and secretly shifted the conversation to another topic. As expected, Li Hongtu’s curiosity was immediately piqued as soon as he heard Yan Liqiang. “What strange dream was that?”

“I met an old man in my dream who taught me a method to save a drowned person. I didn’t expect it to actually work and I managed to save people with it!” Yan Liqiang recounted the incident where he rescued someone in Pingxi Prefecture back then. To Yan Liqiang, this incident was a mere platitude that had been overused. The lie had been repeated so many times that even Yan Liqiang almost believed it himself. To Li Hongtu, hearing the tale for the very first time was both interesting and shocking.

After hearing the tale, Li Hongtu stared at Yan Liqiang with a strange gaze. He put his hands behind his back after a good while and spoke solemnly. “If... If you have another strange dream like this next time, it would be best that you keep it to yourself. Got it?”

Yan Liqiang secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed like he managed to get away this time. “Got it, Master!”

“Good. Carry on with your cultivation then...”

“Alright...”

As soon as Li Hongtu turned around and Yan Liqiang picked up his spear to start shaking it, a voice suddenly drifted into their ears.

“Ah, Li Hongtu, Li Hongtu. Just when I was wondering why you hadn’t come to disturb me recently, I see that you have apprenticed such a talented disciple...” Following the voice, Yan Liqiang thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. An old man suddenly appeared on top of a big pine tree by the pool. Dressed in clean, white silk robes, he had a head full of silver hair and a face that had the rosy glow of a baby’s cheeks. He gracefully perched on the pine tree needles, swaying gently, looking as divine as an immortal.

“You, the one surnamed Ji! What are you doing here at my place? Scram!” At the old man’s appearance, the expression on Li Hongtu’s face immediately grew anxious for some reason. He even shot a glance at Yan Liqiang.

Surnamed Ji? Could this be the person on that other bronze paiza that Eunuch Liu had given to him?

“Don’t you worry, Li. I am not here to find you!” The old man surnamed Ji ignored Li Hongtu. He turned his head to Yan Liqiang instead and started sizing him up. “Did Liu give you two bronze paizas, with the character Ji engraved on one of them...?”

Yan Liqiang couldn’t hide the fact, so he nodded.

“Great. From today onward, you shall be my disciple. You may call me Master from now on. I will teach you the ultimate archery technique!” The old man nodded, then announced his newly-formed relationship with Yan Liqiang without even waiting for his consent.

“JI, YOU SNATCHED MY LITTLE YING AWAY BACK THEN AND NOW YOU ARE SNATCHING AWAY MY APPRENTICE AGAIN! I-I... I’VE HAD IT...!” Li Hongtu bellowed in extreme rage and charged at the old man surnamed Ji.

Li Hongtu was so fast that all Yan Liqiang saw was a blur.

BOOM...! An explosion thundered. He didn’t see Li Hongtu striking out, but the big pine tree suddenly exploded. The tree trunk and countless pine needles were blown into fragments that scattered all over the place. Even the spot where the pine tree once stood turned into mud that splattered everywhere. The tree had been completely uprooted...

Amidst the flying fragments, a white figure slowly rose into the air like a cloud and yelled back, “The one Little Ying likes is obviously me...!” He then raised his palm at Li Hongtu...

BOOM...! Another explosion rang out like a thunderclap at ground level. A few trees in the surroundings were blown to pieces by the violent impact. Even the pool of water Yan Liqiang was in vibrated during the explosion.

In just the blink of an eye, both sides had exchanged a few blows in front of Yan Liqiang. In the midst of the confrontation, Yan Liqiang even had a misconception. Both of them were actually moving so fast that he couldn’t even catch their moves with his eyes. However, it felt like they were moving very slow too. This contradictory feeling made the onlooker dizzy and nauseous as though one was experiencing motion sickness...

At this moment, it was as though the trees and rocks around them were chucked into a silent pulverizer. They were reduced to fragments and flying dust while both of them were fighting.

“Are you two only going to stop fighting when I’m dead?” A long sigh came from somewhere a bit further. The two old men stopped fighting when they heard the voice. After exchanging glances, the barely audible words, ‘Little Ying’, escaped both their lips at the same time. The two then dashed toward the source of the voice at lightning speed, vanishing from Yan Liqiang’s sight in a flash.

Yan Liqiang stood on the rock in a daze and looked at the mess around him, feeling as though he had just been dreaming...

He stood on the rock and pondered for a while. In the end, he gave up on the idea of chasing after them. Instead, he picked up the Dragon Spine Steel spear and resumed shaking it...

Chapter 314: A Surprise

Yan Liqiang didn’t know where Li Hongtu had gone off to. He had been cultivating in peace under the waterfall. However, his mind kept replaying the scene from earlier. This love triangle sure was complicated enough. Now he finally understood why the mountain behind Deer Villa was a restricted area. The three people living here was probably the reason why.

The voice of the lady named Little Ying didn’t really sound young. It would seem like the three of them had gone through a lot in their youth.

Yan Liqiang cultivated under the waterfall until noon, when the sun was hanging high up in the sky.

Before this, Yan Liqiang would have been exhausted from his cultivation by this time. However, his stamina was increasing every day as he was being strengthened by Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing. Hence, he still had a lot of energy left in him right now instead of feeling fatigued.

Just when Yan Liqiang was pondering about carrying those weight ‘accessories’ on his back to cultivate in the future, a figure flashed back to the edge of the pool. Li Hongtu had returned.

“Master...” Yan Liqiang immediately stopped what he was doing.

“You have done enough for your morning training. Come over here, Liqiang. There’s something I would like to discuss with you!” Li Hongtu looked at Yan Liqiang and waved at him.

“Alright!” Yan Liqiang stopped, then tossed the Dragon Spine Steel spear into the pool. He then effortlessly leaped more than ten meters across the water surface and landed on his feet beside Li Hongtu as though everything was like a walk in the park for him.

The violent fury on Li Hongtu’s face this morning was long gone. Instead, he looked slightly depressed and lost. He seemed to have calmed down, but Yan Liqiang didn’t know what happened after Li Hongtu went away. From the looks of it, things probably didn’t go too poorly. Otherwise, Li Hongtu wouldn’t be so calm.

“Did you realize your body technique and lightness skill have been making rapid improvements lately?”

“I’ll have to thank you for the guidance, Master!”

“It’s really not easy to shake a spear on such a slippery boulder while maintaining balance. Once you get used to it, you’ll be cultivating your body technique and footwork every second you stay on the boulder, unknowingly reaping great benefits from it. The next time you have a spear in your hands, your feet will move as you wish and you will be unstoppable!” Li Hongtu glanced at Yan Liqiang and let out a long sigh. “Even so, your rate of improvement has gone beyond my expectations!”

“My skills are still far inferior to yours, Master!” Yan Liqiang replied humbly.

“Ahem... ahem... Next time... you don’t need to come here so diligently...”

Yan Liqiang was taken aback. “Master, what do you mean? I’m afraid I didn’t really catch that!”

“From now on, you will find time in the morning to visit that Ji guy every three days. He will teach you archery techniques and he will also... He will also be your master!” Speaking up to that point, Li Hongtu averted his gaze from Yan Liqiang in embarrassment.

“Master, didn’t... didn’t you tell me not to find that Ji guy last time? Why...”

“If I tell you to go, then go! Don’t ask so many stupid questions! I am your Master, why do I have to explain anything to you?” Li Hongtu suddenly flew into a rage out of humiliation and shot a glare at Yan Liqiang. “Anyway, I’ve already informed you. It’s up to you whether you want to go or not. Alright, you are done for the day. I’m going to nap now, so don’t bother me over nothing...!”

After saying all that, Li Hongtu swung his sleeve, ignored Yan Liqiang, and went toward his thatched cottage.

Yan Liqiang rubbed his chin with one hand while watching Li Hongtu’s disappearing silhouette. A smile broke across his face. Although Li Hongtu’s words were quite a surprise, it was actually good news for him.

For a long time, Yan Liqiang had been making progress in his archery cultivation by solely relying on his own talents. He had never consulted with others or received any guidance from anyone. Therefore, he was curious to see how powerful the other experts were...

After watching Li Hongtu enter his thatched cottage, Yan Liqiang put on the clothes he left at the edge of the pool and then left the place.

This afternoon was his day off after every three days. Three days ago, he made an afternoon appointment to meet Fang Beidou, Xu Enda, and the rest for a discussion. After lunch plus a few rounds of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing to strengthen himself and recover his stamina, Yan Liqiang left Deer Villa. This time, he didn’t go with his rhinodrake steed. Instead, he walked to the Imperial Capital with large strides.

Yan Liqiang made his first stop at the Hundred Clans Market since it was on the way from Deer Villa and it was located outside the Imperial Capital’s western gate.

As the employment marketplace of the Imperial Capital, the Hundred Clans Market was still as lively as ever. Since Yan Liqiang didn’t arrive on a high rhinodrake steed, he didn’t attract a flock of brokers who wanted to introduce wet nurses or maids to him this time. He went straight to the agreed location to meet with Xu Enda and the rest. As expected, he saw a few familiar faces glancing around while waiting for him there as soon as he arrived. The moment Yan Liqiang appeared, the young men instantly had a relieved expression on their faces.

Everyone except Xu Enda was there.

“Hm? Where is Xu Enda?” Yan Liqiang walked over to them and asked when he noticed Xu Enda’s absence.

The young men had an indignant expression on their faces, but they seemed hesitant to speak.

“What’s going on?” Yan Liqiang looked at one of them who was about the same age as him. “Tell me, Little Wu...”

“Something happened to Brother Xu!” Little Wu clenched his fists tightly, looking both angry and upset. “When Brother Xu was on his way home last night, that bastard Guo Si ambushed him in an alley and stabbed him...”

“Guo Si?” Yan Liqiang frowned. “You mean that swindling thug on the streets from last time?”

“Yes, that piece of trash! Brother Xu returned home alone last night. We weren’t around and it was dark. He was caught off-guard by that scoundrel in the alley and got injured. If this were an honorable fight, there’s no way that Guo Si could be Brother Xu’s match...!”

“Is he alright?”

“Brother Xu’s injury seems to be quite serious and we only found out this morning. He didn’t want this to affect our appointment with you so he sent us all here to wait for you...”

“Where is Xu Enda now?”

“We sent him back from the medical hall. He is now recuperating from his injuries at home!”

“Let’s go then, bring me to Xu Enda’s house. Anyhow, this incident happened partly because of me. If it weren’t for my sake, you guys wouldn’t have provoked those thugs. Now that Xu Enda got hurt, I can’t leave this matter alone. We’ll talk about work later...” Yan Liqiang told the other young men solemnly.

The few young men exchanged glances with each other upon seeing Yan Liqiang’s sense of obligation. They nodded, then brought Yan Liqiang along to visit Xu Enda...

Chapter 315: The Imperial Capital Is Too Small

Xu Enda’s house was just around the Prosperous Spring Square past a few winding alleys, five or six hundred meters away from the place where Yan Liqiang encountered those swindling thugs the other day.

Led by the few young men, it didn’t take Yan Liqiang long to finally arrive at the entrance of Xu Enda’s residence.

It was a small courtyard house that was slightly run down, but not on the verge of collapsing. Standing at the entrance, Yan Liqiang could spot fresh green grape leaves peeking over the top of the courtyard wall.

The youth named Little Wu knocked on the door. A few seconds later, a rather tender voice came from inside. “Who is it?”

“Enci, It’s me. We’re here to visit Brother Xu...”

After hearing the reply from the other side, the courtyard door opened. A little boy about the age of eight or nine stood behind the door with a pair of reddened eyes. “Brother Little Wu...”

“Yes!” Little Wu nodded. While walking inside, he turned his head to Yan Liqiang and told him in a soft voice, “This is Brother Xu’s younger brother. He’s the oldest son in the family with two younger brothers and one younger sister. Enci is the youngest in the family...”

“Apart from his siblings, does anyone else live with Xu Enda?” Yan Liqiang asked.

Another young man chimed in from the side, “Nope. Brother Xu’s parents passed away when they took a trip to visit their relatives. The carriage tumbled down into the valley from a broken axle on their way back. Brother Xu is the only breadwinner in the family now. For the past years, he has been playing the role of a big brother and their parents at home. It’s really difficult to bring three children up alone...”

Yan Liqiang nodded without saying a word.

Xu Enda’s residence was indeed shabby. Apart from the grapevine and a few old stone benches, there was only junk and nothing decent around.

Little Wu led Yan Liqiang toward a house facing the yard. Before they entered the house, Yan Liqiang heard a voice coming from inside.

“Rest assured, Cousin. I definitely won’t spare that piece of trash named Guo Si this time. I will go round up a few of my brothers from the Imperial Cavalry Unit today to search the entire Imperial Capital. We’ll find that bastard and hand him over to the authorities. Then I’ll find someone to finish him off in prison...!”

“Haihe... You have a lot going on at home. Besides, your older brother is no longer around too... Your entire family depends on you. Don’t worry about this incident. After I recover, I will invite him to the Arena of Life and Death and finish him off with my own hands...!”

“Why would that piece of trash meet you on the Arena of Life and Death? He will definitely escape if you find him. You mustn’t deal with these kinds of people with logic and reason...!”

There were two voices – the weaker one belonged to Xu Enda. However, the other voice sounded extremely familiar to Yan Liqiang. The Imperial Capital was indeed too small!

“Brother Xu, look who we brought to visit you...!” Little Wu pushed the door open while speaking and led Yan Liqiang into the house.

Xu Enda was lying on the bed with a rather pale face. The other person was sitting by his bed with his back facing the door. He only turned his head around when he heard the sound of the door being pushed open behind him. The moment he saw Yan Liqiang, he sprung to his feet as though there was a spring beneath his butt. “G-Guard... Guard Yan...! Ah... n-no...! That should be... Commandant Yan now...! W-Why... Why are you...” He looked at Yan Liqiang in both shock and excitement.

Hu Haihe was suddenly tongue-tied and at a loss for words from the great shock.

“It’s been a long while, Haihe! I’ve been waiting for you to come practice archery with me!” Yan Liqiang greeted him with a smile.

Little Wu and the rest who brought Yan Liqiang here as well as Xu Enda who was lying in bed were somewhat baffled. Their gaze traveled from Hu Haihe’s face to Yan Liqiang. Confusion was written all over their faces.

“Haihe... you... you guys know each other?” Xu Enda asked curiously.

“Cousin, he is that Guard Yan who I told you about before! The one who single-handedly annihilated several hundred Blackwind Bandits when we escorted Lord Sun on his way here! But now, he should be addressed as Commandant Yan!”

“Ah...!” Xu Enda, Little Wu, and the other young men were stunned. They probably heard rumors about Yan Liqiang from Hu Haihe before, but they didn’t expect such an untouchable and impressive figure to turn out to be this person before them. When Yan Liqiang decided to hire them, he never told them his name. Hence, Xu Enda and the rest didn’t know that this Yan Liqiang was the very same Yan Liqiang from Hu Haihe’s story.

Xu Enda seemed to be a little worked up at the discovery of Yan Liqiang’s identity. He struggled to get up from his bed, but Yan Liqiang quickly pressed his shoulders down. “You’re still injured. Rest well and don’t move around too much...”

“Cousin... H-How do you know Commandant Yan?” Hu Haihe asked curiously from the side.

“Your cousin and his other brothers stood up for me and rescued me a few days ago. I didn’t expect one of them to be your cousin, Haihe! The world is indeed too small!”

Yan Liqiang recounted the incident from a few days ago which acquainted him with Xu Enda and the others. The situation was clarified and everyone suddenly felt that the bond between them had strengthened a little more. Without a doubt, Yan Liqiang suddenly became an important figure in everyone’s hearts. Everyone in the room began to see him in a new light.

Yan Liqiang first examined Xu Enda’s wounds. He discovered that there were three on him. The wound on his thigh was from a dagger stab. It was a very deep wound, but fortunately, his arteries were unharmed. The other two were located on his left waist and back. They each were about two fingers long: a cut rather than a stab from the dagger. Although they looked terrifying, they weren’t fatal. This was indeed a great fortune out of a misfortune.

“Has he seen a physician?” Yan Liqiang asked Hu Haihe.

“Yes. The physician gave him some prescriptions and said that the most important thing now is to rest and recuperate!”

“I still have some medicine with me from Deer Villa. It will probably work better than the prescriptions given by the physicians in the Imperial Capital. Take this and give it to your cousin!” Yan Liqiang fished out a medicine pouch while talking and retrieved an exquisite white porcelain bottle. He then handed it over to Hu Haihe, “The medicinal pills inside are suitable for both internal and external injuries. Take it once a day if consumed. For external use, dissolve it in water and apply it to the wounds once every three days!”

Ever since his encounter with Hua Ruxue last time, Yan Liqiang developed the habit of carrying a medicine pouch with him every time he went out. It was because even he couldn’t guarantee he wouldn’t encounter an accident when he was outside. Hence, he carried a medicine pouch on him just in case.

Hu Haihe accepted the white porcelain bottle from Yan Liqiang and briefly examined it before opening it carefully. After taking a whiff, he couldn’t contain his excitement. “Ah! T-These... These are the Five Elemental Rejuvenation Pills! Royal prescriptions for the palace...!”

“Ah, I didn’t expect you would know, Haihe!” Yan Liqiang smiled. “What do you mean that it’s for the palace? Medicine is made to be used by people. Don’t be shy. I can get them very easily at Deer Villa...”

Chapter 316: Gathering People

“I can’t possibly accept this! It’s too precious...!” When Xu Enda heard that the bottle of medicine Yan Liqiang passed to Hu Haihe was for the palace and was very expensive, he hurriedly waved his hands from the bed.

“Why not? At the end of the day, I am the cause of this incident. How can I leave this matter alone? Rest up for the next few days. After you recover, I’ll be counting on you to work for me. The terms we discussed before will stay the same. All of you will work for me after this!”

Xu Enda’s eyes immediately glistened with tears upon hearing Yan Liqiang. Words couldn’t come out from his quivering lips. He had expected this incident to ruin his rare opportunity. Little did he imagine for things to take a new turn – the opportunity wasn’t ruined and both parties suddenly grew closer. They could finally rest assured after knowing each other’s backgrounds.

Little Wu and the others who brought Yan Liqiang here looked at each other rather excitedly. Living as one of the poor people at the bottom of the Imperial Capital’s social class, meeting someone like Yan Liqiang and being hired for a decent long-term job under him was a rare opportunity. Perhaps this would change their destinies.

“But this medicine is really too precious...”

“Nothing can be more precious than a life!”

“Cousin, this is Commandant Yan’s goodwill. You should just accept it!” Hu Haihe said when he saw that Xu Enda was still too shy to accept the offer.

“Haha, don’t call me Commandant Yan from now on, Haihe. You’re treating me like a stranger. Since I’m the youngest here, just call me Liqiang!”

“How can we possibly do that? That is too inappropriate!” Hu Haihe immediately shook his head.

“Yes, yes, we can’t be inappropriate and disrespectful...!” Even Xu Enda who was lying on the bed shook his head.

“I’m not here on the job as a commandant of the Imperial Cavalry Unit right now. So there’s nothing inappropriate about this!”

“Uhm... uhm... why not just have everyone call you Manager Yan!” Little Wu suddenly interjected from the side.

In this world, the term ‘manager’ was used instead of domineering forms of address such as ‘boss’. Managers held the same meaning as bosses. Shopkeepers on the streets were referred to as managers and the owners of extremely wealthy merchant groups were also referred to as managers. Hence, ‘manager’ was an extremely versatile word.

Upon hearing Little Wu, Yan Liqiang mulled over the matter for a moment before breaking into a smile. “Well then, everyone may address me as Manager Yan from now on. It is indeed a little inconvenient to come outside as a commandant since it’s easy to attract unwanted attention. Haihe may also address me as Manager Yan as long as we are not at the army base!”

“Sure!” Hu Haihe nodded before his expression turned a little sour. “I’m afraid I won’t be seeing you around at the military base even if I wanted to...” He forced a smile.

“Why not?”

“I recently just settled my big brother’s funeral and the seventh day of his death. I am the sole surviving son of my clan now. Since it is against the Imperial Cavalry Unit’s rules for only sons to serve in the military, I just turned in my resignation from the Imperial Cavalry Unit two days ago!”

“What are you doing now then?”

“Nothing yet for now. A few brothers who resigned from the Imperial Cavalry Unit are now working as law enforcers at the Law Enforcement Offices in the Imperial Capital. They are thinking of getting me in through connections so that I can earn a living and settle my career there...” Hu Haihe looked helpless. “My parents are busy finding me a wife so I can get married by the end of this year and make babies. However, I’m not that into the idea of becoming a law enforcer or getting married so soon...” Hu Haihe steeled himself and looked at Yan Liqiang with a burning gaze. “I want to cultivate. By the time I am powerful enough, I will annihilate those Blackwind Bandits and avenge my brother...!”

Yan Liqiang murmured to himself a bit. Although working as a law enforcer didn’t seem too bad, it wasn’t ideal in the long run. When the catastrophe strikes in a few years, it won’t be easy for him to leave the Imperial Capital with his family as a civil servant due to his work commitment. The job wasn’t worth it if it might possibly put his entire family at risk. If Hu Haihe chose not to be a civil servant, it would be easier for him to leave in due time. This would in turn guarantee his family’s safety.

Thinking up to this point, Yan Liqiang told Hu Haihe, “It’s fine if you don’t want to be a law enforcer. You can work for me if you don’t mind! I happen to need more workers. I’ll be able to rest assured with you around!”

“Ah, seriously?” Hu Haihe’s eyes instantly lit up as he looked at Yan Liqiang.

“Of course!” Yan Liqiang nodded.

“Great, then I guess it’s perfectly appropriate for me to call you Manager Yan from now on!” Hu Haihe was suddenly energized.

“Aren’t you going to ask me what you’ll be doing?” Yan Liqiang questioned him with a smile.

“I was just wondering about that when my cousin told me they found a good long term job with decent benefits last time...” Hu Haihe chuckled. “In any case, I’m sure we won’t be abused with you as our manager...!”

Yan Liqiang scanned the room. “I’ll have someone buy out a publishing house and a workshop in the Imperial Capital. We’ll be making newspapers!”

Hu Haihe, Xu Enda, and the rest in the room exchanged glances when they heard Yan Liqiang say newspapers. Everyone looked at each other blankly, completely clueless on what a newspapers was.

“Umm... what is a newspapers, Manager Yan?” Little Wu asked in a low voice while scratching his head.

“I can’t explain it to you in a sentence, but you all will know soon enough!”

At this moment, the door was pushed open again. A girl about the age of eleven or twelve obediently came in while holding a bowl of medicine. “Big brother, the medicine is ready. You should take it now...”

By the time Xu Enda emptied the bowl of medicine, Yan Liqiang noticed he looked rather tired. He left ten taels of silver at Xu Enda’s home and told him it was an advance salary. Little Wu and the others were told to stay put to look after Xu Enda, just in case someone came to find trouble again. Yan Liqiang then bid his farewell and left Xu Residence with Hu Haihe, telling them that they were going out to do something.

“Who exactly is that Guo Si? Will you be able to find him, Haihe?” Yan Liqiang asked as soon as they were out of the Xu Residence.

“Guo Si is a swindling thug around here. He’s a fighter, though he doesn’t really have any sort of prominent background. Many fellow brothers of mine from the Imperial Cavalry Unit are law enforcers in the Imperial Capital now. I happen to be real close with a few of them. They will definitely be able to sniff out that bastard at my request!” Hu Haihe seethed.

Yan Liqiang narrowed his eyes too. “There won’t be much trouble after we manage to find that bastard. We’ll proceed according to your proposed plan just now – throw him into prison and find someone to end him. Take this silver for your arrangements. It’s not worth it to soil our hands for this kind of thug...” Yan Liqiang pulled out a silver promissory note with the value of five hundred taels of silver and handed it over to Hu Haihe while speaking.

As soon as Hu Haihe noticed the value of that silver promissory note, he quickly waved his hands in shock. “Ah, that’s too much! A simple wine treat for my friends would be enough to finish off that bastard...”

“Just take it. You will need it to form and preserve long-lasting relationships. When you work for me in the future, I will be at Deer Villa for most of the time. Since I won’t be able to come out any time soon, I will need your help to run many errands that will cost money. You keep the change and use it whenever needed!”

Hu Haihe glanced at Yan Liqiang again, then accepted the silver promissory note. He carefully put it away and nodded earnestly. “I will go get people to find that bastard Guo Si now...!”

“Don’t be so hasty. Guo Si just assaulted someone here last night. He’s most likely hiding somewhere today and lying low to avoid attention. It’ll probably be very difficult to find him during these two or three days. Let me bring you to meet someone else first!”

“Alright!”

Yan Liqiang led Hu Haihe directly to the Mingxiang Teahouse, near the Imperial Capital’s West Glorious Gate. They both entered the teahouse and went upstairs. Yan Liqiang spotted Fang Beidou already sitting cross-legged in a comfortable corner that was partitioned off with a screen on the second floor. He was sipping tea while enjoying a storytelling performance.

Fang Beidou was dressed in gorgeous silk robes and had a new haircut. He didn’t look like a daoist priest at all. Since the incident of him running naked hadn’t died down, Fang Beidou still kept a fake bushy beard. Based on his appearance, anyone would be fooled into thinking he was some sort of shopkeeper or wealthy man. Who would expect him to be a daoist priest cultivating in the mountain and also be the very same person behind the naked run incident that was still on everyone’s lips?

Fang Beidou rose upon Yan Liqiang’s arrival and turned his gaze to Hu Haihe. “This is...”

Yan Liqiang introduced Hu Haihe and Fang Beidou to each other to acquaint them.

“How is it going? Are there any updates?” Yan Liqiang immediately asked as soon as he was seated.

“Hahaha, who do you think is doing work for you?!” Fang Beidou laughed heartily, then pulled out a few property deeds from his chest and slapped them on the table. “Shunyi Bookstore has four branches scattered across the Imperial Capital. It also comes with a decent printing workshop that occupies an area of several dozen mu at the foot of Mount Longqi. The facility is fully equipped and ready to operate at any time. The owner is an old man who wishes to return home to Cang Province. Therefore, as soon as we agreed on a price, he handed over all the branches of the Shunyi Bookstore and the printing workshop. The printing workshop also comes with a manor. Since the owner found it too troublesome to sell them separately, I bought them together. I have visited the manor and it seems pretty decent with a few smaller courtyards, so I’ll be living there in the future...”

“No worries. There’s no harm in buying another manor!” Yan Liqiang smiled. “As long as we manage to secure the bookstores and the printing workshop...”

“Would you like to visit the bookstore and manor?”

“Of course I do, we’re talking about our huge purchase here...!”

Chapter 317: A Bet

In a world without publication control, printing newspapers was easier than printing school exam papers.

The Shunyi Bookstore had shops and a printing workshop that was equipped with a movable type system, [1] so it wasn’t that behind in technology. It didn’t lack production materials like ink or paper either. More than ten printing artisans were present in the workshop. These artisans were initially worried about losing their jobs as they feared that the new owner might replace them. After knowing they could continue working and get paid, they were relieved and eager to get started.

The hardware was basically ready, the only thing lacking now was the software. By software, he meant manpower. After all, they would need people to prepare the newspaper content. Although Yan Liqiang had a well-thought-out plan and the appropriate content, he was the owner and he still needed to stay in Deer Villa to cultivate. It would be impossible for him to work on all the newspaper content alone. Fang Beidou would mainly be responsible for the managerial tasks and playing the role of a manager, so he couldn’t be the one to do the write-ups either. Therefore, they would still need to assign the task to someone who specialized in writing.

Fortunately, the Imperial Capital had no shortage of such individuals.

The Silver Continent advocated martial arts. Hence, literati were not highly valued in this world. In people’s eyes, literati were mere wordsmiths and they were no different than ordinary carpenters, blacksmiths, and cobblers. Hence, they were regarded as one of the artisans in this world. According to a statement from a book Yan Liqiang read before: ‘Wordsmiths skillfully sculpts with words to record trends as well as create poetry, literary works, and stories. They make a living by showing off their talents through their brushes. Stellar writers may serve the officials while the others will live their lives assisting the illiterates in the city with letters and civil action. Those who prefer entertaining lifestyles may team up with storytellers to compose poems and tales for theatrical plays. The masters write books that will be learnt by the future generations. The fame and fortune they will gain are by no means inferior to the other experts.’

For the entire afternoon, Yan Liqiang, Hu Haihe, and Fang Beidou ran around inside and outside the capital city. They visited the shops of the Shunyi Bookstore, the workshop, and the manor. After giving Fang Beidou an idea about the newspaper sections, Yan Liqiang had him find a few proficient wordsmiths in the Imperial Capital to write the articles. He also informed him about the employment of Xu Enda and his group and left the arrangements to him. As for the remaining matters, Yan Liqiang had Hu Haihe monitor Guo Si’s activities and to stay in touch with him. With that, he settled most of what he had to do.

Yan Liqiang suddenly recalled something when he was about to part ways with Hu Haihe.

“Oh right. Haihe, you’re a local that grew up in the Imperial Capital. You probably know your way around the city, right?”

“Of course. I can find my way from the north to the south of the city with my eyes closed. Apart from the royal palace, I know my way around the city inside out!” Hu Haihe looked at Yan Liqiang. “Do you have a task for me, Manager?”

After hanging out with Yan Liqiang for an entire afternoon, Hu Haihe grew more comfortable with addressing him as ‘Manager’.

“I do have something for you aside from the matter involving Guo Si!” Yan Liqiang pondered for a moment. “Go find some well-informed people who love gathering all sorts of information to be the informants for our newspaper...”

“Uhm... so we’re hiring them?”

Yan Liqiang shook his head. “Don’t hire them right away. Let’s see how it will work out first...” Although he was running a newspaper, the journalist profession didn’t exist in this world yet. Therefore, he could only take one step at a time in slowly nurturing these people, starting from those who could provide information. He’d need to see if he could find a few reliable individuals first. “Find a few that would like to exchange their information for money. If the information they provide is accurate and trustworthy, it will go on our newspaper and they will be paid, starting from a hundred copper coins!”

Hu Haihe immediately felt a rush of energy. “That’s simple! Many well-informed individuals can be easily found in teahouses or the Law Enforcement Offices. However...” Hu Haihe frowned and looked at Yan Liqiang puzzledly. “However, a hundred copper coins for some news is really easy money. That just means one news is worth three days of hard labor that my fellow brothers and I used to do. Aren’t we offering too much...?”

“The amount might seem like a lot, but they are necessary expenses. We can offer more for news that is interesting enough. Ten or a hundred taels of silver in exchange for news is not a problem!” Yan Liqiang looked at Hu Haihe who was dumbstruck. “It’s alright if you don’t understand now. You will in due time. Just proceed according to my instructions for now!”

“Got it!” Hu Haihe nodded solemnly because he had faith in Yan Liqiang.

......

Yan Liqiang returned to the Deer Villa after dark. He had been busy the entire afternoon. His plans on running a newspaper were finally taking shape. Hence, Yan Liqiang was in a great mood. The pressure he had been feeling completely vanished as his entire body relaxed. In any case, it was enough as long as he had a clear conscience knowing that he had done his best.

On his way back to Deer Villa, Yan Liqiang tried to come up with a good name for the newspaper that would soon see the light of day while walking. After much consideration, he concluded that ‘The Great Han Times’ would be a suitable name.

That split moment felt like a historical moment to Yan Liqiang.

.....

After cultivating the eye technique as well as Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing at night, Yan Liqiang entered the Heavenly Realm before sleeping. He only came out after spending a day in there.

The other Yan Liqiang in the Heavenly Realm spent most of his day on his rhinodrake steed, thinking of a way to bypass the area affected by the White Lotus Society and return to the Divine Sword Sect with the escort agency party. The Great Han Empire seemed to grow more restless after the catastrophe struck the Imperial Capital.

The next day went on as usual. Yan Liqiang resumed cultivating under the waterfall on the mountain behind the archery range. He shook his spear the entire day until he was exhausted. When he returned at night, he used Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing to recover and strengthen himself...

On third day morning however, Yan Liqiang didn’t go to the waterfall for his training. He directly went to another place on the mountain behind the archery instead to meet his other master.

Compared to the thatched cottage Li Hongtu lived in, Old Man Ji’s residence looked like a five-star lavish villa with a scenic view. It was an extremely gorgeous courtyard that sat within the bamboo forest. There was a stream and a small bridge across it in front of the entrance. The birds were singing and the scent of flowers was in the air. Everything in the place was exquisite and tastefully picked out.

When Yan Liqiang arrived, the old man was playing a zither at the pavilion in the bamboo forest. He was dressed in casual white robes and his hair was neatly combed. The ethereal melody flowed like water and was pleasant to the ears. A few cranes were wandering around the pavilion, creating an inspiring ambience.

Yan Liqiang went to the pavilion and silently listened to the melody. The old man didn’t seem to notice Yan Liqiang’s presence as he was focused on playing his zither.

Yan Liqiang listened to the melody silently for more than two hours, from the first rays of the morning sun until the sun was high up in the sky, before it finally ceased.

Yan Liqiang went up to the old man and bowed respectfully, “Greetings from Yan Liqiang, Senior!”

“Not bad for you to patiently listen to my zither for more than two hours in silence. Your calm breathing and temperament will indeed make you a fine archer. That Li guy will never be able to do well with a disciple like you!” The old man’s gaze finally fell on Yan Liqiang’s face as a small smile appeared on his. “Although you have manners, I presume you still doubt my skills by calling me Senior instead of Master. Am I right that you are still not convinced?”

Yan Liqiang didn’t feel embarrassed either. He calmly looked at the old man and nodded in agreement. “I have attained the Fourth Heavenly Layer in archery and am able to draw a ten-picul bow. My arrow can hit bugs as tiny as a candle flame from a thousand meters away. Killing my enemies is as easy as turning over my hand. My cultivation in archery has been self-taught. I wonder what you have to teach me?”

“Hahaha, not bad, not bad at all. It has been a very long time since I saw anyone attain the Fourth Heavenly Layer in archery at your age. On top of that, you have reached that point solely by relying on yourself...” The old man smilingly looked at Yan Liqiang up and down with his sparkling eyes. “Since you are so confident about your cultivation in archery, why don’t we make a bet?”

“What kind of bet?”

“It’s very simple – I will stand fifty meters away from you, you shoot me with a ten-picul bow, and I will defend myself with arrows. I will give you three tries. If your arrow touches even the hem of my robes, I will call you ‘Master’. Consider me unlucky if you manage to kill me. I will never blame you for it. If you can’t do that, then you will have to kowtow three times to me and be my disciple. How about that?”

“I will shoot you with an arrow and you will defend yourself with arrows? Are you sure about that...?” Yan Liqiang stared at the old man in white, wondering if he had lost his mind. Defending against an arrow with an arrow was akin to defending against a bullet with a bullet. Such an extreme cultivation idea had never even crossed Yan Liqiang’s mind before. The awesomeness of whoever could execute this would be beyond his imagination.

“That’s right. I’m sure of it!” The old man nodded calmly.

Yan Liqiang’s expression turned solemn as he cupped his fist to the old man. “Well then, Yan Liqiang will boldly ask Senior for guidance...”

Chapter 318: Yet Another Master

The flamboyant old man came out from the pavilion. He walked over to Yan Liqiang and asked, “What picul bow will you be using?”

“I will use a ten-picul bow.” Yan Liqiang replied calmly.

“Ji An!” The old man called out softly.

As soon as his voice faded, a servant as old as him came out from the monastery and bowed to the old man in white. “At your service!”

“Bring me two ten-picul bows and a quiver of arrows!”

“Understood!”

The old servant immediately returned to the monastery again. In just a flash, he came back with two bows and a quiver of arrows.

Both were Horned Python Bows. One of them was dark yellow while the other was scarlet in color. The frames had patterns and luster that could only be found on this type of bow. At first glance, Yan Liqiang was able to tell that the workmanship and quality of these bows were far superior to the five-picul Horned Python Bow he used before. These were no doubt the finest Horned Python Bows out in the world.

“Pick whichever one you like!” The old man in white robes smiled and let Yan Liqiang take his pick first.

“No need, both of them are the same!” Yan Liqiang immediately picked up the dark yellow bow and pulled out three arrows from the quiver. “Where are we going to do this?”

“Let’s do it over there!” The old man in white pointed to the west of the bamboo forest. “There’s an open space there, so let’s walk over!”

“Alright. Please lead the way, Senior...”

The old man picked up the other bow and walked in the direction he pointed to, with Yan Liqiang following behind him. They passed through the bamboo forest on a narrow rocky path and arrived at their destination before long. The open space was a spacious grassland that spanned a hundred meters in length. It was the most suitable place for their bet.

Seeing that the old man had stood still in place, Yan Liqiang went to the other side, leaving a distance of about fifty meters between them. He stopped there, stuck two arrows into the ground, and looked at the old man in white robes. “Are you ready, Senior?”

“I am ready. You may start at any time!”

When Yan Liqiang was walking to his spot, the old man had accepted an arrow that the old servant named Ji An handed over to him from the side.

The old servant backed down after handing over the arrow and emotionlessly watched the contest in silence.

Yan Liqiang shot another glance at the old man in white and took a deep breath. In just less than a tenth of a second, he focused his attention and nocked an arrow on his bowstring. He then loosened his grip on the arrow and sent it flying...

The distance of fifty meters allowed arrows to fly at their highest speed, therefore bringing out the maximum potential of a bow and arrow.

An arrow launched by a ten-picul bow could easily penetrate armor across this distance.

Yan Liqiang had only released his first arrow at a seventy percent draw, targeting the hem of that old man’s white robes since the old man said he could win as long as his arrows grazed the hem of his robes. Although Yan Liqiang’s target was his clothes and not the man, he was still worried. If the old man turned out to be all talk or slipped up and accidentally got killed by him, this wouldn’t end well.

Yan Liqiang’s arrow flew at lightning speed. Not to mention, it was released at a weird angle which curved downward instead of traveling in a straight line. While the arrow was ripping halfway through the air at a speed that was difficult to observe with the naked eye...

CLANK...! The sound resonated across the silent bamboo forest.

Impossible...!

Yan Liqiang nearly gasped out loud. At that split moment, he saw the spark of the two metal arrowheads clashing against each other at a high speed in midair before they were repelled and stuck deep into the ground.

If he didn’t witness this with his very own eyes, he wouldn’t believe anyone could possibly achieve such a feat with their archery.

“Again! Don’t hold back...” The old man smiled and accepted another arrow from the old servant at his side.

Yan Liqiang picked up an arrow from the ground, nocked it on his bowstring, and took a deep breath. In just a split second, he held the ten-picul bow at a full draw. If Yan Liqiang had only unleashed seventy percent of this ten-picul Horned Python Bow’s power just now, then this full draw would unleash its maximum potential.

The bow was drawn to a full moon shape, but Yan Liqiang slightly angled his arrow downward with a solemn expression. He then let out a loud yell, turning both his body and arms at lightning speed on the spot. When he turned, his low aim changed to a high aim – moving from the hem of the robes to the hair bun on the old man’s head. At the same time, Yan Liqiang relied on the huge centrifugal force during his quick turn to release his arrow...

Another arrow was sent flying!

Compared to the first arrow, the second arrow was quicker, more powerful, and discreet. Most importantly, Yan Liqiang revealed one of the ultimate skills he had never shown to anyone else during that quick turn.

Not only was that arrow was released by the bow in his hands, but also his body and hands. It was both an arrow and a hidden weapon. With his Fourth Heavenly Realm in archery and ninth layer in the hidden weapon technique, he combined both techniques into one. This was a deadly move that Yan Liqiang had been refining lately to improve his chances of survival during crucial moments.

The arrow made a beeline for the old man’s hair bun as soon as it left the bowstring. The old man in white drew his bow nearly at the same moment...

However, Yan Liqiang’s arrow suddenly changed course mid-flight. It dipped and went for the hem of the old man’s white robes...

Just when Yan Liqiang thought his arrow definitely wouldn’t miss its mark, he noticed that the arrow the old man fired also dipped at the same time, following a strange trajectory in midair...

CLANK...!

Another clank echoed in the air with a spark...

Yan Liqiang was stupefied. “H-How... is this possible?”

The old man gave him a small smile. “What you released was no longer an arrow, but a hidden weapon and an arrow combined into one. Simply exquisite! However, it wasn’t difficult to counter that. If you can change, so can I!”

Yan Liqiang gulped. “S-Senior... How did you manage to do that?”

“This is the Plucking Plume Technique in archery, a hardly significant technique. Have you heard of it? I can teach you if you want!” The old man in white looked at Yan Liqiang with a smile.

The Plucking Plume Technique? Yan Liqiang had never even heard of the name. Since the old man’s cultivation in archery far exceeded his own, he decided not to continue. His third arrow would not outshine his second arrow because that was his best shot. Even so, the old man breezed through it.

Thinking up to this point, Yan Liqiang no longer hesitated to willingly submit to the man. He went to the old man, kneeled before him, and bowed deeply three times with his forehead touching the ground. “Greetings from Yan Liqiang, Master!”

The old man in the white robes laughed heartily and pulled Yan Liqiang to his feet. He took another good look at Yan Liqiang from head to toe with a satisfied look on his face. “Your Master’s name is Ji Xiaoyao, you better keep that in mind!”

“I will!” Yan Liqiang nodded. He could hardly contain the excitement in his heart. “When will you teach me that godly archery technique, Master?”

“Don’t be hasty now. Let me ask you this – what do you think you should learn first in archery before drawing your bow?” Ji Xiaoyao asked.

Yan Liqiang was immediately taken aback as he scratched his head. “Well... Could it be that one needs to build up his stamina before he can draw a bow?”

“Wrong!” Ji Xiaoyao shook his head with a serious look on his face. “Archery represents the ability to kill enemies from a hundred or even thousands of steps away. Therefore, maintaining distance from enemies at all times is the primary choice for those who cultivate archery. Before you learn how to kill with a bow, learn how to escape first. With that, even if a stronger opponent discovers you, he won’t be able to catch up to you or aim at you. That is the true essence of archery. It is the same logic as learning how to defend first before learning how to fight...”

“So what you mean to say is...”

“If you wish to learn archery, learn how to run first!” Ji Xiaoyao’s reply was quick and absolute.

Chapter 319: The Great Han Times

Time passed so quickly!

Yan Liqiang’s training in Deer Villa grew more intense and challenging after he was apprenticed to another master. Apart from eating, sleeping, and training, Yan Liqiang didn’t even have half a minute of free time in Deer Villa.

Yan Liqiang was stressed every day – not only in reality, but also in the Heavenly Realm. Even so, Yan Liqiang would still leave Deer Villa to visit the Imperial Capital once every three days to meet Fang Beidou, Hu Haihe, and the rest to discuss all the problems that needed to be resolved to publish their first batch of newspapers.

During this period, Yan Liqiang paid Xu Enda a few visits. His condition had been improving every day. When Yan Liqiang visited him the second time, Xu Enda could get out of his bed and move around. Under Fang Beidou’s arrangements, Little Wu and the others started working at the manor on Mount Longqi.

Hu Haihe requested his friends in the Imperial Capital to keep an eye out for Guo Si. However, it was uncertain if Guo Si had escaped from the Imperial Capital knowing he had committed a crime because there was no news about him.

The wordsmiths hired for the newspaper business arrived very soon and Yan Liqiang even personally conducted interviews with them...

The informants that Hu Haihe found in the Imperial Capital also started feeding him all kinds of news that they had gathered...

The artisans in the printing workshop quickly got to work too. After a few good pounds, the printing tools used to print books in the workshop were modified and adjusted according to Yan Liqiang’s requirements so they were a better fit for a newspaper layout.

On the evening of the 30th day of the sixth lunar month in the 13th year of the Yuanping reign in the Great Han Empire, the printing workshop in the manor on Mount Longqi was brightly lit. Yan Liqiang, Fang Beidou, and the others had their rapt attention on a sheet of gray hemp paper. The paper was aligned and pressed against two metal movable blocks which had been inked. In just the blink of an eye, it was fully filled with words...

“Owner, we’re done. I guarantee you that there won’t be any problems this time...” The great master in the printing workshop personally handed over the first freshly-printed newspaper to Yan Liqiang respectfully.

The printing workshop had been busy making the prototypes since noon today. Since this was their first time printing on a huge piece of paper that was seven to eight times larger than normal books, problems were inevitable. However, after making continuous adjustments to the movable blocks and plate [1], the artisans in the printing workshop were able to finally produce the first printed newspaper when Yan Liqiang arrived at the workshop after nightfall.

The newspaper felt light in his hands, devoid of the weight of creating history. The hemp paper was still a little different than the newspapers in Yan Liqiang’s previous world. Not only that, the print quality of a movable type was also inferior to that of a laser printer. Despite lacking vibrant images, the object in his hands was still undeniably a newspaper with clearly-printed words, a headline, and a date. There were all sorts of news and information on every page and the decorative patterns on the print layout were flawless.

‘The Great Han Times’ was in large font on the masthead of the newspaper’s front page.

On the footer was the official publication date – tomorrow, on the first day of the seventh lunar month in the 13th year of the Yuanping reign.

Below the date was a row of smaller text that clearly conveyed the objectives of The Great Han Times – ‘Presenting impartial news and information from all corners of the nation for your reading pleasure.’

There was only a single row of bold text on the front-page headline –‘Congratulations to The Great Han Times on its initial publication!’

The other printing spaces on the front page were filled with fresh information that Yan Liqiang and the rest had gathered.

In the politics section, there was the original recruitment announcement for an underground water channel reconstruction from the Ministry of Revenue, as well as the latest changes regarding two provincial governors in the Great Han Empire.

In the welfare section, there was information about the newly-opened Yunfeng Rice Shop in Tonghui Square. For the sake of gaining popularity, the owner of the rice shop was giving discounts on husked rice for the grand opening. Apart from that, the section also included news on the recent big harvest of peaches and plums around Jingling City...

In the entertainment section was a report and commentary on the new performance that one of the ‘famous courtesans’, Yan Feifei, would be performing at the Misty Rain Tower in two days.

In the editorial section was a report on the elimination of pirates by the distant Qiong Province’s navy last year...

......

Despite knowing the content of the newspaper, Yan Liqiang still carefully read through all the pages. There was no shocking news on the first publication and the content on every page was normal. Even so, with all these combined, this newspaper was still great pioneer work for this era.

Yan Liqiang handed over the first printed newspaper to Fang Beidou. “Thank you everyone for your hard work in the printing workshop today! Master Guo shall be rewarded with three taels of silver while everyone gets a tael of silver each! I hope that everyone will keep up the good work to constantly improve our newspaper!” Everyone in the workshop cheered upon hearing Yan Liqiang’s words.

Fang Beidou looked at the newspaper, then passed it to the other wordsmiths who were craning their necks from the side. Hu Haihe, Little Wu, and the rest also flocked over to them, curious to see what the end product looked like.

“I didn’t expect the day would come for the writings of I, Fang Mouren, to be published. I guess with this... I have left behind a legacy...” An old man held the newspaper Fang Beidou passed to him with his trembling hands. He was extremely emotional and he even shed a few tears. The other literati who penned the content on the newspaper were also very excited to see their own writings printed on the papers. Their happiness and excitement were probably difficult for outsiders to understand.

Although Hu Haihe and the rest were filled with curiosity, they weren’t as excited as those wordsmiths. They just looked at the newspaper, then exchanged silent glances with each other, looking rather skeptical and doubtful that this thing could be sold for money.

Yan Liqiang signaled to Fang Beidou with his eyes. Both of them then exited the workshop.

Outside the workshop was a large yard. At this moment, the sky was full of stars. The birds on the trees and the bugs among the flower bushes in the yard were chirping.

“Will... Will this really work?” Fang Beidou didn’t ask the question in front of everyone because he didn’t want to affect the mood. Now that they were alone, he voiced his concern on this new invention. Although he participated in the makings, he wasn’t as confident as Yan Liqiang.

“It will definitely work out as long as we handle it well!” Yan Liqiang gave him a positive nod.

“How many shall we print for the first issue then?”

“Let’s make it three thousand first. We shall increase the quantity for the next issue if the sales volume is great!”

“Understood! We will do it as instructed. The workshop will work overtime to print all of the newspapers so they can be distributed at a few locations early tomorrow morning. We’ll let people peddle them at a few restaurants and teahouses!”

“Yes, that’s the gist of it. I will come here again tomorrow afternoon if I can make it. Then we can discuss any problems you might have encountered!” Yan Liqiang patted Fang Beidou’s shoulder and winked at him. “Oh yes, save me a copy of the newspaper and keep it for me. After all, this will be the first-ever copy and it may fetch a fortune in the future. Well then, I’ll leave this place in your capable hands and return to Deer Villa...”

Yan Liqiang left the manor and returned to Deer Villa after briefing Fan Beidou. He didn’t take any breaks in the afternoon because he had rushed here without dinner after completing his afternoon training. Now that this matter had been settled, he could finally breathe out a sigh of relief.

The printing workshop was brightly lit throughout the entire night. The morale of the artisans who had just been rewarded was high. Working overtime in the workshop, they managed to print all three thousand copies of ‘The Great Han Times’ at midnight instead of daybreak...

Chapter 320: Raise The Curtain

At dawn on the first day of the seventh lunar month in the 13th year of the Yuanping reign in the Great Han Empire...

The sky was dark because the sun had yet to rise. The stars were still high up in the sky when the four horse carriages came out from the manor’s gate at the foot of Mount Longqi in a single file line.

“Little Wu, you all take care of yourselves! Make sure to deliver the goods to the designated locations on time! You guys can’t cause any delays for the Manager, got it?” Xu Enda, who was driving the first carriage, reminded the other coachmen on the carriages behind him.

Although his leg injury hadn’t fully recovered, Xu Enda came to the manor on Mount Longqi and had started helping out since yesterday. The group was busy until midnight before they could finally catch a wink, so they stayed the night in the manor. Everyone got up early in the morning, quickly packed up, and rushed out after a quick bite so they could be the first batch to enter the city when the city gates opened to deliver the freshly-printed newspapers to the four designated locations in the city. The four designated locations were none other than the storefronts of the Shunyi Bookstore in the eastern, southern, western and northern parts of the city. Over these few days, the four bookstores were closed and the stocks were all sold at a clearance discount. With a minimal amount of remodeling, the bookstores were converted into distribution centers for ‘The Great Han Times’ in the Imperial Capital.

“Rest assured, Brother Xu. We will deliver these newspapers to the designated locations on time even if that means breaking our legs. Besides, Brother Hu and the rest are following us so nothing can go wrong...” Little Wu yelled back to Xu Enda from behind.

At this moment, in addition to a few thick stacks of newspaper, there were three or four people on each carriage. The ones driving the carriages were Xu Enda and the rest while those riding on the carriages were Hu Haihe’s friends. They were all former members of the Imperial Cavalry Unit. Although they had left the Imperial Cavalry Unit, they knew their way well around the city. At this moment, these people were all seated on the carriage with swords hanging from their waists. When the thugs of the city saw them, no one dared to trifle with them.

Apart from the coachman and the escorts, there were also two wordsmiths who prepared the newspaper content on each carriage. Other than writing, these people were also great at doing things like keeping accounts. Therefore, Fang Beidou assigned them the tasks of bookkeeping and newspaper distribution at the distribution centers. Knowing that their articles would soon be read by thousands of people at the restaurants, teahouses, and the streets, the wordsmiths on the carriages were the most excited.

The four carriages left Mount Longqi and went onto the public road. In just a short while, they parted ways – one went toward the western gates, the other went toward the eastern gates, and the remaining two were going to enter through the southern gates together before splitting up in the city.

The carriages that were waiting to enter the Imperial Capital had formed a long queue at each of the city gates early in the morning. Most of them were transporting coal, firewood, rice, and vegetables. As soon as everyone in the city opened their eyes every day, the Imperial Capital turned into a giant beast that devoured all kinds of resources. The number of resources consumed by the population of several million in the city totaled up to a staggering figure. As soon as the city gates opened every day, these resources were delivered into the city at a steady rate. Countless people made their livings by relying on the goods they transported on their carriages.

The hours of the rabbit in Chinese Zodiac Hours corresponded to five to seven o’clock in the morning. The rabbit was the symbol of the gates opening and it also symbolized the rising sun from its Chinese pronunciation because rabbits would come out of their burrows at this hour to graze on the dewy grass. Therefore, the city gates of the Imperial Capital would open when the hours of rabbit arrived to let the queued carriages in.

A while ago, the Imperial Capital’s security checks became extremely strict due to the assassination of an important minister in the imperial court. As the incident slowly died down and the law enforcers in the Imperial Capital worked hard for days to no avail, the checks gradually reverted to how it used to be as everyone was sick of it. The carriages were able to enter the city without too much trouble.

Xu Enda and the rest didn’t notice that another batch of carriages arrived at the city gates not long after they entered the city. The carriages were carrying coals that looked different from those in other carriages. At the sight of those coals, the soldiers guarding the city gates immediately flocked over to them.

“What are these things on your carriage?” A squad commander poked the goods curiously with the metal pitchfork he used to check coal carriages. “What are these round things with holes in them...?”

“Good sir, these are coals. Lotus root briquettes...” A man who looked like a manager alighted the carriage and explained to the soldiers at the city gates.

“Why do your coals look like these?”

“These are refined coals. When used with a small, custom stove, they burn better than ordinary coals and saves more money!”

“Is that so?” the squad commander said, then smashed one of the lotus root briquettes with his metal pitchfork. After he examined the fragments between his fingers and verified that they were safe, he then waved his hand. “You may pass...”

“Thank you, thank you!” The manager gestured to the carriages that were transporting the lotus root briquettes to enter the city, leaving behind the astonished soldiers at the city gates.

One of the sentries leaned toward squad commander and said, “Brother Niu, these are really wonderful. I didn’t expect coal to have so many forms. The moment I laid eyes on those so-called lotus root briquettes on the carriage, I thought they were black floral carved bricks ordered by some wealthy clan in the city. Little did I expect for them to be combustibles.”

As soon as the squad commander took his eyes off the group of carriages transporting the lotus root briquettes, he rubbed his chin while doing some calculations in his mind. If these lotus root briquettes were really economic and burned well, perhaps he would give them a try during the winter this year since he’d been spending quite a lot on burning coal every year during the season...

After a few turns, Xu Enda’s carriage stopped in front of a closed shop on a street several li away from the southern city gates. He got off the carriage, fished out a key, and unlocked the door. The group then moved all the newspapers into the shop together.

Not long after they finished that, four or five youths about the age of eleven or twelve came to the shop. They all were eyeing the stacks of newspapers in the shop curiously while listening to Xu Enda’s instructions.

“As instructed, the price of one newspaper is six copper coins. Each of you will take forty of them first and sell them at the restaurants, teahouses, and streets in the southern part of the city. Come back with the money after you sell them all before you take another batch. Remember, you can only hand them to people who have already paid you. Don’t let anyone return it after reading without paying a single copper coin. Got it?”

“Got it!” The youths nodded.

“Let me hear the slogan...!”

“Newspapers, newspapers! Get a freshly printed copy of The Great Han Times if you want to stay up to date on the happenings in the Imperial Capital...!”

“That won’t do. Your voices are too soft. Louder! You won’t be attracting customers to your businesses back at home if you shout like this! Only flies would come...!”

The youths weren’t used to it at first and they felt a little awkward. However, they eventually got into it. Their voices got louder to the extent that they were audible within several meters...

Seeing that the youths almost got the gist of it, Xu Enda let each of them put on a red vest to be worn by newspaper sellers before they left the shop with the newspapers in their hands.

The children assigned to sell the newspapers were introduced by Xu Enda and Hu Haihe’s friends and families. Many of them were tempted to let their children try the job after hearing that it was a decent and teen-friendly job that wasn’t too exhausting. Not only that, the job provided lunch and paid at least twenty copper coins per day. Although the capital city was quite huge, it was still not easy for a teen to find any errands that paid them well.

...

By the time the streets, restaurants, and teahouses were filled with people, they realized that these places had gained a few more youths in red vests shouting, “Newspapers, newspapers! Get a freshly printed copy of The Great Han Times if you want to stay up to date on the happenings in the Imperial Capital...!”

Chapter 321: Mixed Feelings

“Commandant Yan, there’s a letter for you. I was just thinking of finding someone to deliver it to you!”

When Yan Liqiang was about to exit Deer Villa, a guard at the entrance immediately walked over to him with a smile and handed him a letter.

“Oh. When did you receive it?” Yan Liqiang accepted the letter and noticed that the wax seal with the character ‘Lu’ on the envelope was still perfectly intact, implying that the letter had not been opened. Among all the people he knew, the only person surnamed Lu who would send him a letter at this time could only be Lu Peien who was in the Imperial Capital! During their last meeting, Yan Liqiang told him that he could find him at Deer Villa if anything happened. They hadn’t been in touch lately, so he didn’t expect to receive a letter from him today.

“About an hour ago, someone who looked like a servant delivered the letter here to Commandant Yan!”

“Alright, I got it. Thank you!” Yan Liqiang was feeling apprehensive, wondering if Lu Peien had encountered any troubles.

“Hahaha. You’re welcome, Commandant Yan...”

After waving goodbye to the guards at the entrance, Yan Liqiang left Deer Villa with the letter in his hands.

“Commandant Yan has the most freedom in Deer Villa. He can come and go as he pleases, and he goes out every three days on average. I wonder if he’s seeing some lady in the Imperial Capital? Eunuch Liu doesn’t seem to care either...” One of the guards at the entrance couldn’t help but mutter in jealousy as he watched Yan Liqiang’s fading silhouette.

“Liu Neng, mind your preposterous remarks!” The Feiyang Commandant who just handed the letter to Yan Liqiang shot him a glare and started reprimanding him. “Commandant Yan is privileged and favored by Eunuch Liu for his capabilities! If someone like you is to contest Commandant Yan, even two hundred of you will not be able to withstand him...”

The guard named Liu Neng huffed, “Isn’t that a little too exaggerated? Although I am not an impressive individual, I simply don’t believe that two hundred of me can’t stand against Commandant Yan. Even if he is slightly more impressive than me, I believe that he can only beat ten of me alone. How could he possibly fight a hundred of me by himself? I’m not some tied up swine that will simply stick my neck out and wait for him to slay me. Or are you telling me that he has three heads and six arms?”

“Don’t be petty now, Liu Neng! Although Commandant Yan has been laying low at Deer Villa, did you know that his reputation has shot through the roof at the Imperial Cavalry Unit over the past few months?”

“Ah. Leader, can tell us how Commandant Yan became so famous among the Imperial Cavalry Unit?” The curiosity of the guards at the side was instantly piqued.

“According to people at the Imperial Cavalry Unit, Commandant Yan single-handedly slaughtered over a hundred Blackwind Bandits on the battlefield and scared them out of their wits when they escorted Lord Sun back to the Imperial Capital. These are the notorious Blackwind Bandits in the northwest region we’re talking about...”

“Ah, how is that possible? He killed more than a hundred dauntless bandits in a battle single-handedly?” The guards were shocked.

“You better believe it. This was not witnessed by only a single person. All our brothers in the Imperial Cavalry Unit who escorted Lord Sun saw it with their own eyes. Many of them can testify to that. Commandant Yan’s archery was said to be godly. With a bow in hand, he could kill anyone within a thousand meters like blowing the dust off his hands. The others on the journey got more than one of the rhinodrake steeds left by those Blackwind Bandits that Commandant Yan killed. After selling them, they managed to rake in quite a bit of money...”

......

Naturally, Yan Liqiang was oblivious to the fact that his ‘fame’ had reached the ears of the guards in Deer Villa. After leaving Deer Villa, he opened Lu Peien’s letter on the way to his destination. As soon as he read the content, his heart thumped. This was too much of a coincidence...

Lu Peien told Yan Liqiang about his decision with the Soul Mountain Sect on the lotus root briquettes. The first batch manufactured by the Soul Mountain Sect’s coal yard would officially be delivered to the Imperial Capital today. Lu Peien also expressed his gratitude to Yan Liqiang because apart from the lotus root briquettes, he also left a blueprint of a small metal stove that was suitable for burning the briquettes.

In the letter, Lu Peien mentioned that the demand of the lotus root briquettes had been growing in Pingxi Prefecture and the business had slowly penetrated the Gan Provincial City’s market. Not only that, the small metal stoves that Yan Liqiang had designed for burning the lotus root briquettes were in short supply around the Gan Province due to their simplicity, durability, convenience, and portability. They had gradually become a household necessity. All the blacksmith workshops in Gan Province were exhausted and occupied with copying the design. Ever since Old Master Lu personally shared Yan Liqiang’s inventions of the lotus root briquettes and the small metal stove at a public gathering several months ago, many people in the Gan Province now referred to the former as the Yan Coals and the latter as the Yan Stove. Half a year since Yan Liqiang left Gan Province, his reputation grew unexpectedly due to the two items that had infiltrated thousands of households in the province.

Lu Peien only knew about this after receiving the letter from his home back in Gan Province a few days ago. Even the Pingxi City Blacksmiths Association elected Yan Liqiang’s father as their head. As a result, the Yan Clan’s blacksmith store gained popularity in Gan Province and its business suddenly expanded a few times. Even the kukri knives that Yan Liqiang invented back then slowly became well-known among the people...

In short, Yan Liqiang’s awe-inspiring reputation in Gan Province was now beyond his imagination. The dream that he mentioned before where he learned the life-saving method for drowned people cast an air of mystery around him. Rumors among the citizens of Gan Province and Pingxi City had it that Yan Liqiang received enlightenment from the immortals. As a result, he was bestowed infinite wisdom and the destiny to become an immortal...

At the end of the letter, Lu Peien brought up a friend of Old Master Lu’s whom Lu Peien had mentioned to Yan Liqiang before – the supervisor from the Soul Mountain Sect who gifted the Revival Pill to Old Master Lu. When he heard the stories about Yan Liqiang, he expressed great interest in meeting Yan Liqiang and getting to know him over a meal through Lu Peien’s help.

Lu Peien asked Yan Liqiang for his opinion on the matter and invited him to the Gan Provincial Guild Hall whenever he was available in the next few days.

Stashing the letter back into his chest, Yan Liqiang walked to the Imperial Capital in a daze before he finally digested all the information presented to him in the letter – he had suddenly become a celebrity after leaving Gan Province. In the language of his previous world, it could be said that he had made his big break in Gan Province.

At this point in time, Yan Liqiang wasn’t sure how his fame in Gan Province would affect his future life in the Imperial Capital. His only concern now was the reception of ‘The Great Han Times’ that was going to be officially distributed today.

The former would only affect his prospects and well-being. However, the latter would affect the prospects, well-being, and the lives of millions...

Yan Liqiang arrived at the manor on Mount Longqi. The signboard that read ‘Shunyi Manor’ was officially replaced today with a new one that would look extremely strange to others –’The Great Han Times Publishing Company’...

Fang Beidou was brewing tea at a pavilion in the manor. After Yan Liqiang arrived, he didn’t do anything else. He just enjoyed a chat with Fang Beidou over tea at the pavilion, looking at the carps swimming in the pond while expecting the sales summary from the distribution centers in the city after dark.

Truth be told, Yan Liqiang didn’t know what to expect from the newspaper sales. After all, it was a new thing so it was hard to predict if they would be an instant hit or miss.

The sky finally turned dark and the sales summaries from the four distribution centers in the city were reported. The sales of ‘The Great Han Times’ first issue hardly met Yan Liqiang’s target – only 318 copies had been sold in the Imperial Capital...

Chapter 322: Left Hanging

Yan Liqiang sat on the master seat in one of the manor’s lounges, looking at the silent group hanging their heads dejectedly. He smiled and took a sip of his tea before he broke the silence. “There’s no need to feel so down, everyone! Our newspaper is a new thing. We’ve done a pretty good job for selling 318 copies on the first day. 318 sounds just like ‘the desire to prosper’ [1], and that’s a really an auspicious number. If we can sell more than three hundred copies today, we may be able to sell thirty thousand or even a hundred thousand in the future...!”

“Well... According to the youths selling our newspapers, the crowds in the teahouses, restaurants, and on the streets were quite curious about what they were selling. Several people approached them, but not many bought one in the end. They were only asking, and some even commented that six copper coins for a copy was too expensive. Quite a few them were trying to get a discount...” Xu Enda reported awkwardly.

“Tell them we are not giving discounts. These newspapers will be sold at no less than six copper coins each!” Yan Liqiang shook his head. “The ink and paper needed to produce a copy already costs about three copper coins. This excludes the operating costs. If we want to continue this, then we must make money to ensure the sustainability of this business. We’re not going to make any losses, remember that!”

“Got it!” Everyone nodded.

Yan Liqiang turned his gaze to Hu Haihe and encouraged him, “Haihe, keep up with what you’re doing. The information gathered for the first issue was good. Now that the newspapers for today have been sold, you may reward the informants who provided the news. Don’t leave any of them out. After they receive the money and are well aware of our credibility, I’m sure they will work even harder for us!”

Hu Haihe nodded, “Understood, I will distribute the payments tomorrow!”

“The guards you hired today were pretty good too. It’ll be necessary for us to have a group of guards to help out when needed and ward off thieves and the like from our newspaper office too. Let’s hire ten of them for now!” Yan Liqiang rubbed his chin, then looked at Fang Beidou. “I will leave this to you, Manager Fang. See if you can hire a group of former Imperial Cavalry Unit members. We’ll offer them wages that can compete with those guards from the wealthy clans in the city!”

“Alright. I think we don’t have to limit it to former members from the Imperial Cavalry Unit. Many people are looking to put food on their tables in the Imperial Capital. Anyone with skills and capabilities should do!”

Meeting Fang Beidou’s gaze, Yan Liqiang immediately understood the subtle message he was trying to convey. If the guards of the newspaper office were entirely made up former members of the Imperial Cavalry Unit, then these people might easily form a clique that would be difficult to manage. Therefore, adding some outsiders in the mix would make it a lot easier to manage.

“I’ll leave this matter up to Manager Fang then. Ten is only a tentative figure. When our publishing company grows, we’ll have to deliver the newspapers on time to the other cities in the Four Regions aside from the Imperial Capital. In that case, we’ll need to open up other branches in the cities and hire more assistants. By then, we may need several hundred guards. All of you will probably be bringing two guards with you whenever you go out and it won’t be easy for ordinary people to meet you. For example, when that time comes, Haihe, you won’t be looking for news and information because they will come to you instead. Anyone who wishes to print anything on our newspapers will need to pay us with at least a starting price of a hundred taels of silver. Those merchants and wealthy clan members will have to line up to meet you.”

“Also, Enda, Little Wu, and the rest should get some experience in managing a distribution center. Soon, each of you will be given a branch to manage. Just the newspaper sellers alone will consist of a hundred or so people. As for our writers, I’m sure people will come poach you to write for them by offering a fortune when you all become famous. By that time, all of you will be the doyens of the newspaper industry in the Great Han Empire. With such rich experience, writing a famous book will be an easy feat.”

Looking at the big picture that Yan Liqiang painted, everyone’s dull eyes gradually lit up as their depression slowly lifted.

This was the most basic trick of using visualization for motivation. Yan Liqiang used it a lot in his previous life. Back in his previous world, he heard of a certain CEO who started his e-commerce venture in China with a group of employees who were willing to work every day without pay. He managed to do this by gathering them together and then asking them to imagine how they would spend the year-end bonus of five million yuan. Everyone took turns sharing their plans. The discussion grew more and more cheerful. In the end, everyone was motivated enough to work without even being paid. This was how the CEO got through his toughest time...

Upon seeing the fighting spirit and vigor return to everyone, Yan Liqiang smiled at them. “Alright, thank you all for your hard work today. Get some early rest. We will resume work tomorrow. Carry out your own tasks and responsibilities as usual. We will sell the first issue for another six days. When the second issue is out, we will take back all the copies of the first issue.”

Fang Beidou waited for everyone to leave the lounge before turning back to Yan Liqiang with a slight frown. “This won’t do. If we’re only making such low daily sales, then our publishing company will be losing money every day and we won’t be able to last much longer. Based on the thing you mentioned just now... something about the breakeven point, we’ll need to sell at least five thousand copies a week to barely avoid making a loss. We’ve got to think of something...”

Yan Liqiang smiled confidently and asked Fang Beidou a question. “Do you think many people listen to storytellers in the Imperial Capital?”

“Of course. If not, why would there be so many storytellers in the teahouses and restaurants in the city? It’s like what you said, the Great Han Empire doesn’t have any other forms of entertainment apart from storytelling and operas!”

“Right. Then for the next few days, you should go gather some information from the storytellers in the Imperial Capital city and get to know them first...”

“Why?”

“I will give you something in two days. You will know by then!”

“Are the storytellers even relevant to our newspaper?”

“Haha, of course they are relevant. Let me leave you hanging first. By the time this is settled, all the storytellers in the Imperial Capital city will be the promoters of our newspaper. By then, we don’t have to worry about selling our newspaper...”

Fang Beidou only looked at Yan Liqiang in bewilderment, unable to understand what he was going on about. “You can’t tell me now?”

“Well, it’s hardly worth mentioning now. There’s no use explaining it to you with words. Allow me to make some preparations and you will know in due time!” Yan Liqiang stood up while speaking. “I will find you again two days later in the evening. I still have to settle some matters in the Imperial Capital city tonight. I’ll leave the publishing company in your hands for the next few days! I’ll be going now!”

Fang Beidou saw Yan Liqiang off at the exit of the manor. He stared after his disappearing silhouette, feeling like a curious cat. He simply couldn’t figure out how Yan Liqiang could possibly boost the newspaper sales through the storytellers in the city.

Was he planning to pay those storytellers to shout their newspaper slogan?

The idea was denied as soon as it popped into Fang Beidou’s mind. These storytellers were prideful scholars. Any of them with a slight reputation wouldn’t accept being paid to brag for others because they wouldn’t want to tarnish their own reputations. Even if Yan Liqiang had this idea, it wouldn’t work out. Why was he so confident that he would be able to make those storytellers comply then?

......

Yan Liqiang left the newspaper office at the foot of Mount Longqi. His footsteps were swift like a running carriage. It didn’t take him long to reach the southern gates of the Imperial Capital. He went through the gates and headed to the Gan Provincial Guild Hall.

This time, he wasn’t stopped at the guild hall’s entrance. Unfortunately, Lu Peien wasn’t in, save for the steward from Lu Residence that followed him here from the Imperial Capital. The steward told him that Lu Peien was out for a dinner party tonight and that he wasn’t informed on what time he would return. Hence, Yan Liqiang requested the steward to relay the time to Lu Peien for their meeting in two days before he left the guild hall.

......

Ten minutes after leaving the Gan Provincial Guild Hall, Yan Liqiang bumped into a group of people who just came out from a restaurant he passed by on his way back to Deer Villa.

The group was none other than Xu Lang and his gang. Yan Liqiang even saw a few familiar faces.

Xu Lang and the others didn’t seem to expect to bump into Yan Liqiang as soon as they exited the restaurant, and it was the same for Yan Liqiang. Both parties were taken aback when they met each other face-to-face.

Since Yan Liqiang didn’t have any intention to get involved with Xu Lang or start any fights here, he only shot a glare at them and then left without saying anything.

However, it seemed like Xu Lang and his group didn’t plan on letting Yan Liqiang leave just like that.

Picking his teeth with a toothpick, Xu Lang narrowed his eyes and called out to Yan Liqiang, “Hey, brat. Hold it right there...”

Yan Liqiang turned a deaf ear to him and continued walking away.

The expression on Xu Lang’s face immediately turned ugly. He cast a glance at a servant-looking man beside him. The man who was about two meters tall with a Herculean physique immediately understood his intention. He strode toward Yan Liqiang and reached out to grasp his shoulder while cursing, “Hey brat, are you deaf? Brother Xu called you! Are your damn ears working...?”

It went without saying that the man didn’t manage to grab Yan Liqiang’s shoulder. When his hand was about to touch his shoulder, Yan Liqiang leaned slightly to the side to evade it as though he had grown a pair of eyes on his back. At the same time, his hand shot out like a sharp claw that latched onto the man’s wrist.

Yan Liqiang looked at the burly man. “Mind your language. Also, we don’t know each other so don’t touch me...”

Chapter 323: Conflict

The man didn’t expect to miss his target who was a young man who hadn’t even reached the end of puberty yet. Not to mention, his wrist was also locked in the youth’s grasp. As soon as Yan Liqiang’s voice drifted away, the burly man turned his head around only to realize that Xu Lang and the others were staring at him. Xu Lang even shot him a meaningful glance that caused the man’s expression to immediately turn fierce. “Brat, so what are you going to do if I insist on touching you?”

With that line, the burly man’s fist flew toward Yan Liqiang.

The man didn’t forget that Yan Liqiang was still holding his wrist. When he flung his fist at Yan Liqiang, he tried to retract his arm that Yan Liqiang had seized. He didn’t even think about his next move in case he failed to pull his arm back. In his mind, he could single-handedly finish off five brats like Yan Liqiang. Even the pubic hair under his crotch was thicker than Yan Liqiang’s arm. Therefore, he didn’t expect Yan Liqiang to do anything to him.

Unfortunately, he was wrong. It was a terrible mistake.

When the burly man wanted to withdraw his arm, Yan Liqiang’s grasp on his wrist suddenly tightened. In that split moment, the man felt as though it wasn’t a youth who was grabbing his arm anymore. Instead, it felt like his wrist was clamped down by a bench vise used in blacksmith stores. He couldn’t even move it.

A chilly expression flashed across Yan Liqiang’s face. He squeezed the wrist in his grasp a little, pressing and twisting downward. The burly man immediately dropped to his knees with a blood-curdling scream as beads of cold sweat rolled down his forehead. “GWAHHHH! LET GO! LET GO! IT’S GONNA BREAK...!”

Yan Liqiang didn’t even look at the man kneeling before him. He only swept his cold glance across Xu Lang and the rest.

“Someone’s fighting, someone’s fighting...!”

Someone on the bustling street immediately shouted when the burly man dropped to the ground on his knees from Yan Liqiang’s grip on his wrist. They immediately drew attention. Many even stopped walking to watch. Soon enough, a ring of onlookers was formed around them.

A delicate youth like Yan Liqiang squeezing the wrist of a bear-like man to the point that the latter was screaming on his knees was simply an unfathomable sight to many. In most of their imaginations, the roles in the scene before them were supposed to be reversed...

“Eh? How did that youth manage to get that big guy on his knees?”

“Who’s the one getting beat?”

“I saw the whole thing just now. It was the man who started it. They were ganging up on him...!”

“As expected, just look at how fiendish they are! There’s no way the youth would go and provoke them...!”

Discussions broke out among the crowd of onlookers on the street.

The expression on Xu Lang’s face contorted. He took a step forward and yelled at Yan Liqiang while pointing at him. “You insolent brat! Release him at once...!”

Yan Liqiang chuckled with the same expression on his face. Instead of releasing his grasp, he squeezed a little harder. The shrill screams of the burly man instantly increased by several decibels. “Ah, seems like you have recovered very quickly from your injury on the Arena of Life and Death. I see that the sniper is pretty good at archery. Not only did he manage to save your life at the most crucial moment on the arena, he also didn’t inflict a serious injury that was enough to cripple you. How rare indeed...”

“Brat, are you courting death? On that day, it was evident that I had been schemed against by Liang Yijie’s accomplice! Stop spouting nonsense...!” The expression on Xu Lang face turned extremely cold and sinister. He glared at Yan Liqiang with his eyes filled with murderous intent as he seethed his words.

Yan Liqiang sneered. “Your lie may work on an ignorant child, but the audience wasn’t blind to the situation on that day. I’m sure you are well aware of it too. Why would Brother Liang even need any external help if he intended to kill you?”

As soon as Yan Liqiang finished his sentence, two people clad in law enforcer uniforms squeezed through the crowd while shouting, “What’s this? What’s this? Who dares to create a disturbance in the middle of the street? Do you not fear the laws...?!”

The two law enforcers who were shouting before they made it past the crowd had rather imposing auras around them. However, as soon as they managed to get through the crowd and saw Xu Lang and his group, their expressions slightly changed and the auras around them immediately vanished. They then took a look at Yan Liqiang.

“He injured our man! Arrest him at once...!” Xu Lang immediately pointed to Yan Liqiang and shouted upon the law enforcers’ arrival.

By just looking at the law enforcer’s expressions, Yan Liqiang reckoned that they knew the identities of Xu Lang and his group. Before they could even say anything, he fished out a paiza that he always carried on him which identified him as a Yingyang Commandant in the Imperial Cavalry Unit, and flashed it to them. At the sight of the paiza, the expression on their faces turned even more sour...

“This person initiated a fight on the street just now. I have merely taken him down in self-defense. The crowd on the street can be my witness. I wonder what is the punishment for such crime according to the laws?” Yan Liqiang smiled at both of them.

The older of the two law enforcers glanced at Xu Lang then at Yan Liqiang. A broad smile immediately broke across his face as he cupped his fist to both parties. “Everyone, there’s no need to disrupt the harmony in public over a misunderstanding and make things difficult for both of us. If it’s nothing serious, then I suggest both parties to take a step back and forget about the whole thing!”

“Hmph!” Xu Lang snorted and remained silent with a gloomy expression on his face.

The older law enforcer turned to Yan Liqiang, still with a big smile plastered on his face. “Brother, I am a former member of the Imperial Cavalry Unit. I’ve taken up a job in the law enforcement office now to put food on my table. Please give some face and... and release the man first. We can talk things out!”

Yan Liqiang looked at the two law enforcers, then nodded. “Fine. I will give you both some face today since we are fellow comrades!” When Yan Liqiang finished speaking, he pushed away the half-kneeling big man who was sweating bullets. The man let out a pained groan as he fell backward, sprawled on his back and never got back up again for a long time.

After pushing the big man away, Yan Liqiang glared at Xu Lang and his group one more time before turning around to leave without saying another word.

An ordinary-looking guy in Xu Lang’s group who had been silent this whole time moved his feet, thinking of going forward. However, he was pulled back by another rather sinister-looking young man beside him who was dressed in a blue silk gown and sported a mole on the edge of his lip. The young man looked at the crowd around them and then shook his head slightly. In the end, the person who wanted to go forward stayed as he watched Yan Liqiang’s disappearing silhouette through his squinted eyes while licking his lips.

“Go away, go away! Don’t obstruct the traffic here...” The two law enforcers dispersed the crowd. Seeing that the show was over, the onlookers that gathered on the street went away.

“Interesting. Very interesting, Xu Lang. Who was that brat? How come you never mentioned him before?” The man dressed in the blue silk gown in the group suddenly asked Xu Lang after the crowd dispersed.

After the question left the young man’s mouth, Xu Lang immediately leaned toward him. “Young Master Lin, he used to be Sun Bingchen’s personal bodyguard. He’s a nobody that Sun Bingchen brought here from Gan Province. I heard that he was an unremarkable individual who only knew a little bit of archery. Not long after he arrived in the Imperial Capital, Sun Bingchen recommended him to the Imperial Cavalry Unit. He doesn’t seem to be assigned to any important job and has only been issued a Yingyang Commandant paiza. When we saw him in the servant quarters last time, we provoked him on purpose. That brat was terrified and didn’t even dare to respond. Liang Yijie did mention that he was only a Martial Warrior. After Sun Bingchen left the Imperial Capital, we no longer paid any attention to a small fry like him. I didn’t expect him to ruin your mood just now, Young Master...”

“Oh. So he is with that old dog, Sun. But you said that he was just a Martial Warrior. That sure didn’t look like it...” The man who was addressed as Young Master Lin frowned, then pointed at the burly man who had returned to Xu Lang’s side still grimacing in pain. “He’s a Martial Warrior too, but he was brought under control by that brat with just one move. Not only that, it was unsightly...”

“Well...” Xu Lang was at a loss for words. His humiliation then turned into frustration as he turned around and delivered a hard slap across the burly man’s face. “USELESS!”

“Do not vent your anger on your own people. My uncle often said this, in the universe the difficult things are done as if they are easy. Great acts are made up of small deeds...” Young Master Lin patted Xu Lang on his shoulder with a neutral smile. “That old dog has been opposing my uncle. Although he has left the Imperial Capital, his people are still enjoying their lives around here and even dare to humiliate you on the streets. I see that you have quite a generous heart, Xu Lang. I never really noticed that until now...”

“Rest assured, Young Master Lin. I know what to do!” Xu Lang clenched his teeth.

“Do you need my help again this time?”

“Don’t worry, Young Master Lin. I can handle it myself...”

Chapter 324: Preparations

Yan Liqiang didn’t turn his head. Despite feeling the intense gaze on his back after leaving Xu Lang and his group, he pretended not to notice and continued walking away.

Thanks to the superior spiritual perception bestowed upon him by Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing as well as the experience he gained through his archery cultivation, Yan Liqiang could tell even without turning his head around that the person boring a hole on his back was definitely a great archer.

In fact, Yan Liqiang had already noticed the two people who seemed to be different than the rest of the group next to Xu Lang when he was talking to him just now. One of them was a young man in his twenties, dressed in a blue silk gown with a mole at the corner of his mouth. He exuded a dark aura and his eyes were filled with arrogance. Yan Liqiang could subtly feel Xu Lang and his group fawning over him. It would seem like he was a man of unusual social status.

The other person beside him was an extremely ordinary-looking man who would hardly be noticed among the group. Yan Liqiang only noticed him because he had a very sharp gaze, slender arms, and broad shoulders. With just a single glance, he had a hunch that this man was also an expert in archery.

His piercing gaze was akin to a flying arrow. It roamed around Yan Liqiang’s back and neck. Just from his gaze alone, Yan Liqiang could feel a strong murderous intent that chilled him to his core.

Yan Liqiang wasn’t sure why, but when he sensed the gaze behind him, the arrow he saw flying from a distance during Xu Lang and Liang Yijie’s fight on the Arena of Life and Death appeared in his mind. Although there was no solid evidence or even a reason, Yan Liqiang’s mind was telling him that the arrow was shot by that ordinary-looking person on that day.

Since they were on a busy street, both parties had to walk away from each other without doing anything as they had their own concerns.

After crossing two streets and buying some fine wine from a wine shop, Yan Liqiang left the Imperial Capital. Carrying two jars of wine, he strode back to Deer Villa under the moonlight. On his way back, he once again sensed danger. It seemed like Xu Lang wasn’t going to let him go so easily after their meeting today. Based on his moral integrity, Xu Lang was a man who could bring himself to do anything. As a newcomer in the Imperial Capital without a strong backing, that alone was enough for Xu Lang and the rest to act unscrupulously against him. Therefore, he must make necessary preparations.

Yan Liqiang deeply recognized the value of life after experiencing ‘death once.’ Hence, he’d definitely never allow himself to get caught up in such a desperate situation, let alone wait for someone to corner him.

Even so, he’d still have to ponder on how to make such preparations...

.....

“Ah! You’re back, Commandant Yan...!” A group of guards at Deer Villa’s entrance greeted Yan Liqiang warmly.

“I brought two jars of wine for everyone! Have some if you’re not assigned to be on night duty to keep yourselves warm...” Yan Liqiang passed the two jars of wine to the commandant who greeted him.

“Wow, these are fine wines from the Jade Tree Winery in the capital city! On behalf of our brothers, thank you, Commandant Yan!” The commandant very politely accepted the wine from Yan Liqiang with a smile.

“Hahaha, no need to be so polite. We have different duties to perform. I guard the archery range while you brothers guard this area. Although we don’t usually spend a lot of time together, I still have to thank everyone for looking out for me!”

“You’re most welcome...”

Watching Yan Liqiang’s silhouette disappearing into Deer Villa, a few alcoholic guards at the entrance were already secretly salivating at the sight of the fine wine Yan Liqiang had brought for them.

“These are some finely-aged wine from the Jade Tree Winery! One jar costs nearly more than two taels of silver! How generous of Commandant Yan...!”

“Goddammit, stop staring at them like you all have never tasted fine wine in your previous lives! We’re on duty right now...!” The commandant beckoned forth another guard and had him take the two jars of wine away. “Wait till we’re off duty at night. I’ll have the kitchen whip up some side dishes to go with the wine...”

The group of guards smiled gleefully as soon as they heard the commandant’s words.

.....

When Yan Liqiang was only halfway to his courtyard, Goldie, whom he hadn’t seen for quite a long time, came rushing toward him. It licked Yan Liqiang’s hand while wagging its tail, then circled around him excitedly.

“Did you have enough fun outside over these few days?” Yan Liqiang patted Goldie’s head.

“Woof...! Woof...!”

“Seems like you did. Well then, follow me home...!”

Goldie nodded, then trotted in front of Yan Liqiang, leading him home.

Yan Liqiang was struck by a thought when he looked at Goldie. Just when he was still thinking on how to deal with the threats that Xu Lang and his group posed, he was suddenly reminded of the most powerful creation ability in the Heavenly Shrine. It had been ages since he last wielded the power. According to Fu Guang, the Heavenly Stone in the Heavenly Realm could also create all kinds of living things – anything he could imagine or even something beyond his imagination...

Perhaps he could give it another go at the toy capsule machine in the Heavenly Shrine...

Yan Liqiang didn’t rush into the Heavenly Shrine when he returned to his courtyard. He washed his hands and face, then went into his study room. He lit a lamp on the study desk and laid out the Four Treasures of Study [1] that he had someone deliver to him on the table. He prepared the ink, picked up a brush, and closed his eyes. After focusing his thoughts for a moment, he opened his eyes again and dipped the tip of his brush into the ink. Then he wrote the first line of words on a sheet of blank paper –

Chapter 1 – The Divine Root Conceives and the Spring Breaks Forth, As the Heart’s Nature Is Cultivated, the Great Way Arises.

Looking at the beautiful handwriting on the paper, Yan Liqiang took a deep breath. He then moved onto the next line and allowed his brush to continue dancing...

All was a shapeless blur, and no men had appeared.

Once Pan Gu destroyed the Enormous Vagueness, the separation of clear and impure began.

Living things have always tended towards humanity; from their creation all beings improve.

If you want to know about Creation and Time, read Difficulties Resolved on the Journey to the West.

......

Yan Liqiang didn’t stop writing for even a moment. As lines of text appeared on the paper, the pages of one of the four great masterpieces, the ‘Journey to the West’, emerged in his sea of consciousness too. Rather than saying Yan Liqiang was writing, it was more like he was copying. Just like Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Manual he had read before, Yan Liqiang could clearly recall the ‘Journey to the West’ novel down to every punctuation mark.

He wasn’t sure if this was a side-effect from the Heavenly Stone. In any case, every book or information he had seen in his previous life was stored in his brain. By recalling them, he could retrieve every detail as though they had been imprinted in his mind...

“Sir Wu Cheng’en, please forgive me. I am borrowing your masterpiece. This time it’s not for the sake of pirating it but to save people...”

Yan Liqiang mumbled to himself while writing...

Chapter 325: Psychic Serpent

“You are to share out this gold and silver and let your Lord of the Great Wei past as it is too early in his life. I am under orders from the ten kings to return his soul and tell him to hold a Great Mass when he is back in the world of light to enable all of you to be reborn, so don’t be making any more trouble.” When the ghosts heard what he had to say and were given the gold and silver they all withdrew, murmuring their obedient assent. The judge then told the marshal to wave his soul−leading flag, and the Emperor was taken out of the City of the Unjustly Slain and floated along the highway to the daylight.

Yan Liqiang was bent over his desk, scribbling away madly. Unknowingly, he had finished writing the tenth chapter of ‘Journey to the West’...

Since the background of ‘Journey to the West’ was somewhat inconsistent with this world, Yan Liqiang had to either make appropriate modifications to the text, or convey the lofty principles in simpler words. This was for the sake of improving the reading experience so the people of this world didn’t have to play the guessing game. With Yan Liqiang’s modifications, the story of ‘Journey of the West’ turned into an old tale of the previous dynasty, the Great Wei Empire. The story had bizarre twists and was a mixture of truth and make-believe, just like any old story told by the storytellers of the Imperial Capital – fascinating, and no one could identify any flaws with it.

Writing up to the tenth chapter, Yan Liqiang glanced at the candle that was about to burn out. It felt like it had only been about two hours. Since it was getting late, he stashed the manuscripts on his table in his drawer, cleaned his brush, hung it up, then covered the inkstone before returning to his bedroom.

It was impossible to finish writing the whole thing in one night. Since he only needed to submit his manuscripts in two days time, he wasn’t in a rush. If he made the most of it tomorrow and the following day, he’d be able to finish writing the hundred chapters of ‘Journey to the West’.

After practicing the eye technique and two rounds of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing for two hours, the sky was extremely dark outside. Yan Liqiang sat on his bed and shut his eyes. In just the blink of an eye, his soul was whisked away into the Heavenly Shrine.

The magnificent and grand Heavenly Shrine’s interior was filled with black pillars towering several hundred meters. Within the darkness of those black pillars were specks of lights. Upon careful observation, every speck was a spinning galaxy. The floor of the shrine glowed with a holy luster. Countless runes flowed underneath the floor like streams of water. The mysteries and creations of the universe seemed to have been gathered here in this shrine.

Although this wasn’t Yan Liqiang’s first time stepping foot into the grand shrine, he was always overwhelmed by the feeling of ascending to the realm of gods every time he came here. It made him truly realize how small he was.

The gigantic Heavenly Stone floated in the middle of the Heavenly Shrine. Standing tall majestically, it shined with an iridescent glow. Countless ever-changing silhouettes of various animals could be seen fading in and out within its brilliance...

Yan Liqiang went in front of the Heavenly Stone, lifted his gaze to the stone, then placed his hand on it. The complex functions and user interface of the ‘toy capsule machine’ appeared in his sea of consciousness. According to Fu Guang’s explanation, this ‘toy capsule machine’ was a communication tool to the Heavenly Stone that worked like an operating system, specially prepared for people whose power was weak like him. Those who were powerful enough to condense their spiritual force would be able to communicate telepathically with the Heavenly Stone. Hence, they wouldn’t need any assistance from such a low-end tool like Yan Liqiang.

This toy capsule machine might be a low-end operating tool in Fu Guang’s eyes, but it was Yan Liqiang’s most preferred and acceptable means to communicate. What the heck was a spiritual force? Yan Liqiang had no idea and was too lazy to find out. Just by looking at this Heavenly Shrine, he knew that some things in this world were beyond his scope of wisdom and comprehension. Therefore, it was better to let nature take its course.

Yan Liqiang browsed the values of the ‘toy capsule machine’. The ‘Available number of souls’ inscribed on the golden wheel on the outermost ring was over two hundred. The Blackwind Bandits probably contributed the most to this value. Their glowing souls faded in and out inside the golden wheel. Among the light were the faces of the Shatu people...

On the red and blue ring in the golden wheel, the ‘Available vitality points’ and ‘Available intelligence points’ were both brimming at twenty thousand points each.

The gray wheel was still empty without any indication because Yan Liqiang hadn’t selected a living creature. Truth be told, this was Yan Liqiang’s first time truly using the toy capsule machine by himself and he had yet to completely understand what the gray wheel was for.

The crystal ball-looking object inside the gray wheel had a golden glow. The silhouettes of more than a hundred six-tusked small golden elephants were dancing inside it. Those small golden elephants were the energy Yan Liqiang infused into the Heavenly Stone when he ritually emptied out his dantian while using Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing to increase his potential.

With a normal cultivation tempo, Yan Liqiang had no idea how many years it’d take him to condense this many six-tusked small elephants with the tiny amount of energy he could channel into the Heavenly Stone from his dantian. Fortunately, he unexpectedly discovered a different approach. For the sake of maximizing the effects of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing, he spared no effort in pouring every bit of energy in his dantian into the Heavenly Stone, then quickly replenishing the energy through the strengthening effects of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing. This approach had enabled Yan Liqiang to infuse a lot of energy into the Heavenly Stone in a short amount of time.

‘I wonder if this amount of dantian energy can activate the seal of life and create a human...’

Just when that thought emerged in Yan Liqiang’s mind, Fu Guang’s face appeared in the brilliantly shining crystal ball.

“If you choose to activate the seal of life of a human, the amount of energy you have infused into the Heavenly Stone can activate fifteen of them in total!”

“Ah, Fu Guang, it that you?”

“Of course it’s me. Long time no see!”

“Are... you back...? How come you can read my thoughts?”

“I will not appear in the Heavenly Shrine for the time being. This not my physical body, it is merely a projection of my mind. When you place your hand on the Heavenly Stone, you can still communicate with me through your consciousness. Naturally, I will be able to read your thoughts!” A small smile actually broke into Fu Guang’s serious face. “Have you decided to activate the seal of life for fifteen people?”

“Wait, don’t rush me! I still haven’t decided on which one I want to activate!” Yan Liqiang looked at Fu Guang and hurriedly stopped him. After taking a moment to reorganize his thoughts, he continued, “I ran into some problems recently which might put my life in danger. I would like to find an assistant to help me make some preparations. Do you have any advice for me...?”

“Advice? Yes, of course. Look at what kind of assistant you need and just select the specific seal of life to activate one!”

“So I can activate any living creature that I can imagine?”

“As long as they exist in this world, you can bring them to life here. If they don’t exist in this world, then they won’t be able to come to life even if the Heavenly Stone has its seal of life. There are certain rules in the Heavenly Shrine. Bringing a living creature which doesn’t belong in this world is a violation of the heavenly laws!”

“Then, how many species of life can I activate?”

“There’s a total of 3,750,000 species!”

3,750,000 species?! Yan Liqiang was shocked by the number. Although he was mentally prepared, he didn’t expect to be able to activate so many seals of life!

“Apart from humans, which exotic living creatures can predict danger among the activatable seals of life?” Yan Liqiang looked at Fu Guang’s projection in the crystal ball with eager eyes. “I don’t know much about exotic creatures. Is there any that can sense danger and even pick up poison in food like Goldie?”

“The dangers you speak of are too vague and subjective. The definition of danger may vary among different people or creatures. The things that you identify as dangerous might not necessarily be true for people who are a thousand times more powerful than you. To a camel, the desert is safe and the ocean is dangerous. However, for a shark, the opposite is true. The instinctive perception of danger is something that is specific to all living creatures. Hence, it is very difficult to be replaced by another living creature. Likewise, you have this kind of instinct too. As for your question on which living creature can sense universal dangers, they don’t exist. I have never seen any in your world or other worlds!”

Yan Liqiang couldn’t but smile wryly at Fu Guang’s words, feeling as though he was a little too demanding. Why would any creature in the world be tailored to fit your needs...?

“However...” It seemed like Fu Guang hadn’t finished speaking yet. “There is an extremely rare creature in your world which can bestow upon you a special ability. This ability may help you gain insight and perception to what you deem dangerous...”

Yan Liqiang felt a sudden burst of energy. “Oh? What is this creature that you speak of?”

“This...” As soon as Fu Guang’s voice faded, the silhouette of a strange-looking serpent appeared in the crystal ball.

Yan Liqiang’s eyes immediately widened at the serpent’s strange appearance. It was almost transparent from its head to its tail, looking as though it was made of glass. If Fu Guang didn’t mention that it was a living creature, Yan Liqiang would’ve mistaken it for a beautiful work of art...

“What is that?”

“I call it the Psychic Serpent...”

Chapter 326: Extraordinary Creature

Psychic Serpent?

Thoughts coursed through Yan Liqiang’s mind. He then discovered that he had never even heard of that name in both lifetimes.

“I named it the Psychic Serpent. This serpent doesn’t exist in many worlds and is an extremely rare creature on the Silver Continent that you live in. It still exists and probably has never been discovered by anyone to date. That’s why you’ve never heard of the name...” Fu Guang’s voice appeared directly in Yan Liqiang’s mind.

“No one has ever seen it?”

“That should be the case since this serpent has a special characteristic – it has to live inside another living creature’s body and coexist with it!”

“Coexist? You mean it’s parasitic?”

“Parasitism is one-sided while coexisting is mutually beneficial. If you can provide it with something, it will reciprocate. Symbiosis is very common among living creatures. The difference between the Psychic Serpent and them is that the former chooses to coexist inside the latter!”

“Oh..!” Yan Liqiang was surprised. “Then which part of the host does it live inside?”

“The brain!”

“Can this kind of serpent live inside such a delicate part of the body like the brain? Won’t it be detrimental to the host?”

“You will know when you see the Psychic Serpent. It is much smaller than you think. Although it lives in the host’s brain, it only attaches itself to the outermost part of the brain instead of going into the organ. Hence, it won’t affect normal brain functions or thinking processes. In fact, you won’t even sense its existence even if it enters your brain!”

“What does it feed on? I hope it’s not the brain!” Yan Liqiang felt a chill roll down his spine at the very thought.

“Of course not. It feeds on your thoughts!”

“Thoughts?”

“To put it in words that you understand, that would be the energy from your consciousness and emotion – the vibes that you give off when you are happy or sad. Just like your body temperature that will never drop to zero unless you are dead, your thoughts and emotions are also never-ending. Even so, you cannot feel its existence. The Psychic Serpent feeds on a small amount of energy from these thoughts and emotions in you. Even if it doesn’t consume any, it will also naturally dissipate like heat or your breath...”

“There’s actually a creature that eats something like this?!”

“The world is full of wonders. Your past knowledge will not help much in understanding the true face of this world!”

“This Psychic Serpent can actually leech off... no, I mean, coexist in my brain. Not only that, it feeds on my thoughts and brings me benefits. I recall you mentioned that this serpent can help me see and perceive any type of danger. How does that work?” Yan Liqiang gave Fu Guang in the crystal ball a puzzled look.

“To put it simply, you’ll be able to receive the brainwaves of others who are standing at a certain distance in front of you if you let the Psychic Serpent live in your brain. In your language, that means the Psychic Serpent will give you the ability to peer into and perceive other people’s thoughts!”

“Is this the so-called telepathy?” Yan Liqiang nearly exclaimed.

“That’s right!”

Despite being in the Heavenly Realm, Yan Liqiang was still stunned for a moment when he heard about the abilities of the Psychic Serpent. “Wait... Let me repeat this. So you are saying that if I activate the Psychic Serpent’s seal of life to create and host it, I will be able to read other people’s thoughts, thus gaining the legendary telepathic ability? And even if this Psychic Serpent were to live inside my body, I won’t be affected physically or mentally?”

“Precisely. You may consider if you want to activate the Psychic Serpent’s seal of life and allow it to live within you...”

“I have a question. If I wish to stop living with it one day, can I take it out of my brain again?”

“Yes, of course. Just make the command with your thought and it will leave. At the same time, you will also lose the abilities that it brings you. Be mindful of the fact that you must find another host for it within a day after it leaves your brain. Otherwise, it will die...”

“Will I be receiving endless thoughts and information from people around me after it resides in my brain? If I will be listening to a bunch of voices in my head all the time without being able to tune them out? I’m afraid I’ll go crazy in the long run...”

“That’s not how it works. If the Psychic Serpent resides in you, you can choose the target you want to spy on. It’s very easy to control. You will know by then. Aside from people, you can also read the thoughts of animals if you wish to...”

Yan Liqiang finally let out a sigh of relief at Fu Guang’s words. All the worries and doubts in his heart immediately vanished. If this Psychic Serpent was so impressive that coexisting with it would mean obtaining the power of telepathy, it would be akin to seeing other players’ cards in a poker game. Then why not?

“Alright then. I shall activate the Psychic Serpent’s seal of life!”

“Understood, but there’s still another problem...” A smile appeared on Fu Guang’s face.

“What problem?”

“The dantian energy you have infused into the Heavenly Stone is still not enough to activate that seal of life!”

“No way! Didn’t you tell me that the dantian energy in the Heavenly Stone is enough to activate fifteen human seals of life?”

“The Psychic Serpent is an extremely special spiritual being. Hence, a colossal amount of dantian energy is required to activate its seal of life. Apart from that, you will also need a bountiful amount of vitality and intelligence points, of which you are still slightly lacking...”

“Then tell me how much more I need. Don’t tell me I’ll need to keep this up for another decade or two before I can gather enough. If that’s the case, I’d rather pick something else!”

“You’re almost there. The amount of the three energies you’ve gathered is actually quite close. If you still needed a lot, I wouldn’t have recommended the Psychic Serpent in the first place. Based on your cultivation rate, you should be able to gather enough dantian energy in seven to ten days if you don’t slack off. As for the vitality and intelligence points, you still need 518 and 877 points respectively...”

Yan Liqiang was truly shocked. “So the twenty thousand vitality and intelligence points that I’ve accumulated in the Heavenly Stone is still not enough? An ordinary human only cost a hundred points for both. Even for Goldie, I was only willing to assign fifty points for both. You’re telling me that the Psychic Serpent needs more than twenty thousand points?”

“If you desire to obtain an extraordinary being, you will naturally need to make an equivalent investment. After all, you can’t possibly build a city with just a tael of silver. You are free to choose another seal of life if you wish...”

“Nonsense. You’ve already shown me the Psychic Serpent. Do you think I can still sleep if I don’t get my hands on it?” Yan Liqiang clenched his teeth. “Let me find a way. At worst, I can always get rid of a few pieces of trash...”

“Sure, the decision is yours to make!”

Fu Guang’s face slowly faded from the crystal ball. At the same time, Yan Liqiang also retracted his palm from the Heavenly Stone...

He lingered around the Heavenly Shrine for a while. Staring at the glowing Heavenly Stone, his resolve gradually strengthened to the point that it was unshakable. He then glanced at the entrance to the Heavenly Realm before he plunged headfirst through it...

Chapter 327: Reputation

Fang Beidou was motionlessly holding the manuscripts of ‘Journey to the West’ that Yan Liqiang handed to him as though he was in a trance. The room was filled with only the occasional sound of papers flipping and Yan Liqiang slowly sipping his tea.

After Yan Liqiang finished drinking his tea, he sat at the side and read the articles that a few ‘editors’ had drafted for the next issue until Fang Beidou was done reading...

Fang Beidou’s reading speed was a lot faster than Yan Liqiang’s in his previous life. In just two hours, he finally let out a long sigh. Picking up the teacup that had completely cooled down from the table, he drained its contents in one go...

“Did you... write this?” Fang Beidou stared at Yan Liqiang as though he was a monster.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you someone else wrote it either...” Yan Liqiang set the stack of drafts down and spread his arms, “So... yes, of course, I am the one who wrote this.”

“How can anyone possibly write such a book... How can anyone possibly write such a book...!” Fang Beidou paced around the room in excitement while mumbling to himself.

“Why? Isn’t it good?”

Fang Beidou suddenly stopped. He looked at Yan Liqiang with sparkling eyes and clapped hard. “It’s not just good. It’s phenomenal! The fantasy story in this book is absolutely amazing. I couldn’t stop as soon as I began reading...”

Yan Liqiang only smiled and didn’t say anything. This was exactly why he chose one of the four great masterpieces. Although he had hundreds and thousands of books in his mind, a classic would always be a classic. For a timeless piece like ‘Journey to the West’, it was expected to become a sensation in an era without much entertainment.

“Have you made any contact with the storytellers in the capital city these few days?”

“I have already contacted some...” If Fang Beidou hadn’t figured out why Yan Liqiang wanted him to find the storytellers before, then he’d be a little too stupid if he still hadn’t realized it by now. “You’re thinking of giving this ‘Journey to the West’ to the storytellers so they can promote ‘The Great Han Times’ for us after their performances? That’s a good idea. With that, it will take only a few days for our newspaper to be known everywhere in the capital city...”

“Do you think they will be willing to perform ‘Journey to the West’?”

“Yes, of course. Surely you are not aware of how difficult it is for a storyteller to find an interesting story. Most of them rely on only one story to make a living for their entire lives and there are very few stories in the Imperial Capital. Although people still listen to them, they’re already losing their charm. These storytellers will be overjoyed if we allow them to perform a new story like this one...”

Yan Liqiang smiled. He wasn’t surprised that Fang Beidou would think this way. If Fang Beidou thought this was Yan Liqiang’s complete plan, then he would be underestimating his experience from his previous life. “I don’t plan on letting the storytellers in the capital city perform ‘Journey to the West’ in its entirety. They will only perform the first few chapters – perhaps up to the part where Sun Wukong was trapped under the Five Elements Mountain...”

“Ah, what about the rest? Is that where they will stop?” Fang Beidou asked in confusion.

“Of course not. They can still continue, but they will have to wait for a while first!”

“Why?”

“Because the rest will be serialized on ‘The Great Han Times’ first. Do you know what serialize means? It means from that point on, a few chapters of ‘Journey to the West’ will be published on every new newspaper issue. Those who wish to read the continuation of the story will have no choice but to buy our new issues. With that, we won’t have to worry about our sales volume...”

Fang Beidou didn’t expect Yan Liqiang to come up with such a perfect idea. By the time Yan Liqiang finished explaining, he couldn’t help but clap and sing praises. Compared to his own idea, this idea was undoubtedly superior by a few fold. Even so, Fang Beidou still had doubt in his heart. “It’s true that we won’t have to worry about sales while ‘Journey to the West’ is still being serialized on the newspapers. However, won’t our problem return again as soon as ‘Journey to the West’ ends?”

Yan Liqiang shook his head. “Our newspaper is still a new thing and everyone hasn’t gotten used to buying them. Although their interests are piqued, most are still browsing around only. Our objective of serializing ‘Journey to the West’ isn’t to make people buy it, but to cultivate their habit of spending money on the service. Once the habit is formed, it will be difficult to break. Just like breakfast, once you get used to having soy milk and fried breadsticks, you will love them for the rest of your life. The same is true when it comes to buying newspapers. Once they form the habit of buying newspapers, they will buy every issue of our newspaper even after ‘Journey to the West’ has ended. With that, our newspaper sales volume and influence will be guaranteed!”

Fang Beidou stared at Yan Liqiang blankly before letting out a long sigh. “If someone like you were to manage a business, you will surely possess the wealth equivalent to that of an entire nation in just less than twenty years!”

Thinking about the ‘Liqiang Telecommunications’ business that he dreamed to establish in his previous life put Yan Liqiang in a daze. He thought he had a lot of talent for business and worked very hard. Just when he was about to execute his plans, God had the Heavenly Stone send him to this bizarre world. He wondered if he’d still have the opportunity to build a business empire in this world, thus fulfilling the dream he had in his previous life. Fang Beidou’s words reminded him that despite the dense population of this world, Yan Liqiang, who had lived two lifetimes, was much more aware of the great power that business and wealth could bring. In the triangle of martial arts, authority, and wealth, the third was sometimes much more powerful than the first and second...

His heart stirred – perhaps ‘The Great Han Times’ would be an opportunity to realize the dream he had in his previous life.

“Hahaha, I will take your words as a compliment...” Yan Liqiang winked at Fang Beidou. “I’ll leave the rest to you. I recall that certain rules apply to these storytellers. For example, they’ll have to get approval from the authors of the stories they wish to perform or pay them certain fees. I think you can make good use of this rule. I don’t care about money, but any storytellers who wish to perform ‘Journey to the West’ in the Great Han Empire must be willing to advertise our newspapers. In the future, ‘The Great Han Times’ will be known in places where storytellers perform ‘Journey to the West’...”

“Rest assured, I know what to do!” Fang Beidou told him. However, the expression on his face once again reminded Yan Liqiang of those sly businessmen he’d seen before.

Yan Liqiang stood up to leave after briefing him. However, he suddenly seemed to have recalled something. He turned his head around to ask Fang Beidou, “Oh right. Did your master ever mention how many years I can live up to?”

“Umm... I think not!” Fang Beidou shook his head honestly.

After exiting the room, Yan Liqiang stared at Mount Longqi which towered in the darkness like a gigantic beast and the brightly lit capital city. He let out a long sigh and muttered to himself, “As expected, I’ll have to work hard for everything...” He shook his head lightly after saying that, then left the newspaper office and headed toward the Imperial City...

The southern city gate was closer to Mount Longqi, but Yan Liqiang purposely took a detour. He entered the capital city through the eastern city gate and started making his way toward the Gan Provincial Guild Hall.

Since he had made an appointment with Lu Peien before, the latter was already waiting for him in the guild hall by the time he arrived.

They both knew each other very well already. Therefore, they didn’t waste any time and went straight into talking about the lotus root briquettes before they discussed the time for a banquet with the Soul Mountain Sect’s Imperial Capital Branch.

Yan Liqiang couldn’t really say that he had agreed to the banquet only for the sake of the Lu Clan. After all, the Revival Pill that the supervisor of the Soul Mountain Sect gifted to Old Master Lu was ultimately consumed by his father to bring him back from death’s door. Therefore, it was only reasonable for Yan Liqiang to accept this invitation. Besides, there was no harm in gaining a few more friends in the Imperial Capital either...

The banquet was scheduled to be tomorrow night, at Sky Beyond, one of the famous restaurants in the Imperial Capital...

“Oh right, let me show you something, Liqiang...” When Yan Liqiang was about to leave after their discussion, Lu Peien suddenly remembered something. He went out of the drawing room, then came back with a kukri knife he retrieved from the adjacent room and handed it over to Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang took the kukri knife and looked at it. He then glanced at Lu Peien, “Brother Lu, you brought this out too?”

“Look more carefully...” He smiled in response.

Yan Liqiang then examined the kukri knife in his hands more carefully upon hearing Lu Peien’s words. There was nothing special about its design; it was a standard kukri knife that he’d designed and it was quite well-made with above average quality. It was also branded with the Yan Blades embossing seal which he had designed back then – a ferocious tiger and a flying dragon that formed an abstract circle. Inside the circle was the Chinese character ‘Yan’. Everything looked exactly the same.

Yan Liqiang took a closer look at the embossing seal, then snapped his head up. “This... Someone is actually plagiarizing our Yan Clan’s business!”

“Haha, so you finally saw it...”

“I designed the Yan Clan seal. Although the one on this knife looks similar, it’s still missing some minor details. Where did you find this kukri knife, Brother Lu?”

“Liqiang, do you know what is this knife called in Gan Province?”

“Don’t tell me...”

“This knife is currently known as the Yan Knife in Gan Province. It bears the Yan Blades brand. Even with the same quality, it can fetch twenty to thirty percent above the market price. We bought this knife in the Imperial Capital yesterday!”

“Oh, so they’ve reached the Imperial Capital too...”

“A caravan from Gan Province just transported a batch of them to the Imperial Capital!” Lu Peien gave Yan Liqiang a serious look. “I think you’ll be famous very soon...”

Chapter 328: Rainy Day

In the afternoon of the fourth day of the seventh lunar month in the 13th year of the Yuanping reign, a sudden summer storm assaulted the Imperial Capital city.

Today was the third day after ‘The Great Han Times’ was published and Yan Liqiang also welcomed the afternoon break he was allowed once every three days.

The afternoon sky of the capital city was still clear and filled with fluffy white clouds yesterday. When the storm hit this afternoon, the sky immediately darkened. The wind was violent and was accompanied by a heavy downpour. The surrounding mist reduced visibility to only a few dozen meters. Lightning occasionally streaked across the sky, illuminating the vast space...

Despite the storm, busy people inside and outside the capital city like Fang Beidou still carried on with their work.

While the thunder rumbled outside, Fang Beidou had reserved the entire floor of the Drunken Immortal Restaurant in the capital city. He then invited nearly one-third of the storytellers in the city to the restaurant today.

These storytellers were busy men who earned dozens of copper coins every two hours. It was usually not an easy feat to invite them somewhere. However, Fang Beidou used an extremely interesting approach in his invite. He merely stated the time and venue on the invitation card, then wrote the first two chapters of ‘Journey to the West’ on the papers and attached them with the invitations. The storytellers who received an invitation all came and arrived on time.

When those storytellers arrived at the Drunken Immortal Restaurant and noticed that many of their peers were also there, all of them looked at each other in confusion. Just when they were asking each other about how long the mysterious person who invited them here was planning to keep them waiting, Fang Beidou made his entrance.

Fang Beidou didn’t say anything after he made his entrance. With just a clap, Hu Haihe started distributing several copies of the first fifteen chapters of ‘Journey to the West’ that they prepared for all the storytellers. The bustling restaurant went silent instantly.

When the storytellers finally lifted their unsatiated yet extremely excited gazes from the handwritten copies in their hands, Fang Beidou cleared his throat. “The first fifteen chapters of ‘Journey to the West’ is in everyone’s hands. This is merely less than one-sixth of the hundred-chaptered tale. The rest of the story is even more exciting than this. As long as everyone is willing to make a pledge with me, you may freely use the complete version of ‘Journey to the West’ in the future...”

“Excuse me, may I know who the author of ‘Journey to the West’ is? An old man dressed in a gray robe that could be considered the most seasoned storyteller in the crowd stood up. “Would it be possible for me to meet and learn from him?” he asked politely.

“Our manager wrote the tale. There will come an opportunity for everyone who wishes to meet him. However, I’m afraid this is not a convenient time for that!”

“Is your manager perhaps surnamed Liu, Wang, or Huang?”

“What makes you say that, old sir?” Fang Beidou inquired with a smile.

“In the present time, I cannot think of anyone in the Great Han Empire who is capable of composing a tale that would give the storytellers in the world another opportunity aside from Lord Liu from Xi City, Lord Wang from River Gui, or Lord Huang from Three Great Literature Sect of Mount Bai!”

While the old man was speaking, the other storytellers were actually nodding along to express their approval in his words.

“Hahaha, our manager’s surname is not Liu, Wang, or Huang. His surname is Yan!”

“Ahh...!” All the storytellers were taken aback.

“Everyone will have the opportunity to meet our manager when the time comes! But for now, please consider my offer. Make a pledge with me...”

“How do we make a pledge?”

After Fang Beidou told everyone about the basic agreement, cheers immediately erupted throughout the Drunken Immortal Restaurant. Not even the roaring thunder outside could drown out the passionate cheers of the storytellers in there.

......

The sound of rumbling thunder from the sky outside resonated throughout the heaven and earth. Outside the window, curtains of water could be seen cascading down the eaves...

In the midst of the roaring thunder, it was tranquil inside Yan Liqiang’s room. The advancement phenomena around him was slowly dissipating while the image of clouds was absorbed into his body. He slowly opened his eyes as the recovery and strengthening process from Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing came to an end.

This wasn’t his first time experiencing an advancement like this. Instead of feeling surprised, he was actually getting used to it even though he had just attained the final advancement for the ‘Cloud Dragon’s Ten Transformations’ technique. His cultivation speed could probably make Ye Tiancheng die from shock if he came back from the dead.

“I can’t believe it’s raining today!” Yan Liqiang smiled as he looked at the curtains of water and the misty scenery outside his window. His body also felt like it had grown lighter by a few jin.

While Yan Liqiang was looking out of the window, he noticed several birch trees that were swaying in the violent storm outside, about twenty meters away from his courtyard. All of a sudden, a bird’s nest was blown off from the treetop and fell toward the ground...

The moment that bird’s nest fell, Yan Liqiang’s figure beside the window vanished as though he was a ghost. In just the blink of an eye, his figure returned to the window’s side again with only a few water droplets on his clothes and a small bird’s nest in his hands. Three featherless baby birds that hadn’t open their eyes yet stretched their necks in the nest as they chirped. It seemed like they weren’t aware that they had nearly made a trip to death’s door.

Two small birds flew to Yan Liqiang’s window in the rain and looked at the nest in his hands. They chirped loudly, seemingly wanting to get closer yet afraid to do so.

“Fine. I will be a good person until the end and find your family a safe place to shelter from the storm...” Yan Liqiang looked at the two birds, then lightly jumped up to the window ledge. He swept his glance over the beams under the roof and finally found a suitable space that was like a small tunnel near a huge pillar of the house. He stretched his hands out and carefully placed the bird’s nest at the space under the roof. After making sure that the nest was secure, only then did he jump off the window ledge.

The two birds immediately flew over to the nest as soon as Yan Liqiang placed it there. They sat in the nest and started chirping as though they were thanking him.

Seeing that it was about time, Yan Liqiang went back to his bedroom and changed into the clothes and boots he had prepared beforehand. He retrieved King Cobra’s mask which he had hidden in his luggage compartment and found a veil. Stashing both items on his body, he thought for a moment before retrieving a few more flying needles with strange blueish tips. He inserted them into his belt to conceal them, then put on a raincoat, took an umbrella, and stepped out...

“Commandant Yan, you’re still going out in such heavy rain?” The guards at Deer Villa’s entrance greeted Yan Liqiang with warmer smiles than before.

“A brother of mine is treating tonight, so it would be rude if I don’t show up.”

“There are carriages that shuttle between Deer Villa and the Imperial Capital every day. Why don’t you wait for a while? Let us find you one to send you to the capital city...”

“Hahaha, no need for the trouble everyone! It’s pretty fun to walk in the rain. Who knows? I might even meet some beauty and end up sheltering from the rain together with her!” Yan Liqiang laughed heartily and greeted at the guards at the Deer Villa entrance before he coolly walked into the rain...

Yan Liqiang was going to the Imperial Capital to attend a banquet and also kill someone...

Chapter 329: Being Watched

The public road outside the Imperial Capital city might just be the best-constructed road in the Great Han Empire. Even when it was pouring, the road wasn’t muddy and there weren’t any water puddles. The rain washed the road’s surface clean before it eventually flowed into the ditches at the side...

The Imperial Capital’s public road wasn’t paved with stone slabs, but large and sturdy paving bricks baked from the kilns. When Yan Liqiang visited the Forbidden City in his previous life, he was told by the tour guide that many places in the Forbidden City were paved with baked paving bricks. They were also known as the golden bricks, which were specially made for the royal palace, instead of stone slabs. The paving bricks on the Imperial Capital’s public road were quite similar to the golden bricks in the Forbidden City.

The heavy rain rinsed the paving bricks on the road, revealing their original ash green colors which gave them a touch of antiquity.

Yan Liqiang walked along the public road in his raincoat under his umbrella. Only the edges of his boots were slightly wet from the rain. Walking along the ancient ash green road, he felt oddly relaxed in the rain. He wasn’t nervous in the slightest about the task he was about to perform, even though it would get him into great trouble if he was exposed.

Looking at the road beneath his feet, Yan Liqiang sighed in amazement at the craftsmanship of the Great Han Empire’s artisans while the scene of baking these paving bricks popped into his mind. Baking paving bricks that were two feet in length and a foot in width like these was no easy feat. He recalled that the tour guide in the Forbidden City explained that baking such a large brick would require extremely high heat in the kiln. This was done to guarantee that the brick would be even-colored instead of being black or brittle in the center. Every golden brick in the Forbidden City was inscribed with the name of the artisan who was responsible for baking it. If any of those golden bricks had a problem, the artisan could be traced back and be beheaded. Therefore, no one dared to be careless. If the same temperature used to bake these bricks was used to bake clay or limestone, they’d turn into concrete instead.

That was referring to modern concrete. The so-called Roman concrete was even simpler to make. The most ancient concrete could be created with enough volcanic ash, quicklime produced through heating, water, sand, and stone.

The brick baking art in Ancient China was very close to producing concrete through heat.

The Great Han Empire currently didn’t seem to have any convenient construction materials like concrete.

Roman concrete built the Roman Empire. Yan Liqiang wondered what kind of Great Han Empire the concrete of this era would build.

Yan Liqiang got lost in his thoughts....

“Neighhhh...” A carriage came running amidst the misty rain and suddenly stopped when it passed by Yan Liqiang. The coachman wearing a conical bamboo hat and a woven rush raincoat shouted at Yan Liqiang, “Little Brother, it’s raining heavily now! If you don’t mind, I can give you a lift...!”

“Thank you, Uncle, but I fancy a walk. Besides, I’m only heading to the western gate which is not far from here!”

“Hahaha, alright. Have a nice walk, Little Brother. However, it has been thundering loudly over these two days, you mustn’t take shelter under the trees. I think a few of them along this public road got struck by lightning last year!” The coachman let out a hearty laugh. After giving Yan Liqiang a reminder, he shook his reins and drove his carriage into the misty rain.

That was the third warm-hearted person to offer Yan Liqiang a lift when they saw him walking in the rain.

Yan Liqiang didn’t accept the offer, but his heart was warmed by the little kindness shown to him by those strangers he met in succession.

Watching the carriage disappear into the rain, Yan Liqiang’s steeled his resolve. He definitely had to stay alive to make sure these millions of people would leave the Imperial Capital when the disaster struck in a few years time. By that time, he would mercilessly cut down anyone who stood in his way...

...

When Yan Liqiang arrived at the capital city’s western city gate, it was almost evening. The sky grew a bit darker and the rain had unexpectedly turned into a drizzle.

Yan Liqiang entered the capital city through the West Glorious Gate as usual. He barely made it fifty meters past the gate when he sensed someone’s gaze on him.

The person staring at him was an ordinary-looking man in his thirties dressed in green clothes, whom he had never seen before.

The man was taking shelter from the rain at the streetside near the West Glorious Gate. He was scanning the faces of everyone who entered the city. The moment Yan Liqiang entered the city, his gaze roamed onto his face a few times before he swooped to the side of those carriages that entered the city and silently followed behind Yan Liqiang.

The first person who tailed Yan Liqiang at the West Glorious Gate was Fang Beidou. However, the person who was watching him this time obviously wasn’t related to Fang Beidou.

Even so, Yan Liqiang wasn’t surprised because everything was well within his expectations. Not only that, it had even confirmed his conjecture. News of him living in Deer Villa wasn’t really a secret. Anyone would know if they investigated. From Deer Villa, the West Glorious Gate would be the closest entrance to the capital city. Therefore, by placing someone at the gate to wait for him, Yan Liqiang would be spotted as soon as he entered the capital city from Deer Villa.

Watching out for someone was usually for the sake of gathering information and tracking that specific individual. This was the prelude of dealing with someone. Yan Liqiang knew exactly who wanted to deal with him, even if he was thinking with his knee. In the Imperial Capital, who else would it be if it wasn’t Xu Lang and his gang who loved to use despicable methods and had a past with someone ‘insignificant’ like him...?

It would seem like he was right in making the decision to strike first.

Yan Liqiang didn’t turn his head around and continued walking under his umbrella. He didn’t even try to purposely shake his stalker off. The smile on his face merely turned icy.

......

By the time he arrived at Sky Beyond, the rain had let up. A long string of lanterns had already been hung outside the restaurant. Gorgeous carriages were lined up outside the restaurant. Some wealthy and respectable people would come down from the carriage occasionally and enter the restaurant.

Yan Liqiang arrived half an hour earlier than the scheduled time as a courtesy. Lu Peien, who arranged this banquet, arrived even earlier. One of his stewards was already waiting at the restaurant’s entrance.

As soon as Yan Liqiang walked toward the steward from the Lu Clan, his eyes immediately lit up as he quickly welcomed him. “Young Master Yan...!”

“Hm, is Brother Lu here?” Yan Liqiang asked while he handed over his umbrella and raincoat to the two waitresses from the restaurant.

“The Sixth Master is already in the room. He ordered me to show Young Master Yan the way up there when you arrived...”

“Alright, let’s go then...”

When Yan Liqiang was entering the restaurant, he could see out of the corner of his eyes that the person in green was standing thirty meters away on the street, watching him enter the restaurant...

After Yan Liqiang went inside Sky Beyond, the man in green went toward the restaurant. However, he was stopped by a few receptionists before he could even get in.

“Dear guest, may I know which room you reserved with us at Sky Beyond?” Although the receptionist had a professional smile on his face, his sharp gaze briefly traveled from the top to the toe of that man in green and a hint of disdain could be seen in his eyes.

“My friend just went inside, I’m here to find someone...” the man in green replied.

“My apologies, but all of our valued guests have to make room reservations in advance. If your friend is inside, why don’t you tell me his room? I will show you the way in. If you don’t know which room he is using, I will have to ask you to wait for him outside...”

“It’s an urgent matter, can you kindly make an exception for me...?” The man in green was all smiles as he bowed and scraped to the receptionist.

“Then perhaps you can tell me your friend’s name, age, appearance, and what kind of clothes he’s wearing? I will go in and help you ask around!”

The man in green was immediately tongue-tied. “W-Well...”

Before the man in green could say anything else, the receptionist made a signal to the two strong-looking men at the side with his eyes. The two intimidating-looking guards from the restaurant came over, cracking their knuckles noisily while staring at the man with their burning gazes.

In the end, the man in green had no choice but to leave. However, he didn’t go too far. He just waited on the street which was several meters away from Sky Beyond.

Chapter 330: Engineer

For tonight’s banquet, Lu Peien reserved a special small courtyard at Sky Beyond. The dining area was in the middle of the courtyard, surrounded by a rock garden, green trees, and a pond. There were rosewood-framed windows that were embedded with palm-sized colorful glass shards around the room. In an era where glass was still deemed as a precious gem, the window’s design could be regarded as unique.

The courtyard they would dine in was known as the ‘Glassy Sky’.

Lu Peien was already waiting here.

“Have you been here before, Liqiang?”

When Yan Liqiang arrived and had just exchanged a few words with Lu Peien, he was suddenly hit by that question out of the blue.

“I’ve never been here, this is my first time. Why do you ask, Brother Lu?” Yan Liqiang asked.

“As expected, Liqiang is indeed an unusual person. How rare it is for someone to not react when entering the Glassy Sky!” Lu Peien laughed while shaking his head. He pointed to the glass shards on the windows around the room. “I’m not afraid of being a laughing stock to you, Liqiang. Although I consider myself as someone who travels extensively, I was dumbstruck for a good long while when I entered the Glassy Sky for the first time and saw these windows made out of glass! This place has indeed shown me just how little I knew. It would seem like the businessmen and wealthy clans in the capital city are incomparable to those from other places!”

Realization dawned upon Yan Liqiang. The decorations of this place might be unique to Lu Peien and the rest, but this glass was not that much different than tinted glass to Yan Liqiang. The windows that made Lu Peien sigh in amazement were nothing more than plain glass windows to Yan Liqiang. Therefore, the design was only a little odd to Yan Liqiang at most, rather than shocking.

Yan Liqiang couldn’t really consider himself to have seen a lot in his previous life, but when it came to ‘exotic’ things like these, the total knowledge of the entire capital city’s population probably couldn’t even rival Yan Liqiang’s alone.

“Ah, so that’s what you mean, Brother Lu...” Yan Liqiang pretended to scratch his head in embarrassment. “To be honest, I was shocked when I came in just now. I merely suppressed my reaction and ignored it so that I wouldn’t appear to be too much of a bumpkin to Brother Lu...!”

Lu Peien was taken aback by the answer before he burst into laughter. “I almost got fooled by you, Liqiang...!”

“Hahaha, forgive me, Brother Lu...”

Both of them continued their chat in the room while they waited for the people from Soul Mountain Sect to arrive.

When there were fifteen minutes left before the scheduled time made by both parties, the voice of the Lu Clan’s steward came from the corridor outside the Glassy Sky. “This way please, everyone...!”

As soon as the steward’s voice rang out, Lu Peien cast a glance at Yan Liqiang and told him, “Please wait for a while, Liqiang. I will go out to welcome them!”

“Let’s go together then. After all, the friends of Old Master Lu are considered my seniors too!”

“Alright!”

Lu Peien nodded, then both of them went out together.

As soon they pushed open the door and went outside, Yan Liqiang saw the steward from the Lu Clan leading three people toward them.

Among them were two men and one lady. One of the men was neatly dressed and appeared to be about the same age as Old Master Lu. Although he wasn’t young anymore, he still seemed extremely intelligent and capable. The other was a chubby old man, dressed in blue clothes and a jacket that couldn’t be buttoned up due his protruding, round tummy. Perhaps he appeared to be a man who wasn’t concerned about his looks, yet he exuded a powerful presence. Even the neatly-dressed old man would bow a little out of respect when speaking to him. The lady who seemed to be in her twenties was dressed in a long beige dress. Her looks were actually not inferior to Hua Ruxue’s, and she had a quiet temperament.

“Greetings, Uncle Yao!” Lu Peien went up to the three people and bowed to the neatly dressed old man without waiting for the steward to say anything.

“Haha, no need to be so formal, Peien!” The old man smiled and cast a glance at Yan Liqiang. “This must be that Yan Liqiang you mentioned to me before, right?”

“Greetings, Uncle Yao!” Yan Liqiang went up and bowed respectfully to the steward from the Soul Mountain Sect. Following Lu Peien’s example, he addressed that person as Uncle Yao too. “The Revival Pill that you gave to Old Master Lu as a gift back then saved my father’s life in the end. I had been waiting to express my gratitude to you in person since long ago!”

“Haha, no need to be so courteous. It must be the fate between you all and the Soul Mountain Sect!” Steward Yao laughed heartily. “Let me introduce you to Hall Master Zhang of the Soul Mountain Sect’s Thousand Engineering Hall. Our hall master here is known as the best engineer in the world. I’m sure his reputation precedes him...”

Lu Peien and Yan Liqiang were shocked by the introduction that Steward Yao made. None of them expected this chubby old man with a protruding tummy to be a famous figure from the Soul Mountain Sect – Zhang Yourong, the hall master of the Thousand Engineering Hall, also known as the best engineer in the world. No wonder Steward Yao was so respectful around this man. After all, his position in the Soul Mountain Sect far exceeded Steward Yao’s.

After knowing the identity of that person, Lu Peien and Yan Liqiang quickly greeted him solemnly without delay.

It wasn’t strange for the hall master of the Soul Mountain Sect’s Thousand Engineering Hall to appear in the Imperial Capital. However, it was certainly strange and unexpected that this person would attend the banquet tonight with Steward Yao! After all, both Yan Liqiang and the Lu Clan never had anything to do with such a famous figure.

“This is Shi Bingbing, one of the Soul Mountain Sect’s core disciples!” Steward Yao proceeded to introduce the beauty standing at the side.

The core disciples of any sect, especially from the four major sects, were not ordinary individuals. Her position in the Soul Mountain Sect was also superior to Steward Yao’s.

What was going on today? Could it be that this famous figure and elite from the Soul Mountain Sect were here to tour around the capital city? Yan Liqiang secretly muttered to himself, wondering if he was being oversensitive. He just couldn’t shake off the feeling that the hall master and beauty from the Soul Mountain Sect were secretly observing him.

After the group exchanged their greetings with each other outside, all of them returned to the Glassy Sky room again.

“When I traveled to Gan Province three months ago, I discovered a few interesting and useful items there. They are known as the Yan Coals, the Yan Stove, and the Yan Blade. I asked around and found out that all three items were actually invented by the same person, and it was a youth named Yan Liqiang. Then I heard that he followed Sun Bingchen to the Imperial Capital so I came here too, hoping to meet you!” As soon as all of them were seated, the best engineer in the world, Zhang Yourong, immediately spoke up. “I wish to ask Liqiang, just how did you think up of all these fantastic objects?”

Yan Liqiang was somewhat flattered and overwhelmed at the moment. He didn’t expect the engineer to actually track him down, all the way from Gan Province to the Imperial Capital...

Chapter 331: Lonely Person

How did he think of creating such wonderful things?

Of course, the real answer was that he had seen it before and thus was able to recreate it. However, in the current situation, facing the Hall Master of the Soul Mountain Sect’s Thousand Engineering Hall – the amazing person said to be the best engineer in the world – Yan Liqiang would naturally not say this.

“Since Great Master has been to Gan Province before, you should know that my father is a blacksmith...” Yan Liqiang looked at Zhang Yourong solemnly. “Ever since I was young, I watched my father forge different things in the workshop with great interest in creating new things. Take for example the Yan Blade. Back then, the reason why I thought of forging kukri knives in this manner was because of that one time I was eating a roasted lamb. When I was holding onto the lamb’s leg while clenching the hoof and swinging the leg, a mysterious inertia and power came from it. It felt very smooth and natural. At that moment, I wondered if I could forge a knife that was like the lamb’s leg – when swinging it, I could make use of the knife’s own weight and structure to achieve greater prowess. Thereafter, I designed this knife based on the structure of the lamb’s leg. In the end, it was proven that when the kukri knife was designed this way, it was easier to swing and hack with...”

Yan Liqiang then continued to share the same things he said in his first attempt to dupe the others back in the Weaponsmiths Quarter. At this moment, it seemed as if he was possessed by Newton, Einstein, Edison, Leonardo da Vinci, and Zhang Heng. Yan Liqiang’s eyes glimmered like that of an elementary school student, filled with curiosity and interest to prove deeper. He once again demonstrated all his skills to act pretentiously, “As for that lotus root briquette, it was because I benefited from my observations in my father’s workshop. The furnaces in the smithing workshop would burn stronger only through air blasts. I once did an experiment on this. I got myself a small furnace and put in firewood. Then, when I started to fan air into it, the firewood would become increasingly red. And if I sealed all the gaps in the furnace, thus not allowing any wind to enter, then the firewood would extinguish very quickly even without any water. I realized then that regardless if it was charcoal or firewood, if we wish for them to burn well, they must react to the air we breathe. The more air there is, the better they burn. The thinner the air, the harder it is for them to burn. The coal and charcoal that we use in the workshop are all solid pieces. I thought that if the coal and charcoal were hollow inside with many gaps for air, when the air is blown in, the charcoal would be able to come into contact with more air. Wouldn’t that make it easier for them to burn?!”

“That’s right, that’s right. The theory is right...” The engineer nodded, listening attentively. The other people present also looked at Yan Liqiang without turning away, listening to his pretentious talk.

“But it takes a lot of effort and hard work to make holes on the charcoal and coal. I then wondered how to create coal with gaps. Later, when I was playing with sand and mud with my friends in the village, I thought of it. It was not easy to create holes on the pieces of charcoal or coal, but if they were to be shattered like sand and then water is added, it’d be very easy for us to create holes in them like how we play with mud. I tested this method and discovered that it could be implemented. However, it isn’t easy for the shattered coal to condense and take shape. I then thought of the mud that I played with, and thus added some soil that could be used as glue with the addition of some water. I then discovered that it was then very easy to create holes on the pieces of coal. In the beginning, I only created one hole on a charcoal briquette, and discovered that it was really easier for the charcoal briquette to burn compared to a normal piece of solid charcoal. However, the difference wasn’t big. It wasn’t until later when we had lotus root cooked with pork ribs that an idea struck me. If one hole wasn’t enough, then I should make a few more. I can make as many holes as there are on a lotus root. This thus led to the creation of the lotus root briquette. As for that furnace that Great Master was talking about, it was also something I came up with after creating the lotus root briquette and wondering what kind of furnace would be suitable for it...”

“Genius, genius! You’re really a genius!” Zhang Yourong looked at Yan Liqiang excitedly. “To be able to study the nature of things in the pursuit of knowledge, finding the principles behind things, and then creating things from the principles... It’s hard to find a talent like this amongst one million people...!”

“Great Master, you’re too kind. It’s just that I’m good at observing and imitating the things around me as well as having some wits! Someone like the Great Master is the real genius here!” Yan Liqiang said humbly.

“Our Soul Mountain Sect should have a few more provincial branches. Although places like Gan Province is remote, if we had a provincial branch there, Yan Liqiang would’ve already become one of our Soul Mountain Sect disciples. It’s a pity, a pity...” Zhang Yourong looked at Steward Yao from the Soul Mountain Sect’s Imperial Capital Provincial Branch and spoke with helplessness.

Yan Liqiang now had a governmental position and thus he could not join the Soul Mountain Sect anymore.

“Ahem... Ahem... Hall Master is right, Hall Master is right!” Not knowing what to say, Steward Yao could only nod.

“I’ll put up a proposal to the Soul Mountain Sect and the elders when we return to the Soul Mountain Sect. The Soul Mountain Sect should set up a few more provincial branches and we should also be more active in recruiting diverse disciples...” Zhang Yourong said seriously, then looked at Yan Liqiang. He fell silent for a moment before saying, “I’ll show you two things...” Then, before everyone, he carefully brought out two boxes from the pouch he had with him, placing them on the table.

Everyone, Yan Liqiang included, was a little surprised. They had no idea what this engineer was going to show Yan Liqiang.

Zhang Yourong opened up one of the boxes and took out a horse carriage made from metal that was just like a toy. When the other box was opened, there was a strange thing that was the size of one’s palm. That thing had a lot of legs and seemed to be made from wood. It also had a small sail on it.

“Great Master, this is...”

Zhang Yourong first picked up that small metallic horse carriage. He pinched a small handle under the horse carriage and the used great strength to turn it for a few rounds. He then placed the small metallic horse carriage on the ground. When he let go, that small metallic horse carriage started running and only came to a stop next to the wall over ten meters away.

The other peoples’ eyes were agape, finding this extremely novel. Although Yan Liqiang was not as astonished as the others, he also found this to be novel. That small carriage would only be an ordinary toy with a winding mechanism in his previous life. However, it was an extremely novel item that was hard to imagine in this generation.

Putting other people aside, Lu Peien and Steward Yao hadn’t seen this before. This was clear just from looking at their expressions. That Soul Mountain Sect’s disciple called Shi Bingbing appeared to be very calm instead. It was not her first time seeing this.

“Can you guess why that small horse carriage can run?” Zhang Yourong looked at Yan Liqiang with a gaze filled with anticipation.

Yan Liqiang intentionally fell silent for a moment before saying, “I saw that Great Master turned the protruding handle under the small horse carriage earlier on. I think the reason the small carriage can move should have a great connection to the few rounds you were turning it.”

“Not bad, not bad. You have a sharp gaze. But can you guess the reason behind it?”

“For that small horse carriage to move, there must be a forward propelling force. This force couldn’t have appeared out of nowhere. Therefore, you must have given it the force when you turned the handle a few times. I reckon that there must be something that the Great Master has designed inside the small horse carriage. That thing should be able to store the force that you gave it, and then after slowly releasing it, the small horse carriage is able to run!”

“Not bad. Continue. What do you think is the thing inside that small horse carriage?”

“I can’t think of it right away, but I feel that it should have sufficient resilience and flexibility. It should be some kind of metal...” Yan Liqiang pretended that he did not know. He did not wish to appear too abnormal in times like this.

“Great talent... You’re really a great talent...” Zhang Yourong clapped his hands together strongly, appearing very excited. “Many people have seen this thing of mine, but you’re the first one who can understand the principle behind it...”

Shi Bingbing also threw Yan Liqiang a surprised glance, as if not expecting that Yan Liqiang would be able to understand the mystery behind that thing with just one look.

“Take a look at this next...” Zhang Yourong said as he placed the wooden item with many legs on the table. He blew toward the small sail on top of it and it started moving. Then, the wooden legs started moving, walking on top of the table. Lu Peien looked at it with great marvel.

The structure of this wooden item was extremely elaborate and completely out of Yan Liqiang’s expectations. At the very least, it had definitely reached a pinnacle in terms of bionics and mechanical structures. Even in Yan Liqiang’s previous life, not many people could make something like this.

“The Great Master really lives up to your name. This thing is really a marvelous creation...” Yan Liqiang praised sincerely.

However, Zhang Yourong shook his head, appearing dejected. “I’m ashamed, ashamed. I’ve traveled the world over the years trying to think of a way to let these two things work without the need for manual labor. It’s a pity that everyone didn’t believe that such a mechanism could be created in this world. However, I feel that there must be a way, it’s just that I have yet to find it. If this thing really were to work, those carriages and carts would no longer need to be pulled by horses, but would run based on mechanics, capable of traveling great distances without requiring food. Boats would also be able to sail freely in the water without the use of oars. Right now, I can only think of the wind, but there would also be a lot of restrictions to be relying only on the wind. It wouldn’t work very well...” Saying this, Zhang Yourong looked hopefully at Yan Liqiang. “Young man, did you think of any ideas after seeing these two things? Do you know how we can let these two things move without any manual labor...?”

At this moment, Yan Liqiang finally understood why this engineer had appeared at this event today. The latter had heard of his reputation and wanted to come to look for some ‘inspiration’ and to have some ‘brainstorming’.

The loneliness of the best engineer in the world was probably something that only Yan Liqiang could understand. Yan Liqiang really did know of a way to resolve this. It was very simple – a steam engine...

Should he say it...? This question was put right before Yan Liqiang.

Chapter 332: Soul Mountain’s Honorary Visitant

All banquets were the same – the food was not always the highlight. What was important was what the conversations were about and with whom the conversations were with.

The meal lasted for about four hours. The dishes were changed a few times and Lu Peien, Steward Yao, as well as that beautiful disciple from the Soul Mountain Sect became the accompanying guests while the entire meal revolved around Yan Liqiang and Zhang Yourong’s chats.

In the end, Yan Liqiang still did not share his ideas about the steam engine. After all, Yan Liqiang, who had lived two lives, was not an ignorant fifteen-year-old young man who would shine just because people gave him some light. Yan Liqiang believed that with this engineer’s great attainments in the area of mechanics and creations, as long as Yan Liqiang revealed a hint regarding steam engines, Zhang Yourong would be able to understand the details immediately and thus create the steam engine.

Yan Liqiang was more aware than anyone else what effect the steam engines could bring. This was a trump card that he was keeping up his sleeves. His current relationship with the Soul Mountain Sect and Zhang Yourong was not good enough that just a few words could get him to hand over his secret to the Soul Mountain Sect and Zhang Yourong. This did not match the principles of being able to gain the greatest benefit in a given situation. Most importantly, although Zhang Yourong was a renowned engineer – his title described his ability, not his character. Yan Liqiang had no idea what kind of person he was or what his personality was like. In his previous life, Yan Liqiang had also met many professionals and professors who appeared to be very dignified, but they were secretly very shameless people. Therefore, there was no way that he would commit an error that only children would do – to equate a person’s achievements in his career and his rumored reputation with his character and morals.

When chatting with this engineer, Yan Liqiang appeared to be very courteous while holding back. Despite so, Yan Liqiang still let this Hall Master of the Soul Mountain Sect’s Thousand Engineering Hall finally understand what a soulmate was for the very first time in his life after meeting him and what it felt like when they said that when drinking with a bosom friend, a thousand cups would be too little. Each time Zhang Yourong said something, Yan Liqiang would be able to understand what he meant and could engage in a discussion with him. They clicked easily and could instantly immerse themselves in a conversation, making this great engineer from the Soul Mountain Sect feel happier as the conversation went on.

The gazes of the few people who were listening at the side slowly turned from surprise to admiration as they looked at Yan Liqiang. They did not conceal their expressions at all. This was especially the case for Lu Peien. He saw Yan Liqiang chatting with the renowned engineer with great fluency and composure at the dining table, and Zhang Yourong was even listening attentively to him. Thus, Lu Peien’s recognition of Yan Liqiang was refreshed once again...

Yan Liqiang and Zhang Yourong discussed metal winding mechanisms, then moved on to light refraction and reflection, to the density of physical material, to how objects produced sounds, and then the transition of water between the liquid, solid and gaseous states before they finally reached measurements...

“I always thought that if one wished to gain greater development in the Great Han Empire on the path of mechanics and the investigation of things, it is necessary to standardize the measurement system as the most basic foundation. The many variations of measurements we have now imposes a huge restriction toward the development of mechanics and the investigation of things. For example, we have picul, hu, decaliter, sheng, dou, he, yue, and other units to measure volume, and the smallest unit is yue. Two yues is one he, ten yues is one sheng, four shengs is one dou, ten shengs is one decaliter, five decaliters is one hu, and ten decaliters is one picul. There haven’t been any shortcomings when we use these units in our daily lives since we can make do with it. However, on the path of mechanics and the investigation of things, these would appear to be lacking and deplorable. For example, it’s hard to accurately measure and describe the volume of this wine cup I’m holding. Ten craftsmen could give ten different answers. The path of mechanics and the investigation of things is the same as internal cultivation – just a small discrepancy could lead to a huge error. If one wished for greater advancement, the prerequisite would be that all things in the world can be measured and described – from something as big as mountains, to something as small as dust. We must be able to measure their weight, length, and mass. So, even if there are ten thousand craftsmen, everyone would use the standardized measurement system and obtain the same results. It would be clear to see who is right and who isn’t, instead of having each person reporting their own figures...”

“That’s right, that’s right! That’s the idea!” When Zhang Yourong heard Yan Liqiang say this, he slapped his thigh agitatedly. “The first rule I set in the Soul Mountain Sect’s Thousand Engineering Hall was to use public tools to standardize all measurements. This wasn’t all. It’s hard for the craftsmen in the Thousand Engineering Hall to gain great advancements. The current measurement system used in the Great Han Empire is too unrefined. Other than the measurement system for volume, the measurements for time, temperature, and angles are all too unrefined as well...”

“That’s true. If only the measurements for time and temperature could be more accurate. Take for example the smelting and dowsing of weapons in my family’s blacksmithing workshop. If ordinary craftsmen wished to learn this, they would need at least a few years by relying on their experience to control the temperature. If we had more accurate measurements and descriptions in these areas, we’d be able to find out how long and at what temperature a tool should be placed in the furnace. We’d also be able to find out how low the temperature of the tempering liquid should be to complete the tempering process. With this, it would take even an apprentice only a few days to grasp this procedure. At the same time, as long as there are accurate measurements, the many valuable experiences and skills from the predecessors could be recorded as words. This would allow numerous people to learn upon looking at the records and the skills that wouldn’t be lost, nor would there be a need to teach them step by step. When that happens, the Great Han Empire’s path of mechanics and the investigation of things would definitely face unprecedented prospects...”

The Soul Mountain Sect’s engineer kept on nodding. Zhang Yourong wanted to say something, but someone knocked on the door.

“What’s the matter?” Lu Peien asked in the room.

“Sixth Master, the restaurant’s staff has come by a few times. They said that they’ve already closed for the day half an hour ago...”

Lu Peien looked at Steward Yao. The latter looked at Zhang Yourong and said, “Hall Master Zhang...”

“Then let’s stop here for today. It’s really been great talking with Brother Liqiang!” Zhang Yourong looked at Yan Liqiang, appearing as if he had not had enough of the discussions, but he still stood up.

“Haha, I’m the one who benefited greatly to have received the Great Master’s guidance...”

“Brother Liqiang, there’s no need to be humble. If you are really enthralled by the path of mechanics and the investigation of things, you’ll definitely take the title of the best engineer in the Great Han Empire in the future. If you don’t mind the fact that I’m a few years older, you can address me as Brother Rong in the future. There’s no need to stand on ceremony!”

“Alright, I’ll call you Brother Rong in the future!” Yan Liqiang took up the chance and did not reject, addressing him as Brother Rong immediately.

Zhang Yourong answered with a deep voice and then took out a pure golden paiza from his pouch, handing it to Yan Liqiang, “This is the honorary visitant identity pass of our Soul Mountain Sect’s Thousand Engineering Hall. Brother Liqiang, hold onto it. With your great knowledge, you’re more than capable of becoming one of our Thousand Engineering Hall’s honorary visitants. There are no restrictions or requirements that apply to you for this honorary visitant status. However, if you encounter any trouble in the future, you can bring out this paiza. Our Soul Mountain Sect’s honorary visitant identity pass holds some weight in the pugilistic world and in the Imperial Capital. People who see it, even if they are bureaucrats, will show you some respect!”

Yan Liqiang took a glance at the expressions of Steward Yao and that Soul Mountain Sect’s beautiful disciple – seeming as if they wanted to say something – and knew that the weight of this paiza which represented the identity of the Soul Mountain Sect’s honorary visitant was not simple. It probably did not serve just a single purpose. He laughed and took the golden paiza. “Thank you, Brother Rong!”

...

The group left Sky Beyond. There were barely any people on the streets. Although the rain had stopped completely, the sky was still dark and gloomy, with no hints of light at all. Zhang Yourong was still going to stay in the Imperial Capital for a period of time and he was going to be staying in the Soul Mountain Sect’s Imperial Capital Provincial Branch. After inviting Yan Liqiang to visit the Soul Mountain Sect’s Imperial Capital Provincial Branch when he was free, the group boarded two horse carriages at Sky Beyond’s entrance and then heading off in two different directions.

Under the illumination of the lights from the two horse carriages, the wheels slowly moved along the Imperial Capital’s streets, occasionally pressing down on the shallow puddles. The crisp sound of the hooves rang throughout the streets with the sparse crowd. In the horse carriage, Yan Liqiang took out that Soul Mountain Sect’s honorary visitant identity pass and played with it.

The paiza was golden and very exquisite. The words ‘Soul Mountain Honorary Visitant’ stood out a lot.

“Liqiang, do you know that this Soul Mountain Sect’s honorary visitant identity pass is an extraordinary thing?!” Lu Peien stared at that paiza while seated in the horse carriage, not hiding his envy.

“Brother Lu knows about this? Tell me about it!”

“I heard about it from Old Master in the past. As long as you have this paiza, it’ll mean that you have the Soul Mountain Sect’s protection. Ordinary people wouldn’t dare to offend you. Other than this, Liqiang, do you know what is the greatest benefit to having this honorary visitant identity pass?”

“What is it?”

“If you have children in the future, you can send them straight to the Soul Mountain Sect’s main branch to be a Soul Mountain Sect disciple and cultivate the Soul Mountain Sect’s great arts!” At this, Lu Peien laughed bitterly, “This is something that Old Master had thought of various means over the years to achieve but hasn’t been able to. I didn’t expect that you’d able to accomplish this over a meal. The Imperial Capital is really a place where great talents gather together. Liqiang, you’re really like a fish in the water here, with everything progressing so smoothly for you. Even I find you increasingly hard to fathom...”

“If Brother Lu likes this paiza, then why don’t I give it to you!” Yan Liqiang passed the paiza over as he said this, as if he did not mind.

Lu Peien was amused. “Do you really think that it’ll be any use for me to hold this paiza? This is something that the Soul Mountain Sect’s greatest engineer gave you. The Soul Mountain Sect will definitely have it recorded. If other people use this to swindle others, they’d be courting death...”

Yan Liqiang smiled and took back the paiza. “Oh right, Brother Lu, get the horse carriage to stop in front for a while and let me get off. I’ll head out of the city by myself!”

“The city gates are probably closed by now, right?”

“There should still be some time before the city gates close. Brother Lu, you can head back by yourself!”

“Why don’t I give you a lift? If the city gates are closed, then you can stay at the Gan Provincial Guild Hall and then return to Deer Villa tomorrow morning. There wouldn’t be any hold ups!”

“After staying in the room for so long earlier on, I feel a little stuffy. I’ll get off, take a walk, and have a breath of fresh air. If the city gates close and I can’t head back, I’ll come back to the Gan Provincial Guild Hall again to look for you, Brother Lu!”

Hearing Yan Liqiang say this, Lu Peien did not insist further. He let the horse carriage stop at a junction in front, let Yan Liqiang alight, and then the two of them parted ways.

After alighting from the horse carriage, Yan Liqiang took a deep breath of cold air. He did not turn his head to know that there was still someone tailing him fifty meters away from him on the street. When that person saw him alighting, he hid behind the signboard of a lantern shop that had closed...

This person had kept an eye on him for an entire night. He was really dedicated to his work...

Yan Liqiang let out a cold laugh and walked forward. The shadow trailing behind him also followed quietly...

After less than ten minutes, Yan Liqiang disappeared from that person’s sight after making a turn at the corner. The shadow quickly followed but found an empty street. There were a few passersby and the horse carriages, but Yan Liqiang was nowhere to be seen.

That person panicked and quickly dashed forward. He looked to the left and right, front and back, but Yan Liqiang was really nowhere to be found.

“Damn it. Could I have been discovered? That boy is really cunning...” That person mumbled to himself and then spat on the ground.

“Are you looking for me?” A voice suddenly appeared behind that person, frightening him. He slowly turned his head. Who else could it be but Yan Liqiang who was standing behind him?

In the darkness, Yan Liqiang’s eyes lit up brightly and an unknown cold aura that caused one’s heart to tremble rose up. That person wanted to cry out, but before that person could react, one of Yan Liqiang’s hands had already landed on his spine and with a soft clench, that man’s entire body turned numb and he instantly lost all mobility. He could not even cry out if he wanted to...

Yan Liqiang was like a fierce beast preying for its food, lifting that person by the neck and dragging him into a dark alley by the side.

In the blink of an eye, a few muffled sounds and agonized cries that were so soft that they were inaudible rang out from the dark alley. However, after a short moment, everything returned to silence.

A few minutes later, King Cobra tidied his clothes and walked out from that pitch-black alley. He looked left and right, revealed a cold smile, and then disappeared into the darkness...

Chapter 333: Night of Killing

The Imperial Capital. There stood a manor on Chongbei Street which was close to Xima Alley. This manor was where Xu Lang stayed at in the Imperial Capital.

When Yan Liqiang arrived with King Cobra’s mask on, there were barely any people on the streets. The entire Imperial Capital had entered a slumber and every household had their doors and windows tightly closed. Only a few candlelights seeped out through some windows.

The night was completely dark, and one could not see their fingers even if they stretched their hands out in front of them. However, to Yan Liqiang, even if there was no light, he could still see everything clearly in the darkness.

Yan Liqiang had benefited from the vision training that he had done for a very long time as well as the powerful effects of the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing. Half a month ago, Yan Liqiang discovered that he had night vision. When night fell, as long as he focused his attention on his eyes, everything in the dark would slowly become clearer.

Yan Liqiang had relied on this ability to make his way to his place, easily avoiding the few groups of soldiers who were patrolling the Imperial Capital.

On Chongbei Street’s Xima Alley, there was no mistaking it...

The door faced southward at a shoe shop called the Thousand Layer Cloud. There were a few peach trees in front of the door and a well about thirty steps to the left of its entrance. That was probably the place.

Yan Liqiang verified that the place was right and then compared the place he was looking at with the place the person who tailed him said that Xu Lang was staying. He finally confirmed it and locked onto the location.

That person was Xu Lang’s subordinate and when Xu Lang and his group came out from the restaurant the other day, that person had seen Yan Liqiang. Thereafter, Xu Lang stationed him near the West Glorious Gate, keeping a lookout for Yan Liqiang every day. The moment there was news, that person would come running and he would share the news about Yan Liqiang with Xu Lang.

That person had been here once previously, bringing Xu Lang news that Yan Liqiang had come to the Imperial Capital’s Sky Beyond. Thereafter, Xu Lang told him to continue keeping an eye on Sky Beyond. Once there was news about Yan Liqiang, Xu Lang was to be informed immediately...

Xu Lang was still waiting for that person’s news.

Unfortunately, that person would never come. The one who came instead was Yan Liqiang.

The wall was over one zhang tall and Yan Liqiang only took one glance at it. With a single move, he leaped up like an agile cat, and soundlessly landed within the compound beyond the high wall.

In the Imperial Capital, the place Xu Lang was staying in was not considered to be some kind of tall, rich manor. However, it was not bad either. Beyond this wall, this manor was a courtyard house that was neither too big nor too small. A room in the manor was still lit up, and there were still faint sounds of people speaking.

Yan Liqiang landed without silently, moving with flashes and quietly arriving outside one of the windows of that room where the lights were on. That window was closed, but there was still a gap. Lights and faint talking sounds came out from the room and Yan Liqiang stood next to the wall outside that window, listening to what they were talking about. He squinted his eyes and he swept a glance across the room, looking at everything inside.

There were five people inside who were seated at a table. They ate as they chatted. All of them were familiar faces whom Yan Liqiang had either met when Xu Lang and Liang Yijie fought on the Arena of Life and Death or encountered at the restaurant’s entrance the other day. They were probably Xu Lang’s good friends...

“Why is Bi An not back yet? He couldn’t have encountered problems on the way here, right...?” Someone seated to the left of Xu Lang spoke up. That person was thinner and had a smaller build compared to the few others around him. It was the person with the surname ‘Gao’ who had mentioned in the servant quarters that he wanted to enter the Arena of Life and Death with Yan Liqiang when Yan Liqiang was escorting Sun Bingchen to the palace together with Liang Yijie.

“Bi An is a reliable worker and there shouldn’t be any problems. It must be that they’ve stayed at Sky Beyond till too late and thus Bi An has been keeping watch outside, unable to enter...” Xu Lang narrowed his eyes as he spoke.

“Looking at the time, Sky Beyond should have already closed for the day...”

“Mmm, so Bi An should be coming back with news very soon!”

“The later Bi An comes back, the better. It would mean that the guy is probably staying in the city tonight. We’ll be able to make a move tonight and we won’t have to wait till next time!

“Earlier on, I wanted to leave the city to set up an ambush, but I was afraid that he’d be staying in the city. The moment the city gates close, we’ll be the ones to stuck outside instead...”

“Haha, I heard that guy is only a Martial Warrior. You’re kicking too much of a fuss to call the few of us here just to deal with this one guy. Brother Xu, you can just rely on me later. As long as we find out where he’s staying, I’ll get rid of him single-handedly...”

“We can’t really say that either. It’s better to be careful. What that guy displayed the other day didn’t seem to be the cultivation that ordinary Martial Warriors would have. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have made Young Master Lin feel that he was an eyesore and yearn for Brother Xu to eliminate him. Brother Xu counted us in this time to get rid of him so everyone will be treated as Young Master Lin’s people in the future...”

“That kid is to be blamed for not knowing what’s good for him. He should think about what kind of place the Imperial Capital is. It isn’t a place for a country bumpkin like him to act atrociously. He has chosen the wrong side to stand on, yet he still dares to bare his teeth before Young Master Lin. He’s just courting death!”

“And I heard that guy is some Yingyang Commandant. This status might let him enjoy a lot of glory in the countryside, but it’s nothing in the Imperial Capital. Even if he’s a general, it’s not rare for one to lose their head in the Imperial Capital without any rhyme or reason...”

“If this guy isn’t staying in the city despite such late hours, then we’ll stop him outside the city the next time he enters. Let’s see how many times he can escape...”

“That’s right. As they say, if Lord Hades wants him to die at the third watch, who would dare to keep the person till the fifth watch [1]...”

The group continued to chat in the room, and Yan Liqiang understood the situation. It was as he had expected. Xu Lang and the others were already prepared to make a move to get rid of him. However, the only thing that Yan Liqiang hadn’t expected was that Young Master Lin was the one who was behind everything.

Yan Liqiang recalled the face of that young man he met that day at the restaurant’s entrance. He was the one who wore a long blue silk robe, had a mole next to his mouth, and he had an arrogant gaze.

His surname was Lin?

He was with these group of people and they addressed him as the Young Master... Yan Liqiang thought of that person’s background immediately. He could be related to the Grand Chancellor...

“I’ve got a bit of an urge to pee after having waited for so long. I’ll go out and relieve myself...” The voice of that person surnamed ‘Gao’ rang out and then there were the sounds of a chair being shifted.

“Hahaha, Old Gao, did you buy another woman recently and had a wild time? You haven’t had any wine tonight, only some food, so why do you need to relieve yourself so soon?”

That person surnamed ‘Gao’ did not say anything. He merely chuckled and then left the room.

He walked out of the room and found his way in the dark to the toilet outside. Just as he was removing his pants, feeling relaxed without being on guard, he suddenly felt a chill on his back and his mouth was gagged. Then, the section of a pitch-black blade penetrated through his chest...

Yan Liqiang’s eyes flickered with cold light as he looked at the body that had fallen to his blade. In the blink of an eye, he leaped over the high walls, returning to the exterior of the manor, next to the door. He took in a deep breath and then knocked on Xu Lang’s door with three long knocks and one short knock.

When Xu Lang and the others heard the knocking, Xu Lang immediately stood up excitedly, “This is Bi An’s knocking. He has brought news back...”

“Brother Xu, I’ll go and open the door!” Someone took on the job and moved out of the room, taking large strides. He arrived at the manor’s entrance, opening it without giving it a second thought.

The sharp black blade instantly pierced through that person’s heart the moment the door was opened, just like a bolt of black lightning.

There had been five people in the room, but in the blink of an eye, two were gone...

Before that person who opened the door fell down, Yan Liqiang’s silhouette had already bolted out like lightning toward the room where Xu Lang and the other two were at. Before he arrived, Yan Liqiang shot a needle into the room with a flick at a speed that was faster than his. The flying needle passed through the wick of the lamp that lit up in the room. The room turned pitch-black and at that instant, the flying needle took a turn and sank into the neck of a person in the room who had entered a daze...

Chapter 334: The Advantage of Striking First

Xu Lang was cunning and resourceful. The moment the light in the room went off and he sensed danger, he hurled himself to the ground and rolled away, dodging the deadly moves that were perhaps heading in his direction.

The other two were not as lucky. The moment the lights went off, the two of them were stunned for a short moment. Less than a tenth of a second later, their fates had been decided.

At the same time the flying needle was pinned onto one person’s neck, Yan Liqiang had already charged up to the other person. The Black Scale short sword he was holding released a sharp shrill in the pitch-black room, slicing through the air.

“Who’s that...” The person bellowed out loudly; his strength surged as he drew the blade hung at his waist without any hesitation. He then slashed out toward Black Scale based on the sounds he heard.

This person was also considered an expert, but it was a pity that the person he met was Yan Liqiang.

When a person’s eyes were suddenly exposed to darkness when previously in a bright environment, that person would be unable to see anything momentarily. This person was now in that state where he couldn’t see anything. He could only rely on his instincts to retaliate out of the terror he was feeling. Yan Liqiang was making use of that person’s instincts.

At this moment, the final move was not from the Black Scale short sword in Yan Liqiang’s hand, but rather, his fist. The sound of Black Scale slicing through the air was what Yan Liqiang had intentionally created in order to attract that person’s reaction. When that person drew his longsword to defend against Black Scale, Yan Liqiang’s other fist silently struck him in the chest...

It took only an instant. That person’s chest bones sank in completely and with a swooshing sound, he flew backward like a kite released into the sky. He smashed heavily into the wall and then slid down like a pile of mud.

The terrifying strength from Yan Liqiang’s punch had shattered his chest bones as well as the organs inside into powder, extinguishing his vitality.

After Yan Liqiang killed that person with a punch, he kicked his leg out and the entire table flew toward the door.

Xu Lang was about to dart out of the room when he heard the sound of the table flying toward him. It came with great impact, smashing toward the door. It was unclear whether the other person was a friend or foe, so he dodged without giving it a second thought, darting out from another side. However, just as one of his legs stepped out of the room, they suddenly felt numb. A sharp steel needle had instantly pierced through the sole of his shoes and into his feet. Numbness surged through his entire body from the sole of his foot right up to his head, as if he had been electrocuted...

There was poison on the needle...

The needles on the ground outside the door had been placed before the killer charged into the room. The killer knew that he would not be able to see the things on the ground...

The table that was smashing toward him earlier was just to force him to jump out and lean in this direction, so that he would step on the poison needles...

Xu Lang had no idea if this was considered the last moment of lucidity before his death, but at this moment, his mind went completely blank. In that instant, he understood everything...

He had never heard of such a terrifying killer in the Imperial Capital who had such great grasp of sounds, lights, appearances, colors, the environment, as well as people’s minds.

Feeling himself losing half of his body’s sensation, Xu Lang, who was a Martial Grandmaster, felt extremely frightened. His eyes were filled with fury as he let out a final enraged bellow, not willing to accept this fate, “Who are you?”

He had just said the word ‘you’ when Yan Liqiang’s silhouette appeared next to him, as elusive as a ghost. He swung Black Scale. Xu Lang’s head flew and his body fell down next to the door.

The entire process took less than five seconds, from the second the door to Xu Lang’s manor was opened and Yan Liqiang had thrust out the first attack to the moment Xu Lang’s head was sent flying. The manor was still lively a moment ago, but now, only one out of the five people who were seated together with Xu Lang was still alive...

Yan Liqiang threw a glance at Xu Lang’s headless corpse before he returned to the room and approached the person who was stiffly seated on the chair from behind.

“D... don’t... kill me...” That person was stuttering. The poison that Yan Liqiang had put on the flying needle was not lethal enough to take one’s life. Rather, it was a non-lethal but domineering paralyzer. Therefore, the person who was struck by the poison was still alive. It was just that he was unable to move.

Yan Liqiang acted as if he didn’t hear what the person had said. He did not even look at him. He first took out the needle from that person’s neck, stashed it, then slapped his palm on top of that person’s head from the back. The huge strength from his palm slapped that person’s head into their chest. The chair that the person was seated on shattered and the body dropped to the ground.

Yan Liqiang then kicked the table, sending it flying. The lamp on the table was also smashed into the wall, breaking into pieces. The fine muslin lamp shape with two needle holes on it was also destroyed.

After doing all that, Yan Liqiang retreated to the door and quickly picked up the eight needles off the ground.

The eight needles on the ground were scattered outside the door. One end of the needles was stuck in the stones on the ground, leaving only a section of the tips pointing upward. It required a terrifying amount of strength to push the top of the needle where the eye was at into the stones. Only Yan Liqiang would be able to do something like this.

After destroying all the traces he had left behind, Yan Liqiang took a final look at this small manor that was now filled with the scent of blood. Then, he flew up like an owl, entering the dark night in the blink of an eye.

...

Five minutes later, Yan Liqiang’s elusive figure appeared at the bottom of the Imperial Capital’s tall city walls. With a leap, he jumped up six to seven zhang high. Then, he inched along the city wall like a lizard, slowly climbing upward. After waiting patiently for a short while and hearing that the footsteps of the patrolling soldiers had gotten far, Yan Liqiang leaped up once again. He crossed the Imperial Capital’s city wall like a gust of wind, silently flying past the heads of two soldiers on guard, reaching the other side of the city wall. After dropping about seven to eight zhang, he tapped his foot on the city wall before he landed over ten zhang outside the city walls. With a few flashes, he disappeared without a trace...

...

After another ten minutes, Yan Liqiang appeared outside Deer Villa and greeted the soldiers who were on guard outside before returning straight to his place...

Chapter 335: Mind-reading Technique

The next day, Yan Liqiang woke up early in the morning...

After waking up, Yan Liqiang did not start his morning regime immediately. Instead, he stood in front of the copper mirror in his room, assessing his face from all angles. He even lifted up his head and looked into his nostrils. There didn’t seem to be any abnormalities...

“That Psychic Serpent doesn’t seem to be that big of a deal. Why don’t I feel anything at all?” Yan Liqiang mumbled to himself.

The first thing he did after coming back the night before was to churn out the Psychic Serpent from the ‘toy capsule machine’ that was in the Heavenly Realm. He then integrated the Psychic Serpent with himself.

Till now, the scene that happened the night before was still very clear in Yan Liqiang’s mind. It was as if it had just happened a short moment ago.

It was like what Fu Guang had said: the Psychic Serpent was very small – so much so that it was completely beyond Yan Liqiang’s expectations.

The Psychic Serpent was only the length of a finger, just like a thin earthworm. It was translucent and emitted a strange glow, like an interesting piece of crystal artwork. It did not seem like something that would exist in the mortal world and just by looking at it, one would not be able to imagine that it could do the things that Fu Guang said it could. The integration process was also very simple. After the Psychic Serpent was produced, Yan Liqiang held it in his hands, placed it on the tip of his nose, and that small Psychic Serpent understood Yan Liqiang’s intentions and darted in through Yan Liqiang’s nostrils...

When Yan Liqiang merged himself with the Psychic Serpent, he felt nervous as if he were taking drugs for the first time. However, the entire process moved so smoothly that it was beyond his expectations. In the beginning, he only felt that the inside of his nose was a little itchy, and then his scalp turned slightly numb for less than half a minute, as if electricity had run through it. Everything then ended. It was simpler than squeezing a pimple.

After a night of sleep, neither Yan Liqiang’s body nor head felt any discomfort. Everything was normal and Yan Liqiang finally felt at ease.

As usual, after he completed his morning regime and washed up, the servant from Deer Villa who was here to deliver his breakfast was already punctually standing outside the door to his place. The servant knocked on the door and called, “Commandant Yan, I’m here to bring you your breakfast...”

Yan Liqiang opened the door, took the box containing his breakfast, and said, “Thank you...”

“You’re welcome, you’re welcome. This is something that I should be doing...” The servant who brought his breakfast was immediately full of smiles as he nodded and bowed before Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang wanted to turn after taking the box containing the food, but he suddenly thought of that Psychic Serpent from last night. A thought popped up in his mind. What was this person thinking about right now?

The moment this thought popped up, Yan Liqiang’s turned his attention toward that servant. A scene suddenly appeared in Yan Liqiang’s consciousness, almost giving him a fright...

The scene that appeared in Yan Liqiang’s mind was that of an ordinary little boy who was about eight to nine years old. The boy wore ordinary clothes, his cheeks were red, and he bore a resemblance to this servant who brought Yan Liqiang his food on a daily basis...

With the appearance of this scene, many thoughts then appeared in Yan Liqiang’s mind. They were like bubbles – one would appear, burst, and then another would appear...

–Tiezhu must work hard to learn martial arts so that he can reach the very top like Commandant Yan, and have others serve him despite the fact that he’s so young...

–Mingcheng Dojo’s fees are too expensive. It costs over ten taels of silver a year, and this is only for the elementary class...

–Maybe I should try to get closer to Supervisor Zhu, gift him some money, and ask him to move me to a better position in Deer Villa. That way, it’ll be easier to earn money in the future. This position doesn’t really allow me to do anything else other than bring back some good food for Tiezhu...

–But if I need to gift Supervisor Zhu some money to get closer to him, then I won’t have the money to pay the fees for Mingcheng Dojo. Tie Zhu won’t be able to get in and his studies might be delayed...

......

“Erm... Does Commandant Yan have any instructions for me?” Seeing that Yan Liqiang did not enter with the box of food but stood there instead while looking at him, the servant who came to deliver the food thought that Yan Liqiang was dissatisfied with him. He quickly asked anxiously.

“Uh, it’s nothing, it’s nothing...” All parents in the world exhausted great mental and physical efforts for their children. Yan Liqiang let out a sigh inwardly and turned his attention away from this person, cutting off the thoughts that he was sensing. “I just felt that the weather today...” Yan Liqiang lifted his head and looked up toward the sky, “The weather probably won’t clear up today...”

That servant heaved a sigh of relief and said, “That’s right, that’s right. There’s always a few days like this in the sixth and seventh lunar month in the Imperial Capital. However, they don’t tend to be like this for long. It’ll be two to three days if it’s short, or at max, four to five days. Thereafter, the sky’ll probably clear up...”

“Mmm, that seems to be the case...” Yan Liqiang forced a smile and entered with the box of food. That delivery servant waited outside dutifully.

Yan Liqiang ate his breakfast. Although he appeared to be very calm, he was very astonished. He thought of the experience from earlier and he lost himself in his thoughts twice. The ability the Psychic Serpent brought him was too terrifying. The large amount of resources that he had put into the Heavenly Realm this time around to produce the Psychic Serpent had not gone to waste...

After having his breakfast, Yan Liqiang brought the box to the door as usual. The servant received it and was about to leave when Yan Liqiang called out to him.

“Oh right, are there any children in your family?” Yan Liqiang suddenly asked.

“There’s... there’s one!” The servant responded uneasily, not knowing why Yan Liqiang would suddenly ask this.

“When I was doing the stock-check for the archery range’s storeroom yesterday, I noticed that a thirty-picul bow had been worn down due to humidity. The bowstring is loose and it has been in the storeroom for a number of years. According to the rules, it can be thrown out, but I think that the bow still can be used. Only the bowstring needs to be changed and it’ll be a waste to just toss it. If there’s a child in your family, you can bring it back and get him to learn archery. You can come and ask me if there’s anything that he doesn’t understand. I’ll explain it to you and you can go back and teach him!”

That servant who came to deliver food stared at Yan Liqiang in a daze. Suddenly, tears gushed out of his wide open eyes. Then, without a second thought, he dropped to his knees and kowtowed to Yan Liqiang, “Thank you, Commandant Yan. I’m kowtowing to you on behalf of my son. This is a great fortune and blessing that Commandant Yan is giving to him...”

Over the past few days, Yan Liqiang’s reputation had already slowly spread through Deer Villa. Everyone in Deer Villa knew that Yan Liqiang was an archery expert and thus was highly regarded by Eunuch Liu and he was in charge of Deer Villa’s archery range. For one to receive guidance from someone like Yan Liqiang in archery was ten times better than learning archery from outside dojos. Treatment like this was something everyone wished to have but had limited opportunities to receive. It was no wonder that the servant was so thankful...

The bows in the Deer Villa’s archery range were all exquisite items, and the bows there were not cheap to begin with. Even though Yan Liqiang said that it was something which could be scrapped, such a bow would be able to sell for ten or twenty taels of silver outside without a problem.

That staff had been working at Deer Villa for many years and knew about many things...

“Get up, get up. There’s no need to act like this...” Yan Liqiang quickly helped the person up. However, Yan Liqiang had just gotten the person to stand when that guy knelt down again, giving Yan Liqiang three loud kowtows before he wiped his tears and got to his feet. His gaze was now completely different from before as he looked at Yan Liqiang. It was as if he had the impulse to give up his life for one who was willing to appreciate him.

“I’ll bring that bow over later tonight. You can bring it back after bringing me food. If someone asks, just tell them that I was the one who gave it to you. Get whoever can’t accept this to look for me!”

“I understand...”

“Mmm, you are dismissed...”

After seeing watching the servant leave, Yan Liqiang cleaned himself up and then headed to the bottom of the waterfall at the mountain behind the archery range. He then continued swinging his spear and started cultivating...

The sky still remained gloomy and it was drizzling, but that little rain did not affect Yan Liqiang who was cultivating under the waterfall to begin with.

Due to the heavy downpour the day before, the waterfall’s water capacity suddenly increased several fold. Other than the huge increment in water volume, Yan Liqiang also discovered that small things were occasionally falling down together with the waterfall’s water flow...

Yan Liqiang did not notice anything at first. It was only when that small thing charged down from the waterfall and just so happened to land on Yan Liqiang’s big spear that it caught Yan Liqiang’s attention. It had made his spear tremble like a tuning fork.

The water that came charging down from the waterfall would instantly be shaken into mist the moment they landed on Yan Liqiang’s great spear that was moving at a high frequency. However, that small thing remained unscathed and when it felt the tremor from the great spear, and its body slid down after being flicked up. Then it landed into the pool below.

Yan Liqiang did not pay it much heed the first time, but the second time, things were still the same. Yan Liqiang finally noticed the problem and let out a “Hmm?” He then stopped his cultivation...

Yan Liqiang understood how strong the tremble of his great spear was. He would not be exaggerating when he said that if someone were to toss a rock over, it could be shattered by the long spear made from Dragon Spine Steel. How could that small thing remain unscathed like this?

Yan Liqiang held onto his long spear with one hand and lifted his head, opening his eyes wide as he focused his gaze on the water flow that was charging down from the waterfall. A few minutes later, he saw another small thing plunging down while hidden amidst the water flow. Without giving it a second thought, he reached out to grab it...

When his hand came into contact with that small thing, Yan Liqiang only felt the small thing sliding from his hands and slipping away, still landing into the pool.

“Impossible...” Yan Liqiang cried out.

To think that he was unable to grab hold of that small thing with his ability and movements?

What kind of joke was this...

Yan Liqiang was truly astonished. That small thing looked a little like a loach. How was it possible that he was unable to grab ahold of it?

When he was only five to six years hold, he had caught loaches in the Liuhe Town’s ditch. Right now, his skills were over a thousand times stronger than how he was back then and there was no reason that he would not be able to grab it...

Yan Liqiang was unable to accept this and continued to wait below the waterfall, hellbent on capturing that small thing...

Another one dropped down and it still slid away from Yan Liqiang’s hands. This happened three consecutive times and Yan Liqiang decided to just toss away his long spear and grab at them with his hands...

......

Half an hour later, Yan Liqiang looked at his empty hands and the water that charged down incessantly with wide-open eyes and his mouth agape. His expression was that of disbelief...

“Those are the Steeled-Skin Loaches, the most slippery things in the world. It’d be a wonder if you grab one with your hands!” Unknowingly, Li Hongtu was already standing next to the pool, his brows raised as he looked at Yan Liqiang with a strange expression with a shadow of a smile.

“Ah, Master...”

“Use this to catch it...” Li Hongtu said this and put out his hand, tossing over a big bamboo basket.

“Master, this is...” Yan Liqiang caught the big bamboo basket Li Hongtu tossed over, not knowing whether to cry or laugh...

Li Hongtu’s expression was solemn, “What do you know? These Steeled-Skin Loaches are great nourishments. Every year, I wait for these few days to have a good meal. Don’t cultivate this morning, just catch the Steeled-Skin Loaches and then we’ll cook up a pot of them...”

Chapter 336: Trouble Comes Knocking

Yan Liqiang held a bamboo basket and stood under the waterfall. His head was raised as he kept trying to use the bamboo basket to scoop the Steeled-Skin Loaches that were coming down the waterfall.

The slippery Steeled-Skin Loaches were finally restrained by the bamboo basket that was over three feet tall. Soon enough, more than ten Steeled-Skin Loaches were caught.

The Steeled-Skin Loaches kept on jumping about in the bamboo basket, each of them capable of leaping about one foot in the air. However, the bamboo basket in Yan Liqiang’s hands was over three feet tall and no matter how high they jumped, they were unable to jump out of it.

It was only at this time that Yan Liqiang was able to carefully assess the appearance of the Steeled-Skin Loaches which he was unable to capture with his hands.

From the exterior, the Steeled-Skin Loaches shared a resemblance with ordinary loaches, but their bodies were thinner. They were yellowish-brown with black prints. What that was even more astonishing was that the texture of their skins was like a metal sheet with a thin coat of translucent viscous liquid. It gave one the feeling as if a layer of oil had been spread on metal.

Yan Liqiang kept on scooping under the waterfall for over two hours before he heard Li Hongtu’s voice coming from the thatched cottage not far away, “That should be enough. Bring the Steeled-Skin Loaches over. It’s time to cook them...”

It was only after hearing his voice that Yan Liqiang raised the bamboo basket, slid into the water from the huge boulder, and then swam to the shore. He did not even put on his clothes before he ran to Li Hongtu’s thatched cottage with the bamboo basket.

Li Hongtu had started up a fire in the thatched cottage. The moment Yan Liqiang entered the place, he could feel warmth coming from the fire.

There was a huge pot next to the fire, and the opening of the pot was the same size as the bamboo basket that Yan Liqiang was holding.

“Let me see how many there are!” Li Hongtu rubbed his hands and walked over. When he glanced at the bamboo basket, his face was full of smiles, “Not bad, not bad. There are two to three jins in there. It’s enough for a good meal. Turn the bamboo basket over into this pot. Be careful. These Steeled-Skin Loaches are really slippery. Don’t let them jump out from the bamboo basket.”

“Alright!” Yan Liqiang replied as he nimbly turned the bamboo basket over onto the pot. All the Steeled-Skin Loaches immediately slid into the pot.

“Don’t move your hands away yet. Cover it for a while...” Li Hongtu reminded from the side.

“Master, what are you stewing in this pot? Why do I smell wine?!”

“The thing in this pot is wine. We’ll first make these Steeled-Skin Loaches drunk. Moreover, these Steeled-Skin Loaches taste nice only when stewed in wine. Hahaha....”

Sensing no more motion coming from the pot after a few minutes, Yan Liqiang removed the bamboo basket. Those Steeled-Skin Loaches that had been poured into the pot were no longer moving. Li Hongtu put the pot onto the fire before bringing out bags of condiments, and then added them into the pot. He then added more water and put the lid on the pot before he let out a satisfied sigh.

“Alright, go put on your clothes!”

“This afternoon, I’ll have a taste of Master’s Steeled-Skin Loaches!” Yan Liqiang said.

“Mmm, in consideration of your hard work...”

Yan Liqiang laughed and ran out of the house. Two minutes later, after he put on his clothes, he returned to the cottage and sat next to the fire, staring at the pot together with Li Hongtu. “Master, did you often eat these Steeled-Skin Loaches in the past?”

“What rubbish! This isn’t something that can be eaten easily!” Li Hongtu rolled his eyes and glared at Yan Liqiang. “These Steeled-Skin Loaches usually live in caves and it’s hard to come across them. Every July, if one is lucky, in the event that there are thunders and a surge in the rainwater, they then swim out from the caves and are washed down. There are plenty of food stalls and restaurants in the Imperial Capital. Go ask around and see how many places serve this. Oh, right, what martial arts has that Ji guy been teaching you over the past few days?”

“Master Ji is teaching me the Lizard Wall Climbing Technique and Thunder Flash Steps. He says that if I wish to learn the art of archery, then I must first grasp these two skills!” Yan Liqiang looked at Li Hongtu’s countenance and carefully replied.

“Mmm, that Ji’s Lizard Wall Climbing Technique isn’t bad and it’ll be useful for you in the future if you learn it. It seems that he hasn’t been hiding his skills!” Li Hongtu nodded and snorted. “It’s just that his Thunder Flash Steps is just something superfluous. Your current movement techniques and lightness skill techniques aren’t bad and you’ll be able to attain a higher level naturally without having to learn anything else. Why is there a need for you to learn his Thunder Flash Steps...”

“Master’s right!” Yan Liqiang smiled and accommodated to Li Hongtu, as if he was pacifying a kid. “But it’s just that I’ve yet to master your abilities, so I’m learning that Thunder Flash Steps for now. It’s always good to have more skills!”

“Mmmm. Let me ask you. Did that Ji guy say bad things about me in front of you for the past few days?”

“No, definitely not. These few days I’ve been with Master Ji, he hasn’t said a bad word about you!” Yan Liqiang quickly shook his head. “Master Ji only once mentioned that the two of you used to be friends!”

“I don’t have a friend like him!” Li Hongtu’s face was filled with fury and only suppressed the rage when he saw that Yan Liqiang was the one next to him. He took in a deep breath before waving his hand impatiently and said, “Alright, let’s not talk about things that’ll spoil our appetites!”

Seeing how enraged Li Hongtu was, with a single thought from Yan Liqiang, Li Hongtu’s thoughts immediately appeared in his mind one after another, like bubbles.

––B*stard. To think that I thought of you as a brother back then, but you snatched my Little Ying.

––B*stard

––B*stard

––B*stard

––Despicable guy

––Despicable guy

Sensing the series of vengeful thoughts in Li Hongtu’s mind right now, Yan Liqiang burst out in cold sweat. He let out two awkward laughs before quickly cutting off the ‘connection’.

“Oh right. Do you know why I got you to catch these Steeled-Skin Loaches today?” Li Hongtu suddenly changed the topic.

“This... Didn’t Master say that they are very nourishing?”

“That’s just one of the reasons!” Li Hongtu shook his head and his gaze immediately became deeper, “Do you think the reason why Master ordered you to spend the entire morning catching these Steeled-Skin Loaches is only because I wish to have a good meal?”

Yan Liqiang was stunned for a moment, “Master means...”

“Do you think you’d be able to use the long spear to pierce the Steeled-Skin Loaches that have been washed down from the waterfall if you were to stand under the waterfall right now?”

Yan Liqiang shook his head without giving it a second thought. “It’s not difficult to hit these Steeled-Skin Loaches underneath the waterfall, but the difficulty lies in piercing through them. I discovered earlier that the skin of these Steeled-Skin Loaches is hard and slippery. Even if I were to catch them with my hands, they’d slip through my fingers the moment I come into contact with them, let alone if I attempt to pierce them with my spear. When these Steeled-Skin Loaches landed on my trembling long spear earlier, they were able to bounce off, unscathed and unaffected by the force. If I wish to use my spear to pierce through the Steeled-Skin Loaches, I feel that the difficulty would be the same as trying to use a long spear to pierce through a small steel ball coated with a layer of oil, falling off from the top of the waterfall. It’s almost impossible!”

“That’s because you’ve yet to master the skills that have been taught to you. If you had mastered them, even you’re blindfolded you’d be able to piece through these Steeled-Skin Loaches that are hiding under the waterfall’s currents with ease. You’d be considered to have graduated when you’re able to spear a pot of Steeled-Skin Loaches with that long spear while standing under the waterfall. You’d have learned all of my capabilities!” Li Hongtu said solemnly to Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang thought that Li Hongtu was joking with him, but he soon realized that what Li Hongtu said was the truth...

Not long after, the pot over the fire started to boil and a mysterious fragrance filled the cottage.

After finishing the Steeled-Skin Loaches together with Li Hongtu and then washing up the bowls and scrubbing the pot, it was already noon. Yan Liqiang had just returned to his place when he saw Little Li running over to his place anxiously and sweating profusely. “Commandant Yan. Eunuch Liu is looking for you...”

“What’s the matter? Why are you in such a hurry?”

“A few officials have arrived from the Imperial Capital and said that you murdered people in the city last night. They wish to arrest you and they are now at Eunuch Liu’s place...”

Chapter 337: Handling

“Bullsh*t. Just because a few people died in the Imperial Capital, you people from the Ministry of Justice dare to come to Deer Villa to seize the Imperial Cavalry Unit’s Commandant? Do you know what kind of place Deer Villa is? Do you know that the Imperial Cavalry Unit takes orders directly from His Majesty only? Whose orders did you get to come for the arrest? Who gave you the courage to do that? Are you guys making light of His Majesty just because someone’s backing you up?”

Before Yan Liqiang arrived at Eunuch Liu’s place, he heard Eunuch Liu’s voice from outside. It was sharp, loud, and filled with fury.

Yan Liqiang had never seen Eunuch Liu fly into such a great rage from the first day he met him.

“Eunuch Liu, please calm down. We aren’t arresting him for no reason. It’s just that the matter that happened in the city last night was too big and six people died altogether. These six people seemed to be the guards of a few ministers and they have official ranks as well. This is a very serious case and we really need to provide an explanation for everything... ” another voice replied calmly.

“Explanation? What’s there to explain? If you guys are here to arrest our Commandant just because some nobodies died in the Imperial Capital, will you come to arrest me tomorrow if another nobody dies tomorrow? If a few more people die the day after, would you dare to charge into the palace? There hasn’t been a year where someone has died due to unclear reasons in the Imperial Capital. If you guys are so capable, why don’t you go resolve those past cases which have been suppressed for several decades...”

“We already have witnesses and a plaintiff who claim that the Deer Villa’s Commandant Yan is the murderer in this major case. Moreover, it’s true that Commandant Yan was in the Imperial Capital yesterday. Therefore, we’re here by the books to bring him in for questioning. These are the Ministry of Justice’s documents. If Eunuch Liu doesn’t believe it, you can check them for yourself...”

“Of course I want to check them!” Eunuch Liu snorted coldly, “Little Chun, bring them over and take a close look at them. See if there are any mistakes in there. If there is even a tiny mistake, I’ll make sure that they won’t be able to step outside Deer Villa’s doors today...”

“Eunuch Liu, Commandant Yan has come...” Little Li stopped at the door and reported to him.

“Get Commandant Yan to come in!” Eunuch Liu’s voice rang out from the room.

Yan Liqiang nodded toward Little Li and walked into the courtyard calmly before he entered the room.

Eunuch Liu was seated at the main seat in the room, his countenance extremely grim. Little Chun stood next to him, carefully checking the documents. There were three other people in official uniforms in the room. One of them was in his forties, had a long face, slanted eyes, and thin lips. He had a goatee and looked a little like Li Yong, a television show host from China Central Television that Yan Liqiang had seen in his previous life. This person wore dark red official robes and was seated at the guest seat on the left of the entrance. There were two other people in the room who were in their thirties. They each had a blade at their waists, calm composures, and they were wearing law enforcer uniforms.

The moment Yan Liqiang entered, the gazes of everyone in the room were focused on him. Other than Eunuch Liu and Little Chun whom Yan Liqiang had met a long time ago, the other three men in the room who were meeting Yan Liqiang for the first time were all stunned for a moment. It was as if they had not expected Yan Liqiang to be that young. Before they came, they thought that this Yan Liqiang was a burly man. They had not expected him to be a handsome young man.

“Yan Liqiang pays respect to Eunuch Liu...” Yan Liqiang entered the room and greeted Eunuch Liu respectfully, as if he had not seen the other three men.

“Liqiang, this is Director Chen from the Ministry of Justice. Director Chen said that you killed some people in the Imperial Capital yesterday. Is this true?”

“Eunuch Liu, although I entered the city yesterday, I only visited some friends and had a meal with them. There were witnesses throughout the entire process. After the meal, as it was too late, I left the Imperial Capital and returned to Deer Villa. I didn’t kill anyone. Those who said that I killed someone must be framing me. I would like to request for Eunuch Liu to help ensure that justice is served, and return my innocence in this false accusation!” Yan Liqiang said to Eunuch Liu calmly.

“Don’t worry. The people from our Imperial Cavalry Unit aren’t pushovers!” Eunuch Liu said with a fierce expression. He threw a glance at Little Chun who was checking through the documents, but the latter shook his head slightly, implying that he did not notice any mistakes on those documents.

Director Chen from the Ministry of Justice asked, “Eunuch Liu, can you let us bring Commandant Yan back now?”

“Wait. I still have a few more questions to ask!” Eunuch Liu threw a cold glance at that Director Chen and then turned to stare at Yan Liqiang, “You said that you went to the city for a meal. Where was it and who was it with?”

“I received an invitation in the city and had a meal at Sky Beyond with Zhang Yourong who is the Hall Master of the Soul Mountain Sect’s Thousand Engineering Hall, as well as Steward Yao and a few others from Sky Beyond’s Imperial Capital Provincial Branch. We stayed there all the way until Sky Beyond closed for the day before we left. After leaving Sky Beyond, seeing that it was late and the city gates were about to close, I left the city and returned to Deer Villa directly. I didn’t stay in the city. The people from the Soul Mountain Sect as well as the Sky Beyond’s manager can vouch for me. Moreover, Eunuch Liu also knows that I was at Deer Villa last night!” Yan Liqiang said calmly.

The Soul Mountain Sect’s Hall Master was not a nobody and when they heard that Yan Liqiang mentioned that he had been in the Imperial Capital’s Sky Beyond for a meal with the renowned engineer, Eunuch Liu was not the only one who was surprised. Even Director Chen from the Ministry of Justice was also astonished. Director Chen’s hand which was laid flat on his knee earlier was now clenched tightly. He turned to look at the other two law enforcers who seemed to be a little stunned as well. It was as if they had not received such news previously.

Unlike how Director Chen seemed to feel a little anxious about hearing this piece of news, Eunuch Liu’s brows raised and he seemed a little excited.

Director Chen’s eyes immediately narrowed as he asked, “You’re so young. Why would the Hall Master from the Soul Mountain Sect’s Thousand Engineering Hall want to treat you to a meal?”

Yan Liqiang turned and gazed at Director Chen. The thoughts that were running through the latter’s mind immediately entered Yan Liqiang’s mind and his gaze turned cold. However, he broke into a small smile and said, “Sir, you only need to know who was I with and where I was at last night in the city. As for the other matters, such as why the Soul Mountain Sect wished to treat me to a meal and what relationship I have with Master Zhang, it’s something that is of no concern to you, nor is it related to that case. There’s no need for you to know about it!”

“You...” The countenance of that Director Chen from the Ministry of Justice immediately changed, but he could not throw a fit...

Seeing that Yan Liqiang was acting like this, Eunuch Liu held greater admiration for Yan Liqiang and nodded inwardly. Such a character that made a clear distinction between love and hate was something he wished to see. If Yan Liqiang were to show his weakness after seeing the other party’s identity, then how could he be trusted with important roles in the future? The more bluntly Yan Liqiang spoke to these people from the Ministry of Justice, the more Eunuch Liu was determined to protect Yan Liqiang.

Eunuch Liu looked at Yan Liqiang and asked, “Is that Soul Mountain Sect’s Hall Master Zhang still in the Imperial Capital now?”

“Before we left Sky Beyond last night, Hall Master Zhang told me that he was going to stay in the Imperial Capital for a while. Therefore, he should still be in the Imperial Capital these few days, and he should be staying at the Soul Mountain Sect’s Imperial Capital Provincial Branch! Eunuch Liu can get people to verify this. I believe that if Hall Master Zhang and the others find out about this matter, they’d definitely be willing to vouch for me!”

“Liqiang, don’t worry. Today, I’ll make a trip to the Ministry of Justice together with you! I shall see who are the ones who dare to falsely accuse and frame you. Are they the only ones who can sue other people? Can’t I do the same?” Saying this, Eunuch Liu stood up, “Liqiang, come join me and take the horse carriage to the Ministry of Justice. I’ll back you up...”

“Eunuch Liu...” The Ministry of Justice’s Director Chen also stood up and said with a grim expression, “I’m afraid it is not appropriate for Commandant Yan to be brought to the Ministry of Justice like this. Please hand Commandant Yan over to us. We’ll arrest him and bring him in!”

“Sir, as the Ministry of Justice’s director, is your brain filled with sh*t? Don’t you know about the laws in the Great Han Empire?” Yan Liqiang pointed toward at the Ministry of Justice’s director without holding back and chided, “As the Commandant of the Great Han Empire’s Imperial Cavalry Unit, I’m a military officer. When I haven’t been convicted of a crime, the Ministry of Justice’s documents can only be that of investigations and not a warrant for an arrest. Right now, I’m only being brought in for questioning by the Ministry of Justice. Which law in the Great Han Empire tells you that you can arrest a military officer to be investigated at the Ministry of Justice when he hasn’t been convicted or attempt to escape or resist?”

“Haha, Liqiang, well said. Some people are used to being other people’s dogs [1]. They can’t recognize human words and don’t even know who holds the rights over the laws of the Great Han Empire!” Eunuch Liu turned and cast a cold glance toward Director Chen before he left, pulling Yan Liqiang with him.

The color of Director Chen’s face kept alternating between green and white, before he finally grit his teeth and followed after them...

Chapter 338: Implications

While seated in the horse carriage, Yan Liqiang sensed what Eunuch Liu was thinking. Thereafter, he shared the entire story of his three encounters with Xu Lang.

Their first encounter was in the servant quarters. Xu Lang and the others were the ones who started creating trouble, almost implicating Yan Liqiang. Ultimately, this ended with an exchange on the Arena of Life and Death with Liang Yijie.

Their second encounter was the day Xu Lang and Liang Yijie sparred on the Arena of Life and Death.

Their third encounter was the time he met Xu Lang and the others a few days ago when he came out from the restaurant. Yan Liqiang also mentioned the disagreements he had with them. As for killing, it was something that Yan Liqiang would absolutely not admit to. It was because he knew that it was impossible for anyone to have seen him kill Xu Lang and the others. Even if anyone had seen the process, they would only have seen King Cobra and not him. Toward this, Yan Liqiang had absolute confidence.

As for the witness and plaintiff which Director Chen had mentioned, it was merely an excuse to scare the others. That person would at most be able to prove that a few days back, Yan Liqiang had some disagreements with Xu Lang and the others outside the restaurant. The person would not have been able to prove anything else and Yan Liqiang was not afraid in the least.

In the carriage, Yan Liqiang even shared the reason he met with Zhang Yourong from the Soul Mountain Sect’s Thousand Engineering Hall with Eunuch Liu. Some of his “small inventions” back when he was in Gan Province had caused the number one engineer to have some interest in him. Zhang Yourong went to find Lu Peien in the Gan Provincial Guild Hall, who was an old friend of Yan Liqiang’s from the same hometown. Zhang Yourong then invited Yan Liqiang for a meal at Sky Beyond. Yan Liqiang also shared the matter of how he worked together with Fang Beidou to publish newspapers.

After listening to Yan Liqiang talk, Eunuch Liu looked at Yan Liqiang in surprise for quite a while. It was as if he had just gotten to know Yan Liqiang. He felt both gratified and surprised. “What is that ‘The Great Han Times’ that you mentioned?”

Yan Liqiang gave an explanation. However, after Eunuch Liu heard everything, he merely commented, “This idea is interesting. It’s rare for you to be able to think of this kind of thing that can provide people with some kind of entertainment.”

Seeing that Eunuch Liu did not treat this newspaper in high regard but merely saw it as an interesting tool, Yan Liqiang did not speak about it any further. “I also thought that it would be interesting to come up with this. It won’t violate any taboos and I might even be able to earn some extra money. Therefore, I went ahead with it. It’s just that the first publication sales weren’t that good and the total number of newspapers we sold did not even get us ten taels of silver.”

Eunuch Liu shook his head, “Something like this is comparable to other people admiring flowers or taking a walk with their pet birds. Just treat it as a pastime. If you really wish to earn money, there are plenty of other ways to do so. As long as you master your abilities, you’ll be able to look for a good job and stand above the others. People will come at your beckoning and even queue up to present you with money. There’s no need to waste all this energy!”

“Eunuch Liu is right!” Yan Liqiang did not argue. Instead, he just nodded. “I didn’t put too much money into this. If I lose the money, then I’ll just forget about it. But if the business works, then it’ll allow me to earn a living as well!”

Eunuch Liu nodded after listening to Yan Liqiang. “I hadn’t expected for you to have such capabilities and ideas, to be able to create mechanisms that even Zhang Yourong is fascinated with. Don’t worry. This time around, I definitely won’t let those people from the Ministry of Justice do as they wish with you...” Saying this, Eunuch Liu’s voice turned slightly colder, “You’re someone that Lord Sun recommended and you even gained merit when you were with Lord Sun. Right now, you’re with Deer Villa, which means that you’re on His Majesty’s side. Judging from what you’ve said, those people wanted to deal with you since a long time ago due to your relationship with Lord Sun. It’s just that they didn’t have the opportunity to take action. This time around, they’ve finally managed to find a reason to take action...”

“Oh, right. When I met Xu Lang and the others at the restaurant’s entrance the other time, they were with someone called Young Master Lin. Back then, I felt that Young Master Lin placed a lot of attention on me. His gaze even made me shudder..”

Eunuch Liu frowned, “Young Master Lin? What does that person look like?”

“He doesn’t really have any special traits. There’s a black mole next to his mouth, and he wore an arrogant expression, appearing to be a little eerie. When he was with Xu Lang and the others, they seemed to be trying to get into his good books!”

“It’s no wonder. So it’s him!” A cold gleam flashed across Eunuch Liu’s eyes, “I was wondering why those people from the Ministry of Justice were so quick to jump out this time around, acting so impetuously to come to Deer Villa to arrest people. So it’s because there’s someone pushing them from the back...”

When Yan Liqiang saw Director Chen at Deer Villa earlier on, he already knew about Young Master Lin’s identity through Director Chen’s mind. However, when he heard Eunuch Liu saying this now, Yan Liqiang still asked, “Eunuch Liu, who on earth is that Young Master Lin?”

“That Young Master Lin is called Lin Zhe. He is the Grand Chancellor Lin Qingtian’s nephew and a famous family member of an official in the Imperial Capital. Since Lin Qingtian doesn’t have any children of his own, he treats Lin Zhe like his own son although he is his nephew. Lin Zhe always colludes with others in the Imperial Capital, acting recklessly without care...”

“Who is that Director Chen?”

“Who else could he be? Just a lackey who wishes to get into Lin Qingtian’s good books...” Eunuch Liu said with disdain.

...

The Ministry of Justice was located north of the Imperial Capital and it was not too far from the palace. Its walls were a dark red color, and from the outside, it appeared to be a strongly fortified and cold place. Before they even got near it, Yan Liqiang noticed that the number of people walking along the streets around the Ministry of Justice had lessened. The air which had been a little cold to begin with, seemed even colder when they arrived at the Ministry of Justice.

As the Great Han Empire’s powerhouse, the Ministry of Justice’s structure was massive. Just in the Imperial Capital alone, the organizations under the Ministry of Justice included the Law Enforcement Unit, Judicial Unit, Mitigation Unit, Investigation Unit, Imprisonment Unit, Treasury, Castigation Unit, Criminal Law Hall, and others. Other than the Minister and Vice Minister of Justice, there was also the director, vice director, scribes of various rankings, supervisor, clerks, clerk manager, and many other officials, let alone the constables and the like.

It was only after Yan Liqiang arrived that he noticed that there was something fishy about this place. By right, based on the procedure for him to be brought into the Ministry of Justice for questioning, the plaintiff who was supposed to be suing him for having committed murder should be waiting to confront him at the Investigation Unit. However, the people from the Ministry of Justice did not seem inclined to seriously interrogate him. Instead, they merely got the people from the Imprisonment Unit to be ready to arrest him before any interrogations...

This was something that the people from the Ministry of Justice should be used to doing. This time around, it was unknown if they did not communicate well internally or if it was because the people in-charge were used to acting arrogantly that they did not pay too much attention to the details. When Yan Liqiang and Eunuch Liu arrived at the Investigation Unit, all the flaws were revealed...

Eunuch Liu, who saw the problems with one glance, immediately flew into a rage. He took this chance to create a fuss. After making a scene at the Investigation Unit, he swung his sleeves and left the Ministry of Justice, bringing Yan Liqiang along with him. They then headed straight to the palace to lodge a complaint...

...

Chapter 339: Blown Up

Pa...! A crisp slap rang out in the study and Lin Zhe’s face immediately swelled up as a trickle of blood flowed down the corner of his lips.

However, at this moment, this Imperial Capital’s famous family member of an official did not make a single sound. He dared not even wipe of the hint of blood at the corner off his lips but merely lowered his head, appearing to be terrified.

“Do you know where you’ve gone wrong this time around?” After Lin Qingtian slapped Lin Zhe, he put his hands behind his back and stood before Lin Zhe, asking him calmly.

Lin Qingtian did not have a burly build and there were almost no wrinkles on his face as he had led a life of comfort. However, there was no fury on his face either. It was because Lin Qingtian was acting like this that Lin Zhe felt terrified. He looked at Lin Qingtian’s emotionless eyes and felt as if the person standing before him was a big mountain while he himself was small and insignificant. It was as if each little movement from this big mountain would cause him to tremble in fear.

Before Lin Zhe spoke, he gave himself four fierce slaps in the face. “Uncle has always told me to think before acting. This time around... I was rash... I thought that as long as I greeted the people from the Ministry of Justice, I’d be able to get rid of that Yan Liqiang... to use this as an opportunity to warn others. I didn’t find out about Yan Liqiang in advance and merely thought of him as an insignificant character, but things ended up turning out this way...”

“Tell me, what were your plans? I want to hear them...”

“I was thinking of first... first getting Yan Liqiang into the Ministry of Justice’s prison... Regardless if he had committed any crimes... then I’d find a chance to get him killed in the prison... After that, I’d push the blame of the matter concerning Xu Lang and the others onto him, and then announce that he’d committed suicide out of guilt... Director Chen is experienced in this and will be able to carry things out with ease. As long as Yan Liqiang is brought in, there’s nothing that he can do... He’s merely a commandant, and with Sun Bingchen gone, he doesn’t have any other backing in the Imperial Capital. Crushing him would be as simple as crushing as ant...” Lin Zhe gulped and spoke.

“There is the Soul Mountain Sect’s top engineer to vouch for Yan Liqiang, that Yan Liqiang had been in the Imperial Capital’s Sky Beyond the entire night to chat with him, and Yan Liqiang returned to Deer Villa last night. He has plenty of witnesses. If you were to say that Yan Liqiang committed that act, you’d be saying that all the Imperial Capital’s city guards are good-for-nothings, allowing someone to be able to come and go as they wished after the night curfew.”

“This... This wasn’t what I meant...”

“Yan Liqiang is just a Supreme Martial Warrior. Amongst Xu Lang and the other four people who were killed, two of them were Martial Grandmasters, two of them were Martial Masters, and even the one with the weakest cultivation was a Supreme Martial Warrior. These people are all on my side and just a random young man who is a Supreme Martial Warrior on Sun Bingchen’s side was able to kill so many experts with great ease...Do you know how other people would ridicule me after finding out about this? What will they say?”

Under Lin Qingtian’s glare, Lin Zhe’s countenance turned paler.

“You’re not just saying that Xu Lang and the others are good-for-nothings, but you’re also scolding me and the officials – such as Vice Minister Qu – who are on my side. People who would use such good-for-nothings would either be good-for-nothings themselves or have poor judgment of people. Is this what you’re trying to say?”

Lin Zhe’s entire body was trembling.

“The one thing you shouldn’t have done is that even if you wish to come up with a setup and kill someone, you must take it more seriously. Even a lion would have to go all out when trying to catch a hare. If you don’t miss out on anything and don’t leave such a big lead with the Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Unit, the other people won’t have a handle on you. You don’t even have the time to arrange someone to wait at the Investigation Unit to act as the plaintiff and witness?”

“I... I already made the arrangements. The person I gave the assignment to thought that it was just a formality for him to show up and it’d be done. Therefore, he left before Yan Liqiang and the others arrived. The people from the Ministry of Justice know that I arranged for that person and thus they didn’t stop him from leaving either. They thought that once Director Chen arrived, they’d be able to get Yan Liqiang into the prison... So... So...”

“So now even the Minister of Justice has been called in by His Majesty. He was reprimanded for one hour, and he even has to forfeit his salary for one year. Not to mention, he has to write a self-reflection report. Director Chen was removed from his position in the afternoon and is pending to be interrogated. It’s like there’s an earthquake running through the entire Ministry of Justice. His Majesty is making use of this matter to kick up a fuss, claiming that he wishes to put the entire Ministry of Justice through reorganization, and he’s gotten the

Supreme Court, the Censorate, and the Ministry of Justice to investigate Yan Liqiang’s case altogether. Within half a day, news of this matter has spread through the entire Imperial Capital, kicking up a storm. Everyone is laughing at me and pointing fingers at me behind my back. Is this the result that you want?”

Lin Zhe felt that his mouth was parched and his palms were sweating, “I... I...” He could not say anything...

Lin Qingtian suddenly sighed. After returning to his desk, he waved his hand gently. “It seems that you’ve lived a carefree and peaceful a life in the Imperial Capital over the past few years. You’ve forgotten what kind of place the Imperial Capital is and how you should be doing things. You can return to Hai Province tomorrow!”

“Yes... Uncle...” Lin Zhe left Lin Qingtian’s study while staggering, feeling downcasted. He had not expected that when such a small matter fermented, it became so serious in merely half a day. Without any warning at all, today had become the greatest failure in his life.

Hai Province was the Lin Clan’s original hometown and returning to Hai Province meant going back home. As Lin Qingtian did not have any children of his own, Lin Zhe’s position in the Lin Clan would be completely different whether he was by Lin Qingtian’s side or in Hai Province. Only the people from the Lin Clan would best understand the difference. Thinking of how his cousins and other seniors in the family would look at him, Lin Zhe’s heart could not help but twitch. His eyes were red, he gritted his teeth, and his face was distorted. He was like a wild beast that wanted to grab someone and swallow them up. Two words came out through his throat and teeth in the form of a deep bellow, “Yan Liqiang...”

Based on Lin Zhe’s logic, the greatest sinner that deserved ten thousand deaths was someone who dared to resist, not let things go as planned, and stir up so much trouble when he wanted to kill them...

Just as Lin Zhe left Lin Qingtian’s study, a steward in the Grand Chancellor’s manor walked past Lin Zhe along the corridors. He nodded slightly to Lin Zhe and then went straight to Lin Qingtian’s study, knocking on the door. After hearing the person in the study calling for him to enter, the steward entered the study, brought out a booklet from his sleeves, and placed it before Lin Qingtian.

Lin Qingtian did not say anything. He merely waved his hand, so the steward bowed and took his leave.

Thereafter, Lin Qingtian’s gaze landed on the booklet. He picked it up, opened it, and read it seriously––

Yan Liqiang, male, fifteen years old, from Gan Province’s Pingxi Prefecture, Liuhe Town. His father, Yan Dechang, is a blacksmith in Liuhe Town of Gan Province’s Pingxi Prefecture, XX year of the Yuanping reign...

...

The words on the booklet were all neatly written in regular script for calligraphy that was one centimeter or smaller in size. It contained all of Yan Liqiang’s personal information in great detail. He placed first among the top three in the County Trial, and imparted the method to save people who drowned. He gained merits through the Yan Coal, Yan Stove, and Yan Blade when he was with Sun Bingchen. His first confrontation with Xu Lang and the others in the servant quarters, and even The Great Han Times which was created jointly by Yan Liqiang and Fang Beidou... all of these were recorded in the booklet.

After reading through everything, Lin Qingtian lifted his gaze from the booklet. His eyes gleamed and he knocked gently on the table, “Yan Liqiang... Interesting, interesting... It’s no wonder you were picked by Sun Bingchen...”

...

At the same time, the few eunuchs who were serving the Emperor in the palace noticed that His Majesty was in an extremely good mood and had a good appetite. He even ate about one-third more than he usually did for dinner.

However, other than Sun Bingchen who had left the Imperial Capital, there was probably no one throughout the entire Great Han Empire that could share the joy he was feeling...

A subject that brings great fortune, a subject that brings great fortune... He really is a subject who brings me great fortune, hahahaha...

Chapter 340: Rising To Fame

Yan Liqiang did not meet the Emperor. Although Eunuch Liu had brought him into the palace, it was not that simple to meet the Emperor.

After entering the palace, Eunuch Liu got someone to announce his arrival and prepared to lodge a complaint to the Emperor. Yan Liqiang was left to wait in a place that was similar to the servant quarters for two whole hours. Eunuch Liu then came out, beaming, and told him the results. Three days later, the Ministry of Justice, the Supreme Court, and the Censorate would jointly try this case. Eunuch Liu then brought Yan Liqiang back to Deer Villa.

At night, Yan Liqiang heard that the Ministry of Justice’s director who came to Deer Villa to arrest him was removed from his position.

As for why the three departments were going to try this case together only three days later, the reason was very simple. If they were to try it the next day, then the stir created in the Imperial Capital would be limited. It was because the spreading of news would require time. If the hearing was pushed to three days later, enough time would be given for this matter to blow up to the extent that everyone in the Imperial Capital would find out. The fact that the hearing would be conducted by the three departments jointly would also attract the people’s attention. Thus dealing a greater blow.

Yan Liqiang could faintly sense that this matter seemed to be a good thing for the Emperor. The mistake made by the Ministry of Justice, after Eunuch Liu had lodged a complaint, gave the Emperor an opportunity to kick up a fuss. Unknowingly, Yan Liqiang had gotten involved in the deepest and greatest vortex in the Imperial Capital.

Normal people would tend to avoid such a vortex as much as possible. If Yan Liqiang was still the same person as he was in the past, he would not want to get involved either. However, Yan Liqiang did not regret this. Although he did not want to be involved in political conflicts, there were times where he didn’t have a choice. Moreover, when other people were already prepared to take action against him, was he really going to wait to be ambushed just because he did not wish to get involved? Was he going to give up on his life like that? No way. Yan Liqiang was not such a pendant. In these four years, in order to keep himself alive, in order to ensure that he could save the numerous people from the future natural disasters, Yan Liqiang would definitely resort to all means to get rid of all the people who were a threat to him. This was regardless of who they were.

Xu Lang and the others were just the first batch, but they were definitely not the last.

Yan Liqiang knew that his name would be well-known in the Imperial Capital after this matter. To someone who wished to lead a quiet life, becoming famous was troublesome. However, to a person who wished to do something big, becoming famous was a necessary process. Otherwise, even if you were to shout on the streets till you went hoarse, no one would bother about you!

“For the next three days, you just wait in at Deer Villa and don’t go out, in case any unexpected things happen. In three days time, I’ll go with you to the Supreme Court and seek justice for you!”

This was what Eunuch Liu told Yan Liqiang after they returned to Deer Villa. When Yan Liqiang heard this, he knew that Eunuch Liu was right and he nodded.

Over the next three days, Yan Liqiang continued to train relentlessly as usual in the day, and then continued to travel with the people from the Four Seas Escort Agency in the Heavenly Realm. He would try to find out news on the way while heading back to the Divine Sword Sect with great difficulty in the current chaotic time period.

Three days passed by in the blink of an eye.

On the eighth day of the seventh lunar month in the 13th year of the Yuanping reign in the Great Han Empire, Yan Liqiang woke up early in the morning and changed into a set of clean and presentable clothes. After completing his morning regime and having breakfast, Yan Liqiang headed straight to Eunuch Liu’s courtyard and waited outside. He had not waited for long when Eunuch Liu, dressed in his official eunuch uniform, walked out under the accompaniment of Little Li and Little Chun.

“Mmm, Liqiang, you’ve come? Why didn’t you come in? I was afraid that you’d forgotten about this day and was thinking of getting Little Li to call you.” Seeing that Yan Liqiang was promptly waiting outside, Eunuch Liu spoke amicably. Ever since he noticed that Yan Liqiang’s attitude toward the Ministry of Justice’s director was cold as ice, Eunuch Liu felt increasingly happy and satisfied as he looked at how Yan Liqiang acted respectfully toward him. He felt that he had really made the right judgment of Yan Liqiang as a person. Although Yan Liqiang was young, he was reliable during times of hardship.

“I was afraid that I would disturb Eunuch Liu’s rest, so I decided to wait here for Eunuch Liu to come out. Did Eunuch Liu have a good rest last night?” Yan Liqiang smiled and greeted Eunuch Liu. With these few words, the thoughts in Eunuch Liu’s mind were all captured by Yan Liqiang. Right now, Eunuch Liu was like a transparent person standing before Yan Liqiang. Since Eunuch Liu liked that Yan Liqiang was being respectful toward him, then Yan Liqiang would do what he could to achieve that.

“Yes, of course I had a good rest. It had been raining over the past few days and now the weather has cleared up – the dark clouds have dissipated. I feel refreshed when I look at Deer Villa!” Eunuch Liu smiled as he looked at Yan Liqiang, “Right, your morning training...”

“I’ve already asked for leave from Master!”

“Alright, then let’s go!”

“Mmm!”

Unlike how things were three days ago, this time around, Eunuch Liu selected a group of soldiers from the Deer Villa – donned in armor and riding on rhinodrake steeds – to escort him and Yan Liqiang to the hearing that would be conducted at the Supreme Court today. The setup did not seem as if Yan Liqiang was going to be trialed, but instead, as if they were going to put up a parade.

The consecutive days of raining stopped yesterday afternoon. This morning, the bright sun came out again and the sky was clear. Other than some traces of water on the public roads that had yet to dry up, there was almost no sign of rain at all.

The group had just entered from the Imperial Capital’s western city gates when Yan Liqiang, who was chatting with Eunuch Liu in the same horse carriage, heard a young man’s shout on the streets, “Come and take a look! Come take a look! The strangest case that’s unheard of in the Imperial Capital for the past 100 years will be trialed at the Supreme Court by three departments. The Imperial Cavalry Unit’s young Commandant who has just advanced as a Supreme Martial Warrior is being framed of killing a big group of strong experts from big sects. Come and take a look! Come and take a look!”

“Hey, young man, what is it that you’re selling?”

“This is a newspaper called ‘The Great Han Times’. If you wish to read the content on the newspaper, it’ll cost six copper coins...”

Yan Liqiang’s expression turned weird when he heard the callings on the streets outside the carriage. He hadn’t expected Fang Beidou to have clearly known about this matter when he hadn’t contacted him over the past few days. It was without a doubt that the second publication of the ‘The Great Han Times’ would report the hearing that would be conducted by the three departments today. However, it was clear from the shoutings of the young man who was selling the newspapers that the ‘The Great Han Times’ had already established the positions and treated him as an innocent party...

Eunuch Liu naturally heard the shouts as well and he threw a glance toward Yan Liqiang with a shadowed smile. He then knocked gently on the divider that separated the seating compartment from the driver.

“Eunuch Liu, what’s the matter?” Little Li’s voice rang out from next to the driver.

“Get me a copy of ‘The Great Han Times’ that’s being sold on the streets...”

“Yes!”

The carriage had not gone far when a set of newspapers was sent in through a small window. “Eunuch Liu, this is ‘The Great Han Times’ that you asked for...”

Eunuch Liu took the newspaper, opened it, and a shocking title that was printed on the headlines entered his vision –– ‘A strange case unheard of in the past 100 years to be trialed in the Supreme Court in the Imperial Capital today by three parties.’

...

Almost at the same time, countless people along the streets and in restaurants started buying the newspapers. Some people bought it because they were attracted by the newspaper boy’s shoutings, while others bought it because they heard from a storyteller that the continuation of the story ‘Journey to the West’ could be found on today’s newspapers.

With these two things today, the sales of the second publication of the ‘The Great Han Times’ was overwhelming...

Compared to the first publication, the four distribution points of the ‘The Great Han Times’ in the Imperial Capital had become a lot busier and livelier. The many young men selling the newspapers kept on running, entering, and exiting the distribution points excitedly like busy bees who were collecting nectar...

“Brother Little Wu, I finished selling those 50 copies in just a short period of time. I’ll get 50 more copies. Here’s the money...”

“Brother Little Wu, I’ll take 100 copies this time around. Zhou’s Teahouse placed an order for 50 copies...”

“I want 100 copies as well. The people who were listening to the stories at a few restaurants are all asking for them...”

The clattering sounds of copper coins being dropped into the money box rang out, and the stacks of printed newspapers were distributed at a rapid speed, spreading through the streets of the Imperial Capital.

On this day, Yan Liqiang’s name ‘flooded’ the entire Imperial Capital.

Chapter 341: Reading Minds

“Interesting. This newspaper is interesting indeed. I’ve read the article. Obviously, you were only the scapegoat. Is this the paper you run together with Fang Beidou?” Eunuch Liu laughed and clapped as he read the paper in his carriage.

“Yes, you are right. I haven’t contacted them lately, so I didn’t expect them to really publish this article...”

Eunuch Liu laughed, “Well, well. You two are friends. Friends should help each other out. Liqiang, you’ve got yourself tangled in such a huge thing, everyone in the city has heard about the news. Of course, Fang Beidou has heard about it too. It’s normal for them to lend you their support. Besides, I see that the article was well-written without any nonsense and everything sounds fair, so there is nothing for you to worry about...” Eunuch Liu laid his eyes on another story in the newspaper. His face lightened up, “Interesting, interesting! I’ve read enough court bulletins from the officials. They mostly report on politics, unlike yours which is full of variety. With your newspaper, people will know about everything that is going on without even stepping out of the house. Not bad, not bad at all...”

“If Eunuch Liu likes it, I shall arrange for one copy to be delivered to Deer Villa every time a new issue is published. Maybe this will serve as entertainment to brighten up your day...” Yan Liqiang felt like a disgusting bootlicker as he heard himself speaking. He consoled himself by telling himself that Eunuch Liu was his superior – offering him items that cost merely a few copper coins probably wouldn’t make him a bootlicker.

“How thoughtful of you...” Eunuch Liu smiled as he kept flipping through the paper, “Hmmm... interesting. You even have a column here to search for missing people. This is a great idea. Perhaps this might help people reunite with their missing family members...”

“Our newspaper is published weekly. If the person is lucky enough and they haven’t been missing for too long, it’s possible that they can be found...”

“Do you charge any fees for publishing an advertisement?”

“It depends. The first few times are free. If they are searching for their family, particularly children, we can publish it for free. Consider it an act of charity. For people with more money, we offer our advertising service with charges. Apart from missing people, they can also publish things like banquet invitations, death notices, or even wanted criminal portraits. They can all publish it here. Once the newspaper is sold, everyone in the city will get the news!”

“Great! Great! This business benefits from both sides. Liqiang, I must say, you are the first to come up with such an amazing idea! So, as you were saying, if the government officials want to publish notices, we can do it on your paper as well?”

“Of course! However, I’m a little concerned about the rules and regulations that I am not familiar with. Will I get into any trouble for publishing official news that’s already on the court bulletin?” It was an opportunity Yan Liqiang wouldn’t want to miss, so he grabbed it and asked a few key questions. After all, this was the capital city, and no one else knew the rules and regulations better than Eunuch Liu.

“Whatever is published in the court bulletin is meant to be spread to the public anyway, so there is no secrecy in it. In fact, the more people know about it, the better it is. Rest assured, Liqiang. I will pull some strings among the officials who are in charge of the court bulletins to make things easier for you.”

“Thank you, Eunuch Liu...”

“We are a family, so it’s no trouble,” Eunuch Liu waved it off like it was nothing. From Eunuch Liu’s perspective, he merely treated Yan Liqiang’s newspaper as a small business and thought that it was a completely novel idea for him. He didn’t know it was actually a way to control and manipulate public opinion. After all, the newspaper was a fairly new invention. Apart from Yan Liqiang, no one else had enough time to observe its potential yet.

The two people rode the carriage towards the Supreme Court. Along the road, they could hear people yelling as they were trying to sell their newspaper. Eunuch Liu glanced through the newspaper. He put it down before he even finished reading it, and turned to Yan Liqiang to discuss the hearing instead.

“Liqiang, remember to stay calm during the hearing later. If anyone asks you, just tell them what happened the other day, and what Director Chen said. They might call in some witnesses, or they might even confront you with tough questions. But remember, if you are innocent, nobody will be able to prosecute you! I will be there too. Let’s see if anyone dares to distort the truth...”

“I’m not nervous about this. It’s just that I did not expect this to blow up. The whole city is watching now.”

“Liqiang, are you scared? Surely you have realized that the mastermind behind Director Chen is not just some ordinary person, right?” Eunuch Liu asked.

Yan Liqiang smiled, “I’m not scared. On the contrary, I think they should be the ones who are afraid. They must have committed too many sins, thus making enemies everywhere. They couldn’t even sniff out who killed one of their people...”

Eunuch Liu nodded, “Hahaha! This what I like about you, Liqiang...”

–– Not bad, not bad at all! Looks like I have recommended the right candidate to the Emperor. It was worth His Majesty’s trouble to arrange for you to learn some skills from the two people who live on the mountain. You will be of great use in the future!

Yan Liqiang smiled, but he could silently read Eunuch Liu’s mind clearly. He immediately understood why he was allowed to learn skills from the people living on the mountain beyond the archery range and he was dumbfounded by the unexpected reason. This was probably related to the event where Eunuch Liu saw him practicing his martial arts and noticed that he was gifted, so they arranged this without his knowledge. To Eunuch Liu and the Emperor, he was a pawn in the chess game fostered to crush Lin Qingtian and his allies.

Yan Liqiang could suddenly see the whole picture now.

This ability of the Psychic Serpent was really something. It gave Yan Liqiang the ability to read minds, and now he was able to stay ahead of the game.

The carriage continued creaking along. Not long after they entered the city, it finally stopped, and Little Li’s voice could be heard from outside, “Eunuch Liu, we have arrived at the Supreme Court!”

The carriage door was opened. Yan Liqiang let Eunuch Liu get down from the carriage first before he followed suit.

The carriage stopped right in front of the Supreme Court’s entrance. As soon as Yan Liqiang got down from the carriage, he was surprised by the massive crowd in front of the court.

Chapter 342: Joint Hearing

“Did you see him? Did you see him? That young man who just got down from the carriage is Yan Liqiang...”

“He looks so young. I heard he is merely a Supreme Martial Warrior. How is it possible for him to kill a few Martial Grandmasters at once?! He must be innocent...”

“That’s right! He must have been wronged!”

“That Yan Liqiang is really something! He was already famous in Gan Province. I heard that the world’s best engineer, Zhang Yourong, came here all the way from Gan Province just to meet him!”

“He must be talented!”

“Woah!”

As soon as the crowd outside the Supreme Court saw Yan Liqiang come out of Eunuch Liu’s carriage, they stirred in excitement. Yan Liqiang could hear the crowd talking about him. This scene in front of him reminded him of celebrities glamorously walking down the red carpet. This was the first time he felt like he was at the center of attention.

Yan Liqiang quickly recognized a few familiar faces among the crowd. Fang Beidou, Hu Haihe, and Xu Enda and a few others were in the middle of the crowd. However, it was so packed that there was no way they could get close enough to Yan Liqiang for a conversation. Only Hu Haihe managed to wink at Yan Liqiang, and judging from what the crowd was talking about, Yan Liqiang immediately understood where all these biased rumors had come from.

Yan Liqiang nodded lightly back at Hu Haihe, implying his gratitude.

“Move! Make way! Coming through! Coming through!” The few soldiers who escorted Yan Liqiang to the Supreme Court were now acting like his bodyguards, ushering him along the way while forming a circle to send Yan Liqiang and Eunuch Liu into the court.

Eunuch Liu swept his glance across the massive crowd in front of the Supreme Court. He was a little shocked by the turnout as well. However, he was quick to adjust to it and smiled at Yan Liqiang instead, “From now onward, you are a famous person in the city. Even I was not this famous at your age!”

“Fame is not really what I care about. I care about the outcome of the hearing today.” Yan Liqiang shook his head as he smiled wryly.

“Liqiang, do not worry. We will clear your name today. Let’s go. Follow me. The judges must have arrived!”

“After you, Eunuch Liu!” Yan Liqiang suddenly sensed something odd in Eunuch Liu’s mind, so he politely let Eunuch Liu walk at the front while he followed closely behind through the entrance of the Supreme Court.

Seeing that Yan Liqiang ‘knew his manners’ and treated with Eunuch Liu so much respect in front of the crowd, that odd feeling in Eunuch Liu’s mind instantly vanished without a trace. He was even more impressed with Yan Liqiang now.

The words ‘Supreme Court’ was carved on the main door of the building. This building was a sacred place, and it was not open to the public. It was a place where highly important cases would be heard by top-ranking officials, and the Emperor himself would refer the cases. In other words, this place represented the highest power of the judiciary system throughout the whole empire. The entire building was surrounded by an extremely solemn atmosphere. Upon entering the building, a large screen wall greeted the duo. Guards in official apparel lined both sides of the entrance.

From there, they made a turn. A man in his fifties with a neatly groomed face walked up to the two. It was apparent that they had been waiting for Eunuch Liu and Yan Liqiang to show up, “Eunuch Liu and Commandant Yan, I assume?”

Eunuch Liu nodded.

“I am Gu Tianzheng, secretary of the Supreme Court. I’ve been ordered by Lord Xu to greet you. Please, follow me.”

Eunuch Liu glanced at Yan Liqiang, then they followed as Secretary Gu led them into the hall.

“Have the judges arrived yet?” Eunuch Liu asked as he walked.

“Yes, they are all here. We are ready to start with the hearing anytime now!”

“Great!”

“Eunuch Liu, you will be allowed to sit in for the hearing as an observer. However, please keep in mind to stay silent, and do not interrupt the hearing without the Lords’ approval. Otherwise, it would make my life difficult as I would have to press charges against you for obstructing justice!”

“You have nothing to worry about. I know the rules around here!” Eunuch Liu said, “I believe nobody will dare to play favoritism here today!”

“With the judges in the hall today, no one will be able to play tricks!” Secretary Gu said.

They soon arrived at the hall. It was a spacious hall, filled with an air of prestige and divinity. Supreme Court officers lined up at both ends of the hall. Half of them were wielding sabers, while the other half were holding black color poles that were red-colored at both ends. They stood upright in their positions without even flinching a muscle, as though they were statues. Three tables were arranged side by side at the host’s spot, but there no one was seated behind them at this moment.

Here, Eunuch Liu and Yan Liqiang parted ways. Eunuch Liu’s seat was just beside the three tables, and he was invited to the seat. As for Yan Liqiang, Secretary Gu signaled four officers to lead him to a designated area on the left side of the hall entrance, where he was instructed to stand and wait.

Eunuch Liu glanced at Yan Liqiang, assuring him to stay calm as soon as the former was seated, and the latter returned with a light nod, implying that he was not nervous.

As soon as the two were placed in their respective positions, Secretary Gu walked through the door beside the three tables, probably to invite the judges to proceed with the hearing.

Yan Liqiang was really not nervous. As he stood in the hall waiting for the hearing to start, he took a closer look around the hall and the officers. This very moment reminded him of a television drama he used to watch in his previous life. The familiar soundtrack of the drama began involuntarily playing in his mind. “There is a Bao Qingtian in Kaifeng... Impartial and incorruptible, he differentiates between the honest and the wicked. Heroes from all corners of the country come to his aid... He has Wang Chao and Ma Han by his side...”

Too bad there were no Dragon, Tiger, or Dog-Headed Guillotines like the drama. Otherwise, it would be exactly the same as it was in the drama!

If it wasn’t for the crowd and the four of five burly bailiffs staring at Yan Liqiang, he might’ve hummed the song out loud.

Yan Liqiang did not wait for too long. Ten minutes later, when it was half past nine o’clock in the morning, the sound of a drumbeat rang out in the hall. Eunuch Liu immediately stood up.

Three high court officials appeared from the screen behind the three tables in the hall. After nodding to Eunuch Liu, they sat in their respective seats. The other Supreme Court officers, including Secretary Gu, entered from the smaller doors at the sides of the hall and settled into their seats.

The man sitting in the middle of the three tables was wearing a Second Grade official robe, embroidered with the legendary beast, Xie Zhi. The old man who was probably in his sixties with long gray eyebrows was none other than the Supreme Court’s Chief Minister, Xu Taiyi.

The high official sitting on Xu Taiyi’s left was a slightly chubby man with an aquiline nose, sporting a beautiful long beard. After he came in, he glanced at Yan Liqiang with a frown. That man was Gu Chunyi, the Minister of Justice in the Great Han Empire. The man sitting on Xu Taiyi’s right with a smile on his face was a gentleman in his fifties. This man was the Imperial Censor from the Censorate, Pei Daoyuan.

Yan Liqiang immediately knew the trio’s identity just by looking at them.

––That rubbish surnamed Chen. This is the mess he created, and I have to sit through this because of him –– Gu Chunyi, the Minister of Justice, was secretly cursing although he kept a stern poker face.

––Wow, I did not expect Yan Liqiang to be such a young man, and he was here on time! Who knows what will happen to him in the future. This young man looks sharp and smart, but perhaps a little too impatient.–– A thought ran through the mind of Chief Minister Xu Taiyi, who was seated in the middle.

––I can’t wait to watch Xiu Dajia’s musical performance tonight! I’m going to go home immediately once this hearing is over. I’ll change and go to the performance at once!–– The Imperial Censor, Pei Daoyuan, did not care about this hearing at all. All he could think of was the performance tonight by the four famous courtesans.

Yan Liqiang stayed quiet as he glanced at the three high court officials sitting in front of him. Unbeknownst to the three men, he had already read their minds and knew exactly what they were thinking. From their thoughts alone, Yan Liqiang pretty much knew which side were they on even before the hearing had started. The Minister of Justice, Gu Chunyi, was obviously a supporter of Grand Chancellor Lin Qingtian. Xu Taiyi and Pei Daoyuan were seemingly neutral, leaning towards neither the Emperor nor the Grand Chancellor. Interestingly, Pei Taoyuan looked more like a retired rich businessman. He did not possess the sharp and intimidating charisma an Imperial Censor should have. He was probably in the position where he would offend either the Emperor or the Grand Chancellor if he did his job. In order to avoid offending anyone, he’d rather be a white elephant and do nothing at all...

The three officials exchanged looks. Since Xu Taiyi was the main host, he glanced at Yan Liqiang and spoke first, “Are you Yan Liqiang, the Yingyang Commandant of the Imperial Cavalry Unit?”

“Greetings, my Lords, I am Yan Liqiang!” Yan Liqiang cupped his fists and spoke with a clear voice, showing no signs of nervousness.

“Do you understand why you are here today?”

“Yes!”

“Do you have anything to say before we start this hearing?”

“I am here today because I believe that my three lords will clear my name with a fair and just hearing, and end this farce once and for all!”

Xu Taiyi paused to have a closer look at Yan Liqiang before he spoke again calmly, “Your innocence will be determined after the hearing. We shall not make any judgment by only hearing your side of the story!”

“Yes, I will be cooperative and answer any questions without hiding anything!”

“Have the two lords any questions to ask?” Xu Taiyi looked toward his counterparts on his left and right.

“Lord Gu, you may start first. I shall listen and ask if I have any questions!” Pei Daoyuan smiled.

“Ahem... Ahem...” Gu Chunyi cleared his throat before he squinted his eyes as he stared at Yan Liqiang coldly, “Did you and Xu Lang know each other prior to this?”

“Yes!” Yan Liqiang nodded.

“Is it true that you had a conflict with Xu Lang on the street a few days before the incident?”

Yan Liqiang smiled, “If Lord Gu wishes to define the incident as a conflict where I was bullied and forced to defend myself from Xu Lang and his gang, then so be it. However, I believe that the truth will prevail. Two patrolling officers and many civilians saw what happened on the street that day. They can all testify that Xu Lang bumped into me upon exiting a restaurant. I did not respond in any particular way, so Xu Lang and the rest were the first to start the fight on the street. Therefore, the person who started the physical fight should be charged for provoking a dispute. I was merely the victim. Lord Gu, as the Minister of Justice, your previous question has already proven the fact that you have failed to keep your inquisition neutral during a hearing. As the Minister of Justice, it can’t be that you are unaware of the basic fundamentals of interrogation?”

Yan Liqiang’s answer silenced everyone in the hall. The Minister of Justice Gu Chunyi’s face instantly turned as black as charcoal. Yan Liqiang had caught the thread of his argument and returned him an answer that choked him into complete silence.

Eunuch Liu smiled at Yan Liqiang, barely able to contain his laughter. Xu Taiyi and Pei Daoyuan looked at each other as they both felt a burst of energy from the turn of events.

“Lord Gu meant to inquire whether you had a conflict with Xu Lang. It doesn’t matter who started the fight, as the fight happened anyway. What Lord Gu asked was within justifications, we would also like to know more about the matter. There is no need to get too worked up.” Xu Taiyi spoke in a diplomatic manner, trying to ease the tension as well as the embarrassment inflicted upon Gu Chunyi.

“I do not mean to be rude, but the Minister just personally demonstrated to me that he was consciously violating the rules in the judiciary system. I was merely trying to be prudent because I do not wish to mired by another baseless accusation!”

“Ahem! My two lords, since Yan Liqiang is here, why don’t we summon the witness who pressed the charges against Yan Liqiang? Let them confront each other here, and we can judge! This will be easier for us to find out the truth!” Pei Daoyuan, who had been silent all this while, suddenly made a suggestion.

The other two officials exchanged looks before they nodded in agreement.

“We hereby summon the plaintiff’s presence in the hall!” Xu Taiyi picked up a summoning token and gave the order to the officers.

An officer in the hall took the summoning token and bowed respectfully before he walked out...

Yan Liqiang stood quietly as he waited. Actually, it didn’t matter to him if the plaintiff showed up. He knew exactly what the latter would say. It wouldn’t be new to him. The only thing that would be new to Yan Liqiang was what the plaintiff looked like.

However, just a few minutes later, the officer who took the summoning token rushed back into the hall with sweat all over his face, “My lords! Something has happened! The plaintiff died in the prison!”

Xu Taiyi was immediately angered by the news, as he jerked up from his seat and bellowed, “How could this happen? Wasn’t the man well and alive just a few hours ago? How could he be dead now?”

“Your Honor, I was just about to pick up the plaintiff from the prison! However, upon hearing that he was summoned, he yelled in his cell, claiming that Yan Liqiang is the murderer, and he collapsed right there with blood oozing out of his seven orifices! He died on the spot, and everyone was caught off guard!”

“My lords, the plaintiff who was pressing charges against Commandant Yan just died under your custody! Are you trying to get rid of witnesses?” Eunuch Liu said sarcastically.

“We shall summon the plaintiff, dead or alive. Now, carry the plaintiff’s body into the hall. Then summon the prison keeper and the coroner...” Xu Taiyi slammed his palm heavily against the table with his face as black as coal.

Chapter 343: Clear My Name

The corpse was soon carried into the hall. It was in a horrible state. Its face had turned black. Blood dripped from its eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. It was a rather horrifying sight...

However, Yan Liqiang could still recognize that face. This man was a part of Xu Lang’s gang when Yan Liqiang fought with them in front of the restaurant. Among Xu Lang’s gang, it seemed like this man was only a lackey.

Soon, the prison keeper and the Supreme Court’s coroner arrived at the hall. The prison keeper was obviously frightened. He came in with a petrified look on his face, and kneeled upon seeing the judges. As the person in charge of the jail, he knew what kind of trouble he was in. This case was undoubtedly a high-profile case, referred to the court by the Emperor himself, with the hearing led by three high-ranking officers as judges. That plaintiff died in his custody, so he could used as a scapegoat for that.

“Please have mercy, my lords! This man was under my custody since two days ago. I swear nobody ever visited him, and we never treated him poorly! We watched him closely every day. Food and drink were provided. I have no idea how he died just like that...” the prison keeper begged.

“Silence! We will be the judge of that.” Xu Taiyi’s anger had eased by now. He looked at the coroner who was an old man with a wrinkled face and a body as thin as a stick. Xu Taiyi pointed to the body as he spoke to the coroner, “This is the corpse. You are to check and assess the corpse in front of us...”

“Yes, my lords!” The coroner bowed to the judges and went straight to the spot where the corpse was laid. The coroner sat down the floor and took out a set of hooks, a small spatula, some scalpels, a few chemical bottles, and some interesting tools. Then, he started his work.

Everyone present in the hall was a male, so the coroner took off the corpse’s clothes without much hesitation. He started to examine the body from head to toe carefully. From the hair, the ears, nose, mouth, nails, armpits, buttocks, to even the creek on the corpse’s toes, no spot was left unchecked.

As Yan Liqiang watched, he was silently impressed by the coroner’s professionalism. Without a doubt, this man was probably one of the best coroners available in the Supreme Court, if not the whole Imperial Capital city.

At last, the coroner opened the corpse’s mouth. He took out something from the mouth with forceps. He smelled the small object with his own nose. Then, he poured out some liquid from one of the chemical bottles onto the object. Yan Liqiang noticed a reaction from the object. There seemed to be a slight change of color as soon as the chemical dripped onto the object.

The coroner was now done. He started to pack his tools and covered the corpse with a white cloth. He then stood up and bowed to the three judges, “Reporting to my lords, I have found the cause of death for this man!”

“Speak!” Xu Taiyi ordered.

“This man had hidden poison in his mouth, among one of his teeth. His death was caused by the poison. He broke the tooth and released the poison. He died on the spot. The poison he hid in the tooth was Hell’s Invitation. This poison kills within seconds as soon as it is consumed orally. It is highly poisonous...” The old coroner’s voice echoed throughout the hall.

“How did the man hide the poison in his teeth?”

“One of the teeth in his mouth is fake. It is made of porcelain, and looked like a real tooth, so it is hard to notice. However, this tooth is hollow inside, and the poison is in that tooth. To activate the poison, he only needed to break the tooth by biting it really hard. Currently, there are still fragments of the tooth in his mouth.”

“Do you mean he had been keeping the false tooth with poison inside it before he was brought into the jail? And he committed suicide?”

“Yes, my lord!” The coroner nodded.

Xu Taiyi rubbed his forehead and waved his hand, “Understood. Take the corpse away. And you two, you can leave now...”

“Yes, my lord...”

The corpse was carried away in just the blink of an eye. The coroner and the prison keeper left the hall too. The prison keeper seemed still a little disturbed as he was leaving, but he was clearly not as terrified as he was when he first arrived. After all, it was a planned suicide. Even if the prison keeper was to be held responsible, the penalty would be a lot less heavy.

“My two lords, since we have concluded that the plaintiff died of suicide, what do we do next?”

“Lord Xu, although the plaintiff has passed away, his testimony should still be seen as effective. His suicide will be seen as a separate case, but this hearing should continue...” Pei Daoyuan responded.

Xu Taiyuan looked at Gu Chunyi, and the latter nodded, albeit with an unhappy face. Gu Chunyi glanced at Yan Liqiang with a thought in his head.

  ––At least those fools did something right this time. That Lin Zhe is really cruel. I don’t know how he did it, but he managed to convince this guy to kill himself. This gets rid of any chance of getting into trouble, and at the same time, a blow to Yan Liqiang’s face. Lin Zhe is really something. I must be careful in dealing with him. He created such a big mess this time, and I was dragged into it. Luckily the Grand Chancellor sent him back to Hai Province. Otherwise, who knows what might happen if he was allowed to stay in the Imperial Capital. And this guy here, Yan Liqiang, he’s already a pain in the ass at such a young age. Since he doesn’t want to side with us, we must get rid of him soon. We can’t let him gain more power in the Imperial Capital...

Yan Liqiang watched quietly with a blank face, but he secretly kept an eye on the Minister of Justice Gu Chunyi. Thus, he managed to read the thought which flashed through Gu Chunyi’s mind.

As the saying goes, it is hard to fathom a person’s mind. Without the ability given by the Psychic Serpent, Yan Liqiang never would have known this. This highly-ranked officer, the Minister of Justice who was also the judge for this hearing, had the intention to get rid of Yan Liqiang.

This reminded Yan Liqiang of the saying, “Even the most dangerous mountain can never be as dangerous as an evil heart.”

Yan Liqiang took a deep breath as he secretly put on his guard against Gu Chunyi.

“Since my two lords agree, let’s continue with the hearing!” Xu Taiyi laid his eyes on Yan Liqiang’s face and asked sternly, “Did you travel to the Imperial Capital on the fourth of the seventh lunar month, which was four days ago?”

“Yes, I did!”

“Did you meet Xu Lang and his friends on that day?”

“No, I did not!” Yan Liqiang shook his head.

“Tell us the purpose of your visit to the Imperial Capital that day. Where did you go? How long did you stay? Do you have a witness?” Xu Taiyi asked a few questions in a row.

Yan Liqiang calmly responded to the questions as he recounted his story of his meal that day up until the point where he got off Lu Peien’s carriage...

“What happened after that?” Xu Taiyi continued asking.

“Then I walked out of the city gates and went back to Deer Villa!”

“Do you remember what time you returned to Deer Villa?”

“I am not sure, but it should be around a quarter to twelve. The Imperial Capital was already on night curfew by that time.”

“Do the two lords have any questions to ask?” Xu Taiyi looked at the two partners at his sides. They both shook their heads in silence.

“Since the two lords have no more questions to ask, let’s summon the witnesses Yan Liqiang mentioned earlier for questioning.” Xu Taiyi paused before he raised his voice to give an official order, “Summon the witnesses into the hall!”

A pair of men appeared into the hall as first account witnesses. They were a waiter and a cashier of the Sky Beyond Restaurant respectively. They did not dare to fake their stories at this point, so they recounted what they saw on the day of the incident, which matched perfectly with what Yan Liqiang had said.

As soon as they finished their testimonies, Xu Taiyi waved his hands, signaling the officers to escort them out of the hall and bring in another pair of witnesses. The next pair of witnesses were Lu Peien and Steward Yao from the Soul Mountain Sect’s Imperial Capital division. Not only did Steward Yao testify that Yan Liqiang was in Glassy Sky’s dining hall the whole time that day, he also brought along another written testimony from Zhang Yourong.

This again matched perfectly with Yan Liqiang’s testimony.

The third batch of witnesses were a few Deer Villa guards. They all testified that Yan Liqiang returned to Deer Villa by a quarter to twelve at night.

After the third batch of witnesses left the hall, Xu Taiyi summoned a special ‘guest’ as the fourth witness. However, this time, the witness was an object instead of a person. It seemed like a rather mysterious crystal ball, with the mist rolling around inside like a thunderstorm. It must have been a precious item as the bailiff carrying it into the hall was holding it in a tray with extra care.

“This is the Gem of Spiritual Qi. It can identify a person’s level of cultivation. You claim you are only a Supreme Martial Warrior, but it would be a shame if nobody could prove it. Now, please infuse your cultivated inner Qi into the Gem of Spiritual Qi, and we will know exactly what level of cultivation you have attained!” Xu Taiyi said to Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang stared at the crystal ball as he nodded. He infused his inner Qi into the ball, and the crystal ball instantly lit up like a lamp. It gave out a soft golden glow for a full ten seconds before the light finally vanished.

Xu Taiyi signaled the bailiff, and he took away the Gem of Spiritual Qi.

“On the fourth night of the seventh lunar month, Yan Liqiang came to the Imperial Capital. He had a meal with his friends, and stayed in the restaurant until it was closing time. We have multiple witnesses that testified that Yan Liqiang was back at Deer Villa at around a quarter to midnight, when the Imperial Capital was on midnight curfew. On the same night, a murder took place in the Imperial Capital. Xu Lang and his company were murdered in their house. While Yan Liqiang’s cultivation was at the level of Supreme Martial Warrior, the murdered victims were a Supreme Martial Warrior, two Martial Masters, and two Martial Grandmasters. Looking at this, I opine that Yan Liqiang is incapable of committing the crime as accused!” Xu Taiyi said in a firm voice. He then turned to his colleagues, “What do you think, my lords?”

“I agree with Lord Xu!” Pei Daoyuan said with a solemn face, “I believe Yan Liqiang was unable to commit the crime on the fourth of the seventh lunar month. It is impossible for a Supreme Martial Warrior to murder two Martial Masters and two Martial Grandmasters plus a Supreme Martial Warrior without making any noise. Although it was true that Yan Liqiang was not seeing eye to eye with Xu Lang and his friends, this crime was obviously committed by another person. This has nothing to do with Yan Liqiang. I suggest that the Ministry of Justice open up another investigation to catch the murderer!”

“I... have no objections!” The Minister of Justice looked at Yan Liqiang with defeated eyes as he reluctantly agreed.

“Great. Now, I should declare our verdict on this case. Yan Liqiang did not commit the crime on fourth of the seventh lunar month. This is a false accusation. The accuser has committed suicide due to fear of prosecution. This officially concludes the hearing!” This verdict by the Supreme Court was a powerful statement that instantly cleared Yan Liqiang’s name, and gave the dead accuser a reason to die at the same time – suicide due to fear of prosecution. Obviously, this was a ‘fullstop’ to end any further discussion on the topic. Everything ended here. Such was the way of politics.

Yan Liqiang read between the lines of Xu Taiyi’s words then bowed to him. “Thank you, my lord!”

“Alright, Commandant Yan, you may leave!” Xu Taiyi nodded at Yan Liqiang before he stood up and left the hall.

It was now noon, and Yan Liqiang’s innocence had been declared.

As Yan Liqiang walked out of the Supreme Court, a crowd of familiar faces surrounded him. They were all smiles as they were happy for Yan Liqiang.

“Shall we go for lunch at Sky Beyond Restaurant?” Yan Liqiang asked before Hu Haihe and the rest of the friends opened their mouths.

“Sure!”

“Let’s go then! To Sky Beyond! Lunch is on me...!” Yan Liqiang rubbed his belly as he looked up at the sky, “My belly is making grumbling noises already...”

Chapter 344: The Emperor Arrives

It could be said that Yan Liqiang had seized complete victory in his trial. Not only did he clear his name, he even mercilessly counterattacked those who wished to harm him.

Today was also the day where all 35,000 copies of ‘The Great Han Times’ were completely sold out in the Imperial Capital for the very first time. All 35,000 newspaper copies were sold out on the same day. ‘The Great Han Times’ immediately opened up a new prospect in the capital city, putting an end to the loss incurred during the first issue as profit started rolling in.

The eighth day of the seventh lunar month could be considered as Yan Liqiang’s lucky day. The entire city was either discussing his trial or his newspaper.

If an ordinary person encountered such a thing, they might be so excited that they wouldn’t be able to sleep for three days. Yet, Yan Liqiang only had a meal with Lu Peien and Fang Beidou that day to introduce them to each other, then quietly returned to Deer Villa to focus on his training.

Under such rigorous training, he even gave up on his chance to go out once every three days. He stopped going to the newspaper print shop and instead left everything to Fang Beidou. At Deer Villa, he did nothing but cultivate. Li Hongtu and Ji Xiaoyao almost thought he was in some sort of shocked state because he was cultivating so hard.

However, Yan Liqiang wasn’t shocked at all. He merely sensed danger and simultaneously understood what it meant to quit while he was ahead and keep a low profile. As a lowly Yingyang Commandant, he was already attracting attention. If he still didn’t know when to stop after the trial, he might not be able to keep his head on his shoulders for long.

A Martial Master or a Martial Grandmaster might be considered impressive in Pingxi Prefecture, but they were certainly not in the Imperial Capital which was full of powerful cultivators. Not to mention, Yan Liqiang was still only a Supreme Martial Warrior.

After witnessing how the Banes of Heaven and Earth reaped souls like they were weeds, Yan Liqiang was very aware of his own strength. Although he was making rapid cultivation progress every day and possessed monstrous strength, he was still nothing compared to truly powerful experts like the Banes of Heaven and Earth. There was nothing to be proud of when you were merely an insignificant figure that could easily be eliminated.

Although he wasn’t that well known before, he had already attracted enough attention for Lin Qingtian’s nephew, Lin Zhe, to arrange for Xu Lang and the rest to eliminate him. After the trial, he suddenly became so famous that even the Minister of Justice was targeting him. Since fatal encounters and traps might appear at any moment, Yan Liqiang had to take precautions. Before danger could arrive, he decided to bury his head in cultivation, secretly improve his strength, and try to keep a low profile.

It would be ideal if those people forgot about him within these two or three years.

Unfortunately, even if Yan Liqiang wished to maintain a low profile right now, some people wouldn’t allow him to.

On the 18th day of the seventh lunar month, it had been only ten days since the trial.

It was an especially sunny day. In other words, it was an extremely hot day. The burning sun hung in the sky like a fireball since the morning, heating up the land. The sounds of cicadas chirping among the willow trees sounded like a flute choir. Goldie was panting with its tongue out under the shades of the courtyard since the morning. It was too lazy to even move around.

With such weather, cultivating under a waterfall became an extremely pleasant activity because it felt like taking a shower. When Yan Liqiang’s spear started shaking, a beautiful scene formed under the waterfall where the water mist and rainbow met.

The weather was so hot that even a lazy person like Li Hongtu couldn’t take it. He ran out from his thatched hut in only a pair of loose-fitting underpants, then dived into the pool to lower his body temperature.

Li Hongtu was a great swimmer. He laid under the water as though he was lying on a sofa. While rubbing mud on his body, he watched Yan Liqiang shaking his spear under the waterfall out of the corner of his eye and gave him some pointers from time to time.

...

“Don’t just shake it. Remember the most important advice I gave you before on where to focus while you are doing that...?”

...

“Your footwork has to be both alive and dead. When alive, be as rapidly-changing as quicksilver. When dead, be as unmoving as a dead tree root that won’t sway even when there is a landslide or if the land is divided. Draw the force from your feet, let your courage spill forth from the heart and let your soul control your hands...”

...

“The greater amount of strength you apply, the more skillful you need to be. Just being able to shake a spear isn’t enough. You will need to be able to make your spear roar like a dragon even if you are vibrating it with the distance of a needle tip. That’s the sign that proves you are perfecting the skill...”

.....

Yan Liqiang trained the entire morning away under the waterfall until he finally returned to his small courtyard with his exhausted body.

The servant who had been delivering his meals was already waiting outside his residence politely with the food basket.

A few days ago, Yan Liqiang gave the servant a ‘discarded’ warbow with a bowstring that had been exposed to moisture. At the same time, he also gave him a new bowstring set and briefly taught him some archery basics to teach his son. In just a few days, the servant who always delivered Yan Liqiang’s meals became his first die-hard fan in Deer Villa.

Yan Liqiang was only halfway through his lunch when Goldie, who had been gnawing on its bone, started barking outside to alert Yan Liqiang that he was getting a visitor. Not long after that, Little Li’s anxious voice rang out from outside the courtyard. “Commandant Yan! Commandant Yan, are you in?”

Yan Liqiang exited his room and saw Goldie had already scurried to the courtyard’s entrance, baring its fangs at Little Li who was sweating bullets and panting hard. He was craning his neck at the entrance, trying to see inside the courtyard while also looking at Goldie in fear. He didn’t dare to go inside because he was afraid that Goldie would attack him.

“Go back to your food!” Yan Liqiang ordered Goldie, who immediately ran back to continue gnawing on its bone. Only after that did Yan Liqiang finally shift his gaze toward Little Li with a smile on his face. “How may I help you, Eunuch Li? Why are you in such a hurry?”

“His Majesty has come to Deer Villa and is making his way to the archery range. Eunuch Liu requests for your presence there at once...!”

“Ah, the Emperor is here?!” Yan Liqiang was shocked. “Why is His Majesty here? There was no announcement from Eunuch Liu yesterday...”

“Eunuch Liu only knew about it upon His Majesty’s arrival too. The Emperor seems to suddenly be in the mood to come practice his archery at Deer Villa...!”

“Ah, should I change my clothes?” Yan Liqiang lowered his head to look at his own casual training attire.

“We won’t make it in time! Let’s hurry over there now. We cannot afford to keep His Majesty waiting...!”

“Alright then, let’s go...” Yan Liqiang seemed to suddenly remember something. “Wait...” He turned around, rushed back into his house, then came back out again ten seconds later.

“Commandant Yan, you were...?” Little Li looked at him curiously.

“I was in the middle of my meal just now. I went back to take a swig of tea to rinse my mouth to avoid any embarrassment...”

In his previous life, a buddy of his ran into their chairman in the elevator after lunchtime. He gave the chairman a smile, but some oily vegetable was stuck between his teeth. This caused everyone else in the elevator to burst out laughing. This incident later became the most classic joke in his company. Since Yan Liqiang didn’t wish to become a joke during his first meeting with the Emperor, he figured it was better for him to rinse his mouth with tea beforehand.

“Alright, alright, let us hurry...”

“Let’s go...!”

Yan Liqiang and Little Li quickly ran to the archery range. By the time they arrived, they noticed the area was already surrounded by a group of unfamiliar-looking imperial guards. After Yan Liqiang made his identity known, the imperial guard outside the archery range checked his body to ensure that he didn’t have any weapons on him before Yan Liqiang was led inside the archery range.

When Yan Liqiang entered the place, he saw a tall and powerful figure dressed in a gorgeous dragon robe. The person stood at the shooting line with his bow drawn and arrow aimed at a target five hundred meters away...

At the twang of his bowstring, the target in the distance immediately fell with a plunk. Eunuch Liu stood behind the man in the dragon robe, clapping loudly with a humble and kind smile that Yan Liqiang had never seen before. “Excellent! Your Majesty’s arrows didn’t miss their mark! Your bowmanship has improved yet again...!” Eunuch Liu exclaimed while he made a signal to Yan Liqiang with his eyes...

“Greetings from Yingyang Commandant Yan Liqiang, Your Majesty...!” Yan Liqiang straightened up, lowered his gaze, cupped his fists, and bowed to the man.

“So you are Yan Liqiang...” A mellow and majestic voice reverberated in Yan Liqiang’s ears. “We have heard of your name since long ago. No need for formalities. Raise your head!”

Chapter 345: A Shocking Arrow

Yan Liqiang raised his head. This was his first glimpse at the look of the man who ruled over the millions of beings in the Great Han Empire.

No superhuman powers, no scary looks, and no divine aura protecting him. The man standing in front of him was no longer young as he also had some noticeable gray hairs. One could tell that he was once a handsome young man through his aging but well-maintained face. The Emperor was clad in the exquisite dragon robe, exuding a dignified and profound aura. What impressed Yan Liqiang the most was his pair of deep, serious, and wise eyes. Just by meeting his gaze, Yan Liqiang knew that he was definitely a capable man.

To Yan Liqiang’s surprise, the Emperor was looking at him a little... too intently. His gaze was so focused and serious; it was as though he saw Yan Liqiang had hidden something precious on him.

Thoughts of having the Psychic Serpent read the Emperor’s mind crossed Yan Liqiang’s mind. However, his thought didn’t provoke any reaction in his brain.

This was Yan Liqiang’s first time ever encountering such a situation. Though he looked calm, he was getting shocked mentally.

Recalling to Fu Guang’s advice, the Psychic Serpent’s ability would only fail under two circumstances. The first case was when the other party possessed a mysterious object that could block the Psychic Serpent’s perception. Just like how everything in this universe had their own natural enemies, certain objects could also limit the Psychic Serpent’s ability. Wearing a lead-sealed helmet would be the simplest way to disable its ability. The second case was when that person had attained a certain high level of cultivation, where the mind would not be distracted or would have thoughts running at lightning speed.

Which of the two represented the current situation? Yan Liqiang muttered to himself...

The Emperor smiled at Yan Liqiang, “Minister Sun informed me that he brought back a talented and courageous young man named Yan Liqiang from Gan Province. When he was escorted back to the Imperial Capital, this brave young man defeated hundreds of Blackwind Bandits by himself with just a bow. We have only just realized that you are much younger and more capable than expected through our first meeting today!”

“It was the imperial bodyguards and Brother Liang’s effort to protect Lord Sun for a safe return. I was merely contributing a little help, by luck,” Yan Liqiang responded humbly.

“Hahaha, good! A modest boy! Oh yes, We heard that you are fifteen years old, right?”

“Yes. I’m fifteen years old this year!”

“Fifteen years of age is indeed still young and immature for an ordinary person, but not in our propitious Great Han Empire. Di Longtu was already a general at the age of fifteen. He led 100,000 troops and defeated the New Crescent Dynasty, making an achievement that would last for an eternity. Zhi Gan from the former dynasty became the Grand Chancellor at the age of fourteen, and he was the leader of hundreds of officials. Therefore, as long as one has the ambition, one can achieve anything regardless of age.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty. Both Di Longtu and Zhi Gan were not ordinary men, but heroes. I dare not compare myself to them, I only hope that I can do my best and not disappoint Lord Sun, Eunuch Liu, and you, Your Majesty.”

Initially, the Emperor thought that Yan Liqiang might be difficult to interact with or impolite as he was still young. However, Yan Liqiang exceeded the Emperor’s expectations by speaking fluently with him. He was polite and decent, as though he were from a noble family.

Looking at Yan Liqiang’s youthful face, the Emperor grew fonder of him.

“Minister Sun mentioned that you have unusual talent in the art of archery and posses divine strength. A normal person would be exhausted after releasing ten arrows consecutively, but Minister Sun said that you can release over hundreds of arrows at full power. Not only that, they are so deadly that they can reap souls like fallen leaves swept away by an autumn breeze. We have never met a person with such strength before, do you mind demonstrating?”

“Of course, Your Majesty!”

“Great!” The Emperor clapped. He then looked at the bow in his hand and his eyes lit up, “This bow is about twenty piculs. It can pierce through stone and gold within a thousand meters. Will you be able to draw it?”

“Sure!” Yan Liqiang glanced at the Horned Python Bow and smiled.

“Fetch the arrows!” the Emperor demanded.

Without any delay, Eunuch Liu personally brought over three quivers full of arrows with a smile and placed them in front of Yan Liqiang. “Since it is the Emperor’s wish, do your best in the demonstration. You must not disappoint His Majesty!”

“Understood!”

“This is not about disappointing us. It will be fine as long as you try your best. Things like this cannot be forced,” the Emperor added softly.

“Yes yes, your Majesty. Forgive me for speaking out of turn!” Eunuch Liu was still smiling as he lightly tapped his own cheek, then hunched and retreated back.

Yan Liqiang took the Horned Python Bow from the Emperor. He weighed it in his hand and he found the feeling at once.

This Horned Python Bow was unlike to those bows displayed at the archery range – this was the Emperor’s. The body of the bow had a beautiful and natural pattern, certainly a priceless piece.

After picking up an arrow and gently placing it next to the bowstring, Yan Liqiang asked, “Your Majesty, may I know which target to shoot?”

“You can shoot the few targets located 5000 zhang away which we just shot...” said the Emperor while pointing to the direction of the targets.

5000 zhang was equivalent to 1500 meters. There were four targets about the height of a man which stood under the trees. Each of them was approximately separated by twenty meters and painted with a human form. These few targets were the furthest in Deer Villa’s archery range, similar to the maximum range and killing distance for archery on most battlefields.

It would be a mission impossible for Yan Liqiang to draw the mighty twenty-picul bow when he first came to Imperial Capital. But after the recent harsh training and cultivation, his stamina was increasing daily up to the level where he was shocked by his own incredible strength. Hence, it was an easy task for Yan Liqiang to handle this heavy and strong bow.

Yan Liqiang lifted the bow and took a deep breath. He instantly drew the Horned Python Bow into the shape of a full moon.

Yan Liqiang released his hand. One could only hear the sound of the accelerating arrow which had physically vanished from sight.

As soon as the arrow left the bow, Yan Liqiang once again drew the bow to the full moon shape within a fraction of a second and released the next arrow.

At this moment, Yan Liqiang seemed to have transformed into one of those robots in an assembly line, constantly repeating the same action to shoot away the arrows quickly and steadily. Within a second, two arrows flew out from the bow....

Before the first arrow hit the target, the second arrow was in the air, and the third arrow was ready on the bowstring...

The Emperor and Eunuch Liu stared at those targets 1500 meters away, and they were amazed by the scene.

The arrows were released from the bow continuously and struck the target one after another, forming blossoms of arrows on the target with a constant rhythm.

Eunuch Liu and the Emperor didn’t realize anything at the beginning. After a few seconds, both were astonished to see that the blossoms of arrows were actually forming some words...

At about the one minute mark, the last arrow left the bow. The four targets which were 1500 meters away had the 108 arrows on them which formed a Chinese phrase – Long Live The Emperor!

Eunuch Liu was stunned. He knew that Yan Liqiang had good skills in archery, but he never expected him to have such impressive talent by shooting 108 arrows perfectly within a minute. If this happened on the battlefield, Yan Liqiang could have killed 108 enemies in a minute. If there were 108 cavalry riding on rhinodrake steeds galloping toward Yan Liqiang, wouldn’t he wipe them out before they could even reach him?

Yan Liqiang was not the only person who could shoot perfectly at this distance; a few of those in the Imperial Cavalry Unit could do it too. However, he should be the only person in the Great Han Empire who had the incredible archery skill to shoot hundreds of arrows flawlessly with this strong bow in such a short time period.

H-He... He’s totally a monster...!

Yan Liqiang brought the bow down steadily with a small blush on his face. “Thank you!”

The Emperor gazed at the words and was stunned for ten seconds before he could react. He then immediately gave an order, “Bring those four targets over!”

Soon, the targets were carried over to the veranda of the archery range.

These targets were made of three-foot thick hardwood, covered by a layer of cloth. Eunuch Liu and the Emperor looked at the side of the targets. Once again, they were amazed. All 108 arrows were exactly one foot deep into the targets, with the body of the arrows spread evenly across the targets. The tails of the arrows resembled a nicely-harvested farm...

Chapter 346: Overwhelmed

“Brilliant! Simply brilliant...!” The Emperor couldn’t help but exclaim when he saw the neatly lined up arrows.

As the ruler of the Great Han Empire, he definitely had met all kinds of astounding warriors. Not only that, but the capital city was also filled with crouching tigers and hidden dragons. It went without saying that the Emperor had keen eyes too. Many people around him could mirror Yan Liqiang’s accuracy across this distance. In fact, almost anyone who had attained the Fourth Heavenly Layer and above in archery would be capable of doing this. However, Yan Liqiang’s draw speed and his extraordinary control were the two factors that greatly shocked him.

Over the distance of more than a thousand meters, the number of arrows Yan Liqiang released in a minute was nearly equivalent to the number that ten Fourth Heavenly Layer archery experts could release. His capability might not mean much to some experts in close combat, but it was extremely terrifying on the battlefield where attack range mattered. For this exact reason, archers were regarded as the most powerful warriors in every tribe. Since bow and arrows were the most powerful weapons, the military favored archery the most. Therefore, Yan Liqiang’s ability was definitely a nightmare for all his enemies on the battlefield.

The Emperor had the four targets carried over because he wished to assess Yan Liqiang’s arrow control. From this, he would be able to estimate the amount of undiscovered potential left in Yan Liqiang’s bowmanship and see if he had hit a dead end in his archery cultivation. If those arrows were not neatly embedded in the targets, that would be an indication of Yan Liqiang’s limit in his control over his arrows. However, the sight before him showed that it was Yan Liqiang’s best performance. If he had such extraordinary control over every arrow he released, then that meant all this was too easy for him. He definitely had unlimited potential in archery and a lot of room for progress ahead of him.

Yan Liqiang was usually a humble person who didn’t like to show off. However, being high-profile at times could also be strategic, as it was a form of self-preservation. If one didn’t exhibit their strength and potential, how could one convince another party to heavily invest in them, thus increasing the chips in one’s hands? This would urge those ill-intended people to consider the consequences before making a move against him. Now that the Emperor was here when the Minister of Justice in the Great Empire wanted him dead, Yan Liqiang couldn’t let this golden opportunity slip away.

Yan Liqiang appeared to be calm and responded with only a small smile at the praises and exclaims of admiration that the Emperor was showering him with.

The Emperor’s gaze finally shifted from the four targets to his face. “We see that you are still very calm and composed. It would seem like you still have a lot of energy left to expend. With the same shooting speed, how many more arrows can you release?”

“Probably another few hundred of them...”

“What if you go slower then?” The Emperor pointed at the spot where those four targets were. “If there is a group of infantrymen rushing toward you from there, how many arrows do you think you can release before they reach you?”

Yan Liqiang gave it careful consideration. “As long as I have enough arrows with me and the warbow in my hands isn’t worn out, I should be able to release about three hundred at those average infantrymen across this distance!”

“Three hundred... That means if there is a company of enemy soldiers rushing toward you, you will be able to eliminate half of them by the time they reach you. If the size of your enemies is under three hundred, they will be annihilated before they even reach you...”

A company of soldiers was six hundred men. If Yan Liqiang could shoot three hundred of them with his arrows over this distance, then that meant he could eliminate half a company of soldiers. The deduction the Emperor made was flawless.

Yan Liqiang only smiled humbly. “Well, I have never tried that before so it is hard to say. The battlefield is always constantly changing. The opponents will not stand there idly, waiting to be slain. They have shields to protect themselves. Not only that, but they may also have expert archers that may pose enough of a threat to me that I will have to evade or counterattack them. Therefore, the three hundred arrows I can release is merely a possible figure!”

“Di Longtu once set a record of killing a thousand soldiers alone in a great battle during an expedition in the past. It was a record that robbed the enemies of their courage. From Liqiang’s display of strength today, you will definitely be able to carry on Di Longtu’s proud legacy if given enough time!”

His Majesty had certainly given Yan Liqiang a high evaluation which he dare not accept.

“Your modesty is unwarranted. Given the skills you have exhibited today, it is only a matter of time before you are capable of great achievements on the battlefields!” The Emperor thought to himself for a moment before he turned around to look at Eunuch Liu. “Liu An, does Commandant Yan have any other duties assigned to him in Deer Villa apart from being the superintendent of the archery range?”

Eunuch Liu quickly stepped forward and bowed in response. “Your Majesty, Commandant Yan currently isn’t assigned to any other responsibilities aside from his superintendent role at the archery range!”

The Emperor lowered his head slightly then looked at Yan Liqiang with a solemn expression. “Yan Liqiang, heed my decree!”

Yan Liqiang was taken aback before he hurriedly stepped forward and cupped his fist to accept it.

“Henceforth, you shall be promoted as Huwei Commandant, an Armed Imperial Guard of Fifth Grade and a bronze tiger buckle belt will be bestowed upon you! You shall be appointed as the deputy manager of Deer Villa and concurrently be in charge of the Royal Crown Prince’s archery lessons!”

The series of titles bestowed upon him stunned Yan Liqiang greatly. A Huwei Commandant was a rank above Yinyang Commandant, and it was classified as a mid-upper position in the military. A Fifth Grade Armed Imperial Guard was akin to an honorary status from his previous world while the ‘Imperial’ in the title indicated that one had certain privilege to come and go from the royal palace. Bronze tiger buckle belts were bestowed to the emperor’s armed guards. A deputy manager of Deer Villa would be Eunuch Liu’s assistant, a significantly higher position than the archery range’s superintendent in Deer Villa. Being appointed as the Crown Prince’s mentor in archery was something even more amazing. This wasn’t a simple military position; it was a position that could allow one to be close to the Crown Prince and provide the easiest way to earn his trust and favor. When the Crown Prince ascended the throne in the future, his meteoric rise would be imminent...

Yan Liqiang finally knew what it felt to be overwhelmed with the Emperor’s favor.

He didn’t respond until he noticed the meaningful glances that Eunuch Liu kept throwing at him, then quickly prostrated himself before the Emperor. “Thank you, Your Majesty! Yan Liqiang shall accept the decree!”

The Emperor didn’t stay very long at the archery range. After bestowing the great gift upon Yan Liqiang, he left a few minutes later. Eunuch Liu and Yan Liqiang escorted the Emperor to Deer Villa’s entrance and watched as he got onto his royal carriage. Escorted by a group of guards and honorary guards, the royal carriage then magnificently made its way back to the Imperial Capital city. Right before the Emperor left, he gifted the powerful twenty-picul warbow to Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang was still in a daze after the Emperor left.

“Liqiang, you and I are partners in Deer Villa from now on!” Eunuch Liu turned his head around and smilingly told Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang scanned his surroundings. All the supervisors and soldiers standing at Deer Villa’s entrance were looking at Yan Liqiang differently compared to yesterday. When Yan Liqiang’s gaze swept across them, an ingratiating smile immediately appeared on their faces. Supervisor Wen in particular had a broad, rotten smile.

It went without saying that words about Yan Liqiang’s promotion from the Emperor spread like wildfire in Deer Villa.

“I dare not, Eunuch Liu! Our relationship shall remain the same as it has always been. Naturally, every decision for Deer Villa is still yours to make, Eunuch Liu. I will only focus on eating and training in Deer Villa as I am still incapable of managing people and other affairs, so those things will still be in Eunuch Liu’s capable hands. If you have any orders for me, just send Little Chun and Little Li to inform me at any time!” Yan Liqiang smiled back at Eunuch Liu, being as respectful as he was before. “I am still clueless on some of the appointments His Majesty made and would like to ask Eunuch Liu for guidance!”

Eunuch Liu laughed heartily, knowing deep down inside that he hadn’t misjudged Yan Liqiang’s character.

......

“The Crown Prince’s archery lessons?” It was only in the evening when Lin Qingtian looking at the report in his hands inside the study room of the Grand Chancellor’s Office. He immediately knitted his eyebrows together as the expression on his face darkened...

“My lord, His Majesty’s appointment for Yan Liqiang has attracted a lot of attention. That lowly Yinyang Commandant, Yan Liqiang, immediately became well-known in the Imperial Capital city. His Majesty promoted him after he gave the Ministry of Justice a slap in the face. Not only that, he was even appointed to be in charge of the Crown Prince’s archery lessons. I don’t really care about my pride, but I have a feeling that His Majesty’s decisions seem to be aimed at you...” The Minister of Justice, Gu Chunyi, pointed out treacherously beside him.

Lin Qingtian was silent for half a minute. He gently tapped on the piece of paper in his hand and finally spoke up indifferently after a good while. “The Crown Prince will one day rule over the Great Han Empire. Therefore, his study is no trifling matter. It is not only His Majesty’s family matter, but also the nation’s matter. It is too much of a reckless decision to put a lowly commandant who isn’t any much older than him to be in charge of his lessons. The capital city doesn’t lack any archery experts, so why must he choose a brat? This matter should be brought up for discussing during the court assembly...”

The Minister of Justice, Gu Chunyi, pondered over the Grand Chancellor’s words before a smile slowly broke across his face. “Good thinking, my lord...”

Chapter 347: Returning to the Sect

The Heavenly Realm, the fourth day of the twelfth lunar month in the 17th year of the Yuanping reign...

After nearly three months of arduous trekking, Yan Liqiang and the people from Four Seas Escort Agency finally arrived within the borders of Lai Province. At this time, the temperature in Lai Province had dropped steeply, welcoming the first snowfall of the winter for this year.

The chilly wind and snow about the size of goose feather blew against their faces. Feeling as though his face was being stabbed by an icy knife, Yan Liqiang pulled up his face veil while riding on his rhinodrake steed to prevent the snowflakes and chilly wind from getting into his collar. Without even touching it, Yan Liqiang could feel a thin layer of snow on his eyelashes.

Yan Liqiang rode with gloves, but he only used one hand to hold the reins. He clenched his other hand into a fist and then unclenched it. Repeating this in an endless cycle, he switched to another hand after a while. He stretched out the hand that was previously holding onto the reins, then started clenching and unclenching his fist again.

In such cold weather, this was the only way to prevent one’s fingers from getting stiff. It kept the hands nimble at all times, so that a bow could be drawn in the shortest amount of time and accuracy could be guaranteed when encountering any dangers. This was the experience that Yan Liqiang had picked up along the way.

The public road was quite empty and the snow was already more than a foot thick. Rhinodrake steeds started slowing down as the party trudged heavily along the way. The travel and all kinds of dangers they encountered during their journey over the past few weeks made everyone exhausted both mentally and physically. Despite running into quite a lot of dangerous situations, the size of the party fortunately didn’t suffer further reduction under Yan Liqiang’s protection with the powerful bow in his hands. Only a few escorts sustained some injuries, but they were not life-threatening.

“Cheer up, everyone! We’ll try to make it to Su’an City before nightfall today, then we’ll be back at the Divine Sword Sect tomorrow...!” Yan Liqiang, who was walking in front of the party, turned his head around and shouted to everyone, trying to boost the party’s morale.

At this moment, Yan Liqiang’s position in the party was completely different from when they were still at Jinling. He was definitely the core and leader of the party now. A few escorts in the party even looked at Yan Liqiang the same way as they did toward their former escort leader. Like just now when Yan Liqiang shouted, Wang Hui and a few others also shouted along with him. “Cheer up, cheer up! Don’t be moody now...!”

The shouts of the escorts slowly roused the silent group.

Before they even reached Lai Province, everyone had been thinking about returning. Now, apart from their physical exhaustion and being able to immediately loosen up, the group didn’t really feel that much excitement. If anything, it was more like they were relieved to have survived the calamity and there was also an indescribably complex feeling within them. A few months ago, the party had left in such a spectacular manner. Little did anyone expect for only a few of them to return today. The chaos they saw along the way and the rumors floating about cast a shadow over everyone’s hearts.

They all continued walking on the public road for a while before they made a turn and spotted another border checkpoint ahead of them.

Yan Liqiang recalled that there weren’t any checkpoints along this road when they left Lai Province a few months ago, but there were now two additional sentry towers. On the public road outside the border checkpoint, there were some spiky barriers with a wooden log placed in between them to obstruct cavalry.

When the people defending the border checkpoint noticed Yan Liqiang’s party advancing toward them, a group of armed people came out from the sentry tower at the side, seemingly on alert.

“What’s going on? Why is there a checkpoint up ahead...?” Wang Hui urged his rhinodrake steed to speed up a little to Yan Liqiang’s side so he could ask for his opinion. “Why don’t I take a look over there first while everyone wait here...?”

During the journey, everyone had been on edge by the string of endless unexpected situations they got caught up in – they had no idea where all these White Lotus Society, brigands, bandits, local evil tyrants, and soldiers had come out from. It was still relatively safer around the cities, but as they moved further away from the cities, there were people setting up checkpoints, plundering, killing, and robbing. It was extremely chaotic everywhere. Hence, the escorts from the agency and the others in the party grew tense as soon as they noticed the border checkpoint up ahead of them.

Yan Liqiang had silently removed his gloves. He clenched his fist, then shifted his bow bag to the side where it would be easier for him to access his bow. He observed the situation around the checkpoint through his squinted eyes. “No need, they have already noticed us. We will go there together. Being too cautious will make them even more suspicious of us and they’ll be on guard instead. It might lead to trouble. We’re already at Lai Province. The mountain gate of the Divine Sword Sect is less than several hundred li from here. The sect probably won’t allow anyone to wreak havoc in the province. Just act on my signal later!”

“Alright!”

The orders were passed down and everyone in the party was energized. Zhao Huipeng and Gu Zexuan, who had been following Yan Liqiang, silently rode to Yan Liqiang’s sides and put on their guard.

“Stop where you are! Dismount for inspection...!” They were fifty steps away from the border checkpoint when someone shouted from the top of the sentry tower. An arrow then came flying from top and embedded itself in the ground, seven or eight meters ahead of Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang raised his hand and the party stopped. He was the first to dismount and pull down his face veil. Crushing the thick snow beneath his feet, he made his way toward the checkpoint. The others dismounted and followed behind him with their rhinodrake steeds.

Yan Liqiang observed the several dozens of people stationed at the checkpoints while walking. They were armed and fully-armored like soldiers, but their clothes were different from regular army uniforms. The standard uniforms of the Great Han Empire’s army were either red or dark red. However, the soldiers defending the checkpoint were dressed in black attire and this raised some suspicion from Yan Liqiang. However, from their appearance and temperament, they didn’t look like bandits who were blocking the road either. This was slightly reassuring to Yan Liqiang.

“Where are you all from? What business do you have in Lai Province?” The man, who looked like their leader with a longsword hanging on his waist, barked at Yan Liqiang loudly from the checkpoint.

“We are from the Divine Sword Sect!” Based on the experience he had accumulated from his journey, Yan Liqiang shouted the name of his sect first to intimidate the other party so that they wouldn’t try to pull anything funny on them. “We came from Jinling and we are on our back to the sect!”

“What? You all are from the Divine Sword Sect too? I believe you have an identity paiza from the sect then?” The man who looked like the leader was slightly taken aback.

‘Too?’ Why did he say ‘too’?

Yan Liqiang secretly wondered. Even so, he still fished out his paiza which indicated that he was one of the Divine Sword Sect’s external disciples, and showed it to the man.

“Ah. There’s no mistake about it. This is indeed the paiza from the Divine Sword Sect. That makes us a family!” Everyone was immediately relieved when they heard the man’s words. However, Yan Liqiang grew even more perplexed as he wondered if this border checkpoint had been set up by the sect.

Just then, a low-ranking soldier beside the man seemed to recall something. He swept his glance across Yan Liqiang and the rest, then quickly whispered a few words to his leader.

“Oh that’s right, you said you all came from Jinling City. Did you run into the party from the Four Seas Escort Agency along the way?”

“If the Four Seas Escort Agency hasn’t dispatched any escort parties to Jinling in the past few months, then yes, we are the party that has returned from Jinling City.” Yan Liqiang stashed his paiza away and responded calmly.

“Ah...!” The leader’s eyes instantly widened as he had a look of shock on his face. After carefully looking at Yan Liqiang for a moment, he was worked up. “Your escort leader is Feng?”

“That’s right, our escort leader’s surname is Feng!”

The man nearly jumped at Yan Liqiang’s reply. He quickly ordered a soldier at the side, “Quick, go inform the sect that the Four Seas Escort Agency party that was on an escort mission to Jinling has returned...!”

“What’s going on?”

“Please forgive us. We were told to inform the sect immediately if the Four Seas Escort Agency party led by Escort Leader Feng has returned!”

“Are you all from the Divine Sword Sect too?” Yan Liqiang asked curiously.

“Yes. Currently, our Divine Sword Sect has assumed control over the entire Lai Province...” the leader replied proudly.

As soon as he finished speaking, some flapping noises rang out atop the other sentry tower. A post-carrying pigeon rose from the top of the tower and flew into the distance at high speed. In just the space of a few breaths, it completely vanished into the snowy sky.

Although Yan Liqiang had some speculations and had seen all kinds of chaos along the way, he still couldn’t help but be rather shocked when he heard the leader said that the Divine Sword Sect had assumed control over the entire Lai Province. This was an indication that the Great Han Empire had already descended into unimaginable chaos and disorder. Hence, a supreme sect like the Divine Sword Sect could forcefully take control of the entire Lai Province and no longer be bothered about showing respect to the imperial court, especially if the imperial court still existed at this point in time...

......

Two hours later, Yan Liqiang’s party met the cavalry from Su’an City on halfway. After making their identities clear to each other, the cavalry escorted Yan Liqiang and the rest back to Su’an City.

The moment they met up with the cavalry that was sent to escort them, everyone in Yan Liqiang’s party completely loosened up, feeling as though they were finally coming home...

Chapter 348: Arrangement

Yan Liqiang’s party received special treatment upon their return this time. Besides Yan Liqiang, everyone in the party realized it too.

By nightfall on the very same day, Yan Liqiang and the others arrived at Su’an City under the cavalry’s escort and stayed the night at the best inn in the city.

The atmosphere in Su’an City was a bit tense. Although it was snowing, there were very few pedestrians on the street and many shops and restaurants were closed. However, there were many law enforcers and soldiers on patrol instead. Yan Liqiang only found out that the entire Lai Province was like this when he asked the cavalrymen who escorted them here. After the Divine Sword Sect took control of Lai Province, night curfews, as well as food and control over resources were implemented in every city within the borders. This was implemented in order to prevent the White Lotus Society from exploiting the situation by starting a rebellion and causing further chaos.

On their way back to Lai Province, Yan Liqiang and the rest had seen chaos in many places. Putting aside those who were heavily affected by the White Lotus Society, the unaffected places weren’t that peaceful either. Because of the chaos, the local wealthy households started hoarding food for self-preservation. The food prices in many places that Yan Liqiang’s party passed by could be said to change three times on the same day. The food price they saw in the morning would usually change by noon, rising steadily. At a time like this, the situation was still a bit better in the countryside since every household still kept a surplus of food. Meanwhile, a sense of crisis had set in for those living in big cities as they didn’t have much food stored at home. Everyone grew worried at the rising food prices and started buying as much as they could. However, the more they bought, the faster the prices rose. Subsequently, the wealthy households got to store more food because the rest could no longer afford much with the money on hand. Not only that, some unscrupulous merchants even exploited the situation and deliberately inflated food prices. As a result, chaos descended in many places. The citizens who couldn’t buy food began attacking the stores, causing great disorder. If White Lotus Society members were inciting violence, bloodshed or accidents could easily happen, and this could cause more disorder in the city. Yan Liqiang and the rest saw such scenes on more than one occasion along the way back.

The Great Han Empire was currently in a vulnerable state. In addition to the White Lotus Society’s uprising, ambition stirred in many hearts. Every province was thinking of a way to protect themselves as the chaos set in.

The Divine Sword Sect and its headquarters were based in Lai Province. Therefore, the sect had always heavily influenced the local powerful clans and bureaucracies. Not only that, its disciples could be found all over the province. Under such circumstances, the sect naturally didn’t have to spare much effort to declare that the Lai Provincial Governor appointed by the imperial court was on ‘administrative leave’. With the assistance of various influential clans and their disciples, the sect was swift to take control of Lai Province and restore order.

The prefectural governor of Su’an City was also replaced by a newly-appointed prefectural governor who wasn’t appointed by the imperial court. Instead, this person was a ‘locally appointed highly esteemed individual who could stabilize the situation in Su’an City’.

This ‘highly esteemed individual’ was none other than the head of the Wu Clan, the most influential clan in Su’an City. The head of the Wu Clan and his children were all disciples of the Divine Sword Sect. Likewise, the other influential clans which were in favor of the Wu Clan assuming the prefectural governor’s role in Su’an City were all closely affiliated to the Divine Sword Sect. Meanwhile, the military governor in Su’an City remained unchanged because he was originally a member of the sect.

Over the past month, bureaucrats who were previously appointed by the imperial court without good reason and were not on close terms with the Divine Sword Sect were all made into mere figureheads or declared to be on ‘administrative leave’. Within the borders of Lai Province, the Divine Sword Sect now had the final say in everything. Decrees were no longer issued by the Provincial Governor’s Office but by Divine Sword Sect’s Tiankui Peak.

Yan Liqiang couldn’t really say if such separation of a province was a good idea or not, because the Great Han Empire’s current situation had gone beyond the limits of his foresight and judgment.

After settling down in the inn, everyone could finally enjoy a hot meal. For the past few weeks, they were surviving on the minimal amount of stir-fried husked rice they carried with them.

The dinner prepared by the inn wasn’t a grand feast, but there were still some meat, fish, and hot soup. At this point in time, everyone was satisfied as long as they could have something hot to eat.

By the time they returned to their room after dinner, the servants at the inn had prepared a hot bath. Yan Liqiang took a nice bath in the wooden tub in his room and felt as though he had finally come back to life again.

After showering, he waited for a while and figured that the rest were probably about done with their business. He thought about it for a moment, then left his room to look for Wang Hui and instructed him to complete some tasks. After seeing Wang Hui thumping his own chest while telling him it was no problem, only then did he go to Yu Qing’s room and gently knock on her door.

“Who’s there...?” Yu Qing’s voice rang out from inside the room.

“It’s me!” Yan Liqiang replied softly.

Creak...! Yu Qing’s door opened and her lovely flushed face peeked out from behind. She must have just finished washing up because the soap fragrance clung to her skin and her hair was still slightly wet. Despite not wearing any makeup, her face was akin to a delicate flower glistening with fresh water. Her natural beauty was enough to seckill all those so-called celebrities wearing thick makeup in Yan Liqiang’s previous life. At this moment, her vibrant youthfulness was undoubtedly unleashed. If it wasn’t for her beauty, she wouldn’t have been assaulted by the group of thugs back in Jinling City. During their journey, Yu Qing had to put on a male disguise in the end so that she could blend into the party and avoid troubles.

When Yan Liqiang’s gaze landed on Yu Qing’s face, it naturally traveled downward. His heart couldn’t help but sway a little when he saw the mounds in front of her chest.

“Young Lord... How may I help you?” Yu Qing’s cheeks were tinted red. She had her head slightly lowered as she asked softly.

“Ahem, ahem...” Yan Liqiang coughed twice shyly and averted his gaze. “I’m just want to inform you that we’ll be returning to the sect tomorrow. Due to the strict sect rules, I’m afraid that outsiders will not be permitted in the sect...”

The moment those words left Yan Liqiang’s mouth, Yu Qing’s flushed cheeks were immediately drained of color. Her body tottered as her eyes turned moist, but she tried to fight back her tears. Yu Qing clenched her teeth and forced a smile at Yan Liqiang. “I... I understand. Don’t worry, I will leave tomorrow, Young Lord. I will take care of myself and make sure I won’t cause any more trouble for you. Thank you for taking care of me throughout our journey from Jinling until here. If I cannot repay you in this life, I, Yu Qing, will be sure to repay your kindness and grace in the next life!”

Yu Qing was about to get on her knees before Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang quickly grabbed her arms and lifted her up without thinking. “You misunderstood me. Don’t make it sound so sad, it’s not like we won’t meet again. I only said I can’t bring you back to the sect. I didn’t say we weren’t going to see each other again. You’re a lady, so it’s not safe for you to be in an unfamiliar place. I just had a discussion with Wang Hui – we’ll split up tomorrow, and he’ll find you a place in the town outside the Divine Sword Sect’s mountain gate to stay for the time being. I’ll return to the sect first to report back on the mission. After that, I’ll come back for you. Hopefully, I’ll be able to either get you into the Divine Sword Sect as an external disciple or find you a job in this town!”

“Alright...”

Looking at the glow that had returned to Yu Qing’s face, and the way her head was still lowered while she was looking at his hand that was holding onto her arms, Yan Liqiang finally reacted. His action was probably a little too intimate for the ladies of this world, so he quickly retracted his hands. “The journey has been exhausting, you should rest earlier...”

“You too, Yong Lord!”

“Will do!”

Yan Liqiang made his way back to his room. Yu Qing stared at his disappearing silhouette in a daze with her adorable pink cheeks, before she finally bit her lips and shut her door.

...

Yan Liqiang and the others from the escort agency were quite tired. Hence, everyone hit the sack early and the night passed by uneventfully.

While resting, Yan Liqiang could finally breathe out a sigh of relief upon ending his day in the Heavenly Realm. He returned to reality and spent the entire day cultivating in Deer Villa. At nighttime, he went back to the Heavenly Realm and resumed his journey...

......

Early the next morning, the cavalry which escorted them yesterday arrived after everyone was done with breakfast. Yan Liqiang’s party was escorted back to the Divine Sword Sect. After traveling the entire morning away, the mountain gate of Divine Sword Sect appeared before Yan Liqiang’s eyes before it was noon...

Chapter 349: Welcoming

“Ah, we’ve finally arrived...” Looking at the towering peaks in the distance, Gu Zexuan couldn’t help but cheer. He gave his rhinodrake steed a powerful slap and charged ahead.

They were still several dozens li away from the Divine Sword Sect’s mountain gate. Even so, they could clearly see the lofty thirty-six peaks within the sect.

Among the snowy white land, the thirty-six peaks of the Divine Sword Sect pierced through the heavenly blue dome of like thirty-six sharp swords with unparalleled grandeur.

Smiles emerged on many faces within the party.

The road split into two not far up ahead. Although they were in the same direction, one led to Divine Sword Sword Sect while the other was the road home for the Four Seas Escort Agency party. It was time for everyone to part ways and the group stopped at the fork.

“Brother Yan, if it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t have been able to make it back in one piece even if we did survive the catastrophe on that fateful day. I will keep things short: we’ve been indebted to you during our journey. If Brother Yan is willing, you may call me big brother from now on. Just give the Four Seas Escort Agency a call at any time if you need assistance. We definitely won’t bat an eyelid at even the most severe trials!” Wang Hui announced loudly. As soon as his voice fell, everyone in the party cheered in agreement.

“I, Gong Dequan, have never been this impressed by anyone. After our time together, I am impressed by you, Brother Yan!” Gong Dequan gave Yan Liqiang a thumbs-up.

“With Brother Yan’s capability, I’m sure you’ll have boundless prospects in the Divine Sword Sect. Please take care of us when the time comes!” Huang Sheng said with a smile.

Yan Liqiang cupped his fist to everyone around him on his rhinodrake steed. “During the journey, we were able to overcome countless obstacles and make it back here thanks to everyone’s rich experience and considerations. I am sure we will meet again someday. Until then, please take care of yourselves!”

“Brother Yan, Brother Gu, and Brother Zhao, take care of yourselves too...!” The people from Four Seas Escort Agency cupped their fists toward Yan Liqiang as well.

Sensing a pair of glistening eyes on him, Yan Liqiang smiled. “Take care of yourself too, Lady Yu!”

“I will. Take care of yourself too, Young Lord!”

The group parted ways after bidding each other farewell. The Four Seas Escort Agency took the other road at the side along with Yu Qing. After they had gone far enough, Yu Qing couldn’t stop herself from turning back to look at Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang waved and watched them until they vanished from his sight after turning around the ridge. Only then did he shake his reins and speed in the direction of the sect with Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng. The cavalry continued escorting the three of them back to the sect.

“Uh, why are all of them following us, Leader?” When Zhao Huipeng noticed no one from the cavalry of a hundred men left with the Four Seas Escort Agency party, he couldn’t help but curiously whisper his question to Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang blinked. “Well, there are fewer of us and we are weaker, so of course we require protection!”

Zhao Huipeng scratched his head. “Oh, I see!”

“Don’t tell me you really believe that, Huipeng.” Gu Zexuan couldn’t help but speak up.

“Ah, is there some other reason?” Zhao Huipeng asked in confusion.

Gu Zexuan cast a glance at Yan Liqiang. Instead of revealing the fact, he only gave him a vague response. “You’ll know why when we reach the Divine Sword Sect...”

Yan Liqiang smiled and didn’t say anything else. Zhao Huipeng still couldn’t wrap his head around it, but Yan Liqiang knew Gu Zexuan had already made a guess. Ever since they arrived at the border checkpoint in Lai Province yesterday, Yan Liqiang had already determined why the Divine Sword Sect was so interested in them. It would seem like the news he sent back from Feng Provincial City was beginning to show its effect. The important figures in the sect probably knew his name by now and wished to meet him in order to personally get more insight regarding the situation in the Imperial Capital.

This wasn’t some fortune or sheer luck. It was an opportunity that Yan Liqiang seized through his own skills and capabilities. He wasn’t nervous about it at all.

Yan Liqiang’s guess was correct. In just less than half an hour, they saw another group of cavalrymen on rhinodrake steeds rushing toward them. There were seven of them. One was dressed in a blue robe while the other six were wearing purple swordsman attire. One could tell they were disciples of the Divine Sword Sect with a single glance. Yan Liqiang even recognized the man in the blue robe. He was none other than Steward Xue who guided Yan Liqiang up the mountain when he first joined the sect.

“Neiiiighhhh...!” When both parties were ten meters apart, Steward Xue reined in and stopped their steeds. Since the other party was blocking their path, Yan Liqiang’s party naturally stopped too.

“Yan Liqiang...” Steward Xue’s gaze fell on Yan Liqiang’s face as there was a glint in his eyes.

“Greetings, Steward Xue!” Yan Liqiang bowed to Steward Xue. Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng followed suit.

Steward Xue swept his glance across the cavalry that escorted Yan Liqiang back, then took out a token from his chest. “Under the Sect Lord’s orders, I am here to escort Yan Liqiang’s party back to the Divine Sword Sect. You all may return to Su’an City from here!”

Seeing Steward Xue’s token and the fact that Yan Liqiang also knew him personally, the escort cavalry turned their steeds around and returned to where they came from after verifying other party’s identity. Steward Xue then led Yan Liqiang and the other two directly back to the Divine Sword Sect.

Steward Xue was a man of few words. He just continued urging his rhinodrake steed forward without saying much along the way. They weren’t that far from the sect. In the midst of the thundering iron hooves, the party returned to the Divine Sword Sect once again in just less than half an hour.

Looking at the familiar mountain gate and the swordsmen guards outside, Yan Liqiang felt rather emotional in his heart.

Everyone dismounted at the bottom of the stairs at the mountain gate. Steward Xue cast a glance at Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng as soon as he dismounted and ordered a few swordsmen in purple attire, “Escort these two to report back at the Commandment Courtyard first!”

“Steward Xue, Gu Zexuan, and Zhao Huipeng did not do anything wrong. Why do they have to go to the Commandment Courtyard?” Yan Liqiang immediately questioned him before the other two could even speak.

“You all went through a lot during your escort mission. They are not going to the Commandment Courtyard to be punished. The people there will inform them about what information may or may not be divulged. It’s a reminder for them just in case they unknowingly make any mistakes. Aside from them, one of the stewards from the Commandment Courtyard is already waiting at the Four Seas Escort Agency. Those escorts and footmen who returned with you will also be briefed,” Steward Xue responded calmly. “As for you, you shall come with me!”

“Oh, I see!” Yan Liqiang nodded to Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng. Both of them then followed the swordsmen back to the Commandment Courtyard.

After they left, Yan Liqiang followed Steward Xue inside the mountain gate.

Beyond the sect’s mountain gate, snow that had piled up on the road had been cleared. Disciples in gray clothes could occasionally be seen sweeping away the snow. Some of them would stop and bow to Steward Xue when they saw him, and threw some curious glances at Yan Liqiang who was walking alongside Steward Xue.

Currently, Yan Liqiang’s reputation in the Divine Sword Sect was not that well-known, so not many knew people knew him. In addition, he had never shown his face around the sect for the past few months. Therefore, most of the disciples in the sect didn’t recognize him at all.

“Steward Xue, where are we going?” Yan Liqiang asked while walking.

“Tiankui Peak!” Steward Xue uttered the two words, then looked at Yan Liqiang with an astonished expression. “The Sect Lord and elders are currently waiting for you there!”

“Huh...?!” Yan Liqiang was shocked. Although he had made some mental preparations, he still didn’t think his return would startle so many people.

“The Sect Lord and elders only received news that you all arrived in Lai Province yesterday. They estimated that you’d be back around noon, so all of them gathered on Tiankui Peak because they wish to speak to you in person. You don’t have to be nervous...”

Yan Liqiang took a deep breath, knowing that his chance had come...

Chapter 350: Important Figure From The Sect

Tiankui Peak was the main peak and the heart of the Divine Sword sect. Yan Liqiang had never ascended Tiankui Peak before this. As an external disciple of the sect, he didn’t even have the rights to come here.

However, Yan Liqiang finally ascended Tiankui Peak today under Steward Xue’s lead after a few rounds of inspections.

Tiankui Peak was lofty and majestic with all sorts of pavilions, buildings, and cave dwellings hidden within. While ascending Tiankui Peak, sword gleams from the disciples who were cultivating on the mountain could be seen flashing above the trees and precipices among the snowy scenery. Along the way, elite disciples wearing purple robes were the most commonly spotted. Although not many inner disciples wearing black clothes were here, direct disciples wearing blue robes were everywhere. However, there was not even one external disciple like Yan Liqiang who was still in an ordinary gray robe anywhere in sight here.

Therefore, as Steward Xue and Yan Liqiang made their way up from the foot of Tiankui Peak, any disciples of the sect who came across them couldn’t help but stare at the latter. Apart from Yan Liqiang’s identity in the sect, his flawlessly handsome face also amazed everyone who laid eyes on him for the very first time.

When they were halfway up Tiankui Peak, Yan Liqiang spotted many disciples from the sect gathered in a garden at the side of the mountain road. Inside the circle they formed, there was a Dharmic projection of a ferocious winged-tiger with a red light. Bursts of green sword gleams appeared, causing snowflakes in the surrounding to swirl violently. The disciples who had gathered around were cheering loudly.

“Brother Peng’s Flying Tiger Sword technique is marvelous indeed...!”

“He’s probably attained the Ninth Layer...!”

“Impressive, impressive...!”

The sect disciples in the audience all sighed in amazement.

When Steward Xue and Yan Liqiang passed by, another burst of sword gleams was unleashed. Amidst the loud cheers, the Dharmic projection of a flying tiger immediately vanished. A good-looking youth with an unusual aura stood proudly with his sword.

The youth spotted Steward Xue and Yan Liqiang too. He swept his gaze over Yan Liqiang before his face broke into a smile as he greeted the steward. “Long time no see, Steward Xue!”

Steward Xue couldn’t help but stop when he heard the youth’s greeting. A smile appeared on his serious face. His expression made him look like an entirely different person from Yan Liqiang’s impression. “Greetings, Senior Martial Brother Peng!”

“Greetings, Senior Martial Brother!” Yan Liqiang acted accordingly to the rules in the Divine Sword Sect and bowed to him too.

“Oh, who is this external junior martial brother? Why have you brought him to Tiankui Peak, Steward Xue?”

“This is Yan Liqiang. The Sect Lord and elders have requested for his presence in the Sword Shrine!”

Upon hearing that Steward Xue was not only bringing Yan Liqiang to the Sword Shrine, but to also meet with the Sect Lord and elders, Senior Martial Brother Peng and the other disciples around him started giving Yan Liqiang curious glances.

“Ah, I wonder what is it about...”

“Well...” Steward Xue looked as though he was in a difficult position.

“Ha, that was only a casual question. I am very well aware of the sect’s rules. Forget about it if it’s not convenient for Steward Xue to disclose!” Senior Martial Peng chuckled. “Hurry along now, Steward Xue. Don’t keep the Sect Lord and elders waiting...”

“Thank you for your understanding, Senior Martial Brother Peng!” Steward Xue cupped his fist to his senior martial brother, then continued leading Yan Liqiang up the mountain.

Although they had gone quite far, Yan Liqiang could still feel burning gazes on his back. “Steward Xue, who exactly is Senior Martial Brother Peng?”

“One of the Divine Sword Sect’s Seven Heroes – Flying Tiger Sword!”

“Oh, no wonder!”

“Let’s us hurry, we shouldn’t keep the Sect Lord and elders waiting too long...” Steward Xue suddenly increased his pace. Naturally, Yan Liqiang followed suit to keep up with him.

In just a flash, they arrived at the summit of Tiankui Peak. The summit was a huge area about the size of a soccer field. They were surrounded by towering buildings. Facing the square was a magnificent shrine. From the square, one would still need to climb a set of ninety-nine stairs before reaching the shrine’s entrance. On top of the flight of stairs, two rows of swordsmen stood unmoving like boulders.

Steward Xue led Yan Liqiang through the square, then flashed his token. They climbed the stairs and arrived at the shrine’s entrance. Steward Xue faced the shrine, bowed before the doorstep, then made a loud announcement. “Xue Tao has brought the external disciple, Yan Liqiang, here as ordered!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the shrine’s door immediately opened. A deep and dignified voice rang out from inside.

“Let Yan Liqiang in!”

“Understood!” Xue Tao bowed to the shrine, then cast a glance at Yan Liqiang. “Go in!”

“Thank you, Steward Xue!” Yan Liqiang took a deep breath, lifted his leg, and stepped into the grand shrine all by himself.

The interior of the grand shrine was brightly lit. The moment Yan Liqiang entered, he saw an old man sitting upright in the Sect Lord’s seat. He had an imposing aura akin to that of a lofty mountain, a head full of silver hair, and a beard. When the old man’s gaze fell on him, Yan Liqiang felt as though he had walked into the public baths naked. The feeling of being scrutinized made his heart tremble.

There were two rows of seats on both sides of the old man. The seats were fully occupied and the occupants’ gazes were currently focused on Yan Liqiang.

The old man sitting in the middle gently lifted his hand at Yan Liqiang, who only felt two gusts of violent wind that brushed by him. The moment the old man lifted his hand, the open doors about twenty or thirty meters behind Yan Liqiang were promptly shut with a soft bang.

Holy f*ck...

Yan Liqiang was screaming internally. That brilliant move really stunned him...

Telekinesis was the cultivation of a Grade One Martial King. An ordinary person would be easily disposed of over a distance of several dozen meters without any chance of winning. Goddamn, that was really freaky...

Without a doubt, the old man seated in the main seat of this grand shrine was none other than the Sect Lord, the doyen of the Great Han Empire’s Senate nicknamed the Sword King, Luqiu Mingyue who had advanced into a Martial King thirty years ago.

The ones sitting at the sides were all elders of the Divine Sword Sect. Yan Liqiang recognized two faces among them. One was Elder Jiang, whom he met once when he had just joined the sect. The other was the most secretive master he was apprenticed to in the Divine Sword Sect, Liu Guiyuan.

Yan Liqiang was slightly agitated when he saw Liu Guiyuan. He didn’t expect to meet his own master so openly at this kind of time. Liu Guiyuan’s expression wasn’t that much different than the other elders’. His shiny eyes were also looking at Yan Liqiang with great interest. Feeling the attention on him, Yan Liqiang calmed himself down and looked away from Liu Guiyuan as he pretended to not know him. He walked toward the front and bowed deeply to the old man seated in the main seat and everyone else in the surroundings when he reached the middle of the grand shrine. “Greetings to the Sect Lord and all elders from Yan Liqiang, the external disciple of the Divine Sword Sect!”

The seventeen elders of Divine Sword Sect were all gathered here at this moment. Five of the seventeen elders were women. Two of them were stern-looking elderlies with gray hair but youthful faces. The other three were extremely graceful and beautiful middle-aged women whose appearances didn’t give their age away.

“No need for formalities, you may get up.” Luqiu Mingyue spoke indifferently from his seat.

“Thank you, Sect Lord!”

Luqiu Mingyue took a look at Yan Liqiang from head to toe, then nodded with a smile on his face. “Not bad, not bad. A handsome man like a fine jade made in heaven. It has been a few decades since we have had such a handsome disciple in the Divine Sword Sect!” After Luqiu Mingyue was done complimenting Yan Liqiang’s looks, he turned his gaze to someone else. “Elder Jiang, was the key that Yan Liqiang brought here to join the sect the Key of Requital from Elder Shi?”

Elder Jiang, who had a long face and a pair of keen eyes, nodded when he heard Luqiu Mingyue’s question. “Yes. I was the one who permitted him to join the Divine Sword Sect that day. I have verified that it was the Key of Requital from Elder Shi. Yan Liqiang had never learned internal cultivation and didn’t carry any sort of poison on his body. We have also sent people to verify his background. There is no mistake about it!”

Chapter 351: Interrogation

When Elder Jiang, who once examined Yan Liqiang when he entered the Divine Sword Sect, was done speaking, Luqiu Mingyue gave a slight nod as he sat at the head of the table before he turned to look at the handsome rosy elder on the other seat.

“Elder Tu, I heard that Yan Liqiang used to clean toilets back on Tianqiao Peak before he was promoted by Xiaoai as an external servant of Tianqiao Hall. Is that true?”

The Xiaoai he mentioned was none other than Hall Master Su Xiaoai of Tianqiao Hall. With the exception of the people here, no one else would dare to address the hot-tempered Hall Master Su like that.

“It’s true!” The wealthy-looking Elder Tu replied as he squinched at Yan Liqiang with a chuckle, “Xiaoai said that even though Yan Liqiang is an external disciple, he never failed to clean the toilets at Tianqiao Peak every single day until they were spotless when he was on duty. Because the toilets were too clean, the disciples of Tianqiao Peak were at first ashamed to use them, fearing that they’d cause a filthy mess to the stainless facility. Afterward, they began to grow accustomed to it, but they remained careful in using them. Due to this reason, the male disciples on Tianqiao Peak who used to be somewhat sloppy gradually became more conscientious. It isn’t easy to maintain the cleanliness of the toilets that an average person cleans every three or five days. However, through Xiaoai’s observation, despite the fact that external disciple Yan Liqiang was assigned the dirtiest and most tiring job, he managed to assiduously work from the early hours until late at night with perseverance and consistency. Even in the depths of winter, he chiseled ice for water without showing any signs of slack, which is quite impressive. Also, Yan Liqiang made all the earth vinegar used in the Divine Sword Sect back when he was a servant on Tianqiao Peak, which he created for the sake of cleaning the toilets. This kind of disciple can cultivate both mind and ability. Therefore, Xiaoai decided to promote Yan Liqiang to an external servant and keep him on Tianqiao Peak to run the storehouse!”

“Did Yan Liqiang ever make a mistake when he was in charge of the Tianqiao Peak storehouse?”

“Not a single mistake. In addition, when Yan Liqiang was in charge of the storehouse, he managed to sort out the storehouse’s accounts and drafted some of the regulations to the warehousing and delivery of the stocks. The management of the entire storehouse is more apprehensible now. Even those who have never been exposed to this work will not make an error as long as they follow the regulations!”

Undoubtedly, Elder Tu was trying to praise Yan Liqiang from the way he talked. Hearing that, Yan Liqiang felt a trace of excitement in his heart. He knew that his efforts from before had not gone to waste in the end. At the same time, he could also sense the gazes from the elders in the hall becoming more amiable. Most of the elders nodded in agreement as they listened to Elder Tu’s response; Luqiu Mingyue even had a smile curled on his face.

“Indeed, I have heard about the earth vinegar these few days. Although this stuff is common, it’s actually quite useful!” Liqiu Mingyue then looked at Yan Liqiang and asked with a gentle voice, “How are you able to think of making such things possible?”

“Sect Lord, the earth vinegar isn’t my creation. Since my grandfather was a wandering physician, I used to watch him make this kind of stuff. I would take some vegetable leaves and fruit peels and steep them inside a pot before adding a bit of corn stalk juice into it. After a period of fermentation, I would use it to clean things. My grandfather says that doing so will keep the environment clean and people will not easily become ill!”

Yan Liqiang’s response and character background matched perfectly – there was no issue at all.

“Then how about this? Your drawing technique has a style of its own, as if it’s vivid and lifelike. I have traveled around the world, yet I have never seen someone with such a drawing technique. Where did you acquire such a technique, and who taught you?” Liqiu Mingyue asked as he took out a piece of paper and unfolded it before Yan Liqiang. This paper was undoubtedly the drawing that he ‘sketched’ of the desolated scene around the Imperial Capital after the Heavenly Tribulation occurred.

“I have been honing this drawing technique ever since I was young. I liked to draw when I was young, but no one could teach me. In the beginning, I used twigs to draw on the ground. Afterward, I drew on the ground with twigs, stones, and mud. My grandfather used to bring back some medicinal herbs all the time. When I saw those herbs, I gradually used lines and made strokes to draw the shape of the leaves, roots, and fruits of the herbs. Over a period of time, I continued drawing. More than a decade later, my drawings became like this. As long as I can see my subjects, I can draw them out!”

Yan Liqiang’s reply was based on real-life experience when he first learned how to draw and sketch. Basically, this was the imitation version of Leonardo Da Vinci’s egg painting story, so there were no faults to pick on. Yan Liqiang didn’t learn about oriental ink painting in the past, and even now he was still incapable of the skill. He knew that ink painting focused more on the elegance of the painting itself. The technique he learned – which was drawing and sketching – emphasized realism. Whatever the eyes could see, he would be able to draw everything with his piece of charcoal as if it was a photograph, which was why this technique and ink painting were two completely different styles. Yan Liqiang always felt that they were all considered art regardless of whether it was oriental ink painting or western oil painting, or which one was considered more significant than the other. The only difference between these mediums was their style. Moreover, his original intention in learning how to draw was just to learn a skill that could earn him money and provide him food to eat.

The elders, including Luqiu Mingyue, were absorbed in their thoughts after listening to Yan Liqiang’s explanation. In the end, they gradually nodded their heads.

“This drawing is indeed what you saw in the Imperial Capital, correct?” Luqiu Mingyue asked as he watched Yan Liqiang’s expression attentively.

Yan Liqiang responded solemnly with a nod, his tone with a shred of undisguised sorrow, “Indeed, this is the current scene of the Imperial Capital. Escort Wang Hui from the Four Seas Escort Agency was with me that day we went to investigate the condition of the city, and this is what we saw with our own eyes. At this moment, Imperial Capital no longer exists. The areas in the Four Regions have been nearly reduced to ruins as well. You won’t be able to see a single strand of grass around the Imperial Capital, let alone a living person!”

“Then, when you were at Jinling City that day, why did you decide to make an expedition to the Imperial Capital after experiencing a Heavenly Tribulation?”

“The Divine Sword Sect is one of the four major sects in the world. Huge incidents that occur within the Great Han Empire and Imperial Capital are, of course, closely related to our sect. Even though my position within the sect is humbly low, I’m aware that the Sect Lord and all the elders present here are people who envision the world. The benefits that our sect are concerned with are certainly not only limited to Lai Province. The Heavenly Tribulation that day shocked all corners of the world, which left an enormous impact in its aftermath. Not only the Imperial Capital, but Jinling City, which is a hundred li away from the city, was also entirely obliterated. As a person who personally experienced the tragedy, the area with the greatest activity came from within the Imperial Capital, making it the central point of the calamity. Anything that happens there is certainly nothing minor. Moreover, no Senior Martial Brothers or elders from the sect were in Jinling City. As a disciple of the Divine Sword Sect, I couldn’t shirk from my responsibility. Even if it’s dangerous, I have to think of a plan to figure out the current situation of the Imperial Capital and report to the sect as soon as possible. That way, Sect Lord and the elders would be the first to be aware of the great calamity that befell the center of the Great Han Empire...”

“What a good way to uphold an unshirkable responsibility...” Luqiu Mingyue’s eyes glistened before he let out a long sigh, “If the disciples of the Divine Sword Sect put the sect as their priority and are courageous enough to bear the responsibility like you, the day my Divine Sword Sect becomes the best sect in this world will come sooner than expected. Yan Liqiang, you are pretty good. Good, very good...”

Luqiu Mingyue said ‘good’ three times to Yan Liqiang, praising him. For a bunch of elders who were aware of Luqiu Mingyue’s temperament and behavior, this sort of commendation hadn’t come from the Sect Lord’s mouth for decades...

“You flatter me, Sect Lord. As a disciple of the Divine Sword Sect, this is my duty! I believe that if the other martial brothers were there, they would’ve done the same thing!”

At this particular moment, the more modest Yan Liqiang was,, the better his pretense would be!

Chapter 352: Display of Skill

“What was the Heavenly Tribulation like that night? How did you survive?”

......

“What’s the situation like in Jinling City now? I heard there is still a number of people alive in the city, right?”

......

“How did you handle the goods delivered by the Four Seas Escort Agency?”

......

“You said in your letter that you’ve already hidden the goods somewhere in Jinling City. How did you come up with that plan?”

......

“Did you all encounter any White Lotus Society members on your way back here?”

......

“How is the combat effectiveness of the White Lotus Society’s army in your opinion?”

......

“What is the situation on the provinces that you passed through on your way? Did you witness a riot arise in any province or prefecture?”

......

“Are there any insurgencies within the various garrison troops that you saw during your journey? How about the wealthy families and the populace across the area?”

......

Within the span of an hour, Yan Liqiang earnestly answered each and every question from Luqiu Mingyue and the elders that were present for the interrogation. He had practically disclosed the details and particulars of the two-month excursion following the group’s departure from Jinling to their arrival in Lai Province, including his own observations and reflections.

Yan Liqiang felt like he was participating in a public hearing with him as the person being cross-examined. As the person with firsthand experience on the situation, Yan Liqiang was qualified to answer these questions.

Liqiu Mingyue and the elders were mostly interested in three matters. Firstly, Yan Liqiang’s handling of the goods that Four Seas Escort Agency did not manage to deliver; secondly, the rebellion by the White Lotus Society; and thirdly – the meticulous ones were the various situations that Yan Liqiang and the others had seen and experienced en route back to the Divine Sword Sect.

Yan Liqiang was already an eloquent speaker. Even the way he spoke was both logical and methodical too. When Luqiu Mingyue and the elders presented their inquiries, Yan Liqiang would know the specific thing they were concerned about and gave detailed and focused responses. As Luqiu Mingyue and the elders listened to the descriptions of those plentiful scenarios and experiences, they felt like they were simply viewing them with their own eyes.

In the middle of answering the elders’ questions, Yan Liqiang was also secretly watching their expressions. He noticed that his master, Liu Guiyuan, had not asked any questions from the beginning until now. Instead, his master was listening intently to the conversation with a calm expression while occasionally nodding his head or looking as if he was deep in his thoughts.

His acting seemed so real!

Yan Liqiang muttered in his heart.

“... The situation in Hui Province is as follows. When we passed through Hui Province, various cities within the province were in chaos. Many residents of the cities caused a lot of trouble because of the plunder of food. Even the troops based in those areas could not quell the hostilities of the citizens. Also, when we were crossing Yanhui Prefecture, the two influential families – the Hui Clan and the Lu Clan – organized their family members to attack each other during the chaos due to their long-standing family feud to seize control of Yanhui City. A lot of people were lost on both sides, casting additional disarray to the growing chaos. When we were at Hui Province, we deliberately avoided those cities to rush through our journey in fear of being involved. All sort of crimes were committed in the areas we passed by on the way, for the sake of food. Animals like oxen and horses were most likely killed on sight and shared for their meat. For most of the time, we rested during day time and resumed our journey at night...”

In the period of more than an hour, Yan Liqiang’s mouth had gone dry from talking, yet he could only continue standing without the courage to admit his thirst for water.

After he was done reporting about the events he had witnessed in Hui Province, the hall was filled with silence. The elders did not ask any more questions because after crossing Hui Province, they would reach Wen Province, which was adjacent to Lai Province. In regards to the situation in Lai Province, the elders of the Divine Sword Sect naturally had a clear idea of what had happened there as well.

After ten minutes passed, Luqiu Mingyue quickly scanned the surroundings before he spoke up when he saw the silent elders, “Dear elders, do you all have any further questions?”

“I still have one more thing that needs verification!” A beautiful, almond-eyed middle-aged elder clad in a light yellow dress, who was seated on Yan Liqiang’s left, began to speak. Her voice sounded sweet as she looked at Yan Liqiang with her lustrous almond eyes, “I heard you said that you learned your unique drawing skills when you were young just now. How did you sketch the drawing you delivered to the sect back then? We have never seen anything like this before, so I am very curious. With that, I want you to demonstrate to the Sect Lord and the other elders exactly how you did it. If you have such a capability, it shouldn’t be difficult to make a drawing in front of an audience...”

Most of the elders inside the hall nodded after hearing such a statement by this beautiful elder. Everyone even became curious and wished to see how Yan Liqiang sketched such a drawing that actually seemed realistic and lifelike. It was nothing like they’d ever seen before – it was certainly unique...

“If Elder Lin wishes to see my drawing, then by all means!” Yan Liqiang smiled at the beautiful elder and continued, “However, I just need to prepare some tools for my drawing!”

“Just request whatever tools you need. I also want to observe how this one-of-a-kind painting is drawn after hearing what Elder Lin said!” Luqiu Mingyue chimed in.

“I will need a piece of hard white paper that is about two feet square in size, several embroidery needles, and a thin, flat wood board that is about two inches bigger than the piece of paper. Also, a few black carbon cores that are about the length of a finger, a small knife, and a baked bread will be sufficient for me!”

“Alright!” Luqiu Mingyue gave a nod and proceeded to clap two times. An elder clad in black then came forward from the screen behind him with brisk steps before bowing to Luqiu Mingyue, “What orders does the Sect Lord have for me?”

“Bring the items Yan Liqiang requested!”

“Understood!”

The elder bowed and left. In just less than two minutes, the items Yan Liqiang required were already displayed in front of him.

“What does Elder Lin want me to draw?”

“What can you draw?”

“I can draw anything as long as there are in my line of sight!”

The beautiful elder suddenly chuckled and said, “Then draw me and I will see if it looks like me!”

“Alright!” Yan Liqiang nodded and began moving into action.

Firstly, he laid the paper on a thin wood board and proceeded to insert the embroidery needle into the corners of the paper before he turned the needle over to secure the paper onto the board. He then picked a carbon core and used the small knife to shave it. Afterward, he faced the beautiful elder and sat down on his knees as he said, “I will need a bit of time for my drawing. In the meantime, I will have to ask Elder Lin to sit on the chair like this and direct your gaze to me. Don’t move, just a moment!”

“Alright!” Elder Lin nodded and sat on the chair in a demure manner, watching Yan Liqiang in silence.

Yan Liqiang placed the wood board on his knees, which instantaneously placed him back in a state where he used to set up a stall on the streets for portrait paintings in his previous life. He only took a glimpse at Elder Lin before he began to focus on his drawing.

Of course, Luqiu Mingyue and the other elders inside the hall were said to be the best in terms of their martial cultivation and knowledge base. Even so, their eyes grew wider because they had never seen someone draw the way Yan Liqiang did. Moreover, it was also due to the things that Yan Liqiang used. To the elders, those tools all seemed inconceivable. Did he really need the baked bread, let alone the carbon core and paper? Perhaps Yan Liqiang wanted to eat while he was drawing? This was all too strange.

“That’s odd. Other painters use brushes and ink for their work, and their papers are always placed flat on the table. How come the paper Yan Liqiang is drawing on is vertically placed instead?” Some elders began muttering under their breaths.

While watching Yan Liqiang drawing something on the paper with a serious demeanor, an extremely curious Luqiu Mingyue was the first to rise and he immediately stood behind Yan Liqiang to see how he would be drawing his painting.

Gradually, the expression on Luqiu Mingyue’s face turned into that of surprise.

With the Sect Lord taking the lead, the remaining elders then went behind Yan Liqiang one by one and watched him draw. Their expressions were the same as Luqiu Mingyue’s – they started getting excited after only taking a few glances at the painting.

Slowly, it seemed like everyone except Elder Lin, who was still sitting on the chair, was already standing behind Yan Liqiang in the great hall. They remained silent as they watched the carbon core on Yan Liqiang’s hand unfold a never-before-seen world in front of their eyes.

The baked bread had long gone cold, yet Luqiu Mingyue and the other elders were able to discover the usage of the bread for the painting. When Yan Liqiang gently tore a piece of bread that the elders initially thought he would consume, he softly rubbed it on the paper instead, amending the stroke that he had drawn with the carbon core in an instant.

To Yan Liqiang, the baked bread had an equivalent function to an eraser due to the fact that the first eraser was actually a piece of bread. But from the bystanders’ point of view, the usage of the bread shocked them to the core, which corroborated with Yan Liqiang’s previous statement. Everyone was now completely convinced regarding Yan Liqiang’s previous statement of his drawing capability being the product of trial and error.

Yan Liqiang was an expert in sketching people’s faces in his previous life. And in his current life, this skill did not decline. It instead became stronger than before through his hand-eye coordination, his motor control, his observation, and his heightened memory ability.

Under the hands of Yan Liqiang, Elder Lin’s face gradually became more vivid. On the other hand, the expression on the faces of the elders standing behind him became more surprised. Some of them even slowly dropped their jaws...

Ink paintings had a certain line drawing technique to it too. Even so, in comparison to Yan Liqiang’s sketching ability right now, ink paintings were inferior in the aspect of realism on the human subject. The drawing technique Yan Liqiang mastered had perspective, especially with the changes in the light and shadows, as well as the presence of a three-dimensional model. These were things that a simple brush stroke technique could not be compared to. Such a technique in this era was considered to be the drawing skills of Nine Swords Dugu, especially to those observing from behind Yan Liqiang as they had never seen someone possessing this sort of skill. It was like an ethereal prowess.

Yan Liqiang drew wholeheartedly and gave it his best. He had also thoroughly presented the attainable level of drawing in black and white colors.

Under the guidance of his charcoal piece, the traces of hair on the temples in Elder Lin’s portraiture seemed as if they could be counted by the strand. Every crease on the dress became more three-dimensional, especially the radiance from Elder Lin’s eyes and the superior charm that emanated from this mature woman. That unique temperament was more visible, which was translated well on the paper.

The entire portrait was like a photograph that had been taken and artistically modified thereafter. If this were uploaded on the net in Yan Liqiang’s previous life, it would still astonish a lot of people. It wouldn’t be a problem for him to successfully enter the China Central Academy of Fine Arts at all!

Chapter 353: Sword King Disciple

Elder Lin was unperturbed at first when she sat down on the chair in a demure manner. But when she saw the shocking expressions and gleaming eyes on the faces of those elders and Luqiu Mingyue who were all standing behind Yan Liqiang, she couldn’t sit still all of a sudden as her heart was burning with restlessness. She felt the urge to look at the drawing, but she had already promised Yan Liqiang that she would sit down for a while. As an elder herself, she must at least be patient about it.

For nearly an hour or so, the entire grand hall was dead silent. The only sound that could be heard was the rustling sound by Yan Liqiang’s carbon core across the paper...

Yan Liqiang was concentrating on his drawing while the band of leaders of the Divine Sword Sect standing behind him were exceptionally patient as they gazed at how Yan Liqiang used the carbon core to create the miracle before them.

It was a good thing that Yan Liqiang understood what Elder Lin was feeling at this moment. As he finished the last stroke, he wrote down his initials with three letters of alphabet ‘LYQ’ on the bottom left corner of the paper through force of habit, which seemed like two small sea foams.

“Elder Lin, it’s done. You can come over and take a look!” Yan Liqiang put down the carbon core and called Elder Lin.

Elder Lin immediately trotted over and was instantly shocked when she saw the portraiture on Yan Liqiang’s drawing board. She gently reached out with her hand, somewhat unable to believe her eyes, and delicately stroked the paper on the board, “Ah, this... is this me?!”

No one could blame Elder Lin for being shocked because Yan Liqiang’s drawing was simply more realistic, vivid, and beautiful than the person Elder Lin saw in the mirror.

The Elder Lin on paper had her hands placed on her knees as she sat demurely on the chair. Her splendid facial appearance was painted with a seam of gentle light. The hairlines of her sideburns, her long eyelashes, her graceful figure, and the expression in her eyes had already unfolded an alluring woman’s most mature and exquisite charm in the painting. Her hands were soft and her skin was smooth. She was a beauty with enchanting eyes...

While Elder Lin was staring intently at her portrait that Yan Liqiang had created, a coat of mist began to form in her eyes. After being absent-minded for a good while, she began speaking to Yan Liqiang with a quiver in her voice, “This... this drawing, can you give it to me?”

“Of course!”

Yan Liqiang replied as he was about to pull out the embroidery needles that he had bent earlier, intending to retrieve the drawing from the wood board...

“Stop, be careful not to tamper the drawing...” Elder Lin quickly stopped Yan Liqiang’s actions. There was a hint of nervousness in her expression as she said, “It’s fine if you just give me the drawing with the wood board. You men are too rough. Let me do it...”

“Eh, alright!” Upon looking at Elder Lin’s expression, Yan Liqiang could only hand over the drawing that was fixed on the wood board to Elder Lin. Otherwise, she might even snatch it from him if he didn’t do as he was told. He carefully reminded her, “Elder Lin, drawings made with carbon cores are not the same as ink paintings. In order to avoid the color from fading and smudging, and the paper from folding, thus affecting its appearance, it is best not to roll the drawing for your collection. It’s fine to add a wooden frame around the drawing to secure it before hanging it on the wall or placing it on a table...”

“Alright, thank you very much!” Elder Lin carefully received the drawing from Yan Liqiang and expressed her gratitude toward him. It was certainly rare for an elder to express words of thanks to an external disciple in the Divine Sword Sect.

Luqiu Mingyue let out two coughs as he watched Elder Lin returning to her seat. He was the first to return to his seat, followed by the other elders as well.

With that, the look those elders gave to Yan Liqiang became different, especially the looks from the other four female elders. Their gazes toward Yan Liqiang were exceptionally ‘fiery’, which was practically undisguised.

“Those who have witnessed Yan Liqiang’s drawing techniques just now should not have any doubts about the origin of the previous drawing that was sent to the sect!” Luqiu Mingyue scanned the surroundings, and his expression became solemn as he continued, “We, the Divine Sword Sect, reward those who deserve it and punish the offenders. Yan Liqiang, your performance this time has been recognized. Not only did you manage to deliver the news of the changes in Imperial Capital at a time when the Heavenly Tribulation hit the city, but you also helped the Divine Sword Sect react and stabilize the situation in Lai Province and neighboring provinces during the emergency. You also secured the goods that the sect had entrusted to the Four Seas Escort Agency when their personnel were suffered a huge loss. Because of that, the goods were neither lost nor did they land in the hands of thieves and burglars. In the end, you also managed to protect your comrades and return them to the Divine Sword Sect through hardships and difficulties. Your great contribution, your courage, wisdom, heart, and deeds are good examples of what a disciple of the Divine Sword Sect should be!”

All the elders nodded their heads. Perhaps without Yan Liqiang noticing, because of the delivery of the drawing on the changes within Imperial Capital that he sent to Divine Sword Sect ahead of time, he had allowed the Divine Sword Sect to take the first opportunity to adopt emergency measures without delay when the mess began. The current, stable situation in Lai Province was tied to Yan Liqiang’s previous message. If it wasn’t for this major event, the elders of the Divine Sword Sect would not have gone through the trouble to come here and wait to meet Yan Liqiang face-to-face.

“You joined the Divine Sword Sect not too long ago, and now you are still an external disciple without a master. I have in mind to accept you as my disciple, will you accept my offer?” Luqiu Mingyue said with a pleasant smile on his face.

Now it was Yan Liqiang’s turn to freeze on the spot. Previously, he definitely thought that he would be rewarded by the Divine Sword Sect for his deeds, but he didn’t expect to receive this kind of reward. Becoming direct disciples of the Sect Lord and the elders in the Divine Sword Sect were guaranteed for elite disciples, and yet this was suddenly overridden and extended toward external and internal disciples. Among a myriad of disciples in the Divine Sword Sect, most of them were already satisfied just by yearning to mingle with an elite disciple for the rest of their lives. Yan Liqiang didn’t expect that he would receive or hear this type of grand reward from Luqiu Mingyue’s mouth. Moreover, as a disciple of the Sect Lord, his status in the Divine Sword Sect would not be an ordinary one. Even if he were to be compared to the elite disciples, his status would be more important than theirs by a margin.

However, he had already acknowledged Liu Guiyuan as his master. According to the established plan, he would gradually move forward one step at a time in the Divine Sword Sect and slowly be noticed by Liu Guiyuan in due time, thus allowing him to be kept at Liu Guiyuan’s side. Now that Luqiu Mingyue suddenly interfered, what should he do next?

At that moment, even though Yan Liqiang did not shoot deliberate glances at Liu Guiyuan, he managed to catch a glimpse through the corners of his eyes. Liu Guiyuan was making gentle motions by blinking his eyes at him.

Blinking and bobbing his head. That was a nod!

It’s alright! Just agree! These were the messages Liu Guiyuan was sending him.

Yan Liqiang immediately felt relieved and stopped showing the astonishment on his face. He then quickly groveled before Luqiu Mingyue in the great hall and gave three resounding kowtows on the ground, thus proceeding with the ceremony of acknowledging his master, “Yan Liqiang pays respect to master!”

“Congratulations, Sect Lord!” The elders present expressed their joy in unison.

“Alright, stand up, Liqiang! We are only establishing our relationship for today. The official ceremony to formally acknowledge me as your master will have to wait three days later at the Ancestral Hall...”

“Understood. Everything will be according to Master’s arrangement!” Yan Liqiang stood up and said in a calm tone.

“Sect Lord, I have a matter to discuss!” Liu Guiyuan, who had been quiet up until now, suddenly spoke.

“What’s the matter, Elder Liu? Please do tell!”

“I wish for the Sect Lord to permit Yan Liqiang in assisting me with the completion of the ‘Book of Herbs’ in Danyao Valley. This ‘Book of Herbs’ has been passed down Baicao Valley for more than hundreds of years and has become the Divine Sword Sect’s most precious asset. On top of that, it is the painstaking efforts of countless predecessors as well. However, the ‘Book of Herbs’ consists of only words with no pictures, which is very difficult to understand alone. The sect’s pharmacists would like to distinguish between medicinal herbs and stones, and that would require several years or even more to accomplish. Moreover, the properties of many medicinal ingredients are different, and yet their appearances are similar. Based on text alone, it is extremely difficult to differentiate and describe them. Therefore, when we train pharmacists in Danyao Valley every year, some accidents occur during the refinement of medicines. Some have died due to being poisoned and some destroy an abundance of medicinal ingredients. These are almost impossible to prevent, which greatly affects the efficiency rate of refining medicines. If the ‘Book of Herbs’ of Danyao Valley have inserts of Yan Liqiang’s vivid drawings of various herbs, even a person who doesn’t understand herbs will be able to differentiate the types with one glance. The accidents in Danyao Valley will definitely be reduced drastically and it will be much easier to train pharmacists. The efficiency in refining medicine will also greatly improve, so this will benefit the Divine Sword Sect in the long term. Please grant my request, Sect Lord!”

The reasons provided were too magnificent. Yan Liqiang could not help but feel compelled to praise Liu Guiyuan after listening to his explanation. Among the artists of various applications in his previous life, there was one type that focused mainly on drawing the shapes of a variety of plants and medicinal herbs because those things were quite useful. Like the various plants, roots, and leaves, no matter how many words were used to describe them, they could never be expressed clearly if they were not drawn out.

“Since this matter relates to the thousand-year long-term scheme of the Divine Sword Sect, I don’t have any reason to deny your request!” Luqiu Mingyue nodded and turned to look at Yan Liqiang, “Liqiang, the medical pills refined in Danyao Valley in the Divine Sword Sect are delivered to a lot of places. The Great Han Empire is currently in a dangerous state. The medicinal pills in Danyao Valley are extremely important. Your drawing skills are highly superlative and are rarely seen anywhere. The ‘Book of Herbs’ is the Divine Sword Sect Danyao Valley’s precious asset. You must do your best in doing the things that Elder Liu mentioned just now. As long as the ‘Book of Herbs’ is perfected, you will do us an extraordinary service!”

“Understood. Master, please rest assured. I will do my best to assist Elder Liu in perfecting the ‘Book of Herbs’!” Yan Liqiang then respectfully asked, “I have something I need to clarify with Master!”

“Oh, whatever it is, just tell me!”

“This time, I was lucky to give a bit of my contribution to the sect. The escorts of the Four Seas Escort Agency who accompanied me, as well as the two external disciples, Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng, have also contributed a lot. I do not dare to take all the credit for their effort by myself!”

He wanted to enjoy blessings and endure misfortunes together with them. At this particular moment, Yan Liqiang remembered two of his good brothers. He knew that in a time like this, whatever Luqiu Mingyue said would allow his good brothers to struggle ten years less than necessary in Divine Sword Sect. Naturally, he had to fight for that.

“I understand what you have just said. The Divine Sword Sect will never mistreat those who have performed meritorious services for them. As for the escorts of the Four Seas Escort Agency, Elder Lu will commend them. The performances of those two external disciples, Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng, are remarkable as well. We shall allow them to become inner disciples and continue their cultivation...” With a sentence from Luqiu Mingyue, both Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng were able to instantaneously become inner disciples of the Divine Sword Sect.

Chapter 354: The Great Han Crisis

When the ‘public hearing’ for Yan Liqiang was about to end, Liu Guiyuan quickly said to Yan Liqiang, “Dizang Valley occupies a wide territory and has strict defenses. There are many forbidden lands within this expanse too. If you have some time today, you can follow me to Dizang Valley and take a look first. I will bring you there so you can familiarize with the area for now. After that, we can discuss the time and particulars for us to perfect the ‘Book of Herbs’ together. You can come to Dizang Valley to work three days after the ceremony of acknowledging master has ended...”

“Elder Liu has his mind on the ‘Book of Herbs’ so he doesn’t want to delay it for another moment. Liqiang, just go with Elder Liu to Dizang Valley today and have a look. When you come back, go to Juying Courtyard right away and someone will assist you in the arrangements for the corresponding procedures!” Luqiu Mingyue interrupted.

“Understood. Your disciple will follow Elder Liu and drop by Dizang Valley!” Yan Liqiang replied obediently.

“Good!” Luqiu Mingyue nodded and glanced at the other elders in the great hall, “Let us end here for today. Thank you all for your hard work!”

“Let us cordially see Sect Lord off!” All the elders stood up and bowed to Luqiu Mingyue. With a nod as acknowledgement, Luqiu Mingyue did not speak any further and immediately left through the back of the great hall.

“Let’s go!” Liu Guiyuan looked at Yan Liqiang and quickly headed toward the outer area of the hall. Yan Liqiang hastened to keep pace with Liu Guiyuan from behind.

“Please wait for a moment, Elder Liu...” Yan Liqiang only felt the flash of a blue shadow before him when Elder Wu, who was clad in blue robes, suddenly stopped in front of Liu Guiyuan.

“What’s the matter, Elder Wu?”

“It’s nothing. I just want Elder Liu to hold on for a minute and allow me to exchange a few words with Yan Liqiang!” Elder Wu smiled and turned her gaze toward Yan Liqiang, her eyes shining with extraordinary splendor as she continued, “I like the painting you drew for Elder Lin just now. If you have time to spare in the next few days, drop by Tianyi Peak and draw me a painting too. That shouldn’t be too hard, right?!”

“Eh, since Elder Wu has given the command, Yan Liqiang will certainly render his service to you...”

Yan Liqiang observed Elder Wu’s expression and instantly knew what was going on in her mind. No matter how high her status within the Divine Sword Sect was or how strong her martial cultivation became, a woman would always be a woman. When a woman saw how much a person could permanently preserve one’s exquisite image and figure to such perfection with a refreshing and stunning method, almost none of the women could resist this kind of temptation, especially those who had already lost their youthfulness. Regardless of how well they took care of themselves, how bizarre their cultivation techniques were, and how many heavenly treasures they could use to slow the signs of aging to retain their youthfulness, they would still grow old one day. Because of that, the preservation of their unsurpassed beauty seemed more valuable right before they truly became old. At least when they became an old person in the future, they could still recall and see their original beauty back in their youthful days.

“Don’t forget, if you have time, drop by Tianman Peak as well...” A beautiful elder with the surname Lu also smiled and greeted Yan Liqiang when she passed by him.

......

The Danyao Valley that the Divine Sword Sect mentioned was located in Dizang Valley among the 72 valleys. From the looks of the area, all of Dizang Valley seemed to occupy the largest mountain valley in the mountain gates of the Divine Sword Sect. The valley had numerous spiritual fields, spiritual caves, as well as an establishment of more than a hundred medicinal gardens. All the herbs grown inside the mountain valley were an assortment of medicinal drugs. Moreover, when these medicinal drugs were ready for cultivation and consumption, they could be harvested and handled right away before being delivered to the respective pharmacies in Dizang Valley, allowing the apothecaries to refine a variety of spiritual medicines.

In some sense, Dizang Valley was considered an integrated pharmaceutical factory of the sect. For a large sect like Divine Sword Sect, a diverse collection of medicinal pills was one of the sect’s most important resources.

Liu Guiyuan was the keeper of the Divine Sword Sect’s Dizang Valley. The valley had more than three thousand medicinal staff, medicinal farmers, apothecaries, various levels of managers, supervisors, and servants, all of whom had to heed his orders.

After an hour or so, Liu Guiyuan and Yan Liqiang finally reached Dizang Valley after descending from Tiankui Peak.

During the journey, the two of them acted as if they had just met each other for the first time and pretended not to know one another. Their conversations were all concerning Dizang Valley and the ‘Book of Herbs’. Liu Guiyuan would speak while Yan Liqiang listened. Occasionally, Liu Guiyuan would shoot Yan Liqiang two questions, in which Yan Liqiang would respond with honest answers without trying to overstep the boundary.

The entrance to Dizang Valley was extremely difficult to access as it was just a line of stone steps that stretched hundreds of meters upward. There were swordsmen guarding the two sides of the entrance as well. Liu Guiyuan brought Yan Liqiang straight inside. As soon as they passed through the entrance, the area suddenly became bright. Most places in Dizang Valley were already covered in snow. On the other hand, some areas were clouded by rising mists, yet they were colored by a vibrant green. Additionally, other places had caves of different sizes. Some of these caves were located at the bottom of the valley, while some were on the precipice of the valley, which was exceedingly odd. There were valleys inside a valley and caves within a cave. This caused Yan Liqiang, who entered Dizang Valley for the first time, to feel overwhelmed by the new surroundings.

“The area clouded by rising mists is the valley’s hot spring. Underneath the hot spring is a ground fire. The weather there is like spring all year round, which means you can grow a bunch of peculiar vegetations like Fire Potato and Bailian Grass!” Liu Guiyuan explained as he continued to lead Yan Liqiang toward a nearby cave halfway up the hill. While he was at it, he introduced Yan Liqiang to more herbs, “There are up to six types of Spiritual Dendrobium that grow inside that cave. Let me take you there and have a look so you will know the importance of perfecting the ‘Book of Herbs’...”

Of course, there was no one inside the cave. There was a large hole akin to a window on the ceiling of the cave, which allowed snow to accumulate inside the cave. On the four corners of the stone wall were strands of dark purple and light blue Dendrobium hanging on the sides. A faintly discernible yet dense spiritual Qi lingered in the air, and it felt quite peculiar...

When they arrived at the cave, Liu Guiyuan suddenly halted in his footsteps and turned around to face Yan Liqiang. He revealed a smile on his face while he deeply gazed at Yan Liqiang...

“Yan Liqiang respectfully greets Master!” At that moment, Yan Liqiang greeted Liu Guiyuan like master and disciple. He felt inexplicably excited in his heart.

“It’s great that you have come back alive. It seems that I have not chosen the wrong person. I didn’t expect that you would be able to break out from a myriad of external disciples that quickly in just less than a year when you first entered the sect, and without the slightest help from me to boot. On top of that, you have been accepted as a disciple to the Sect Lord too. It’s really unexpected, but it’s quite commendable! To think that I have chosen you as the Sect Guardian of the Divine Sword Sect – I have really made the right choice!”

“I had so many things I wanted to tell Master at first, but now that we’re together, I have no idea where to start!” Yan Liqiang let out a mirthless laugh.

“That’s all right. Just start from the recent ones!”

Yan Liqiang pondered for a while and nodded his head, “Alright. Then I want to ask you this: Why would you agree to let me acknowledge Sect Lord as my master?”

Chapter 355: The Great Han Crisis (2)

Liu Guiyuan smiled as he gazed at Yan Liqiang, “As a disciple of the Divine Sword Sect, who doesn’t wish to be sworn in under the Sect Lord? After all, he is the best fighter in the sect with the title of Sword King that shocks the world.”

Yan Liqiang scratched his head and said, “Master, you are correct and I know that. But if I become a disciple to the Sect Lord, what about our relationship?”

“The heritage of the Sect Guardian is the most secretive existence in the Divine Sword Sect. Your status as the disciple of the Sect Lord and your identity as a Sect Guardian do not clash with each other. As the Sect Guardian of the Divine Sword Sect, it is very normal to have two masters. Having two identities and two masters are like light and dark. However, since you have become the Sect Guardian of the Divine Sword Sect, this responsibility will always follow you. In the Divine Sword Sect, the Sect Guardian and Sect Lord cannot be the same person. No matter how outstanding you become in the future, despite the support you will receive from the Sect Lord and the other elders, you cannot succeed as the Sect Lord of Divine Sword Sect. You must find a way to reject the offer. I need you to understand this point now!”

Yan Liqiang nodded, “What if the Sect Lord wants impart his martial techniques to me and makes it a requirement for me to learn them?”

“Then you can learn them, of course. If you don’t, how will you keep a foothold within the Divine Sword Sect?”

Yan Liqiang widened his eyes and said, “Didn’t I learn the Ten Dragons Ten Elephants Divine Technique from you already? Does that mean I can learn two different types of internal cultivation techniques at the same time? Everyone said that the dantian is like a pit that can only grow one carrot. If you want to grow a new one, doesn’t that mean you have to throw the previous carrot away...”

“Do you know why the martial technique you cultivated is the Ten Dragons Ten Elephants Divine Technique?” Liu Guiyuan asked Yan Liqiang with a smile.

“Please explain, Master!”

“The dragon and the elephant are both metaphors for force and metaphors for change. The changes in the dragon can be big or small, rising, and vanishing. The big one can swallow clouds while the small one conceals itself within the waves. When it rises, it can soar into the universe. If the technique you are cultivating is something else, you can only stick to that one. However, if the technique you are cultivating is the Ten Dragons Ten Elephants Divine Technique, you will be able to cultivate multiple techniques simultaneously and there will not be a single problem. If the Ten Dragons Ten Elephants Divine Technique did not possess such capabilities, the lineage of Sect Guardians wouldn’t have to be secretive. Wouldn’t we be completely exposed if we displayed our skills then?”

“What you mean to say is that as long as I continue to cultivate the Ten Dragons Ten Elephants Divine Technique, I won’t be found out even if I cultivate the Sect Lord’s inner cultivation technique?”

“Exactly!” Liu Guiyuan noded, “I believe that in two days after you are done with the ceremony of acknowledging your master, the Sect Lord will impart the Great Burning Sky Divine Technique to you. This technique is one of the three Great Divine Techniques of the Divine Sword Sect, which is juxtaposed with Five Elements Divine Technique and Origin Returning Divine Technique. Therefore, it is a powerful, top-notch technique, especially from the perspective of the world. You can ease your mind and cultivate this technique. When the time comes, you will be able to experience the beauty of the Ten Dragons Ten Elephants Divine Technique!”

Yan Liqiang already had a question in regards to the Ten Dragons Ten Elephants Divine Technique. This question could only be asked when he was able to meet Liu Guiyuan.

“On the topic of the Ten Dragons Ten Elephants Divine Technique, I have met a problem that I wish to consult with Master about!”

“Oh, do tell!”

“Um, I progressed into a Supreme Martial Warrior a few days ago. I noticed that after I cultivated the Ten Dragons Ten Elephants Divine Technique, there was a slight change in my dantian...”

“What kind of change?”

“I noticed the vital Qi from cultivating the Ten Dragons Ten Elephants Divine Technique had condensed into a large elephant inside the dantian. Do you know what’s going on?”

“Ah, what...” Liu Guiyuan’s face turned that of complete shock. His eyes flickered as he gave a hard stare at Yan Liqiang, as if he couldn’t quite believe what he had just heard, “The vital Qi in your dantian right now has already condensed into an elephant form?”

Yan Liqiang could not understand why Liu Guiyuan was shocked, “Is that thing difficult to condense?”

“Back then, I had to advance toward a Martial Grandmaster before the vital Qi in my dantian could condense its first elephant form!”

“Then why am I able to condense it only after advancing as a Supreme Martial Warrior?”

“The condensation of the elephant form is unrelated to the realm of martial cultivation. Of course, your power will greatly increase after cultivating the Ten Dragons Ten Elephants Divine Technique. This is the effect of the said technique. If the vital Qi inside the dantian is able to condense into an elephant form after cultivating the Ten Dragons Ten Elephants Divine Technique, then that proves your current power is already at the power of one elephant!”

“What you mean is that the vital Qi inside my dantian condensing into elephant is equivalent to gaining the power of one elephant in my body?”

“Exactly!” Liu Guiyuan nodded. He then looked at Yan Liqiang with an odd expression and said, “I didn’t think that your dantian would be able to form its first elephant this quick. It seems like you and the Ten Dragons Ten Elephants Divine Technique are quite compatible. This is far beyond what ordinary people can do! Indeed, I was fated to be able to meet you!”

“So if my power continues to increase in the future, will the dantian still condense a new elephant form?”

“Of course!”

“How many has master condensed?” Yan Liqiang asked.

“Five!”

“Is that the highest level?”

“Of course not. This is just the power limit of my body. At this limit, the elephant form in the dantian will not increase even if the realm of cultivation base is still able to advance!” Liu Guiyuan shook his head and revealed an expression as if recalling a memory, “I heard from my master back then – who was the last Sect Guardian of the Divine Sword Sect –that according to the legends, the forms of the Ten Dragons and Ten Elephants condensed inside the dantian after cultivating the technique to the highest level represents the power of that person. With ten dragons and ten elephants, one can cause an avalanche with just a flip of a hand. With a stomp from the feet, one can cause a trench to appear on the ground. From a global perspective, no one will be able to stand against you as an enemy. However, a person’s life is limited and cultivation is boundless. You will not find one out of hundreds and billions of people who can cultivate the Ten Dragons Ten Elephants Divine Technique to that kind of level, at least none from the history of China. Even if it is a person who can see a dragon inside their dantian from cultivating the technique, it is still very rare, perhaps one in a million. Perhaps a man born of a god might be able to cultivate the Ten Dragons Ten Elephants Technique to the highest realm!”

“So that’s how it is!” Yan Liqiang was suddenly enlightened as he finally understood the origin of how the vital Qi in his dantian was able to condense into a large elephant. He then let out a sigh of relief in his heart. As long as there were no faults or the possibility of falling into Qi deviation, it was fine.

“You have just cultivated to the level of a Supreme Martial Warrior and yet you were able to refine an elephant form in your dantian. Your achievement will certainly exceed mine in the future. Perhaps you might reach the realm of dragons and refine a dragon in the dantian...”

“I intend to ask Master to teach me the subsequent technique of the Ten Dragons Ten Elephants Divine Technique!”

Liu Guiyuan let out a long sigh and said, “Currently, the Great Han Empire has fallen into abyss and is beset by war. It’s inevitable for the Divine Sword Sect to be involved in it as well. I can’t even predict what the future will be like, and I am filled with a sense of powerlessness. In times like this, I was thinking that I should impart the full version of the Ten Dragons Ten Elephant Divine Technique to you even if you didn’t ask me to, in case of unforeseen circumstances which may lead to regret. Close your eyes right now!”

Yan Liqiang was about to inquire about the current situation of the Great Han Empire due to the various rumors and information he had heard during his journey back to the sect. He had no idea which ones were true or fake, and he couldn’t differentiate the news he heard while on the road. Even so, there would certainly be reliable information within the Divine Sword Sect. However, when he was about to ask his question, he felt a cloak of gold light emanating from Liu Guiyuan’s body, as if he was already done with his preparations. So, Yan Liqiang did not utter another word and closed his eyes.

Yan Liqiang had just shut his eyes when he felt Liu Guiyuan’s hand pressing against the top of his head. In that split moment, an enormous energy flowed from the man’s hand into his mind, allowing the complete version of the Ten Dragons Ten Elephant Divine Technique to appear inside his sea of consciousness...

The entire process lasted less than five minutes. When Liu Guiyuan lifted his hand off Yan Liqiang’s head, the complete version of the Ten Dragons Ten Elephants Divine Technique was already present in Yan Liqiang’s mind.

“Many thanks to Master for imparting this technique to me. I will not disappoint Master and do my best in being the Sect Guardian of the Divine Sword Sect!” Yan Liqiang then sincerely gave another bow to Liu Guiyuan.

“Get up, this is what I should do as your master!” Liu Guiyuan said as he gently lifted up Yan Liqiang.

After Yan Liqiang stood up, he was able to finally ask the question he had been dying to ask, “Master, I want to ask what had happened to the Great Han Empire after the Heavenly Tribulation in the Imperial Capital during the past few months. Our journey was rushed and we only saw disorder and chaos everywhere. We also received a lot of news and information, but we don’t know which is real or fake!”

“It’s been a while since we entered this cave. If we stay here any longer, other people will become suspicious of us. Let’s go outside and talk while we walk. You should understand the current situation of the Great Han Empire...”

Chapter 356: The Great Han Crisis (3)

The Divine Sword Sect was one of the four major sects. They had eyes and ears in every part of the empire, so they were quick in getting news and information. This was a feat that was hard for other organizations to emulate. As one of the highly-ranked elders who had the clearance to attend classified meetings in the sect, Liu Guiyuan must have known about all this secret information that had been collected.

This was exactly why Yan Liqiang was determined to overcome all sorts of obstacles and return to the Divine Sword Sect. Only by returning to the sect would he have a better grasp on the situation in the empire. He needed accurate information on everything that had happened. Otherwise, he would be as good as blind. This was, after all, a time when the newspaper did not even exist. The whole governing system of the empire had been paralyzed. To a normal civilian, it would be like living in darkness. This was critical to Yan Liqiang. Whatever had happened in the Heavenly Realm had yet to take place in reality, and this would give him time and the opportunity to prepare and change the future.

As the duo walked out of the rocky cave, Yan Liqiang could not hold his patience any longer, “Master, what is the situation in the Great Han Empire now? I heard that the Storm Army was crushed. Millions of Chaman soldiers have entered the Great Han Empire now. They have invaded many of the provinces in the northeast and are massacring civilians. Everyone is living in fear now. Is this true?”

Liu Guiyuan frowned as he spoke with a heavy heart, “It is true. The Storm Army has been defeated. The Chaman troops are now burning, killing, and pillaging the northeast as we speak. It is bad. The Divine Sword Sect just got news three days ago that the Chaman troops breach the Jin Province gate and painted the whole city with blood. There were fifty thousand civilians in the city. Blood flowed like a river there. It was like hell on earth. It didn’t matter if the civilians were children or old people, nobody was spared...”

It started snowing outside the cave. The icy, cold wind dropped snowflakes onto Yan Liqiang’s face. He had never felt cold for a long time, but upon hearing the confirmation of the bad news, he felt chills in his spine and trembled involuntarily.

For almost a century, the Storm Army had rooted themselves in the northeast as they closely watched the rise of the Chaman Empire. The army had always been the Great Han Empire’s best defense weapon. For such a long time, they had engaged in countless wars with the Chaman Empire, and never had the Chaman Troops ever tasted anything close to glory. The Storm Army guarded the northeastern border of the empire like an invincible wall. This was why nobody expected for the Storm Army to be crushed just like that, and for Chaman Troops to break past the border.

“How could this happen? The Storm Army had been defending against the Chamans for almost a hundred years, how could they be crushed just like that? Even if a disaster struck the Imperial Capital, this would not make the Storm Army lose their ability just like that!” Yan Liqiang was getting emotional now.

“There were two critical factors that led to the Storm Army’s defeat. First, the Commander of the Storm Army, Long Feicheng, and a few key persons among the troops were absent from the camp when the Chamans attacked. The Storm Army as a whole was like a headless chicken, with nobody to lead them. Nobody among them was strong enough to face Commander Geli from the Chaman Troops. The Storm Army panicked and lost the will to fight!”

“How could Long Feicheng be absent?”

“According to our sources in the Divine Sword Sect, Long Feicheng and some of the key persons were at the Imperial Capital during the catastrophe. They were all lost in the tragedy. This news dealt a huge blow to the Storm Army, and every soldier was affected upon hearing the news!”

“Oh!” Yan Liqiang was shocked, “Long Feicheng and his key persons were all in the Imperial Capital on that day! What are the odds!”

“Sources from the Storm Army reported that Long Feicheng was in the Imperial Capital due to the Storm Army’s wage issue. Apparently, the Ministry of War and the Anbei Military Governor’s Office had been withholding the troop’s wages for half a year now. Their budget for weaponry was also lacking. The Anbei Military Governor’s Office and Anbei General Shi Tao even lodged an official complaint against Long Feicheng to the Emperor, listing a total of seventeen offenses. They alleged that Long Feicheng had been conspiring against our empire and accepted bribery from the Chaman people. The Grand Chancellor, Lin Qingtian, was furious, and demanded Long Feicheng’s presence at the Imperial Capital to pledge his loyalty. Long Feicheng had no choice but to go to the Imperial Capital, and unfortunately, he perished along with his key persons altogether in the catastrophe...” Liu Guiyuan sighed.

Yan Liqiang was stunned by this news. He could only stare into space as he could not even speak. After a long pause, he finally gathered his composure and asked, “What is the second reason for the defeat?”

“Anbei General Shi Tao was a traitor. He bowed to the Chamans long before we found out. Upon the Chaman invasion, Shi Tao ordered for the Storm Army’s resources at the Haicheng, Ningyuan, and Changtu Prefectures to be burnt to the ground, in the name of preventing a riot. They denied the Storm Army of any resources, and occupied Liaoyuan Pass to cut off their retreat. The Storm Army was facing vicious attacks from all directions, and without anyone in command, they stood no chance against the Chamans. They were totally crushed, and the Chamans easily crossed the border...”

Never in his life did Yan Liqiang imagine that something like this could happen. He was so furious that his eyes almost popped out in anger.

“And what makes you claim that Anbei General Shi Tao sided with the Chamans?”

“General Shi Tao was commanding the Ji Province in the northeast. As soon as he ordered the Storm Army’s’ resource camps to be burnt, he called for a meeting with some important Ji Province officers. It was a setup. He poisoned and killed those officers. This gave him full control of Ji Province. He simply waited for the Chaman Troops to arrive and opened the gate for them. He surrendered to the Chamans without even putting up a fight, and was appointed as the Northeastern Governor by the Chamans...”

Yan Liqiang bit his lips and gripped his fists in anger, “That bastard is a traitor! He should be killed! Killed with no mercy! Why did the Emperor even appoint a bastard like him as a general?”

“Lin Qingtian initially appointed Shi Tao as Anbei General to suppress the Storm Army’s influence in the northeast since he did not want their influence to grow any larger. Lin Qingtian is certainly the person to blame for this!”

“Oh! It’s him again...” Yan Liqiang was almost lost for words, “This Lin Qingtian is really a pain in the ass! It’s good that he was burnt to ashes in the Imperial Capital together with Long Feicheng. Now we are even...” As soon as Yan Liqiang finished his sentence, he noticed Liu Guiyuan looking at him weirdly, so he asked, “What? Am I wrong about that?”

“Lin Qingtian is alive...” Liu Guiyuan replied as calmly as he could.

“What!” Yan Liqiang was again flabbergasted by this news...

Chapter 357: The Great Han Crisis (4)

Lin Qingtian was still alive?

How exactly did Lin Qingtian survive such a huge catastrophe that turned the whole capital into dust and ruins?

Liu Guiyuan must have guessed what was on Yan Liqiang’s mind and continued, “I heard that Lin Qingtian was not in the Imperial Capital on the day of the catastrophe. He left the capital a day before that. He went to Huai Province to monitor the river conditions, and that was how he escaped the catastrophe!”

Yan Liqiang felt defeated upon hearing this, “Where is he now? Where is Lin Qingtian?”

“Lin Qingtian is now back at Hai Province. He has set up a temporary governing body, and he continues to give orders in the name of the Great Han Empire’s Grand Chancellor. They even sent an official document to Lai Province with his Grand Chancellor’s official stamp on the document. He requested for a cash transfer from Lai Province, apparently to build an army in order to stop the White Lotus Society’s uprising and back up the northeast...”

“So, people are still taking orders from him even at a time like this?”

“Not us at the Divine Sword Sect, of course! However, Hai Province is Lin Qingtian’s territory. Not only that, the neighboring provinces like Xu Province, Xiong Province, and Gu Province are heavily influenced by Lin Qingtian. Officers across the board all pledged their loyalty to Lin Qingtian. These provinces also have abundant resources, so they could easily support Lin Qingtian’s campaign as soon as he set up the temporary government. We just received word two days ago that Lin Qingtian built a two million-strong army, and they even have a navy! Lin Qingtian himself will lead this army as the Commander General...”

“Ah! Lin Qingtian is the Grand Chancellor as well as the Commander General. He’s paving the way to become emperor himself! This is just as obvious as Hitler’s intentions!”

“Who is Hitler?” Liu Guiyuan suddenly asked, staring blankly at Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang was caught in awkwardness. He realized Hitler did not exist in this universe; he was simply too emotional a moment ago and blurted it out without thinking.

“Well, Hitler is a landlord in a village I used to live in when I was much younger. He was a pervert who kept eyeing a beautiful widow in the village. He was always trying to get close to the widow, and it was so obvious that the whole village knew about it. So, whenever we know a person who harbors obvious ill intentions in the village, we call him a Hitler...” Yan Liqiang made up a story as a cover-up.

“That’s right...” Liu Guiyuan nodded with a stern face as he continued, “Lin Qingtian is now building a huge army while leveraging his position as the Grand Chancellor. Once the army is built, they will march from the south to north, and they will be unstoppable. Everyone will have to bow to his temporary government. The White Lotus Society is only good enough for a small fight, but they stand no chance against such a massively armed force. By the time Lin Qingtian reaches the northeast, everyone in the empire will have pledged their loyalty to him. Even if he cannot retrieve the northeast provinces, he can easily become the emperor and claim the rest of the empire. By then, nobody will be able to stop him...”

“What an evil plan...” Yan Liqiang took a deep breath to calm himself down, as he was feeling a little spooked by such an evil conspiracy, “And how did Lin Qingtian manage to build such a massive army in such a short period of time? It seemed like this was all part of a plan...”

“This started a few years back when some southeastern provinces were facing harassment from pirates. Some of the pirates even managed to attack some ports and cities. So, Lin Qingtian ordered each village in the southeastern provinces to set up auxiliary troops. These troops were all trained on a daily basis to fend off pirates in case they were attacked. The Great Han Empire even introduced a new tax called the Defensive Tax to support these auxiliary troops. So, these troops have been well-trained and fed for the past two years. Once he returned to Hai Province, he simply ordered for these troops to be integrated into his army, and with just the snap of a finger, he got himself a robust army of two million...”

This was beyond Yan Liqiang’s imagination. He paused for a while before he asked the next question, “How should the Divine Sword Sect prepare for this?”

“The Divine Sword Sect is no doubt one of the four major sects, but at a time like this, even a big sect like ours can only stay calm and be cautious. Survival is our first priority. In fact, this applies to many other big sects and influential clans all around the empire. After all, nobody knows what is going to happen next. Nobody could have expected that our empire would be destroyed with just one disaster. At a time of uncertainty like this, we can only be calm and stay alert. We’ll see how things go!” Liu Guiyuan said in a defeated tone as he shook his head.

“If Lin Qingtian becomes the next emperor...”

“If it happens, then it is because he is capable. The Divine Sword Sect will bow to him as long as the Great Han Empire stays as an empire. We will always be loyal to the empire, and that includes the emperor, regardless of who the emperor might be. After all, it is said that Lin Qingtian is one of the rare few in the empire with the gifted ability to someday break through the Martial Emperor realm. At a time of war, a person’s capability speaks the loudest. However, that is not what I am worried about. I fear that if Lin Qingtian becomes the emperor, there will be no peace in the empire anymore...” Liu Guiyuan sounded worried.

“Are we facing other threats other than the Chamans and the White Lotus Society?”

“We received information two weeks ago that those hungry wolves in the Shatu Seven Tribes have been rioting in the northwestern area. Their two hundred thousand strong army has already invaded Gan Province in the northwest. Within a few days, five cities in Gan Province fell into their hands. At the same time, the Shatu Alliance is now recruiting an even larger army, and is now marching towards the northwestern part of our empire. A few other empires like the Xiongnu Empire, the Dark Ram Tribe, and the New Crescent Dynasty in the south are all building up their forces. They are eyeing us, eager to pounce on us at any moment. Our Great Han Empire is in great danger, unlike anything we’ve seen in the last millennium!”

Yan Liqiang’s heart was pounding fast now upon hearing this news. He knew that whatever happened in the Heavenly Realm would happen in reality soon. Gan Province was his hometown. All his relatives and friends were there, so he was especially spooked when he heard that the province had been invaded by the Shatu Seven Tribes. Pingxi Prefecture, which was just at the border of Gan Province, would certainly be the first target if the Shatu Seven Tribes invaded the land.

“How did the Shatu Seven Tribes overtake Gan Province so quickly?” Yan Liqiang asked.

“Many of those living in Gan Province were of the Shatu race. Once the Shatu Seven Tribes declared war, many of these Shatus living in Gan Province supported the campaign and rioted internally within the city. They burned and killed everything in the province and it destabilized instantly. These events gave the Shatu Army the advantage, and they invaded without much resistance. Now, the condition in the northwest is much worse than the northeast. There’s news that the Shatu Seven Tribes is now on a killing spree wherever they go. They kill everyone, including the young and the old. Nobody is spared. Just take a look at Pingxi City. The massacre lasted for five days once they entered the city. All the rivers and streams in the city are now dyed in red.

Yan Liqiang could feel a chill traveling up his spine. He could not even speak. All the familiar faces he knew in Pingxi City now flashed through his mind one by one.

“Lately, there’s been a thought in my mind, but I have never told anyone...” Liu Guiyuan suddenly stood still as he looked into the sky with his eyes squinted. He lowered his voice as he continued, “This might sound strange, maybe even crazy. But I have a feeling that Lin Qingtian knew about this catastrophe, and he was prepared for that day to come...”

Chapter 358: Complication

Yan Liqiang was in a bad mood for the next two days. What he learned in the Heavenly Realm, especially the things Liu Guiyuan told him, weighed heavily on his mind.

In four years time, the Great Han Empire would descend into total chaos. The enemies around this vast empire would seize the opportunity to bare their fangs against the Great Han Empire when it was at its weakest and conquer it.

Survival of the fittest – that was the natural law of Silver Continent. History had proven time and time again that all nations or tribes rose and fell through wars. Yan Liqiang wasn’t surprised by that. His real concerns were the clues that pointed toward Lin Qingtian’s awareness of the impending catastrophe. Many of the things he did were preparations for when he would take over the Great Han Empire after the catastrophe.

The Storm Army was the strongest force the Great Han Empire possessed, and Lin Qingtian would crush that force by using the catastrophe and the Chaman people as his power.

Once the catastrophe struck, the empire would fall into disarray. Lin Qingtian would take this opportunity to create a massive army with terrifying strength and prepare to take over the empire.

Yan Liqiang did some research on his own in the Divine Sword Sect by digging up all the news and court bulletins throughout the years. Indeed, he found out that pirates had existed along the southeastern coast for a long time. However, they were never a serious threat, in fact, they were like pests who would show up and rob some civilians or break into houses; but they would often be chased off by the navy like some miserable dogs. Things only started to change in recent years. Around three to four years ago, these pirates suddenly went out of control and started stirring up bigger troubles. Lin Qingtian took this opportunity to set forth his campaign. Not only did he propose for militias to be formed in every province and prefecture along the southeastern coast, but he even started a new tax to fund it.

Where was the navy that the pirates once feared before they became so bold in their actions?

On the 14th day of the second lunar month in the 14th year of the Yuanping reign, which would be the second lunar month in reality, Navy General Zheng Huaian who led the navy along the Great Han Empire’s southeastern coast was prosecuted for ’embezzlement’. He was accused of misappropriating military funds, bribing shipmakers, and colluding with the pirates. This infuriated Lin Qingtian, who ordered for immediate investigations.

In that event, Navy General Zheng Huaian, along with more than thirty other navy commanders, were imprisoned. Nearly all high-ranking officers were removed from their posts, and Lin Qingtian appointed a new navy general for the southeastern coast. The new navy general made huge adjustments to the navy upon taking over and started a campaign against those who supported Zheng Huaian. This ultimately led to the crumble of the Great Han Empire’s Southeastern Navy which used to be the great force against the pirates.

Two months after Zheng Huaian and his company were imprisoned, the pirates banded together to form a few groups of parties, then started stirring up trouble. In response to this, Lin Qingtian proposed all provinces and prefectures to establish militias to combat the pirates.

Similarly, that Anbei General Shi Tao who nearly destroyed the Storm Army was also Lin Qingtian’s ally.

Lin Qintian lured Long Feicheng and Storm Army’s key personnel into the Imperial Capital, and they all passed away in the catastrophe. Ironically, Lin Qingtian, who deserved to die the most in this catastrophe, miraculously cheated death as he left the capital for work just in time. That was a little too much of a coincidence...

It was as though there was an invisible force behind all this, conspiring for all this to happen.

That was exactly why Liu Guiyuan suspected that there was a mastermind behind the rise of the pirates.

The bandits were causing trouble because of the rules he created when he proposed to form militias in every province and prefecture along the southeastern coast.

The Great Han Empire invested a large amount of its wealth in these militias for two to three years before they all donned their uniforms and were taken in as part of the regular army, thus becoming Lin Qingtian’s trump card in his conquest.

There was one possible reason behind Anbei General Shi Tao’s betrayal against the Great Han Empire while seeking refuge from the Chaman people. Shi Tao probably realized that only death awaited him after he denied the Storm Army of their resources, because he would be made into a scapegoat. Hence, seeking protection from the Chaman people was the only way to ensure his survival and wealth. There was only one explanation as to why Shi Tao went ahead and did all those things despite knowing how it would consign him to damnation. That was because he might lose his life on the spot if he refused.

Viewing the future events deciphered from another perspective, it could instantly send a chill down anyone’s spine.

One occurrence might be mere coincidence. However, when a series of events occurred and followed a specific pattern, they were premeditated rather than coincidences.

A few months ago when Yan Liqiang knew the catastrophe was going to happen in four years time, he raked his brain to think up of a way to survive and rescue as many people as he could. However, he only realized now that there were so many complications behind that catastrophe.

There was a high chance that he would need to go up against someone who was much more powerful than himself right now, and that person could possibly possess the knowledge about the catastrophe in advance just like him. Not only that, he was going to use that event to walk over countless dead bodies beneath his feet and put himself on to the throne of this great nation.

Yan Liqiang’s mind was spinning.

Anxiety and depression kicked in, yet he wasn’t able to share this with another soul. All he could do was focus his mind on his cultivation to momentarily distract himself from these events.

One would often find themselves in trouble even if they weren’t looking for it.

In the evening of the 25th day of the seventh lunar month, just one week after the Emperor left Deer Villa, Yan Liqiang was stopped by Little Li when he making his way back from his training. He was informed that Eunuch Liu was looking for him urgently, so Yan Liqiang dragged his exhausted body and followed Little Li to Eunuch Liu’s courtyard.

When Yan Liqiang saw Eunuch Liu and realized that the latter was frowning with an angry expression, he took the initiative to speak first, “Eunuch Liu, you were looking for me?”

Eunuch Liu took a deep breath and asked, “Liqiang, you remember His Majesty wishes for you to be the Crown Prince’s mentor in archery, yes?”

“Ah, yes I do. Did you not mention that I can meet the Crown Prince on the first day of the eighth lunar month before I officially begin my duty?”

“There are some changes in regards to this matter!”

“What changes?”

“Over the past few days, countless ministers brought up the fact that the Crown Prince’s mentor is not His Majesty’s royal family affairs, but the nation’s affair. They said that you are far too inexperienced for such a heavy responsibility and feared that you might impart the wrong knowledge on the Crown Prince. Not only that, they even recommended another potential candidate as the Crown Prince’s mentor...”

Damn it. Yan Liqiang cursed under his breath as he patiently continued, “What are His Majesty’s thoughts on this?”

“Of course, His Majesty is furious and he disagrees with them. Just when this matter was at an impasse, Grand Chancellor Lin Qingtian suggested to pit you in a contest against the other candidate recommended by the ministers in the imperial court today. The winner of the contest will earn the rights to become the Crown Prince’s mentor. His Majesty only mentioned that he would consider it instead of agreeing to it. So now, he would like to get your opinions on this. Do you dare to accept a challenge from the other candidate recommended by the ministers in the imperial court?”

Yan Liqiang immediately squinted his eyes skeptically. “What contest? Which kind?”

Chapter 359: Contest Rules

“An archery contest!” Eunuch Liu looked at Yan Liqiang as his tone turned grave. “Using the most prevalent, yet most dangerous method in the army – the blindfolded contest!”

“Blindfolded contest?” This was Yan Liqiang’s first time hearing about this kind of contest. “What is a blindfolded contest?”

“You and your opponent will stand a hundred steps apart from each other. Both of you will then be blindfolded and you will shoot each other with your bows and arrows. Whoever gets wounded or is scared out of their wits first will be the loser!”

“Won’t a careless slip-up cost a life in contests like these?”

“That’s exactly the case!” Eunuch Liu nodded. “This kind of contest demonstrates not only archery skills, but also courage. It was only originally popular within the army because being a soldier requires such courage even in the face of death. Therefore, the atmosphere of a blindfolded contest will be closer to a real battlefield as you and your enemy will shoot each other. According to Lin Qingtian, only this kind of contest can prove who is truly capable. After all, one must have real talent and skills to be the Crown Prince’s mentor in archery!”

“Who do the ministers in imperial court recommend to be the Crown Prince’s archery mentor? How powerful is he?”

“Shi Minzhang, the son of the Anbei General Shi Tao [1]. He attained the Fifth Heavenly Layer in the art of archery last year, and he is a famous archery expert in the Imperial Capital...”

Anbei General Shi Tao’s son, Shi Minzhang?

Yan Liqiang didn’t expect the name he heard just two days ago in the Heavenly Realm to turn out to be someone whom he would cross paths with in reality so soon. Not only that, this person’s son was actually trying to rob him of his position as the Crown Prince’s mentor in archery...

“Isn’t Anbei General Shi Tao in the northwestern region? Why is his son in the Imperial Capital?”

“Shi Minzhang has been studying archery techniques in the Shooting Star Archery Academy instead of staying by Shi Tao’s side!”

Yan Liqiang sighed. “If Shi Minzhang has such a status, background, and capability, how can I possibly stand a chance against him in the blindfolded contest? Our bow and arrows have no eyes in the blindfolded contest and the outcome will be decided in a split moment. If he kills me, then I can’t blame anyone besides myself for overestimating my own abilities in bringing about my own death. But if I accidentally kill or injure him...” Yan Liqiang looked at Eunuch Liu and smiled wryly. “Then I will become the Shi Clan’s archenemy...”

“His Majesty is aware that this is an extremely difficult matter for you and that you are potentially risking your life. Therefore, he will not force you to accept this challenge. Instead, he wishes to listen to your opinion first and have you consider it...” Eunuch Liu nodded slowly.

“Is that Anbei General Shi Tao an ally of Lin Qingtian’s who also stands against His Majesty?” Yan Liqiang asked, despite already knowing the answer.

“Yes.”

Thoughts flashed through Yan Liqiang’s mind. Based on Eunuch Liu’s tone, the Emperor was definitely looking forward to the contest between him and Shi Minzhang. Otherwise, Eunuch Liu wouldn’t be asking him if he dared to accept the challenge. It was as though they were trying to spur him into action by asking the question in such a way. Why would the Emperor want him and Shi Minzhang to enter a death duel?

That was indeed an extremely worthwhile question to ruminate on. If he died in this duel, then the case would be closed naturally. If he won, then he would probably never be able to side with Lin Qintian and his allies. This was the Emperor’s way of making Yan Liqiang pledge his loyalty to him...

If he won this contest, then what would he get?

Seeing Yan Liqiang deep in his thoughts, Eunuch Liu used an extremely calm tone to tell him something meaningful. “Liqiang, you must know that no one can ever achieve meteoric success by smoothly sailing along. Those who kill and plunder wear belts of gold as glory, while fame and wealth are achieved through taking risks and overcoming crises. Sometimes, overcautiousness will not cut it. His Majesty has great expectations of you and I think you are not an average individual either. His Majesty has his own difficulties too. One’s reputation hinges on how many burdens one shoulders. No matter how sharp a sword may be, it is useless if it can’t be used to kill...”

At that moment in time, thoughts flooded Yan Liqiang’s mind. He wasn’t only thinking about this blindfolded contest, but also what would transpire in four years time.

Yan Liqiang remained silent for a minute under Eunuch Liu’s quiet gaze before he finally spoke up.

“I’m not worried about my own safety. I just suddenly remembered about my old father back home!” Yan Liqiang looked at Eunuch Liu and took a deep breath with a grim expression on his face. “His Majesty’s dignity is at stake here. For his kindness of recognizing my worth, even if it wasn’t for myself, I would still be willing to accept this contest for his sake to prove that he wasn’t mistaken about me. The worst possible outcome of this contest will only be my death. If I die in this contest, then that would be the end of it. If I win and accidentally kill Shi Minzhang in the process, I’d be making enemies with Anbei General Shi Tao. Although I have nothing to fear in the Imperial Capital because it won’t be easy for Anbei General to harm me while I am under His Majesty’s protection, my old father in Gan Province is only an ordinary blacksmith who can hardly defend himself. If the Shi Clan decides to bring harm to my father as revenge, my father will be completely powerless against them. Therefore, I have a request for His Majesty...”

“For a son to still be worrying about his old father back at home under such circumstances, you sure are filial. It seems like I am not wrong about you. Let’s hear your request!” Eunuch Liu’s gaze was filled with admiration as he asked the question.

“If I win, will His Majesty permit my return to Gan Province’s Pingxi Prefecture?” Yan Liqiang suddenly made a request.

Eunuch Liu was shocked. He didn’t expect Yan Liqiang to make such a request. Even so, it was still reasonable. “Ah, you wish to return to Pingxi Prefecture?”

“Participating in this contest is to fulfill my loyalty to His Majesty. My return is to fulfill my obligation as a son. Only by returning can I look after and take care of my father, thus becoming his pillar of support. Otherwise, it is very difficult for me to not worry about him!”

“It is perfectly fine for you to bring your father to the Imperial Capital instead...”

“Eunuch Liu, my father is growing old. There is a saying that it is a blessing to stay in one’s hometown in old age. Besides, I cannot bear the thoughts of having my old father travel all the way to the Imperial Capital and live with me in constant fear...”

“If you win and return to Gan Province, won’t your cultivation in Deer Villa go to waste...?”

“Wisdom is imparted through a sentence, not a thousand scrolls. My two masters have imparted their wisdom to me. All I require now is just time to perfect the techniques. Even if I return to Gan Province, I can still continue with my cultivation instead of letting them go to waste! Likewise, I can still serve His Majesty in Gan Province...”

“I do not have the authority to make any decisions on this matter. I can only relay your words to His Majesty, the decision is his to make...”

“Thank you, Eunuch Liu!”

“I shall go to the palace and request for an audience with His Majesty at once!”

After speaking with Yan Liqiang and getting his feedback, Eunuch Liu didn’t tarry for long at Deer Villa. He immediately left for the royal palace on a carriage with Little Chun and Little Li in tow.

Chapter 360: Planning Ahead

“Did Yan Liqiang really say that?”

In the royal palace’s imperial garden, the Emperor who just finished his dinner gave Eunuch Liu an astonished look as he asked the question.

Nightfall had just arrived and it was quiet in the imperial garden. Under the illumination of the palace lanterns, one could still see the beautiful flowers in the garden. A few dozen palace guards stood watch from several zhang away. Even a mosquito would have a hard time infiltrating the place, let alone a human.

Eunuch Liu hunched as he walked behind the Emperor. “Your old servant, I, did not expect for him to make such a request either. It is indeed unexpected. Truth be told, his words touched me. Over the years, I have seen many who have come to the Imperial Capital and their willingness to abandon everything, including their family, just for a promotion in the bureaucracy. Never have I met anyone like Liqiang. Some people wouldn’t even remember their old parents back at home if they were awarded a small promotion!”

“So what did he say about his cultivation at Deer Villa...?” the Emperor asked while walking.

“He mentioned that since he has obtained true wisdom from Li Hongtu and Ji Xiaoyao, his cultivation will not go to waste even if he returns to the Gan Province. Likewise, he can still continue to serve Your Majesty even if he is there...”

The Emperor frowned slightly. “We cannot help but feel that his return to Gan Province is a little too sudden and unexpected. Is he going to abandon everything in the Imperial Capital over a contest to take care of his father back home?”

“I heard that unlike others, Yan Liqiang and his father only have each other to rely on ever since he was a child. Perhaps they really have a special bond. His father seems to hold a very important place in his heart. At a time like this, he finds it difficult to not be worried about him. Therefore, he can only choose to fulfill his loyalty to Your Majesty first, then fulfill his obligation as a son by returning home. Otherwise, why would he give up on the bright future that awaits him if he wins the contest and gains Your Majesty’s favor? His willingness to participate in this blindfolded contest proves that he fears neither death nor Lin Qingtian. Then what else would possibly make someone like him shy away from the Imperial Capital...?”

“You have a point there. If he fears neither death nor Lin Qingtian, we truly cannot imagine what else in the Imperial Capital can possibly frighten him so much that he chooses to return to Gan Province!” The Emperor nodded slowly as he relaxed his previously knitted eyebrows.

“Your Majesty... Well, your humble servant wonders if it is appropriate to say something?” Eunuch Liu lifted his gaze to look at the man in the dragon robe before him as he spoke cautiously.

“Only you and I are here. Speak your mind...”

“Well... Yan Liqiang is only fifteen years old right now. Given time, he will have boundless prospects ahead of him and be of great use. His current cultivation in archery has far exceeded that of others. However, if his opponent in the blindfolded contest is Shi Minzhang, a seasoned expert archer in the capital city who has long attained the Fifth Heavenly Layer in archery, I am afraid that Yan Liqiang will only have a 50-50 or even lower chance in winning, despite the enormous amount of strength he possesses. This is also the reason why Lin Qingtian and his party dared to pull Shi Minzhang into this. If something really happened to Yan Liqiang during the blindfolded contest, wouldn’t that be a pity?”

The Emperor cast a glance at Eunuch Liu, slightly startling the latter, thus making him lower his head once again.

The Emperor lifted his head to look at the stars that were starting to appear in the sky with a strange expression on his face. “If he is the person whom We desire, then he will definitely not be slain by Shi Minzhang in this contest. On the contrary, if he cannot make it through this, that would prove that We have made a mistake and he would hardly be of great use in the future!” the Emperor replied with an indifferent tone.

“Then... What should I, your humble servant, relay to him upon my return?”

The Emperor only strolled around the imperial garden silently for a long time. Eunuch Liu followed by his side, not daring to utter another word.

Two minutes later, the Emperor suddenly slowed down his footsteps when he was underneath a few pine trees in the imperial garden. He gently caressed the solid tree trunk as his thinking face grew determined. “You are right. Yan Liqiang is indeed still young and needs more experience. Given time, he will definitely have boundless prospects and be of great use. Binding him to a place like the Imperial Capital at his young age where the water is murky would restrain him too much. Perhaps his potential can be maximized if he returns to Gan Province. We are interested to see what he is capable of after leaving the Imperial Capital. Go back and tell him that he is allowed to return to Gan Province and will be entrusted with great responsibility should he emerge victorious in this blindfolded contest...”

“Understood. I, your humble servant, shall return and relay the message to him at once...”

After Eunuch Liu received a response from the Emperor, he very quickly left the imperial garden and the royal palace before making his way back to Deer Villa.

After Eunuch Liu left, the Emperor strolled around the imperial garden with his hands behind him. He had no one to share his thoughts with. By the time the sky was covered by stars and the silver moon was shining bright, only then did he lift his head to look at the river of stars as he mumbled to himself, “We wonder if you will be able to be Our Di Longtu and pillar of support?”

......

Yan Liqiang certainly wasn’t aware of His Majesty’s intention. He felt that the Emperor wanted him to take up the challenge to prove his loyalty. Yet, he was oblivious to His Majesty’s other secret agenda – to prove if he was the person the Emperor was searching for...

......

Yan Liqiang was relieved to receive a response from Eunuch Liu at night on the same day.

It went without saying that Yan Liqiang didn’t wish to return to Gan Province on a whim. He had been thinking about this matter for the past two days. He couldn’t stop thinking ever since he found out the grim situation that the Great Han Empire might face in four years time and discovered that Lin Qingtian might have known about this Heavenly Tribulation. He couldn’t calm down, especially after knowing the Shatu Seven Tribes would turn their weapons against the Great Han Empire and carry out a bloody purge in Gan Province and Pingxi Prefecture. The familiar faces of his friends and family flashed across his mind, white from the gleams of the Shatu people’s scimitars.

Before this, Yan Liqiang thought he only had to deal with the Heavenly Tribulation that would occur four years in the future by urging more people to evacuate from the Capital Regions before the calamity would strike. From the looks of it, the aftermath of the catastrophe in the Great Han Empire would be the most somber part. The political landscape in the empire would change completely in four years time. Therefore, Yan Liqiang had to take appropriate measures and plan ahead. At the very least, he must not helplessly watch the most tragic scene unfold in his hometown...

Chapter 361: Glorious Moment

Life was like a seesaw. When one side dipped, the other side would always go up!

In reality, Yan Liqiang was making preparations for the dangerous blindfolded contest in the Imperial Capital city which would take place in a few days time. If there were no accidents, this contest would be a turning point for Yan Liqiang in the Imperial Capital. In the Heavenly Realm, Yan Liqiang was welcoming his first glorious moment in the Divine Sword Sect.

On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month in the 17th year of the Yuanping reign, Luqiu Mingyue’s apprentice ceremony was held in the morning at the Ancestral Hall on the Divine Sword Sect’s Tiankui Peak.

The event was scheduled for around seven o’clock. The apprentice ceremonies for nearly every sect would be held at this hour, filled with good wishes and thoughts.

A very long time had passed since Luqiu Mingyue accepted any disciples, and the last time he did so was twelve years ago. That disciple was the Heavenly Brave Sword, Qi Zizheng, one of the Three Braves within the current younger generation. Before that, he apprenticed another disciple fifteen years ago. She was Lian Wushuang – the best of the best among the Divine Sword Sect’s younger disciples.

Twelve years later, the Sect Lord once again accepted another disciple. Not only that, it was an external disciple named Yan Liqiang. When word got around, the entire sect was in an uproar. Everyone was trying to find out how that unknown individual, Yan Liqiang, was to be able to grab the Sect Lord’s attention, be apprenticed, and rise above the others.

Within the past two days, Yan Liqiang’s past was dug up and spread across the Divine Sword Sect...

To most of the disciples in the sect, Yan Liqiang’s inspirational story was simply legendary.

Even as an external disciple who was assigned to clean the toilets upon his recruitment, Yan Liqiang managed to shine brilliantly and change his own destiny by doing the dirtiest, most tiring and despicable job with impeccable attitude and motivation. Such an inspiring tale was like chicken soup for the soul. The younger disciples in the sect who had yet to make a name for themselves went crazy as they idolized Yan Liqiang.

If a toilet-cleaning external disciple could make a name for himself in the Divine Sword Sect, there was no reason why they couldn’t do that for themselves. There was only one thing that held them back – they weren’t the best versions of themselves yet and hadn’t excelled in their duties. Therefore, they weren’t noticed by the elders or hall masters...

News about Yan Liqiang inspired many ordinary disciples in the sect.

As soon as it was seven o’clock in the morning, the Ancestral Hall on Tiankui Peak was already extremely crowded.

At this moment, all the elite disciples and above arrived at the Ancestral Hall in succession. Several thousand people, including the direct and core disciples, elders, people in charge of various courtyards and halls, stewards, and managers filled the vast hall.

Many of those who had never seen Yan Liqiang before were extremely curious and they wondered what kind of person he was.

Based on the apprentice ceremony rules, Yan Liqiang didn’t catch a wink of sleep at all last night. After burning the incense, cleansing himself and fasting, he cleared his mind and meditated in silence in a simple yet elegant small loft inside the Ancestral Hall.

It was snowed heavily in Lai Province. Yan Liqiang sat in the loft and watched the fluttering snowflakes outside the window. His mind wandered as he thought of many things.

Yan Liqiang had never experienced this before. In the small loft, he carefully recalled the days he spent ever since he recovered his consciousness. It seemed like he never had a peaceful day before – he had to constantly push himself to train and cultivate to face the never-ending dangers every day. He clenched his teeth and pressured himself to never stop forging ahead. Keep running and running, never relaxing for even a moment...

While sitting and doing nothing but killing time, Yan Liqiang realized that watching the snow falling outside the window in a daze for the entire night was relaxing. Although he couldn’t say that the experience was enlightening, he was able to make clear of the many things he never understood in the past. It felt as though the gray clouds over his head had suddenly been lifted.

Life was short and fleeting. Regardless of the Great Han Empire’s future, it was fine as long as he had come to this world, lived his life to the fullest, and did his best with no regrets. Up to this point, his life had actually been a lot more exciting than his previous life so there was nothing else to regret.

The sky outside the window was gradually turning bright. Three knocks rang out from the other side of the loft’s door.

“Come in...” Yan Liqiang said softly.

The door was pushed open. Two servant disciples dressed in black robes from Tiankui Peak’s Ancestral Hall came in. They were each holding a tray with a brand new outfit on it.

“Senior Martial Brother, change into this. In half an hour, there will be a chime and you will have to go to the grand hall...” One of the servant disciples informed him politely.

Two days ago, Yan Liqiang would have had to address these two inner servant disciples as ‘Senior Martial Brothers’ since he was an external disciple. In just the blink of an eye, these inner disciples had to address Yan Liqiang as ‘Senior Martial Brother’ instead as their positions were suddenly reversed.

“Alright. Thank you, Junior Martial Brothers!” Yan Liqiang nodded to both of them.

The gaze of the two servant disciples from Ancestral Hall lingered briefly on his flawless face. They both seemed amazed, but didn’t comment on anything. They just set the tray on the tea table before Yan Liqiang then left and shut the door.

One tray contained a full purple silk robe set with a light blue sash. The other tray contained boots and a crown. Altogether, the items made up a standard outfit for Divine Sword Sect’s elite disciples.

Yan Liqiang looked at the items on the trays and then stood up. In less than fifteen minutes, he put on everything in his room.

When he looked at himself in the bronze mirror, he could barely recognize himself...

As the saying goes, ‘A person depends on their apparel, a buddha depends on gold.’ Yan Liqiang was wearing a gorgeous, long purple robe. His lips were red in contrast with his pearly whites, and his eyes shone under his sharp eyebrows. He looked like a fine young man with a silver crown on his head. Combined with his handsome face as well as heroic and mysterious temperament, Yan Liqiang could easily crush any teen idol from his previous life.

Not long after he changed into the outfit, a crisp chime rang out. Yan Liqiang opened the door and exited the loft.

The two servant disciples who were standing outside door immediately led Yan Liqiang to the Ancestral Hall.

Since Yan Liqiang had been informed about the ceremony etiquette today, he wasn’t at a loss.

The public square outside the Ancestral Hall had been swept clean. As soon as Yan Liqiang arrived at the hall’s entrance, the voice of Elder Guo, or the host of the ceremony, rang out. “Welcome, the Divine Sword Sect’s disciple, Yan Liqiang...!”

Upon hearing the voice, Yan Liqiang stepped across the high doorsill at the entrance alone and entered the grand hall.

At that exact moment, countless gazes in the grand hall fell on Yan Liqiang’s face.

He then heard people drawing a sharp breath between their teeth in the silent grand hall.

There was nothing Yan Liqiang could do. Everyone was shocked by his handsomeness. It was not an exaggeration to say that he was dazzling. His body and face seemed to really be glowing. Anyone who laid eyes on him would be dazzled...

Aside from the disciples, all the hall masters and stewards who saw him for the very first time reacted the same way. Even the elders, Hall Master Su, and the rest who had seen him before couldn’t help but secretly gasp at the sight of Yan Liqiang with their sparkling eyes. – As expected of a disciple chosen by the Sect Lord. His appearance and temperament are simply perfect.

Many young female disciples in the grand hall blushed the moment they laid eyes upon Yan Liqiang. Their gazes were glued to him, and they found it impossible to tear their eyes away. At this very moment, Yan Liqiang was a walking aphrodisiac to them.

Yan Liqiang barely walked ten steps into the grand hall when some alarmed cries suddenly rang out among the crowd at the side. A beautiful female disciple about eighteen or nineteen years old was staring at Yan Liqiang with flaming cheeks while holding her hands over her heart. She was so excited that she forgot to breathe. As a result, she suddenly fainted and caused a slight commotion...

Chapter 362: Entering the Sword Cavern

Yan Liqiang saw the female disciple who had fainted too. Even so, he didn’t stop his footsteps and continued walking calmly toward the front. The unconscious female disciple was carried away in a flash. In this kind of situation, even if she managed to immediately wake up, she could only continue to pretend to be unconscious because she would be too embarrassed to stay in the hall.

The passage on both sides of the Ancestral Hall were crowded with people. The sect’s elite disciples were standing closest to the door, followed by the direct disciples and then the core disciples. The higher ranking and more important figures stood deeper inside the Ancestral Hall. For this occasion, those who had the rights to be seated at the far end of the Ancestral Hall were only the Sect Lord Luqiu Mingyue and the seventeen elders.

Among the group of elite disciples wearing purple long robes, a few people dressed in black and gray clothes were particularly eye-catching.

Those people happened to be Gu Zexuan, Zhao Huipeng, Huo Bin, Hu Tiande, Li Kaihe, and Ma Liang.

According to their positions, Gu Zexuan, Hu Tiande, and the rest actually didn’t have the rights to enter the Ancestral Hall. External disciples like Ma Liang didn’t even have the rights to ascend Tiankui Peak. They were allowed to attend this ceremony because they were ‘special guests’ invited by Yan Liqiang. As the main character of this apprentice ceremony, Yan Liqiang was allowed to invite ten friends. In the Divine Sword Sect, the most solid relationships he had formed up to this point were only with Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng. In addition, Huo Bin, Hu Tiande, and the rest were on pretty good terms with Yan Liqiang. At least they had established trust with each other, which in turn allowed for collaboration. Since they could be considered friends, Yan Liqiang extended invitations to them as well.

Apart from Gu Zexuan, Hu Tiande, and the rest, Yan Liqiang also invited two acquaintances from Tianqiao Peak. One of them was Steward Huang and the other was Sun Weizhen. Both of them were currently watching Yan Liqiang excitedly in the Tianqiao Hall group.

Although it had only been three days, Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng were already wearing the long black inner disciple robes which indicated that they were no longer external disciples. Judging from their facial expressions, they would probably be screaming in excitement if it wasn’t for the fact that they were currently inside the Ancestral Hall.

Gu Zexuan was looking at Yan Liqiang rather mischievously. His gaze shifted between him and the female disciples at the side.

When Huo Bin, Hu Tiande, Li Kaihe, and Ma Liang saw Yan Liqiang looking in their direction, Hu Tiande and Li Kaihe were acting slightly more reserved and only gave him a friendly smile. Huo Bin and Ma Liang beamed at Yan Liqiang instead, seemingly trying to gain his favor. When they saw Yan Liqiang nod at them, both of them immediately felt so honored and almost wanted to scream, ‘YAN LIQIANG IS MY FRIEND!’ out loud.

Walking a little further in, Yan Liqiang saw Hall Master Su and Manager Qiu in the crowd.

Hall Master Su nodded at Yan Liqiang when he saw him approaching. His gaze was filled with encouragement and pride. On the contrary, the complex expression on Manager Qiu’s face was almost indescribable. He seemed like he wanted to smile, but it looked no different from crying. There was even a hint of terror in his gaze. For the very first time, Manager Qiu started hating himself for being blind all this time and offending Yan Liqiang. Now that Yan Liqiang had become the Sect Lord’s disciple, he had boundless prospects ahead of him. If he wanted to get revenge, he would definitely meet an extremely horrifying end...

Aside from these familiar faces, Yan Liqiang didn’t recognize most of the others. However, there were still a few young people who captured Yan Liqiang’s attention with their unusual auras.

They stood near the seated group of elders. This indicated that they had very special identities in the Divine Sword Sect. One of them was the Flying Tiger Sword, Peng Tianjie, whom Yan Liqiang met when he was ascending Tiankui Peak for the very first time three days ago. This led Yan Liqiang to speculate that they were the legendary Three Braves, Seven Heroes and The Unrivaled of the Divine Sword Sect.

However, not all of them seemed to be present today and some might not even be in the sect. Although there were males and females in the group, Yan Liqiang only saw seven of them instead of eleven.

......

Yan Liqiang stood still two meters before Luqiu Mingyue. Elder Guo, the host of the ceremony, stood close by.

“The Divine Sword Sect’s disciple, Yan Liqiang, shall offer incense to the martial ancestors of the Divine Sword Sect!”

Following Elder Guo’s yell, a steward from the Ancestral Hall immediately came out from the side, holding a pure gold tray with three yellow incense sticks that were each as thick as a thumb.

Yan Liqiang picked up the three incense sticks from the tray, then solemnly walked to the ancestral tablets of the Divine Sword Sect’s past founders. He burned the three incense sticks on an oil lamp, then respectfully inserted them into the incense burner before the tablets. He took a few steps back, kneeled on the ground, and performed nine kowtows to the ancestral tablets. After that, he got up, lifted up his long robe, and returned to his original position.

“Divine Sword Sect disciple Yan Liqiang, kneel to pay respect to your Master!”

As soon as Elder Guo finished speaking, Yan Liqiang kneeled before Luqiu Mingyu who was seated before him and performed three kowtows.

“Serve tea to your Master!”

A disciple came over, holding a pure gold tray with a cup of tea on it. Yan Liqiang took a few steps forward on his knees, reached for the teacup, and held it high up above his head. He offered the teacup to Luqiu Mingyue and announced with a loud and clear voice, “Disciple Yan Liqiang hereby offers Master his tea!”

Luqiu Mingyue nodded. He accepted the teacup, took a sip, and set it down on the small table beside him.

“The Master shall bestow a sword upon his disciple!”

A steward standing at the side walked to Luqiu Mingyue holding a long, pure gold tray while bowing down. Luqiu Mingyue lifted the silk cover of the tray, revealing an antique longsword. He picked it up and gently caressed the antique bronze sword hilt. His deep, emotional gaze traveled from the sword hilt to the tip of its scabbard.

“The name of this sword is Noble Path. It is the same sword I used to uphold justice by vanquishing countless evils in my younger days. Today, I shall bestow this sword upon you. I hope you will never forget your original intention and stay on the noble path always!”

After Luqiu Mingyue finished speaking, he handed the sword to Yan Liqiang.

Never forget your original intention, stay on the noble path always!

The eleven words stirred Yan Liqiang’s heart. He took a deep breath and accepted the longsword with both hands. “Thank you, Master! Your disciple shall never let you down!”

Yan Liqiang got up smoothly after accepting the longsword.

“Open the Sword Cavern...!”

Following Elder Guo’s yell, the two heavy metal doors at the very end of the Ancestral Hall behind the memorial tablets slowly opened. At this very moment, everyone’s gaze was filled with desire, envy, and even a trace of greed...

Behind the heavy metal doors was a very deep cavern!

Despite being a disciple of the Divine Sword Sect, not many people would have the opportunity to enter the Sword Cavern even once throughout their entire lifetime. The Sword Cavern was the most mysterious and important place in the sect. It was considered to be the foundation of the Divine Sword Sect.

People who entered the cavern had to rely on their opportunity and luck. Without both, they would find themselves wandering around aimlessly inside and come out empty-handed seven days later. Those who were fortunate enough would be able to obtain the Divine Sword Sect’s exceptional skills and sword techniques. The Sect Lord, elders, the sect’s idols like the Three Braves, Seven Heroes and the rest had entered the Sword Cavern before and returned with a fruitful journey.

People who had never contributed or had yet to contribute enough to the Divine Sword Sect wouldn’t be eligible to enter the Sword Cavern.

Yan Liqiang looked toward the cavern, then took a deep breath. Without even turning back, he directly walked toward the two metal doors and entered the deep cavern.

After Yan Liqiang entered, the two metal doors closed behind him with great rumbling noise and finally a loud bang, shutting out everyone’s view in the Ancestral Hall.

“The apprentice ceremony has come to an end. Disciples may leave the Ancestral Hall in an orderly manner...” Elder Guo’s calm voice rang out. All the disciples in the Ancestral Hall started leaving one after another. In just flash, only Luqiu Mingyue and a group of elders were left inside the grand hall. At this moment, everyone’s gazes were on the closed metal doors.

“I wonder what kind of sword technique or secret manual Yan Liqiang will receive in there...” one of the elders mumbled to himself.

“We will know in seven days...” Luqiu Mingyue turned his gaze away from the two metal doors as he spoke calmly.

Chapter 363: Sword Cavern’s Pagoda

When the huge metal doors slammed shut behind him, Yan Liqiang jumped. He couldn’t help but stop and turn around to look behind him.

The metal doors were tightly shut and would only open after a week. Hence, he had to stay inside the Sword Cavern for another seven days before he could exit.

Many disciples in the sect yearned for the opportunity to enter Sword Cavern because if they were fortunate enough, they would be able to obtain a powerful sword technique in the cavern within a week. If they were unlucky, not only would they walk away empty-handed, they might even need to trouble the elders to rescue them from the Sword Cavern and that would be extremely mortifying.

No one told Yan Liqiang what was inside the Sword Cavern. When Elder Guo briefed him on the apprentice ceremony yesterday, he only told him that everything would depend on his luck after he entered the Sword Cavern. He also informed him that there was a stone table not far from the cave’s entrance. On the stone table was a medicine bottle which contained seven Inedia Pills, concocted with Divine Sword Sect’s secret recipe. Taking each pill a day would enable him to spend seven days in the Sword Cavern. Events that transpired inside the Sword Cavern were considered classified information that must not be divulged to anyone.

Recalling Elder Guo’s instructions in his mind, Yan Liqiang calmed himself down before he proceeded to venture deeper into the Sword Cavern.

The Sword Cavern’s passage was a downward slope. From the looks of it, the entire cavern seemed to be inside the Tiankui Peak mountain range. Although it was freezing cold outside the Sword Cavern, it was not cold at all inside.

There was no light in the Sword Cavern. However, one would notice the countless blue sparkling lights on the cavern walls if they walked a little further. Those were probably some kind of residual ores like fluorite that looked like blue fireflies, illuminating the Sword Cavern and giving it a mysterious atmosphere.

“This place kinda looks like the night club I went to once in my previous life...” Yan Liqiang looked at the glowing blue Sword Cavern before his eyes and mumbled to himself. He then smiled and wandered deeper into the Sword Cavern with great curiosity.

Not long after that, a stone table came into Yan Liqiang’s view. As expected, there was a medicine bottle on it. Yan Liqiang picked it up, shook it twice, and heard the pills inside it. He stashed the medicine bottle and continued walking. After walking about ten li along the winding passage and reaching the center of the mountain, a huge underground cave appeared before Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang’s jaw dropped when he saw the massive cave because it was surrounded by colorful crystals. The entire cave looked as though it was a crystal house out of a fantasy realm. Walking into the cave, his reflection was on the dome ceiling and everywhere beneath his feet. As soon as he arrived, Yan Liqiang sensed that the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth here seemed to be a hundred times more abundant than the outside world for some unknown reason. Just by standing here, the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth quietly moisturized and entered his body through his skin and pores. Even if he was breathing normally, he felt the energy brimming inside his body. The burst of energy was extremely refreshing.

In the middle of this cave was a translucent, nine-layered lofty pagoda sculpted out of a crystal. The structure that was like the work of the Gods sparkled brilliantly.

Yan Liqiang was stared at this crystal pagoda in a daze for a long while. He looked around the cave and didn’t notice any other exits either. This place seemed to be the end of the Sword Cavern.

He circled around the pagoda while carefully observing it. The pagoda was really massive. He wondered what kind of skills it took to construct it. The massive pagoda had four sides. There was a door on each side, each labeled with a single word above them – ‘Life’ , ‘Separation’ ...

‘Death’ and ‘Parting’.

“What does that mean?” Yan Liqiang mumbled to himself. He walked around the pagoda for three rounds, looking at the four doors, but he couldn’t make any sense of it. He only had a hunch that since he was here and the pagoda was here, he should take a look inside. The four doors outside the pagoda seemed to represent choices, but he had no clue what would await him behind the doors.

Yan Liqiang wandered around the pagoda a few more times indecisively before he finally clenched his teeth. “I’ve lived two lives and died once in this life! To be able to survive through all that is all thanks to great fortune. Therefore, I shall walk through the Death door. After all, there’s this thing called Heidegger’s conception of being-toward-death. So I’m going to see what is behind that door. In any case, Elder Guo also said that the Sword Cavern won’t kill me!”

After he decided his next course of action, Yan Liqiang made a beeline toward the ‘Death’ door.

The Death door was tightly shut. Yan Liqiang pushed it lightly to find that it didn’t even budge. He had no choice but to take a deep breath, focus, his Qi on hands, and place them against the icy crystal doors. Pushing with the force from his entire body, the door finally creaked open...

The moment it opened, a thought flashed across Yan Liqiang’s mind. The door was extremely heavy. If it were someone else, they might not be able to open it. It would seem like those who came out of Sword Cavern empty-handed after a week might just be those who couldn’t even push the door open.

It was pitch black behind the door. Even if Yan Liqiang had trained his eyes to be able to see in the dark, he still couldn’t see a thing beyond the door.

However, since he had opened the door, there was no way for him to retreat. Without any hesitation, he stepped through the door. The moment he got in, the door shut behind him with a bang. Yan Liqiang put on his guard, but he suddenly felt as though he had been hit on the head. The darkness before his eyes then lifted as colors burst into his vision...

......

“Achoo...!” Yan Liqiang woke up with a sneeze. A young and beautiful face came into view. The person had an adorable smile on her face while she was tickling his nose with a green foxtail grass.

He could hear the ocean waves. Apart from the familiar beautiful face, he could also see the blue sky over his head and the gently swaying coconut trees. He was lying on a hammock, enjoying the rare sunshine, the sandy beach, and the companionship of the beautiful girl.

Everything before his eyes seemed so familiar. The girl before him was none other than Lu Jiaying. When Yan Liqiang saw her lovely face, nothing but tender sweetness gushed forth from his heart.

“Hahaha, come chase me...!” When Lu Jiaying saw that Yan Liqiang had woken up, she ran away with laughter that rang out like melodious silver bells, leaving behind a trail of footsteps on the beach...

Yan Liqiang got up from the hammock and habitually gave chase. As soon as he took two steps, he felt a sudden, cold pang in his mind. It shook his sea of consciousness. Part of the frozen memories in his brain suddenly thawed at this very moment.

He reacted at once and made a clever move by stopping.

This scene was from the time he took Lu Jiaying on an October trip to Phuket in Thailand. Like any man who was madly in love, he felt as though he was the happiest man in the world back then. In his eyes, Lu Jiaying was the most beautiful woman in the world. That was the happiest and most unforgettable time of his life.

...What’s going on? Isn’t everything in the past now? Am I dreaming? How can a dream feel so real?

No, this isn’t a dream! This is... an illusion...!

“Oh, what’s wrong, dear? Do you feel unwell?” Lu Jiaying came running back again when she realized that Yan Liqiang didn’t chase after her. Her gaze on him was filled with deep concern.

Chapter 364: Not To Be Caught Up In Love

Everything before his eyes was indeed confusing. Yan Liqiang had nearly fallen into the trap right at the very beginning...

However, for someone like Yan Liqiang who had lived two lives, the scene before him was all too ridiculously ethereal. If the illusion that appeared before him was a scene from the Silver Continent, he might’ve not reacted as quickly. Since the scene happened to be from his previous life, he knew that everything before his eyes was definitely unreal.

Yan Liqiang lifted his head up to look at the sky, then at the beach. Listening to the sound of the ocean waves, he looked at the woman he used to love the most. Everything here was buried in the deepest part of his memories. He had never mentioned it to anyone so no one would ever know about it. Little did he expect this to be shown to him in this situation.

How was this possible? It was like a dream, yet it felt more real than a dream. Everything stemmed from scene and experience in the deepest part of his consciousness...

Thoughts ran through Yan Liqiang’s mind...

“Why are you not speaking, dear...?”

Her tone and expression... They were completely the same as how he remembered them from the Lu Jiaying in his memories.

Yan Liqiang looked at Lu Jiaying and shook his head as a smile broke across his face. “Sorry, but you’re already dead in my heart. You were merely a part of one of my past journeys that I don’t wish to experience again. We will never meet again...”

“What are you talking about? Don’t scare me! If you’re feeling unwell, let’s go to the hospital! Or we can go home...!” Lu Jiaying was panic-stricken. She grabbed onto Yan Liqiang’s arm, and tears welled up in her eyes.

“Goodbye...” When Yan Liqiang finished saying that, he shot his fist out.

Lu Jiaying’s body suddenly soared upward...

Yan Liqiang vaguely heard a crack before everything – the ocean, blue sky, beach, all the beauties in bikinis, including himself, immediately shattered like a glass mirror...

......

Yan Liqiang woke up and found himself lying on the floor. He scanned the area around him twice with his eyes and then got up with a roll, discovering that he was still inside the strange, empty crystal pagoda. He looked behind him and saw the closed entrance. Crystal-like walls surrounded him, showing him his own reflections.

When he entered this place, it was pitch-black so he couldn’t see anything. Yet, at this moment, the first floor of the pagoda glowed with an eerie blue color.

“Is anyone here?” Yan Liqiang shouted.

He didn’t hear anything except for the echoes in the room.

What was that illusion? Why did he experience that as soon as he came in without any warning? Yan Liqiang muttered to himself while he observed his surroundings.

Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary in the surroundings of the room. All of a sudden, Yan Liqiang remembered something. He snapped his head up and looked at the ceiling.

There, he saw something that seemed familiar...

A simple and quaint bronze decoration was embedded on the ceiling. It was about the size of a dustpan and had a metallic luster. There was a blue fist-sized, glowing rare beast core crystal in the center.

That’s a... spirit talisman...

Its unique structure, complex and mysterious, as well as the crystal in the center, allowed Yan Liqiang to recognize it at a single glance. He had seen this object before, not in the Heavenly Realm, but in reality. There was one on the Sacred Flame’s priest whom he killed when he was escorting Sun Bingchen back to the Imperial Capital. The object was one of his spoils of war, which he then gave to Mo Ziye.

The spirit talisman the old Shatu man carried wasn’t huge; it was just about the size of a bronze mirror that could be easily carried around. Yet, the spirit talisman before his eyes was a lot bigger and slightly higher in grade than the one that the old Shatu man had.

Yan Liqiang had only taken a few glances at the spirit talisman on the ceiling when his head suddenly felt dizzy. His body felt light too, as if he were overwhelmed by drowsiness. Even his own reflections around him started swaying...

Just when he was about to shut his eyes, he immediately snapped himself out of it and quickly averted his gaze from the spirit talisman.

Strangely enough, the moment Yan Liqiang averted his gaze from the spirit talisman, the dizziness in his head immediately disappeared and he felt completely normal. However, when he rested his eyes on the spirit talisman again, the sleepy feeling came back in just less than a few seconds...

After two tries, Yan Liqiang could pretty much determine that the illusion he was trapped in just now was probably related to that spirit talisman.

This crystal pagoda was filled with traps. It was uncertain as to who set them up, but even the most cautious person might fall victim to them. Like the illusion just now, if he didn’t wake up due to his special circumstances, he might have just fallen right into it.

Yan Liqiang secretly felt a chill down his spine.

There was nothing else on the first floor. Yan Liqiang looked around and discovered another entrance in the room that seemed to lead upstairs. He walked over and saw a line of words beside the entrance – ‘Those who aren’t caught up in love are permitted to proceed upstairs.’

Yan Liqiang cautiously ascended the stairs.

The second floor of the pagoda had a door. Yan Liqiang pushed it open, but didn’t find darkness beyond the door. Instead, it was a bright and spacious room with a table in it. After making sure that there weren’t any illusion traps or the like before him, only then did he enter the room.

The moment he entered, the door automatically shut behind him.

There seemed to something else on the table in the room so Yan Liqiang went straight to it. He discovered that it was a metal table and on it was a holder with palm-sized black, red, and white keys hanging from it. At the same time, there was also a note on the metal table.

The note said: ‘There are three locks on the left wall next to the entrance of this room. Each corresponds to one of the three keys. Behind each lock is a different sword technique secret manual, respectively known as the ‘Coiling Dragon Sword Technique’, the ‘Striking Swan Sword Technique’, and the ‘Fallen Moon Sword Technique’. Those who do not wish to proceed upstairs may select any key to unlock its corresponding lock and leave after obtaining the secret manual. Those who wish to proceed upstairs may choose a key and insert it to the door lock upstairs, then twist the key half a turn to the right. There is only one key among the three that can unlock the door. Only one chance will be given. Those who chose the wrong key will neither be able to obtain a secret manual or proceed to the next level.’

Yan Liqiang shifted his gaze from the note on the table as he immediately started hesitating.

Damn, this level branched off into different routes here. If those who came here stopped here, they would be guaranteed to walk away with one secret sword technique manual. If those who came here wanted to gamble for the chance of being able to proceed upstairs, the success rate was only one-third while there was a two-thirds chance of getting a hole in your bamboo basket, leaving you empty-handed.

This was a total gamble – firstly with luck and secondly with courage.

Yan Liqiang looked at the three keys on the table. He thought about it for a while and then picked up the black key resolutely.

The key had a considerable weight to it, almost half a jin heavy. When Yan Liqiang picked it up, the entire table automatically sank into the ground.

Yan Liqiang looked at the three different-colored locks, then at the entrance door to the next floor. He clenched his teeth, walked directly to that door, and pushed the black key into the keyhole...

The moment the key was pushed into the lock, it locked into the keyhole with a click. Yan Liqiang took a deep breath, then twisted the key half a turn to the right...

He waited for half a minute, but the door didn’t budge. Just when Yan Liqiang thought he had chosen the wrong key, the closed door automatically opened with a slightly muffled noise and revealed a line of words on the wall behind it – ‘Those who lack neither courage nor luck are permitted to proceed onto the third floor.’

Yan Liqiang then went up to the third floor...

Chapter 365: Clearing Trials In Succession

Yan Liqiang had no idea what was on the third floor of the crystal pagoda. However, there was a voice in his heart that kept telling him to try his best to charge up to the very top to take a look. Moreover, judging from the situation on the first and second floor, it seemed that with each advancement to a higher floor, the ‘reward’ received would be greater than the one before. However, the abilities tested on each floor were also different.

At the entrance to the crystal pagoda’s third floor, there was a door as usual. It was just that this door was different from the previous two. Yan Liqiang saw a huge piece of Gem of Origin Qi.

This Gem of Origin Qi was used to test a person’s cultivation level. Yan Liqiang had seen it in the trial conducted by the three parties back then. It was just that he had not expected to see it here again.

There was a line written below the Gem of Origin Qi –’Channel inner Qi into the Gem of Origin Qi to activate it, and the door will open.’

Yan Liqiang looked at that line and did not give it much thought before he placed his hand on the Gem of Origin Qi and then started to channel his inner Qi into the gem.

With the channeling of Yan Liqiang’s inner Qi, the Gem of Origin Qi lit up slowly and started to emit a warm, golden glow. Then, the closed crystal door opened slowly and Yan Liqiang entered the room with one step.

With Yan Liqiang’s entrance, the crystal door shut automatically.

The room on the third floor was extremely spacious and there was also a metal table in the very center. A metal box was placed on the table and when Yan Liqiang took a look at the surrounding walls, his eyelids could not help but twitch fiercely.

At one glance, Yan Liqiang saw that the surrounding walls were filled with many spirit talismans. Spirit talismans were very rare, but in this room, they were like bricks that did not cost any money and could be found everywhere.

“Why are there so many spirit talismans and rare beast core crystals here?” Yan Liqiang mumbled to himself while keeping his guard up. He cautiously walked up to the front.

Yan Liqiang knew that no matter how wealthy the Divine Sword Sect was, it was impossible for them to place so many spirit talismans here. Therefore, the only reason why these spirit talismans appeared here could be a little similar to the illusory scene he had encountered on the first floor. These spirit talismans were related to the trial on this floor.

Just as Yan Liqiang was walking toward the metal box on the table, his heart suddenly tightened. He saw that a spirit talisman on the opposite side started releasing intense spiritual Qi waves, emitting piercing red light. Amidst that red light, a red-colored wild wolf that was completely condensed from the spirit talisman’s energy and spiritual Qi started to slowly form.

What the heck? This was Yan Liqiang’s first time seeing spirit talismans being used in such amazing ways. It was really eye-opening. He stared with wide-open eyes at the wild wolf that was condensed from the red light, roughly guessing the challenge he might be facing on this floor.

Just as that wild wolf started to slowly condense together, the wall in the nine o’clock direction to Yan Liqiang had a spirit talisman that started to emit a golden light almost at the same time. Amidst that golden light, the body of a huge lion slowly took form.

This was not the end. There were three other spirit talismans in the room that were reacting at the same time. Out of those three spirit talismans, two condensed into red-colored wild wolves and the other one condensed into a huge green python that was close to ten meters long...

After some time, five ferocious wild beasts materialized before the five spirit talismans in the room – three red-colored wild wolves, one golden lion, and a huge green python. These creatures condensed from the five spirit talismans were similar to phenomena from a technique, yet the images formed appeared even more realistic and denser. After the light from the five spirit talismans dissipated, these five wild beasts were like living creatures that had been released from their cages, emitting dangerous sounds from their throats or hissing away. They started to surround Yan Liqiang, their eyes glimmering with a dangerous glow.

Yan Liqiang drew out the longsword he was holding and put on a defensive stance as he looked warily at the five ferocious beasts that had surrounded him.

“Grrr...” That golden lion roared and was the first to make a move. It brought along a strong gale and moved as quick as lightning, pouncing toward Yan Liqiang.

The moment that golden lion moved, Yan Liqiang moved as well. He also let out a furious bellow the instant the huge lion pounced toward him. His longsword turned into a beam of sword light that shot out from his hand like an arrow. It shot out toward one of the red-colored wild wolves that was charging toward him. At the same time, he rolled on the ground, dodging the paw of that huge lion that had pounced toward him dangerously.

The longsword that flew out from Yan Liqiang’s hand pierced through the red wild wolf’s mouth.

Amidst an agonizing cry, the wild wolf’s body turned into red light spots and dissipated. After the longsword that Yan Liqiang threw out instantly killed one of the red wild wolves, it fell to the ground with a clank.

The direction Yan Liqiang had rolled toward was where another red wild wolf was at. When it saw Yan Liqiang rolling in its direction, it opened its mouth and bared its fangs toward Yan Liqiang’s upper thigh without a second thought.

A sound rang out and Yan Liqiang drew back his leg, did a turn, performed a Black Dragon [1] with his head downward and legs up, and soared into the sky, dodging that wild wolf’s attack. However, the wolf tore his long purple swordsman robe. At the same time, when Yan Liqiang leaped up, one of his hands reached out to the back of the red wolf’s waist and grabbed onto its tail. Then, with a ferocious roar, he unleashed all of his strength as he turned his body, lifting up the wolf and smashing it heavily onto the ground...

Another red wolf dissipated as red light. However, at this moment, that huge python’s tail had come lashing out toward Yan Liqiang. He was unable to dodge and as he charged forward. Therefore, he used his back to receive the attack from the huge python’s tail.

This attack caused the blood and vital energy at Yan Liqiang’s chest to seethe and a mouthful of blood soared up to his throat before he swallowed it back down. Yan Liqiang accelerated abruptly, once again dodging the attacks from that huge golden lion and the third red wolf.

Yan Liqiang dashed over to the place where the longsword had dropped and then picked it up.

The huge python opened its mouth and darted toward him. The sword sheath that Yan Liqiang had been holding with his other hand flew out and hit the huge python’s lower jaw. Before it could react, the longsword Yan Liqiang was holding pierced straight the python’s lower jaw which it had exposed upward.

Yan Liqiang held the sword handle with both hands and then dragged the longsword down fiercely. He moved about nimbly, and in just an instant, he had opened up a terrifying wound that was over two meters long and one foot deep.

The huge python rolled and twisted around in agony, wrapping its tail and body, wanting to coil Yan Liqiang. However, Yan Liqiang was already holding onto the longsword and leaped out from the gaps of the python’s body.

The longsword once again turned into a beam of moving light, shooting out toward the golden lion that was pouncing toward him. It pinned the lion’s body, causing it to drop from the sky.

The moment Yan Liqiang’s legs landed on the ground, the third red wolf opened its mouth and jumped toward him. In that close moment, Yan Liqiang’s hands reached out at the speed of lightning, grabbing the red wolf’s upper jaw with one hand and lower jaw with the other. Then, he did a tearing action and the red wolf’s body was torn into two parts like a piece of paper. It then turned into red light and dissipated.

The huge python continued to seethe, twist, and turn as if it were in extreme pain. After the golden lion, which had a longsword pierced into his body, dropped to the ground, it continued trying to pounce toward Yan Liqiang. However, its movements had become a lot slower.

A tiger’s roar appeared on Yan Liqiang’s body, and the moment the huge golden lion came pouncing toward Yan Liqiang, he turned his body and moved right next to it. Then, his two fists moved at the speed of lightning, heavily smashing against lion’s waist, beating it to the ground. Before the lion could get up, Yan Liqiang followed with a fierce stomp on its head, crippling it. Then, Yan Liqiang drew out his longsword and once again stabbed the lion’s body. He continued to draw it out and pierced it a few times. After doing so at the speed of lightning for five times, the golden lion finally let out an agonizing cry, turning into golden light spots that dissipated...

The huge python’s vitality was stronger and did not die immediately despite suffering from such fatal injuries. It merely continued to roll and twist around in the room, looking for an opportunity to attack Yan Liqiang.

Seeing that the huge python came biting toward him with its mouth agape once again, Yan Liqiang leaped up, flipped onto the python’s back, and with a swing, green sword light flashed. Yan Liqiang chopped off the huge python’s head...

The savage python’s head fell to the ground and its writhing body came to a stop immediately. In the blink of an eye, the reptile’s head and body turned into green light spots that scattered like glimmers, dissipating in the room.

Yan Liqiang stood in the room and wiped the blood off from the corners of his mouth. After panting for a while, he walked over to pick up his sword sheath, and slipped the sword back into it.

The metal table in the room sank into the ground without a sound and the entrance to the next floor slowly opened.

–– It is hard to find a match with someone of the same level. Those who possess strong bravery and valiance are permitted to proceed to the fourth floor!

This line was written at the entrance.

Yan Liqiang threw a glance at the row of words, then lifted his legs and headed up.

Just as Yan Liqiang pushed open the door to the fourth floor and thought that he would face a tough battle, he was stunned by what he saw in the room. On the fourth floor of the pagoda, there were tall bookshelves everywhere. An old man with silvery-white hair and a beard sat in the middle of the few tables, quietly holding and enjoying a book...

Chapter 366: Skilled In Both Literacy and Martial Arts

Yan Liqiang thought that some kind of difficult challenge would be waiting for him on the fourth floor. He would not be surprised even if there were venomous bugs or ferocious beasts. When he saw that there was only an old man waiting there, Yan Liqiang looked at him in a daze and then rubbed his eyes, unable to react in time.

That old man wore white linen robes and his silvery-white hair and beard were tangled together, giving the impression of Dumbledore from ‘Harry Potter’. There were three desks surrounding the old man and stacks of books piled on top of them. This scene reminded Yan Liqiang of the desks that belonged to the students who were cramming before their college entrance examinations.

The old man sat on a cushion, cross-legged, enjoying the book he was reading. He was deeply engrossed as if he had not noticed that Yan Liqiang had appeared on the fourth floor.

“Cough...” Yan Liqiang coughed...

After a few seconds, the old man did not show any reaction...

“Cough... cough...” Yan Liqiang coughed louder two times...

After a few seconds, the old man still did not move. His head was still lowered, reading the book he was holding...

Yan Liqiang finally could not hold it in any longer. He took two steps forward and called out loudly, “Senior...”

“Ah...” The old man seemed to be startled as his hand trembled and he dropped the book he was holding. Only then did he look at Yan Liqiang curiously, pointing at him, “You... you... How are you already here...”

“Senior thinks that I shouldn’t be here?” Yan Liqiang smiled and asked.

“It’s too fast. How can you be so fast? How long has it been? It hasn’t even been one day. How are you already here?”

“The reason I came up is naturally because I’ve cleared the three stages below!”

“Too fast, too fast. Other people take at least two to three days to come here. You’re the fastest person I’ve met to arrive here so early...”

Yan Liqiang smiled and walked up to the old man’s desk. He bowed toward the old man, “How should I address Senior?”

The old man stared at Yan Liqiang and looked at him seriously. He then scratched his messy hair and wore a contemplating expression. “I can’t even remember my name. I recall that my surname might be Yun. Yes, that’s right, my surname is Yun. What’s the rest... Aiya, it’s been a very long since someone called me by my name, so I’ve forgotten it. I’m the Divine Sword Sect’s enshrined existence, a person who likes books. Anyway, the name is really not important. You can just call me Yun Aishu [1]...”

When the old man was talking, Yan Liqiang kept on sensing his aura. At the beginning, Yan Liqiang thought that this old man was some hidden expert from the Divine Sword Sect, but after carefully sensing him, he discovered that this old man did not seem to exude the aura and disposition that only experts would have. This surprised Yan Liqiang. He had no idea if there was a problem with his senses or if this old man was not an expert to begin with. He merely looked at the old man and saw that he did not seem to be putting up an act and appeared to be very sincere. The old man gave himself a name just because he did not remember it. Yan Liqiang felt that the old man was quite cute...

“What enlightenment does Senior Yun have to bestow upon me?”

“Enlightenment... Oh, I remember it. Yes, there is. The reason I’m here is so that I can give you a test. You can only have the rights to head upstairs after clearing my test. If you can’t...” The old man pointed to a bookshelf, “There’s a secret manual in the box that’s placed at the bottom of that bookshelf. You can take that and leave!”

“What does Senior wish to test me on?”

“Of course it’s something that hasn’t been tested on the first, second, and third floors!” The old man rolled his eyes, got his act together, and there was a shadow of a smile on his face. “Don’t look down on it. Over the past eighty or so years, as long as people enter the Sword Cavern, I’ve been the one who has been guarding this insurmountable stage. Countless young talents from the Divine Sword Sect have been stuck at this stage. Only a few can head up to the fifth floor or higher. The reason this stage is on the fourth floor is naturally because it’s a lot more difficult than the test on the third floor.”

“Senior, don’t worry. Even if I don’t go up, I won’t blame Senior for it. I’ll only blame myself for not having learned my skills well enough!”

“Of course you can only blame yourself. You can’t possibly blame me, can you?” The old man let out a snort, “Are you ready? If you are, then I’ll give you the test!”

Yan Liqiang took in a deep breath, “Senior, please give me the test!”

“Alright!” The old man took a look at Yan Liqiang, rolled up his sleeves, and took in a deep breath. Just as Yan Liqiang secretly put up his guard and thought that the old man was going to perform some great skill, the latter lowered his head, looked through the pile of papers under the desk, took one out, and handed it to Yan Liqiang. “Get this question right first!”

Yan Liqiang blinked, then blinked again. He thought that he had heard wrong, but when he heard the old man urging him on, he took the piece of paper from him.

There was only a line written on that piece of paper–– The goat heads up the mountain, the mountain touches the goat’s hooves, baa baa baa.

“Senior, are you asking me to complete the couplet?”

The old man nodded seriously, “Mmm, this is only the first question. There’s a desk there with brush and ink. Write your answer on this piece of paper and then bring it over. You can think about it slowly. I don’t care how many days you take, but it must be neat and orderly. In addition, your handwriting mustn’t be too ugly. Only then will I let you pass this!”

“This is the test for this stage?” Yan Liqiang did not know whether to laugh or cry.

“What do you know? Do you think that this is easy?” The old man blew at his mustache and glared at Yan Liqiang while starting to shake his head, “The world in the words is big, the days in the books are long. If you only practice martial arts and are not savvy in literacy, then you’ll just be a mere warrior and won’t go far on your cultivation path. Literacy and martial arts are like yin and yang; they compliment each other. The people who have made it big in the history of the Silver Continent were all people who were well-versed in literacy. Many Grandmasters who are well-known throughout the world have their own poems and articles passed down. If you wish to head upstairs, then you must clear this stage!”

Yan Liqiang did not argue after listening to the old man. He merely replied in agreement, picked up that piece of paper, and headed to the table the old man pointed to. He placed the paper onto the desk, thought about it for a few seconds, then picked up the brush, poured some water, and ground some ink. He then wrote the second part of the couplet on the paper.

Yan Liqiang had spent great effort in practicing the regular Yan calligraphy script. Therefore, his handwriting would not be too ugly.

The first half of the couplet was: The goat heads up the mountain, the mountain touches the goat’s hooves, baa baa baa.

Yan Liqiang’s reply for the second part of the couplet was: The buffalo enters the water, the water drowns the buffalo’s horns, moo moo moo.

After Yan Liqiang finished writing, he waited for the ink to dry before he brought the paper to the old man and handed it over respectfully, “Senior, please have a look!”

“So fast...” That old man had only picked up the book and read two pages when he noticed that Yan Liqiang had finished his first question. He put down the book he was holding and took the ‘test paper’ from Yan Liqiang’s hands.

“Good handwriting!” The old man could not help but praise Yan Liqiang when he saw his handwriting. Then, after reading Yan Liqiang’s answer for the second part of the couplet, he nodded, “Not bad, not bad. It’s very neat.”

“Senior, did I pass this question?” Yan Liqiang asked.

“You’ve passed this question. I didn’t expect for you to be well-versed in literacy despite your young age. It’s very rare, very rare indeed!” The old man nodded in approval.

“Senior, can I head up now?”

“Haha, how can it be so easy? This is just the first question!” The old man said this and immediately felt very spirited. He put down his book, stood up, and walked out from the three desks to where Yan Liqiang had written his answer. He took out a piece of paper from under the desk and placed it on the table. Then, after thinking for a short moment and throwing a glance toward Yan Liqiang, he wrote a line on that piece of paper–

––Staying temporarily in this mountain, where several mus of uncultivated lands lay, with poems and books in accompaniment, watching the plowing of the clouds and rain during the day, leading a life that’s happy as a celestial’s;

“Try to match the first part of this couplet...” After saying this, the old man handed the brush to Yan Liqiang.

This question was a lot harder than the previous one. However, Yan Liqiang took the pen, gave it some thought, and then wrote down his answer.

––Forgetting of worldly concerns of the secular world, where three old houses sit, with the rosy dawn as a friend, occasionally admiring the wind and the moon, free and unfettered as an old urchin [2];

When the old man saw Yan Liqiang’s reply, he was stunned for a moment before he clapped his hands and laughed out loud. “Your answer is excellent, excellent. I like it a lot. I didn’t expect for there to be such a remarkable person like yourself in the Divine Sword Sect. Hahahaha...”

Chapter 367: Great Wisdom

“Senior, did I pass this question?” Yan Liqiang smiled and asked.

“Of course, of course you’ve passed!” That old man laughed happily as he stroked his long beard. He looked at Yan Liqiang’s answer for the second line of the couplet and kept nodding, feeling increasingly satisfied, “I’ve been in the Divine Sword Sect for so many years and have met countless disciples. Most of them place more emphasis on martial arts rather than literacy and feel that poems, books, and articles are all useless stuff. What they don’t know is that poems, books, and articles are merely the forms. The essence is still in the heart. It’s like the energy, essence, and spirit in martial arts. There are similar things in words as well. Coming across a great article is like observing a great expert performing amazing secret arts. Just watching by the side is sufficient to cleanse one’s mind, broaden one’s horizon, and nurture a great disposition. From looking at your writing, I can tell that you’re extraordinary. One who isn’t well-versed in literacy wouldn’t be able to write like this. The Sect Lord has taken in a great disciple!”

“Senior, you’re too kind. They say that the poor should study and the rich should practice martial arts. My family wasn’t considered rich and I didn’t have the opportunity to practice martial arts at first. Therefore, I often visited the bookstores and rich family houses to borrow books to read. That’s how I was able to recognize a few words!” Yan Liqiang said humbly as he came up with this story.

In terms of literacy, what Yan Liqiang had read about the 5,000 years of China’s history and culture accumulation far surpassed that of this world’s. It was hard to compare the two. It could be said that the difference between this world’s martial arts from the other world was equivalent to the difference between that world’s literacy from this world’s. Yan Liqiang was not someone who was remarkable in his studies in the past, but the poems, books, and articles he had read in the past were enough to astonish anyone in this generation.

And the most amazing thing was that after the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing, Yan Liqiang discovered that the articles, documents, and other things he had read in the past – even those he had not remembered after reading them in his previous life – would appear in his mind as long as he thought about them. There was no way that he could forget them even if he wanted to. Yan Liqiang had read some poems from the Tang, Song, and Yuan Dynasties, couplets, and also ancient text and books in similar genres. In the past, he only remembered a few classical pieces, like the ‘Chu Shi Biao [1]’ and the ‘On the Love of the Lotus [2]’. He might’ve not memorized it in the past, but right now he could remember everything. He could even clearly recall the books he flipped through by chance. With that, the challenge on the fourth floor was too simple for Yan Liqiang.

“By right, I still have to test you on two more couplets, but seeing how creative and nimble your mind is, there’s no need to test you on couplets any further. There’s just one last question. If you can pass it, then you can head upstairs!”

“Senior, please ask the question!”

The old man picked up the brush and was silent for a short moment before he took out another piece of paper, placed it on the table, dipped the brush in ink, and then swung the brush around on the paper.

In the beginning, Yan Liqiang thought the old man was going to write something. It was only later that he realized that the old man was not writing, but drawing. In just a short moment, Yan Liqiang could tell that what the old man was drawing was Tiankui Peak’s snow scene that could be seen over these few days. At the end, the old man placed the brush down. The drawing was that of the snow-filled scene on Tiankui Peak. The blooming of some plum blossoms stood out a lot, adding the finishing touch that brought the painting to life.

The old man put down the brush and looked at his drawing in satisfaction, smiling. He then said to Yan Liqiang, “What do you think of this painting?”

“Not bad, Senior’s painting skill has reached the point of perfection. It’s really admirable. Moreover, this painting depicts a great concept.”

“It’s just that this painting is still short of a set of words. This is the last question – to write a set of words on this drawing. Poems or articles are both fine, as long as what you’ve written can match the concept of this painting. If the words and painting are able to complement each other, then you’d be considered to have passed this last part. If what you write doesn’t match the painting and ruins it, then you will not pass this stage.”

This was the old man’s last question, and compared to the couplets earlier, the difficulty was now one notch higher. Moreover, the most difficult thing was that Yan Liqiang was expected to improvise on the spot.

After the old man said this, he placed the brush on the brush rack and gave Yan Liqiang the time to think.

Yan Liqiang felt a lot of emotions when he looked at the old man’s painting. A poem suddenly gushed out in his mind.

Yan Liqiang thought about it for a short while before he picked up the brush and dipped it in ink.

“Be prudent. This is the last question and you can think through it slowly. Write only after you have absolute confidence. If it doesn’t turn out to be nice, you might end up leaving regretfully. It’s common for ordinary people to think about the writing on a painting for ten days or even half a month!” When the old man saw that Yan Liqiang was going to start writing so soon, he reminded him out of goodwill.

“Senior, thank you for your reminder. I know what I’m doing!” Yan Liqiang smiled and moved the brush, writing these words on the painting – Ode to the Plum Blossom [3].

That old man’s eyes were fixed on the brush in Yan Liqiang’s hands.

Yan Liqiang took in a deep breath, writing rapidly with good penmanship, and a series of words appeared under his brush––

Wind and rain escorted Spring’s departure, flying snow welcomes Spring’s return.

On the ice-clad rock rising high and sheer, a flower blooms sweet and fair.

Sweet and fair, she craves not Spring for herself alone, to be the harbinger of Spring she is content.

When the mountain flowers are in full bloom, she will smile mingling in their midst.

The old man’s eyes lit up when he saw the first line Yan Liqiang wrote. And after Yan Liqiang finished writing, the old man’s mouth was agape and he was speechless when he saw the written poem.

This poem was written by an important ancestor, and the energy, essence, and spirit in the words were unrivaled. There was both a dignified and lofty character, a majestic righteousness, and the air of a ruler in it. This ‘Ode to the Plum Blossom’ was something that Yan Liqiang liked the most. What was a rare find was that this poem was a great complement to the Sect Guardian’s identity that Yan Liqiang had inherited in the Divine Sword Sect. Therefore, Yan Liqiang wrote this poem out without any hesitation on the painting.

“A poem like this... a poem like this...” The old man looked at the ‘Ode to the Plum Blossom’ written by Yan Liqiang. He was at a loss for a while before he let out a long sigh in the end, “You’re ten times better than me to be able to write a poem like this. Over several centuries, not one person in the Divine Sword Sect has been able to come up with a poem like this. I’ve been overconfident. This stage won’t be able to stop you. You can go on ahead!”

“Thank you, Senior!” Yan Liqiang bowed to that old man and then turned to head toward the path leading to the fifth floor.

“Wait a minute...” That old man suddenly called out to him. Yan Liqiang stopped and turned, “Does Senior have any other guidance?”

That old man looked at Yan Liqiang with some expectation. “All the secret manuals on each floor above this are rare items in the Divine Sword Sect. The higher you head up, the more precious the secret manual. However, no one has reached the ninth floor and obtained the item there over the past three hundred years. With your talent, you might be able to give it a try!”

“Ah, what’s on the ninth floor?”

“You’ll find out if you can head up there. I can’t tell you that. Otherwise, I’d be ruining things!” The old man shook his head and did not reveal it.

“Alright. Thank you Senior for your encouragement!”

Yan Liqiang felt curious after hearing what that old man said. He wondered what was on the ninth floor of the crystal pagoda, especially since no disciples in the Divine Sword Sect had been able to reach it over the past three hundred years.

Yan Liqiang then headed toward the entrance to the fifth floor. As usual, there was a row of words there, reminding Yan Liqiang what he had just been tested on this stage.

––’Those who possess great eloquence and wisdom are permitted to proceed to the fifth floor!’

Chapter 368: Real Challenge

After pushing the door open to the room on the fifth floor, Yan Liqiang took a look and noticed that it was mostly empty and clean. Neither any spirit talismans nor anyone was in there; nothing irksome was in there at all. In the room, there was only a table, and on it was a metal box and a letter.

Yan Liqiang calmed down, walked up to the table, and looked at the letter.

There were densely packed words written all over it.

––People who can come to the fifth floor are all remarkable figures amongst the Divine Sword Sect’s disciples. They can be said to be geniuses that are hard to come by out of every 10,000 people. In the metal box at the side, there is a ‘Great Solar Big Dipper Sword Technique’. This sword technique has remarkable prowess and contains the secret arts of the Divine Sword Sect’s Tiangang Peak. In the past 500 or so years, a large group of people who had the great fortune to learn this sword technique eventually joined Tiangang Peak and became Elders there. Other than the ‘Great Solar Big Dipper Sword Technique’, there are also silver promissory notes which amount to 300,000 taels of silver. If you stop here and don’t continue to head up to the sixth floor, this sword technique and all the silver promissory notes will belong to you. You can bring the silver promissory notes out of the Sword Cavern and use them as you wish. No one in the Divine Sword Sect can interfere.

300,000 silver taels was a great fortune. After reading the letter, Yan Liqiang’s heart could not help but throb and he smacked his lips. If one were to take the huge amount of 300,000 silver taels and then obtain the great technique from Tiangang Peak’s, there was a 50% chance that the person could become an Elder. As long as the person was willing, they could immediately become a winner in the Divine Sword Sect. Who could resist such temptation?

However, this was not all that was written on the letter. Yan Liqiang calmed down and continued reading on.

––If you give up the reward on the fifth floor and head to the sixth floor, you will discover that there are neither secret manuals nor monetary rewards. There will only be a trial and the difficulty of the trial is so high that there might not even be one out of 100 Divine Sword Sect disciples who can pass it. Should you fail to pass the trial on the sixth floor, you can no longer choose to take the secret manual and silver promissory notes from the fifth floor. You will have to leave the Sword Cavern empty-handed.

––This choice is one that concerns your prospects and future in the Divine Sword Sect. Please consider it carefully.

It was only after reading the letter did Yan Liqiang understand what the test on the fifth floor was. This test was really too cruel. One option was the secret manual and a huge sum of money – leaving with the reward available on the fifth floor would allow one to become a winner in life in many people’s eyes. The person would enjoy a carefree life, be respected, and enjoy beauties, great wine, great scenery, and great food as they wished. And if the person were to give up on this option, the other option would be to continue heading upward. 99% of the people who took this option would fail and end up with nothing. They would feel as if they had fallen from heaven to hell, becoming losers in other people’s eyes. They would have to start all over from the beginning.

These two options concerned a person’s view on life, the selection of their life values, as well as their beliefs in life.

The two options would bring about consequences that were very different. Each person would have to assess their own hearts. There was no way to hide anything, and there was no way to leave things to chance.

How many people would choose to give up at this stage and choose to take the great rewards on the fifth level, not daring to challenge the unknown future upstairs?

Yan Liqiang admitted that his heart swayed for one moment. He could not help but wish to stop at this stage, take the secret manual and the huge sum of money, then leave this mysterious crystal pagoda. He could then become the Sect Lord’s disciple and he would enjoy great glory.

However, the words of the old man from the fourth floor suddenly rang out in his heart.

What on earth was on the highest level of this crystal pagoda?

What was the thing that could be more precious than the 300,000 taels of silver worth of promissory notes which could instantly make one become very rich, in addition to having the ‘Great Solar Big Dipper Sword Technique’? So much so that they had to put a person through so many trials before giving them the rights to have it...

Yan Liqiang did not lack money. If he liked money, he would not have chosen the path of cultivation in this lifetime. Instead, he would have chosen to go into trading and business. With his capabilities and knowledge, even if he didn’t gain the riches that was comparable to that of an entire country, it would not be a problem for him to become a person of great wealth and be able to realize several targets.

The ‘Great Solar Big Dipper Sword Technique’ might be very amazing and precious, but so what if that was the case...

Slowly, Yan Liqiang’s gaze became determined and his heart no longer wavered. He merely stayed in the room quietly for a short moment before walking up to the stairs leading to the sixth floor. Then he pushed open the crystal door that lead to the stairs.

––Those who are unwavered by fame and wealth are permitted to proceed to the sixth floor.

After he opened the door, Yan Liqiang saw that line at the back of the door. Simultaneously, the metal table in the room on the fifth floor quietly sank into the ground – there was no turning back.

With a hint of solemnness – the feeling as if he had stepped into a wrestling ring – Yan Liqiang headed up the stairs to the sixth floor of the pagoda. He stood before the crystal door on the sixth floor for a very long time, then took in a deep breath, pushed open the door, and stepped in.

The crystal door closed after Yan Liqiang entered.

After seeing the setup in the spacious room on the sixth floor, Yan Liqiang could not help but gasp.

This spacious place was like a museum, and yet it was also like an extremely high-class jewelry exhibition hall. The entire stretch of the floor on this level was densely packed with 108 round tables that looked exactly the same. And on each of the tables, there laid a rare beast core crystal that looked exactly the same, both in appearance and size, emitting a faint red light.

In the center of the 108 round tables, there was still that familiar metal table, and there was a letter on it like usual.

Yan Liqiang first walked up to the metal table and read the letter on it.

––On the 108 tables in this room, there are 108 rare beast core crystals. Amongst these 108 rare beast core crystals is one that is different from the others. Find the core crystal that is different from the others and place it into the indentation on this metal table. If your choice is correct, the passageway leading to the seventh floor will open and you can head upstairs. But if your choice is wrong, you’ll have to leave this place. Remember, you only have one chance!

There was really no reward in this room.

After reading the words on the letter, Yan Liqiang started to check the rare beast core crystals in the room one by one.

He first looked through all of the rare beast core crystals and discovered they all were almost exactly the same in terms of size, color, and appearance. Therefore, the core crystal that was different from the other 107 was definitely not different in terms of appearance, but in terms of its inner traits.

After observing the exterior, Yan Liqiang then placed each of the 108 rare beast core crystals on his hand to weigh them. With his sharp senses, he was able to detect that the weight of the rare beast core crystals was around 80 grams each, with a possible variance of 3 grams. In terms of texture and weight, these core crystals were not that different from each other either.

Then, Yan Liqiang used his third move – channeling his inner Qi into each of the rare beast core crystals to sense the type of creature they had come from.

After he had channeled his inner Qi into the first rare beast core crystal, its red light suddenly became very bright. And in that red light, there was the image of a monstrous fish that was swimming about. Its entire body was covered in red scales and it appeared to be very ferocious, like a supersized piranha.

Yan Liqiang put down the first rare beast core crystal and picked up the second one. The image projected on the second one was also the red monstrous fish. The same went for the third and subsequently fourth core crystals...

Yan Liqiang had no idea how long it took before he completed the inner Qi test on all 108 rare beast core crystals. He was stunned by the results. It was because all 108 rare beast core crystals displayed the same image after he channeled in his inner Qi – the red monstrous fish.

With this, Yan Liqiang finally understood why only one out of 100 Divine Sword Sect’s disciples would be able to pass this stage.

Damn it. If all these rare beast core crystals are the same, then what’s the difference between them...

From the point he entered the crystal pagoda till now, this was the first time Yan Liqiang was stumped. It seemed as if there was no way that he could solve this predicament...

After testing all the possible methods he could think of, Yan Liqiang was still unable to find the rare beast core crystal that was different from the rest. Yan Liqiang looked at the many core crystals that looked exactly the same displayed like a precious treasure in the vast room, feeling very bitter. It felt as if he was searching for a needle in the ocean and he felt as if his head was swimming. He did not know how to tackle this challenge...

Chapter 369: Each Making Their Own Preparations

“You’re going to have a blindfolded archery contest with the Shi Minzhang, the son of Anbei General Shi Tao?” When Li Hongtu, who was still feeling sleepy and had just walked out from the thatched cottage, heard Yan Liqiang’s words, his eyes opened wide and his voice went up two octaves.

Today was the 28th day of the 7th lunar month. Early in the morning, after arriving on the mountain behind the archery range, Yan Liqiang first shared the matter about the blindfolded contest with Li Hongtu before he started his cultivation.

After struggling in the Sword Cavern’s crystal pagoda for one day, Yan Liqiang used all sorts of methods but was still unable to find the rare beast core crystal that was different from the others. In the end, after taking an Inedia Pill, he rested on the sixth floor of the crystal pagoda for a while before he left the Heavenly Realm and returned to reality.

The problem in real life also pressed on.

“Mmm!” Yan Liqiang nodded. “Eunuch Liu informed me last night that the time has been decided. It will be held next month, on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month. The location will be at the Imperial Cavalry Unit’s West River Barracks.”

“Why do you have to compete? Isn’t it good for you to cultivate here? Why are you making everything complicated now?” Li Hongtu shouted.

“Master, you have to know that sometimes, things aren’t within our control. The currents in the Imperial Capital are turbulent, and even if I’m willing to cultivate here quietly, other people won’t just let me be!” Yan Liqiang smiled bitterly and explained the entire story about the blindfolded contest to Li Hongtu.

“Damn it. Why are those pieces of trash so troublesome...” After hearing what Yan Liqiang had to say, Li Hongtu jumped up and cursed, feeling indignant.

“I also didn’t expect that being highly regarded by His Majesty would cause so many problems. At this moment, if I were to step back, it won’t only bring disgrace to His Majesty. Other people will also kick up a fuss about this and say that His Majesty has poor judgment of people. Even I will be ridiculed by others!” Yan Liqiang said solemnly, “If we, people who cultivate, fear death and back off at a time like this, then our cultivation would be meaningless. Putting aside the fact that I’ll be unable to face to His Majesty, but even I will look down on myself. Therefore, I’ll definitely participate in this blindfolded contest!”

“That’s right! Master supports you. At a time like this, we mustn’t be a coward and let those trash look down on us. No matter how bad we are, we must still go all out and not be looked down upon!” Li Hongtu said loudly.

“I’ll definitely go for the contest, but after that, regardless if its a victory or a loss, I probably won’t be able to stay in the Imperial Capital to continue practicing martial arts by your side anymore. I’ve already asked His Majesty to allow me to resign from my post and after the contest, I’ll return to my hometown in Gan Province.”

“Huh? Why is that so?”

“My father back at home is old and isn’t capable of protecting himself. From the moment I agreed to participate, I’ve already offended Anbei General Shi Tao and a big group of ministers who don’t agree with me becoming the Crown Prince’s archery teacher. Regardless of the results of the contest, I can’t stay in the Imperial Capital any longer. Otherwise, if anything happens to my father back at home, I’ll live in regret for my entire life. Moreover, the Imperial Capital is a place plagued with troubles and it isn’t a good place to cultivate. After returning to Gan Province, I’ll be able to protect and take care of my father while continuing to cultivate. I would like to seek Master’s understanding and agreement for this...” Yan Liqiang bowed down low toward Li Hongtu.

Li Hongtu’s brows twitched and he raised his head, letting out a long sigh. He quickly helped Yan Liqiang up, “It’s hard on you to be implicated into political struggles at such a young age. If you advance, it’ll be a sign of loyalty, but if you back off, it’ll be a sign of filial piety. Master understands how hard it is for you to make a decision. The situation in the Imperial Capital is too murky and it’s really not a place where a person can cultivate in peace. Go for the contest and then return home after that. Just don’t neglect your training!”

“Master, don’t worry. I won’t stop until I’ve mastered the spear arts that you’ve taught me!”

“Does Ji know that you’ll be participating in the blindfolded contest?”

“Master Ji still doesn’t know. I was thinking of reporting this to Master Ji at noon after I’ve completed my cultivation here with you in the morning!”

Li Hongtu glared, “Did that Ji guy teach his abilities in the Trinity Archery Technique to you? If he didn’t, I’ll go and look for him to ask if he’s planning to bring his insignificant skills with him to his coffin...”

Yan Liqiang could only smile bitterly when he heard Li Hongtu’s words. If Ji Xiaoyao’s Trinity Archery Technique was really an insignificant skill, then the other archery arts in the world could all be tossed down the toilet. The ‘trinity’ in Ji Xianyao’s Trinity Archery Technique was the union between the bow and the heavens, the earth, and the individual respectively. Its profoundness was deep and endless, allowing Yan Liqiang to reach a whole new level in his understanding of archery. The first time Yan Liqiang saw that ‘Plucking Plume Technique’ which could allow the arrow shot out to make a turn was just a trifle within the stage of the union with the individual...

“Master Ji has already imparted me with the Trinity Archery Technique’s profoundness. It’s just that the duration of my cultivation is still short and I still need to practice more!”

Li Hongtu only calmed down after hearing Yan Liqiang’s reply. “The things that I taught you aren’t things that you can master within one to two days. There’s no need for you to come here before the blindfolded contest. Just go and practice your archery. If you have any questions, just go and ask Ji. You don’t have to practice with your spear this morning either. Just do whatever you want...”

“Yes, Master!”

Li Hongtu looked around before moving closer to Yan Liqiang and he lowered his voice while wearing a mysterious expression, “For you to be able to participate in the blindfolded contest means that you already have a clear conscience and did not let anyone down. Don’t care about what His Majesty and that Eunuch Liu think. Master has something important to tell you. During the contest, if you feel that you can’t win, then don’t force it. It’s fine to admit your loss. You’re still young so it’s not shameful to lose. You can try again. As long as you’re given time, that Shi guy won’t be your opponent in the future. A martial arts contest is the same as a battle – only those who can accept both victory and defeat can progress further. It’ll be over for those who can only accept victory and not defeat once they lose. People who cultivate must be able to withstand failures and obstacles. The same goes for how we swing our spears – only those who can be firm and gentle, soft and hard, bend and straighten, can be at the very top. Anyone who practices the spear can only become a great person after comprehending the spirit of the spear arts. Sometimes, escaping after a defeat isn’t something that’s humiliating. Didn’t Ji teach you how to escape at the very start as well? This is the experience that I, your master, have gained in my life. If you can’t win in a fight, then run. Return after you know you can win. Only the person who can survive to the very end can become the hero. Remember this!”

Yan Liqiang had not expected that Li Hongtu could say something like this. He felt very touched. He knew that this was something that only someone who was really concerned about him would say.

“Master, don’t worry. I got it. I’ll definitely survive!”

“Then that’s good!” Li Hongtu let out a long breath and patted Yan Liqiang heavily on the shoulder.

Chapter 370: Impending Murderous Intent

Since Li Hongtu had given the word that there was no need for him to practice his spear these few days, Yan Liqiang headed for Ji Xiaoyao’s monastery directly after leaving Li Hongtu’s place. He then told Ji Xiaoyao about the blindfolded contest he was going to take part in in a few days time.

Li Hongtu lived in a thatched cottage while Ji Xiaoyao lived in a monastery...

Li Hongtu led a slovenly lifestyle, while Ji Xiaoyao was particular about everything...

One of them did things himself and ensured basic needs were met while the other had an old personal servant waiting on him...

Having stayed with Li Hongtu for a while, every time Yan Liqiang came to Ji Xiaoyao’s place, he could not help but compare these two masters. He felt that one of them was like a wanderer in the wilderness, while the other was a young master of an influential family. He had no idea how they could have so many conflicts between them.

Although Yan Liqiang had used the Psychic Serpent to satisfy some of his curiosity by probing about their pasts when he first got his hands on the Psychic Serpent, toward the end, out of respect for his two masters, Yan Liqiang would not use the Psychic Serpent’s ability when he was with them. He would not use the serpent to probe their feuds and their past either.

After arriving at the monastery, Yan Liqiang did not search for Ji Xiaoyao immediately. It was because Ji Xiaoyao was still playing his zither in the bamboo forest. When Ji Xiaoyao was playing his zither, he would be very focused and he disliked it when people came to disturb him. Therefore, Yan Liqiang waited in the monastery’s pavilion.

While Yan Liqiang was waiting, the old servant, Ji An, brought a cup of fragrant tea and then left politely and quietly. Yan Liqiang was left to slowly appreciate the tea that one could only drink in the palace, and then listen to the strumming sounds coming from the bamboo forest.

Finally, an hour passed by and he finished his tea. The sound of the zither coming from the monastery’s bamboo forest also stopped. A few minutes later, Ji Xiaoyao, who appeared to have a secular air to him, finally arrived at the pavilion.

“Yan Liqiang pays respect to Master!” Yan Liqiang got up and bowed to Ji Xiaoyao respectfully, not sloppily at all. This was also the difference between Ji Xiaoyao and Li Hongtu. As Yan Liqiang’s Master, Ji Xiaoyao placed a lot of emphasis on these details.

“Mmm. I heard from Ji An that you have something to tell me!” Ji Xiaoyao sat down before Yan Liqiang in a steady manner.

Ji An, who had followed Ji Xiaoyao to the pavilion, cleared the teacup that Yan Liqiang had used earlier and exchanged everything with a new tea set, a new tea stove, and a pot of freshly brewed tea. He then disappeared before Yan Liqiang like a shadow.

Yan Liqiang only sat down opposite Ji Xiaoyao after seeing his master nod. Ji Xiaoyao’s clothes had been scented, and the moment he sat down, Yan Liqiang could smell the light fragrance of Phtheirospermum.

Yan Liqiang even had the feeling, as he sat opposite his master, that a term like ‘Mr. Perfect’ was made especially for someone like Ji Xiaoyao.

“I have something to report to Master!” Yan Liqiang said this as he poured a cup of tea for Ji Xiaoyao.

“What is it? Go ahead!” Ji Xiaoyao nodded.

Thereafter, Yan Liqiang told Ji Xiaoyao the entire story about the blindfolded contest, and then about his plans to head back to the Gan Province afterwards.

When Yan Liqiang started saying this, Ji Xiaoyao had already picked up his teacup and raised it to his lips. However, as Yan Liqiang continued, Ji Xiaoyao’s hand that was holding the teacup froze. By the time Yan Liqiang finished saying everything, the tea in Ji Xiaoyao’s teacup had already turned cold and was no longer emitting heat.

Ji Xiaoyao looked at the cup of cold tea, let out a soft sigh, then poured the cold tea onto the ground. “I thought that you’d be able to stay until you learned everything I had to teach you...”

“Disciple is ashamed to have let Master down...”

Ji Xiaoyao shook his head. “This isn’t your fault. It’s just that the Imperial Capital is a big dye vat and even if you were to hide in Deer Villa, you’d still have to get dye on you. Your choice is understandable. If I were you, I’d do the same thing. I’d first take part in the blindfolded contest and then head home to accompany my aging father...” Ji Xiaoyao then placed the teacup gently on the stone table. “I’ve met Shi Minzhang before. This matter might possibly be partially because of me as well and the blame might not be entirely on you...”

“Huh? Master has met Shi Minzhang before?” Yan Liqiang looked at Ji Xiaoyao, feeling a little surprised.

“I did, two years ago. Anbei General Shi Tao had asked other people for help, wanting to let his son Shi Minzhang become my disciple and learn archery from me. Therefore, I met him once. However, I didn’t take him in as my disciple. The fact that you’re in Deer Villa and learning archery from me is no secret. Shi Minzhang probably knows about it as well. Therefore, there’s probably another reason for this blindfolded contest!”

Yan Liqiang was stunned for a moment. To think that there was another reason why Shi Minzhang wanted to challenge him. “Then why did Master not take Shi Minzhang as your disciple?”

“I’ve met Shi Minzhang before. His eyes are like that of a snake, his nose is like a hawk’s, and his gaze is promiscuous and unrighteous. That person is definitely evil and brutal. Even if I have to bring my skills with me to my grave, I won’t impart them to someone like him. Therefore, I rejected him back then!”

“If that’s the case, then this father and son from the Shi Clan would definitely harbor hatred toward Master!”

“That’s given. But no matter how much they hate me, they can’t do anything. They don’t dare to lay a hand on me!”

“Master, you met that Shi Minzhang before. What do you think his archery skill is like compared to mine?”

“The greatest prowess of archery is that it can reach far distances. If it’s on the battlefield, with your excellent bow, you’d be able to kill Shi Minzhang within ten shots from a distance of 1,000 meters away, even if his archery skills are greater than yours. No matter how good his archery skills are, if he can’t draw the excellent bow that you can, then he’s destined to not be a match for you. But if it’s in a blindfolded contest, it’d be between 100 steps and you won’t be able to enjoy your advantage and will feel restricted. He has reached the Fifth Heavenly Layer in archery and his ability to identify a spot from the sound of the wind is above yours. In a blindfolded contest, he can make full use of his advantage. Just from this point alone, his chances of winning would be 60% or higher. Moreover, he went through some careful scheming and dared to challenge you to blindfolded contest despite knowing that you’re learning archery from me. That means that he has come prepared. His confidence in winning might not be at 60%, but it could be at 70% or higher. He might have a trick up his sleeve, as he has great confidence that he’ll be able to kill you in the contest. He’d be able to get rid of a potential threat, and also give me a slap in the face. In addition, he would also be able to win one round in the fight against the Emperor!” In the end, Ji Xiaoyao eyes were sharp as lightning as he looked at Yan Liqiang.

It was only after listening to Ji Xiaoyao’s analysis that Yan Liqiang felt his back soaked in cold sweat. The blindfolded contest was going to be more dangerous than he had anticipated. After the trial conducted by the three parties, it was highly likely that he had become a thorn in somebody’s flesh, and thus they were planning to utilize this opportunity to get rid of him...

Chapter 371: Power Millstone

“When that happens, unless you can put down everything, flee from the Imperial Capital, and be willing to forever live in the shadows, you’re left with no room to retreat in this contest!” Seeing how Yan Liqiang was silent, Ji Xiaoyao shook his head gently.

“Even if I wish to escape now, it’s not possible anymore. Since the other party has everything planned out, how could he possibly not think of the possibility that I might cower? There might already be people that have their eyes on me outside Deer Villa at this moment. As long as I attempt to escape, the other party will find out immediately. Moreover, if I do escape, His Majesty wouldn’t let me off either and my father would be implicated as well. It’s like what Master said. Right now, I’m left with no room to escape. I can only brace myself and get through it!”

Yan Liqiang smiled bitterly. “By the looks of it, it seems that I’ve viewed the Imperial Capital’s situation too simply. I asked for it and I can’t blame anyone else. I thought that I was only a minor character, and even if I stood on His Majesty’s side, the other party would be too busy to have time for me. But now, it’s likely that from the point I came to the Imperial Capital with Lord Sun, I’d already fallen into their eyes. Back when I first arrived in the Imperial Capital and escorted Lord Sun to the palace, the provocation I faced in the servant quarters was a signal. The contradiction was completely aggravated in the trial conducted by the three parties the other day. Therefore, they held onto the matter concerning the archery teaching, wanting to kill me openly, leaving me with no room to retreat!”

“The thing that kills the most people in this world aren’t blades or poison, but power!” Ji Xiaoyao let out a soft sigh, then looked at the clouds. “The Imperial Capital is the greatest power millstone. From the Great Han Empire’s land to the ordinary commoners or even evildoers with strong backings, they all find it hard to stay away from all this. If one isn’t careful, they will be crushed and fall prey to the blade of power. The intensity of the power struggle in the Imperial Capital far surpasses that of your imagination. This is also the reason why Li Hongtu and I have always lived a secluded life in Deer Villa. Although the two of us have no choice but to stay in the Imperial Capital due to some matters in the past, neither of us wish to get involved with the power struggle in the capital. You suddenly barged in thinking that you were safe, yet you did not realize that you were already involved in someone else’s schemes. I thought that you could stay far away from the conflicts in the Imperial Capital when you were in Deer Villa, but I didn’t expect that you’d be implicated so quickly!”

“Master, did you know that this day would eventually come and thus you always went straight to the point when teaching me things? Is it because you’re afraid that I’d be implicated before I learned any skills?” Yan Liqiang suddenly understood why Li Hongtu and Ji Xiaoyao had been so straightforward without any hesitation when teaching him stuff. The first day Yan Liqiang had taken Li Hongtu as his master, Li Hongtu had imparted him with the secret of his success to his abilities. The same went for Ji Xiaoyao. From Yan Liqiang’s first visit, amongst the things that Ji Xiaoyao taught him, there was not a single word that was excessive.

“That is the case. I was good friends with Li Hongtu in the past and we studied the Face Reading Technique together. When I first saw you that day, I noticed that you have an unclouded demeanor and I was certain that you were definitely a just and determined person, not one who is evil and scheming. Moreover, you have great bone structure and limitless strength. You’re born to be a talent in cultivating martial arts and can inherit my legacy and great skills. This was why Li Hongtu and I would teach you everything without holding back from the point we met you. We weren’t worried that we’d chosen the wrong person!”

“So that’s how it is!” Yan Liqiang looked at Ji Xiaoyao, feeling ashamed. “I thought the reason why you two decided to teach me was because of those two tokens...”

“You think that Li Hongtu and myself would teach you all of our abilities just based off the two tokens that Eunuch Liu gave you? If those two tokens had such a great effect that the two of us would be willing to teach you our real abilities, then you wouldn’t have had a chance to learn them. There are plenty of people in the royal family who’d be waiting to learn them. If someone else brought those two tokens to us, even if Li Hongtu and myself have to teach the person skills due to a promise we made in the past, and the things we’d teach would definitely not be the type of stuff that you’re learning right now. We wouldn’t be so straightforward...”

Hearing Ji Xiaoyao’s words, Yan Liqiang once again knelt before Ji Xiaoyao, and kowtowed three times. He once again paid his respect to Ji Xiaoyao, “Master, your disciple Yan Liqiang pays respect to you again! I didn’t know of Master’s pains and would like to seek for Master’s punishment.”

When Yan Liqiang paid respect to his two masters previously, it was more of a formality. After knowing the truth and then looking at Ji Xiaoyao again, Yan Liqiang now really treated Ji Xiaoyao and Li Hongtu as masters whom he was greatly indebted to from the bottom of his heart.

“You can get up. Neither of us expected to come across a disciple like you while living in seclusion in Deer Villa. This is probably heaven’s will. Heaven probably can’t bear to let our great skills be lost and thus let you come to Deer Villa!” Ji Xiaoyao gently helped Yan Liqiang up.

“Master, is the reason why the two of you are living in Deer Villa in seclusion and not leaving the Imperial Capital is because of His Majesty?”

“That’s right!” Ji Xiaoyao nodded. “Li Hongtu and I owe His Majesty a great favor and thus made some promises and to stay behind. The inside story isn’t something that can be explained in just a few words. This is how things are at the moment. Before the Crown Prince inherits the throne, we won’t leave the Imperial Capital. However, His Majesty can’t order us to do things that we are unwilling to do. That’s why we can live in peace!”

“So that’s how it is!”

“Since we’ve already said these things, Liqiang, remember this word of warning from me. No matter how well His Majesty treats you, or how highly he regards you, the two of you aren’t the same kind of people. He is the ruler of a country that has control over the world. Despite all this, he’ll still stand while fighting against the Grand Chancellor. This shows that he isn’t a simple character. With his position, he only has the great lands in the Great Han Empire in his eyes. Everything within this land is his chess piece and tool.” Ji Xiaoyao looked at Yan Liqiang with a grim expression.

“Thank you Master for your warning!” Yan Liqiang nodded and a complicated expression flashed across his face. “Although I don’t know the reason why, I also feel that this blindfolded contest is something which His Majesty has pushed onto me intentionally. He seems to want Shi Minzhang and I to have a life and death battle...”

“You aren’t in his position, so there’s no way you’ll know what His Majesty is thinking. A matter that is of life and death to you might have other meanings or objectives in another person’s eyes. Your life or death isn’t something that those people really value!”

Yan Liqiang took in a deep breath, “I got it. I’ll definitely be careful in this contest!”

“If there’s any use to be careful, there wouldn’t be anyone in this world who dies a wronged death. I’m sure the reason Li Hongtu allowed you to come here today must also be because he hopes that you can train more before the blindfolded contest. This will help you increase your chances!” Ji Xiaoyao said and stood up. “Let’s go over to the bamboo forest. These few days, before your blindfolded contest with Shi Minzhang, have one with me first...”

Chapter 372: Great Depletion

The blindfolded contest between Ji Xiaoyao and Yan Liqiang was an intense one.

For their first contest a few days ago in the empty space outside the bamboo forest, they stood 100 steps apart from each other. Yan Liqiang’s eyes were covered with a few layers of thick black cloth while Ji Xiaoyao did not have to be blindfolded and had his eyes open. Then, they each used a five picul bow to shoot each other.

Yan Liqiang used actual arrows while the ones Ji Xiaoyao used were ‘training arrows’ with the metal arrowheads taken off and replaced with a bundle of cloth.

Yan Liqiang could not hit Ji Xiaoyao even with his eyes open, let alone now when he was blindfolded. Therefore, it was fine for him to use real arrows. However, the arrows Ji Xiaoyao used that had cloth instead of the usual metal arrowheads gave Yan Liqiang a tough time that morning. He kept experiencing the feeling of death. During training, Ji Xiaoyao was like a demon coach.

The arrows with cloth arrowheads would not pierce Yan Liqiang’s body, nor would there be any blood. However, since the force from the arrows was very great, even when he was struck by them during training, it gave Yan Liqiang the feeling that he was getting punched by a burly man. It was similar to the feeling of being hit by a bullet while wearing a bulletproof vest.

Although Yan Liqiang had completed the first level of his Golden Bell Divine Protection Technique, after that morning, Yan Liqiang’s body was still covered in bruises and he was aching all over. It was as if a group of people had given him a great beating.

Yan Liqiang never thought that he would need to have an archery contest with someone else while being blindfolded. Therefore, he had never experienced training like this before. It was only after the competition between himself and Ji Xiaoyao that Yan Liqiang noticed how difficult it was.

After closing his eyes, his only means of capturing information was through his ears. The only information he could obtain was sound. He needed to assess the direction the arrows were coming from, the direction they were headed to, as well as the other party’s position. There were two types of useful sounds – one was when the arrow was flying in the air, and the second was the sound of the bowstring stretching when the bow was drawn.

The principle sounded simple, but it was only during practice that Yan Liqiang discovered that he was already slower by the time his ears captured the sound. The aural information would be sent to the brain for analysis, and then the brain would have to issue orders before his body could react. In a real blindfolded contest, this one step would determine the difference between life and death.

This meant that you would be one beat slower 一 by the time you heard the sound of the other party’s arrow, your body would’ve already been struck by it. And when you thought of using the sound of other party’s bowstring to shoot arrows, the other party would’ve already left that position.

Although he had been treated brutally for the entire morning, it was not as if Yan Liqiang had gotten zero takeaways from it. At the very least, after one morning of training, he had already grasped the most important rhythm in a blindfolded competition – to not let his body come to a standstill. He needed to be constantly moving, while at the same time, his movement speed could not be at a constant rate. His movement speed had to vary and without a fixed rhythm. Only by doing so would the chances of him losing be reduced.

Almost no one would intentionally conduct training for a blindfolded contest. It was because a scene like this would be very different from an actual battle. On a real battlefield, who would step up while blindfolded?

And since the majority of the people would not intentionally train for this type of fight, if one encountered someone who had specially trained in this area during a blindfolded contest, the people who had not received any training would be at a disadvantage and they would eventually fail. Even death could be seen as a totally normal occurrence.

The popular blindfolded contest in the army was similar to what Yan Liqiang had seen in movies where ruffians enjoyed a game of Russian Roulette by leaving a single bullet in a pistol. When two people of similar strength competed in a blindfolded contest, it would not be a test of skills and cultivation, but rather, one’s courage.

Yan Liqiang was certain that Shi Minzhang must have specially trained for the event. This was why he could be so fearless.

When one was blindfolded, they would not know when the threat of death would come. When a person’s body was moving rapidly, their sense of hearing would be tuned to the greatest limits, and their minds would be like an overclocked CPU, constantly monitoring the changes in the wind or movements in the surroundings – especially the slightest sound of change in the air. During the process of completing such sensory assessments, the person would have to continuously give out orders, adjust their movement speed, and switch between attacking and defending.

After a morning of training, although Yan Liqiang’s physical strength did not suffer great depletion, he was drained both spiritually and mentally. This made him feel mentally exhausted and he felt as if his head was going split open.

It was Yan Liqiang’s first time realizing that one could be drained of energy from training like this. After one morning of training, he felt as if he had been carrying a heavy weight of several thousand jin and then swinging a spear underwater for an entire morning. This was kind of like extreme sports on a whole new level.

Taking off the thick layer of the black blindfold, even without looking into a mirror, Yan Liqiang could see his pale countenance through Ji Xiaoyao’s eyes. At the same time, he felt as if his vision was blacking out.

“A blindfolded contest puts one through huge spiritual and mental exhaustion. It’s not easy for a person to endure half an hour of blindfolded training. To think that you’d be able to hold on for four hours and make tremendous improvement during this period of time, this is really beyond my expectations. From today onward until the day of your blindfolded contest, we’ll conduct the same type of training every morning. In the afternoon, you can rest and draw conclusions about the takeaways you’ve received from the morning training!”

“Yes! Thank you, Master, for your guidance!”

“Today is the first day of training. The arrows that I use have no arrowheads at all. Instead, they have been wrapped up. Arrows like these aren’t as fast as real arrows and the sound they produce when they pierce through the air are also different from that of real arrows. All of that will also affect your reaction and judgment during the blindfolded contest. I’ll let you get accustomed to this for today, but in three days, we’ll switch to actual arrows. This will allow you to foster the right judgment and reaction during training.”

“Master, if you change to real arrows and I’m struck by one, wouldn’t I be a goner? If things were like how they were this morning, my body would be filled with holes all over...”

“You’ll put on a set of soft golden armor. It’ll be fine as long as the arrows don’t pierce through!”

“Soft golden armor?” This was the first time that Yan Liqiang had heard of such a thing.

“It’s a type of precious armor that is worn underneath clothes. As long as you ask for it, Eunuch Liu will definitely be able to get you a set!”

...

After leaving Ji Xiaoyao’s place, Yan Liqiang dragged his feet along and went to look for Eunuch Liu. It was as Ji Xiaoyao had said. After hearing that Yan Liqiang was putting all his efforts into making preparations for the blindfolded contest and would need a piece of soft golden armor, Eunuch Liu agreed immediately. He said that he would get Yan Liqiang one the next morning.

After returning to his courtyard, Yan Liqiang sensed his slightly dizzy brain and he was suddenly was struck by a thought.

“I haven’t been put through such a great depletion both spiritually and mentally before. Doesn’t Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing help with strengthening and replenishing after one’s physical strength and vision is exhausted? I wonder if the strengthening effect is useful for the brain and mental spirit...”

Chapter 373: Mysterious Change

Yan Liqiang gritted his teeth as he continued using Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing. After starting to cultivate under those extremely exhausting conditions, Yan Liqiang had only reached the seventh stance of the Three Forces Qi Channeling technique when that familiar surge of the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth gushed out like an unrestrained flood. It surged into Yan Liqiang’s body from the Baihui Acupoint at the crown of his head and started to seethe. While cleansing Yan Liqiang’s bone marrow and organs, it also brought about new energy, replenishing all the depletion Yan Liqiang had gone through from the intense morning training.

Yan Liqiang had been through this process many times and it was all very familiar to him. Therefore, he was not too surprised. He calmly continued the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing process like an activated machine.

The body parts that went through the greatest amount of exhaustion from the blindfolded contest with Ji Xiaoyao were his legs, followed by his arms. His legs were first because he had kept on running and dodging while his arms were tired from incessantly pulling the bow and shooting arrows. Due to these circumstances, the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth that rushed into Yan Liqiang’s body kept on nourishing and strengthening Yan Liqiang from his feet to his legs, like water filling everything up to the brim. It continued to climb upward, and after staying for a brief moment on Yan Liqiang’s shoulders and back, that energy eventually split into two, flowing through Yan Liqiang’s meridian channels, blood vessels, muscles, bones, and into his arms before reaching out to his fingertips. Within a short while, Yan Liqiang’s arms felt extremely comfortable as if they had been soaked in a hot spring...

This morning, Yan Liqiang’s upper and lower limbs had been exhausted. Therefore, the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth, as well as the energies that entered his body, were concentrated in these two areas. However, the burnout his body faced this morning was nothing compared to the usual intense exhaustion he put himself through.

In just a short period of time, the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth that gushed into his arms had reached optimal condition.

Yan Liqiang, who was still carrying on with the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing, did not give it much thought. Based on his experience, his body would continue to be in this state for quite a long period of time. The Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth would slowly replenish his exhaustion. The greater his depletion, the greater the replenishment. In the end, the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth would become a part of his body’s energy, allowing his upper and lower limbs to improve tremendously in terms of strength and nimbleness.

However, today’s situation was a little out of Yan Liqiang’s expectations.

After his arms were filled up with Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth, the amount of Spiritual Qi and energy that poured into his body did not decrease. After it filled everything up to his throat, the energy suddenly condensed into strong currents and charged into Yan Liqiang’s consciousness.

This situation gave Yan Liqiang a huge start. With a tremble, he almost cut off the cultivation of his Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing.

Ever since he started cultivating, Yan Liqiang had not encountered something like this before. Prior to this, when the Spiritual Qi came extremely close to Yan Liqiang’s head, it would be to strengthen his vision. However, when it was strengthening his vision, it would pass through his Bladder Meridian, Stomach Meridian, Gall Bladder Meridian, and the Triple Burner Meridian. The energy did not flow in a chaotic manner. However, right now it was following an unknown pathway, heading toward the mysterious brain region.

The brain was the most important and most sensitive part of the human body. It was also the most fragile organ and could not withstand any damage at all. There were all sorts of mysterious martial arts techniques out there, none of which could cultivate the brain. After sensing the energy and Spiritual Qi entering his brain area, Yan Liqiang’s heart throbbed frantically. For a moment, he wanted to stop the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing in case the energy and Spiritual Qi would run amok in his brain and cause damage. If he ended up as an idiot or if his intellect took a blow, it would be really bad.

However, this thought just flashed in Yan Liqiang’s mind. In the next moment, the feeling from his consciousness was so comfortable that he almost moaned.

Just as Yan Liqiang was feeling worried that the Spiritual Qi would run amok, it instead was like a stream of water scattered across a stretch of desert and an extremely huge dry sponge. In the blink of an eye, it was completely absorbed by the mysterious area in Yan Liqiang’s brain, leaving not even a single bit behind.

The seething energy and Spiritual Qi absorbed by that mysterious area seemed to have turned into nerve impulses, transmitted throughout Yan Liqiang’s body. The double portion of joy was simply indescribable, and it was even stronger than the exhilaration one would feel when having sex. In that instant, Yan Liqiang felt as if his body and spirit had gone to the clouds. Damn, it was like he had become immortal.

Absorbing that energy and Spiritual Qi made Yan Liqiang feel as if that mysterious part of his brain had become excited. It was like a black hole, opening up its mouth and crazily engulfing, absorbing, and digesting the energy and Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth. It became the most anticipated and delicious food to that mysterious area in Yan Liqiang’s brain.

This was like the feeling of rain after a long period of drought.

The feeling of exhilaration cut off Yan Liqiang’s thoughts. He had a faint feeling that the mysterious area in his head was like a cenutry-old, dried up well in the desert that had been waiting for this day when water would be poured in.

Yan Liqiang continued to cultivate his Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing. Under that comfortable and exhilarating condition, he seemed to have entered an unconscious state, and everything was just circulating based on his body’s instincts.

...

It was unknown as to how long had passed before Yan Liqiang opened his eyes. He realized that he was laying on the floor. He blinked, and then jumped up.

“Grumble... grumble...”

A thunderous sound rang out from his stomach, reminding him that his body was in an extremely starved condition. Yan Liqiang looked at the sky outside the window. The sky was turning dim and the setting sun caused the sky in the west to be dyed in a bright red color.

Ah, to think that he had cultivated for an entire afternoon without realizing.

Yan Liqiang was a little surprised. He checked his body and did not discover any abnormalities. Not only so, but Yan Liqiang realized that his vision seemed to have changed just a little bit. Things became clearer and more vivid. An ordinary table in the room now even felt strangely cute...

It was as if his five senses had become sharper...

Yan Liqiang quickly checked his consciousness and his brain, only to discover that a small golden vortex was spinning incessantly in his consciousness without him knowing...

Chapter 374: Endless Stream

Yan Liqiang couldn’t respond for quite a long time while feeling the extra ball of energy in his head.

He was absolutely certain that there was never such a thing in his sea of consciousness before this. He didn’t know what it was, but he had a hunch that it had something to with the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth and energy that his brain had absorbed earlier. It was as though... as though that mysterious area in his brain had transformed the absorbed energy into this little golden vortex. It felt kind of similar to when he would completely empty out his dantian and transform the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth that poured forth into in body as vital Qi.

However, just what exactly was that golden vortex?

Yan Liqiang wasn’t really a greenhorn. He had access to precious secret manuals and techniques in both reality and the Heavenly Realm and he had also seen many talented experts. Even so, being able to conjure something up in the mind was news to him. It contradicted every martial arts cultivation method on the Silver Continent. This was truly an incredible discovery.

To be on the safe side, Yan Liqiang carefully examined his whole body with his inner sight, particularly his brain. He found that there was no discomfort in his body. His bodily functions, senses, and consciousness were all performing in top condition. The inner and vital Qi in his dantian were circulating smoothly too. The small golden vortex didn’t seem to be causing any side effects.

When Yan Liqiang was checking the inner and vital Qi in his dantian, only then did he remember that he had forgotten to empty out the vital Qi into the Heavenly Stone. He had forgotten to do so when he was cultivating Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing because he was too mentally exhausted when he had returned today. Due to that, the vital Qi inside his dantian didn’t increase and wasn’t refined at all through the strengthening effects he received today.

“Woof... woof... woof... woof...!”

Just when Yan Liqiang was about to seriously study what the golden vortex in his sea of consciousness was for, Goldie suddenly barked from the yard downstairs, notifying Yan Liqiang that he had a visitor.

There were three knocks on the door from downstairs. The voice of the servant who usually delivered his meals then rang out from outside. “Commandant Yan, your humble servant is here to deliver your dinner...!”

Yan Liqiang’s stomach rumbled like thunder when he heard that dinner had arrived. When his mouth watered, only then he was reminded that he had skipped lunch today and was famished now.

He went downstairs and Goldie came running to him. It circled around Yan Liqiang while wagging its tail excitedly. With Goldie’s keen sense of smell, it had already caught a whiff of the food aroma inside the box outside the door.

“Alright, alright. I know you skipped lunch too and worked hard by guarding the yard the whole afternoon. You can eat more tonight too!” Yan Liqiang patted Goldie’s head and opened the door.

“Ah, Commandant Yan, this is your dinner...” A warm and humble smile appeared on the servant’s face as soon as he saw Yan Liqiang.

Compared to before, the food box that servant always delivered to Yan Liqiang was a size bigger now, and he also carried an extra food box. The extra box contained Goldie’s meal while the bigger one contained Yan Liqiang’s meal. Ever since he became the deputy manager of Deer Villa, his position and the treatment he received in Deer Villa significantly improved, though he never entered the palace nor was he really involved in managing affairs. There were many maids in Deer Villa and Eunuch Liu was initially planning to let a few of them take care of Yan Liqiang, but Yan Liqiang rejected the offer. Likewise, Yan Liqiang’s daily meals became more sumptuous ever since the Emperor’s visit as they were filled with more rare delicacies and tonic ingredients.

“Oh, how is your son doing with the archery training that I had you teach him last time?” Yan Liqiang asked with a smile when he accepted the food box.

The servant quickly nodded and looked as though he was overwhelmed by favor. “He is still practicing, still practicing. My son is quite dull, the things Commandant Yan taught him are enough for him to practice them for a few years. We will have to let him build a solid foundation first before proceeding...”

“That’s good!”

“Oh right, this is a letter that someone wrote to you, Commandant Yan. Since I was going to deliver your meal, I conveniently brought it here...” the servant said while he fished out a letter from his chest. He handed it over to Yan Liqiang with both hands.

Yan Liqiang glanced at the envelope. The character ‘Fang’ was written on it, indicating that it was from Fang Beidou. Both of them had an agreement that the latter would send a letter to Deer Villa if he needed something from him.

“Alright, thank you for the trouble!” Yan Liqiang accepted the letter and immediately stashed it into his chest without even opening it.

“My pleasure to be of service to you, Commandant Yan!”

......

Dinner was exceptionally sumptuous tonight. The dishes had expensive ingredients like deer placenta cream, red sage, Chinese wolfberries, and even a few more that Yan Liqiang couldn’t recognize. When he was only halfway through his meal, he felt his entire body becoming comfortably warm as blood pumped through his body and the hunger he felt completely vanished. Eunuch Liu and the Emperor must have known about his upcoming challenge so they took out some good stuff for the Deer Villa kitchen to whip up their best dishes. His daily meals were prepared to nurture his vital Qi and replenish his physical energy.

By the time Yan Liqiang finished his food, his body had fully recovered and was bursting with energy.

Yan Liqiang only took out the letter from Fang Beidou and started reading it after the servant left.

On the surface, Fang Beidou didn’t really write much in the letter. The content was filled with general pleasantries and some trifle matters in the publishing company. If this letter fell into someone else’s hands, it would impossible for them to obtain any useful information out of it. However, Yan Liqiang’s expression turned grave by the time he finished reading because Fang Beidou had started the letter off with ‘My worthy younger brother, Liqiang...’. According to their previous agreement, starting the letter with such a greeting would imply that the publishing company had encountered a huge problem.

What kind of trouble could a newspaper office possibly encounter?

Yan Liqiang put the letter down on the table after reading it. He frowned and started mulling over it while rubbing his chin. Truth be told, he truly had no idea what kind of trouble the publishing company was in. The ‘Great Han Times’ was fully established in the Imperial Capital city and the newspaper sales had risen to record highs. Everything was already on the right track and he no longer needed to worry about it. How could there still be any problems that required his involvement at this time?

After thinking for a while and coming to a dead end, Yan Liqiang simply tossed the matter aside and stopped pondering over it.

The blindfolded contest would take place in a few days time and his life was at stake. At a time like this, what else could be more important than your own life? Without taking the trial of death, one would always feel that all sorts of matters were important. However, when one was challenged with the trial of death, only then he would truly realize that everything else that didn’t concern life and death were merely trivial matters.

Regardless of what the publishing company had encountered, he would find out when he met Fang Beidou tomorrow.

Yan Liqiang burned the letter in a firepan and stopped thinking about it. As the sky slowly turned dark, Yan Liqiang spent the rest of his time concentrating on finding out more about the small golden vortex in his head.

He spent the entire night using every method he could think of. Even so, the small golden vortex was still slowly spinning in the same spot in his sea of consciousness as though it was non-existent.

By the time it was late into the night, Yan Liqiang still didn’t manage to figure out anything so he entered the Sword Cavern again and tried to decipher the unique rare beast core crystal on the sixth floor of the crystal pagoda. Unfortunately, he still couldn’t identify it after a few hours because all the rare beast core crystals looked and felt identical to him. In the end, he could only leave the sixth floor of the crystal pagoda and return to his bedroom again to sleep.

To solve the challenge on the sixth floor of the crystal pagoda in the Sword Cavern, only one word could sum up Yan Liqiang’s only strategy –’Drag’!

Yan Liqiang was at a complete loss in the crystal pagoda and he couldn’t ask anyone for help either. He was wondering if he could find some clues in reality. Fortunately, time was frozen in the Heavenly Realm after he exited the place. He could only stay seven days at most in the crystal pagoda and the maximum temporal distortion between the Heavenly Realm and reality was also seven days. This meant he had an additional fourteen days in reality to solve the difficult challenge on the crystal pagoda’s sixth floor.

It felt like he was cheating, but who would find out?

If he still couldn’t solve that challenge over the seven days in the crystal pagoda and fourteen days in reality, he would have no choice but to admit defeat.

The next day, Yan Liqiang went to Ji Xiaoyao in the early morning. There, he spent the entire morning training Yan Liqiang with the blindfolded contest method.

It was strange that although this was only Yan Liqiang’s second time undergoing the same training that depleted the same amount of spiritual and mental energy, it didn’t feel like his head had been emptied out and dead tired today. Instead, he still felt like he had a lot of stamina and spiritual energy left to carry on.

Yan Liqiang ended his training at Ji Xiaoyao’s place and returned to his courtyard. He discovered that the small golden vortex in his consciousness had suddenly shrunk significantly and a considerable amount seemed to have been depleted. Realization dawned upon him with this discovery. Could it be that the morning training had depleted the ball of strange energy in his sea consciousness?

This discovery made him feel as though he was catching on to something, yet he still couldn’t quite put a finger on it!

Yan Liqiang only cultivated one round of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing. After the mysterious, black hole-like area in his brain absorbed a lot of Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth and energy, the small golden vortex was restored again. Not only that, it seemed to have grown slightly bigger. Since he didn’t deplete enough energy today, the strengthening effects of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing weren’t as obvious as the first day.

After lunch, Yan Liqiang left Deer Villa to find Fang Beidou to discuss what kind of problem the publishing company had encountered...

Chapter 375: The Publishing Company’s Crisis

The end of the seventh lunar month had come to an end, welcoming the beginning of the eighth lunar month. The two hottest months of the year in the Imperial Capital city were long over. The end of summer and the beginning of autumn was the best time of the year.

It had been a long time since Yan Liqiang rode Snowstorm Cloud. He ordered the stable to bring Snowstorm Cloud out and then walked out of the main entrance with his glossy steed.

While Yan Liqiang had been working hard lately, Snowstorm Cloud lived a very comfortable life in Deer Villa. It was well-fed, well taken care of by the people, and roamed freely in the ranch. Yan Liqiang heard that it even hooked up with two beautiful mares. When Snowstorm Cloud saw Yan Liqiang again, it seemed to know that it would be able to run to its heart’s content outside of Deer Villa. It followed Yan Liqiang very excitedly, snorting loudly from time to time. Its newly-replaced horseshoes crunched noisily on the stone path.

“Ah, Deputy Manager Yan is going out...?” An officer standing guard at Deer Villa’s entrance approached Yan Liqiang with a huge smile when he saw the latter pulling his steed along with him.

“Yes, I’m taking a trip to the Imperial Capital. What do our brothers want to drink? I will bring some back for everyone when I return...” Yan Liqiang greeted the soldiers guarding the entrance as usual.

“Oh no, we can’t possibly. Just let us know if you need anything, Deputy Manager Yan...” The soldier hurriedly waved his hands in shock. They could still accept Yan Liqiang’s offer back then, but now he was the deputy manager in Deer Villa and also an Armed Imperial Guard of the Fifth Grade that was personally appointed by the Emperor himself. Even if the celebrity of Deer Villa was being courteous, they couldn’t accept his goodwill because Eunuch Liu would definitely skin them alive if he found out about it.

“Godspeed, Deputy Manager Yan!” The soldiers lined up on both sides of the entrance shouted loudly and saluted to Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang smiled and didn’t say anything else. He leaped onto the back of his steed, waved at everyone at the entrance, and gave Snowstorm Cloud’s abdomen a squeeze with his legs. The steed neighed and delightfully charged out of Deer Villa under everyone’s envious gazes.

Riding on Snowstorm Cloud’s back, Yan Liqiang only released a long exhale when Deer Villa gradually disappeared behind him. The saying, ‘No one knows the hardships behind the glamor’ portrayed his current situation perfectly. Everyone in Deer Villa was extremely envious of him and thought that a young and promising individual like him would definitely have a great future ahead, yet no one was aware of the peril he was facing.

Shortly after Yan Liqiang left Deer Villa on his rhinodrake steed and rode onto the public road, he suddenly sensed that he was being watched not long after he galloped past a teahouse. When the two people who were drinking tea saw him pass by, they immediately left the teahouse to untie the two rhinodrake steeds from the stable at the side and followed him.

They didn’t follow him too closely, but they weren’t too far back either. They rode unhurriedly about fifty or sixty meters behind him.

Yan Liqiang cast a glance behind him. His stalkers were in their thirties or forties. They were confidently following him on the public road solemn expressions on their tanned faces. They didn’t seem concerned in the least bit even when they noticed Yan Liqiang turning his head around to look at them, clearly stating something along the lines of ‘So what if we are following you? What can you do about it?’

From their temperaments, Yan Liqiang had a hunch they were law enforcers from the bureaucracy instead of thugs. The road to the Imperial Capital city was vast; there was nothing one could do even if people were tailing them.

As expected, he was being watched. Were they afraid that he was going to flee?

Yan Liqiang sneered coldly in his heart...

‘Hya...!” He shook his reins, bringing Snowstorm Cloud into a dash and abruptly increasing its speed. When the two men saw Yan Liqiang bringing his rhinodrake steed to a gallop, they exchanged glances and then shook their reins too to quickly catch up.

In just less than half an hour, Yan Liqiang arrived at the headquarters of the publishing company on Mount Longqi on his rhinodrake steed. When the two men following behind him noticed Yan Liqiang enter the manor, they didn’t follow him inside...

.....

“The manager is here...!” As soon as Yan Liqiang dismounted, Hu Haihe came running and took over his steed’s reins.

“Haihe, did something happen to the publishing company over these two days?” Yan Liqiang passed the reins to him and casually asked his question.

“Nothing. If anything, it’s all the good things. Many managers in the Imperial Capital came running here when they discovered that the could advertise their businesses on our newspaper. Manager Fang’s hands are really full...” Hu Haihe exclaimed in excitement and pointed to the courtyard. “In fact, another major client just arrived this afternoon. He’s Manager Gu of the Huaixiang Bookstore in the Imperial Capital, and he is having a business discussion with Manager Fang over at the Plum Gardens...”

Yan Liqiang frowned slightly as his heart grew heavier. It wasn’t like he suspected that Hu Haihe was lying. Instead, the more cheerful Hu Haihe was, the more serious trouble the publishing company was in. It was probably so serious that Fang Beidou didn’t even tell anyone else and chose to discuss it with him only. Apart from Fang Beidou, the rest probably weren’t aware of anything yet.

It was extremely lively in the newspaper office. People were going around the printing workshop and courtyard responsible for releasing articles. Everything was thriving.

Upon seeing Yan Liqiang’s arrival, those who were aware of his identity hurriedly greeted him, thinking he was here for an inspection. Yan Liqiang smiled and nodded at them as he made his way to the Plum Gardens.

When Yan Liqiang arrived at the Plum Gardens, Fang Beidou came out first to meet him at the entrance before he could even go inside.

“Did something happen here?” Yan Liqiang cut to the chase.

Fang Beidou nodded with a grave expression on his face, then pointed to a secluded pavilion in the rock garden nearby. “Let’s talk there...”

“Alright!”

As soon as both of them arrived at the pavilion and took their seats, Fang Beidou spoke without waiting for Yan Liqiang to open his mouth. He told Yan Liqiang the reason he requested for his presence at the newspaper office without beating around the bush. “Someone wants to buy our publishing company!”

Yan Liqiang was amused when he heard that. He couldn’t help but burst into laughter. “Only that?”

Fang Beidou nodded. “Yes!”

“Just tell them we’re not selling. You know better than me what this publishing company is for. Why would we possibly sell it off...?”

Fang Beidou smiled wryly and shook his head. “If it were that simple, I wouldn’t look for you. The client said that if we won’t sell it, they will make sure our publishing company will be shut down in a week’s time!”

“Empty threat?”

“I think not. The other party came prepared!”

The smile on Yan Liqiang’s gradually faded as he squinched his eyes. “Who’s buying?”

Fang Beidou took a deep breath and shook his head. “No idea who is behind this! The mediator is Huaixiang Bookstore’s Manager Gu. He said he wishes to discuss this personally with you... ”

“And he’s in the Plum Gardens?”

“Yes!”

Yan Liqiang immediately stood up as he composed himself. “Alright then, I shall discuss with him. Let’s see who wants to buy our publishing company...”

Chapter 376: The Weight of Mount Tai

The Plum Gardens wasn’t big. After walking past the entrance hall and then making his way around a flower arrangement, Yan Liqiang arrived at the main hall.

This place was used for business discussions with clients in the newspaper office. In Yan Liqiang’s previous world, this area would be called the newspaper office’s or the CEO’s meeting room.

As soon as Yan Liqiang entered, he saw a smartly-dressed man in his fifties. The chubby man slightly resembled Wang Gang who played the role of Heshen in a TV series. He was comfortably seated beside a tea table in the room, leisurely enjoying the cup of tea in his hand.

He seemed to have heard Yan Liqiang footsteps too. When he saw Yan Liqiang enter, he set the teacup down and stood up with a smile on his face. He cupped his fist at Yan Liqiang respectfully, “You must be Commandant Yan. Your reputation precedes you. Despite your young age, you are very well-known around the Imperial Capital. Little did I expect you to be even more impressive than the rumors in person. Pardon my rudeness. I, your humble servant, am Gu Zhongren, the owner of Huaixiang Bookstore!”

“You are too courteous, Manager Gu. Please have a seat!” Yan Liqiang approached him prudently, acting neither too friendly nor too coldly as he invited Manager Gu to take a seat while he and Fang Beidou sat on the other side of the tea table.

“Has Manager Fang informed Commandant Yan of the intention of my visit?” Manager Gu spoke in a neutral tone. Although there was a seemingly friendly smile on his chubby face, their roles seemed to have been reversed. He had an overbearing aura that felt as though he looked down on Yan Liqiang and Fang Beidou.

Yan Liqiang slightly narrowed his eyes as he smiled and observed Manager Gu sitting across from him. “What piqued Manager Gu’s sudden interest on newspapers? For someone with your influence, establishing another newspaper in the Imperial Capital city shouldn’t be too difficult.”

Manager Gu shook his head. “Of course it isn’t difficult. However, ‘The Great Han Times’ that you all produced has already established itself in the Imperial Capital. Everything is running smoothly, and it is already well-known among the teahouses and restaurants. It is currently the most read and discussed newspaper. Therefore, buying would be better than creating another one from scratch. Wouldn’t everything be easier if we just buy your publishing company? Besides, didn’t you buy all the property off from someone else too? Isn’t that how business works?”

“You are right, Manager Gu. Business involves buying and selling. Indeed, we bought the properties of our publishing company off someone else. Naturally, we can sell it too!” Yan Liqiang replied indifferently. “How many taels of silver is Manager Gu prepared to offer us in exchange for the publishing company? I heard from Manager Fang that you have yet to offer a price.”

Manager Gu smiled and raised one finger. “What do you think of this price, Commandant Yan?”

“A hundred thousand taels of silver?” Yan Liqiang asked.

Manager Gu smiled and shook his head.

“It can’t be a hundred thousand taels of silver, right? We spent more than that to buy this manor and the bookstores in the city!” Yan Liqiang laughed.

Manager Gu was still smiling as he shook his head.

Sensing the ridicule in Manager Gu’s smile, Yan Liqiang stopped smiling and spoke calmly. “You may state your offer directly, Manager Gu.”

Manager Gu smiled again and cast an indifferent glance at Yan Liqiang. “One tael of silver. Huaixiang Bookstore is willing to make an offer of one tael of silver in exchange for your publishing company, including this manor, the workshop, and the few stores in the city. Everything in this publishing company must stay!”

“What? One tael of silver?! You must be joking, Manager Gu!” Fang Beidou’s countenance contorted before Yan Liqiang could even speak. He stood up immediately and glared at Manager Gu furiously as he spat, “If Manager Gu wishes to joke around like this, please take it somewhere else! Commandant Yan and I are busy men...!”

“Do not be hasty, Manager Fang. Why not ask if Commandant Yan agrees with this?” Manager Gu chuckled. The way he chuckled nearly made Fang Beidou deliver a hard kick to his greasy face.

“Well, it is not like we cannot sell the company at the price of one tael of silver...” Yan Liqiang spoke calmly and cast a glance at Fang Beidou, who then took a deep breath to suppress the anger in his heart as he sat back down. “Manager Gu should at least reveal to us who is behind this, so we can determine if that person is influential enough to allow Manager Gu to negate a hundred thousand taels of silver! Although Fang Beidou and I aren’t some important figures in the Imperial Capital, we are no pushovers either!”

“Great. As expected, Commandant Yan is a wise man!” Manager Gu gave Yan Liqiang a thumbs-up, then glanced at Manager Fang. “If Manager Fang doesn’t mind, can you leave us for a moment? This is for your own good too. The person who entrusted this job to me has some words for only Commandant Yan to hear in person!”

Fang Beidou immediately stood up when he heard Manager Gu and nodded to Yan Liqiang. “Well then, I shall leave both of you to your discussion!” After saying that, he left the main hall.

“I guess you can speak now, Manager Gu.” Yan Liqiang only spoke up calmly after Fang Beidou was gone.

“The Grand Chancellor is very fond of Commandant Yan...” When Manager Gu mentioned the Grand Chancellor, he straightened his back as the expression on his face turned humble and respectful.

“So Manager Gu came on behalf of the Grand Chancellor...?” Yan Liqiang asked astonishingly. The two words that came out of his mouth were both beyond but also within Yan Liqiang’s expectations. The revelation made him feel slightly conflicted.

Manager Gu nodded. “The Grand Chancellor also entrusted me with a few words for you, Commandant Yan...”

“What is it?”

“The Grand Chancellor said that you are a smart person and instructed me to convey his words clearly to you... Ahem, ahem...” Manager Gu coughed twice and cleared his throat. “As long as Commandant Yan devotes his loyalty to the Grand Chancellor from now on and knows who to listen to, the Grand Chancellor will let go of the past. Whatever Sun Bingchen and His Majesty can offer you, he can offer you the same or even more. Be it money, position, beauties, or secret manuals, there won’t be any issues if Commandant Yan asks for them!”

“Anything else?”

Manager Gu’s voice suddenly turned icy. “In the Grand Chancellor’s exact words, ‘If Commandant Yan is not amenable to reason, then the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month next year will be his death anniversary. If Commandant Yan figures out which side he should be standing on, then he will make it safe and sound through the blindfolded contest which will take place in a few days time. From then on, meteoric success will await him and his prospects will not be limited to a mere Armed Imperial Guard of the Fifth Grade!”

“And what of the publishing company?”

“The Grand Chancellor is very impressed by this newspaper that Commandant Yan has invented. If Commandant Yan chooses to side with the Grand Chancellor, then this publishing company will be considered a small tribute to the Grand Chancellor and I will manage it. However, if Commandant Yan chooses to persist and act arbitrarily, then the presence of this publishing company is unnecessary in the Imperial Capital. Commandant Yan may decide the outcome of this for himself...”

That wasn’t a proposal. It was an ultimatum.

If he agreed to it, then he would be Lin Qingtian’s ally in the future. That man wanted both him and his publishing company. If he disagreed, then Lin Qingtian would openly execute him during the blindfolded contest in a few days time. Not only that, but they would also ultimately lose the publishing company.

In that split moment, Yan Liqiang suddenly realized that the Grand Chancellor only had to move his little finger to turn all of his plans and schemes in the Imperial Capital into nothing but a joke. Lin Qingtian didn’t fail to notice the value of ‘The Great Han Times’; he had only been waiting to expropriate it from him when the time was right. Likewise, Lin Qingtian wasn’t completely oblivious to his every action 一 he was merely watching in silence. After realizing Yan Liqiang’s worth, Lin Qingtian forced him up to the guillotine to make his decision up there.

This was the Grand Chancellor’s true trump card! Lin Qingtian had used these last few days to haul the net he had cast and bare his teeth!

Could the person who managed to seize his seat as the Grand Chancellor of this empire possibly be a simple man after making countless influential sects and distinguished figures lower their heads?

The experience he gained over two lifetimes which amounted to less than fifty years was nothing against someone like Lin Qingtian. When he came to the Imperial Capital, he was really too naive about everything and had underestimated this place.

From the beginning to end, even up until to this point, Yan Liqiang had never even seen Lin Qingtian. He didn’t even bother to meet him and merely sent a nobody here on this errand. A heavy blow had struck from the heavens with the immense weight of Mount Tai, forcing Yan Liqiang to make the most difficult and important choice in his life...

The violent undercurrents in the Imperial Capital city could indeed crush those who were not careful enough...

Yan Liqiang remained silent for about five minutes under Manager Gu’s burning gaze before he finally spoke up. “The news came too suddenly and caught me off guard. Please allow me a few days to consider it before I give my answer!”

A smile appeared on Manager Gu’s face as his eyes glazed across Yan Liqiang’s face. “The Grand Chancellor is not an unreasonable man. He has allowed you three days to consider your decision. You may give me an answer in three days time. If you fail to do so, we shall take it as your rejection to the Grand Chancellor’s goodwill. You should consider the consequences you will face. Well then, I shall take my leave now...”

“Take care, Manager Gu.”

Manager Gu stood up and immediately left...

Yan Liqiang sat in the room in silence, frowning slightly as he seemed to be thinking about something...

During the conversation, Yan Liqiang didn’t hear only Manager Gu’s words. All of his mental activities and the real thoughts in his head didn’t escape Yan Liqiang’s observation. The Psychic Serpent in Yan Liqiang’s brain had laid Manager Gu’s thoughts bare...

Manager Gu didn’t say a few things, but Yan Liqiang had already known about it. He even knew what Manager Gu and his people would do to his publishing company if he refused the offer. They had actually prepared two plans. One of them would involve the Ministry of Justice. They would pick a fault with the publishing company and shut it down, then arrest the people in it. A few of the hired wordsmiths and even a few of the artisans in the workshop had already been bribed by them. They had come up with a sinister way to get rid of the entire publishing company along with Fang Beidou and Yan Liqiang.

The other plan in Manager Gu’s thoughts was that they had found the owner who previously sold the Shunyi Bookstore to Fang Beidou a few days ago in Cang Province. With a few threats and promises, they had the owner sign a contract dated before the date he sold the Shunyi Bookstore to Fang Beidou, which stated that the bookstores had been sold to Manager Gu. They had also spoken to the Law Enforcement Office about this plan. Hence, with these two plans, the publishing company and The Great Han Times were as good as theirs.

The real finishing move wouldn’t be delivered during the blindfolded contest. If he were to refuse Manager Gu, even if he was fortunate enough to survive Shi Minzhang’s arrow during the blindfolded contest that day, they would set their plans on the publishing company into motion. The only ending that awaited him would be an arrest from law enforcement and be thrown into the Ministry of Justice’s prison to ultimately die from sickness. Not even the Emperor would be able to save him. Fang Beidou, Hu Haihe, Little Wu, even Xu Enda and the rest would suffer the same fate...

The one who previously ambushed Xu Enda, Guo Si, was now Manager Gu’s lackey. In fact, it was none other than Guo Si and a few law enforcers who went to Cang Province and found the old owner of Shunyi Bookstore a few days ago...

The mastermind behind this was Lin Qingtian, the person who personally orchestrated this was the Minister of Justice, Gu Chunyi, and the one who carried out the plan was Manager Gu. Both Manager Gu and Gu Chunyi might have the same surname, but everyone in the city thought they weren’t related. However, Manager Gu was actually a servant who served in Minister of Justice Gu Chunyi’s residence twenty years ago. As Gu Chunyi gained influence, Manager Gu left Gu Residence with a renewed identity by changing only his first name. He came to the Imperial Capital city to open up a bookstore and became one of Gu Chunyi’s eyes and mediators in the Imperial Capital.

After making clear of the finer details, Yan Liqiang couldn’t help but feel a shiver run down his spine...

Chapter 377: Inevitable Confrontation

“Manager Gu has left...”

Unbeknownst to Yan Liqiang, Fang Beidou had walked into the room. Yan Liqiang only snapped out of his deep thoughts when the latter spoke up. He lifted his gaze to look in Fang Beidou’s direction, only to meet the other man’s concerned gaze.

“Come here, have a seat...” Yan Liqiang smiled. In that brief moment, Yan Liqiang was recalling and reflecting on everything that had transpired ever since his meeting with Sun Bingchen. He realized that Lin Qingtian was indeed not on the same side as him. This had already been decided ever since he met those arrogant Shatu people when he first arrived at the city gates of Pingxi City. Given another chance, he would definitely never go against his will and side with Lin Qingtian.

The root cause of his predicament in the Imperial Capital didn’t stem from the fact that he sided with Sun Bingchen and the Emperor. Instead, it was because he was as powerless as a sitting duck that could easily be crushed. There were also many others who sided with the Emperor. Otherwise, His Majesty wouldn’t be able to suppress Lin Qingtian either. Yet why did he always run into things like this? This was ultimately because he was young and had yet to establish himself in the Imperial Capital. Therefore, it was easy to pick on him and people could get a lot out of it. Once people started discovering that the effort needed to bully him wasn’t worth it and could even bring about an undesirable outcome, then things like this would stop happening to him.

In a place that was akin to a tiger’s den with violent undercurrents like the Imperial Capital city, the rules and benefit structure for everything had been long been established. As a newcomer to the Imperial Capital, it was nearly impossible for him to build a foundation and establish himself in a place like this. He could only stay on the Emperor’s side. Given enough time under the Emperor’s protection and with ‘The Great Han Times’ in hand, it shouldn’t be a problem for him to become somebody that wouldn’t easily be suppressed through his own endurance and power. However, Lin Qingtian’s overly toxic and keen eyes saw this possibility in Yan Liqiang’s future too and wanted to snuff him out before he could even get there. The choices he gave Yan Liqiang was to either die or be a traitor.

This matter of life and death bore down on him with the weight of Mount Tai. Neither the Emperor nor Lin Qingtian left him with many choices. How was he going to solve this game?

Yan Liqiang had just been thinking about this problem. The overload of information he managed to ‘intercept’ from Manager Gu’s brain was too complex. He had to analyze and sort it out to see which pieces could be useful for him.

Even if he did emerge victorious and survived the upcoming blindfolded contest, the other party still had a deadly plan waiting for him...

“So, who is the person behind Manager Gu?” Fang Beidou finally asked after he took a seat and observed Yan Liqiang’s countenance.

“I’m sure you already have a person in mind. Currently, who in the Imperial Capital city do you think has the guts to bare his fangs at me and dare to offer only a tael of silver for the publishing company?”

“Lin Qingtian?” Fang Beidou started to frown.

Yan Liqiang nodded slightly.

“How dare he?” Fang Beidou was stunned. “Isn’t he asking to be insulted? What can he possibly do if we won’t sell the publishing company to him?”

“There’s something you may not know yet and I was just about to tell you. A while ago, His Majesty was thinking of appointing me as the Crown Prince’s mentor in the art of archery. There are some unforeseen circumstances revolving around this. For this position, I have to accept a blindfolded contest with someone else on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month. The odds are against me as there’s only one in nine chances of me surviving it...” Seeing that Fan Beidou was still clueless on the finer details, Yan Liqiang filled him in on the blindfolded contest and told him the given conditions from Manager Gu.

News of the blindfolded contest had not gotten around yet. Only the people who were close to the Emperor and Lin Qingtian were aware of it. Outsiders like Fang Beidou were oblivious. As soon as he heard it from Yan Liqiang, he immediately understood why Manager Gu had spoken that way. By the time Yan Liqiang finished explaining, Fang Beidou’s countenance had completely changed. “By now, most of the people in the Imperial Capital know you are the owner of this publishing company. If you sell it off to Manager Gu for a tael of silver, the Emperor will definitely catch wind of this. That also means you are publicly pledging loyalty to Lin Qingtian. How can you possibly establish yourself in the Imperial Capital from then on?”

“This is exactly what Lin Qingtian wants. If I agree, that would mean betraying His Majesty and Lord Sun and becoming his lapdog from now on. If I disagree, I will lose my life in the upcoming blindfolded contest! How considerate of them to give me three days to think over it...” Yan Liqiang had a self-deprecating smile on his face.

“What do you think then?” Putting himself in Yan Liqiang’s shoes, Fang Beidou could also feel the immense pressure and danger Yan Liqiang was facing.

Yan Liqiang let out a sigh and rubbed his face. “I will give it a good thought. I’ll leave everything in the newspaper office in your care for the next two days. Carry on as usual...”

“What about that blindfolded contest?”

“Both His Majesty and Lin Qingtian wish for me to participate in the blindfolded contest. Do you think I can possibly refuse?”

“I’m just afraid that they will have other tricks up their sleeves apart from this blindfolded contest. For someone like Lin Qingtian, if he is determined to lay a finger on you, he will definitely think about the possibility of you winning or surviving the blindfolded contest and eliminating that possibility.”

Yan Liqiang resisted the urge to tell him about the despicable schemes that some of the people in the newspaper office were planning. Telling him that now would only inadvertently alert the enemies. Not only that, but Yan Liqiang also couldn’t provide an explanation as to how he had knowledge of it yet. Therefore, he could only feign ignorance for now and drop vague hints. “I’m just worried that all of you will be implicated, so keep a closer eye on the newspaper office these few days. I’ll try to think of something!”

“I have a few friends in the Imperial Capital city and my master still has some connections from back then...”

“At this point in time, there’s no use in finding anyone!” Yan Liqiang shook his head. “I am the only one who can settle this...” He stood up by the time he finished speaking. “I shall take my leave now. I’ll be training my archery skills in Deer Villa for the next few days. Keep in touch if anything comes up...”

“I shall see you off!” Fang Beidou stood up to see Yan Liqiang off. Just when they arrived at the door, Fang Beidou suddenly spoke up. “If the worst comes to the worst, let’s take a step back and leave the Imperial Capital. There’s always light at the end of the tunnel!”

Fang Beidou was the second to say something like that. Before this, Li Hongtu also said something along the same lines. Yan Liqiang smiled at his words and nodded to him.

After taking a few steps and exiting the Plum Gardens, Yan Liqiang suddenly thought of something. He casually asked while walking, “Oh right. Your master, Su Baiya, is the best sorcerer of the Great Han Empire. I am certain that such a powerful person like him knows everything in the heaven above and the earth underneath. Did he ever mention anything about rare beast core crystals to you?”

“Rare beast core crystals?”

“Yes!”

“Well, he did talk to me about it in the past. Those core crystals are rare and extremely versatile items. However, they are not things that can be used by ordinary people. They can be useful for some rare or secret techniques in cultivation, medicine, or even spiritual talismans!”

“Oh. Let’s say if I have a bunch of rare beast core crystals, apart from being able to sense the origins of these core crystals through inner Qi, is there any other way for me to tell the difference between them?”

Fang Beidou suddenly stopped walking, and Yan Liqiang stopped as well. Fang Beidou’s eyes glazed over him. After thinking for a while, he spoke to Yan Liqiang, “I remember Master told me that a talisman master is born with the gift of being able to distinguish between the good and bad core crystals through spiritual sense. Not only that, but they can also leave runes or spell circles inside the core crystals through their spiritual senses and communicate with the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth!”

“Talisman master?” Yan Liqiang murmured to himself.

“Yes. Talisman masters are just too rare on the Silver Continent. Every talisman master is a top figure within their own respective tribe or nations. Currently, there is also only one talisman master in the Great Han Empire. His name is Leng Tian and he is the only one deemed to be a non-relative king within the last five hundred years. However, no one has seen him for a few decades. My master met him once and said that he possesses unprecedented power. His mastery in talismans enables him to stand up against hundreds of thousands of armies. Killing a Martial King wouldn’t even be that much of a challenge to him either!”

“Oh? I wonder what exactly is a talisman master’s spiritual sense, then?”

“I have no idea. I only heard from my master that it is a mysterious thing inside a talisman master’s head. Ordinary people will not be able to possess it no matter how much they train...”

Chapter 378: Resolution

Yan Liqiang exited the manor and left Mount Longqi on his rhinodrake steed.

He was initially planning to meet Lu Peien at the Gan Provincial Guild Hall to inform him of the blindfolded contest he would participate in a few days time, but Yan Liqiang was worried that he would also implicate Lu Peien if he met him at a time like this. Hence, he didn’t go to the Gan Provincial Guild Hall and instead had Fang Beidou find a time and go on his behalf to keep Lu Peien informed.

The two men who followed Yan Liqiang were waiting outside the manor for him to come out. They were extremely haughty and didn’t even bother to conceal themselves. When they saw Yan Liqiang leave the manor on his rhinodrake steed, they also got onto their respective rhinodrake steeds and openly followed him.

When they reached the main road a few li away from the manor, Yan Liqiang cast a glance behind him before suddenly speeding Snowstorm Cloud up. When the two men saw that, they also whipped their steeds and chased after him.

When Yan Liqiang turned into the forest by the road, he suddenly slowed down and brought his rhinodrake steed to a halt beside a thicket at the roadside. He only had to wait a few seconds before the sounds of iron hooves caught up from behind.

The two men who tailed Yan Liqiang didn’t seem to expect the latter would stop at the turning corner. The moment they turned in, they came face to face with Yan Liqiang.

Since both of them were following Yan Liqiang, they also stopped when they saw that Yan Liqiang had stopped.

“Who are you guys? Why are you following me?” Yan Liqiang moved a few steps toward the two men on his rhinodrake steed and entered the Psychic Serpent’s reading range.

“Who are you kidding? The Imperial Capital city’s road is vast enough for us to travel on either side. The two of us simply felt like sightseeing on our steeds today, so we’ll go and stop wherever and whenever we want! What can you do about it huh?!” One of the men with tanned face looked at Yan Liqiang as he made up a lame excuse.

“That’s right! Is there any law in the Great Han Empire that states that only you are allowed to travel on this road? You claim that we are following you, but we can also claim that you are following us! Why don’t you try to report us to the authorities and see who is right!” The other slender-faced man at the side immediately chimed in. He looked at Yan Liqiang fearlessly and even had a sneer on his face.

As expected, both of them were from the Ministry of Justice. In just the blink of an eye, Yan Liqiang was able to obtain enough information from their minds through the Psychic Serpent. These two people had received orders to keep an eye on him outside of Deer Villa. There was also another group people with them, but they were keeping watch in another direction of Deer Villa so Yan Liqiang didn’t run into them today. The order they received was to keep an eye on him and report his whereabouts to the higher-ups. Not only that, these were only the people keeping watch during the daytime. The Ministry of Justice also assigned two additional groups of people to watch the road outside Deer Villa that led to different directions at night just in case Yan Liqiang decided to escape.

Needless to say, these small fries were not Yan Liqiang’s opponents. Besides, Yan Liqiang wasn’t going to fall into their trap. The person who sent these two here was probably waiting for him to beat them to death...

After obtaining the information he needed, Yan Liqiang snorted and no longer wanted to have anything to do with these two small fries. He made his way back to Deer Villa on his steed. The two men burst into laughter behind him and continued tailing not too far behind him. They followed Yan Liqiang all the way to Deer Villa, only stopping when they saw him moving from the public road to the road that led to Deer Villa.

When Yan Liqiang dismounted his steed, the group of soldiers guarding the entrance bowed to him. The officer also walked over to him with a smile. “You’ve returned quite early today, Deputy Manager...”

Yan Liqiang directly handed the reins of his rhinodrake steed to a soldier and had him bring it inside. A thought then struck him. He pulled the officer to the side and whispered a few things to him.

When the officer heard him, he immediately patted on his own chest and chuckled mischievously, seemingly eager to get into action. “Rest assured, Deputy Manager. I’m great at this kind of thing. It’s just two puppies from the Ministry of Justice. It will be easy as long as they are not in their official uniforms. Watch how I will take care of them and leave them to me! I will round up a few of our tough brothers to beat the sh*t out of them...!”

“Just don’t kill anyone!”

“Don’t worry, Deputy Manager. I know the limits. I guarantee that one time will be enough to put them on their bed for three months. Besides, those f*ckers from the Ministry of Justice are not qualified enough to put on airs with the Imperial Cavalry Unit. Even if they take things to the imperial court, we have nothing to fear...”

“Take the brothers that will be out on the job to get some wine...” Yan Liqiang fished out a silver promissory note worth of a hundred taels of silver while speaking, and shoved it into the officer’s hand.

“I can’t possibly accept your money, Deputy Manager! Our brothers are more than happy to do something for you!” The officer quickly refused the silver promissory note.

“An emperor will not let his soldiers go to battle on an empty stomach! Stop being so courteous with me. You are being a stranger to me!” Yan Liqiang directly shoved the silver promissory note into the officer’s belt. Seeing how courteous Yan Liqiang was, the officer stopped refusing. “Alright. Then I shall thank Deputy Manager on behalf of our brothers!”

After leaving the task to the officer, Yan Liqiang entered Deer Villa.

The officer rubbed his chin after he watched Yan Liqiang leave. Then, he called over a nearby soldier and whispered a few words to him. Several minutes later, the officer led seven or eight tough soldiers who had changed into their casual clothes out of Deer Villa. Shortly after, the group arrived at the teahouse where the two lackeys from the Ministry of Justice were hanging out. Upon arrival, the officer scanned the place and spotted two rhinodrake steeds in the teahouse’s stable. There were two people drinking tea under the awning outside the teahouse and they had their eyes on the public road. Their appearances and clothes matched Yan Liqiang’s descriptions perfectly.

Both men seemed to have secretly put on their guards when they noticed the sudden arrival of so many people in the teahouse. Unfortunately...

There were neither prelude nor interlude for this show.

The officer pointed to the two men and yelled furiously, “THESE TWO ARE DOG THIEVES! BEAT THEM UP...!”

The soldiers, who came prepared, drew out their short metal batons from inside their sleeves at the same time. All of them then immediately pounced on the two men like ferocious tigers.

“We are from the Ministry of Justice, how dare you all..!” The two men yelled out in both surprise and anger.

“Bullsh*t! Both of you look just like the dog thieves wandering in the forest outside of Deer Villa last night! It just so happens that a few of our rare hunting dogs have gone missing too, must be your work...!”

The two people watching Yan Liqiang didn’t really seem like weaklings. Although they might be able to hold up against two or three soldiers, they could barely hold up for a minute after being suddenly outnumbered by four times. Not only that, two people among their opponents were actually more powerful than them. The short metal batons landed squarely on their shanks. The sounds of bones fracturing were heard and both men fell to the ground with blood-curdling screams. Their faces and bodies were then mercilessly trampled under huge stinky feet...

......

Yan Liqiang returned to the small courtyard he lived in. He silently sat under a big tree in the yard and watched the little birds chirping joyfully in the nest under the eaves. The birds he saved back then were now covered with feathers, able to fly out of their nest and hop around on the tree branches in the yard to practice flying...

Looking at the nest full of birds, thoughts ran through Yan Liqiang’s mind rapidly. Thinking about how he should respond to the perilous situation, his mind slowly came to life, much like those little birds on the tree branch.

He sat in silence for a few hours in the yard. It wasn’t until sunset when he finally steeled his resolve. With a plan in mind, he felt as though a heavy burden had instantly been lifted off his shoulders!

Yan Liqiang stood up and exited the small courtyard...

Shortly after he left the small courtyard, Yan Liqiang sensed something in his heart. He turned his head around and saw a little courageous bird flap its wings and fly out of the courtyard for the very first time...

......

“PREPOSTEROUS! THIS IS SO INFURIATING...!” Eunuch Liu angrily slammed his palm against the red sandalwood tea table in front of him. The tea table immediately shattered into countless pieces, jolting Little Li and Little Chun who were standing at the side. Eunuch Liu looked at Yan Liqiang with a scary expression as though his eyes were going to spurt fire. “That Gu is really daring, very daring indeed...!”

Yan Liqiang also looked indignant. He had an extremely solemn expression on his face, akin to that of a brave soldier standing and holding a bag of explosives in his enemies’ bunker. “A man would die with honor than live with disgrace! They think they can threaten my life to make me betray His Majesty and change sides! That will never happen! I, Yan Liqiang, may still be young, but I know loyalty! They want me to sell the publishing company to them for a tael of silver to pledge my loyalty to Lin Qingtian?! How can I possibly bring myself to do something like that? Even if I lose my life in the blindfolded contest, I will never agree to this! That is why I shall hand over everything in the publishing company to you today, Eunuch Liu! Present this to His Majesty and banish such thoughts from their minds! If really die in a few days time, this precious publishing company of mine will still continue to support His Majesty in the Imperial Capital city. Let it be the flags that wave and cheer for the Emperor, as a way to express my gratitude for His Majesty to think so highly of me...!”

At this very moment, Eunuch Liu was really moved by Yan Liqiang. He patted Yan Liqiang’s shoulders heavily. “As expected, the Emperor wasn’t mistaken about you, Liqiang...!”

“Eunuch Liu, we mustn’t let too many people know of this. I fear that once word about this gets around, some people will fly into a rage and take it out on the innocent people inside the newspaper office by destroying the manor. The workshop’s storage area is piled with flammable materials, so a fire can reduce everything into ashes...”

“Rest assured, I shall head to the palace and request for an audience with the Emperor at once. His Majesty previously mentioned this to me: that newspaper of yours may look like a little creative invention created by a group of wordsmiths in the city at first glance, but it is actually an incredibly useful tool upon careful consideration. Given your loyalty, His Majesty will definitely not sit idly and not be concerned. As soon as the Emperor nods, I shall personally deploy a troop from the Imperial Cavalry Unit to watch over that manor where your newspaper office is! Let’s see who still dares to make a move against it by then!”

“Thank you, Eunuch Liu...!”

Yan Liqiang was in a completely different frame of mind this time as he watched Eunuch Liu once again leave Deer Villa for the Imperial Capital city. From this very moment onward, he was no longer a pawn in someone’s game because he had begun paving the path of his own destiny...

Chapter 379: Reward

After leaving Eunuch Liu’s place, Yan Liqiang returned to his own residence. He had a sumptuous dinner before he started cultivating Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing repeatedly while waiting for news from Eunuch Liu.

The Great Han Times was something that he had come up with. Based on his original plan, Yan Liqiang was thinking of using the newspaper to do whatever he could to save some lives four years later. However, the Imperial Capital was a dangerous place and Yan Liqiang discovered that his earlier thoughts had been too naive.

The Grand Chancellor had already seen the value of the newspaper and was making all sorts of preparations to snatch it. Not only did he want to get the newspaper, but he also prepared vicious means to take Yan Liqiang’s life through the newspaper office. Under such a situation, Yan Liqiang could only make a bold decision and hand both the newspaper and the newspaper office to the Emperor as quickly as he possibly could.

Once the newspaper office became the royal family’s property, then Lin Qingtian’s and Gu Chunyi’s methods of using the newspaper office to lay a trap for Yan Liqiang would no longer work. He had silently negated a fatal move. With one less weak spot and lethal threat, he had also earned himself a higher rating in the Emperor’s eyes, setting the stage for his departure from the Imperial Capital to head back to Gan Province. In the end, as long as The Great Han Times was still in the Emperor’s hands, he would still have the possibility and chance of making use of and controlling the newspaper a few years time. This was his goal and initial objective when he founded The Great Han Times.

Since it was destined that he was unable to keep the newspaper, then he had to make full use of its value.

Yan Liqiang knew that his fast and decisive reaction would definitely be out of Lin Qingtian’s and Gu Chunyi’s expectations. They had initially given him three days to consider, but they would not expect him to pick the Emperor’s side in less than a day after returning to Deer Villa. In a life and death situation like this, there was no need for him to consider the possibility of joining Lin Qingtian’s side. His response would definitely infuriate them and spoil their plans. And this was what Yan Liqiang needed. If everything went according to their plan, he would have died a long time ago. Even if he ended up surviving, he would be leading a life that was no different from that of a dog’s.

The sky gradually turned dark and then pitch-black as the late night arrived. All of Deer Villa was silent and there were only the cries of the crickets in the grass and the frogs and toads croaking in the pond. The temperature had turned a little chilly and Yan Liqiang was starting to cultivate the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing for the fourth time. When he reached the Half Body Diagrams, he heard rushed footsteps coming from outside the courtyard...

Goldie ran to the courtyard’s entrance and barked.

The sound of the footsteps belonged to Little Li.

The moment Yan Liqiang heard these things, he knew that Eunuch Liu was back. He stopped his cultivation, tidied up his clothes, and then heard the knocks on the door. He walked over and opened it. Little Li was standing there, holding a lantern with a layer of sweat on his forehead, “Deputy Manager Yan, Eunuch Liu is back and has requested for you to head over. He said that he has something important to discuss!

“Alright, let’s leave right now!” Yan Liqiang walked out and closed the door behind him.

Little Li held the lantern and led the way quickly, with Yan Liqiang following behind. Not long later, they arrived in Eunuch Liu’s residence. The eunuch was drinking tea in the hall, and when he saw Yan Liqiang arrive, he stood up and waved his hand. Little Li took his leave docilely, shutting the door after him.

“Eunuch Liu, what did the Emperor say?” Yan Liqiang asked directly.

“His Majesty was receiving some Provincial Governors in the royal study tonight and that’s why I had to wait in the palace for a very long time before I got to see him. After hearing the reason for my visit, His Majesty knew what you encountered today and felt both infuriated and overjoyed. I’m sure you can guess what His Majesty was infuriated over without me saying, and the joy he felt was really great joy. I’ve never seen His Majesty so happy before despite having stayed by his side for so many years. His Majesty said that he hadn’t expected for you to be very loyal and a person of integrity. Although you are young, you’re a person who can understand the bigger situation. In terms of just these alone, many ministers aren’t comparable to you. His Majesty has agreed to accept the newspaper office and newspaper that you’ve offered!” Eunuch Liu beamed at Yan Liqiang. He probably received quite a lot of praises in his trip to the palace this time around as well.

“How is His Majesty going to manage the newspaper office and The Great Han Times?” This was what Yan Liqiang was the most concerned about.

“His Majesty is going to hand the newspaper office and The Great Han Times to the Imperial Household Department’s Directorate for Credentials to manage!”

Imperial Household Department’s Directorate for Credentials? Yan Liqiang was stunned for a moment. The Imperial Household Department was an organization in the palace that existed to serve the Emperor. That department handled everything required in the palace and by the royal family, even the female chamberlain who served His Majesty’s side. And the Directorate for Credentials was a department in the Imperial Household Department that managed all of the Emperor’s matters concerning old and new documents as well as exemption plates, edicts, document corrections, official seals, books, matching seals, collections, and passes.

Yan Liqiang originally thought the Emperor would hand the newspaper over to his eunuchs to handle. However, after some thought, Yan Liqiang understood the Emperor’s intentions. It was an excellent move for the newspaper to be managed by the Imperial Household Department and the Directorate for Credentials. This would completely cut off the possibility of interference from Lin Qingtian and the other organizations and departments in the imperial court. The eunuchs in the palace were the most loyal group of people in the Great Han Empire toward the Emperor, and there was no need to worry about mistakes and slip-ups if the matter was handed to them.

“That’s good. It’s thoughtful to have the eunuchs in the Imperial Household Department and Directorate for Credentials handle the newspaper and the newspaper office!” Yan Liqiang nodded. This arrangement was the best outcome at the current moment.

“In the future, the Directorate for Credentials is going to have one more job to handle. His Majesty told me to put up a fake title in the Directorate for Credentials and told me to arrange a manor in Deer Villa to set up a Newspaper Pavilion. In the future, this newspaper will be managed by me and there won’t be a need to trouble other people...” Saying this, a hint of pride appeared on Eunuch Liu’s face. “I only know a little about literacy and hadn’t expected that His Majesty would assign me with this work where I have to manage a group of experts in writing articles. It’s quite interesting...”

“There are many capable people in the Directorate for Credentials. As long as Eunuch Liu obtains two helpers from there, manages the group of experts in the publishing company who write articles, and gives proper rewards and punishments accordingly, you don’t have to strain yourself too much!”

Since Lin Qingtian had also seen the value of newspapers and now that The Great Han Times had fallen into the Emperor’s hands, based on Lin Qingtian’s character, Yan Liqiang was extremely certain that the second set of newspapers was going to appear in the Imperial Capital within a few days’ time. When that happened, with the competition between the two sets of newspapers, and with how the Directorate for Credentials and Eunuch Liu would not dare to destroy the Emperor’s good cards and make themselves a joke, they would do their best in this matter. Therefore, there was no need to worry about the future quality of The Great Han Times. At the very least, it would not be worse than its current state.

“That’s true, that’s true. Regardless of the type of trade, the hardest thing to establish is the regulations. Since you’ve established the regulations and everything is working smoothly, we’ll just have to follow the regulations that you’ve set. If the people working at the bottom dare to spoil things, I’ll skin them!” Eunuch Liu took a sip of tea and smacked his lips. “It’s too late today and inconvenient to arrange for helpers. For now, only His Majesty, myself, and you know about this piece of information. I’ll arrange for a group of people to take over the publishing company early tomorrow morning. As long as we take over the place, we won’t need to worry about other people coming up with tricks!”

“Mmm, I’ll write a letter tonight. If Eunuch Liu would, please send someone capable to bring this letter to Mount Longqi’s manor and hand it to Manager Fang. We’ll inform Manager Fang to make the necessary preparations. Manager Fang is a reliable person and I’ll remind him to pay more attention in the manor tonight in case other people slip in...”

“Not bad, not bad. Liqiang, you’ve really thought things thoroughly!” Eunuch Liu nodded and smiled as he looked at Yan Liqiang. He then opened up a rustic-looking wooden box on the table next to him, and then brought out a jade box to hand to Yan Liqiang. “This is something His Majesty told me to pass to you!”

At a glance, it was clear that the item inside was extremely valuable. Otherwise, it would not have been kept so carefully.

“Huh? Eunuch Liu has even brought me something from His Majesty?” Yan Liqiang appeared a little overwhelmed by the favor shown to him as he carefully received the jade box and held it in his hands.

“How could His Majesty not know of your loyalty to him? This is considered a reward from His Majesty to you!”

“What’s in this jade box?”

“There’s the Supreme Golden Pill in the jade box. It is a sacred medicine and eating one would allow a Supreme Martial Warrior to advance as a Martial Master within a day. This thing is extremely valuable and priceless. It’s considered to be extremely precious, even in the royal family. Every single Supreme Golden Pill is carefully stored and registered, only awarded to members of the royal family who have gained merit. His Majesty said that after you’ve taken this Supreme Golden Pill and advanced to a Martial Master, you’ll increase your chances of winning the blindfolded contest in a few days...”

“Liqiang will definitely not disappoint His Majesty...” Yan Liqiang appeared to be extremely grateful, but in actuality, that gratefulness he showed was mixed with pretense. He did feel a little touched, but he also knew that His Majesty was just returning a favor...

After receiving the Supreme Golden Pill, Yan Liqiang then got his writing tools and wrote Fang Beidou a letter right before Eunuch Liu. He wrote down his decision in the letter and told Fang Beidou to make necessary preparations...

After writing the letter and handing it to Eunuch Liu, Yan Liqiang took the Supreme Golden Pill and returned to his courtyard...

Yan Liqiang continued to work hard for a few hours in the sixth floor of the Sword Cavern, but was still unable to find a method to clear the stage. He then decided to return for now.

The next day, before the sun rose, Eunuch Liu selected a group of capable people from Deer Villa and then headed straight for Mount Longqi together with Yan Liqiang...

Chapter 380: Surprising Person

“Since he wishes to court death, we’ll grant him his wish!”

Colorful decorative lanterns lit up the place. In the Grand Chancellor’s room, after hearing Gu Chunyi’s words, Lin Qingtian’s face appeared to be expressionless. He took a sip of tea and then put down the teacup, speaking calmly as if he was discussing something insignificant.

“I hadn’t expected for Yan Liqiang to not know what’s good for him. You’d already given him a way out and yet he still insists on seeking death...” The eyes of the Minister of Justice Gu Chunyi 一 whom Yan Liqiang had met once at the joint trial 一 gleamed coldly. That cold gaze made his aquiline nose appear even more sinister and cold. “Yan Liqiang is an unimportant person and his death is of no value. It’s just that with this, he has spoiled Lord’s plans. I read The Great Han Times back when it first came out and thought that it was merely an amusement amongst the citizens. If it wasn’t because of the Lord’s sharp eyes, I’d never have thought that just a set of newspapers would be so useful in the future...”

“Although the newspaper is something that’s small, it’s not a small matter anymore when many people are reading it. Instead, it’ll concern the people’s sentiments and opinions!” A profound smile appeared on Lin Qingtian’s face and his eyes glimmered, “Since we can’t take over the ready-made one, we’ll just make one ourselves. There’s no reason that other people can’t do this when a young man with a group of people with mediocre talent did it. We can just copy them, and it’ll just be a matter of spending some money! Other than the Imperial Capital, we can do the same for the other provinces and prefectures that are further away from the Imperial Capital. We’ll slowly build up the newspapers and get them to back each other’s opinions, and then slowly build our reputation...”

“Lord really has good foresight. You don’t have your eyes set on the Imperial Capital only!” Gu Chunyi put up a flattering smile, “I’ll instruct Manager Gu to handle this matter. Those wordsmiths from the publishing company were merely unpresentable characters in the Imperial Capital to begin with. The ones gathering news for their newspaper are also just a few ruffians. People like these can be found everywhere. In another few days’ time, our newspaper will be complete. I beseech for the Lord to give a name to the newspaper...”

“We’ll just call it the ‘Imperial Capital Times’...” Lin Qingtian gave a name without a second thought. He then turned to look at the other person who was seated next to Gu Chunyi, “On the 15th, everything will depend on you. Don’t drag things out. Your father wrote to me the other time and told me that you’ve made achievements in your learning. He wants me to recommend you to a good post to train you up. If you can handle this matter well, with the title as the Crown Prince’s archery teacher, you’ll be able to advance rapidly!”

The person seated next to Gu Chunyi was quite young, seemingly in his twenties. He wore white robes, had muscular arms, and a slim waist. His figure was upright and his appearance seemed to be quite decent. His eyes were narrow and long, with more white than black, appearing fierce and savage like a tiger or a wolf. He gave others a slightly uncomfortable feeling and there was a hint of evilness in them. This person was Anbei General Shi Tao’s son, Shi Minzhang. He had some reputation in the Imperial Capital archery circle.

Hearing Lin Qingtian’s words, the corners of Shi Minzhang’s lips curled up into a slightly brutal but determined smile. “That Yan Liqiang is merely at the Fourth Heavenly Layer in his archery cultivation and isn’t worth mentioning. After I advanced to the Fifth Heavenly Layer in archery, I’ve been diligently practicing the great Sonic Arrow technique. On the 15th, I’ll definitely take that person’s life within five arrows. I’ll let him realize the consequences of going up against the Lord!”

“Mmm!” Lin Qingtian nodded, then shook his head and sighed apologetically, “It’s a pity, it’s a pity. I’ve heard strange things about Yan Liqiang. Have you guys heard of the ‘Journey to the West’ that became popular in the Imperial Capital recently? That boy wrote the story...”

“I’ve yet to read the book ‘Journey to the West’, but that kid is an opinionated fool and his death is nothing to feel pitiful about. The Imperial Capital does not lack strange people. Even if one died, there are still ten or one hundred others...”

Lin Qingtian said indifferently, “Go read it if you have time. Although you’re a subject of the imperial court, you mustn’t distance yourself too much from the secular world. That capable stone monkey in ‘Journey to the West’ is quite interesting. Yan Liqiang does have some resemblance to that stone monkey. If you kill him and then read the book he wrote, you’ll have a different experience...”

“Since Lord says that it’s good, I’ll go get one to read the moment I head back!” Gu Chunyi lowered his head and replied docilely.

...

When the three men in the Grand Chancellor’s manor were casually mentioning Yan Liqiang’s life or death, Yan Liqiang was under the tree in his courtyard, holding the few rare beast core crystals he had obtained previously. He was scratching his head while studying them repeatedly. “Damn it. Other than channeling vital Qi, how else can I differentiate if this thing is good or bad...”

After settling a huge matter in the morning and finding a big backing for the publishing company, Yan Liqiang felt that he had a lot less pressure on him.

After handing the publishing company to the Emperor and then having the people from the publishing company making some adjustments, the arrangements for most of the people had been settled, especially for Fang Beidou. After Yan Liqiang spoke to Fang Beidou about the details, Fang Beidou was assigned the important task of continuing to stay in the publishing company to manage everything in the company together with the two assistants that Eunuch Liu sent over.

Fang Beidou didn’t want to stay in the publishing company, but Yan Liqiang hinted that if he wished to save people’s lives in another few years, he had to stay. Having the publishing company in his hands would be extremely useful in the future. Just this reason alone allowed Fang Beidou to willingly stay behind and work under a bunch of eunuchs.

If it had been the Fang Beidou in the past who thought highly of himself and liked to put up a front, he would definitely not be able to accept such treatment. However, to a person who could run around the Imperial Capital naked, this was not something that was hard to accept.

After finding the newspaper company a strong backing so that he wouldn’t have to worry about it in the future, Yan Liqiang now felt very relaxed. After returning to Deer Villa, he was fully focused on preparing for the blindfolded contest.

The blindfolded contest was very important, but the trial on the sixth floor of the Sword Cavern’s crystal pagoda was equally as important as well.

After the tough training in the day and going through the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing a few times, the small golden vortex in his consciousness grew a little bigger. Therefore, at night, Yan Liqiang decided to just start studying rare beast core crystals in his room.

Yan Liqiang still remembered what Fang Beidou told him about a talisman master’s spiritual sense. Therefore, he kept on trying for the entire night to see if the rare beast core crystals would show any reactions. Unfortunately, despite the fact that Yan Liqiang thought through all kinds of methods, that lump of energy in his consciousness still did not budge. Yan Liqiang had no idea how to mobilize that energy.

Just as Yan Liqiang was focused on studying the rare beast core crystals in his hands, a sudden feeling that someone was spying on him in the darkness rose in his heart...

Yan Liqiang was stunned by this feeling. He even doubted if his senses were wrong. It was because ever since he came to Deer Villa, other than the time Eunuch Liu was testing him out, no one had spied on him before. This place was very safe.

Yan Liqiang did not move, but he just carefully sensed it. He discovered that his senses were not wrong. That spying feeling came from the top of a tall camphor tree that was over 100 meters away west of his courtyard.

That spying gaze kept moving about on the back of Yan Liqiang’s neck, heart, and other critical positions, causing him to feel as if there was something sharp piercing his back like a poisonous wasp flying around him. In just an instant, Yan Liqiang was able to ascertain that the person spying on him was an archery expert. That faintly discernible killing intent also felt familiar to Yan Liqiang...

A face suddenly appeared in Yan Liqiang’s mind...

It was him. The person next to Lin Qingtian’s nephew, Lin Qingtian...

What was wrong? Didn’t Lin Zhe leave the Imperial Capital after the joint trial, sent back home by Lin Qingtian to Hai Province? This person worked for Lin Zhe. Why would he come to Deer Villa to spy on him?

Could it be that... Lin Zhe told him to come, wanting to exact revenge or have him killed?

However, the blindfolded contest was nearing. With Lin Qingtian’s great confidence in winning, how could they possibly complicate matters and send assassins?

Yan Liqiang mind moved quickly...

Unless... Unless Lin Zhe was unaware of the blindfolded contest and did not tell Lin Qingtian that he was going to deal with Yan Liqiang. He was doing this behind Lin Qingtian’s back...

Chapter 381: Come Knocking On the Door

Timewise, this was totally possible. After Lin Zhe left the Imperial Capital, he no longer received news about the Imperial Capital and was not aware that Yan Liqiang was going to have a blindfolded contest. And with how Lin Zhe bore a grudge toward him, the former secretly sent people back to seek revenge...

As Yan Liqiang thought of this, he tried to pretend as if everything was normal. After sitting in the courtyard for a while, he got up and used 30% of his prowess to practice the Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist technique to loosen up his muscles and bones. He then returned to his room, got onto his bed after washing up, and put out the light.

After the lights went off, Yan Liqiang got up from the bed and drew out two flying needles that had been tempered with anesthetic from under the bed. He then stationed himself next to the window on the east side of the room, pushing it slightly open before he slid out like a slippery fish. He arrived at the back of the room with his elusive actions.

Yan Liqiang was extremely familiar with the surroundings of the room. He concealed himself amongst the flowers and trees planted in the courtyard, moving about rapidly in the dark night. In the blink of an eye, he took a turn from a blind spot in the west and arrived in the forest of camphor trees that were a hundred meters west of his courtyard.

The wind at night had a fragrance that was unique to the camphor trees and it was extremely quiet in the forest; not even the insects were chirping.

It didn’t take Yan Liqiang much effort to discover that the black figure was hiding behind the branches of a tall camphor tree. It only took him one glance to be certain that this figure was the person he had seen standing next to Lin Zhe in the past. Yan Liqiang had great memory, and till now, he was still able to recall that person’s appearance – ordinary-looking, sharp eyes, long and slender hands, and broad shoulders. He was an archery expert. From the first glance back then, Yan Liqiang felt that this was the person who had shot an arrow from the dark when Liang Yijie and Xu Lang had their battle.

That person wore black clothes for moving about in the dark and did not carry a bow or any arrows. After all, bows and arrows could create a lot of noise when the target was too big. It wasn’t beneficial for concealing himself. However, the person was carrying a crossbow that was relatively compact. It had probably been specially-handled before. The entire crossbow had been painted black and did not reflect light at all. At night, within a range of fifty steps, the prowess of a strong crossbow wouldn’t be inferior to that of an ordinary bow. Moreover, its shooting speed would be faster and it would be more concealed. It was an ideal tool for an assassination. Even experts could fall prey to it if they were not careful.

Lin Zhe and this person probably didn’t think that Yan Liqiang was that strong. Therefore, if it was an assassination from a hidden spot, a crossbow might be sufficient.

Yan Liqiang hid under the tree, not moving at all. He did not head up; rather, he was waiting for that person to come down.

That person was very patient and kept hiding in the tree, observing Yan Liqiang’s residence. Roughly two hours after the lights in Yan Liqiang’s room went off and the sky had turned completely dark, the person noticed that there were no more motions in Yan Liqiang’s room. He thought that Yan Liqiang had probably fallen asleep. Only then did the person make his way down the crown of the tree silently, jumping when he was about two meters away from the ground.

Yan Liqiang, who had been laying in wait under the tree for a while, pounced over from the flower bushes with movements that were as elusive as a ghost’s, just as that person’s feet were about to land on the ground. Yan Liqiang punched out his two fists fiercely at the speed of lightning.

That person was definitely shocked when Yan Liqiang jumped out. He hadn’t expected that he would be ambushed. Moreover, Yan Liqiang had decided to ambush him when he was still in midair, right before he was going to land. The person was unable to make any adjustments and could only twist in the air with a soft snort before he kicked out toward the two fists that Yan Liqiang were sending toward him.

Of course, Yan Liqiang’s killer moves weren’t his fists, but the two flying needles he had between his two fists. This was not a fair fight and what was important was that the method used had to be effective. Therefore, there wasn’t a need to be hesitant about the method. When Yan Liqiang saw that person kicking toward him, he smirked and revealed a section of the flying needles from between his fingers, opened up both his fists, and then hid the hidden weapons with the back of his hands. Then, his two hands and the two flying needles that had been tempered with poison were on the back of that person’s legs.

“Mmm...” That person let out a stifled grunt and was sent flying by Yan Liqiang’s huge strength, smashing heavily into that camphor tree. Before that person could make another move, his body stiffened up and he spoke in a soft voice, “There’s poison...”

“That’s right...” Yan Liqiang smiled and moved elusively, appearing before the person whose body had stiffened up. He struck out his palm toward that person’s head, and the latter was knocked out without even making a sound.

It was very dark and they were in the forest. Thus, one’s vision would already be affected in the first place. One party had planned out his moves and the other party was caught unaware. In addition to the fact that Yan Liqiang’s opponent was caught off-guard by the hidden poison needles, the victor was decided the moment the two of them came into contact with each other.

The entire process did not even take two seconds from the point Yan Liqiang made his move to the resolution of the battle.

Yan Liqiang took a look at the surroundings and noticed that there was still no one around. The little bit of activity from earlier was not as big as a cat catching a mouse in the dark night. Everything was silent and did not alarm anyone. Thereafter, he lifted the man who was dressed in black by the neck and with a few flashes, he once again returned to his bedroom on the second floor from the window he had opened earlier.

Yan Liqiang first tossed the person he had knocked out on the floor, then searched him. It took him only a short moment to bring out all the things the man had on him.

Crossbow, dagger, medicine sack, flying darts...

The crossbow did not seem normal, so Yan Liqiang took a closer look at it. He saw that the very front of the crossbow’s push lever which was intended for the arrows, had over a hundred flying needles that were as thin as a cow hair, gathered into a bunch. The tips of the flying needles were blue. Clearly, they had been tampered with highly toxic poison.

Damn it... Yan Liqiang was struck by a strong sense of repercussive fear...

He then tugged off that person’s mask, revealing the face underneath. Who could it be other than the person who was with Lin Zhe?

Yan Liqiang dislocated the man’s two arms and backed off a few steps. He then sat on a chair in the room, stroking his chin as he looked at the immobilized man. All sorts of thoughts ran through his mind...

He definitely couldn’t release this person to let him head back. However, he still needed to think it through on how he could maximize the value of this matter...

Ten minutes later, a gleam flashed in Yan Liqiang’s eyes and he made up a decision in his mind...

With a soft and stifled grunt, the man dressed in black opened his eyes and slowly woke up. Yan Liqiang walked over and stood before the man, looking down on him.

“What do you want? I’m from the Lin Clan. If you wish to lay a hand on me, you better be careful that the Lin Clan will make sure that you’ll end up with no hope of reprieve...” When that person woke up and saw that Yan Liqiang was looking at him, a thought quickly came to his mind and he started to put up a strong front.

“Are those your last words?” Yan Liqiang shook his head.

“What did you say?” That person’s countenance changed.

“Did Lin Zhe send you to come and kill me?” Yan Liqiang asked.

That person continued to threaten Yan Liqiang, “Why I’ve come to Deer Villa is none of your business. I’d advise you to let me go. Although Young Master Lin isn’t in the Imperial Capital at the moment, the Grand Chancellor is still around. If you lay a hand on me, you’ll find yourself in serious trouble...”

Yan Liqiang could not hold back his laughter. “Aren’t you too naive to still wish to keep your life? I’ve been troubled over the past two days on how I can resolve a great problem. To think that you’ve come knocking. Since you’re here to kill, then you must be prepared to be killed. This is an axiom. Therefore, don’t come and blame me after you’ve become a ghost...”

Chapter 382: A Ruse

In the dead of the night, Little Li was sitting and leaning against a couch in the side hall just outside Eunuch Liu’s bedroom. Drowsiness overwhelmed him as his upper and lower eyelids battled each other again and again. Every time he nodded off and his body was going to fall, he jolted himself awake, not daring to truly fall asleep.

Tonight was his turn to be on night duty for Eunuch Liu during the second half of the night. This was the time when Eunuch Liu would frequently want to drink water or even get up to go to the toilet. So the moment he called out, someone must promptly respond by preparing drinking water or lighting up the lamp.

“Woof...! Woof...!”

Dog barks suddenly rang out from outside Eunuch Liu’s courtyard. They were particularly ear-piercing in a silent night like this. Little Li was once again jolted awake just when he was about to doze off again.

There were very few dogs in Deer Villa, and there was only one dog which could wander around during the night. Goldie popped into Little Li’s mind. Everyone in Deer Villa knew that Yan Liqiang kept a dog.

That dog better not wake Eunuch Liu up! Little Li muttered to himself as he cast a worried glance at Eunuch Liu’s bedroom, hoping that the dog would stop barking soon. If Eunuch Liu was woken up by it and got mad, he would have Little Li go out to get rid of the dog. That would be troublesome. If he couldn’t beat the dog up, he would have a hard time with Eunuch Liu. If he did beat the dog up, he would offend its owner. Both parties were people he couldn’t afford to offend...

Just when Little Li was praying in his heart for Goldie to stop barking, Goldie, who had stopped for two seconds, suddenly resumed barking. Not only that, it was barking even louder than just now...

“WOOF...! WOOF...! WOOF...! WOOF...! WOOF...! WOOF...! WOOF...! WOOF...!”

Goldie’s barks resonated far and wide into the night. It was barking like crazy, as though it had just seen a thief.

Litte Li was exasperated. He hurriedly got up and quickly tiptoed his way out of the side hall into the yard. He beckoned forth a guard on night duty and whispered his order, “Go outside and chase that dog away quickly, don’t let it wake Eunuch Liu up! Remember, that dog belongs to Deputy Manager Yan. Refrain from hurting it. Otherwise, we’ll be in trouble...”

The guard received his orders and quickly went outside...

Just then, Little Li heard Eunuch Liu’s voice coming from his bedroom. He hurriedly turned around and ran back inside. Parting the beaded curtains, he went into the bedroom and lit up the lamp.

Eunuch Liu sat up on his bed in his white silk robe. As soon as he stretched out his hand, Little Li quickly served him the warm water he had prepared.

“WOOF...! WOOF...! WOOF...! WOOF...! WOOF...! WOOF...!”

The barking from outside grew in intensity. From the sounds of it, the dog seemed to be running around Eunuch Liu’s courtyard. The guard who went out probably wasn’t able to seize the dog.

When Little Li noticed Eunuch Liu pause mid-drink for a split second, and cold sweat nearly broke out on his forehead.

Eunuch Liu squinched his eyes as he listened carefully. “That dog...”

“Eunuch Liu, I have already ordered the guard to chase it away just now...” Little Li hurriedly bowed in response.

“I recall that it is Commandant Yan’s dog?”

“Most likely!”

Eunuch Liu listened to the incessant barking from outside as he pondered for two seconds. “I heard from Commandant Yan that his dog is quite clever and seems to understand humans particularly well. It followed him here from the Gan Province and has never barked like this at night out of the blue. Go out and see what is going on...”

“Understood!” Little Li hurriedly left Eunuch Liu’s bedroom and went outside of the residence upon receiving his orders.

It had only been a short while, but the two guards who came out to chase the dog away were already drenched in sweat. Goldie was extremely intelligent. Under the condition where they couldn’t beat or kill Goldie, the two guards had chased the dog for a full circle around Eunuch Liu’s courtyard, but they still failed to capture it.

As soon as Little Li came out from the courtyard, Goldie immediately ran toward him. Little Li was shocked as he quickly evaded it, thinking that Goldie was going to bite him. Little did he expect Goldie to bite on his pant leg. It whimpered and wagged its tail as it tried to pull Little Li in the direction of Yan Liqiang’s courtyard...

Little Li was shocked as he asked in disbelief, “You... You want me to go to Commandant Yan’s courtyard?”

Goldie immediately let go of Little Li’s pant leg. It barked twice softly and even nodded...

Little Li was aghast. “Something happened to Commandant Yan...!”

Goldie let out two whimpers again and nodded. Not only Little Li, but even the two guards also gaped at the sight before them. None of them had ever seen such an intelligent dog.

“W-Wait for me...! I will go inform Eunuch Liu first...!” Little Li gulped after he finished speaking. He turned around and quickly went back into Eunuch Liu’s courtyard.

Two minutes later, Eunuch Liu came through the courtyard’s door. He was dressed in his long robe and had a fur coat draped around him. Little Li and Little Chun followed beside him with lanterns in their hands, along with several armed guards.

Eunuch Liu glanced at Goldie who was waiting at the same spot for them. He turned his head around and ordered Little Chun, “Inform the officer on duty tonight to deploy a troop of men with their weapons to Commandant Yan’s residence!”

“Understood!” Little Chun accepted his order and ran swiftly toward the Deer Villa barracks with his lantern.

Eunuch Liu looked at Goldie again. “Alright, do you understand my words? If you do, then lead the way...”

Goldie barked twice as though it understood Eunuch Liu’s words, then turned around and ran toward Yan Liqiang’s courtyard. After running a few steps, it looked back and barked twice again.

Eunuch Liu was amazed, but he wasted no time and quickly strode toward Yan Liqiang’s courtyard behind Goldie.

By the time Eunuch Liu and the rest arrived at Yan Liqiang’s courtyard, a troop of soldiers from Deer Villa were also running there with burning torches in hands. A group of soldiers armed with powerful bows and crossbows scattered around Yan Liqiang’s residence and surrounded it.

Goldie directly went through a dog hole in the yard, then barked from inside.

At Eunuch Liu’s a signal, Little Li banged heavily against the courtyard’s door and shouted from outside. “Deputy Manager Yan...! Deputy Manager Yan...!”

After several calls, it was still pitch black in Yan Liqiang’s courtyard. His room upstairs didn’t even light up. A guard beside Eunuch Liu immediately flipped over the courtyard wall and went inside to open the courtyard’s door. A few guards holding the burning torches then crowded around Eunuch Liu and escorted him inside the courtyard.

Goldie barked and went upstairs. Eunuch Liu looked at Goldie and was about to follow it.

“Eunuch Liu, be careful. Let us go up first...” A guard beside Eunuch Liu hurriedly reminded him.

“Out of my way...” The expression on Eunuch Liu’s face turned cold. He flung his sleeve and immediately followed Goldie upstairs. The group of guards around him hurriedly followed behind him.

Eunuch Liu’s countenance changed as soon as he arrived on the second floor of Yan Liqiang’s residence. Even through the closed door, Eunuch Liu could pick up the strong scent of blood coming from inside Yan Liqiang’s room. Goldie was barking loudly in distress outside Yan Liqiang’s room as it clawed the bedroom door, leaving its claw marks all over the door. Since the door was locked from the inside, Goldie couldn’t get it to open no matter how hard it clawed...

Without thinking, Eunuch Liu slammed his palm against the door. The door was instantly shattered and broke into pieces. A few guards rushed in first and then cried out in surprise...

Eunuch Liu walked into the room. When he saw the scene in the room under the illumination of the light from the burning torches, his countenance immediately contorted.

A window in the room was left open. There was blood everywhere on the floor. The chairs and cabinet in the room had been shattered. A black crossbow was left on the floor. Under the illumination of the burning torches, Yan Liqiang’s bed was filled with very fine needles that glowed with an eerie blue color. Yan Liqiang’s half-naked body laid motionlessly in a pool of blood. Another man in dark clothes was lying not far from Yan Liqiang, with a short sword impaled through his chest.

Anyone who saw the scene before their eyes could imagine what had transpired in the room!

A few minutes later, Eunuch Liu’s bellow of rage rang out in Yan Liqiang’s room. “LIN QINGTIAN, HOW CAN YOU BE THIS SHAMELESS AS A GRAND CHANCELLOR AND STOOP SO LOW TO USE SUCH A DESPICABLE TRICK! I SWEAR I WON’T LET YOU GET AWAY WITH THIS! I SHALL SHOW THE WORLD HOW SHAMELESS YOU ARE! SOMEONE, PREPARE ALL TROOPS IN DEER VILLA, WE MARCH TO THE IMPERIAL CAPITAL CITY...!”

In less than half an hour, all the soldiers stationed in Deer Villa were fully armored and carrying burning torches on their rhinodrake steeds. They rode onto the public road in the night and rushed toward the Imperial Capital.

As the heart of the Great Han Empire where the Emperor dwelled, the security and defense in the Imperial CapitaL were naturally heavier than usual. Not only that, both were mutually dependent on each other. Upon noticing a troop of men approaching the capital truculently, both the major camps and city defenses situated around the city were alarmed. In turn, this triggered a series of chain reactions.

The high officials of the imperial court in the city were woken up from their slumber...

Chapter 383: Chain Reaction

“Last night, a subject of the imperial court was nearly assassinated in Deer Villa. This is simply outrageous. Eunuch Liu, the manager of Deer Villa, deployed troops to escort the injured subject to the Imperial Capital for emergency treatment, just in case they might run into other assassins on their way there. This sounds perfectly logical. Where does his crime lie?” The Emperor was firmly seated on his throne as he scanned his subjects that were standing in the royal hall. The tone of his voice was icy.

“Even insects and animals have more compassion. Seeing one of your peers nearly die from an attempted assassination, no one even thought of tracking down the assassin to investigate the matter and protect the laws of our empire. Instead, the victim is blamed for causing a great commotion and disturbing a good night’s sleep. Such people are worse than animals. If you encounter the same thing one day, will you wish to be escorted for treatment or will you be ignored and left to die alone? Those who wish to not be rescued when they are in trouble, you may step forward now so we can see you. Anyone?”

The Emperor’s last two words reverberated throughout the grand hall like thunder. The two ministers who voiced out their opinions just now immediately paled and couldn’t help but tremble.

At a time like this, of course no one would dare to step forward. If anyone did, he would be admitting that he was worse than an animal. Not only that, he would also have to face the Emperor’s wrath and be made a laughing stock, irrevocably damaging his reputation.

The commotion from last night was so great that it alarmed the entire Imperial Capital. By now, various rumors had spread, thus causing a court assembly to be called today.

At this moment, quite a number of ministers in the court were stealing glances at Lin Qingtian who had his head lowered. He was silent and motionless, as though he was asleep.

The Emperor scanned the court. His gaze shifted from the Grand Chancellor Lin Qingtian’s face to the Minister of Justice Gu Chunyi’s face.

“Gu Chunyi...”

“Yes, Your Majesty!” Hearing his name being called out, Gu Chunyi had no choice but to go forward.

“Has the identity of the assassin been ascertained?” The Emperor looked at Gu Chunyi with his burning gaze.

Gu Chunyi really wished he could say otherwise. Yet, at the same time, he knew exactly why the Emperor had called him out to question him. Most of the people in the court already knew the identity of the assassin, let alone Gu Chunyi. Likewise, the Emperor knew about it too. Given ten more guts, he wouldn’t dare to throw himself into the fire by fooling the Emperor and the others in the court at a time like this. After stealing a glance at Lin Qingtian, Gu Chunyi summoned up his courage and replied, “The identity of the assassin has been ascertained. His name is Liu Jingfeng!”

A frosty smile appeared on the Emperor’s face as he continued with his line of questioning. “Is that so? I wonder who exactly is this Liu Jingfeng. Does he have an accomplice?”

Gu Chunyi gulped and had no choice but to continue. “Liu Jingfeng is... a personal bodyguard posted under the Ministry of War. His rank is... Feiyang Commandant!”

“Minister Gu seems hesitant to speak. Is there something you cannot share? Well, if this Liu Jingfeng is a bodyguard, then who is he assigned to? Whose orders has he been taking in the Imperial Capital city? Do We have to ask you one by one?” The Emperor’s gaze on Gu Chunyi had turned into something menacing.

“Liu Jingfeng is... is Lin Zhe’s personal bodyguard!” This reply alone was enough to cause a sheen of cold sweat to break out on Gu Chunyi’s forehead.

“Who is this Lin Zhe? Doesn’t ring a bell. In the Imperial Capital, only personal bodyguards to high officials above the Third Grade are entitled to receive military ranks. All the high officials above the Third Grade are currently present in this hall. Why are We not aware of any that goes by the name of Lin Zhe?” the Emperor questioned coldly.

“This... I am afraid I have no idea!”

It wasn’t like Gu Chunyi didn’t know, but rather he didn’t dare to say. That was because Lin Zhe was Lin Qingtian’s nephew. When Lin Zhe was still in the Imperial Capital, he was a well-known child to a high official. He stirred up trouble and dared to offend just about anyone. According to the imperial court’s law, only personal bodyguards to high officials above the Third Grade were entitled military ranks. Although Lin Zhe wasn’t an official, getting a military rank for his bodyguard was no trouble for him. As long as he asked for it, there would be people under him who were willing to get it done for him through the backdoor.

If this matter were to be investigated, such an act had indeed severely violated the imperial court’s laws and could possibly warrant capital punishment. In the Imperial Capital, there were only two places for guards with military rank – the Imperial Cavalry Unit and the Ministry of War. The personal bodyguards of the ministers that served the Emperor were mostly from the Imperial Cavalry Unit, while the personal bodyguards of the ministers that served the Grand Chancellor were mostly from the Ministry of War.

The Emperor’s gaze shifted from Gu Chunyi’s face to the Minister of War who was standing. He pointed his finger at the minister. “Xu Wentang, why don’t you enlighten me? Liu Jingfeng is posted under the Ministry of War, and therefore his military rank was awarded by the Ministry of War. What is the meaning of this? Since when was the Ministry of War allowed to award a military rank to anyone they please, without considering the laws of the Great Han Empire? Not only that, but it was awarded to a treacherous man who attempted to assassinate an official from the imperial court. Such a deed has not only disgraced the Ministry of War and disappointed our subjects, but it also ridiculed and undermined the imperial court’s laws. As the Minister of War, how are you doing your job?” The Emperor’s tone grew angrier toward the end.

“Y-Your humble servant will definitely get to the bottom of this...!” The Minister of War was an elderly man whose hair and beard had turned completely gray. Sweat was visible on the minister’s forehead.

The Emperor’s expression immediately calmed down as he looked at the Minister of War coldly. “Without your seal and consent, how can such a treacherous man so boldly become a Feiyang Commandant in the Ministry of War? The Ministry of War should be investigated, and the investigation starts with you first! Someone, arrest the incompetent Xu Wentang...!”

As soon as the Emperor issued his order, the imperial guards in Jinluan Hall rushed out to seize the Minister of War and immediately tied him up. Two of the guards held a few silver needles that were about half a foot long each. They wasted no time in inserting them into the major acupoints on Xu Wentang’s body to seal away his cultivation. Xu Wentang’s complexion dulled. He bit his lips and looked at the Emperor and the Grand Chancellor Lin Qingtian before he was taken away by the guards without putting up any resistance.

“Zou Rulong!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!” Among the generals’ line-up, an armored old general who was standing behind Wu Wentang came out and and bowed to the Emperor.

“From now on, We shall appoint you as the new Minister of War. Command them well and do not disappoint me!”

“I accept Your Majesty’s decree!” The old general took a deep breath, then went back in line.

“Gu Chunyi, arrest Lin Zhe immediately and bring him to justice! Find out if Liu Jingfeng’s assassination attempt was carried out on an order!”

“Y-Yes, Your Majesty...!” Gu Chunyi lowered his head and looked at his own feet. After replying to the order, he returned back to his line bitterly while secretly cursing Lin Zhe’s ancestors to the eighteenth generation. He nearly got into big trouble because of Lin Zhe last time. Little did he expect things to turn out to be even worse this time.

Even if the target was Yan Liqiang, Lin Zhe should have sent someone more reliable and made sure that things were handled properly. Unfortunately, Lin Zhe’s brain was nothing but a pile of sh*t. Not only did he send his own personal bodyguard to carry out this task, that bullsh*t of an assassin even failed to kill his target. As a result, this implicated Lin Zhe and exposed his identity. The incident caused a commotion so great that it alarmed the entire Imperial Capital and made things even messier. The Emperor now had something to use against him. He would use this incident as a pretext to make a fuss and get rid of his allies. How could someone like the Grand Chancellor have such a stupid nephew...?

Taking out the Minister of War had greatly appeased the Emperor. He looked at Lin Qingtian and softened his tone. “Grand Chancellor...”

“Yes, Your Majesty...?” Lin Qingtian slightly bowed his body and responded with composure.

“Grand Chancellor said that national affairs should be taken seriously, and hence proposed a blindfolded archery contest between the Armed Imperial Guard of the Fifth Grade Yan Liqiang and Anbei General Shi Tao’s son, Shi Minzhang, on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month to compete for the position as the Crown Prince’s mentor in archery. We are in favor of this proposal. However, We are certain that the Grand Chancellor is also aware that Yan Liqiang has fallen prey to a despicable scheme by some shameless people before the contest. He has been critically injured and remains unconscious as we speak. We wonder if the Grand Chancellor is still adamant about having him participate in this blindfolded archery contest that will take place on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month?”

When the last sentence left the Emperor’s lips, the hall went so silent that one could even hear a pin drop. Everyone in the hall lowered their heads, not daring to look at the expression on Lin Qingtian’s face at this very moment. The Emperor had certainly delivered a hard blow to the Grand Chancellor, a blow so hard that the Grand Chancellor’s face even turned purple...

– As the Grand Chancellor of the Great Han Empire, you schemed against a child of fifteen years of age with your own nephew. You publicly proposed a blindfolded contest, yet pulled such an underhanded trick! Even I am ashamed of your despicable actions! Since the Lin Clan is so shameless, they might as well eat their own words!

Although the Emperor didn’t say that out loud, everyone in the hall understood what he was trying to say.

“What happened to Commandant Yan truly came as a surprise to me. Your Majesty’s response to this incident is to defend the nation’s law. Fair enough. Commandant Yan is critically injured and we are not certain of when he will recover. Even if he recovers, his capability may inevitably be affected. Therefore, to be fair, I suggest this blindfolded contest to be canceled to avoid further criticism. The arrangement for the Crown Prince’s archery lessons will be up to Your Majesty’s decision!”

At a time like this, even Lin Qingtian had no choice but to yield for now and leave this for another day. If he were to insist on having Yan Liqiang participate in the blindfolded archery contest, it would no doubt cause a scandal great enough to condemn the Lin Clan.

The only person he could blame was his nephew Lin Zhe, who put in so much effort to leave him such a great farewell gift when he left the Imperial Capital...

......

When the impromptu court assembly was dismissed, Lin Qingtian was the first to exit the hall. Noticing his boiling anger, not even the officials who were usually close to Lin Qingtian dared to approach him...

If the court assembly today was to be compared to the Arena of Life and Death, then the Grand Chancellor was completely suppressed by the Emperor today...

Lin Qingtian stormed out of the royal palace and got into his carriage. It was only then that he vented his suppressed anger. He slammed his palm so hard that his rare thumb ring shattered into pieces.

“How is Yan Liqiang doing now? Is this a trap?” Lin Qingtian coldly asked a man dressed in black who had been waiting on the carriage.

“His Majesty sent two imperial physicians to treat him. According to their reports, Yan Liqiang isn’t in a life-threatening condition. However, he was cultivating when he was ambushed last night. Battling someone with all his might under the shock caused him to fall into Qi deviation. As a result, his dantian has been severely damaged. It is completely empty and unable to condense even an ounce of vital Qi. Any vital Qi that is channeled into his dantian dissipates in the blink of an eye. This has been confirmed by the two imperial physicians. Both of them concluded that this will jeopardize and cripple Yan Liqiang’s future in cultivation...”

Chapter 384: Visit

To be honest, Yan Liqiang didn’t expect this incident to blow up, or more like he didn’t expect Eunuch Liu to blow things out of proportion.

Everything Eunuch Liu and the rest saw in his room was, of course, only a show he had put on. The only reason he put on such a great show was ultimately because he didn’t want to participate in that blindfolded contest with Shi Minzhang.

Yan Liqiang didn’t know what kind of trump card Shi Minzhang had up his sleeve. Putting aside the danger, Lin Qingtian and the rest were totally taking this blindfolded contest as an opportunity to dictate his life and death. That was why they came to threaten him with such confidence. From that alone, it was evident that Lin Qingtian and the rest saw that the odds were stacked against Yan Liqiang in participating in the contest.

It went without saying that Yan Liqiang also had his own trump card that was kept a secret. Even if it was a blindfolded contest, he might not necessarily be the loser. However, that would also mean his trump card was bound to be exposed. The most f*cked up part was the fact that no one would bat an eyelash if Shi Minzhang killed him. Yet, if it was the other way round, the only thing that awaited him would be the Shi Clan’s crazy revenge.

Unless Yan Liqiang’s head was caught between the doors, he definitely wouldn’t be willing to participate in a contest that would cost his life if he lost and still might cost his life if he won.

Even so, Yan Liqiang couldn’t go against the Emperor and the Grand Chancellor’s wills. Hence, over these two days, he had been racking his brain to come up with the ideal outcome for the blindfolded contest – ending it with a draw in such a way that he and Shi Minzhang couldn’t kill each other. Both of them would be so wounded that they would lose their ability to fight. This ending would justify himself to the Emperor and also reveal a bit of his strength to show the others that he wasn’t someone that could be manipulated. Not only that, the Shi Clan wouldn’t turn into mad dog either.

After the contest ended, he would then return to Gan Province, leaving the Imperial Capital and its deep, murky waters behind.

If Lin Zhe hadn’t sent an assassin after him, things would have probably gone down this way. However, Yan Liqiang immediately discovered better options presented to him upon the assassin’s arrival. It was even better than a draw, as he wouldn’t have to participate in the blindfolded contest openly and avoid getting killed. Not only that, but he could also turn himself into a victim to win the sympathy of the Emperor and the public. Finally, he could save himself from being Lin Qingtian’s target for a short while and ultimately become a ‘skunk’ that Lin Qingtian would dread. With this trick, he could kill three birds with one stone.

Since the idea came to Yan Liqiang, he would, of course, execute it.

The scene was perfect without any flaws and melodramatic enough. The guy who was sent to assassinate him was simply a gift to Yan Liqiang. It wasn’t until Eunuch Liu deployed all the troops to escort Yan Liqiang to the Imperial Capital that the latter realized that things had slightly gone out of his control and a little beyond his expectations. The eunuch intended to blow this incident up.

Even if Yan Liqiang was awake or perfectly fine, he had no choice but to continue feigning death under such circumstances. He couldn’t possibly jump up and tell Eunuch Liu that he was fine and that there was no need for so many men to escort him to the imperial physicians in the Imperial Capital...

Whatever happened after that, Yan Liqiang could only play along with Eunuch Liu. At any rate, he was supposedly ‘unconscious’ so he wouldn’t know what Eunuch Liu did...

Eunuch Liu instructed the Imperial Capital’s city gates to be opened in the middle of the night and personally sent Yan Liqiang to the Imperial Academy of Medicine. Yan Liqiang was still ‘unconscious’ when he arrived there. He only sensed that he was being surrounded by a bunch of people who administered first aid to him. They dressed his wounds and fed him medicine. Yan Liqiang ‘briefly’ woke up once during the process and was then examined by two imperial physicians. Not long after the examination ended, Yan Liqiang ‘lost consciousness’ again...

After being tormented for one night and losing a few hundred milliliters of blood, Yan Liqiang, who had never slept in before, finally enjoyed his beauty sleep. He didn’t wake up again until the next afternoon...

The room in the Imperial Academy of Medicine was clean and comfortable. The faint fragrance of medicinal herbs lingered in the room. The sun was shining brightly and it was a beautiful day outside.

“Deputy Manager Yan is awake, Deputy Manager Yan is awake...!”

The first thing Yan Liqiang saw when he woke up was Little Li’s surprised face. Then he saw Little Li shouting happily before he ran out of the room.

“Woof... woof...!” Goldie, who had been lying on its stomach by Yan Liqiang’s bed, immediately got up. It placed its front paws on top of the bed and barked twice in excitement, looking at Yan Liqiang who had just woken up with its tongue out.

Goldie stayed by Yan Liqiang’s side ‘loyally’, following him from Deer Villa to here. Eunuch Liu felt that it was a really sentient being, so he didn’t chase it away either.

Yan Liqiang chuckled when he saw Goldie, who could win an Oscar for Best Animal Actor. He reached out to pat Goldie on its head and winked at it, hinting the latter not to be this excited to avoid drawing any suspicions.

Footsteps rang from outside the door. In just the blink of an eye, the Emperor, Eunuch Liu, and one of the imperial physicians who treated Yan Liqiang before came in. A few guards were guarding the entrance of the room.

The Emperor indeed exuded a powerful aura. When he entered, the places where his dragon robe swept by dazzled Yan Liqiang’s eyes.

“Gree... Greetings... Your Majesty... Cough, cough, cough...”

He didn’t expect the Emperor to come. Yan Liqiang ‘struggled’ to get up from the bed in his surprise. However, his movements were sluggish due to his rather ‘weak’ body. He was not only physically ‘weak’; even his voice sounded the same. Just when he was going to speak up in a rush, he choked and started coughing.

“Quickly lie down, lie down. No need to be so courteous, Liqiang. We just arrived at the Imperial Academy of Medicine and wondered how you were doing. When We heard you had woken up, We couldn’t help but come see you!” While speaking, the Emperor sat down by Yan Liqiang’s bed. The Emperor had Yan Liqiang lie down, and then sat on the chair by the bed. He looked at Yan Liqiang with concern and even pulled the blanket up for him. Eunuch Liu and the imperial physician who treated Yan Liqiang before stood behind the Emperor respectfully.

“Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I guess I managed to stay alive somehow. Little did I expect Lin Zhe to hate me so much even though I only met the Grand Chancellor’s nephew once...” Yan Liqiang forced a smile.

“Imperial Physician Huang said that Liqiang’s dantian will no longer be able to condense Qi...”

“I didn’t know happened...” Yan Liqiang smiled bitterly. “I was training when I sensed something flying toward me from the window so I rolled from my bed to the ground without thinking. At that moment, I felt the vital Qi in my dantian shake before it scattered. Although I was fortunate enough to kill the intruder, I fainted from my injury. When I woke up for the first time last night, I felt some anomaly in my dantian. I only knew I fell into Qi deviation and my dantian is unable to condense Qi anymore after the two imperial physicians examined me...”

The Emperor looked at Yan Liqiang with sympathetic eyes before a murderous expression appeared on his face. “Rest assured, Liqiang. We will definitely seek justice for you this time and not let the assassin go unpunished!”

“Thank you, Your Majesty. For now, I only wish to recover. Even if my dantian will no longer be able to condense any Qi, as long as I can move, I shall participate in the blindfolded contest in a few days. To repay Your Majesty’s kindness, I shall fight for your dignity even if it means putting my life at stake. I simply cannot allow those people to mock Your Majesty...” Yan Liqiang got so worked up that he started coughing violently as soon as he finished speaking. He was coughing so hard that his face turned red. Even the blue veins on his neck and temple bulged.

At this very moment, the Emperor was truly moved. He grasped Yan Liqiang’s hand. “Liqiang, do not worry yourself with the blindfolded contest. Lin Qingtian canceled the contest on his own accord during the court assembly this morning. You should rest well here to recuperate from your wounds. After you have recovered, We have an important task to entrust to you!”

“Your Majesty...” Yan Liqiang’s eyes instantly reddened and glistened with tears as he choked back a sob. At this moment, even the Oscar statuette was waving its hand at Yan Liqiang.

“Rest well here, Liqiang. Do not worry about anything else...” The Emperor gently patted Yan Liqiang’s hand before he stood up and spoke to Imperial Physician Huang. “The Imperial Academy of Medicine must do their utmost to heal Liqiang’s wounds. If the Imperial Academy of Medicine lacks any medicinal pill, you may directly request anything from the Imperial Vault...”

“Your humble servant will definitely try his very best!” The imperial physician quickly replied.

“Good.” The Emperor then turned to look at Eunuch Liu, “I shall leave Liqiang in your care for the next few days!”

“Rest assured, Your Majesty. Your old servant knows what to do!” Eunuch Liu replied with a bow.

The Emperor then left without staying too long. Eunuch Liu only told Yan Liqiang the incident during the morning court assembly today after the Emperor left.

Yan Liqiang was quite speechless after hearing that. He also finally understood why the Emperor showed so much concern for him just now. This outcome was probably much more beneficial to the Emperor compared to defeating Shi Minzhang in the blindfolded contest...

For the next two days, Yan Liqiang paid no attention to other matters and only focused on his recovery...

Chapter 385: Not Staying Idle

Yan Liqiang had gotten into trouble and there had been a huge commotion. Naturally, everyone who was familiar with him in the Imperial Capital all knew about it. From the second day onward, people started coming to the Imperial Academy of Medicine to make inquiries and visit.

The Imperial Academy of Medicine was the best medical facility in the Imperial Capital. This medical facility only provided their services to the royal family as well as the ministers who served the imperial court. The Imperial Academy of Medicine was a little like the more specialized organizations such as professional facilities and convalescent hospitals that Yan Liqiang had seen in his previous life. By right, based on his current rank, he didn’t have the rights to seek treatment in the Imperial Academy of Medicine. However, thanks to Eunuch Liu and the Emperor, Yan Liqiang had become the most important patient in the Imperial Capital’s Imperial Academy of Medicine. Not only did they prepare a small private courtyard that only superintendents from the six ministries or higher would be able to enjoy, but there were also specialists who attended to his meals and medicine. The imperial physicians in the Imperial Academy of Medicine would also check on his condition twice a day.

Yan Liqiang’s body was fine. He had transmitted all of the vital Qi in his dantian into the Heavenly Stone, and thus there wasn’t any left. When the imperial physicians checked every day, they would only discover that his dantian was empty. Even if they sent in a hint of vital Qi, it would dissipate in the blink of an eye. Faced with such a problem that would only occur when a person fell into Qi deviation, the imperial physicians had no solution either. They could only do their best.

Fang Beidou, Xu Enda, and Hu Haihe came to see him the next day. Yan Liqiang’s small courtyard was open to visitors. When the three of them saw that Yan Liqiang’s condition wasn’t life-threatening and that he had only suffered some light injuries in addition to showing some signs of falling into Qi deviation, they heaved a sigh of relief while feeling enraged.

After Fang Beidou and the others had visited, Lu Peien and Manager You from the Gan Provincial Guild Hall also stopped by. An imperial physician from the Imperial Academy of Medicine whose surname was Ma also came along with them. Imperial Physician Ma was also from Gan Province and he was the Imperial Academy of Medicine’s administrative assistant. He was considered to have come from the same hometown as Yan Liqiang and when Yan Liqiang went to the Gan Provincial Guild Hall previously, Manager You even introduced this Administrative Assistant Ma an ensign of the people from Gan Province in the Imperial Capital’s officialdom. The other two officials from Gan Province who also worked in the Imperial Capital – in the Ministry of War’s Bureau of Transportation and the Central Secretariat – didn’t come. For one, they wanted to avoid trouble. In addition, they weren’t that close with Yan Liqiang either.

Lu Peien’s visit wasn’t unexpected considering the relationship Yan Liqiang had with the Lu Clan. Seeing that Manager You and Administrative Assistant Ma were willing to visit him without having any concerns about getting implicated, Yan Liqiang felt that they were people who were capable of assuming great responsibilities and he started to see them in a different light.

After seeing Lu Peien, Yan Liqiang even specially told him to not write about the matters that had happened in the Imperial Capital back home. He did not want his father to worry about him after finding out about this.

Lu Peien and the others left, and Yan Liqiang was once again taken by surprise. Yuan Beihong, Zhang Rui, and Miao Yusen – the people whom he had met once due to Liang Yijie – had come. Both Yuan Beihong and Zhang Rui cursed Lin Zhe while Miao Yusen was very concerned about Yan Liqiang’s injuries. Yan Liqiang was a little surprised that they would come, but he was also a little disappointed as he did not see Hua Ruxue.

Eunuch Liu said that both Li Hongtu and Ji Xiaoyao had personally asked him about the matter concerning Yan Liqiang. After knowing that his condition was not life-threatening, they were relieved.

During these two days, while it appeared to others that Yan Liqiang was recuperating, Yan Liqiang was the only one who knew that he did not remain idle even while he was in the Imperial Academy of Medicine. He continued to study on how he could differentiate the rare beast core crystals. He had even gotten Little Li to bring him the few rare beast core crystals he had left in Deer Villa. He fiddled with them constantly, trying to decipher their profoundness.

The additional small golden vortex in his consciousness still remained there. While studying the rare beast core crystals, Yan Liqiang also studied its effects. Slowly, after the few days of studying, Yan Liqiang discovered some things about that golden vortex. He realized that it could move in his consciousness. As long as he relaxed his body and focused his spirit and will, treating that small golden vortex as a part of his body and consciousness, it seemed like he had activated it since he could control it. It could move about in his consciousness like a small tornado. This was completely different from the control of his vital Qi in his dantian. Controlling the dantian’s vital Qi required taking charge over it, just like driving a carriage or riding a horse. The person would be a separate entity from the carriage or horse. On the other hand, when Yan Liqiang was controlling the small vortex in his consciousness, he needed to let his consciousness and that small vortex become one. Only then would the vortex listen to him. It was very mysterious. And it was because of this that Yan Liqiang had only figured very little about it after fiddling with it for a few days.

Vital Qi came from the dantian and passed through the eight extraordinary meridians. It circulated throughout the body and could be beneficial to a person. Therefore, could his brain’s consciousness be the same as the dantian, and that the small golden vortex in the consciousness be the same as vital Qi? Would they be able to leave the place they were produced and enter certain organs or other body parts to bring about some mysterious effects?

The moment this thought appeared in Yan Liqiang’s mind, he increasingly felt that it made sense and his heart started to throb. There were several moments where he almost couldn’t help but want to let that golden vortex come out from his consciousness and see what it could do. However, upon careful consideration of how unique his brain and organs were, Yan Liqiang contemplated it for a very long time and gave up on this risky plan. It was because he was really scared that he would mess things up and the golden vortex from his consciousness would end up making a mess in his brain. He might not be able to handle the consequences. If he accidentally turned himself into an idiot or vegetable, it would be horrible. He could mess with the things in his stomach. He might not end up dead even if he were stabbed once or twice in the stomach with a blade. However, the brain could not withstand any wrong attempts or sufferings. There might be uncontrollable consequences even if a toothpick were to pierce through, let alone being stabbed once or twice with a blade. The brain was the most mysterious and most fragile organ in the human body.

Early in the morning on the third day, after the assessment from the few imperial physicians in the Imperial Academy of Medicine, taking the prepared medicinal pills, and changing fresh dressings for his wounds, he went to an octagon pavilion in the courtyard. He breathed in the fresh morning air while slowly moving his body.

The Imperial Academy of Medicine was really something. Yan Liqiang could feel that the injuries he had on him had started to recover after a mere three days. The wounds under the bandages felt numb, tingly, and they were starting to itch a little. This was the feeling of a recovering wound. In the medical assessment earlier, the imperial physicians said that his wounds would recover completely within ten days. Moreover, there would not be any scars at all.

He had only moved for a short while when Little Li ran into the courtyard and reported to Yan Liqiang, “Manager Yan, someone’s here to visit you again!”

“Oh? Who’s that?” Yan Liqiang was stunned for a moment and stopped what he was doing.

“That person asked me to hand this to you, saying that you’ll understand after seeing this!” Little Li said this and handed a small metal figurine with detailed joints to Yan Liqiang. When Yan Liqiang saw that small metallic human figurine, a person’s image flashed in his mind.

“Who else is there other than this person?”

“There’s also a woman, a very, very beautiful woman...” Little Li replied seriously.

“Invite them in quickly. Oh, right, get someone to bring a tea set for the guests...” Yan Liqiang instructed.

“Alright!”

Little Li quickly left. In just a short moment, under Little Li’s lead, the two people entered the courtyard through the round door.

“Yan Liqiang pays respect to Elder Brother and Miss Shi...” Yan Liqiang smiled and stood at the entrance to the courtyard, greeting the two of them. “Brother Rong, please pardon me that I’m unable to go out to welcome the two of you without permission from the imperial physicians as I’m currently unwell...”

The two who came to visit Yan Liqiang was the number one engineer Zhang Yourong, as well as the beautiful female disciple, Shi Bingbing, from the Soul Mountain Sect whom he had met once previously...

Chapter 386: Acting Wantonly For Once

Yan Liqiang welcomed Zhang Yourong and Shi Bingbing into the octagon pavilion in the courtyard. He made the two of them tea, “Thank you Brother Rong and Lady Shi for coming to visit. Please try this. I can’t really tell if it’s good or bad, but they said that an old imperial physician grew this tea on a tea plantation in his hometown. It wouldn’t lose out to the teas that are offered as tribute and it has a distinctive taste...”

“I went into seclusion to study something two days ago and only heard about your situation when I came out. Thank goodness you’re alright. If something were to happen to you, it’d be horrible!” Zhang Yourong said this while bringing out a jade bottle, handing it to Yan Liqiang. “This is the Soul Mountain Sect’s Golden Ginseng Jade Essence. I still have some here and have no use for it myself. I’ll give it to you. I heard that Brother Liqiang has fallen into Qi deviation and your dantian has been severely damaged. I’ll give this bottle of Golden Ginseng Jade Essence to you since it might help recover some of your cultivation...”

Golden Ginseng Jade Essence?

Yan Liqiang hadn’t heard of this thing before, but judging from the luxurious jade bottle and its name, Yan Liqiang knew that this thing wasn’t something ordinary. This was especially true when Yan Liqiang saw a hint of surprise flash across Shi Bingbing’s face when Zhang Yourong brought the bottle out. She even glanced at Zhang Yourong. It seemed that Shi Bingbing hadn’t expected Zhang Yourong to bring out the Golden Ginseng Jade Essence.

––Ahh, the Golden Ginseng Jade Essence... Hall Master Zhang, this is the sacred medicine that the Sect Lord himself gifted to you. Even our Soul Mountain Sect elders would only be able to get several of drops it in a year. It’s a gift that countless Soul Mountain Sect core disciples might not have the chance to get. To think that you took yours out to gift it to someone else?

Yan Liqiang managed to capture the thoughts running through Shi Bingbing’s mind with the Psychic Serpent in his head.

“Brother Rong, you’re too kind. This Golden Ginseng Jade Essence seems to be very precious. I’m fine here in the Imperial Academy of Medicine with a few imperial physicians taking care of my treatment. There’s no lack of medicinal pills and things like that. My injuries have healed and only my dantian has some issues. This is probably not something that can be solved easily. Brother Rong, please keep it for yourself!” Yan Liqiang quickly pushed the jade bottle back.

“Hoho, I don’t take the cultivation path and the Golden Ginseng Jade Essence isn’t of much use to me. Therefore, it isn’t that valuable. Brother Liqiang, you’re still young and have a bright future before you. Take one drop of this Golden Ginseng Jade Essence each time. Each drop will have the effect of strengthening and nurturing your constitution. It is very effective in healing all sorts of internal and external injuries as well. Brother Liqiang, just take it!”

Zhang Yourong pushed the jade bottle over again and said seriously, “Brother Liqiang has made great accomplishments in the path of mechanics and the investigation of things despite your youthfulness, far surpassing me when I was your age. In the long discussion we had previously, I felt that you really are my soulmate. Treat this bottle of Golden Ginseng Jade Essence as my gift to you on behalf of everyone in this world who takes on the path of mechanics and the investigation of things. Everyone thinks that this path is an unworthy path and can only be used briefly to make small things to make someone smile or scheme others. It’s not seen as something that is presentable. I can’t accept this and I want to let these people see that the path of mechanics and the investigation of things is also a worthy path. However, I’m already very old and probably can’t gain greater achievements on this path. Therefore, I hope that Brother Liqiang can help to show everyone on the Silver Continent that the path of mechanics and the investigation of things isn’t something unworthy and as long as it’s put to good use, it can also change the world. Its effects on a country and to a tribe won’t lose out to some great martial arts or even a million soldiers.”

Yan Liqiang felt touched. Zhang Yourong wasn’t just saying this, but he was also thinking about it in his mind. The number one engineer in the world really held great hopes for him. He had vested his lifelong dreams all onto Yan Liqiang. Yan Liqiang saw a person’s most precious quality as well as true emotions and pursuits in Zhang Yourong.

How could Yan Liqiang possibly continue to use his Psychic Serpent to spy on the consciousness and thoughts of a person who was worthy of great respect? Therefore, after sensing the thoughts in Zhang Yourong’s mind, Yan Liqiang got the Psychic Serpent to stop at the very first instant. He then removed this renowned engineer master from the Psychic Serpent’s “spying” list.

There was no way he could reject the Golden Ginseng Jade Essence now. It was because Yan Liqiang knew that Zhang Yourong was very firm in his decision and wasn’t trying to be polite or put up a front before him.

“Since Brother Rong is saying this, then I’ll accept it!” Yan Liqiang took in a deep inhale and carefully handled the jade bottle. “I’m a little ashamed. Before we parted ways last time, Brother gifted me with a Soul Mountain Sect’s honorary visitant token. It has only been a few days since then and Brother has given me such a precious thing again. I don’t know how to repay Brother Rong’s generosity!”

“Hahaha, we have a long way ahead of us. We take the same path, and as long as Brother Liqiang continues on the path of mechanics and the investigation of things, bringing great fortune to the world, that can be considered repayment!” Zhang Yourong laughed.

“I’m only fortunate enough to have some wits. Brother Rong is the one who is a great master on this path!”

“Brother Liqiang, there’s no need to be humble. Secret martial arts manuals tend to be kept within a clan or a sect and it’s hard to disseminate them. However, in order for the path of mechanics and the investigation of things to gain great acknowledgment, it must bring great benefits to the world. When I saw Brother Liqiang’s lotus root briquette the other time, I knew that it wouldn’t take many years for it to spread through the world and bring great fortune to the people. Even the poor would be able to enjoy the benefits of coal fire. Brother Liqiang has brought great innovations to the world and that is the greater goal for the path of mechanics and the investigation of things. It’s also why I admire Brother Liqiang so much...”

Saying this, Zhang Yourong paused before continuing with a serious tone, “There’s just one thing I don’t understand. With Brother Liqiang’s capabilities, why do you have to get yourself involved in the Imperial Capital’s murky waters? This time around, you almost lost your life because you weren’t careful. Even without this matter, I also heard that you were going to have a blindfolded archery contest with someone in a few days time, which is also a dangerous event. If you’re careless, you might just lose your life. Even if you win, there’d be great trouble waiting for you. Brother Liqiang is a clever person. Why don’t you understand this?”

Yan Liqiang smiled bitterly, shaking his head, “I didn’t think of these things at the beginning and didn’t understand the dangers involved. When I understood it at a later time, it wasn’t as if I could just leave. I have ties and responsibilities here and can only take things as they come. Thankfully, I’ve managed to survive this episode. Brother Rong is right – one mustn’t easily get involved in the Imperial Capital’s murky waters. After I’ve recovered a little, my plan is to leave the Imperial Capital and return to my hometown in Gan Province to recuperate!”

“Brother Liqiang, that’s the way. You’re still young and you should prepare well in order to gain great success in the future. There’s no need for you to fight it out with others at such a young age!” Zhang Yourong nodded. “I heard that Shi Minzhang, or Brother Liqiang’s competitor in the blindfolded contest, is not a simple character. Back when he was young, he was fortunate enough to receive guidance by a great talisman grandmaster of the generation in the Great Han Empire, Gu Wenxin. Gu Wenxin had almost taken him in as his disciple. However, I heard that Shi Minzhang has shown great talent in his archery cultivation and after receiving guidance from Gu Wenxin, his five senses became extremely sharp, surpassing that of a normal person’s. He even specializes in the Sonic Arrow skill. The Sonic Arrow skill allows one to hit a flying bird within a hundred steps even if the person is blindfolded. With this skill to identify his target in the blindfolded competition, he will have plenty of advantages...”

Hearing that, Yan Liqiang was stunned for a moment before he felt his entire back covered in cold sweat. It was only now did he understand why Lin Qingtian’s group would feel so confident, treating the blindfolded contest as his execution. To think that Shi Minzhang was so confident and equipped with a great skill. In the end, this competition seemed to be tailored for Shi Minzhang.

Yan Liqiang calmed down and said, “This is the first time that I’ve heard about this. What is it about Shi Minzhang receiving guidance from Gu Wenxin?”

“Gu Wenxin is a renowned talisman grandmaster of a generation in the Silver Continent. In his late years, as there’s no one whom he can pass down his skills to, he traveled the world in search of a successor. He came across Shi Minzhang by chance and saw that he was intelligent. Therefore, he gave Shi Minzhang a few advices!”

“Oh. Then why didn’t he take Shi Minzhang in as his disciple?”

“It’s naturally because Shi Minzhang didn’t qualify. He didn’t have the talent to become a talisman master. In order to become a talisman master, one must be born with spiritual sense. There are very few people who meet such conditions. Although Shi Minzhang had some intelligence when he was young, he was still far from reaching the level of the Spiritual Eye. Therefore, Gu Wenxin didn’t pick him...”

“I’ve heard of spiritual sense, but what is the Spiritual Eye?”

Zhang Yourong smiled and pointed to his forehead. “I only know about this because I heard about it from the Sect Lord. People who can become talisman masters are born with something different from ordinary people in the depths of their forehead, under their Baihui Acupoint. Talisman masters have another eye there, called the Spiritual Eye, or the Spell Eye. It has many mysterious characteristics and ordinary people would find it hard to measure against!”

“Oh, that’s how it is...” Yan Liqiang smiled and lifted his tea cup, “Thank you Brother Rong for your guidance. Come, Brother Rong, Lady Shi, please drink up...”

...

......

Yan Liqiang and Zhang Yourong chatted over tea while Shi Bingbing only listened quietly as if she was Zhang Yourong’s bodyguard. She didn’t speak much. Unknowingly, the pot of tea was almost gone and a fresh pot of water on the tea stove at the side was also starting to boil...

After the water boiled, Yan Liqiang was in no hurry to pour it out. He continued to chat with Zhang Yourong and it was only until the water was seething and the lid started to tremble under the steam, releasing rumbling sounds that Shi Bingbing finally couldn’t take it anymore. She thought that Yan Liqiang had forgotten about it as he was too engrossed in the chat and thus reached out her hand, wanting to lift up the boiling water.

“Lady Shi, please wait...” Yan Liqiang smiled and stopped Shi Bingbing’s actions. “Did Brother Rong gain anything after looking at this teapot’s lid?”

Zhang Yourong was stunned for a moment. He looked toward that lid with a puzzled look, “What does Brother Liqiang mean?”

“Brother Rong, do you remember the question you asked me over the meal the other time?” Yan Liqiang said this while pointing to the lid that was trembling.

The world’s best engineer finally landed his eyes on the lid. Zhang Yourong was used to seeing this scene since his youth and it didn’t seem interesting to him at all. However, it was only when Yan Liqiang pointed it out that he turned his attention to the shaking lid. At first, his expression was that of doubt before it became more focused. Eventually, he didn’t move at all and just watched with wide-open eyes, looking at the teapot with boiling water and trembling lid. A few minutes later, Zhang Yourong he suddenly shot up to his feet, shouting out agitatedly, “I understand it now, I understand it now! The force of water and fire, the force of water and fire...”

Shi Bingbing looked at Zhang Yourong with a surprised expression before turning to look at Yan Liqiang. She had no idea what Zhang Yourong had understood...

After seeing how agitated Zhang Yourong was, Yan Liqiang knew that he finally couldn’t hold it in and revealed the idea of steam engines to the world’s best engineer. It was really hard to predict how things would eventually turn out.

Yan Liqiang had always been a very rational person, but today, in front of Zhang Yourong, he finally didn’t care about gains and losses, letting himself act wantonly for once. He would just treat this as a favor in exchange for what Zhang Yourong had done. Regardless of what the consequences were, it couldn’t be any worse than what the Heavenly Realm had shown what was going to happen four years later. Compared to the various countries and tribes in the surroundings, the Great Han Empire did not lack artisans...

Chapter 387: Attempt

After Zhang Yourong left the Imperial Academy of Medicine, Yan Liqiang spent the entire day thinking about the things Zhang Yourong had said to him.

The words that Zhang Yourong said when he was pointing to his forehead kept seething in his mind – a person who could become a talisman master was born with something different from ordinary people in the depths of their forehead, under their Baihui Acupoint. Talisman masters would have another eye there, called the Spiritual Eye, or the Spell Eye. It had many mysterious characteristics...

That part in the brain that Zhang Yourong was referring to had another well-known name in Yan Liqiang’s previous life – the pineal gland.

A talisman masters’ pineal gland was different from that of ordinary people? There would be a Spiritual Eye or a Spell Eye?

Based on some of the knowledge that Yan Liqiang had read on the internet in his previous life, a person’s pineal gland was the most mysterious part of the human body. Many people said that it hid the Third Eye, or the Celestial Eye. It had many mysterious aspects, and in this area, things were exactly as what Zhang Yourong had said.

Talisman masters had the greatest ability and aptitude to distinguish the minute differences of rare beast core crystals.

Putting all the pieces together, it seemed that the test on the sixth level of the crystal pagoda in the Sword Cavern might have been to pick a disciple who could become a talisman master out of everyone in the Divine Sword Sect?

He was naturally not a talisman master, nor did he have the aptitude to become one. After spending the past few days in the crystal pagoda, he still hadn’t found any possibilities of clearing the trial. Yan Liqiang wanted to test his luck and try it out and forget about it if he couldn’t pass it. However, after some contemplation, there was a voice in his heart that kept telling him to give it a try. He wanted to try his luck.

This luck was the small golden vortex in Yan Liqiang’s consciousness. Over the past two days, Yan Liqiang had been thinking of where he could move that golden vortex after bringing it out from his consciousness. Would it bring any unexpected influence to his brain? However, Zhang Yourong’s words reminded Yan Liqiang that he could try to move out the golden vortex from his consciousness and then channel it into the pineal gland in his brain. If that golden vortex really had an effect that was similar to vital Qi, then doing so might really allow his pineal gland to show some mysterious reactions.

However, there were also risks in this. This would be something that Yan Liqiang figured out by himself and even if he were to attempt it, there wouldn’t be any prior experience that he could refer to. He wouldn’t have any masters to guide him from the side either. What if there were negative effects after he channeled the golden vortex into his pineal gland?

What would be even scarier was if the golden vortex exploded after it had been channeled into his pineal gland. Wouldn’t he be courting death then?

Yan Liqiang kept on walking around in the Imperial Academy of Medicine’s courtyard, frowning as he contemplated this question. He even forgot to eat the lunch that Little Li had brought for him.

There was no rush for him to attempt this in real life, but he could try it out in the Heavenly Realm. If the attempt failed, then the worst case scenario would be that he’d die in the Heavenly Realm and then the realm would collapse. And if he succeeded, then there would be two benefits. The first was that he would be able to clear the trial on the sixth level of the crystal pagoda and he might possibly obtain a huge reward. He could become a talisman master and attain an extraordinary status in the Divine Sword Sect.

The second benefit would be that once he succeeded in the Heavenly Realm, then whatever the rewards he obtained in the Heavenly Realm would also be rewarded in real life. If he could become a talisman master in the Heavenly Realm, then he would also be able to grasp this highly sought-after ability in the real world.

This was like making a huge bet. If he lost, he would lose very badly, but if he won, it would be exhilarating.

Should he bet on it?

Yan Liqiang thought about it for half a day before he finally decided to take the gamble. It was because he had already experienced that terrifying tribulation that would happen four years later. Yan Liqiang was already very satisfied to be able to know about the future tribulation – one that could change many people’s lives and even the entire Great Han Empire. Regardless of how things turned out, he wouldn’t lose. Even if his attempt in the Heavenly Realm were to fail, he might not necessarily die. Death would be the worst case scenario and he had no idea what the chances of him dying were. It would be like falling into Qi deviation. People who fell into Qi deviation would die, but in many scenarios, they might not necessarily die. They might just suffer from serious injuries with the hope of recovering.

However, it wasn’t easy to try this method in the Heavenly Realm either. It was because he didn’t have the blindfolded contest in the Heavenly Realm and his brain hadn’t experienced such great depletion. In the Heavenly Realm, his brain didn’t have the small golden vortex either. Therefore, to be able to try this out in the Heavenly Realm, he must first bring out the small golden vortex in his consciousness in the Heavenly Realm.

He was the only person on the sixth level of the crystal pagoda. Other people couldn’t enter either. In such a situation, what must he do to achieve such an effect?

Yan Liqiang continued to think about this question and walked a few hundred circles in the courtyard. Unknowingly, evening came. Yan Liqiang, who was still walking to and fro in the courtyard, suddenly felt a chill on his face and came back to his senses.

Yan Liqiang lifted his head and looked toward the sky. He realized that unknowingly, the sky in the Imperial Capital had already been covered with dark clouds and the sun was nowhere to be seen. Cold wind blew into the small courtyard; the branches swayed, and drops of rainwater started to land on the flowers and grass in the courtyard.

“Deputy Manager Yan, be careful not to get drenched in the rain! The imperial physicians instructed yesterday to make sure that no other accidents happen to you within these two days!” Little Li ran over anxiously with an umbrella, sheltering Yan Liqiang from the rain while he brought Yan Liqiang back into the shelter.

Yan Liqiang headed inside. The rain suddenly became heavier and drenched the entire courtyard. Yan Liqiang raised his head to look at the rainwater dripping down from the roof. An idea suddenly flashed in his mind as he thought of a story he had read before, about human psychology and the senses...

“Dinner is ready. Deputy Manager Yan, you didn’t have a bite at all at noon and you can’t continue this tonight. You must eat a little at least. If Eunuch Liu finds out that I didn’t take good care of you, Eunuch Liu will definitely skin me alive!” Little Li said bitterly to Yan Liqiang.

“Hahaha, I got it, I got it, I know what to do now...” Yan Liqiang suddenly laughed out loud, swinging his arms about as he shouted and jumped around along the corridors. He gave Little Li a scare.

“Deputy Manager Yan, you... Are you alright...?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine. Bring dinner here quickly. I want to sleep and rest after my meal...” Yan Liqiang said happily. He had already thought of how he could bring out that golden vortex on the sixth floor of the crystal pagoda...

Chapter 388: Activating the Spiritual Eye

Two more physicians examined Yan Liqiang’s body after dinner. Shortly after Yan Liqiang consumed his medicinal pills for the night, he announced that he wished to rest. As soon as he returned to his room, he eagerly entered the crystal pagoda’s sixth floor.

The sixth floor was empty as usual. The 108 rare beast core crystals were still resting neatly on the tables in the spacious room, glowing eerily red. They remained unchanged like the last time Yan Liqiang was there.

Yan Liqiang directly walked to a relatively spacious area at the side of the hall, then ripped the hem of his shirt without any hesitation. Folding the strip of fabric into a blindfold, he blindfolded himself on the spot and stood there in silence. He carefully recalled the blindfolded training he had with Ji Xiaoyao a few days ago, then started giving himself mental cues to run his imagination.

Shi Minzhang who wanted to kill him was standing just a hundred steps away from him...

Right now, he was preparing himself for the blindfolded contest...

Shi Minzhang was after his life...

If he failed to dodge in time, it would take only one arrow to kill him...

He had to raise his awareness to the max and keep moving nimbly. Only by doing so could he reduce the chances of getting hit by an arrow...

Yan Liqiang stood still while blindfolded. He saw only pitch black before him, but his mind was repetitively giving himself cues, conjuring up the mental image of him facing off against Shi Minzhang in the real blindfolded contest. His deadly opponent was standing a hundred steps away, smiling sinisterly with his warbow and getting ready to take Yan Liqiang’s insignificant life at any moment.

These mental images and cues were from a famous experiment he had heard in his previous life. By giving yourself mental cues, one could hypnotize oneself in a specific situation and make his physical and mental activities react accordingly. This was a typical case of using the mind to control physiology. Yan Liqiang had read up on such research in his previous life, and it left a deep impression on him.

Since he was currently on the crystal pagoda’s sixth floor where certain conditions were not met, he had to hypnotize himself by using mental cues to lure himself into believing that he was in a blindfolded contest. He was going to completely empty out every ounce of energy in his consciousness, then recover himself with Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing. Only by doing that could he create that little golden vortex in his sea of consciousness.

The constant mental cues and images slowly put Yan Liqiang into his cultivation state. He could feel his heartbeat increasing as his breathing quickened. Although he was blindfolded, he could still feel his pupils dilating. The adrenaline rush even made his skin tingle.

When Yan Liqiang was finally immersed in that state, he suddenly moved. His figure maneuvered in the open space like a lightning bolt. He also dodged, leaped, threw himself down, and performed various difficult moves while shouting.

If someone who didn’t know any better saw this, they would definitely think that Yan Liqiang was crazy. Otherwise, why would he be dodging here and there all alone as though he was battling a ghost, looking totally ridiculous...?

Yan Liqiang kept going at it in the room alone for three hours before he finally let out an abrupt blood-curdling screech and then fell to the ground, holding his leg while panting violently.

At this very moment, he felt extremely exhausted. It was as though his mind had been hollowed out. Yan Liqiang laid on the ground, fully drenched in his own sweat. He took off his blindfold while still panting violently as joy filled his heart. He sat up and checked his thighs, only to find that it was of course completely unscathed.

His perception and reaction slightly slowed down due to his mental exhaustion, so he got shot on his thigh in his mental training. Truth be told, the moment he took an arrow felt so real that even the muscles on his thigh spasmed violently as a sharp pain shot up his leg. The pain slowly subsided only after he broke out of his self-hypnosis.

After catching his breath for another moment, Yan Liqiang got up and then started to perform Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing. As he went through stance after stance, an abundant amount of spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth around the crystal pagoda came surging toward Yan Liqiang. When the energy poured into Yan Liqiang’s body from the crown of his head, he once again felt the familiar floating sensation. His body and mind slowly relaxed as he indulged in the sensation...

...

After nearly one night, Yan Liqiang woke up to find himself sleeping on the floor. He opened his eyes, sensed his sea of consciousness, and immediately discovered a small golden vortex in there. The discovery had him leaping up from the floor in excitement while waving his fists.

He was halfway to success now, and the rest would be like sailing in search of new land. Whether he succeeded or not, it would all depend on his luck.

After Yan Liqiang’s excitement died down, he sat cross-legged on the ground again. He calmed himself down, closed his eyes, and focused on his sea of consciousness. This time, it took him almost no effort to gain control of that small golden vortex since he had done it before in reality. Under Yan Liqiang’s control, the small golden vortex rapidly spun a few laps in his sea of consciousness.

–– The pineal gland was located at the intersection point between the bottom of Baihui Acupoint and Yintang Acupoint, which extended from the area between his brows and into his head.

Yan Liqiang tried to feel for that exact location. He then gritted his teeth and sent the small golden vortex flying out of his sea of consciousness right into his brain’s pineal gland.

BOOM...!

At that moment, Yan Liqiang thought he heard roaring thunder. There was a numb and tingly sensation in his brain, a strange feeling as though an ice block had been shattered. His body trembled involuntarily before he felt like he was falling into a kaleidoscope. Although his eyes were closed, colorful lights flashed before his eyes. At the same time, the center of his Yintang Acupoint started heating up right between his brows. It felt like something was going to grow out of there.

Aside from the strange sensation in his brain, the vital Qi in his dantian also started boiling simultaneously. Like a wild python, it rushed upward from Yan Liqiang’s Qihai Acupoint, went through the Ren and Du meridians, and then headed straight toward his Zhongji Acupoint.

His body was trembling like crazy as his Qihai churned. Light flashed before his eyes and his heart was thumping violently. Yan Liqiang was praying fervently for divine protection against falling into Qi deviation, hoping that his head wouldn’t be split open...

About two or three hours later, the strange sensations in his body finally subsided.

Yan Liqiang’s eyes were still tightly shut. Strangely enough, he felt as though there was another eye between his brows, right in the middle of his Yintang Acupoint. That eye could clearly see the entire situation in the room, including every object in there. Through that eye, Yan Liqiang could clearly see everything in finer detail, including the mechanism under the metal table in the middle of the room.

Through that eye, the 108 rare beast core crystals became 108 glowing balls of lights. The silhouettes of the ferocious fish covered in red scales were swimming in the balls of lights.

Every ball of light looked perfectly identical, save for one which glowed blue. Apart from the strange ferocious fish, there were also weird-looking runes floating within the ball of light.

Yan Liqiang immediately opened his eyes...

Chapter 389: The Ultimate Inheritance

Was this the spiritual eye that had been opened up by the pineal gland in his brain?

Opening his eyes, Yan Liqiang looked at the space that returned to normal in shock.

The 108 rare beast core crystals were still on the table, all looking exactly the same as each other. However, Yan Liqiang was no longer confused this time. He stared at the rare beast core crystal that looked different from the rest just now. He walked to it and picked it up.

Closing his eyes once again and opening his spiritual eye, the core crystal in his hand became a glob of blue light. He could see the faintly discernible strange runes among the light.

He opened his eyes...

The rare beast core crystal looked like what it was supposed to look like.

“So it turns out that the Death door of this crystal pagoda is really for the Divine Sword Sect to select a disciple that can succeed as a talisman master!” Yan Liqiang mumbled to himself. At this point in time, he would really be a little too stupid if he still failed to realize the objective of the sixth trial.

He had almost never heard anything about being a talisman master. The only thing related to a talisman master he had seen before was the spirit talisman that protected the Shatu priest back then. When he saw the energy shield that was impenetrable by arrows came out from that Shatu priest for the very first time, he was so shocked that his jaw almost dropped. Before that, he had never expected such an unimaginable secret technique to exist in this world apart from martial arts.

In the blink of an eye, he might just unexpectedly become a talisman master in the Heavenly Realm.

After standing in a daze for a while with all kinds of thoughts rushing through his mind, Yan Liqiang came to the metal table in the middle of the room with the rare beast core crystal in hand. Without any hesitation, he placed the core crystal into the indentation on the metal table.

The moment the glowing red rare beast core crystal was put into the indentation, blue light magically came bursting out. The eerie blue light shone on Yan Liqiang’s entire body in front of the metal table. The metal table then sunk to the ground silently. A crystal door on one of the walls slid open silently, revealing the passage that led to the seventh floor.

Yan Liqiang took a deep breath and walked toward the passage.

As usual, there was a line of words at the entrance.

––Only the exceptionally talented individuals possess the spiritual eye. Permitted to proceed to the seventh floor.

Just what kind of trial lies on the seventh floor of this crystal pagoda?

With this question in heart, Yan Liqiang took a deep breath and went up to the seventh floor. Less than half a minute later, he arrived at the hall on the seventh floor.

Unlike the sixth floor, the hall on the seventh floor was extremely spacious. The metal table on this floor was bigger than those from downstairs. On the ground beside it, there was a pile of things that looked like square bricks. Yan Liqiang went closer and found out that they weren’t bricks, but square metal blocks. There were numbers engraved on each metal block, from 1 to 81, totaling up to exactly 81 blocks.

“What are these for?” Yan Liqiang scratched his head while looking at the objects on the floor. He then noticed a note on the metal table, so he picked it up to read it.

–Congratulations! Only one in a million disciples in the Divine Sword Sect have ever made it here thus far. You have proven your rights to come here by putting your strength, luck and excelling talent to good use. If you fail the next trial, you will still be able to obtain the reward for this floor. The reward for this floor is one of the Divine Sword Sect’s four great works, the ‘Fusion Sword Technique’. As a secret technique made in heaven, it could be considered the work of a celestial being and is thus incomparable to any other secret manual. Apart from that, you will also obtain the right to cultivate in the Blue Dragon Cave in Dijian Valley for seven years. You are deserving of these rewards.

––The trial of the seventh floor is the final trial of the Death door. To many, it is the most difficult trial. There will be no other trials beyond this floor and you will be able to go directly to the ninth floor. If you can pass the trial on the seventh floor, you will receive even more rewards. Not only will you receive all the rewards on the seventh floor, but a greater reward also awaits you on the ninth floor. This reward is the Divine Sword Sect’s ultimate inheritance that will allow you to embark on a more glorious path, which will surely bring you fame and allow you to stand at the peak of society on the Silver Continent. At the same time, it will also grant you an extremely promising position in the Divine Sword Sect.

––Among the previous trials, some tested your nature, some tested your strength, while some tested your luck. Some tested your courage, some tested your ability, and some tested your talent. This trial will put another kind of ability and talent to the test.

––There are 81 slots on the metal table before you, and there are 81 numbers on the ground beside you. Insert the numbers into the slots. When the figures add up to 369 vertically, horizontally, and diagonally, the final door will open for you.

––Followers of the Dao, numbers are the key to the creation of all!

Yan Liqiang read the note twice before his mouth involuntarily gaped open. He didn’t expect the final trial on the seventh floor to actually put his mathematical ability to test. The 81 slots and 81 metal blocks on the ground before his eyes, as well as the requirements stated on the note... It was clear that he had to complete a magic square of order nine within a time limit.

The rewards on the seventh floor were not related to talisman masters. Yet, the trial on this floor was very closely related to mathematics. Yan Liqiang couldn’t help but secretly wonder becoming a talisman master required good mathematical skills. There seemed to be a faint connection between a talisman master and mathematics...

Yan Liqiang read the final line on the note twice and discovered there was profound meaning behind it. It might be a head-scratcher to the people of this world, but Yan Liqiang definitely had a deeper understanding of this sentence. That was because the sciences he had seen and learned from his previous world were built upon mathematics. Therefore, from certain perspectives, this could be considered as coming into contact with the ‘Dao’...

When it came to the Nine Palace Diagram, many people on the Silver Continent would be able to say this: ‘In the Nine Palace Diagram, two and four are the shoulders. Six and eight are the feet. Three is on the left side and seven is on the right side. Nine is at the head and one is at the tail. Five occupies the center.’ The Nine Palace Diagram was the simplest magic square of order three. Even the Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps technique which Yan Liqiang cultivated before was one of the martial techniques that evolved from the Nine Palace Diagram.

Beyond the magic square of order three, some people might study magic squares of order four or five. However, Yan Liqiang had never heard anyone studying beyond order five. Even an expert engineer like Zhang Yourong would probably stop before order six. For many martial practitioners, asking them to solve a magic square of order six was no different than asking for their lives. Given a decade, they might still not be able to solve it. It would have been more practical to just ask them to battle on the Arena of Life and Death.

This trial would probably drive even the elders of the Divine Sword Sect or an expert engineer like Zhang Yourong crazy. However, to Yan Liqiang, the trial before his eyes was simply a blessing to him.

“Could it be that the person who set this trial is aware of my nickname in the previous life as the Prince of Mathematics back in school?” Yan Liqiang mumbled to himself. There were actually many ways to solve magic squares like this. One could easily obtain the final answer through constructing triangles, Robert’s method, or Bashe’s method. There wasn’t only one correct answer to a magic square of order nine. In just the blink of an eye, at least two correct answers popped into Yan Liqiang’s head.

With the answers in mind, Yan Liqiang’s hands no longer remained idle. He bent down and picked up the metal block engraved with the number ‘1’ on it and inserted it into one of the slots on the metal table in front of him.

In just less than two minutes, when the final block on the ground was inserted into the final slot, the metal table sunk to the ground silently. The last crystal door finally appeared before Yan Liqiang.

–He who resonates with the Dao, please proceed to the highest floor of the Death door!

As usual, there was a line of words at the crystal door entrance. Yan Liqiang glanced at it, then directly made his way upstairs.

This time, the journey was exceptionally long because there was no eighth floor. Therefore, Yan Liqiang directly arrived on the ninth and highest floor.

The top floor of the crystal pagoda was narrower than the other floors below it. An ordinary wooden table was placed right in the middle of the ninth floor. Beside it was a meditation cushion on the ground. There were two boxes made of gold on the wooden table. Yan Liqiang went to the wooden table and sat cross-legged on the meditation cushion. He opened the first golden box on the left and found a strange-looking secret manual in it. The material of the secret manual slightly resembled the half Golden Bell Divine Protection Technique manual he obtained before. There were three glowing words on its cover –’Fusion Sword Technique’.

Yan Liqiang took a deep breath, trying to suppress the excitement in his heart. He then opened the golden box on the right and found a strange crystal in it. There were a few words on the crystal –’Taiyi Talisman Manual’.

Yan Liqiang gulped. He had struck a pot of gold this time...

Chapter 390: The Realm

The Heavenly Realm, late at night at the Divine Sword Sect’s Ancestral Hall. It had been four days since Yan Liqiang entered the Sword Cavern...

During the ceremony, the Ancestral Hall was extremely lively and it was a splendid sight. After the ceremony, this spacious hall which enshrined the memorial tablets was indeed an eerie place, especially in the dead of the night.

Outside the Ancestral Hall tonight, it was snowing heavily and the chilly wind howled. The sound of the strong, biting cold wind blowing through the trees and rocks on Tiankui Peak and the upturned roof and eaves of the Ancestral Hall was akin to the wails of ghosts and the howls of wolves. However, it was silent in the Ancestral Hall. Only the oil lamps before the rows of memorial tablets were still lit, faintly illuminating the interior of the dark grand hall. The dim light shone eerily on the memorial tablets, revealing the names of those who had deceased in crimson.

Two disciples of the sect dressed in purple robes were guarding the grand hall together. They both were sitting on the meditation cushions before the memorial tablets with their eyes wide open. They were watching the main entrance with their longswords on their knees.

On a slow and long night like this, both of them couldn’t fall asleep as they were on guard duty in the Ancestral Hall. Therefore, they could only keep watch and chat the long night away. Their conversation started with the calamity that befell the Imperial Capital before it unconsciously led up to Yan Liqiang.

......

“Brother Luo, do you think Yan Liqiang will be able to obtain an amazing secret manual in the Sword Cavern?” One of the disciples on night duty was in his thirties while the other was in his twenties. Hence, the younger of the two addressed the other as ‘Brother Luo’.

“He definitely will! The Sect Lord can’t possibly be wrong about him! Even if we don’t believe in Yan Liqiang, we have to believe that the Sect Lord wasn’t mistaken about him!” Brother Luo nodded.

“That Yan Liqiang is really too lucky to be chosen by the Sect Lord...!” the younger disciple said enviously.

Both of them chatted but didn’t even realize that among the several rows of oil lamps placed before the memorial tablets, the flame of the leftmost oil lamp slightly swayed due to a draft. That oil lamp was about twenty meters away from them, so the disciples didn’t notice. Their spiritual perception had not reached the point which would enable them to do so.

“How can someone who got chosen by the Sect Lord possibly possess only luck!” Brother Luo laughed, then lowered his voice. “Junior Martial Brother Qin, I bet in just less than a few years time after Yan Liqiang comes out from the Sword Cavern, we will have to address him as Senior Martial Brother whenever we see him!”

“Ah, Senior Martial Brother Luo sure thinks highly of Yan Liqiang. Could it be that you feel that Yan Liqiang has the potential to be on par with our other senior martial brothers like the Meteor Sword?”

Just when the senior of the two was about to share some of Yan Liqiang’s deeds that he’d heard from a junior martial brother at the Four Seas Escort Agency, a dark sword tip suddenly protruded from Junior Martial Brother Qin’s and his forehead almost at the same time before it vanished with lightning speed.

Both of their expressions hadn’t changed and they didn’t make any sound either. There was no blood. They were still sitting, but lifelessly with a slit on their foreheads that resembled a vertical eye.

Unbeknownst to anyone, a man holding a black longsword stood behind them like a dark shadow. He was dressed in loose black robes, a black hood, and he wore a veil that revealed only his icy scarlet eyes.

The man cast a glance at the dead disciples before his dark figure flashed and arrived at the Sword Cavern’s entrance in the Ancestral Hall. He skillfully pressed the relief sculpture on the wall next to the metal doors a few times. The entrance doors that were originally tightly shut then slowly opened. Without waiting for them to fully open, the man entered the Sword Cavern. The huge doors then slowly shut behind him...

As soon as the black figure entered the Sword Cavern, he immediately rushed deeper into the cavern with lightning speed, just like a black shadow.

When the black figure rushed to the place where Yan Liqiang saw a stone table a few days ago, a gleaming longsword came striking down toward him like a bolt of lightning. It gleamed like the specks of lights that filled the Sword Cavern’s ceiling like blue fireflies.

“WHO?” A voice boomed in the silent cavern. A powerful Divine Sword Sect expert in his sixties, who guarded the Sword Cavern, suddenly appeared out of nowhere and swung his sword at the black figure.

The black figure seemed to have already expected an ambush here. When the gleaming sword appeared, his scarlet eyes turned frosty before he leaped up. In mid-air, his figure seemed to have gained another shadow as it suddenly split into two. The black longsword in his hand also turned into two black sword gleams that fused together to become a huge net, enveloping the sword gleam that came down from the air like a bolt of lightning...

“THAT’S...!” The attendant who dropped from the air was only able to cry out in surprise before he was shrouded by the black sword net.

In just a flash, the Divine Sword Sect’s old expert who guarded the Sword Cavern was reduced into a rain of blood that sprinkled down.

Before the blood rain even reached the ground, the black figure had already dashed away. In just less than two minutes, he reached the crystal pagoda.

The figure circled the crystal pagoda, then went straight to the Death door. He took out a palm-sized spiritual talisman that was glowing strangely and placed it against the word ‘Death’ on the door. A few seconds later, a glowing ‘Death’ word appeared on the spirit talisman. The Death door that was tightly shut slowly opened up and the figured dashed inside.

...

Yan Liqiang had been staying on the ninth floor of the crystal pagoda for a few consecutive days, reading the two secret manuals as though he was obsessed with them.

When Yan Liqiang read the ‘Fusion Sword Technique’ and ‘Taiyi Talisman Manual’ for the first time, he recorded all the contents in his brain. Even so, Yan Liqiang was still so absorbed when he reread the ‘Taiyi Talisman Manual’ more carefully on the crystal pagoda’s ninth floor. He totally lost track of time and never left the Heavenly Realm.

When hunger kicked in, he just took one of those Inedia Pills and then continued immersing himself in the ‘Taiyi Talisman Manual’, reading about the various talismans that used different rare beast core crystals in them with rapt attention...

The ‘Fusion Sword Technique’ indeed lived up to its reputation as the Divine Sword Sect’s ultimate technique. Those who cultivated the Fusion Sword Technique would be able to truly turn anything into a sword. When trained to the peak, their palms, fists, fingers, legs, eyes, grass, flowers, wind, rain – Everything in the world could be turned into a powerful sword....

Yan Liqiang was beyond elated and excited from being able to obtain the two secret manuals at the same time from the Sword Cavern’s crystal pagoda. Without a doubt, these were the greatest rewards he had ever obtained since he entered the Heavenly Realm.

For the past two days, Yan Liqiang devoted himself to studying the ‘Taiyi Talisman Manual’. The greatest achievement he made was finally understanding the relationship between those rare beast core crystals and the talismans. To put it simply, the rare beast core crystals were like batteries for those talismans. The talismans were tools to make use of the energy contained in the batteries. They were akin to multifunctional integrated circuits or electrical appliances.

When the talisman was in the process of drawing energy from the rare beast core crystals, the energy in it would have to maintain a certain balance and circulation. The balance and circulation evolved from the mathematical principle behind magic squares. That was the main reason why the trial on the seventh floor was a magic square of order nine.

This time, Yan Liqiang crammed the entire ‘Taiyi Talisman Manual’ on his own without relying on any expert guidance or enhancements from Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing. After reading the entire secret manual, he had a feeling that this manual had been waiting for him to come and open it all this while.

He was simply too happy and excited.

Yan Liqiang was immersed in ‘Taiyi Talisman Manual’ when he suddenly detected some movement around him. He immediately turned his head around and saw a person who was exuding an overwhelmingly sinister aura. Unbeknownst to him, the figure covered in black robes was already standing at the entrance on the ninth floor of the crystal pagoda. He was wielding a black longsword and looking at Yan Liqiang in a strange way.

Yan Liqiang felt a sudden chill in his heart. He immediately gripped the ‘Taiyi Talisman Manual’ and ‘Fusion Sword Technique’ tightly in his hand. “Who are you...?!”

The person cast a cold glance at the two secret manuals in Yan Liqiang’s hand, then spoke with a hoarse voice. “You have truly exceeded my expectations. I have to thank you for this time. To show you my gratitude, I shall give you a quick death...!”

Yan Liqiang thought that the voice sounded a little familiar. Before he could even recall who it was, he felt pressure as immense as Mount Tai on him in the very next second. It completely restrained him, causing every muscle in his body to turn stiff at this very moment.

This was the smell of death. The last time Yan Liqiang smelled this was when he was still in Pingxi City back then...

Yan Liqiang let out an angry bellow and drew his sword. Every ounce of energy in his body was bursting out from him.

Even so, it was still the black longsword with an overwhelming aura that came into his view...

The strength disparity between the two parties was simply too great...

Everything in the crystal pagoda froze. Time, space, the smallest particle of matter, and even Yan Liqiang’s thoughts were frozen.

BOOOOOM...!!

The Heavenly Realm shattered...

Chapter 391: The Unpredictable Heavenly Law

In the midst of a whirlwind, Yan Liqiang felt as though he had fallen out of a seat belt’s protection while riding on a roller coaster and got thrown out into the air. Countless broken lights flashed past his eyes. Before he could even react, he fell heavily on the ground.

His head spun as everything before him turned black. It was only after a while that he felt everything in his brain had settled down again. Then, his senses returned to him. He felt himself lying on the ground with his face down. He heard a long a sigh.

Yan Liqiang immediately leaped to his feet and looked around.

He was no longer in the crystal pagoda at the Divine Sword Sect’s Sword Cavern. The terrifying expert in black had disappeared. He found himself back at the magnificent Heavenly Shrine once again, surrounded by giant black pillars standing several hundred meters tall. On those black giant pillars were the specks of spinning galaxies. The floor beneath his feet glowed with silvery-white luster. Countless runes were flowing underneath the floor like streams of water. Not too far from him, the Heavenly Stone floated in the middle of the grand hall, glowing mysteriously.

Now, only one of the two rhombus-shaped entrances that were connected to the Heavenly Shrine remained. The entrance from the Heavenly Shrine to the Heavenly Realm had vanished.

The half-human half-snake creature, Fu Guang, whom he had not seen for a long time, was looking at him with pity.

“What’s going on? Why am I here?” Yan Liqiang stood in the Heavenly Shrine with great astonishment. “Where did the entrance to the Heavenly Realm go? Why did it disappear?”

“Do you not remember what I told you? You only have one chance in the Heavenly Realm of Silver Continent which you have created. If you die in there, then that Heavenly Realm will collapse.” Fu Guang looked at Yan Liqiang with great composure.

Yan Liqiang remained silent for a moment before he spoke bitterly. “Y-You’re telling... me... that I got killed by that person in the Sword Cavern’s crystal pagoda?!”

“Indeed. You got killed in the Heavenly Realm...”

“B-But... But...!” Yan Liqiang wanted to retort that he didn’t do anything in the Sword Cavern, and he didn’t provoke anyone either. How did he get killed without rhyme or reason? That was totally unfair. Yan Liqiang felt as though he was playing a video game where he was recovering his HP and learning skill books in a safe place. He was not ready to fight the big boss, yet the big boss suddenly appeared and instantly killed him. This frustration was simply too difficult to be put into words.

“Everything in the Heavenly Realm is not a game. It may happen in reality. No one can control the Heavenly Realm, not even me...” Fu Guang looked at Yan Liqiang calmly as though he could read his mind.

“Even in the real world, countless accidents may happen. Natural disasters, man-made disasters, train derailments, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis, wars, or even psychopaths on the streets can get you killed. Everything that happened in the Divine Sword Sect was affected by your choices. Even if you didn’t expect some of them to happen, you can only accept the consequences of your decisions!”

Listening to Fu Guang’s words, Yan Liqiang stood in a daze for a moment before he let out a long sigh. “Does that mean... I will never be able to return to that Heavenly Realm again...?” he asked with disappointment and frustration.

“Yes. That Heavenly Realm existed because of you. It shattered with your death and it no longer exists anymore, just like a bubble or a mirage!” Fu Guang looked at Yan Liqiang. His gaze was profound and as deep as a spinning galaxy. “I told you before that you are the weakest among the 3,936,884,329 entrants who were lucky enough to enter the Heavenly Shrine in the past. Compared to other beings who could enter the Heavenly Realm, the time you survived in there was also the shortest. This is perhaps a kind of balance in the mysterious Heavenly Law. No one has ever possessed the Heavenly Stone before you, yet you possess it despite being the weakest of them all. Therefore, it was also destined that you wouldn’t be able to last for long in the Heavenly Realm that the Heavenly Stone had created and you cannot fully utilize the Heavenly Stone’s every function. This is the law of heaven and the universe...”

“Are you comforting me? It almost sounds like you are saying most of the emperors are short-lived...” Yan Liqiang shook his head and smiled wryly. After thinking carefully about Fu Guang’s words, he cheered up a little and was no longer as dejected. His rationality told him that perhaps Fu Guang was right. The Heavenly Law reduced a surplus to make up for the scarcity. For his measly strength, everything brought from the Heavenly Stone was too much. He simply couldn’t dominate the Heavenly Realm. To put it bluntly, he was only drifting in it and therefore it was only natural that he lost it.

Thinking carefully about it, although the time he spent in the Heavenly Realm wasn’t long, he had gained huge rewards. He managed to foresee the calamity four years in advance, and the aftermath in the Great Han Empire. Not only that, he obtained many supreme secret techniques in the Divine Sword Sect. To an ordinary person, any single one of those was beyond imagination, and yet he obtained them. What else was he not satisfied with? Besides, the Heavenly Stone also left him a ‘toy capsule machine’. Up until this point in time, he had only seen the tip of the iceberg in its potential and yet to fully utilize it to the maximum.

Thinking about that in his heart, Yan Liqiang gradually felt better even though he still had some regrets. At this very moment, his mind wasn’t mostly filled with the Heavenly Realm. It was instead filled by the familiar faces of Gu Zexuan, Zhao Huipeng, Hall Master Su on Tianqiao Peak, his masters in the Divine Sword Sect, Liu Guiyuan, and Luqiu Mingyue. Although the Heavenly Realm had shattered and the time he spent in the Divine Sword Sect was fleeting, his experiences and bonds with them were real. They had been deeply ingrained in his life, becoming a part of him.

As for the man in black who had his eyes on the two secret manuals from the crystal pagoda’s ninth floor in the Sword Cavern... If Yan Liqiang wasn’t mistaken, he was probably one of the Divine Sword Sect’s elders. That person’s heart swelled with ambition, but he was unscrupulous in his methods. He was truly a scourge in the Divine Sword Sect and no one knew if he was colluding with external forces...

After standing in a daze with his thoughts running through his head in the Heavenly Shrine, Yan Liqiang cheered up and asked Fu Guang a question. “Now that my Heavenly Realm no longer exists, can I still use the Heavenly Stone to create lives?”

“Of course!” Fu Guang nodded and a smile appeared on his face. “You can enter this shrine at any time using the same method as before. You can still create life and command reincarnation through the Heavenly Stone. After all, the Heavenly Stone still has a lot of potential for you to uncover. With the opening of your spiritual eye, you will also find that you can work better with the Heavenly Stone’s ability to create lives. It may even bring you a bigger surprise!”

“Ah, I guess that’s not too bad...” A smile appeared on Yan Liqiang’s face.

“Live well, you only live once. There is no second chance in the real world. The Heavenly Stone can definitely offer you things that are way beyond your imagination...” After saying that, Fu Guang’s figure dissipated into light particles in front of Yan Liqiang, leaving behind only the echoes of his voice in the magnificent Heavenly Shrine.

Yan Liqiang glanced at the floating Heavenly Stone again before he left the Heavenly Shrine...

......

Yan Liqiang opened his eyes to find that he was still lying on the bed in the Imperial Academy of Medicine. The lamp on the headboard had just extinguished; the wick was still slightly glowing hot. He could hear the rain pattering the eaves of the roof. Although he had stayed in the Heavenly Realm for a few days, in reality, he was lying on the bed like he did before he entered the Heavenly Realm. Everything felt like a dream.

Goldie, who just laid down on the sheepskin rug in front of Yan Liqiang’s bed, sensed that he was awake. It opened its eyes, got up, and looked at Yan Liqiang while wagging its tail.

Yan Liqiang jogged his memory to find that the contents of the ‘Fusion Sword Technique’ and ‘Taiyi Talisman Manual’ still appeared before his eyes. He opened his blanket, put on a long robe, got off the bed, pushed open the door, and went out.

“Ah, Deputy Manager Yan, why are you up again?” Little Li had just reached the corridor outside the door, carrying a copper incense burner with him. He looked surprised when he saw Yan Liqiang come out of the room, despite telling him he was sleepy earlier.

“I suddenly don’t feel like sleeping. I came out to get some fresh air...” Yan Liqiang smiled at Little Li.

“It’s raining outside and it’s a little chilly. Let me get someone to prepare two charcoal braziers for you...:”

“No need, I’m not that weak. I just want to stand here alone for a while and think about something...”

Little Li understood that Yan Liqiang wanted some peace and quiet, so he stopped bothering him. Only Goldie came to Yan Liqiang and silently laid down by his feet.

Yan Liqiang stood at the corridor outside the room. He raised his head, watching the raindrops falling from the eaves and the gloomy sky above the courtyard through his squinted eyes. He stood there a few hours motionlessly as though he was meditating...

Could he still be considered the Divine Sword Sect’s disciple and the Sect Guardian’s successor right now?

Without the Heavenly Realm’s aid and foresight, the future was once again unknown to him. He could no longer find out about the future of the Great Han Empire.

From now on, the only one he could rely on to shape this future was himself. Before the catastrophe struck, he still had four years to prepare for it...

Chapter 392: Qiyun Protectorate General

Time passed very quickly when Yan Liqiang was in the Imperial Academy of Medicine. In just the blink of an eye, the 15th day of the eighth lunar month passed by just like that.

If nothing changed, then today would be the day of Yan Liqiang and Shi Minzhang’s blindfolded archery contest, which was also an ordeal and a hurdle for Yan Liqiang. Since Yan Liqiang had put on an impressive performance, he didn’t have to take part in some dangerous contest at the barracks. Instead, he was being well taken care of by a few imperial physicians at the Imperial Academy of Medicine.

These few days were probably the most relaxing days for Yan Liqiang ever since he came to the Imperial Capital. He led an easy life and only the best was provided to him. Aside from eating, sleeping, and shadow-boxing every day, he also read books. Apart from the slight restrictions on his freedom, this was the kind of lifestyle Yan Liqiang had been pursuing in his previous life.

The engineer from Soul Mountain Sect, Zhang Yourong sent a letter to Yan Liqiang the day after he visited him. He informed Yan Liqiang that he had left the Imperial Capital and wished to hurry back to the Soul Mountain Sect to turn the inspiration Yan Liqiang had given to him into reality. At the same time, he also invited the latter to visit his sect. Zhang Yourong also included a sketch in the letter. The sketch was none other than the design of a steam engine cylinder and a piston valve. The concept was pretty close to the basic structure of the steam engine in Yan Liqiang’s mind.

As expected of the best engineer in the world. If Yan Liqiang was in his previous world, this sketch could probably be auctioned off a few centuries later and fetch a price that was equivalent that of a famous painting.

Just by looking at the sketch, Yan Liqiang knew that the Great Han Empire’s first steam engine would soon be born in the Soul Mountain Sect’s Thousand Engineering Hall. He had no idea what kind of changes this newly-created machine would bring upon the Great Han Empire which was approaching an important historical event. Everything would be up to the Will of Heaven.

Over the past few days, the wounds on Yan Liqiang’s body healed without leaving a single scar behind. Only Yan Liqiang’s dantian which had been left from ‘falling into Qi deviation’, greatly baffled the imperial physicians. Every time they checked up on Yan Liqiang, his dantian remained empty without even an ounce of vital Qi condensed in it.

It went without saying that the imperial physicians had reported Yan Liqiang’s physical condition to the Emperor who was always concerned about him. It was on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month when the ‘discouraged’ Yan Liqiang officially informed Eunuch Liu of his wish to leave the Imperial Capital and return to Gan Province to recuperate. This was also the promise the Emperor had given to him before. Besides, Yan Liqiang also felt that it was about time for him to leave the Imperial Capital city.

The next evening, after Yan Liqiang informed Eunuch Liu of his wish, the latter came to the Imperial Academy of Medicine. Without saying anything, he had Yan Liqiang changed into a brand new official uniform set for an Armed Imperial Guard of the Fifth Grade. Both of them then left the Imperial Academy of Medicine on a horse carriage.

“Eunuch Liu, where are we going?” Sitting in the swaying carriage, Yan Liqiang finally found a chance to speak up.

“We are going to the palace to meet His Majesty, of course!” Eunuch Liu cast a glance at Yan Liqiang and spoke calmly.

“H-His Majesty has given the approval?” Yan Liqiang was shocked.

“The Emperor is not a man who goes back on his wise words. That day, His Majesty gave his consent for you to return to the Gan Province after the blindfolded contest. Even if the blindfolded contest was canceled due to the attempted assassination, his words still stand!” Speaking up to this point, Eunuch Liu gave Yan Liqiang an understanding look.

“I know that life has been difficult for you in the Imperial Capital. You are surrounded by perils that nearly made you lose your life a few times. Perhaps a change in environment will be better for you! It is also His Majesty’s wish to let you gain some exposure outside the Imperial Capital so that perhaps one day, you will be able to serve him by his side. Liqiang, the Emperor has high hopes for you, so I hope that you will not disappoint him!”

Upon hearing that, Yan Liqiang had an emotional expression on his face. “Please rest assured, Eunuch Liu. Even if I am not in the Imperial Capital city, I am still a humble soldier who serves His Majesty and you. I will go anywhere at His Majesty’s and your command!”

“What humble soldier are you talking about? You are already an Armed Imperial Guard of the Fifth Grade. I cannot order you around, and even I serve His Majesty...” Eunuch Liu smiled. He was very satisfied to hear Yan Liqiang’s words of loyalty.

“You are right, Eunuch Liu,” Yan Liqiang responded.

“Oh yes, if His Majesty gives you a reward later, make sure you accept the offer. If His Majesty lets you choose an official title, try your best to choose the highest and best position for you. Do not feel embarrassed. His Majesty sometimes prefers his subjects to speak openly and he prefers those who dare to shoulder responsibilities!”

Yan Liqiang took a deep breath and nodded. “Alright, thank you for the reminder, Eunuch Liu. I will keep that in mind!”

Eunuch Liu then reminded Yan Liqiang of some etiquette and forms of address he should observe during the audience with the Emperor in the royal palace. Of course, Yan Liqiang humbly took them to heart!

The palace only two li away from the Imperial Academy of Medicine. They only sat in the carriage for a little while longer before the carriage arrived at the royal palace. Yan Liqiang got off the carriage with Eunuch Liu and they both showed their identity paizas. After a few rounds of inspection, only then did a palace eunuch lead them inside the heavily-guarded palace.

They passed by many buildings. Just when Yan Liqiang felt like he was going to lose his way, the eunuch finally brought them to a garden. After going through the guard’s inspection outside the garden, only then they were allowed inside and finally taken to the royal study.

An old eunuch whom Yan Liqiang had never seen before was outside the royal study. He smiled warmly at their arrival, then announced to the royal study from outside, “Your Majesty, Eunuch Liu has brought Yan Liqiang here and requests for an audience!”

“Let Yan Liqiang in!” A familiar voice rang out from inside the study. Eunuch Liu and the old eunuch made a gesture with their eyes. Yan Liqiang calmed himself and entered the study.

As soon as Yan Liqiang entered, he saw the Emperor standing in front of a screen in the large study room, dressed in his golden dragon robe. He was looking at the painting on the screen with his hands clasped behind him.

“Greetings from Yan Liqiang, the Deputy Manager of Deer Villa, Armed Imperial Guard of the Fifth Grade,” Yan Liqiang bowed to the man and spoke up clearly. The man who had been standing in front of the screen turned around, and his burning gaze landed on Yan Liqiang’s face.

“How is your recovery coming along? We heard from the imperial physicians at the Imperial Academy of Medicine that your dantian never managed to condense any Qi?”

“Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I, your humble servant, feel fine. However, I am afraid that it may take me some time to recover from falling into Qi deviation. Therefore, I wish to return to my hometown to heal...”

“That is fine. The Ministry of Justice has ordered an arrest for Lin Zhe these two days. However, he escaped, so an arrest warrant has been issued in place. This is just closure for you.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty!”

“Can you still draw a bow now?”

“Yes!” Yan Liqiang replied firmly.

“Good!” The Emperor nodded in approval and pointed at the screen beside him. “Do recognize what is on this screen?”

Yan Liqiang had already noticed the screen the moment he entered and he wasn’t unfamiliar with the picture on the screen. “That is the map of the Northwestern Great Han Empire and the other western countries!”

“Correct. Indeed, it is the map of the Great Han Empire’s northwestern territories. This is the Yin Province, Lan Province, Gan Province, and this is your hometown, Pingxi Prefecture...” The Emperor’s voice was laced with an indescribable emotion. His finger slid on the screen. “Here lies the Shatu Seven Tribes and here is the Dark Ram Tribe. Beyond the Geli Desert are the eighteen western countries. This region has been plagued by the chaos of war for a thousand years and is a true battlefield. Speaking of the Shatu Seven Tribes, do you still remember what you told Minister Sun the other day?”

“Well... I, your humble servant, have discussed many things with Lord Sun before. Please tell me more, Your Majesty!” Yan Liqiang replied with slight embarrassment.

The Emperor smiled. “That day, when Minister Sun was here, he mentioned to us about your opinion on the Shatu Seven Tribes. You told him that the Shatu Seven Tribes already poses a threat to the northwest of the Great Han Empire. If we wish to regain control over the Gulang Plains and the Mount Qiyun region, then we will have to join hands with the Dark Ram Tribe. We can use the Dark Ram Tribe to drive the Shatu Seven Tribes away, then take back Gulang Plains from the Dark Ram Tribe when they have not established their control over it!”

At the Emperor’s reminder, Yan Liqiang immediately remembered that he indeed told Sun Bingchen something along those lines. “Well, that is merely my naive opinion. I must have made a fool out of myself, Your Majesty!”

The Emperor smiled but didn’t express his opinion. “We have permitted your return to Gan Province. But, we also do not permit your return. Instead, you will be given two official positions to choose from!”

Yan Liqiang felt a burst of energy. “Please continue, Your Majesty!”

“We know that you are talented in the path of mechanics and the investigation of things. Not only that, but you are also good at creating weapons. Therefore, We will appoint you as the superintendent of the Gan Province weaponsmith quarters. The previous one has been imprisoned due to his involvement with Ye Clan’s case. Hence, the position is currently vacant. What do you think?”

Yan Liqiang suddenly felt his mouth going dry. The superintendent of Gan Province weaponsmith quarters wasn’t a low position, but an important position with great pay. In this position, he would have jurisdiction over all the weaponsmith quarters within Gan Province. In his previous world, this position would be called the chief of the Defense Logistics Agency in the Gan Province’s military. This was indeed a well-paid job that the Emperor was presenting to him...

At this moment, Yan Liqiang even remembered Wei Xiaobao [1]. His heart was racing. Even so, he wasn’t eager to make any decisions. After a moment of thinking, he continued asking, “Your Majesty, what is the other position that you have chosen for me?”

A smile appeared on the Emperor’s face. “The other position is an unusual one. It can be considered both as the best or the worst!”

“Oh? I wonder what it is?” Yan Liqiang’s curiosity was immediately piqued.

“Qiyun Protectorate General!” The Emperor spoke gently.

Yan Liqiang, who knew the significance and the history of these three words, was left flabbergasted...

Chapter 393: Choice

In the Great Han Empire, there was a type of official title that could either be appointed by the Central Bureaucracy or be inherited. This official title was known as the protectorate general.

Protectorate generals could only be seen at the borders of the Great Han Empire. For the sake of managing the ethnic minorities and tribes at the borders, as well as to defend the frontier and strengthen the nation’s authority, the Great Han Empire had assigned many protectorate generals at its borders.

In the beginning, the protectorate general positions were only filled through the appointment of the Great Han Empire’s Central Bureaucracy instead of being inherited. It was only later that this official title gradually became a hereditary title due to the preference for local leadership. The protectorate general’s son would succeed his father’s position and then obtain the approval from the Central Bureaucracy as a formality. In order to pacify the border regions, the Central Bureaucracy also tacitly agreed to make the protectorate general a hereditary title.

Based on Yan Liqiang’s knowledge, the closest title to the protectorate general from his previous world would be a colonial governor. However, a protectorate general commanded troops. Not only that, but their military power was greater than many colonial governors he knew in his previous life. Aside from that, the protectorate general also managed the tribal chiefs and diplomats of ethnic minorities in the areas under his control on behalf of the Great Han Empire. Protectorate generals were only required to pay a small amount of taxes and tributes to the Great Han Empire annually as a sign of loyalty.

The Great Han Empire had established many protectorates around the frontiers in all directions. These protectorates varied in size. The bigger protectorates like the Nanjiang, Yibei, Heishan, Baiyue Protectorates had jurisdiction over areas or regions equivalent to the size of one to multiple provinces in the Great Han Empire. There were many smaller protectorates that had jurisdiction over various-sized areas. The smallest protectorate might have control over territory that was smaller than a county, or even only the size of a few villages.

As a result, protectorate generals in the Great Han Empire were not ranked. The luckiest protectorate generals might be as well-off as a Second Grade high official in the imperial court and be able to set up an independent regime over a territory. The unluckier ones might end up worse than a county magistrate or a town constable.

In the history of the Great Han Empire’s northwestern region, there was once a protectorate called the Qiyun Protectorate.

The jurisdiction of the Qiyun Protectorate spanned over a vast area that included Mount Qiyun beyond Gan and Lan Provinces, as well as the Gulang Plains. Before the Shatu Seven Tribes occupied the region to the east of the Gulang Plains and Mount Qiyun, this region was occupied by smaller tribes and clans like the Wusu, Cheshi, Piyue, Shali, and Dayue that had migrated from the western countries. The Qiyun Protectorate governed these small tribes and clans.

Everything changed when the Shatu Seven Tribes moved in. After they settled down around the Gulang Plains and Mount Qiyun, the Qiyun Protectorate was ‘attacked by bandits’. Everyone in the protectorate was killed overnight, thus wiping out the former Qiyun Protectorate General’s clan. Therefore, the Qiyun Protectorate was reduced to nothing but an empty shell.

In recent decades, Yan Liqiang read in a book that the Great Han Empire seemed to have appointed another Qiyun Protectorate General. However, it had only been several days after the Qiyun Protectorate General exited the White Stone Pass before he and his companions were decapitated. Their heads were then put into a box and delivered to the

Gan Provincial Governor’s Office. The cause of the incident was also due to a ‘bandit attack’. From then on, the Great Han Empire and the central bureaucracy had chosen to forget about the Qiyun Protectorate as though it had never existed. Even so, the establishment of this official title still existed until now...

Qiyun Protectorate General was a hereditary official title. In the Great Han Empire, Mount Qiyun and Gulang Plains were under the jurisdiction of the Qiyun Protectorate General and was therefore known as the Qiyun Protectorate General’s territory. This territory was bigger than the Gan and Lan Provinces put together. By right, every tribe that lived in this territory, including the Shatu Seven Tribes, was to live under the Qiyun Protectorate General’s rule.

On the surface, everything seemed to be wonderful!

However, in reality, everyone knew that the Great Han Empire’s authority in this territory was close to zero. Now, the ones who spoke in this territory were the Shatu Seven Tribes and their scimitars. The influence of the Great Han Empire in this area was extremely low...

Yan Liqiang totally didn’t expect the Emperor to give him the title of the Qiyun Protectorate General as his second option.

What did His Majesty mean by that? Did he wish for Yan Liqiang to return to Gan Province with an honorary title and spend the rest of his life there? Or was he expecting Yan Liqiang to make a difference in this position and give him a huge surprise by turning his strategy of dealing with the Shatu people, which he shared with Sun Bingchen before, into a reality? If it was the second, then the Emperor certainly thought too highly of him.

The superintendent of Gan Province’s weaponsmiths quarters was no doubt a high-paying and stable position without many uncertainties. It could be considered an ideal high-level job with fewer responsibilities. On the other hand, the so-called Qiyun Protectorate General was a job that would either bring one to heaven or hell!

Thoughts rushed through Yan Liqiang’s head as he weighed the pros and cons of both official titles.

If the future of the Great Han Empire was peaceful, then Yan Liqiang would rather choose to become the superintendent of Gan Province’s weaponsmith quarters. The idea of leading an easy life for the rest of his days sounded pretty good. However, knowing that everything in the Great Han Empire would change in four years time and that the Shatu Seven Tribes would seize the opportunity to invade Gan Province and precipitate a bloodshed in Pingxi Prefecture, Yan Liqiang’s choice began to grow clearer to him...

From a certain perspective, it was like the Emperor had brought Yan Liqiang a pillow just when he was about to sleep.

“Your Majesty, I, your humble servant, am willing to return to Gan Province and accept my appointment as the Qiyun Protectorate General!”

After thinking for only a moment, Yan Liqiang gave the Emperor his resolute answer.

“Hahahaha...!” The Emperor immediately laughed heartily, looking obviously delighted at his reply. “We are definitely not mistaken about you!”

“I, your humble servant, can only do everything I can with my limited abilities. I hope Your Majesty will not be disappointed should I fail to live up to your expectations!”

“We are naturally aware of the challenge. The position has been given to you, so you can choose to advance or retreat. Just do whatever you wish, do not worry too much about it! You are only fifteen years of age this year and have plenty of time ahead of you. We can even give you a decade to work on your results!”

“Thank you, Your Majesty!”

“Apart from this title, We shall award you with a hundred thousand taels of silver when you return to Gan Province as an initial fund for setting up the Qiyun Protectorate!” The Emperor looked at Yan Liqiang, waved his hand, and spoke with generosity, “If you need anything else, you may make a proposal!”

At this moment, Yan Liqiang suddenly recalled Eunuch Liu’s words. He pondered for a moment before speaking up. “To pass through Mount Qiyun and Gulang Plains, I will definitely require various support, weapons, resources, and money. The Gan Province’s Pingxi Prefecture, my hometown, is adjacent to the White Stone Pass and the Shatu Seven Tribes. I would like to request for the weaponsmiths quarter in Gan Province’s Pingxi City to be given to me, Your Majesty. I wish to have control over it as my base.”

The Emperor laughed. “Hahaha, it is only one weaponsmiths quarter. We shall bestow it upon you. Do you have anything else you need?”

As expected of the Emperor. The Pingxi Prefecture’s weaponsmiths quarter occupied a vast land with many people in it. Even so, the Emperor had bestowed it to him without a second thought. Yan Liqiang couldn’t help but secretly gasp in surprise. Of course, he could still ask for more, but the more he asked, the higher expectations the Emperor would have for him. Not to mention, there might be more interference in the future, and the Gan Province and Pingxi Prefectures would experience more resistance. Therefore, after thinking about it, Yan Liqiang chose to sensibly stop there.

“That is all. I shall return to Gan Province and slowly think about the rest!”

“Good!” The Emperor gave Yan Liqiang a look of approval again. He was very satisfied with Yan Liqiang’s sense of proper limits. “So, when will you leave for Gan Province?”

“The 20th day of this month. For the next few days, I wish to bid farewell to my friends in the Imperial Capital and make the necessary preparations before I leave!”

Chapter 394: Making Rumors

Yan Liqiang entered the palace for an audience on the 16th day of the eighth lunar month. On the 17th day, the very next morning, Yan Liqiang left the Imperial Academy of Medicine with a bunch of medicinal pills that had been given to him. He returned to Deer Villa to hand over his tasks there, and also to bid his farewell to Li Hongtu and Ji Xiaoyao.

Since Yan Liqiang was leaving the Imperial Capital to accept his new title as the Qiyun Protectorate General, his title as the Deer Villa’s Deputy Manager would become a thing of the past. For now, Yan Liqiang only carried the honorary title of the Armed Imperial Guard of the Fifth Grade.

In this regard, Yan Liqiang felt rather relieved. The Qiyun Protectorate General rank didn’t come with a grade and it suited him perfectly.

The Emperor gave Yan Liqiang ten years to build his achievements and prove his capabilities in this position. However, a catastrophe would befall the Great Han Empire in four years time. Even if the Emperor was still alive then, he probably wouldn’t be able to care about an insignificant person like him in the distant Gan Province.

After a busy day in Deer Villa, Yan Liqiang left the place on the 18th. He also met up with Fang Beidou and the rest to inform them about some things.

Fang Beidou initially wanted to leave the Imperial Capital with Yan Liqiang, but he was convinced by the latter to stay behind. Although Yan Liqiang was leaving the Imperial Capital, ‘The Great Han Times’ must never be given away. Fang Beidou’s task for the next few years after Yan Liqiang left the Imperial Capital was to work with Eunuch Liu, make sure he preserved the control over ‘The Great Han Times’, and spread the influence of the newspaper throughout the capital regions.

Yan Liqiang told Fang Beidou that the possibility of saving the Great Han Empire from that catastrophe in the future hinged on this. His words gave Fang Beidou a sense of duty to stay in the Imperial Capital.

There were two newspapers in the Imperial Capital city right now. In addition to Yan Liqiang’s ‘The Great Han Times’, ‘The Imperial Capital Times’ also quietly appeared on the streets and in the teahouses at the start of the eighth lunar month. The layout and sections of ‘The Imperial Capital Times’ were exactly the same as ‘The Great Han Times’. It was a perfect copy of its successful predecessor. The owner of ‘The Imperial Capital Times’ was none other than Manager Gu of the Huaixiang Bookstore – at least that was what it looked like on the surface.

Those who knew the inside story would understand that the real owner behind ‘The Imperial Capital Times’ was actually Grand Chancellor Lin Qingtian and his allies. Since ‘The Great Han Empire’ was in the Emperor’s hands, then Lin Qingtian had to have another newspaper that could rival it. Hence, these two newspapers also became another form of the power struggle within the Imperial Capital.

After the morning meeting with Fang Beidou and the others, Yan Liqiang personally paid a visit to the Gan Provincial Guild Hall in the afternoon on the same day to meet Lu Peien and Manager You. Although both of them knew of Yan Liqiang’s plans to return to Gan Province beforehand, they were still shocked to hear that the Emperor had Yan Liqiang assume the post of Qiyun Protectorate General.

They even found it hard to believe because this appointment was simply beyond anyone’s expectations. No one knew what the Emperor was thinking. If this were to be described with a phrase from Yan Liqiang’s previous world, ‘silly talk’ would come into mind when most people heard about this appointment for the very first time because it made no sense.

Manager You in particular was looking at Yan Liqiang as though the latter was an alien after he finished speaking.

“Brother Liqiang, the title of the Qiyun Protectorate General isn’t a good one. The situation over at the Gulang Plains and Mount Qiyun is no longer the same as it was before. Anyone who dares to fly this ensign past the White Stone Pass is guaranteed to not make it back alive. Why did you accept such a dangerous title?”

Yan Liqiang smiled faintly. With the Psychic Serpent, the thoughts running through Manager You’s head were as clear as day to him. He had chosen to inform the latter in advance because he had his intentions. As soon as Manager You heard this, the northwestern influential Zhong Clan behind him would know about this too in just a few days, before Yan Liqiang even arrived at Gan Province. If the Zhong Clan knew, then half of the northwestern region would know too. Before he arrived at Gan Province in the northwestern region, word of this would brew for a while.

Yan Liqiang considered that as putting a smoke bomb to stir things up a little and have everyone make mental preparations. If he only announced this when he returned, that would be a little too sudden. This was his way of doing things, and outsiders would probably find it difficult to understand the complexities behind this.

“I didn’t expect His Majesty to appoint me this position either. I asked him if the imperial court is going to war against the Shatu Seven Tribes in the near future, but he shook his head and confidently told me that it’s not possible for that to happen within these ten years!” When Yan Liqiang said that, he could sense Manager You immediately sigh inwardly. The information might not mean anything to other people, but it was highly valuable for Manager You and the power behind him, especially when it came out of Yan Liqiang’s mouth.

“I also asked His Majesty if I have to lead a troop upon my return to Gan Province. He replied that I wouldn’t be given any soldiers, nor would I have the Gan Province army to fool around with me. He only bestowed the Pingxi Prefecture’s weaponsmiths quarter to me as a reward for pledging my loyalty by giving him ‘The Great Han Times’ and its office on Mount Longqi. He also told me that since I have some talent in the path of mechanics and the investigation of things, he gave me an empty title to frighten the Shatu Seven Tribes and to make the imperial court’s intention clear to them. I am allowed to do whatever I want for the rest. Even if the title is of no use, I can still be a rich man in the future!”

“Now that makes sense!” Manager You immediately understood and no longer had a baffled look on his face. “Appointing a new Qiyun Protectorate General would indeed make the imperial court’s intentions clear to the Shatu Seven Tribes. They have certainly gone overboard over the past few years in the northwestern region. I’m guessing His Majesty intends to mess with them!”

“I’m sure that’s it!” Yan Liqiang smiled innocently. “Otherwise, His Majesty wouldn’t appoint a fifteen-year-old boy as some Qiyun Protectorate General and have me undertake a dangerous task without assigning any troops under me. He is only giving a tranquilizer to the Shatu Seven Tribes. If some Gan Provincial Governor were appointed as the Qiyun Protectorate General, a war might really break out. It doesn’t really matter if I am the one he appointed; he is just messing with them, but it is not enough to provoke them. In any case, I won’t easily take even half a step outside the White Stone Pass after my return to Gan Province. After all, I’m still a young boy who wishes to live for a few more years!”

“That’s good then. If Liqiang really wants to go out the White Stone Pass alone, I will do whatever I can to stop you from throwing your life away!” Lu Peien also breathed out a sigh of relief as the worry in his heart was dispelled.

Manager You calmed down. Something flashed across his eyes before a smile appeared on his face. “In any case, for Brother Liqiang to be chosen by His Majesty to take up the post of the Qiyun Protectorate General despite his young age is still an occasion worth celebrating. Brother Liqiang already has a great reputation in Gan Province, and he still managed to shine through even in the Imperial Capital city which is full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. He is indeed the pride of Gan Province. I am certain that Brother Liqiang will have great prospects ahead of you when you return to Gan Province once again with your new status. Let me congratulate you here first today!”

“Hahaha, thank you for the auspicious words, Manager You!”

“Why don’t you stay here for dinner, Brother Liqiang? I shall have the kitchen cook up a feast for you as your farewell dinner!” Manager You suggested warmly.

“I am only here to bid my farewell to Sixth Brother and Manager You. I shall take my leave now. I still have a few more friends to meet in the Imperial Capital. If Manager You returns to Gan Province one day, why don’t we have our gathering then?”

“Since Brother Liqiang already has plans, I won’t force you. However, I would still like to give you something for your promotion. Why not a carriage for your journey back to Gan Province as a gift? It will be convenient for you to bring your things back and to rest in!”

“Haha, then I shall thank Manager You!”

......

Yan Liqiang didn’t tarry any longer in the Imperial Capital and immediately exited the city after leaving the Gan Provincial Guild Hall. Due to the attempted assassination incident, quite a few people were unlucky in the Imperial Capital city over these few days. People were terrified of Yan Liqiang’s presence now. Therefore, no one tailed him for the past few days, much to his pleasant surprise.

Yan Liqiang didn’t return to Deer Villa after exiting the city. He instead wandered along the public road for a while before finally arriving at a town he had never been to, known as Lihua Town, which was seven or eight li away in the northern outskirts of the Imperial Capital.

After walking one round in town, Yan Liqiang finally found his way to the Ten Steps Bridge on the western side of the town after asking for directions from a middle-aged woman. He stood beneath a tree not far from the bridge and waited in silence.

As the name implied, the Ten Steps Bridge was a small stone arch bridge that could be crossed with just ten steps. A clear river ran under the bridge. There were several stone steps by the river, and a group of women in town was either washing their clothes or some vegetables here.

When the sun was about to set and nearly all the women in town had left, a thin young lady who seemed to be only twelve or thirteen years old struggled to carry a basket that was half her height on her back. Walking to the riverside with her basket full of laundry, she carefully went down the stone steps and set her basket on the ground as she prepared to wash her laundry...

“That unlucky star who killed her entire family is here... Let’s stay away from her, I don’t want any bad luck on me...!”

The two women who were washing clothes by the river exchanged glances with each other when they noticed the young lady coming toward them. They moved away with a look of disgust on their faces and kept their distance from the girl...

The girl’s face turned pale when she heard the side conversation. She clenched her teeth, then silently took out the wooden stick that was thicker than her arm inside her basket and started beating hard on her clothes by the river...

The young lady’s name was Yu Qing...

Chapter 395: Returning to Gan Province

Yan Liqiang calmly watched the young lady under the tree. She tried to stay strong while struggling to beat and wash the clothes by the river.

At this moment, Yu Qing was still a twelve or thirteen-year-old girl with a pale face and slightly brownish hair. Due to long-term malnutrition, her figure was like a bean sprout wrapped in ill-fitting old clothes, causing her to look quite uncouth and far less of a beauty she would become four years in the future. Even so, Yan Liqiang could still see the familiar features on her face, particularly her eyes. They were gleaming with the same determination, which was rare for girls around her age.

When Yu Qing was born, her mother passed away due to excessive blood loss after childbirth. Two years later, her grandfather passed away. When she was five, her grandmother passed away. Last year, which was the 12th year of the Yuanping reign, her bedridden father finally passed away after being tormented by sickness for two years. Since then, this naive young lady had been labeled as an ‘unlucky star’ who brought ill luck upon her entire family in this little town on the outskirts of the Imperial Capital city.

While Yu Qing’s father was bedridden over the past two years, her family’s field and several huge houses were sold in exchange for her father’s treatment. Not only that, but her family also ended up owing a lot of money to the people in town for the sake of treating her father. After her father’s death, Yu Qing had to do needlework and laundry for several inns, laboring under everyone’s disdain to pay off her debts.

Yu Qing spent five years doing all the needlework and laundry in town before she finally cleared her father’s debt.

If Yan Liqiang didn’t do something, then Yu Qing would meet her aunt, who hadn’t come back to visit for more than a decade, right after she paid off her father’s debt. She would then leave the Imperial Capital and follow her aunt to Jinling City. Only after staying a few days there, her aunt and uncle would start planning to marry her off to a mentally-challenged son of a fabric store owner in Jinling City. The third day after her aunt and uncle received six hundred taels of silver as a betrothal gift, a calamity would strike everyone around her, once again reducing them into corpses under the ruins. In Jinling City where the laws were lost, the lonely young lady would fall prey to a bunch of thugs and scums who lusted over her beauty and she would meet a tragic end...

As the sky gradually darkened, the women who had been washing their clothes by the river left with their laundry. Only Yu Qing was left, repeatedly beating the clothes in her basket with the wooden stick in her hands. The strenuous work had caused beads of sweat to form on her forehead.

Several boys from town passed by the river and saw Yu Qing washing her clothes. They exchanged looks with each other, then one of them quietly walked down the stone steps and shoved Yu Qing hard on her back...

PLOP...! Yu Qing fell into the water and the boys ran away while laughing loudly and chanting, “Unlucky star, jinx, unlucky star, jinx...”

The water at the edge of the river wasn’t deep, and it only reached up to Yu Qing’s waist. However, she was soaked from head to toe when she got up.

“My clothes...!”

Realizing that the clothes in her hands had been washed away and were drifting downstream, Yu Qing rushed out without even thinking. After taking a few steps, the water reached her neck, causing her to choke on a mouthful of water. Even so, it seemed like Yu Qing wasn’t aware of that. Her eyes were still affixed on the clothes that were drifting along the river’s surface. She continued walking in the water with her outstretched hands, trying to grab onto the clothes. In just the blink of an eye, she was fully submerged in the river water...

PLOP...! Yan Liqiang plunged into the river without a second thought. He grabbed onto Yu Qing and the clothes that were being washed away by the river before slowly making his way back up to the stone steps.

Yu Qing’s wet hair clung to her pale face. She raised her head and strangely looked at Yan Liqiang who had jumped into the river to rescue her and her clothes. She simply couldn’t imagine meeting someone in this town who would willingly jump into a river to rescue her.

Yan Liqiang was also soaking wet from head to toe; his hair was still dripping and water plants were hanging on his body. He handed over the clothes to Yu Qing. “Nothing is more precious than your own life. Don’t ever do something stupid like this again for only a piece of clothing!”

Yu Qing took the clothes and held them tightly in her hands. She bit her lip and didn’t say a word, seemingly shy or she didn’t know what to say to a stranger at a time like this. Her body was slightly trembling from the cold.

Yan Liqiang smiled and looked at Yu Qing gently. He fished out a gold ingot and placed it on her hand. “My name is Yan Liqiang. I will be leaving the Imperial Capital the day after tomorrow. Here’s ten taels of gold, it should be enough to fully pay off your father’s debt. If you wish to leave Lihua Town, I can take you along with me!”

Yu Qing was completely stunned. She looked at the gold ingot in her hand, then at Yan Liqiang. “W-Why... are you helping me?” she asked shyly.

Yan Liqiang sighed and lifted his head to look at the first star that had begun to glow faintly in the sky. “I had a dream. In that dream, I met a young lady also named Yu Qing...” When Yan Liqiang noticed Yu Qing’s eyes widened at his words as she stared at him intently. He then he realized that this reason might be too foreign and too deep for a twelve or thirteen-year-old girl, so she might not be able to understand.

He smiled awkwardly and picked off the water plants on his body. “It’s alright if you don’t want to go with me. I won’t force you either. Take that ten taels of gold as a gift, no need to return anything to me. If anyone finds trouble with you, tell them that the person who gave you this gold ingot was a commandant surnamed Yan who serves Eunuch Liu in Deer Villa. Those who don’t value their lives may come after me!”

Yu Qing only stared at Yan Liqiang in silence and didn’t utter a word.

“What? You don’t believe me? I know it’s kinda hard to believe too. After all, it’s our first time meeting. But I promise you I definitely won’t bully you like those people!”

Yu Qing was still silent...

“Well, alright. If you don’t want to leave the Imperial Capital city, then perhaps we will meet again in the future!” Yan Liqiang smiled and reached out to pick off the duckweed on Yu Qing’s head. He then turned to leave. If Yu Qing wasn’t willing to leave with him now, it wasn’t like he could kidnap her either.

“Wait...”

A voice suddenly rang out from behind him. Yan Liqiang turned around and saw Yu Qing summon all her courage to look at him. There was a look of determination on her pale face. “I will go with you...!”

Yan Liqiang smiled...

“But I have to finish washing these clothes and send them back to Changrong Inn. C-Can you wait for me...?!” Yu Qing quickly spoke nervously and earnestly.

“I’ll help you. It’s faster if two people do the work!” Yan Liqiang rolled up his sleeves and went back to Yu Qing again. He squatted on the stone steps by the river, took the wooden stick, and started beating an article of unwashed clothing. Yu Qing squatted down beside him too and rinsed the clothes Yan Liqiang had beaten.

Just like that, both of them finished doing the laundry by the Ten Steps Bridge. After delivering them back to the inn, Yan Liqiang brought Yu Qing to every household her family owed money from and paid off all the debt...

......

When the moon was high up in the starry sky, Yan Liqiang left Lihua Town with the frail and skinny girl. She carried her small luggage and walked behind him.

When they exited Lihua Town, the girl’s footsteps suddenly stopped. She turned back to look at the lights of town. Wiping her tears away, she left with Yan Liqiang without turning back again...

Chapter 396: Arrangements

“Please, there is no need to see me off, Eunuch Liu!”

In the early morning on the 20th day of the eighth lunar month, when the sun had just risen from the east, Yan Liqiang was bidding his farewell to everyone in Deer Villa with his packed luggage at the entrance in the western part of Imperial Capital.

Li Hongtu and Ji Xiaoyao didn’t come because Yan Liqiang had personally visited their residences and had already bid his final farewell to them.

“Remember to visit the Imperial Capital when you have time! I shall always have a place for you here, Liqiang!” Eunuch Liu shed a few tears during the farewell. He held Yan Liqiang’s hands tightly with both hands, seemingly quite reluctant to part with him.

“Rest assured, Eunuch Liu. Please take good care of yourself. I shall definitely visit you when I come back to the Imperial Capital!”

Perhaps Eunuch Liu had recalled all the good in Yan Liqiang when they were about to part, because his eyes reddened and he couldn’t help but say a few things to Yan Liqiang from the bottom of his heart. “Do what you can for His Majesty, but do not force yourself if you cannot do it either. You have ample time to prove yourself in the future. As mentioned many times before, nothing is more important than your own life. If you lose your life, all the reputation and wealth you’ve built up will all be for naught!”

“I know. His Majesty did not ask anything of me. He even gave me a decade to prove myself! On the contrary, Eunuch Liu should remain vigilant. The Imperial Capital city is as perilous as the border between two military fortresses!”

“I am old and have lived my life to the fullest. There is nothing left for me to worry about. The Imperial Capital city is not going to be toppled over!” Eunuch Liu snorted. “Oh that reminds me, did you take the things I gave you yesterday?”

Yan Liqiang patted his chest, then looked at the gorgeous carriage in the distance which was a gift from Manager You. “Rest assured, I have them with me, Eunuch Liu!” he nodded.

The item Eunuch Liu brought to him yesterday was the imperial edict from the Emperor that officially appointed Yan Liqiang as the Qiyun Protectorate General and also a small tiger-shaped Qiyun Protectorate General golden seal. These two items were proof of Yan Liqiang’s current identity, especially the golden seal which had just been made two days ago.

“Good. Be careful on your journey. Any ordinary local official will not dare to make things difficult for you if you show them these items!” Speaking up to this point, Eunuch Liu suddenly lowered his voice and leaned closer to whisper something into Yan Liqiang.

“The Ministry of Justice is only putting on a show. They will never arrest that Lin Zhe. I know that wretch and his character pretty well. He will probably do something to you when you are on the way back to Gan Province. Since he is already in hot water, he might as well go all the way. If you really run into that wretch, I am sure you know what to do...”

A glint flashed across Yan Liqiang’s eyes. He nodded and whispered back, “Rest assured, Eunuch Liu. I know what to do. If I run into Lin Zhe again, I will never let him get away alive. My dantian may not have recovered yet, but I can easily get rid of him as long as I have a bow in hand!”

“Good, good!” Eunuch Liu nodded in satisfaction.

“I shall have to leave ‘The Great Han Times’ in your hands, Eunuch Liu. Fang Beidou may not be able to think fast enough at times, but he is definitely a reliable person. I dare to use my life to guarantee his loyalty toward His Majesty and you!”

“Do not worry. I shall never let that old wretch have things his way!” Eunuch Liu seethed. “I have seen that Fang Beidou too. He is indeed a talented one. There is nothing for me to worry about if he is the one managing ‘The Great Han Times’. If anything happens, I shall shoulder the responsibility for him...”

“If anything happens, you may inform me!”

“Rest assured. If something really happens, I will definitely not forget about you, Liqiang!” A smile appeared on Eunuch Liu’s face. “Alright, I shall not hold you up any longer, just be careful on your journey!”

“Alright, Eunuch Liu!” After Yan Liqiang said that, he turned to the soldiers who were seeing him off at the entrance and saluted to them. “My brothers, our friendship shall last forever. Please take care of yourselves!”

All the soldiers stamped their feet, saluted to Yan Liqiang, and bid him farewell in unison. “Farewell, Protectorate General Yan!”

The time Yan Liqiang spent in Deer Villa was short and he hadn’t gotten to know all the soldiers that well. He was a modest and easygoing person who treated the soldiers nicely. Whenever he went out, he would always buy something from the Imperial Capital for those who were on night duty. Therefore, he was greatly admired by them. Seeing that Yan Liqiang was going to leave Deer Villa, everyone secretly felt that it was a pity to lose him.

Taking over the reins on Snowstorm Cloud which Hu Haihe had brought over, Yan Liqiang turned around and got onto its back. He cupped his fists to everyone, then shook the reins and rode toward the public road on his rhinodrake steed. Hu Haihe also nimbly got onto the carriage and caught up to Yan Liqiang from behind.

By the time the carriage Hu Haihe was driving had run a few hundred meters along the public road, only then did its window open, revealing half of Yu Qing’s beautiful face and Goldie who was sticking its tongue out in excitement.

“Young Lord... have we left Deer Villa?” It had only been less than two days since Yu Qing stayed by Yan Liqiang’s side, and she already considered herself as his servant girl. This was exactly the same as how it was in the Heavenly Realm.

“Yes, we are already on the public road. You may come out and sit in front to get some fresh air if it is too stuffy in the carriage!” Yan Liqiang replied with a smile.

Yu Qing nodded and obediently replied, “It’s alright...”

Apart from Yu Qing, Hu Haihe insisted on returning to Gan Province with Yan Liqiang. So naturally, he also became Yan Liqiang’s follower and manservant. Hu Haihe didn’t seem to mind this, and seemed rather excited instead. He had been following Yan Liqiang around and he worked very diligently.

With precious steeds, a magnificent carriage, a servant girl and a manservant by his side, Yan Liqiang immediately exuded the aura of a son from a wealthy clan who was out to travel.

There were two rhinodrake steeds pulling the carriage. Although the carriage didn’t seem to be that heavy from the outside, the things being transported in it had considerable weight. Apart from the Horned Python Bow which was a gift from the Emperor, there was also the Dragon Spine Steel spear from Li Hongtu. Since the spear was too eye-catching, long, and heavy, Yan Liqiang put it in a spear cover and hid it in the compartment underneath the carriage. Without opening the hidden compartment, no one could tell it was there.

They had only been running for less than one li along the public road when Yan Liqiang spotted Fang Beidou, Xu Enda, and the rest waiting by the road. The group had already set up a table of wine to see him off.

After bidding farewell to them, Yan Liqiang finally embarked on his return journey to Gan Province with Yu Qing and Hu Haihe...

......

Meanwhile, in Grand Chancellor Lin Qingtian’s study...

“Have you issued the order?”

“Shi Minzhang has left the Imperial Capital city already. He will rendezvous with Lord Lin in the northwestern region. Yan Liqiang has made enemies with the Blackwind Bandits before. Therefore, getting rid of him in the name of the Blackwind Bandits there will be the most logical course of action. No one will be suspicious of anything...”

“I hope that there won’t be any more mistakes this time!” Lin Qingtian raised his head and creased a frown while speaking. He looked out the window. He wasn’t sure why, but he felt something was amiss. Something was slipping out of his grasp, yet he couldn’t quite figure it out. It was an unpleasant feeling in his heart. He thought Yan Liqiang was the reason at first. After thinking through things, he sent Shi Minzhang out to be on the safe side. Even so, that unpleasant feeling still lingered...

Chapter 397: Tailing

Yan Liqiang rode swiftly. They left the capital regions after just a day, traveling eastward toward Gan Province.

The route Yan Liqiang chose to travel on was the very same one they used when they escorted Sun Bingchen back to the Imperial Capital. However, the journey through the provinces and counties was a lot more relaxing this time compared to back then since Yan Liqiang wasn’t on an escort mission.

By the ninth day of the seventh lunar month, it had been about half a month since Yan Liqiang and the other two had left the capital. They arrived at Lu Province which was several thousand kilometers away from the Imperial Capital, and it was also known as the capital of wine.

It was evening and the sun was about to set. Yan Liqiang rode along the Lu Province’s public road unhurriedly, with Hu Haihe driving the carriage beside him. After traveling for almost an hour, they unknowingly reached a three-way fork in the road by the time the sky had slightly darkened. Hu Haihe was about to take the right road when Yan Liqiang suddenly called out to him.

“Haihe, let’s take the left road...” Yan Liqiang said and lifted his gaze to look at the sun that had completely vanished beneath the horizon through his squinted eyes.

Neiiiigh...! Hu Haihe thought he misheard Yan Liqiang and abruptly pulled on the reins to stop the carriage. He looked at Yan Liqiang in surprise. “Young Lord, we will be able to reach our lodge in Rong County by tonight and Baishui Prefecture by tomorrow if we take the right road. This is the correct route back to Gan Province. Lord Sun also used this road back then. I think the left one probably leads to... Kun Province!”

“Listen to me, we shall take the left road!” Yan Liqiang didn’t provide further explanation. He just shook his reins and steered Snowstorm Cloud onto the left road. Hu Haihe wanted to say something else, but the glint in Yan Liqiang’s gaze shocked him. It instantly reminded him of the time Yan Liqiang fought with the Blackwind Bandits when they were escorting Sun Bingchen. Yan Liqiang’s strategy and decisiveness in making his kills had certainly left an indelible impression on all the guards.

Hu Haihe could clearly recall Yan Liqiang’s eyes burning as brilliantly as they did now when he was preparing to ambush the Blackwind Bandits.

Hu Haihe remained silent as his relaxed face immediately tensed. He pursed his lips tightly and continued driving the carriage silently on to the left road behind Yan Liqiang. Upon seeing the latter bringing Snowstorm Cloud to a gallop, he also cracked his whip noisily in the air to spur the rhinodrake steed pulling the carriage to full speed.

“Uhm, did something happen?” Yu Qing’s voice came from inside the carriage.

“Nothing, we’re just trying to speed up on our journey. Hold on tight in there!” Yan Liqiang replied while riding swiftly on Snowstorm Cloud.

“Alright.” The voice rang out from the carriage and died down.

The wheels creaked and the sound of iron hooves thundered as Snowstorm Cloud and the rhinodrake steed sped along the public road like roaring engines. This was the difference between rhinodrake steeds and normal horses. An ordinary horse wouldn’t have any stamina left to run after a whole day of travel, yet the two rhinodrake steeds were still running powerfully.

The two men rode swiftly for about thirty kilometers on the public road. The sky had completely darkened by now and very few pedestrians were on the road. A mountain forest lied just a little further ahead of them. Although Lu Province was a flourishing province in the Great Han Empire and was less chaotic than the border provinces, that didn’t mean it was a peaceful place as there were still bandits and robbers in this vast province. Therefore, travelers and merchants would avoid passing through the mountain forest after dark. It wasn’t any better to travel along the public road as some might just be unlucky and run into a few nasty encounters.

The moment both of them rode into the mountain forest, it was as though all the pedestrians had instantly vanished. Both sides of the public road contained hills filled with dense and dark pine forests. Creepy cries that sounded like either the nightingales, wolves, or stray dogs rang out from the forest and echoed in the mountains.

After running for another few li along the road surrounded by hills, Yan Liqiang brought Snowstorm Cloud to an abrupt halt. Hu Haihe also stopped the carriage.

Yan Liqiang leaped off his steed and immediately retrieved his bow and quiver from inside the carriage. He carried them on his back and shut the carriage door. Pointing to the pine forest a few hundred meters ahead, he told Hu Haihe, “Move the carriage there first and wait for me by the edge of that pine forest. Do not make any noise. I will come back after a while. If you run into any danger, just whistle. I will hear you!”

Hu Haihe nodded, then took Snowstorm Cloud’s reins and tied it to the carriage. With a soft command, he drove the carriage and led Snowstorm Cloud into the pine forest a few hundred meters up ahead by the road.

Yan Liqiang didn’t turn around until he saw Hu Haihe enter the pine forest and extinguish the carriage’s light. He then ran two hundred meters back into the pine forest at the side and climbed to the top of the hill that was about fifty meters tall. He opened the bow bag and took out the twenty-picul Horned Python Bow from the Emperor. At the same time, he also swiftly grabbed three arrows from the quiver.

Yan Liqiang took out three arrows at the same time in an extremely strange way. One was wedged between his index and middle fingers, the other between his middle and ring fingers, and another between his ring finger and pinky. The three arrows were neatly spaced apart as if three long fingers had perfectly grown out from the spaces between his fingers. Yan Liqiang then shut his eyes and waited in silence.

Sure enough, in just less than ten minutes, the sound of thundering hooves rang out from the public road beneath him. Three people that looked like traveling merchants appeared. Two of them were riding on rhinodrake steeds, carrying traveling merchant bags on their backs, while the other one was driving an ordinary-looking long carriage used to transport goods. The carriage seemed to be carrying some leftover empty sacks and ropes. They were riding along the public road with lightning speed.

Yan Liqiang’s eyes snapped open when the trio passed by the hill where he was at. Murderous intent flashed across his eyes like lightning as the three arrows wedged between his fingers were instantly nocked onto his bowstring. The twenty-picul bow was only half drawn before it was let loose, sending out three flying arrows all at once...

Over the distance of less than a hundred meters, three bloody flowers bloomed in the darkness on the trio’s chests almost at the same moment when Yan Liqiang loosened his grip. Short screams rang out simultaneously and the three fell to the ground from their rhinodrake steeds and the carriage...

The three riderless rhinodrake steeds, including the one that was pulling the carriage, rushed forward for another few tens of meters out of the momentum before coming to a stop on the road.

Yan Liqiang then ran down the slope with the quiver and bow on his back, reaching the three merchant-like people who had fallen victim to his arrows in just the blink of an eye. He bent down, touched one of the traveling merchants’ faces, then ripped the bushy beard off him.

The beardless face resembled the one that had been following Yan Liqiang a few days ago. However, this man was disguised as an escort with a slightly tanner appearance than last time.

After searching this person’s chest, Yan Liqiang found a bronze paiza that was for law enforcers from the Ministry of Justice!

“F*CK!” Yan Liqiang cursed. Although he had his suspicions, he never expected the people who had been tailing him ever since he left the Imperial Capital to really be from the Ministry of Justice. Without a doubt, these were definitely Gu Chunyi’s lackeys. It went without saying that they were up to no good since they were tailing Yan Liqiang and tracking his whereabouts.

Yan Liqiang quickly searched the other two bodies and found two more law enforcer paizas. He stashed away those paizas and disposed of the corpses in the ditch by the road before quickly heading back to the forest where Hu Haihe was hiding.

He put his bow and quiver back into the carriage, then jumped onto Snowstorm Cloud and said, “Let’s go!” Without saying anything, Hu Haihe drove the carriage out of the pine forest.

Chapter 398: Adapt To My Opponent

The spot where Yan Liqiang ambushed the trio wasn’t that far from Hu Haihe’s location in the first place – it was only a few hundred meters away. Although Hu Haihe didn’t see anything, he immediately understood the situation when he faintly heard the rhinodrake steeds’ neighs and the short screams coming from that direction. He tensed up when he saw Yan Liqiang come back and say to leave the place.

Hu Haihe lit up the carriage light again and drove the carriage while waving his whip. The wheels spun quickly as the carriage sped behind Yan Liqiang.

“Hyah... Hyah... Hyah...!”

The night was dark. Since the weather was good today, the visibility on the mountain road was decent under the moonlight and brilliant stars in the sky. They could speed as fast as they wanted because the road was mostly deserted during nighttime.

After speeding along the mountain road for over an hour, Yan Liqiang finally saw another traveling group of people in the night.

It was a caravan of about thirty horses, forty carriages, and more than a hundred people that were either merchants or travelers. It would appear as though they had temporarily teamed up. Hearing the sound of rushing hooves coming from behind, quite a few people in the group turned their heads around. Some even grabbed the bow they carried on their backs in alert.

When Yan Liqiang and Hu Haihe appeared in their line of sight, everyone relaxed after discovering that it was only a steed and a carriage coming from behind. After all, it was impossible for bandits to send out only two people to rob such a large group.

Neigh...! Yan Liqiang immediately slowed down when he caught up to the caravan. He cupped his fist to the people walking at the end of the group. “Excuse me, is everyone heading to Kun Province?”

“Yes, we have teamed up to travel to Kun Province together and we are planning to travel overnight. If you are heading in the same direction, why not travel with us to be safe? A normal gang of robbers will not dare to plunder a big group!” Noticing Yan Liqiang’s unusually magnificent steeds and carriage, one of the elderly merchants immediately smiled as he invited Yan Liqiang and his companion to join them. After all, the more people there were, the more powerful the group would be. Therefore, it was natural to increase the size of the group along the way.

“That’s great, we are going to Kun Province too. We shall join everyone then!” Yan Liqiang smiled, then turned to Hu Haihe, “I guess you’re right. As long as we move a little faster along the road, we’ll definitely meet a group that we can join. That will make it a lot safer. I guess I didn’t make a mistake in bringing you along. You have indeed learned a lot through your years of experience in traveling!”

Hu Haihe was also a quick-witted person. When he heard Yan Liqiang, he immediately smiled too. “Thank you, Young Lord. The Old Master has reminded us to prioritize your safety during your travel this time, so he sent me along as your coachman!”

“Yes.”

Upon hearing the conversation between Yan Liqiang and Hu Haihe, everyone in the group assumed that Yan Liqiang was a young lord from a wealthy clan who came out to travel. They calmed down and were no longer worried.

Their journey continued until it was almost eleven o’clock. After traveling for more than a hundred li, they finally arrived at a huge, bustling market town by the Lu River where they split up to separately found places to stay the night.

Kun Province was just on the other side of the Lu River. The town had a sizeable wharf. There were ferries and passenger ships, but they wouldn’t cross the river after dark due to the rapid currents at night. Therefore, the group could only wait until early the next morning to cross the river.

Naturally, Yan Liqiang found the best inn in town and reserved a private courtyard to stay the night.

...

“Young Lord... Did... Did you kill someone just now?” When Yu Qing brought water into the room for Yan Liqiang to clean up, she suddenly asked her question in a soft voice when Yan Liqiang was washing his face.

Yan Liqiang’s hands stopped and he looked at Yu Qing. After two seconds of silence, he calmly nodded. “Yes, there were bad guys following us. They were seeking to harm us so I had no choice but to dispose of them. I’m afraid things like this will still happen in the future. If you’re scared, I’ll allow you to turn back now. I can find someone from the escort agency to send you back to the Imperial Capital.”

“I don’t mean that.” Yu Qing lowered her head. Her voice turned even softer, but it was also firmer. “I believe you are a good person and will never kill the innocent. Therefore, the ones you killed must be bad people. I shall follow you wherever you go, Young Lord. Unfortunately, I don’t know martial arts. If I did, I would be able to protect you!”

“Don’t worry. By the time we reach Gan Province, I shall teach you martial arts if I have time!” Yan Liqiang laughed. “How did you know I killed someone?”

“The quiver you returned with to the carriage had three arrows less. I heard from Brother Hai that you have godly talent in archery. So I guessed that you went to kill three people when you had us stop the carriage!”

“I didn’t expect you to be this observant!” Yan Liqiang immediately came to realize that Yu Qing was exactly the same as the future version of herself. “Oh right. Do you remember the male attire that I asked you to prepare before we set off? You should change into it tomorrow morning and disguise yourself as my boy servant. That will make it more convenient during the journey.”

“Alright!” Yu Qing nodded obediently.

...

Early the next morning, Yu Qing put on the male attire as instructed and hid her hair in the hat. Since she was frail, thin, and young, it was difficult for average people to distinguish her gender if she deliberately spoke with a rough voice while dressed like a boy.

Yan Liqiang and his companions caught the earliest ferry and crossed the Lu River to enter Kun Province. They then spent a day traveling along the Lu River and arrived at Lingbai City, a big city in Kun Province, on the same day. Yan Liqiang got rid of that magnificent carriage Manager You gifted him by selling it cheaply to a merchant in the city. Then he replaced it with an ordinary carriage before the three of them disappeared into the sea of people...

...

“What? You lost Yan Liqiang?” Lin Qingtian’s hand that was holding a brush jolted and stopped in mid-air. The black ink on the tip of the brush dripped onto the paper underneath it, immediately ‘disfiguring’ the beautiful painting of a crabapple flower...

Gu Chunyi couldn’t help but lower his head. Lin Qingtian’s gaze terrified him. “I just received news that the three veterans I recently dispatched to follow Yan Liqiang have been missing for several days. They haven’t checked in with their next contacts yet...” he reported sadly.

“Where did you lose Yan Liqiang?”

“Lu Province!”

“When was that?”

“It has been eleven days since the three men from the Ministry of Justice have gone missing!”

Lin Qingtian lifted his head to look at the complex pattern on the ceiling of his study as he muttered to himself. “Eleven days... Lu Province...”

“Lu Province is quite far from the Imperial Capital. Verification and communication by all parties required time. Hence, it was already pretty late by the time I learned of this news...”

“How long does it take for you to relay a message from the Imperial Capital to Lu Province?”

“Even by mobilizing the men in the Ministry of Justice, it will take at least two days to relay the message...”

“Did Yan Liqiang travel along the same route he previously used when he escorted Sun Bingchen back from Gan Province?”

Gu Chunyi was astonished. “Ah, how did you know, my lord?”

“No need to find the three who were following Yan Liqiang. They are most likely dead!” Lin Qingtian dipped his brush into the ink again, then painted over the ink blotch on the ‘disfigured’ crabapple flower without even raising his head.

“Yan Liqiang knew he was being followed from the start. The fact that he had chosen the same route he used to escort Sun Bingchen back to the Imperial Capital proves that he was intentionally deceiving those who were following him to make them let their guard down. He then chose to dispose of them in Lu Province because it was far from both the Imperial Capital and Gan Province. It would take at least two days for any message to be relayed to the Imperial Capital. Even if you manage to respond in time with new arrangements and plans, you will still a total of four days, which is enough time for him to go into hiding. When the road branches from Lu Province, he will have many alternative routes to choose from to reach Gan Province. You won’t be able to keep an eye on him no matter how many men you have.”

“Is Yan Liqiang that cunning?” Gu Chunyi said in disbelief. His impression of Yan Liqiang had always been nothing but a simple-minded tough rebel. Little did he expect that rebel to have such a cunning side.

“Perhaps we have underestimated that young man. He is indeed quite capable to be able to make a name for himself in the Imperial Capital in just a short period of time!”

Gu Chunyi was enraged and spat vehemently, “How dare Yan Liqiang lay a finger on the people from the Ministry of Justice! Just this alone is enough to make him lose his head! Is he not afraid that I will issue an arrest warrant on him?!”

“The thing is, you have no evidence. On what basis can you claim that Yan Liqiang killed the missing three law enforcers from the Ministry of Justice? How will you answer that if the one in the palace asks you this? It is a serious crime for law enforcers put bureaucrats under surveillance without explicit approval. If you wish to accuse Yan Liqiang for his crime, you have to admit to this crime first!”

“T-Then... What should I do, my lord? Without any information on Yan Liqiang’s whereabouts, it’ll be difficult for Shi Minzhang and Lord Lin to meet Yan Liqiang even if they are in the northwestern region. Not only that, they also have no men to carry out the original plan...”

“What do you think of this?” Lin Qingtian lifted his brush and interrupted Gu Chunyi with a question. He was admiring the thing he painted over the ink blotch on the crabapple flower in satisfaction.

“Ah!” Gu Chunyi looked at Lin Qingtian’s painting and immediately discovered that the latter had turned the ink blotch into an adorable bee on the crabapple flower. The bee was so vivid and lively. It didn’t look like it was something Lin Qingtian had painted over an ink blotch at all.

“My lord, your painting skill is simply exquisite and unique! With this bee, this painting of a crabapple flower seems to have suddenly come to life!” Gu Chunyi flattered him.

“Just as water retains no constant shape, there are no constant conditions in warfare. Therefore I shall adapt to my opponent. There is no need for us to stick to the previous arrangements. Since Yan Liqiang realized that he was being followed, he wouldn’t fall into our trap so easily. Shi Minzhang and Lin Zhe’s previous plan definitely won’t work either. If we let them proceed with the plans of killing Yan Liqiang despite being discovered already, we might end up losing more than winning, and it’ll also risk ruining my grand plan. Let’s have Shi Minzhang return. Meanwhile, Lin Zhe will be grounded upon his return, do not allow him to wander outside!”

“My lord, we’re just going to let Yan Liqiang off like that?” Gu Chunyi asked rather reluctantly.

A frosty expression flashed across Lin Qingtian’s face. “Of course not. Hasn’t he been appointed as the Qiyun Protectorate General? We’ll notify the Shatu Seven Tribes. After all, it sounds perfectly logical to have them deal with him as the Blackwind Bandits. Who said he would be perfectly safe as long as he stays inside the White Stone Pass? If the Shatu Seven Tribes cannot even get rid of a brat inside Gan Province, then they don’t have the rights to bargain with us in the future!”

“Understood...”

“You are the Minister of Justice. Do not let your emotions control you so much that you only know how to watch a brat all day long. The matter involving Zheng Huaian is more important. Make sure it is taken care of properly without any slip-ups...”

“Rest assured, my lord. I definitely won’t disappoint you...”

Chapter 399: Another Homecoming

Vital Qi surged violently in Yan Liqiang’s body, rolling like boiling water.

Yan Liqiang felt as though the vital Qi was inflating him like a balloon. His entire body, from his skin to every cell in his five viscera and six bowels, swelled up with vital Qi. The sensation wasn’t unpleasant and he felt quite light instead.

Yan Liqiang used the last part of the Ten Dragons Ten Elephants Divine Technique, which Liu Guiyuan had imparted to him in the Heavenly Realm, to guide the vital Qi to nourish every inch of his body and let it course throughout.

As the vital Qi coursed through his body, it was like blazing fire for one moment, making Yan Liqiang feel as though he was standing at a volcano entrance, then icy cold the next moment, making him feel as though he was freezing all over. After nine cycles, he felt his tailbone vibrating. It was a numbing and tingling sensation, as though electricity was running through it. Yan Liqiang directed Qi to his hand, then slapped his tailbone. After nine consecutive slaps, the small ball of vital Qi that was swelling up inside his body was immediately absorbed into his tailbone and fused with it. Only then did he feel slightly more comfortable...

In the very next second, his lumbar spine above the tailbone started going numb too, so Yan Liqiang started slapping upward. After nine slaps, another small ball of vital Qi fused into his lumbar spine...

For the rest of the time, Yan Liqiang’s hands never stopped. He continued circulating Qi while slapping nearly every bone in his body. With the constant beating, the vital Qi in his body fused with his bones and the swelling sensation in his body slowly faded...

The entire process lasted a few hours.

When the final slap landed, the last bit of vital Qi that swelled up in his body finally fused into his skull. At that moment, Yan Liqiang felt his eyes brightening up as though a whole new world had opened up to him. His mind could clearly perceive every internal organ and every bone in his body.

With this perception, Yan Liqiang could ‘see’ his bones becoming stronger and more crystal white after absorbing the vital Qi. The bone marrow in his bones brimmed with vitality, producing large amounts of vital and origin Qi.

The sign of progressing into a Supreme Martial Warrior was being able to channel Qi into one’s bones. The steps and methods in doing so varied among different sects. Channeling Qi into the bones referred to the method of using vital Qi in the dantian to nourish and strengthen the bone and marrow, which would, in turn, enhance cultivation progress. This could strengthen the body to better protect vital internal organs, as well as replenish Qi and blood in the body.

Only with these would one have the foundation to attain higher cultivation realms. Past this level, one would change their status from a warrior to a master, and then be considered to have officially achieved cultivation mastery. These so-called Martial Masters were also qualified to guide others on the path of martial arts and cultivation.

...

...

“We have arrived at Pingxi City. Please ensure that you have all your personal belongings with you and prepare to disembark...!”

Amidst the boatman’s shouts, the ship that was traveling upstream from Huaiwu Prefecture slowly pulled up to Pingxi City’s wharf with the help of a group of burlaks and sailors...

The ship rocked gently. Yan Liqiang, who was sitting cross-legged on the couch, opened his eyes and a glint flashed across them. He looked at the sky outside the room. It was already noon the next day, and it had only been about a day since he consumed the Supreme Golden Pill yesterday. The pill indeed lived up to its reputation. Just consuming one was enough to help Yan Liqiang with progressing from a Supreme Martial Warrior to a Martial Master.

He used his inner sight on his dantian. Another Six-Tusked Elephant had been condensed in there. In addition to the one Yan Liqiang had condensed before, there was now a total of two elephants slowly spinning inside his dantian. An unprecedented power surged throughout his body. Yan Liqiang felt as though he could punch a hole through iron with just his fist alone.

The appearance of Six-Tusked Elephants was an indication that his physical strength had doubled. Ever since the first Six-Tusked Elephant was condensed, Yan Liqiang had been persistently cultivating Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing every day. Through the strengthening effects accumulated in his body and the sudden increase in every physical aptitude after he advanced into a Martial Master, his body finally condensed the second Six-Tusked Elephant.

Is this what it feels like to have condensed two elephants? Yan Liqiang lifted his right arm and looked at it.

It was a slender, strong, and supple hand. Due to the fact that he was now able to channel Qi into the bones since he was a Martial Master, Yan Liqiang realized that his palm seemed to have become more translucent and fairer overnight. It was strangely graceful like the hand of a wealthy noble, yet only Yan Liqiang knew of the terrifying amount of strength in this beautiful hand.

A Six-Tusked Elephant signified that Yan Liqiang possessed the physical strength of an elephant. With his current physical strength of two elephants, the strength in one finger alone was terrifying enough.

A series of familiar knocks followed by Hu Haihe’s slightly excited voice came from outside the cabin. “Young Lord, the boat has arrived at Pingxi City!”

“Oh, I know. I’ll pack up and come out...” Yan Liqiang responded from inside the cabin. He stretched out his legs and put on his shoes. Then he got up from the couch and opened the door.

Yan Liqiang’s room was on the second floor of the ship. As soon as he opened the door, he was greeted by the familiar sight of Xi River Wharf. The familiar noises at the wharf that traveled to his ears were all in the native dialect of his hometown. Yan Liqiang could even smell the nostalgic scent of Pingxi City’s water and soil in the breeze.

A brilliant smile broke across Yan Liqiang’s face as he screamed in his heart –’PINGXI CITY, I, YAN LIQIANG, AM BACK!’

Hu Haihe, who was standing by the door, was stunned for a while when he saw Yan Liqiang walking out from the cabin. “Young Lord, you...”

“What’s wrong? Is there something on my face?” Yan Liqiang touched his face consciously.

“No, I am just wondering how come you seem to have suddenly become a lot more handsome when I haven’t seen you for only a day. Your eyes are brighter and... and your gaze... maybe a little more intense...?”

“Is that so?”

When Hu Haihe saw Yu Qing come over in her boy servant disguise, he quickly pulled her and asked, “Qing’er, what do you think? Doesn’t the Young Lord look more handsome now...?”

Yu Qing quickly glanced at Yan Liqiang before she lowered her head and replied in a soft voice. “I-It seems so...”

“What do you mean by ‘It seems so,’ he obviously does!”

“Alright, alright. Go down quickly and look after our steeds and carriage. Be careful when getting off the ship...”

Yan Liqiang smiled and made Hu Haihe leave. He knew Hu Haihe was right. Channeling Qi into his bones had slightly altered his temperament and appearance. A person’s appearance and temperament came from within. Therefore, when something changed on the inside, then the exterior would naturally change too. Without channeling Qi into the bones to strengthen his physical body, how could he possibly exude the aura befitting of a Martial Master?!

Yan Liqiang’s steeds and carriage were on the ship too. By the time Yan Liqiang went downstairs, Hu Haihe had just led his Snowstorm Cloud out from the cargo hold. For the sake of covering their tracks, Yan Liqiang dyed Snowstorm Cloud’s white socks with black ink for the past month. During his journey across half of the Great Han Empire, no one could identify Snowstorm Cloud. Since it looked no different than a pure black rhinodrake steed right now, it was no longer as conspicuous as it used to be.

A few moments later, Yan Liqiang also retrieved their carriage from the cargo hold. The steed pulling the carriage walked very lightly along the wooden planks and left the deck. From the Xi River Wharf, Pingxi City’s northern gate could be seen just about a thousand meters away.

The wharf was crowded, but the scene before him was just so familiar and nostalgic to him. The series of events that ensued after he left the Pingxi City with Sun Bingchen felt like nothing but a long dream to Yan Liqiang. Everything that happened in the Imperial Capital felt so unreal and dreamlike. Nothing was more true and beloved to him than this land where he had grown up...

“Thief...! Seize the thief...!” When Yan Liqiang was looking around, he heard a sudden yell at the wharf. The crowd around him immediately became noisy.

“MOVE...! MOVE...!” A thug at the wharf brandished the dagger in his hand and rushed toward Yan Liqiang’s direction with a package tucked in his chest. There was another burly man chasing after him while yelling furiously.

“DON’T LET HIM JUMP INTO THE WATER! HE’S YANG SI, THE WATER SNAKE! THERE’S NO WAY TO CATCH HIM IF HE JUMPS INTO THE WATER...!” someone shouted.

Chapter 400: Hometown Sensation

A thief was caught red-handed and he was chased to a dead end. This wasn’t a rare scene, but Yan Liqiang didn’t expect to witness this upon his return to Pingxi City.

The wharf was extremely crowded. Many tried to stop the running thief when they heard the yell.

The folks in the northwestern region were all tough men. Many would still run up to the thief even if he was carrying a broadsword, let alone a tiny dagger. After all, how could they call themselves a man if they were afraid of a petty thief...?

“OUT OF THE WAY! MOVE! DON’T YOU DARE STOP ME...!” The thief waved his dagger while shouting furiously. He didn’t dare to run toward the crowded places, but he instead made a beeline in Yan Liqiang’s direction when he saw it was less crowded there.

“Watch out...!” Hu Haihe’s expression contorted as he drew out his saber – he was about to rush over to protect Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang saw a pebble on the ground in front of him and smirked. With a kick, the pebble flew at the running thief and hit him squarely in the leg...

“OUCH...!” The running thief yelped and lost his balance. He tumbled and landed heavily on the ground like a pathetic dog. The dagger was knocked out of his hand and his front teeth were knocked out, leaving him with a bloody mouth.

“How dare you, thief...!” The burly man caught up with the thief from behind and seized him without even waiting for him to get up. His balled up his hand into a fist and he punched the thief until he was dizzy and begging for mercy.

Just when the burly man was beating up the thief, a young lady in a green dress ran over to him and said, “Big gentleman, my lady reminds you to not kill him. Just bring him to the authorities...”

“This thief must be blind for him to dare to steal from us...!” The burly man spat angrily, then landed another two punches on the thief. He only picked up the package that the thief had stolen after beating him until he could no longer get up again. The burly man dusted the package, then cupped his fist to Yan Liqiang. “Thank you for your help, Young Lord. Otherwise, the thief would have gotten away...”

“Think nothing of it!” Yan Liqiang smiled.

The burly man handed the package to the young lady in green, then picked the thief up from the ground and sent him away with a few others who came to help. When the young lady in green left, a pair of keen eyes were carefully observing Yan Liqiang, Hu Haihe, and Yu Qing.

“That thief is really blind to be rushing toward you, Young Lord...” Hu Haihe sheathed his saber back into the scabbard. “Had he come any closer, I would have slashed him...”

“That thief is probably a thug in Pingxi City. He shouldn’t be condemned to death over some petty crime of stealing. He only took out his dagger just now to scare people away. It’s enough to just take him down and send him to the authorities.”

“You’re right, Young Lord!”

The young lady in green took the package and returned to a black carriage which was parked nearby. She exchanged a few words with someone in the carriage through the window, then pointed in Yan Liqiang’s direction. The curtain was half-lifted by a slender hand. Half a graceful face peered out from behind and looked in Yan Liqiang’s direction.

It was the face of a breathtaking lady in her twenties, who looked like she had come out of a painting. Compared to other beautiful girls, she had fuller lips which made her stand out.

Yan Liqiang and the lady looked at each other across the distance. Both of them greeted each other with a slight nod before the lady let down the curtain and Yan Liqiang also looked away.

“Let’s go!” Yan Liqiang turned around and climbed onto Snowstorm Cloud. He took a deep breath and looked in the direction of Liuhe Town. “We should able to return home before dark!”

...

As expected, Yan Liqiang and his companions really made it back to Liuhe Town before sunset.

Riding along the familiar road of his hometown on his rhinodrake steed while looking at the sunset and smoke coming out from the chimneys in town, Yan Liqiang suddenly felt the nostalgia.

It had been about a year since he left Gan Province with Sun Bingchen, and so many things had happened during this one year. Although there weren’t too many violent storms, he nearly died a few times. He carried a spear, became an official, met the Emperor, fought with influential officials, walked his dog in Deer Villa, and killed people in the Imperial Capital. At this point in time, Yan Liqiang was no longer a greenhorn. His inexperience had been replaced by calmness and wisdom that didn’t fit his age.

“Woof... Woof...!” Goldie jumped out from the carriage excitedly without Yan Liqiang’s instructions and ran toward the huge manor which the Yan Clan had recently built.

When Goldie ran out, an old man was pulling a buffalo back from the fields. A little child wearing only a thin layer of clothing was gnawing on a piece of fruit on the back of the buffalo. When the old man went past Yan Liqiang and caught a glimpse of him, he was shocked. He rubbed his eyes before crying out in surprise. “Well if it isn’t Yan Liqiang! Why are you back?”

“Ah, it’s been awhile, Old Master Li! I see that you are still very energetic!”

Yan Liqiang quickly dismounted when an acquaintance in town recognized him and greeted the old man with a smile.

“I heard from the others that you met the Emperor in the Imperial Capital. Not only that, but you are also a high-ranking official and you have become famous. Everyone in the Imperial Capital city knows about you and the people from Gan Province all talk about you after they return from the Imperial Capital. Is that true?” the old man asked enviously, looking at Yan Liqiang with his intense, burning gaze.

“Hahaha, they are flattering too much. I didn’t become some high-ranking official. As you can see, I have returned!” Yan Liqiang chuckled.

When Yan Liqiang was talking to the old man with his buffalo, Butcher Liu and his son were making their way back to town with a fat pig they had collected outside town in tow. When Butcher Liu saw Yan Liqiang, he immediately called out, “Ah, isn’t that Young Master Yan?”

Butcher Liu and his son quickly got off their carriage at the sight of Yan Liqiang. After a year of not seeing Butcher Liu’s son, he was looking more and more like Butcher Liu – an oily face and a shiny fat head. When Yan Liqiang’s glance swept over him, Butcher Liu’s son couldn’t help but tremble as he shakily greeted him.

In just the blink of an eye, two more people from the town saw Yan Liqiang and immediately gathered around him.

......

Before Yan Liqiang reached home, more than a hundred people had flocked to him. More and more people heard the news and came running to see him too. They were all looking at him as though they had never seen him before.

“Make way everyone, make way... Old Master Yan is here...!”

Unbeknownst to him, Yan Dechang had become Old Master Yan in Liuhe Town.

The crowd around Yan Liqiang only scattered and moved out of his way when someone shouted from the side. Yan Liqiang then saw Yan Dechang, Zhou Tiezhu, Zhou Hongda and a big group of people quickly coming over in his direction, with Goldie leading the way. Yan Dechang and the rest knew Goldie was the dog that Yan Liqiang kept and it had followed the latter to the Imperial Capital. Its return probably meant that Yan Liqiang had returned, so all of them came out in a hurry.

Yan Dechang seemed to have come out directly from the blacksmith workshop. There were soot and beads of sweat on his face, and the blacksmith apron still hung around his neck. He still looked the same after a year, except for the fact that his face was glowing and he seemed to be in better health.

The moment he saw Yan Liqiang, his eyes turned red even though he was smiling.

“Father, I’m back...!” Yan Liqiang nose was a little runny. Even so, he still squeezed a smile on his face.

“Good to see you back, good to see you back...” Yan Dechang drew a breath and didn’t let his tears fall. “Have you eaten?”

“Not yet!”

“Let’s go home for dinner then!”

“Great!”

The father and son met. They looked at each other and exchanged only a few words, yet the scene was overflowing with warmth!

By nighttime on the same day, news about Yan Liqiang’s return to Liuhe Town had spread far and wide, and all of Qinghe County caught wind of it.

Early the next morning, the Yan Residence was crowded by enthusiastic neighbors. Butcher Liu and his son once again brought another fat pig over. The other clans in Liuhe Town also tried to build a connection with the Yan Clan by graciously bringing gifts to visit Young Master Yan who had ‘made his glorious return’...

Chapter 401: Grand Banquet

“Most of our family members in Liuhe Town gradually migrated here in a span of roughly two hundred years. Back then, Gan Province was always at war every year. If you came for us today, we would come for you the next day. When I was young, Liuhe Town wasn’t considered a town yet. It was a small village, unlike now where the population has boomed. There were twenty or more families altogether in this village, all huddled together next to the river. There weren’t any big names or popular people here either. The ancestors of each family mostly came from a military background. They have since stopped participating in warfare and found wives to settle down. Throughout the history of Liuhe Town, not a single high-ranking official has lived here before. There isn’t a county magistrate either. Even so, not a single person here could meet the Emperor. You don’t get to casually meet the Emperor like that...”

Several tables inside the Yan Residence’s courtyard were already fully packed with guests. Those who were able to get their seats inside the courtyard were either important people from Liuhe Town or were the heads of their respective clans. On the other hand, children and youth did not qualify to sit on a seat. Instead, they had to stand on the sides of the courtyard while listening to Sixth Grandfather talk at the main table without making a sound.

Additionally, more of the others were seated in the stockyard outside the Yan Clan’s blacksmith workshop. A few hundred tables were set up in the stockyard, with two doors separating the stockyard and the courtyard. The doors to the courtyard were wide open too. The courtyard functioned as the head of the dragon, whereas the area outside was the body as the banquet tables were connected together like a long array. Several new clay ovens were set up in the stockyard with a few basic pergolas surrounding them. The women of Liuhe Town were all gathered in the stockyard, back kitchen, and on the side of the river. Some of them were also busy in the courtyard as they washed the vegetables and made food. Each woman then served the cooked dishes and wines to the tables. The atmosphere was bustling with noise. Children were shuffling about joyously at the banquet and there was plenty of laughter. The area surrounding the Yan Clan’s courtyard was filled with the aroma of dishes and sounds of laughter.

Yan Liqiang’s return to Liuhe Town this time around was a big deal to all of the townsfolk. These people almost destroyed the Yan Residence’s gate when they came to pay a visit and present their gifts to Yan Liqiang. Brimming with joy, Yan Dechang quickly organized a grand banquet in his residence the day after Yan Liqiang returned home to show his gratitude toward the villagers.

The banquets in this town, be it for weddings or funerals, were not as complicated as the ones in the city. Normally, a person would only need to shout for help to be able to get the neighboring agile and spirited women in the streets to become excited about making arrangements for the banquet. The men would set up stoves and butcher pigs and sheep for the feast while the remaining errands could be handled by the women themselves.

It was already the end of the tenth lunar month in Gan Province, indicating that it was slack season for the town, which meant that the villagers were not busy at all. As the Town Constable of Liuhe Town, Yan Dechang would only have to announce that he was hosting a banquet for the town before the several thousands of people – including almost men and women of all ages – would come flocking to his residence. The Yan Residence did not have that many tables or cutlery for their guests in that sudden moment, so the neighboring townspeople would bring their own bowls and chopsticks, tables, chairs, and whatnot and arrange them together to create a never-ending banquet...

Butcher Liu and his son were in high spirits today as they brought a few helpers to assist in butchering pigs and sheep in the stockyard. He was radiant in vigor as his face was blazing. Meanwhile, his wife was washing vegetables on the side of the river. When she heard the other women washing vegetables at the side of the river praising how competent Butcher Liu was when she saw her husband cleaving meat and shouting out commands to others, she felt very pleased with herself. A smile curled on her lips as she said, “How is that competent? He’s just a butcher. If he couldn’t even help Master Yan and Young Master with something, then he has lived his life in vain...”

Whatever opinions Butcher Liu had long ago about the Yan Clan, they were essentially dissolved the moment Yan Liqiang ranked first amongst the top three in the Qinghe County Martial Arts Examination, especially this year when Yan Liqiang’s reputation began to rise in Gan Province. The Yan Clan had already become one hundred thousand percent more relevant than the Hong Clan in the hearts of Butcher Liu’s family. It was especially more so after the outsiders who came to purchase weapons from the Yan Clan in Liuhe Town told them about the news regarding Yan Liqiang’s time in the Imperial Capital. They could only look up to them and nothing else. The Young Master of the Yan Clan liked the sausages they made, so this fact became something that Butcher Liu would boast to other people wherever he went. In fact, whenever his signboard was hung up, his meat business would grow more, especially in the market where he would cry out about the sausages and bacon he had made for the Yan Clan. Because of that, his ware would sell out immediately.

Sixth Grandfather, who was sitting at the main table in the courtyard, was the oldest senior member in Liuhe Town. He had been alive for 138 years including this year, and he was the oldest person with the longest lifespan in town. In accordance with the seniority levels in Liuhe Town, everyone would be considered as Sixth Grandfather’s juniors. For a person to be able to live more than 120 years in the Great Han Empire, as well as being shown filial piety by his children and grandchildren at that age, this person could be called a ‘lucky man’, an auspicious symbol for good fortune. Sixth Grandfather was the lucky man in Liuhe Town. Back when Sixth Grandfather was young, he was a town constable for Liuhe Town. He was the person who was initially in charge of private schools that taught people to read and write, and he also managed the roads through the fields that led to the outside of the town.

Over the years, children from any family in this town who reached their hundred days would have to be brought to Sixth Grandfather so that he could touch their heads. After that, their family would ask for one of Sixth Grandfather’s bowls to give to their children for their meals. By doing so, they believed that this would allow their children to easily grow up and be free from illnesses and disasters. Therefore, Sixth Grandfather gained a special kind of reputation in Liuhe Town. When Yan Liqiang was young, he seemed to have been touched by Sixth Grandfather on the head before. The bowl that Sixth Grandfather gave to Yan Liqiang was still kept inside a cupboard in the Yan Residence.

Even though the eyes of 138-year-old Sixth Grandfather had already turned yellow, his vision was not blurry in the slightest. Despite the age spots on his face, his teeth were still intact. He didn’t need crutches to walk either, and his voice was clear whenever he engaged in conversation. It was also said that he would wake up in the morning and still be able to practice his fist techniques for a while. At night, he would insist on drinking fruit wine of five maces too. On an occasion such as today, Yan Dechang naturally seated Sixth Grandfather at the main table with Yan Liqiang as soon as he arrived at the Yan Residence. The others sitting at the main table were all influential families of some prestige in Liuhe Town. These people were all listening to Sixth Grandfather talking about the history of Liuhe Town while occasionally turning their gazes toward Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang let Sixth Grandfather sit at the head of the main table while he sat beside Sixth Grandfather on the left. When Sixth Grandfather was talking, Yan Liqiang would wear a smile of his face while listening and nodding his head at the same time. Upon seeing how respectful Yan Liqiang was toward his elders, the villagers in the courtyard were secretly nodding in approval at this behavior. In their minds, they were noting that the demeanor of a person who had seen and experienced the world would be different than was before. In the past when the Hong Clan organized a grand banquet, they acted proud and pompous, and they were also disrespectful toward Sixth Grandfather. He went to their banquet only once and did not return after that. When he came to the Yan Residence for the first time, he was highly respected by the people. Thus, he became more talkative and opened up a lot of conversations.

“Having a talented person in Liuhe Town is a big deal to the entire village. Even though I am old now, I used to be young too. I have walked the world of martial arts before with weapons in hand, and met a Provincial Governor who is a top high-ranking official too. Like they say, ‘Just as a fence needs the support of three stakes, an able fellow needs the help of three other people.’ As such, I am deeply moved. Those gentries and dignitaries are able to flourish because of mass financial assistance from a lot of people. Liqiang, now that you are doing well, you mustn’t forget the people in this town who are willing to assist you in any way and aspire you to become better. They will also be able to share your glory afterward. Our hearts are all closely linked together, you know. We have drunk from the same well, and we know each other very well...” Sixth Grandfather spoke in earnest to Yan Liqiang while patting the back of his hand. He continued, “The people of this town hope that you can bring the young disciples here and have them follow you to learn your skills, thus bringing honor to their ancestors...”

Sixth Grandfather continued to speak as the all townspeople in the courtyard stared at Yan Liqiang, hoping to hear his stance on this matter. They were also secretly praising Sixth Grandfather for being clever and mischievous. No one had the seniority nor the position to say such things even if they wanted to. They wouldn’t have the dignity to ask the Yan Clan about it either. It was only appropriate that someone like Sixth Grandfather could say the things that everyone wanted to say in their minds...

Yan Liqiang let out a wry smile. The Psychic Serpent in his mind had already seen through the thoughts of everyone adjacent to him in the courtyard...

Chapter 402: Incite

“Grandfather is right. Our relatives watched us grow up, so we should help each other out. Everyone knows one another very well too. If I get better, I will definitely remember everyone. It’s only great when everybody feels great!” Yan Liqiang smiled and scanned his surroundings. The old people sitting in the courtyard were uplifted as they cocked their ears trying to listen to Yan Liqiang’s speech. On the other hand, Yan Liqiang took the opportunity to voice out the plans he had thought up during the journey and what he would like to do after returning to Pingxi Prefecture.

“The first thing I want to do when I come back is to create an archery club. Young disciples of Liuhe Town with proper qualifications and desire to learn martial arts can come study the club. I will personally teach everyone the art of archery!”

Upon hearing that, everyone in the courtyard lit up in delight with most of them flushed red in excitement. Sixth Grandfather let out a long sigh and stood up, “It is truly a great act of generosity for you to open an archery club after returning Liuhe Town and teaching the disciples the art of archery. No matter how much older I am, I still have to bow down to you!”

Yan Liqiang and the people around the main table quickly stood up as soon as they saw Sixth Grandfather standing up to push the chair away before trembling back two steps to give Yan Liqiang a bow. Yan Liqiang quickly propped up Sixth Grandfather with his arms and said, “Grandpa, I can’t have you do this. If you do, I will not be able to live with it!”

Sixth Grandfather struggled for a while before he realized the immense strength in Yan Liqiang’s hands, preventing him from bowing down further. It was at that moment that he turned back to look at the sea of people sitting in the courtyard. He foamed with rage and quickly stomped his crutch a few times on the ground, “You idiots! What are you staring at? Don’t you know that Liqiang is a Fifth Grade Armed Imperial Guard in the Imperial Capital and that the Emperor asked him to become the Crown Prince’s archery mentor? If Liqiang stays in the Imperial Capital and doesn’t return, the only person who can learn archery from him will be the Crown Prince of the Great Han Empire. The disciples of the high-ranking officials in the imperial court are not qualified to receive his coaching on archery. For Liqiang to open an archery club to teach the disciples of Liuhe Town the art of archery is like giving the same kind of privilege the Crown Prince has for those who join the club. Do you know how gracious it is to have such a master like him? You can’t exchange that with thousands of gold. Without Liqiang, no matter how bright the fire lights are on your ancestral graves of all generations, you will never be able to encounter such a good opportunity again. What are you all speechless for? Do you still want me to teach you what to do?”

With Sixth Grandfather in rage, all the people in the courtyard snapped back to reality and quickly stood up to show their gratitude toward Yan Liqiang. Within a blink of an eye, Yan Liqiang’s words were promptly spread to the people outside the stockyard and they instantly boiled with excitement.

In just a few seconds, the screeches of tables and chairs erupted inside the Yan Residence’s courtyard with everyone standing up. They pushed away their chairs and humbly displayed their gratitude toward Yan Liqiang. The noises continued for a few minutes before the situation began to settle down. Adults returned to their seats with only the young people still standing in the courtyard. At that moment, everyone was excited and could not wait for Yan Liqiang to impart his teachings to them so that they could become as impressive as him in the future.

Yan Liqiang’s clarification on this matter caused the atmosphere of the banquet to become more lively than ever. It was simply like splashing water into boiling oil.

“Liqiang, you said that opening an archery club is the first thing you wanted to do when you came back. If there is anything else you want to do, just tell us. I am willing to do anything, even if I have to break my old bones for you to play on a drum...” Sixth Grandfather said excitedly after he returned to his seat.

“Grandfather is a man who has seen much of the world and experienced the chaos of war. That also means he knows the fundamentals of staying vigilant in times of peace. Our Liuhe Town is massive, yet we don’t have any defensive mechanisms here. The roads are open, which means anyone can enter from all sides of the town. Usually, this type of environment is safe. But if we encounter a war or are robbed by bandits, they can invade the town with ease. The safety of the townspeople cannot be guaranteed. Although Gan Province is peaceful right now, Liuhe Town should be prepared at the very least!”

“Liqiang’s right!” Sixth Grandfather and the important people of the town sitting together at the main table exclaimed and nodded in approval to Yan Liqiang’s words. Sixth Grandfather then lamented, “Gan Province was originally a battlefield. Now that the number of bandits and robbers have increased, the disorder and chaos caused by bandits, barbarians, and soldiers will also multiply once a war truly breaks out. When I joined the army during my younger days, I saw the scenes of desolation after bandits plundered and attacked multiple villages and towns. Currently, there are still quite a lot of bandits that rob people in Gan Province. The road further away from the city isn’t safe either. Indeed, we must not neglect any precautions against danger for the future generation. Otherwise, if something happens, then it will be too late for remorse. You see, the other towns with big families in Pingxi Prefecture have fortified walls that not even several hundred rebels or bandits can simply take down. Only with that can the people have a peace of mind...”

Yan Liqiang smiled and swept his glance at the crowd in the courtyard, “Grandfather is right. I discussed this with my father last night and we have decided that the Yan Clan will cover the construction expenses for the sake of giving everyone in town a peaceful and comfortable environment. We will expand Liuhe Town, build a wall and tower for the fortress, and organize young patrol guards for their duties. Even if they are training, they have to protect the safety of the citizens in this town. If something happens, then there is no need for everyone to panic.”

“This is a great service to mankind. The Yan Clan has really done a great favor for us...!” Sixth Grandfather gave a thumbs up to Yan Liqiang and continued, “Please don’t detest us, Liqiang. I still have about a hundred taels of silver from my retirement pension, which I can donate for Liuhe Town’s development. You can also order the bastards in my house all you want. If they dare defy you, I will break their legs!”

“That’s right. Give whatever you have to assist on this matter, be it money or energy. We can’t allow Liqiang and Old Master Yan to contribute their money toward this work. Since Sixth Grandfather has spoken, the Li Clan will make a declaration to donate a thousand taels of silver to the construction...” The old man from the influential Li Clan, who was seated at the same table as Yan Liqiang, was quick to declare his clan’s support as soon as Sixth Grandfather was done talking.

When the others saw that, all of them declared that they would either donate silver or provide their energy for the cause.

As soon as the news of the Yan Clan donating money toward the construction of the fort spread across the banquet, loud cheers burst from the inside and outside of the courtyard. This news was definitely a good thing for the townspeople. As ordinary citizens of the town, especially as those living in Gan Province, all they wanted was to live in a safer place. Since the Yan Clan took the lead on this matter, the townspeople of Liuhe Town would naturally support the cause.

When the crowd was still bustling with noise and excitement, Steward Zhou Hongda of the Yan Residence briskly walked into the courtyard through the main door and whispered something to Yan Liqiang and Yan Dechang by the ear. At that moment, Yan Liqiang immediately stood up and said, “Father, just stay here. I will go alone!” When Yan Liqiang was done, he excused himself from the table and quickly followed Zhou Hongda outside.

The moment he stepped outside of the courtyard, he could see Qian Su, Zhou Yong, Lu Wenbin, and about twenty people on rhinodrake steeds waiting outside the Yan Residence. Qian Su, Zhou Yong, and the others were wearing military robes and uniforms, with the exception of Lu Wenbin. Zhou Yong and a few soldiers from the Weaponsmith Quarters in particular were equipped with weapons on their bodies, which made them seem genuinely impressive. The crowd inside the Yan Residence’s courtyard could not help but glance at them the moment they arrived on the premises.

When Yan Liqiang witnessed their arrival, a splendid smile quickly emerged on his face as he said, “Uncle Qian, Steward Lu, Big Brother Zhou, I’ve been waiting for you all day...”

Qian Su guffawed as he leapt down from his rhinodrake steed and trotted over to Yan Liqiang with his eyes shining brightly. After he solemnly studied Yan Liqiang from head to toe, he then led Zhou Yong and the others to show Yan Liqiang the proper etiquette of a superior official and said, “Quartermaster Qian Su of the Huanglong Weaponsmith Quarters from Pingxi Prefecture of Gan Province pays his respects to the Protectorate General!”

“Uncle Qian and Big Brother Zhou, you’re putting me in a tough spot!” Yan Liqiang chuckled and quickly propped up Qian Su by his arms. He continued, “We are a family. Let’s not repeat this again!”

“Hahaha...” Qian Su, Zhou Yong, and the others exchanged looks before straightening their postures and letting out laughter.

“Big Brother Zhou, you guys are also learning bad things from Uncle Qian!” Yan Liqiang laughed as he lightly punched Zhou Yong’s shoulders. Zhou Yong and the officers from the Weaponsmith Quarters grinned and laughed at Yan Liqiang’s display of attitude. His demeanor brought warmth to their hearts and exhilarated their minds.

“Greetings from Lu Wenbin, Young Lord!” Steward Lu smiled as he approached with a few people from the Lu Clan who were also giving their respectful bows to Yan Liqiang.

“We are a family. Steward Lu, please stop being too polite!” Yan Liqiang glanced at the others who followed Steward Lu and said, “How is Old Master Lu’s body?”

“His body is in excellent condition. When he received your letter last night informing of your return, he was extremely happy. And so on the same night, he personally chose a few highly capable account managers and asked me to bring them over to heed Young Lord’s orders...”

“It’s going to be tough this time since there’s a lot of work to do. Please don’t be mad at me if I picked your name through Old Master Lu, Steward Lu!”

Lu Wenbin sighed and let out a bitter smile, “I’m flattered that Young Lord thinks highly of me. Lu Wenbin will render his service to you at any cost!”

Despite Lu Wenbin’s bitter smile, he was more than elated when he knew that Yan Liqiang had personally asked Old Master Lu for him to assist in his work. There were so many stewards in the Lu Clan, yet Yan Liqiang chose him. In a sense, this action had elevated his position within the Lu Clan immediately. The other stewards were beginning to show courtesy toward him, and even Old Master Lu started viewing him in a more favorable light.

Chapter 403: One Shot (Two chapters in one)

In accordance with the village’s customs, this grand banquet was to last until the end of the night.

The atmosphere of the banquet became more lively by the time it was dark. The stockyard outside the Yan Residence’s courtyard had been luminated with a few dozen bonfires where roasted whole lambs were cooking on top of them. The theatrical troupe that Zhou Hongda invited began to sing in squeaky notes on the temporary stage amidst the blaze of the bonfire and the aroma of the mutton. The stage was also crowded by townsfolk of various ages. The atmosphere inside and outside the Yan Residence was more joyous than it was during the New Year.

Meanwhile, Yan Liqiang had already quietly escaped from the lively crowd and gone to a study room in his residence to discuss his plans with Lu Wenbin.

“The expansion of Liuhe Town this time is five times the current scale...” Yan Liqiang explained while pointing at the draft of the Liuhe Town expansion he drew last night. “This is the old part of Liuhe Town. Its structure will not change. The expansion will mainly be directed toward the south, northwest, and east side of the town. The most important part of the expansion will be on the north side of the town where there will be an expansion of two thousand mu. This piece of land is a patch of wasteland on the riverside. Once it has been expanded, Liuhe Town will be connected to Willow River. At the same time, a wharf that is at least three times the size of the Qinghe County’s wharf will be built here as well. With that, Liuhe Town can be accessed not only by land but also by water. The Willow River is connected to the Xi River, which means that the ships on the wharf will be able to travel both ways. From here on out, we can travel to Huanglong County and Pingxi City via the water route. Travelling out of Pingxi County and accessing the various counties of Gan Province via the Xi River will not be a problem...”

The three lights kindling on the light stand inside the study room were able to illuminate the entire room quite well. The wick would at times flicker slightly, which made the room seem quieter.

Although Steward Lu had mentally prepared himself before arriving to Liuhe Town and was even told by Old Master Lu what he needed to do when he arrived, he still felt his mouth parched and throat scorched after he listened to Yan Liqiang’s rough proposition and observed the draft on the table. He was stunned by Yan Liqiang’s work and couldn’t help but pick up the cup beside him to gulp down a mouthful of water. After he moistened his throat, he then carefully inquired, “Young Lord, there isn’t a fort of such proportions in Pingxi Prefecture. If Liuhe Town decides to expand based on this scale, the total area will be ten thousand mu, which is already the size of Qinghe County town. This... With such a scale this big for the expansion of Liuhe Town, most of the area will be empty in accordance to the town’s population. Moreover, the expenses for the fort construction will be massive. This... this... Is this really necessary?”

“The vacant areas are temporary!” Yan Liqiang shook his head and continued, “I will make arrangements for the vacant areas after the expanded ground has been leveled...” At that point, Yan Liqiang pointed to the empty area on his draft and said, “I plan on building a large comprehensive marketplace in this area and we will welcome all visitors from all corners. There will be new several main streets beside the marketplace, where various shops and inns will emerge in time to come. At the same time, I want to build a few large workshops and warehouses in the northwest, north, and south sides of the expansion. Once these workshops are built, the expanded areas of the town will not seem vast anymore. One might deem the expansion a little bit small even!”

“What does Young Lord wish to produce by building so many workshops?” Lu Wenbin asked curiously.

“More than half of the people from Huanglong Weaponsmiths Quarter are going to move in and root themselves in Liuhe Town. The people from the Weaponsmiths Quarter on this side will separate a few specialized workshops for them. As for the other workshops, I have a plan for that!” Yan Liqiang smiled as he left Steward Lu guessing without properly explaining his intentions.

Lu Wenbin smiled back awkwardly. No matter how hard he tried, he realized he could never surmise the thoughts from someone such as Yan Liqiang. Moreover, there were some things that may have greater effect than others. For example, the lotus root briquette – Yan Liqiang would not advertise them before they were produced. When Lu Wenbin noticed that Yan Liqiang did not want to divulge the arrangement details of those workshops for the time being, he decided not to ask any further. Instead, he rearranged his thoughts and carefully observed Yan Liqiang’s plans on the paper. He then rapidly calculated with his fingers and said, “Does Young Lord know the scale of building the walls and fortress around Liuhe Town?”

“Is there a limit to the size of building walls and fortresses in Gan Province?” Yan Liqiang inquired.

“There is no limit!” Lu Wenbin shook his head and continued, “If the construction demand on the size and height of the fortress walls in other provinces and prefectures in the Great Han Empire exceed the requirements, then it is considered going overboard. However, Gan Province is considered a border province with history of wars on its lands. And for that, the imperial court has loosen up the restrictions on Gan Province. As long as you have both money and lands, you can build the fortress any size or height you want and it will not be considered as going overboard!”

Yan Liqiang hesitated for a moment and said firmly, “The fortress wall must be built a little higher. From the ground, it has to be four feet high and the walkway above must be nine feet wide. There will be watchtowers in the four corners of the fortress, and arrow towers every hundred meters apart. The highest level of the arrow tower must be able to contain heavy crossbows equivalent to the weight of eight cattle!”

Steward Lu swiftly sucked in a breath of air and said to Yan Liqiang with a dubious gaze, “If that’s the case, the expenses will be high. Only forts near the border with strategic importance can be built on such a scale. If we are going to completely remodel Liuhe Town with this plan, we will need at least four to five hundred thousand taels of silver. This is a very large sum, so I am not sure whether the money...!”

“You don’t have to worry about the silver. I have already prepared them. Steward Lu will only have to manage the schedule...” Yan Liqiang said in a calm tone.

Since he already knew the great change that would befall the Great Han Empire in four years’ time, the subsequent events could possibly lead to unimaginable situations. Therefore, Yan Liqiang was considering the expansion of Liuhe Town with the high specifications to try and change Liuhe Town into a sturdy fortress. With a fortress like that, not only could it shield their neighbors, his own family, and the townsfolk, but it could also be considered as a county town – a strong refuge that reassured the people. Of course, the fortress wasn’t the only important part. After the fortress has been built, there would be workshops as well, and that was the real focal point.

During the journey back home, Yan Liqiang had already figured out everything. Now that he had reached a certain height this time around, he decided to base his hometown, Liuhe Town, as the starting point in setting up his foundation and power. With those two, he would not have to be a slave to anyone else, and he would be able to acquire the power to influence the overall situation. By doing so, he would be able to cement a cornerstone for himself to settle down for a peaceful life in the future. If he could not acquire this kind of foundation, no matter how powerful his martial cultivation base was, he would only become a character akin to The Banes of Heaven and Earth. The Banes of Heaven and Earth could kill people, but they would forever be other people’s pawns, unable to change the overall situation for eternity. Naturally, this wasn’t what Yan Liqiang ultimately wanted.

As for the money required to build the fortress, the large amount of silver that Yan Liqiang obtained by double-crossing the Shatu people in Pingxi City was still available. Even though he had spent quite a bit of his money in the Imperial Capital by running newspapers last time, the Emperor subsequently gave him ten hundred thousand taels of silver as the organization expenses of a protectorate. Because of that, the current amount of silver that Yan Liqiang could use amounted to five hundred thousand taels in total.

At that moment, Yan Liqiang had a feeling as if the Gods had granted the silver that those Shatu people kept for themselves to spend for a moment like this.

In order to do great things, paying for large expenses was inevitable.

The reason why Yan Liqiang asked the Lu Clan for assistance this time was because the project would be on a large scale. The expenses would be heavy, and there was no one that Yan Liqiang nor Yan Dechang knew who could coordinate control over the situation. In this regard, despite the fact that Zhou Hongda was the current steward of Yan Liqiang’s family, he had never experienced this sort of thing before. Although he didn’t have the experience or capability to handle such a situation, Zhou Hongda’s good trait was his diligence and honesty, which was why Yan Liqiang asked Old Master Lu to send over a capable steward and bookkeeper for him to utilize. These stewards and bookkeepers in the Lu Clan had gone through various trainings and situations to remain orderly. Naturally, they were adept in grasping the matters within their respective fields.

Since Yan Liqiang and Lu Clan were ‘not strangers’, Old Master Lu was extremely happy that Yan Liqiang would use his men to assist in his work. Because of that, Old Master Lu decided to dispatch the Lu Clan’s ‘veteran soldier’ to Yan Liqiang this time.

“Aside from Liuhe Town’s expansion, I heard that Young Lord wishes to open an archery academy. Is this academy going to be built in Liuhe Town as well?”

“The archery academy will not be located in Liuhe Town, but somewhere near it. I have decided to place the academy on Mount Hundred Zhang, which will not disturb and occupy the fertile fields in the town. We will buy a piece of uncultivated forest land next to the mountain. Steward Lu will have to think over this matter as well. When it is decided, we will need to build some houses and space around the academy, so let us go in accordance to the academy construction first. As for the silver needed, I will say the same thing again. You don’t have to worry about it. Just spend it as you see fit and request more if it isn’t enough...”

“Then how many people are going to occupy the area in the archery academy?”

“How many people do you think will enroll into the archery academy when it is open?”

“This...” Steward Lu frowned. After a moment of hesitation, he said, “It’s hard to say. Based on Young Lord’s current reputation in Gan Province, I’m afraid the entire population of the province will flock in if the news of your archery academy spreads. There will be more coming from Pingxi Prefecture too. I can’t estimate a specific amount of how many people will come!”

“Then we will go according to the scale of two thousand people for now!”

“Two thousand people?” Lu Wenbin asked for confirmation. Judging by Yan Liqiang’s expression, this number was still considered a little bit conservative. However, the human population in the academy of the entire Pingxi Prefecture would be at least a few hundred people. The archery academy of two thousand people would become the number one academy in Pingxi Prefecture if it were established.

“That’s right, two thousand people. The first batch of members for the archery academy will only be reserved for the disciples of Pingxi Prefecture. Those outside of Pingxi Prefecture will not be accepted for the time being. It will be fine if you consider the construction with this scale!”

“Alright, understood!” Lu Wenbin nodded in response.

While the two were still in the middle of their conversation, knocks came from the door outside the study room. Zhou Hongda’s voice rang out from the other side as he said, “Young Lord, the mutton is done cooking now. Master is going to distribute them soon and wants you to come over...”

“Alright. Tell my father I will be there soon!” Yan Liqiang replied from the room before turning back to Lu Wenbin, “We will stop here for today. Let’s go and eat some mutton, Steward Lu. If there are any problems, we will speak again later!”

Lu Wenbin nodded and stood up first, “Young Lord, please...”

Soon afterward, Yan Liqiang came to the stockyard outside of the Yan Residence where thousands of people had already gathered together. All of them surrounded the bonfire while they sat on the floor while roasting the lamb and watching the show on the stage. The children, on the other hand, were merrily releasing the lanterns that they had made to the sky, also known as sky lanterns. This unrestrained cheerful scenery would be considered the characteristic of this part of Gan Province.

Yan Dechang and Qian Su sat together and chatted. Both of their faces were slightly red from drinking a bit of wine, which seemed quite adorable.

Distributing the mutton was also considered to be one of the etiquettes of the banquet. Yan Liqiang quickly led Steward Lu to the main table near the stage and sat down. It was only then that Yan Dechang began to order all of the fragrant and oily roasted mutton be taken off the bonfires and stood up with a cleaver in his hand to cut the lamb into various parts before distributing them to the prominent figures of Liuhe Town around him.

Sixth Grandfather alone was given the lamb’s head and tail, which was a sign of respect toward him. The rest, on the other hand, were given other parts of lamb’s body instead.

Yan Liqiang was given the hoof and a mutton chop.

When Yan Liqiang was about to start eating his food, a slightly drunk uncle suddenly stood up amidst the nearby crowd and shouted at him, “Everyone knows that Liqiang is our... our first rank from the Qinghe Martial Arts County Trial. Of course, your martial abilities are indeed formidable. There’s nothing to it...” That uncle let out a hiccup and swayed for a bit before he gave Yan Liqiang a thumbs up and said, “However, the townsfolk also heard that your archery skill is beyond peerless. You have earned such a great reputation in the Imperial Capital that even the old Emperor praises you for your formidability. The townsfolk have never seen your archery skills before, so I wonder... I wonder if you can demonstrate your skills to us tonight and open their eyes to see how exceptional the archery skills of someone who is able to become a coach to the Crown Prince of the Great Han Empire is. What does everyone think of my suggestion...”

“That’s a good suggestion...” In an instant, loud cheers roared amongst the crowd as soon as that uncle was done talking. The atmosphere in the stockyard was once again brought into clamour.

Yan Liqiang turned his gaze and stared at the uncle who suggested that he should demonstrate his abilities. Upon inspection, he realized that the uncle had no ulterior motives in his mind, only curiosity. This man wished to see what kind of archery cultivation base was able to garner praise from the Emperor himself. Yan Dechang, Qian Su, Steward Lu, and Zhou Tiezhu, who were sitting beside Yan Liqiang, even showed intrigue expressions when they heard the suggestion, let alone the curious uncle himself. They were interested because Yan Liqiang had never demonstrated how great his archery cultivation base was. Everyone wanted to see it for themselves because of the plenteous rumors.

“Liqiang... all the villagers are here today in such high spirits and they want to take a glimpse at your abilities. If it isn’t a hassle for you, then show the villagers what you have!” Yan Dechang said.

Since Yan Dechang had spoken, Yan Liqiang did not have anymore reasons to decline the offer. With a beckoning gesture, Hu Haihe immediately came to his side. Yan Liqiang then gave him an order, “Go and fetch my heavy bow and quiver!”

“Yes, sir!” Hu Haihe bowed and quickly darted toward the big courtyard of the Yan Residence.

Yu Qing had been obeying Mother Wu’s orders behind the kitchen all day today, which was why Yan Liqiang was not able to see her at the banquet until now.

While everyone was anticipating for what was to come, Hu Haihe came back in a few minutes with the Yan Liqiang’s twenty-picul bow and quiver on his back.

“If we are going to shoot arrows, we must have a target...” Yan Liqiang smiled as he pointed at the harvested field three to four hundred meters away from the stockyard. He then looked at the wide-eyed youngsters and children standing nearby who were engrossed in lighting up their sky lanterns a few moments ago in anticipation for Yan Liqiang to show his skills and yelled, “Whoever can run to the field and release their lanterns into the sky the fastest will gain one silver for every lantern released!”

When the children heard that they could earn one silver for releasing a lantern – which seemed really good, they quickly took their lanterns and rushed toward the field that Yan Liqiang pointed to in a flash.

The children were extremely fast as they took only two minutes to reach the field that was a few hundred meters in distance. They then lit up their sky lanterns made out of cotton paper, slender bamboo sticks, and cotton balls soaked in a bit of oil.

In that instance, the sky lanterns gradually floated upward from the ridge of fields at the distance toward the sky above.

The stockyard was filled with complete silence, except for the occasional cackling of the firewood piles burning in the bonfire. Even the theatrical troupe singing on stage ceased their activities after they had finished their performances. Everyone was breathlessly watching as they anticipated how Yan Liqiang would put up a performance for them...

They were all waiting for Yan Liqiang to make a move, yet he was in no rush.

One by one, the sky lanterns ascended to the air. These flying lanterns, seven in total, continued to soar up high. With a gust wind, the lanterns quickly floated into the distance and dispersed from each other into the night sky.

Yan Liqiang showed a composed demeanor as he leisurely took out a bow from his quiver and quietly gazed at seven of sky lanterns drifting off into the night sky.

In just two minutes, the lanterns had already floated to a high altitude, almost to a height beyond their field of vision. They were like stars in the sky, as if they were just luminous spots blinking from afar. Yan Liqiang was still watching the lanterns quietly and composedly.

The crowd in the stockyard was bewildered. As they were beginning to feel that it was totally impossible for a person to shoot those seven sky lanterns at this distance, Yan Liqiang began to make his move.

Before half a second was up, he had already released two sets of arrows toward the sky. For the first set, he clenched four arrows at the same time as he shot them. As for the second set, he was simultaneously pulling three arrows before firing them from his bow.

His movements were as fast as lightning. Even after he had fired those arrows, the surrounding crowd did not even get a clear view of his actions.

“Thank you all for your patience!” Yan Liqiang handed over his bow to Hu Haihe before facing the surrounding villagers with his fists clenched together as he let out a smile on his face.

What’s the meaning of this? The seven sky lanterns are still lit up in the sky. How is that putting up a performance?

Most of the people in the stockyard were blinking in confusion, unable to react to the situation.

And then almost at the same time, the lights of the seven sky lanterns were extinguished altogether. In the eyes of the bystanders, this scene was like extinguishing the lights of seven stars in the sky...

“Awesome...”

“That’s awesome!”

“Ungodly skill. This is indeed an ungodly skill...” Sixth Grandfather said while trembling with excitement.

“This is truly a one-shot!”

After ten seconds had passed, the clamoring cheers and insane noises only started to echo from the stockyard...

Tonight was the night that Yan Liqiang’s extraordinary archery skills had shaken Liuhe Town. Moreover, news of this incredible one-shot skill quickly got around to Pingxi Prefecture and Gan Province...

Chapter 404: Between Father and Son

Even though yesterday’s grand banquet from lasted until the dead of the night, Yan Liqiang managed to wake up the next morning before sunrise. After washing up, he went to the garden behind Yan Residence’s courtyard and began his morning training.

Originally, there used to be a bamboo grove outside the Yan Residence’s backyard which did not belong to the Yan Clan at first. However, when the Yan Residence decided to renovate the courtyard last year, Yan Liqiang asked his people to purchase the bamboo grove area and connect it to the backyard, thus transforming it into the Yan Residence’s back garden. This same garden became a convenient place for Yan Liqiang to perform his morning training every day.

The fields in the late autumn mornings would always be covered in layers of drizzly mist, causing dew drops to form on the grass surfaces. Despite the Yan Residence’s back garden which already looked somewhat bleak, the dense bamboo grove was able to transform this area into a place of heaven and earth, making it seem quite secluded.

Yan Liqiang wielded the Dragon Spine Steel large spear of four hundred jin as if he was holding a piece of rice straw in his hand with three fingers pinching the end of the weapon. He then stretched his arm forward before gradually stretching his whole body. The large spear held by only three fingers slowly pierced forward, retracted, and blocked in accordance with his body stretching, and they were all extremely simple movements...

As the saying goes, “While the connoisseur recognizes the artistry, the layman simply enjoys the show.” At this moment, if Li Hongtu were at Yan Liqiang’s side and saw him using this sort of method to cultivate, he would have turned pale from shock. The weight of the four hundred jin large spear was outrageous. Even if it was an ordinary Martial Warrior, they might not be able to lift up this spear on their own. But for Yan Liqiang to hold it using only his thumb, index finger, and middle finger by grasping the end of the spear, the force of such power was definitely appalling. If one were to borrow a bench vice from the blacksmith workshop to clamp a three meter long, four hundred-jin item by the end and leave it hanging, clamping it without making it fall would always be a problem, let alone holding it with only three fingers.

With Yan Liqiang’s relaxed movements, every action he made seemed to harbor a horrifying degree of power. At that moment, his body had achieved a perfect balance between firmness and flexibility, as well as between Yin and Yang.

Yan Liqiang closed his eyes and raised his spirit to the maximum level. He imagined countless enemies surrounding him with a myriad of weapons brandished at him, and countless hidden weapons and arrows flying in his direction. Yet, he could not see them. All he could do was depend on his feelings and use his long spear to block the incoming hidden weapons, arrows, and swords.

This was the training method that Yan Liqiang had discovered for himself. Whether it was his form or his mind, this sort of training was the fastest method that would allow his body to enter its ultimate state, in turn generating the largest consumption of energy to achieve the greatest temperament. The Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing that would be used to strengthen his body could reach its greatest effectiveness later on.

As expected, after Yan Liqiang had trained for only for half an hour, his body quickly became burning hot, as if there was a stove boiling inside him. The frost condensed on the ground and the bamboo around him melted and immediately evaporated because of the heat generated from his body, thus enveloping Yan Liqiang with a cloud of mist. No one would be able to clearly see Yan Liqiang’s figure from afar. The only thing visible within the hot mist was the long spear that looked like a dragon out of water, flowing high and low...

Yan Liqiang continued to practice with the heavy spear for about forty minutes until he was drenched in sweat. His heart was beating heavily, and his muscles were aching. He then decided to put down the heavy spear and proceeded to cultivate his Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing. As soon as he started his cultivation, a great wave of Heaven and Earth energy surged from every corner before rushing into his body like a bestowment from the top of his head. The mist around him did not vanish – instead, it formed into a vortex and began spinning around Yan Liqiang, which seemed extremely mystical...

After he was done cultivating the first round of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing, Yan Liqiang could sense that someone had arrived at the back garden. Although he did not open his eyes to see who it was, he knew the person entering the garden was none other than his father, Yan Dechang.

Yan Liqiang did not stop either and continued his cultivation. Yan Dechang arrived to an area about twenty meters in distance from his son. Without uttering a word, he continued to observe the fog surrounding Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang only wrapped up the second round of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing after he felt the energy of his body and mind fully rejuvenated like a recharged battery, in addition to slightly increasing his energy capacity. After that, he opened his eyes.

The fog surrounding Yan Liqiang slowly disappeared as soon as he wrapped up his cultivation. He then held the Dragon Spine Steel spear in his hand and approached Yan Dechang.

“Father, did you wake up early too?”

“You knew I was coming?” Yan Dechang said as he examined Yan Liqiang from head to toe. There was gratification in his expression, yet at the same time, an indescribable shock could be seen from his face. Even though Yan Dechang was not a warrior and had no prior knowledge in any sort of cultivation, he could still tell from the scenario just now that Yan Liqiang’s cultivation base was definitely no longer the same as it was before – it had already far exceeded than what he had imagined.

“I knew the moment you arrived just now!” Yan Liqiang laughed. He had already instructed Head Steward Zhou and Hu Haihe before that they should not come into the back garden to disturb him whenever he was cultivating his martial arts. Because of that, the only person who could enter the garden at this time would be Yan Dechang.

Yan Dechang’s gaze briefly swept toward the Dragon Spine Steel long spear that Yan Liqiang was wielding. A radiant gleam flashed in his eyes as he said, “That’s a good spear. The quality of the material of this long spear seems special. It’s not some kind of steel and it looks a bit like an alloy...”

“This is a long spear made of Dragon Spine Steel and that is certainly not some ordinary steel!” Yan Liqiang replied.

“Let me try and gauge how heavy it is!” Yan Dechang said as he reached out to hold the spear.

“Be careful, Father. This spear is quite heavy, so you might not be able to wield it with just one hand...” Yan Liqiang cautioned while putting the long spear in an upright position. He placed the end of the spear shaft on the ground first before handing the spear to his father.

“I have never heard of Dragon Spine Steel before!” Yan Dechang said absentmindedly. He continued, “However, it’s just a long spear. How heavy can it be? The hammer I usually swing weighs about a dozen jin. I can still lift up something that weighs a few hundred jin without a problem.”

The moment Yan Dechang touched the spear made of Dragon Spine Steel, Yan Liqiang released his grip on the spear, allowing it the fall into Yan Dechang’s grasp. In that instant, Yan Dechang’s expression changed. He felt as if he was holding a pillar in his arms, which was falling onto him. Unable to wield the long spear with one hand, he was quickly pressed into retreating a few steps before he promptly managed to balance the falling spear by balancing it with both hands.

Yan Dechang took a deep breath and widened his stance in an attempt to pick up the long spear from the ground once more. However, in doing so, his face became red and his veins violently popped up from his forehead. He only managed to pick up the Dragon Spine Steel spear that fell on the ground by a few inches after struggling for a while...

Upon watching Yan Dechang’s hands trembling from holding the spear, Yan Liqiang quickly took the Dragon Spine Steel spear from his father’s clutches and said, “Be careful, Father. Don’t hurt yourself...”

Yan Dechang gasped for air and puffed from strain. Within a few moments, his forehead was already covered in a layer of sweat. He gazed at Yan Liqiang and watched him wield the long spear with ease as if he was just holding a wooden club. Gasping for breath, Yan Dechang asked, “How... how heavy is this spear?”

“About four hundred jin!”

“Do you use this on a daily basis?”

“It’s not convenient to bring this spear with me all the time, so I only use it during my training!”

“And your current cultivation base is...”

“I have already advanced to Martial Master...” Yan Liqiang calmly replied. He could keep his cultivation base advancement a secret to anyone, but with Yan Dechang, there was no need to hide that fact from him.

“Martial Master!” Yan Dechang gazed at Yan Liqiang, stunned. After he managed to calm down his breathing, he patted Yan Liqiang’s shoulder and said, “Liqiang, you are covered in sweat. Go take a bath and change your clothes first. After that, come to my room. I have something to tell you!”

“Alright!”

Upon watching his father leave, Yan Liqiang felt that his father’s emotions were a bit different today.

Ten minutes later when Yan Liqiang had taken a bath and changed his clothes, he went to Yan Dechang’s room feeling light and refreshed.

Yan Dechang was sitting in his room while waiting for Yan Liqiang with a dark expression on his face. When he saw that Yan Liqiang had arrived, he pointed to the seat next to him and said, “Liqiang, come and sit down!”

Yan Liqiang sat down beside him.

“There’s something I have never told you before. I thought that there would be no hope for us both in this life. But ever since you came back, especially after seeing your archery skills last night, I think now is the time for you to know about it!”

“Father, what do you want to tell me?”

A sorrowful expression was painted on Yan Dechang’s face as he replied, “You must know who you should look for to avenge your mother...”

Chapter 405: Origin

Yan Dechang’s words made Yan Liqiang remember the things that his father drunkenly said to him the night he took first rank amongst the top three in the Qinghe County Martial Arts Examination––

“Xuelian... did you see? Our son...ranked first among the top three... I promised you before...to nurture Liqiang...waiting for the day for him to have the ability...to...avenge you... Then I...can finally put my mind at ease and join you.... Wait for me...”

On the next day, Yan Liqiang pretended that he didn’t hear the nonsense Yan Dechang spouted, but the words his father said the night before had already been deeply imprinted into his heart.

As the saying goes, “A drunk man’s words are a sober man’s thoughts.” Yan Liqiang realized there was something of the past in his household that his father did not wish to mention again. And this past was connected to his mother of this world, whom he had no recollection of.

Yan Liqiang only knew that his mother’s name was He Xuelian, who eventually married his father and subsequently took up his surname. Ever since Yan Liqiang was young, Yan Dechang was not very keen in divulging further details whenever his own mother was mentioned. Yan Liqiang used to think what his father said about his mother was true – that she passed away due to illness during his infancy. However, ever since Yan Dechang became drunk that night, Yan Liqiang began to realize that there was something more beyond the surface of this story.

Moreover, Yan Liqiang had always remembered the warning that Yan Dechang gave to him during the desperate situation that day through the ‘dream’ that the Heavenly Stone bestowed to him – “DON’T FORGET TO EXTERMINATE THE SHATU SEVEN TRIBES TO AVENGE YOUR MOTHER!”

During that time, Yan Liqiang was incapable of destroying Shatu Seven Tribes on his own. But at that critical moment of life and death, Yan Dechang still decided to throw those words to him.

This matter had been lingering inside Yan Liqiang’s heart for a long time, but because Yan Dechang did not want to talk about it, he could only pretend not to know anything, that is, until now.

“I think it’s time for you to know something now!” Yan Dechang said as he glanced at Yan Liqiang with eyes full of emotion. He then raised his gaze and fervently recalled his memories, “That day, when I heard that the Emperor made you the Qiyun Protectorate General, I felt that everything might be according to God’s will. The resentment between our clan and the Shatu Seven Tribes could possibly end with you. I thought we wouldn’t be given this chance at all!”

“My mother didn’t pass away because of an illness but because of the Shatu Seven Tribes. Is that right?” Yan Liqiang asked calmly.

“Seems like I really drank a lot this time and said something I shouldn’t have!” Yan Dechang exclaimed as he shook his head, his expression painted with anguish.

“Why didn’t you tell me this matter before?”

“It’s not that I don’t want to tell you, but there are too many implications with this matter. It is impossible to avenge your mother with our capabilities combined. I was afraid that you might act rashly and do something foolish so I couldn’t bring myself to tell you after all this time. Rather than watch you send yourself to death, I would prefer to not let you know anything at all. I wanted you to continue living your life peacefully, get married, and have children. Perhaps this is the best choice, and this is what your mother desired for you at the time as well!”

“What’s really going on?” Yan Liqiang inquired.

“Let me show you something!” Yan Dechang stood up and reached under his bed to pull out an old iron-edged wooden cabinet that had been utilized for an unknown number of years before opening it. Some old clothes and other similar items were inside the chest. Yan Liqiang then gently pressed on the wood piece on the side of the cabinet, letting out a ‘clack’ before Yan Dechang subsequently took it out. There was also an interlayer behind the eight pieces of wood board that contained a red silk cloth, enveloping something within it. Yan Dechang carefully took out the red silk cloth inside the interlayer and returned it to Yan Liqiang before putting it on the table. He then quickly unwrapped the silk cloth, finally revealing a piece of pitch black yet extremely smooth metal token the size of a hand palm.

“What’s this?”

“Bite your finger and drop your blood on it!”

Yan Liqiang looked at Yan Dechang before he quickly bit the tip of his right index finger without hesitation and dripped his blood on the token.

As the red blood trickled onto the pitch black surface of the token, Yan Liqiang was able to see that the token had already fully absorbed the drops of blood in just the blink of an eye. Less than a few seconds later, the black token began to undergo a change by emitting a feeble luster around it. A red token writing appeared in the middle of the token amidst the luster, which was surrounded by large peaks of luxuriant hills formed by moire patterns akin to that of sea waves as well as a vast plain.

“The earliest form of this token was a piece of unusual meteorite that fell onto the plains from beyond the sky. It was 200 years ago when Qiyun Protectorate General Gulang, who governed Mount Qiyun and Gulang Plains at the time, was able to obtain the unusual meteorite and have it forged into a token. This token is called the Shuiyun Token because of its peculiar properties. As long as the person who possesses the bloodline of the Qiyun Protectorate General drips their blood onto the token, it will reveal a moire pattern... ”

What was the meaning of shocking? This was it!

At this moment, while listening to his father’s calm voice, Yan Liqiang could only feel the sensation of buzzing inside his mind. His brain was shutting down as he couldn’t find the words to respond with. The Emperor had just appointed him as the Qiyun Protectorate General, but he would have never thought that he was actually the descendant of the previous Qiyun Protectorate General. The chances of this happening was like winning a jackpot...

Seeing how Yan Liqiang was speechless, Yan Dechang rubbed the token in his palm and calmly continued, “Before the Shatu Seven Tribes moved into the Gulang Plains, this token has always been in the Qiyun Protectorate General’s possession and continued to remain the same for the next few generations. After the Shatu Seven Tribes’ migration into the Gulang Plains, the Qiyun Protectorate General at the time decided to summon his most loyal attendant one day and gave this token to that attendant. He also allowed his attendant to leave Mount Qiyun with his newborn son to go back inside the pass. At that time, the attendant’s wife had just given birth to a child, but this child wasn’t able to live long and died prematurely. At the same time, the Qiyun Protectorate General’s wife had also given birth to a child. He switched his son with the attendant’s child and told the world that the dead child was his own. Meanwhile, his own son was secretly taken by the attendant to Gan Province...”

“Not long after the Qiyun Protectorate General’s attendant brought his child to Gan Province, the Qiyun Protectorate was suddenly ambushed and annihilated by bandits overnight. None of the kindreds of the Qiyun Protectorate General outside the pass were allowed to live. After that, the Shatu people became the rulers of Mount Qiyun and the Gulang Plains. The loyal attendant, on the other hand, took the orphan of the Qiyun Protectorate General’s bloodline and began a completely new life in Gan Province. On the surface, the orphan was a blacksmith and had a beautiful daughter. He also accepted two disciples, one of whom was lucky enough to marry the gorgeous daughter and had a child. This child took his father’s surname and was named Yan Liqiang!”

While talking about the past, Yan Dechang could not help but shed a few tears. Yan Liqiang’s eyes slowly turned red after he was able to hear the true origin of his background for the first time...

“Back then, your grandfather might have been a blacksmith, but in reality, he was always been thinking of cultivating a peerless set of martial arts for the sake of revenge. The reason why your grandfather died was also not because of an illness but because of his impatience to succeed in cultivating his martial prowess. He caught a severe illness after falling into Qi deviation, and in the end, he passed away!”

Chapter 406: Grace and Enmity

Suddenly being told about his past, Yan Liqiang’s heartstrings were tugged as he listened to Yan Dechang recounting the tale mournfully.

Yan Liqiang was only an ordinary person in his previous life. He certainly didn’t expect to be born into a clan like this in this lifetime and be saddled with such a heavy history and past. He never liked the Shatu people ever since he first saw them. Little did he expect the bad blood between him, the Shatu Seven Tribes, and his country since long ago.

His Majesty must have had his own reasons for appointing Yan Liqiang as the Qiyun Protectorate General. By the strange trick of fate, Yan Liqiang, the newly-appointed Qiyun Protectorate General by the Emperor, also happened to be the most rightful heir to this position in the Great Han Empire.

There was no other explanation to this aside from it being the Will of Heaven.

“Then what about Mother? What happened to her?” Yan Liqiang asked with his reddened eyes.

“When your great grandfather served the Qiyun Protectorate General, he suddenly left the protectorate with your grandfather and returned to the pass. At that time, he didn’t attract too much attention. It wasn’t until something happened over at the Qiyun Protectorate when the Shatu people didn’t manage to find the Shuiyun Token, which was the Qiyun Protectorate General’s symbol of power and heritage, that someone mentioned your great grandfather again. The Shatu people searched high and low for your great grandfather. They looked everywhere for him and your great grandfather was well aware of that too. When your grandfather grew up, your great grandfather left Gan Province alone because he didn’t wish to implicate your grandfather and have the Shatu people discover the whereabouts of your grandfather through him.

“He headed to the Lan Province and lived in seclusion in Yushan Prefecture, where he opened up a small inn and never initiated any contact with us. Your grandfather and your mother would visit him once every one or two years. After you were born, your mother thought that your great grandfather was getting too old and she feared that she might miss out on the chance to let him meet you. So, she had a talk with me. When you were only six months old, we brought you to Lan Province to visit your great grandfather.”

Speaking up to this point, anguish flashed across Yan Dechang’s face. “I didn’t expect the Shatu people to have found your great grandfather when I brought your mother and you to Yushan Prefecture in Lan Province to visit him. After an intense battle, your great grandfather died on the spot, even though he managed to kill all the Shatu intruders. Your mother got hit by one of the Shatu men while trying to protect you. Although I got injured too while fighting with them, I was physically strong and I could take it. We escaped from Tianshui Prefecture, but your mother sustained critical wounds to her five visceras. The injuries were so serious that no medicine could heal her. A few days after we returned... she... she... left us...”

By the time he spoke until the end, tears were already cascading down Yan Dechang’s face even though he was a prideful man.

Yan Liqiang also wiped his overflowing tears away. “My great grandfather left so many years ago and hid his identity. How did those Shatu people trace him all the way to his hiding place in Lan Province that day?”

“Among those Shatu people who appeared before us that day, one of them was an old Han Chinese man. He seemed to be acquainted with your great grandfather back in the Qiyun Protectorate. No one knew how he became one of the Shatu people’s lackeys. He was the one who led them on the search for your great grandfather and identified him. Those Shatu men appeared to be part of a caravan, but they were actually a search team dispatched by the Shatu Seven Tribes to search for your great grandfather. They scoured so many prefectures in the northwestern region for so many years. When that man recognized your great grandfather upon their meeting, your great grandfather crushed his skull as soon as he called out his name in the inn...”

“Does Uncle Qian know about this?”

“I only knew about your mother and your grandfather after marrying her, so Uncle Qian didn’t know anything about it until now!” Yan Dechang shook his head and wiped his tears, trying to calm his emotions.

“Your grandfather was cultivating a powerful technique back then, but he fell into Qi deviation. Your mother feared that you might follow his path, so she burned that secret manual after you were born. She never expected you to ever become some Qiyun Protectorate General beyond the pass when you grew up. All she wanted was for you to be safe and happy. No one expected you to return as a Qiyun Protectorate General after the trip to the Imperial Capital. This must be fate. I am only a blacksmith. I am not capable of imparting you any impressive martial techniques. I was strict with you when you were a child and forced you to train every day because I wished for the day you would become a hundred times stronger than me and possess great martial cultivation. Only then would you have the chance to avenge your mother by killing those Shatu dogs! Keep this Shuiyun Token with you from now on. You will decide what you want to do!”

Yan Dechang handed the Shuiyun Token to Yan Liqiang.

The Shuiyun Token was cold, heavy, and solid. Yan Liqiang held it in his hands as an icy, murderous glint flashed across his eyes.

“Rest assured, Father! I swear to destroy the Shatu Seven Tribes!” Yan Liqiang gripped the Shuiyun Token tightly in his hand as he spoke with strong murderous intent.

“The Shatu Seven Tribes are wicked ingrates to the Great Han Empire. They are treacherous and have a blood feud with my clan. Regardless of whether it is for my nation or my clan, I must completely eradicate the shameless and filthy Shatu Seven Tribes in the future! I swear I will obliterate them even if I have to chase them to the ends of the world. Heaven and Earth will testify to that!”

“I shall support you in whatever you do!” Yan Dechang gave Yan Liqiang a heavy pat on his shoulder. “Back then, I always thought about returning to your mother’s side once you grew up. However, I’ve made my decision to continue living from now on. I shall use the remainder of my life to witness how my son will bring honor to his ancestors as the Qiyun Protectorate General!”

......

On the last day, Yan Liqiang stayed at home and refused to meet any guests so that he could sort out everything in regards to Liuhe Town’s expansion.

Yan Liqiang specially allocated a courtyard in the Yan Residence for Steward Lu to use as their ‘construction headquarters’. He then took out the silver promissory notes worth four to five hundred taels of silver that he had set aside before, handed them to Yan Dechang, and let him be in charge of finance. Lastly, he also gave a ‘motivational speech’ to Steward Lu and the rest. On the third day of his return, Yan Liqiang left Qinghe County on his rhinodrake steed and rode directly toward the Huanglong Weaponsmiths Quarter with Qian Su...

This time, he only brought Hu Haihe back to Huanglong County because Yu Qing was too young and was a girl, so he chose not to bring her along. Since Yu Qing had been expressing her interest in becoming a martial practitioner, Yan Liqiang freed up some time before he left Qinghe County to teach Yu Qing the Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps technique, as well as a simple sword technique that he picked up in the Divine Sword Sect. He also taught her some basic techniques to build her foundation, so Yu Qing could have the ability to protect herself...

Chapter 407: To The Weaponsmiths Quarter Again

The Huanglong Weaponsmiths Quarter was still the same as it was a year ago. The people, place, weaponsmiths, workshops, and the White Ash Forest – they were still the same. The only difference was that the people here seemed to be a lot friendlier to Yan Liqiang during his visit this time.

By the time Yan Liqiang and the rest rode to the weaponsmiths quarter’s entrance, crowds had already formed on both sides of the entrance. If there were a few elementary students shaking big red flowers like pom-poms while shouting ‘welcome’ enthusiastically, then the scene before him would be no different than the prime minister’s visits in his previous life.

Seeing the familiar faces eagerly looking in his direction, Yan Liqiang gave Qian Su a wry smile. “Uncle Qian, this welcome is too grand!”

“It’s necessary!” Qian Su smiled back at Yan Liqiang. “After all, the livelihood of these hundreds of people in our Huanglong Weaponsmiths Quarter will depend on you from now on! This welcoming ceremony is only natural. If it wasn’t for the short notice, we would have had more time to prepare for a grander one!”

Yan Liqiang smiled. There was still quite a distance between him and the welcoming crowd, but Yan Liqiang dismounted his steed, handed its reins to Hu Haihe, and walked over to them.

Qian Su and the rest also dismounted and followed Yan Liqiang.

“Greetings to the Qiyun Protectorate General from the Huanglong Weaponsmiths Quarter!” Several hundred people in the crowd yelled in unison and bowed to Yan Liqiang. It was shocking, yet at the same time, it was also oddly satisfying to Yan Liqiang.

This was definitely rehearsed to achieve such unity!

Yan Liqiang cast a glance at Qian Su, only to find the latter smiling silently. Hence, he also smiled and cupped his fist to everyone. “Let’s not stand around out here, everyone! We shall talk inside!”

After saying that, Yan Liqiang went inside the weaponsmiths quarter with Qian Su and the rest. The welcoming crowd also followed suit.

Naturally, Yan Liqiang was extremely familiar with his way inside the weaponsmiths quarter. After going through the entrance, he headed directly to the dining hall. Upon seeing that everyone had gathered in the dining hall and was staring at him, Yan Liqiang stood on the stone steps in the hall. He cleared his throat before giving his first formal speech to everyone in the weaponsmiths quarter.

“Since everyone in the weaponsmiths quarter already knows who I am, I shall skip the introductions. Although I’m sure everyone already knows about this, perhaps you may still be wondering why the Huanglong Weaponsmiths Quarter has suddenly been placed under the command of a nearly non-existent Qiyun Protectorate. I am here to tell you that this is a request of mine to His Majesty. Before my return to Gan Province, His Majesty gave me two choices: to become the superintendent of the Gan Province’s weaponsmiths quarter or to become the Qiyun Protectorate General. I picked the latter and requested the Emperor to bestow me the Huanglong Weaponsmiths Quarter. His Majesty agreed and this place was awarded to me.

“Everyone may be wondering why I wanted the Huanglong Weaponsmiths Quarter of all the weaponsmiths quarters in Gan Province. Truth be told, there is only one reason – to keep the good things to ourselves!”

The moment Yan Liqiang spoke, everyone in the weaponsmiths quarter went silent. They were all listening to Yan Liqiang attentively, afraid of missing out on even one word. Every word that came out of Yan Liqiang’s mouth hit the nail right on the head. Throughout the entire weaponsmiths quarter, many had questions in their hearts.

They were rendered speechless when they heard that Yan Liqiang refused the offer to become the superintendent of Gan Province’s weaponsmiths quarters. This job would mean being the chief of not just one, but all the weaponsmiths quarters in Gan Province! If the Emperor was willing to hand over several dozens of weaponsmiths quarters to Yan Liqiang, then this weaponsmiths quarter alone would be nothing to him. Although Yan Liqiang spoke humbly, the respect everyone had for him instantly soared. They were even more curious when Yan Liqiang mentioned ‘keeping the good things to ourselves’. The several hundred people gathered in the dining hall were in absolute silence.

Yan Liqiang paused and looked at the crowd. Keeping their thoughts in his heart, he cracked a smile. “Aside from the Huanglong Weaponsmiths Quarter, I was also given other weaponsmiths quarters to choose from. As long as I asked for it, the Emperor would definitely agree to it. However, the reason why I mentioned ‘keeping the good things for the family’ is because I am acquainted with everyone and Uncle Qian is also my senior. Therefore, if anything good comes up, my first thought will naturally be everyone.

“Don’t go thinking you will have to follow me outside the pass to risk your lives and battle against the Shatu people. I am here to tell everyone that none of you will need to risk your lives to fight with me. You don’t have to travel beyond the pass either. Just keep doing what you are best at. Although this weaponsmiths quarter is under the Qiyun Protectorate’s command, Uncle Qian will still remain as the Quarter Master. There will be some changes in the weaponsmiths quarter, but they will be for the good of this place rather than bad. I will not lead everyone to kill, but to make business. Together, we will earn and enjoy a luxurious life! What say you?”

“YES!” Everyone in the dining hall immediately roared in excitement.

“Although I wear the title of Qiyun Protectorate General, I do not wish to use my authority to suppress anyone. Perhaps some of you may still be doubting my words, so let me tell you all this today: whoever wishes to leave the weaponsmiths quarter to pursue your own career or return home, you may come forward! I will grant the approval on the spot here today and also award ten taels of silver as travel expenses. You will be allowed to pack your things and leave at once, I won’t make things difficult for you. However, bear in mind that once you leave, you can never come back. I, Yan Liqiang, may be young, but as the Qiyun Protectorate General, I shall keep my words. Uncle Qian and every one of you here will bear witness to my words today!” Yan Liqiang swept his glance across the crowd.

“Since everyone in the weaponsmiths quarter is here, I shall give everyone half an hour to consider and discuss with each other. I shall return in half an hour. Those who have decided to leave, you can let me know then!”

After Yan Liqiang finished speaking, he looked at Qian Su and made a signal to him. Both of them then left and headed to Qian Su’s small courtyard which was nearby, leaving behind the rest to consider their decision in the dining hall.

As soon as both of them left, everyone in the dining hall broke into discussion. The choices Yan Liqiang had given to them were simply unimaginable.

“Liqiang, how daring of you. Are you not worried that all of them will run off? Ten taels of silver is not exactly a small figure to many people...” Qian Su smiled wryly and shook his head. “I didn’t expect you would say something like as soon as you arrived in the weaponsmiths quarter!”

“There’s no point in keeping people who wish to leave. If we are short-handed, then Uncle Qian can recruit more people again. I believe there will be many weaponsmiths who wish to join our weaponsmiths quarter in the future. Therefore, it’s best we let go of people who don’t want to stay!” Yan Liqiang smiled indifferently.

“Are you certain?”

Yan Liqiang smiled and asked in return, “I believe Uncle Qian should have raked in huge profits from the lotus root briquettes over the past year. With your bulging wallet, I’m sure your female confidantes in the Huanglong county town also received some gifts and jewelry from you too. I have a feeling that your reputation around the pleasure quarters in Huanglong County now must precede you now.”

“Ahem, ahem...!” Qian Su’s aged face was tinged with red. However, his eyes instantly lit up as he quickly changed the topic. “It’s true that I have made some profit from the lotus root briquettes, but that’s only for the short term. The manufacturing process of the briquettes will not remain a secret for long. Those in this line of business will eventually figure out how to do it through trial and error. Don’t tell me you still have something even better, Liqiang?”

“Haha, let it remain a secret for now. Uncle Qian will find out soon enough!”

“I realize that you’ve become harder to read after returning from the Imperial Capital!”

“If you put it that way, it kind of makes me feel like I could be read like an open book before...” Yan Liqiang spread out his arms and said helplessly.

Qian Su was slightly taken aback before bursting into laughter...

Chapter 408: Epoch

Half an hour passed by very quickly while Yan Liqiang and Qian Su engaged in idle chat.

When time was up, Yan Liqiang and Qian Su returned to the weaponsmiths quarter’s dining hall again. By this time, the crowd there had quietened down. When a discussion broke out among everyone just now, all of them were convinced that Yan Liqiang wouldn’t joke about something like this. Therefore, everyone made their decision to either stay or leave within the past half hour.

“So, has everyone thought it through already?” Yan Liqiang stood on the stone steps and scanned the crowd.

“Yes!” Several hundred people responded while some merely nodded in silence.

“Great. Those who have decided to leave the weaponsmiths quarter, you may come forward now!” Yan Liqiang pointed to his left, at the bottom of the steps where he was standing. “Someone will distribute the silver to you. You may leave after you complete the paperwork!”

A few seconds after Yan Liqiang said that, someone started squeezing through the crowd and walked to the spot he mentioned.

One, two, three, four... eleven, twelve...

Only twelve people wished to leave. Some came forward with calm expressions on their faces while some dawdled. In the end, all of them went to the front under everyone’s gazes.

The twelve men who came out seemed rather embarrassed as they hung their heads in shame.

“Quartermaster, I-I... am getting old and I have been working in the weaponsmiths quarter for a few decades. While I can still walk, I wish to return to my hometown in Chen Province and settle down there with my craft. Thank you for taking care of me over the years. It is thanks to you that no one bullied an old man like me who came here to serve my penal servitude in Gan Province. Not only did I manage to save up some money, but I am also a hundred times stronger than anyone else. Allow me to kowtow to you here, Quartermaster!” An old weaponsmith with graying hair bowed to Qian Su tearfully.

Qian Su quickly pulled the old weaponsmith up. “Get up, Old Chen! No need for all these formalities! It is only human nature to yearn for their hometown in old age! The higher-up was in charge of your military records before, so I had no say in it. Now that the Protectorate General is allowing you to return to your hometown, I am happy for you too!”

“Thank you for your mercy, Protectorate General!” The old weaponsmith spoke through his quivering lips and was about to kneel before Yan Liqiang, but the latter quickly held him up and stopped him from kneeling.

A young man in his twenties scratched his head and spoke shyly, “The last time my mother came to see me... S-She... told me that they found a wife for me back at home so they wanted me to return, get married, and have children...”

Another soldier came forward and said, “My parents are getting old and my big brother broke his leg last year. If I don’t go back, no one will be able to support the family...”

...

Everyone had their own reason. Regardless of whether they were real or not, it was the reason they wanted to leave the weaponsmiths quarter.

Qian Su glanced at the people who came forward, then took a deep breath. “Since the Protectorate General has spoken and all of you have your own difficulties, we shall part on good terms. No hard feelings. If anyone encounters any difficulties in the future, you may come find me at the weaponsmiths quarter. I shall definitely help everyone to the best of my ability. The Protectorate General will be giving those who are leaving ten taels of silver as travel expenses, and I shall add on another ten taels of silver for everyone to settle down! I wish everyone a safe journey and the best to all of you, whether you are going home or pursuing other goals! Promise me to live honestly no matter where you end up and not taint the Huanglong Weaponsmith Quarter’s reputation!”

“Thank you, Quartermaster! Thank you, Protectorate General!” Everyone bowed to Qian Su and Yan Liqiang.

Qian Su beckoned forth his chief steward and instructed him, “Assist them in packing their belongings and proceed with the paperwork. Give them ten taels of silver from both the barracks and my personal accounts. Do not make things difficult for them, just let them leave.”

“Yes!” The head steward bowed to Qian Su, then called a few more soldiers to escort the twelve men away from the dining hall.

“We’ll wait for a while until Steward Zhu and the others to return. They need to hear the rest too!” Yan Liqiang told Qian Su.

Qian Su nodded, “Alright, whatever you say!”

...

Since those who left lived in the barracks and they didn’t have much personal belongings aside from a few clothes and some valuables, they managed to pack everything into just a simple backpack and luggage. After about ten minutes, the chief steward returned with the few soldiers to report that the twelve men had completed their paperwork and left the weaponsmiths quarter.

It was only then that Yan Liqiang, who had been waiting, broke into a smile and began to speak as he looked at those who had firmly decided to stay behind in the dining hall.

“First of all, I would like to congratulate everyone who has decided to stay behind. All of you have just made one of the most important and also the luckiest choice in your lives. I noticed that some of you were swayed when you heard that those who leave will receive twenty taels of silver, thinking that it was a large sum of money. Let me tell you that from now on, your annual wage in the weaponsmiths quarter will be more than twenty taels of silver at minimum, regardless of whether you are a soldier, weaponsmith, or even a meal lady working in this dining hall!

We, the members of Huanglong Weaponsmiths Quarter, shall become the subjects of envy to all the weaponsmiths quarters, not only in Gan Province, but also the Great Han Empire. That’s because you’ll be bidding farewell to poverty to become the nation’s richest bunch of people from the weaponsmiths quarter. In less than three years, many of you will be loaded and you will get a taste of being fawned upon on wherever you go.”

As soon as Yan Liqiang finished speaking, everyone in the dining hall cheered in excitement. Most of the people here were either weaponsmiths or soldiers who lived a simple life. There was no way they would remain unaffected by Yan Liqiang’s speech. Of course, Yan Liqiang wasn’t here to do some multi-level marketing either; he really had a proper plan. Hence, the confidence in his speech was even more motivating.

“Protectorate General, tell us what we have to do! Anyway, everyone will be at your command from now on! Right, everyone...?!” Qian Su shot a meaningful glance at one of the chief weaponsmiths who immediately cheered in the crowd at the right time. As soon as he did, the entire crowd started cheering in response.

“Right...!”

Countless people roared. “From now on, we shall follow the Protectorate General and prosper...!”

“Well said! We shall prosper!” Yan Liqiang continued his speech on the stone steps. “Has anyone ever wondered how wealth works? Why do the people dressed in silk have good food and endless money to spend without doing anything? And why are there also people who never have enough food and clothing despite working hard all day long? Where does wealth come from? Does it fall from the sky or grow from the soil?

“The answer is neither. There are two sources of wealth: creation and circulation. We rely on our hands to create wealth through labor and wisdom. We change the appearance of things on or beneath the ground. We turn iron ore into steel, steel into blades, and white ashwood into spears. We turn logs and stones into materials that can be used to build houses. We turn barren lands into fertile fields and the things in them into food. We turn the mineral deposits into gold and silver and use them to measure wealth.

“This is wealth. Only through labor can we create wealth. Without labor, stones remain stones, logs remain logs, and the things buried underground remain there. We change their appearances through labor and make them marketable, putting the symbols of wealth of them. Weaponsmiths like us are the most hardworking people in the world. This is the place where the most capable and skilled weaponsmiths gather. If we can create the most wealth, then for what reason do we have to suffer in poverty?!”

When the struggling weaponsmiths heard Yan Liqiang’s words, their eyes shone as their souls were touched. Before this, many weaponsmiths had never thought of or comprehended what Yan Liqiang had just said in their entire lives. Yan Liqiang’s words enlightened them and lit a fire in their hearts as they got worked up.

Apart from those ordinary weaponsmiths that were gathered here, even Qian Su was greatly touched and in deep thought after hearing Yan Liqiang’s speech.

Throughout the ages in the Great Han Empire, no one had ever gotten a clear enough idea to come up with such a theory. Yet, Yan Liqiang was able to deliver it with an impeccably meaningful and profound speech. His words were blunt, but the more people thought about them, the more sense they made.

Of course Yan Liqiang’s speech made sense. In his previous life, the person who came up with this theory was Karl Marx.

While Yan Liqiang spoke, he was like a saint to the struggling soldiers in the weaponsmiths quarter.

However, it wasn’t Yan Liqiang’s intention to instigate a revolt by saying those words. He simply wanted everyone in the weaponsmiths quarter to understand and firmly believe that they had made the right choice to follow the Protectorate General, and that everything the Protectorate General did was to bring out the maximum value of everyone’s laborious efforts. Only by understanding these things could Yan Liqiang gain everyone’s approval and loyal support when he rolled out a series of reforms in the weaponsmiths quarter.

“The source of wealth all comes from labor. It is labor that creates wealth. All wealth is usable and can be circulated through business. The usable things we create will be sold to satisfy the needs of those who can afford them, making them into gold and silver that can be held in people’s hands. So, what are the best things to sell? Well, they have two characteristics. First, you can provide them at a lower price for the same quality compared to the other sellers. Second, it is unique. These items have the highest demands so they are the best to sell!”

Yan Liqiang’s eyes shone as he looked around the silent dining hall. “In the past, the goods we produced here were all to be supplied to the Military Governor’s Office. Therefore, we could not conduct a business out of them. Now that everyone is my subordinate, you will obey my command – the goods from our weaponsmiths quarter will no longer be supplied to the Military Governor’s Office from now on. I shall lead everyone in our business. We shall produce and sell. Let’s turn the things we create with our hands into real gold and silver so that everyone can live a good life, something you all wouldn’t have even dared to imagine before!”

“Speaking of that, perhaps many of you are thinking: ‘This weaponsmiths quarter is already yours so the profit will be up to you to divide. We can’t do anything if you don’t give us any, just like shop owners and their workers. There are many wealthy shop owners in the world, but only a handful of wealthy workers. Why would we believe you?’

“Very simple: I am a man of my words. I am definitely not making empty promises when I said I wanted everyone to become rich with me so we can all enjoy a good life together. You will be given assurance. What kind? Well, I will make this entire weaponsmiths quarter everyone’s! All of you who stayed behind today will become a shareholder of this weaponsmiths quarter! You will be given your own share so that when this place makes a profit in the future, it will be divided according to your share! I will establish the by-laws of this weaponsmiths quarter...”

Even Qian Su was shocked to hear that Yan Liqiang was going to let everyone have a share in the weaponsmiths quarter, let alone those struggling weaponsmiths. They all looked at Yan Liqiang in disbelief...

No one had ever done something like this before. From a certain perspective, this could be considered an epoch...

Chapter 409: Gan Province Manufacturing Bureau

As a ‘white-collar worker’ in the mobile telecommunications industry in his previous life, the corporation that impressed Yan Liqiang the most was Huawei.

In the past, Huawei once extended an invitation to Yan Liqiang and his colleagues for a tour and an interview. After visiting Huawei’s headquarters, Yan Liqiang concluded that the single, most vital factor of the company’s success was the fact that their leader had closely associated the company’s well being with all of its employees.

Huawei designed a ‘Virtual Restricted Shares’ system, in which more than 98% of the company’s shares were held by its trade union and employees. Those who held the virtual shares were entitled to a certain percentage of dividends, but not the company’s ownership and voting rights. The virtual shares couldn’t be transferred or sold either. When the employee left the company, their shares would be bought back by Huawei’s trade union.

If the company was doing well, then so would everyone. Likewise, if the company wasn’t doing well, everyone would be affected. In order to receive part of the company’s harvests brought about by its growth, everyone had to take on the responsibilities in developing the company.

With this incentive, the dedication of Huawei’s employees was well-known in the industry. At the same time, the standard of their employee benefits and income were also considered the best in the industry.

It was also with this incentive that Huawei was able to change itself from a small business with only 20,000 yuan of registered capital to a world-class telecommunication giant in just the span of twenty years, taking down the once superior foreign telecommunication companies and thus becoming the leading company in China.

Why was that so?

Yan Liqiang had been thinking about this, especially for the past two months. During his journey back to Gan Province, he’d been thinking about this every day.

How did Huawei succeed?

He then followed this line of questioning...

How did Chairman Mao manage to win battles during troubling times with only an army made up of farmers and peasants?

And how did figures like the leader of the Taiping Rebellion or Li Zicheng the Dashing King suffer defeats?

How did the Qin emerge as one of the dominant powers of the Seven Warring States and obtain supremacy?

The further Yan Liqiang looked back in history, the more historical figures and events appeared in his thoughts.

Finally, one day, a thought suddenly struck Yan Liqiang while sitting on a boat and watching the endlessly long river that stretched into the distance.

He concluded that the secret to the success of these great historical figures could be summed up in just nine words –’Success comes to those who share the same purpose!’

Yan Liqiang was enlightened!

Those who shared the same purpose shared the same sentiments. Such unity of will made an impenetrable stronghold that would enable success in every endeavor. Sand grains could accumulate to make a tower while dripping water could eventually erode a stone. Constant perseverance could overcome any hurdles.

These nine words were the ultimate secret to great achievements. After realizing this truth, Yan Liqiang immediately knew what he had to do when he returned to Gan Province this time.

...

Many weaponsmiths and soldiers didn’t know what a share was. Even if they didn’t, they would immediately understand it after hearing someone’s explanation. After knowing they would be able to get dividends in the future, the entire weaponsmiths quarter erupted. Everyone was looking forward to the changes Yan Liqiang would bring to the weaponsmiths quarter.

Yan Liqiang didn’t disappoint everyone either. He came up with the share allocations for everyone in the afternoon on the same day based on the weaponsmiths quarter’s newly-implemented personnel classification system. The system was actually based on the personnel classification system practiced among established companies he knew in his previous life.

With that, everyone in the weaponsmiths quarter was basically classified into ten levels.

The first level was for the labors, and everyone was given a share.

The second level was for the ordinary weaponsmiths and soldiers. Everyone was given three shares.

The third level was for the low-ranking military officers and weaponsmiths with specialized skills. Everyone was given ten shares.

The fourth level was for Squad Commander Zhou Yong, the chief weaponsmiths, and the supervisors in their respective workshops. Everyone was given 30 shares.

The fifth to ninth levels were vacant for now.

As the leader of the weaponsmiths quarter, Qian Su was the sole person on the tenth level, holding 20% of the shares. As the top decision maker here, Yan Liqiang wasn’t ranked, but he would hold a 30% share.

The employees ranked from the first to ninth level would receive a set annual bonus based on their share in the weaponsmiths quarter. These shares would be redeemed at net asset value, but they were non-transferrable, nor were they for sale. When the employees left their job, their shares would be bought back by the weaponsmiths quarter.

Yan Liqiang didn’t introduce a management committee like Huawei did because that concept would be much too advanced for the people in the weaponsmiths quarter who were used to following orders. Giving them shares was already a major thing, and they might not be able to handle more advanced concepts.

The current structure in the weaponsmiths quarter was simple and highly effective. Making it too complex wasn’t necessarily a good thing. If there was any talent in the future or if the weaponsmiths quarter expanded to a certain extent, perhaps it might be possible to promote those talents to the tenth level and form a ‘Board of Directors’ with them in it.

At the same time, the Huanglong Weaponsmiths Quarter was officially renamed as the Gan Province Manufacturing Bureau today. The bureau would serve the Qiyun Protectorate which only existed in the Great Han Empire’s official documents for now.

For the whole day, the people in the weaponsmiths quarter were stunned by the powerful bomb Yan Liqiang had thrown at them. However, their morale was at its highest. Everyone was trying to digest the changes that had taken place in the weaponsmiths quarter while trying to study their position in the reformed Gan Province Manufacturing Bureau. Each of them was motivated and eager to get to work.

Yan Liqiang and Qian Su continued with the stock count in the latter’s study room at night, despite working so hard during the daytime.

Qian Su had a few report summaries submitted by a few supervisors in his hands. He went through them together with Yan Liqiang.

“There were 57 laborers that did the odd-jobs in the manufacturing bureau. Six of them left today, so that leaves us with 51. We will allocate 51 shares...”

“There has always been one squad commander among the soldiers, making a hundred of them. One of them left today, so that leaves us with 99 men. Among these 99, Zhou Yong is the squad commander with level four personnel ranking and will be given thirty shares. There are three team leaders under him, so they will each receive ten shares. That makes thirty shares and leaves 95 soldiers in the level two personnel ranking. If each of them is to be given three shares, that will be 285 shares. The shares of all soldiers in the manufacturing bureau will make up a total of 345 shares!”

While listening, Yan Liqiang quickly drew something on a pile cowhide papers he had someone prepare for him with a charcoal pencil. He would only lift his gaze from time to time to look at Qian Su, or nod and communicate with Qian Su through his eyes. The room was only filled with Qian Su’s voice and the scribbling noises from Yan Liqiang’s charcoal pencil against the cowhide papers.

At first, Qian Su was still not quite used to talking about the shares or personnel rankings as those terms were quite new to him. He even stuttered a little. Even so, he got used to them soon enough. Although Qian Su still couldn’t understand Yan Liqiang’s intention in reforming the weaponsmiths quarter, his keen senses and intelligence told him that the changes Yan Liqiang were making in the weaponsmiths quarter weren’t small. Hence, the latter had to be preparing for something big.

The weaponsmiths quarter had been renamed as the manufacturing bureau. Therefore, Qian Su was already making his reports with the new name at this very moment.

Looking at Yan Liqiang fully focused on scribbling away while listening to him talk, Qian Su’s curiosity was piqued. He tried to catch a glimpse and discovered that Yan Liqiang was drawing something strange on the piece of paper. As soon as Yan Liqiang finished drawing on one, he took out another piece. Qian Su didn’t know what he was drawing either, so he could only put it aside for now as he continued sharing the contents of the reports in his hands.

“Ahem... Apart from those laborers, the soldiers, and those that left today, the manufacturing bureau is pretty much left with only the weaponsmiths in various areas. Even those chief weaponsmiths and supervisors were once weaponsmiths that I promoted back then. The total number of weaponsmiths in the manufacturing bureau is now 517.

“368 ordinary weaponsmiths from the level two personnel ranking. If everyone will be given three shares, then that’ll be a total of 1,104 shares. There are 128 expert weaponsmiths from third level personnel ranking. If everyone is given ten shares, then that’ll be a total of 1,280 shares. 21 chief weaponsmiths, given thirty shares each, that’ll be a total of 630 shares.

“The total number of weaponsmith shares is 3,014. Combined with the laborers’ 51 shares and the soldiers’ 345 shares, that will total up to 3,410 shares. The number of people including myself is 668 people...”

Yan Liqiang once again lifted his gaze from the paper in his hand. He looked at Qian Su and quipped with a smile, “668... That’s a pretty auspicious figure. Sounds just like ‘prosperity follows’, hahaha...”

“According to the weaponsmiths quarter’s account book, we only have 2,170 taels of silver now, along with some materials. This place has always been blessed by a stable annual income from the Military Governor’s Office. Although it wasn’t a lot, we definitely didn’t starve. Now that the weaponsmiths quarter is turning into a manufacturing bureau, they definitely won’t be giving us any money. We can only rely on ourselves.

“Only those who take charge know the responsibilities and I am still concerned. How are we going to feed these six or seven hundred people every day in the weaponsmiths quarter from now on? You even promised everyone in the manufacturing bureau a minimum annual income of more than twenty taels of silver. Everyone’s got the expectations now. We’ll be in hot water if this place fails to make a hundred taels of silver every year...”

Qian Su looked at Yan Liqiang and tossed the statistics record he was holding on the table. “Well whatever, you will be in charge of making the ends meet. We’ll do as you say...”

Of course it wasn’t like Qian Su didn’t care. He was merely curious about Yan Liqiang’s plans.

Yan Liqiang smiled and suddenly asked a strange question. “Uncle Qian, what do you think rich people care most about?”

Qian Su was taken aback. He couldn’t really keep up with Yan Liqiang’s line of thinking. He pondered for a moment before speaking. “Well, the rich care about many things, like life and money. Actually, who doesn’t?”

“Yes, you are right Uncle Qian. Apart from life and money, what do you think the rich care most about? Let’s talk about you. What would you care the most about after becoming rich?”

“Reputation, of course. Rich people can’t do anything out there without a good reputation!” Qian Su replied without even a moment of hesitation.

“Then we shall make money off the rich from now on...”

“How?” Qian Su’s interest was piqued.

“Look at this, Uncle Qian...” While speaking, Yan Liqiang handed him a few sketches.

“This is...” The moment Qian Su looked at the sketch, he was stunned. The first sketch Yan Liqiang handed over to him was of an impressive four-wheeled carriage...

Chapter 410: Four-wheeled Carriage

The first sketch of the four-wheeled carriage was indeed gorgeous. With Yan Liqiang’s drawing skills, it took him only a few strokes to put a vivid drawing of a lavish and beautiful carriage on paper.

It was the sketch of a four-wheeled carriage of a European noble from his memories. The inside of the carriage was spacious and brightly lit as though its door was open. It had a folding step for passengers to use when they got on or off the carriage and two lanterns on both sides of the coachman’s seat at the front. There were compartments on top and at the back of the carriage to store luggage. The drawing was so detailed that it was attractive to anyone who laid eyes on it.

Putting aside the rest, the unique feature of the carriage was that its passenger compartment was as spacious as a room. Every two-wheeled carriage in the Great Han Empire, including the ‘lavish’ one that Manager You gifted to Yan Liqiang when he returned to Gan Province, was crude and simple when compared to a four-wheeled carriage like this. It was not an exaggeration to say that the comparison between a two and four-wheeled carriage was akin to comparing motorbike to a Maybach.

Qian Su’s jaw dropped. After taking a few looks at the first sketch, he moved on to the second.

The second sketch showed the interior of the four-wheeled carriage. Windows were on both sides of the passenger compartment. Two extremely comfortable-looking seats as wide as standard couches faced each other in the compartment. Even if Qian Su had never ridden in a carriage like this, he was attracted by its design the moment he laid his eyes on it.

Due to space limitations, it was impossible to fit such a comfortable seat in the narrow and cramped space of a two-wheeled carriage. Hence, each of them came with either a wooden bench or a wooden plank affixed inside. The so-called ‘lavish’ ones only had a layer of fur laid on top of the wooden bench or plank at most. For the sake of comfort, those carriages dedicated to women included a layer of soft cushion that allowed them to lie or sit cross-legged on it. Even so, the comfort it provided was nothing compared to the sketch Yan Liqiang had drawn on the piece of paper.

“T-This is... a four-wheeled carriage?” Qian Su looked at the two sketches, then gave Yan Liqiang a look of astonishment.

“That’s right!” Yan Liqiang smiled. “Shouldn’t that be obvious?”

Qian Su smiled wryly. “I have to say that you have really done well in drawing this. However, this four-wheeled carriage simply won’t do. If it can be made so easily, then we’d be having four-wheeled carriages running under the sun all over the place by now!”

Yan Liqiang feigned ignorance and pretended to be curious. “Oh, I wonder why is it not easy to make a four-wheeled carriage?”

Qian Su pointed at the wheels on Yan Liqiang’s sketch and said, “It is actually very simple to construct this, but this carriage will not be practical. The wheels are attached to the body, so it is impossible to steer it!

“That’s why we see two-wheeled carriages everywhere now because they are easy to steer and it takes only one coachman to do it. I heard four-wheeled carriages exist in the Imperial Capital and it’s the Emperor’s royal transport. Even so, His Majesty rarely uses it as it can only travel along a straight road. Just turning around takes a lot of men to complete the task. They have to release the steeds and lift the carriage. It’s simply too much of a hassle...”

“What if I can solve the four-wheeled carriage’s problem of changing direction?”

“Oh, how...?” Qian Su asked out of habit without even thinking.

Yan Liqiang smiled and handed over the third sketch to Qian Su. It was a sketch of the frame structure which connected the front and rear wheels at the bottom part of the four-wheeled carriage.

Qian Su’s eyes widened as soon as he saw Yan Liqiang’s sketch. In just less than a few seconds, his hands that were holding the sketch trembled with excitement.

Yan Liqiang sighed when he saw Qian Su. The structure of a four-wheeled carriage actually wasn’t that complex. Once revealed, anyone would get it at first glance. Qian Su mentioned that it was impossible for this type of carriage to change direction, but that was because everyone was used to attaching the four wheels to the carriage frame. Due to this design, it would be very challenging for a four-wheeled carriage to change direction, thus causing it to be an impractical object.

In his previous life, there were four-wheeled carriages in a famous painting known as ‘Along the River During the Qingming Festival’. However, those were heavy-duty vehicles pulled by bulls. The changing of direction was made possible by solely relying on the strength of the bulls to drag the carriage. This type of four-wheeled bullock carts were used in rural areas before the war of liberation in 1949.

Therefore, it was very simple to solve the problem of changing directions. One only had to think outside the box and attach the two wheels on two different frames, then connect them together with a shaft. That would easily solve the issue.

Yan Liqiang thought of making a four-wheeled carriage before. However, it wasn’t the right time back then and the invention would be of little significance. Hence, he never got around to it. After a bumpy ride of several thousand li on a two-wheeled carriage back to Gan Province this time, he finally decided to make the four-wheeled carriage a reality to benefit everyone in the world after the painful experience.

Basic necessities were the most profitable business with the highest demand. As soon as the four-wheeled carriage was created, Yan Liqiang was absolutely certain that it would take the world by storm. As the inventor of the four-wheeled carriage, even if he might not be able to monopolize the market, a steady stream of profit would still roll toward him as long as he stayed on top of the market through his reputation. At the same time, he could use this to build his influence.

The biggest benefit of a four-wheeled carriage compared to a two-wheeled one was that it could carry more weight, hence greatly increasing its effectiveness as a transport. This might not mean much to a person, but to a nation that depended on land routes for trading purposes, it held a lot of value.

Transporting goods on land would become more convenient and efficient. Firstly, the cost of goods and logistics would be reduced, benefitting people and the goods that had to travel over long distances. This would allow businesses to develop greatly as craft industries could thrive and flourish. Subsequently, there would be a demand to improve manufacturing processes, hence leading to a series of changes...

Of course, just having a steering mechanism wasn’t enough to make a high-end four-wheeled carriage because the mechanism could easily be copied as soon as it was revealed to the world.

Hence, Yan Liqiang handed over yet another sketch to Qian Su. It was the design of a coil spring that was to be fitted between the bottom of the carriage and the rear axle as a shock absorber...

“W-What are these spiralling things?” Qian Su stared at the sketch dumbfounded.

“This thing is called a spring!”

“Spring...?” Qian Su repeated after Yan Liqiang, clearly clueless about this object. “What does this thing do?”

“Well, it can be soft or hard, big or small, stretched or compressed...” When Yan Liqiang finished speaking and noticed Qian Su’s strange facial expression. It was only then that realization dawned on him. “Ahem, please don’t get any funny ideas, Uncle Qian. This thing can absorb any shock to the carriage while it is moving. It will increase the comfort of traveling in the carriage. You will understand once we make it!”

Qian Su roared with laughter. “Do you know how to make this thing?”

“Of course!” Yan Liqiang looked at Qian Su seriously as he revealed a look of reminiscence on his face. “A few days ago, I had another dream. In that dream, the old immortal who previously taught me how to save lives taught me how to create this spring!”

In an era without the invention of spring, this thing was definitely categorized as a ‘high-tech’ product. Due to its special manufacturing process, Yan Liqiang could keep it as a trade secret and no one would be able to copy it in a short amount of time even if they saw it. Therefore, this would allow the four-wheeled carriages they manufactured to stay above those from other manufacturers, thus establishing the Gan Province Manufacturing Bureau as the manufacturer of ‘luxurious carriages’ in this era...

Making the Rolls-Royce of four-wheeled carriages under the Yan Clan’s brand wasn’t just a dream...

Qian Su suddenly looked at Yan Liqiang eagerly. “Liqiang, can I ask you a favor?”

“What is it, Uncle Qian?”

“Can you tell that old immortal that he is welcome any time to my dreams! Really! I have always been a very studious person! I’ve been dreaming of learning from a master like him since I was a child! Have him teach me a few things too!”

Chapter 411: Reforms

Just shares and personnel systems as incentives weren’t enough to completely reform the weaponsmiths quarter into Yan Liqiang’s ideal manufacturing bureau. Further changes needed to be made to the internal standard operating procedures.

The weaponsmiths quarter used to undertake very complicated tasks. They manufactured or repaired more than ten kinds of military armaments and other supplies which ranged from spears, blades, arrows, shields, soldier belts, and harnesses in addition to the crossbow trigger mechanisms and stirrups. Not only that, but they also worked with horse bridles, saddles, and horseshoes for the military steeds. As long as the military needed anything, the higher-ups would dump all the work on the weaponsmiths quarter and order the craftsmen to get it done. This was advantageous to the higher-ups because as long as they had the weaponsmiths quarter, everything could easily be solved. At the same time, the malpractice was also very obvious because the work efficiency of the weaponsmiths quarter was extremely low. From the perspective of ensuring military supplies, this arrangement was extremely inefficient.

As someone with advanced knowledge in management, Yan Liqiang definitely wouldn’t allow his manufacturing bureau to become a slow-moving business giant. Hence, on the second day since his arrival at the weaponsmiths quarter, he boldly and decisively simplified and reformed the manufacturing bureau.

Among all the weapons forged by the weaponsmiths quarter, Yan Liqiang kept only two types – spears and arrows.

The reason for keeping spears was because of the huge white ash forest on the mountain around this place. They were the signature products of the weaponsmiths quarter for over a few decades, so there was no need to give them up. The spears forged by the manufacturing bureau was of reliable quality and they were durable, hence making them the most standard military armaments in the Great Han Empire. Apart from personal use, they could also be sold to the martial practitioners and garrisons stationed in Pingxi Prefecture at a decent price. Since the market wasn’t a concern, Yan Liqiang decided to keep it.

Similarly, the arrows forged by the weaponsmiths quarter were also of excellent quality as military supplies. Arrows were considered consumables that were rapidly used up during wars. Therefore, Yan Liqiang kept the arrows too.

Apart from these two, Yan Liqiang eliminated everything else the weaponsmiths quarter was tasked to manufacture in the past. The manufacturing bureau would have nothing to do with those trinkets from now on.

Even so, the manufacturing method that Yan Liqiang adopted to produce these spears and arrows still shocked everyone.

Yan Liqiang never planned to produce these two weapons in the manufacturing bureau in the first place. Instead, he was going to let the villagers from the two neighboring villages forge them.

When Yan Liqiang shared his plan during a meeting with a group of supervisors and chief weaponsmiths, everyone was stupefied.

“If that’s the case, then what will the weapons-... manufacturing bureau do? Besides, how can we possibly guarantee the quality of the military armaments forged by the villagers from the villages out there?” One of the chief weaponsmiths immediately stood up and frankly spoke his mind.

In Yan Liqiang’s previous life, this was a typical ‘company plus farmers’ production model. When applied in this era, it was only natural that this model greatly challenged the notion of most people in the manufacturing bureau. That was because no one had ever thought of producing military armaments through this kind of method.

Yan Liqiang neither provided further explanation nor did he share the advantages of this model to everyone. He merely summarized the operation process. “Of course the manufacturing bureau will still have something to do. The entire process will be supervised and managed by us. As the first step, we shall send out the weaponsmiths and craftsmen to teach the villagers how to forge arrows and spears. These weapons aren’t that challenging to make, and they’re not that much more difficult than weaving mats. As long as they put their hearts into it, they will be able to pick it up in no time. After they learn how to make them, we can give things like the white ashwood or arrowheads to the villagers in town that are collaborating with us and have them refine them on their own time for starters. When they’re done with them, we shall be responsible for collecting the weapons and rewarding the villagers reasonably.

“Of course, there will be basic requirements on the quality. Collect only those that meet the standards and reject those that don’t. They will have to cover the material losses. That way, we will be able to increase the production volume of arrows and spears without spending even a cent. Not only that, we can even lower the production cost. Our job is to sell the items out. With guaranteed profits, it will be a win-win situation for both parties!”

Everyone in the group exchanged glances with each other and they were at a loss for words when they heard Yan Liqiang’s explanation. Upon careful consideration, it seemed like Yan Liqiang’s method might just work...

After pondering for a moment, Qian Su finally said, “Well... I guess we can give it a try! I shall send someone to get the chiefs from the two neighboring villages to come for a discussion and get their opinions!”

Yan Liqiang smiled. This would definitely be an irresistible offer to those villagers who basically had no additional source of income other than selling eggs for money in the markets. As long as people from the manufacturing bureau spread the word, Yan Liqiang believed that the villagers’ enthusiasm would definitely shock everyone. He had only used arrows and spears to test the waters this time. Yan Liqiang had bigger plans once things settled down, especially after the people from the manufacturing bureau raked up some experience and the villagers reaped the benefits.

“Alright, we’ll do as Uncle Qian suggested. Call the village chiefs for a discussion and let them spread the word when they go back. If they accept the offer, we’ll send people to transfer the knowledge. As long as we can put price tags on the arrows and spears and control the quality of the collected items, there will be nothing else for us to be worried about. If those villagers are still concerned, we can sign contracts with them!” said Yan Liqiang.

“There’s no need to worry about quality. Our rule in manufacturing military armaments before was that the weaponsmith would have to engrave their names on the weapons they made. Should anything happen to the weapon, it can be traced back to the weaponsmiths quarter and the weaponsmith. The worst case scenario was losing your head. Even if our weaponsmiths quarter has been reformed into a manufacturing bureau, this is still a much-needed rule. Anyone who buys the goods from villagers will have to leave their name on the goods upon collecting and inspecting them. If anything happens, we’ll be able to find the person who was responsible for collecting the goods!”

“Alright, let’s do that. The manufacturing bureau will form a Military Armaments Manufacturing Division to undertake this task. Uncle Qian will pick the members in this division!”

“Alright!”

“Apart from the Military Armaments Manufacturing Division, the manufacturing bureau will also form a Vehicle Manufacturing Division. For the time being, those will be the two divisions within our Gan Province Manufacturing Bureau. Uncle Qian will further advise everyone on the arrangements and changes involved!”

Qian Su nodded and didn’t say much. He only handed over the few sketches of a four-wheeled carriage that Yan Liqiang drew last night to one of the chief weaponsmiths and supervisors for them have a look...

In just a split second, the atmosphere in the meeting room immediately became rowdy.

Qian Su then began announcing the arrangements on constructing the four-wheeled carriage and the human resources. On the very same day, the members of the two divisions and task allocations were finalized. The manufacturing bureau got to work. The Vehicle Manufacturing Division also immediately started assigning every workshop and courtyard their tasks and proceeded with material preparation.

There were many stages in a carriage’s production cycle. Yan Liqiang assigned nearly all the craftsmen and workshops some work. Everyone, including the carpenters, painters, leatherworkers, coppersmiths, and silversmiths all had their own roles to play and were kept busy.

Yan Liqiang was busy too. On the same day, he and Qian Su picked out a few reliable and skilled old craftsmen. They went into the secret workshop they reserved in the manufacturing bureau and started making the spring.

Yan Liqiang knew how to make the springs. It involved bending an iron wire into a spiral, then quenching it at a high temperature before tempering it at a medium temperature.

However, his knowledge was merely theoretical. The operation, control of the flame, and choosing the best material for these springs would still require some trial and error in the blacksmith workshop...

Chapter 412: Constructing the Carriage

The temperature in Gan Province dropped unexpectedly at the end of the tenth lunar month. One could smell winter in the air along with the biting cold northwestern wind. The white ash trees on the hill behind the manufacturing bureau had lost their leaves. The hill looked bare from afar, left with merely the white ash tree trunks standing like sentinels of the forest.

The temperature was gradually turning cold. However, things were burning intensely in the manufacturing bureau...

In just the blink of an eye, it had been eight full days since Yan Liqiang arrived in the manufacturing bureau.

In these eight days, he stayed in the manufacture bureau and didn’t go out at all. He was either discussing the construction techniques or designs of the carriage with a group of chief weaponsmiths, or visiting the workshops and courtyards to supervise everyone’s tasks. Although Yan Liqiang was the Protectorate General, people who entered the manufacturing bureau often mistook Yan Liqiang as an apprentice if no one told them his identity. That was because he was dressed just like any other craftsman. He had dust or wood shavings stuck on his clothes, and even his hair was sometimes stained by paint.

When the chiefs of the Shugang and Pingba Villages came to the manufacturing bureau for the first time after the invitation a few days ago, they didn’t even spare a second glance on Yan Liqiang when the latter walked past them. They were only looking forward to meeting Qian Su.

In the Huanglong County, Quartermaster Qian’s reputation was on par with the county magistrate. To the chiefs of both villages, they were both important figures.

Qian Su’s suggestion was unprecedented to the village chiefs and they felt as though a meat dumpling had just fallen from the sky. They simply couldn’t believe such a good thing would happen to them. The experts from the manufacturing bureau taught the villagers some skills. They then loaned some materials from the manufacturing bureau and did some of their own preparations. When the final product was complete, the manufacturing bureau would then pay to collect them as long as the quality met the standards. Everything was documented in black and white, and the payment was in pure gold and silver. The manufacturing bureau was basically sending money their way. If it wasn’t for the fact that Qian Su didn’t look like an idiot to them, they would almost be suspicious as to whether he was mentally challenged or trying to scam them.

Needless to say, both village chiefs returned to their villages full of joy. The very next day, both villages actually sent sedan chairs and carriages to fetch the weaponsmiths and transport them back to their respective villages for the lessons. They were even beating gongs and drums very loudly as though someone was getting married. Yan Liqiang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at the scene...

While the weaponsmiths were away at the Shugang and Pingba Villages to impart their knowledge, Yan Liqiang’s bellows could be heard coming from the workshops and courtyards in the manufacturing bureau over the next few days. The chief and ordinary craftsmen from the carpenters, blacksmithing, and lacquer workshops all got a taste of the seemingly patient Yan Liqiang’s

...

“I want every visible inch of this carriage to be made of the finest wood! Use the most expensive wood, do not try to cut the costs! Seven Star Sandalwood from Mount Qiyun is the most expensive? Well then, we shall use that! This carriage we’re building now is for the rich! Just keep in mind on what materials the rich will prefer! I shall repeat myself again, this is not military supply! Do not treat it like that! What? You all don’t know what kind of materials the rich prefer? Then look at the movements of my mouth – EXPENSIVE. Remember the pronunciation. EXPENSIVE, EXPENSIVE! Understand...?”

...

“Precision! I want it to be precise! Redo them all again! The metal parts of the steering mechanism under the carriage do not meet the requirements if the measurements are off by even the breadth of two strands of hair! I don’t care how much effort you all have spent on making them! Take these all back into the furnace and melt them all! From now on, that will be the rule when it comes to making these metal parts! Do not ask me questions about whether or not they can be used again...!”

...

“What do you mean by you have applied three layers of paint?! This is not glossy enough! You all here don’t treat this thing like you are making an ordinary carriage! Treat it like lacquerware! If three layers doesn’t work, then make it five! If that still doesn’t work then make it ten!! Remember, it must be glossy! I will only accept it when the black paint is as reflective as a mirror after being polished and waxed!”

...

“Brother, this is the silver handle for the carriage door we’re talking about! I want it to be exquisite and gorgeous! What’s this thing that looks like an axe for executioners? What? You don’t know what is considered exquisite and gorgeous? Well then, just make it look exactly like the sketch I drew! You say that you’re going to swallow the thing you just made if you can’t make it...? Hey don’t eat it, don’t eat it!! This is silver! We’ll lose both money and our lives if you eat it! If you can’t do it, then just run three laps around the manufacturing bureau butt naked...!”

...

“Decorative arrangement! You don’t know what that means?! Make grids in the middle of this piece of wood, then inside those grids... No, not paper! Why paper?! You think this is the window of your house?! This is a luxurious carriage! Why would its window be made of paper! If not paper then what, you say? Use colored glass! Those red, blue, and green colored glass! Grind out the pieces and embed them in the window grids! Arrange them in a way that they make up a beautiful pattern! That’s how you do the decorative arrangement, understand?”

...

The preparations in every workshop and courtyard were in full swing while Yan Liqiang was working in the blacksmith workshop. After countless of trials over the past few days of working until the wee hours of the night while referring to the Yan Liqiang’s diagram, the group of craftsmen finally managed to create Yan Liqiang’s coil spring on the sixth day. Not only that, the blacksmith workshop also made spring steel from the by-products.

There were no flowers, no applause, nothing for celebration. Their success was kept a secret from everyone except Yan Liqiang, Qian Su, and the few craftsmen who were involved in making the spring themselves. After awarding the craftsmen fifty taels of silver, the blacksmith workshop that was used to manufacture the springs naturally became the most secretive location in the entire manufacturing bureau. The craftsmen also received a ‘military command’ to not leak the secret technique of making the spring under any circumstances.

On the eighth day since Yan Liqiang’s arrival at the manufacturing bureau, just when Yan Liqiang completed his morning regime, practiced the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing and had his breakfast in his private courtyard, Qian Su approached him with a smile on his face.

“Morning, Uncle Qian! Have you eaten breakfast yet?” Yan Liqiang greeted him.

“Yes, I did!” Qian Su’s smile was secretive. “Come, I want to show you something good!”

“Oh? What is it?”

“You’ll know when you see it!”

Yan Liqiang left his courtyard with Qian Su without a second thought. Both of them then came to a small square inside the manufacturing bureau.

Yan Liqiang only realized that a crowd had already gathered at the small square by the time he arrived. Everyone from the manufacturing bureau was standing around the small square in silence, and he was the last person to arrive.

A black four-wheeled carriage was parked in the middle of the square, sleek with an ethereal luster.

Yan Liqiang was stunned when he saw the black four-wheeled carriage. He felt as though he had traveled through time because the carriage was exactly the same as a European aristocratic carriage in a film he watched in his previous life. The sketches he made on the papers became a reality before his eyes for the very first time.

At this very moment, Yan Liqiang even thought he was the main character from the film, ‘Ma Liang and His Magic Brush’...

“Go on and have a look! Everyone is waiting for you to give it try first...” Qian Su said softly beside him.

Chapter 413: Invitation from the Provincial Governor

All the necessary parts for the four-wheeled carriage were actually ready yesterday. Based on the schedule, they were supposed to complete the assembly of the carriage this morning, but the whole manufacturing bureau decided to give Yan Liqiang a surprise. A number of weaponsmiths secretly woke up in the middle of the night to begin assembling the four-wheeled carriage.

Under the everyone’s hopeful and excited gazes, Yan Liqiang felt warm-hearted. With everyone focused on him, Yan Liqiang suppressed his excitement as he walked toward the mysterious and dazzling four-wheeled carriage.

The black finishing elegantly complimented the luxurious four-wheeled carriage. Yan Liqiang walked to the side of the carriage. The glossy black paint finishing on the passenger door reflected his image. He ran his fingers across the door and felt the sturdiness but smooth texture underneath his touch. It was indeed of tactile quality.

The door handle was made of pure silver carved to resemble intertwining vines; it was a simple yet elegant design. The silver handle created a stark contrast to the black-colored passenger compartment door. Underneath the door, there was a wooden footboard with brass lining along its sides. The footboard was for the convenience of passengers getting in or descending from the carriage. It was a very thoughtful design.

Yan Liqiang did not go inside the carriage immediately. He walked around it instead, inspecting the finer details.

The coachman was seated in front of the carriage with the specialized seat. Compared to those two-wheeled carriages where the seating was at a lower position thus contributing to the poor sitting posture of a coachman, the four-wheeled carriage design was much more comfortable. The coachman could sit with his back straight and head held high, displaying the strength and discipline within him.

On both sides of the coachman’s seat, there were two brass lanterns. If one needed to travel during the night, the brass lanterns could be lit to light up the path ahead. The traditional two-wheeled carriages did not have such a feature for there was no proper placeholder for the lanterns.

The front wheels of the carriage were smaller than the rear wheels; this would reduce the turning radius of the carriage, thus making it easier to make a turn. The front wheels were fixed onto an axle and both the front and rear axles were connected together to a sturdy metallic shaft.

On the other side of the carriage was an exotic logo on the right side of the passenger compartment door. The logo was embedded on a metal plate with the size of a fist and it was similar to the Yan Blades logo of a dragon and tiger – a terse outline of a ferocious tiger and soaring dragon with their heads and tails joining together to form a circle. None of the weaponsmiths in the manufacturing bureau understood why Yan Liqiang insisted on affixing the logo on the carriage. Yan Liqiang did not offer any explanation because he knew that when the time came, they would understand the reason behind it.

The luggage compartment was at the back of the four-wheeled carriage and it was separated into two compartments. The first compartment resembled the trunk of a car which had a lid attached to it. Under the lid were sections of various sizes that could be used to store valuable belongings. For added security, a brass lock was installed to the lid and it could be locked with a key. If more luggage needed to be stored, they could be stored on top of the passenger compartment and there was also additional storage space underneath the coachman’s seat.

At this very moment, Yan Liqiang’s heart was filled with amazement and he was astonished by the workmanship of the weaponsmiths from the manufacturing bureau. They had perfectly materialized the sketch and produced a carriage that was of superior fine quality which had greatly exceeded his expectations.

The luxurious aura surrounding the carriage was truly intense. Even the Rolls-Royce that Yan Liqiang sat in his previous life was incomparable to it.

Yan Liqiang nodded his head in approval as he walked around the carriage. He stood beside the door of the passenger compartment and pulled the door handle. With a click, the door opened. He stepped on the footboard and climbed into the carriage gracefully. He turned to Qian Su and beckoned for him to join. Qian Su approached the carriage and entered as well.

The interior of the passenger compartment was spacious, bright, and the floor was laid with well-polished wooden flooring. Two couches faced each other from the front and back of the passenger compartment. Those couches were specially designed by the cobblers and carpenters under Yan Liqiang’s request. The couches were in the form of long wooden benches lined with cushions made of cotton and rough hemp-filled suede. The cushions were extremely comfortable with the right level of stiffness. The space in between the two rows of couches was wide enough for Yan Liqiang to sit with his legs crossed, or he could even lie down like a lazy man.

Sliding windows with stained glass panels were fitted on both sides of the carriage for privacy. The windows were lockable and could slide open to enjoy the beautiful scenery outside the carriage. Organza curtains were installed to let in some sunlight and block-out curtains were also installed which could be closed when needed.

The interior and exterior of the carriage were built to the finest quality. Aside from the quality wood and leather materials, all other accessories and components of the carriage were made from sparkling pure silver and brass.

Inside the carriage, Qian Su sized up the overall structure. Although it was not his first time seeing the interior of the passenger compartment, he was still amazed by its appearance. He began exploring the interior by pulling open the storage compartment underneath the couch. He nodded his head while saying, “We will have no problem storing longbows or swords in here!” Qian Su opened the bigger storage section that was underneath the couch beside him and asked, “What can we store in this? This compartment seems a little too big...”

“We can use this to store some wine!” Yan Liqiang said with a wink. He began tracing his fingers in the air while saying, “Sitting in the carriage, drinking some wine, and enjoying the beautiful scenery outside isn’t such a bad idea at all. We can even make a custom freezer to store ice. Not only can it cool down the carriage during the summer, but we can also enjoy cold sour plum soup while we are on the road. What are your thoughts on this, Uncle Qian?”

Qian Su sighed and smiled wryly, “Although I claimed that I know how to enjoy life, in contrast to you, it feels as if I’ve been living my life for nothing all these years. I really can’t understand what is in your head. How did you even come up with the idea of such a carriage?”

“Hahahaha, as long as you like it, we can get the manufacturing bureau to fabricate one unit for you so you can bring your feminine confidant along with you to anywhere you desire!”

Qian Su let out a laugh, “Only you know me the best!”

“Let’s get them to bring the steeds and we’ll go for a few rounds on this carriage!”

“You read my mind....” Qian Su turned away to look outside the window and gave a hand signal. Someone immediately brought over two rhinodrake steeds and hitched them to the frame of the carriage.

It was impressive that even when the steeds were being hitched onto the carriage, the four-wheeled carriage remained still without a slight jerk. This was very different from how two-wheeled carriages operated. Whenever the steed was hitched onto a two-wheeled carriage, the carriage had to be tilted in order to hitch the steed. Furthermore, the frame of the four-wheeled carriage was flexible and lightweight – multiple harnesses could be used together depending on the number of steeds to be hitched. It could handle one steed all the way up to fifteen steeds at a time.

Two steeds were just perfect for today’s ride!

Once the steeds were hitched, Hu Haihe went up the coachman’s seat and volunteered to be the driver. With a pull of the reins, the four-wheeled carriage began to slowly move across the square. When the steeds turned, the smaller front wheels of the carriage instantaneously turned together with the steeds.

When the crowd saw how the carriage turned, they let out sounds of astonishment.

It was a different feeling for Qian Su and Yan Liqiang who were seated inside the carriage though. The ground was not really smooth. As the carriage moved across the square, the vibration from the motion was transferred to the inside of the carriage. As the vibration passed through the pair of coil springs installed at the bottom of the carriage, the springs dampened and absorbed the shock, reducing the vibration by half so that the passenger compartment of the carriage would remain stable and comfortable. Compared to the cars that Yan Liqiang rode in his previous life, this was still far from ideal. However, compared to the common two-wheeled carriages in this world, the comfort that this four-wheel carriage that was fitted with coil springs could offer was heaven-defying.

After a few rounds, Yan Liqiang requested Hu Haihe to stop the carriage. He alighted the carriage with Qian Su.

“The four-wheeled carriage was built with the effort of everyone here. Don’t just stand there, come over and try it out too!” Yan Liqiang beckoned to all the weaponsmiths that were standing nearby. Immediately, everyone gathered excitedly and started to make a line in accordance to their ranks to experience the comfortable ride on the four-wheel carriage. There was even a long line for those who wanted to experience being a coachman...

The four-wheeled carriage was the fruit of everyone’s efforts. Even the weaponsmiths found it hard to believe that they had produced such an amazing product.

Yan Liqiang and Qian Su stood at the edge of the small square, smiling at the lively scene in front of their eyes.

“How much is the production cost of this carriage?” Yan Liqiang asked Qian Su as he was still smiling and watching the scene.

“We just worked out the sum. The production cost excluding labor charges is seventy-eight taels and seven maces of silver!” Qian Su replied promptly with the figure.

“Hmm, that’s around eighty taels. Not bad, that’s not too far from my estimation. Initially, I thought it would cost around a hundred taels...” Yan Liqiang nodded his head in satisfaction.

Qian Su asked Yan Liqiang, “If you sell the carriage, how much will you be selling it for?”

Yan Liqiang raised his palm.....

Qian Su was stunned, “Five hundred taels?”

“Hahaha, Uncle Qian, you are too kind....”

Qian Su took a deep breath and widened his eyes, “Don’t tell me you want to price it at five thousand taels?”

“Uncle Qian, you need to understand that in this world, there are a lot of people who just simply don’t like cheap stuff. If this unique four-wheeled carriage is sold at a low value, those people will not appreciate it as they think that it does not suit their status. Five thousand taels is just a mere starting price as the actual price tag can go higher if customer chooses to customize the carriage according to their needs!” Yan Liqiang replied with a small smile.

“So how do you intend to sell it?”

“We do not need to market it. We only accept custom orders from customers with status. If they want our carriage, they will need to pay an upfront deposit of five thousand taels of silver. Their orders will be placed in queue. Once the carriage is ready, they can come and collect it....”

“Will this work?” Qian Su stared at Yan Liqiang in disbelief.

Yan Liqiang replied with a confident smile, “Don’t worry Uncle Qian, I assure you that it will work!”

“If...If...we build a hundred units of carriage within a year, that means we can easily earn more than four hundred thousand taels of silver...!”

“Our manufacturing bureau can only produce a hundred units within a year?” Yan Liqiang questioned back. “Based upon my observation from the past two days, there is a lot of optimization potential in the activities in the workshops and courtyards. Just by making some adjustments to the steps and processes to raise the efficiency of our operations, producing three to four hundred units a year will not be a problem at all. I will need Uncle Qian to search for some experts in jewelry and jewelry processing to join our manufacturing bureau in the future...”

“Eh...”

Just when Qian Su was about to ask Yan Liqiang to elaborate on the optimization plan, the captain who guarded the entrance of the manufacturing bureau quickly ran to Yan Liqiang and passed a red invitation card stamped with golden ink. He reported, “Protectorate General, a soldier on a horse came to the entrance of the manufacturing bureau and informed us that he is the bodyguard of the Gan Provincial Governor. He came on an order to deliver an invitation card to you.”

Yan Liqiang was taken aback for a moment. He opened and read the invitation, then laughed as he spoke to Qian Su, “Provincial Governor Lei from Gan Province is now at Pingxi Prefecture for an inspection. He would like to meet me...”

Chapter 414: Commotion

Ever since the incident with Ye Tiancheng, this was the first time that Gan Provincial Governor Lei Sitong had come to Pingxi Prefecture for an inspection.

The Ye Clan’s case in Gan Province was huge as it had shocked the whole nation. Following the incident, Pingxi Prefecture’s officialdom also experienced massive changes. All officials ranked above the Seventh Grade from the Prefectural Governor’s Office to the Military Governor’s Office were basically replaced. More than eighty percent of them were considered to be Ye Tiancheng’s accomplices and officials who lost their influence because of the Ye Clan. Many of those who were not involved in the case were also later relocated to serve at different locations.

Following such consolidation, there were only a few officials who were able to hold their positions firmly.

Huangfu Qianqi who took credit for capturing Ye Tiancheng was appointed as the Pingxi Prefectural Governor for a brief moment before he was also relocated elsewhere half a year ago. The Pingxi Prefectural and Military Governor’s Offices were now run by new officials who were all affiliated with Lei Sitong. The whole prefecture was officially under Lei Sitong’s control.

The purpose of Lei Sitong’s visit to Pingxi Prefecture naturally spoke for itself...

“Everyone in Gan Province now calls Lei Sitong as Tiger Lei. This tiger is usually silent but once its fur is ruffled, even the influential clans in Gan Province such as the Ye Clan can be torn apart into bits and pieces without a single trace left. Just the thought of it can send shivers down one’s spine. Tiger Lei is a vicious, ruthless, and short-tempered man with a strong backing. He has a bunch of military personnel under his command who are as fierce as coyotes and tigers. In Gan Province, he makes the rules. Currently, all the tyrannical clans in Gan Province tremble in fear whenever they encounter Tiger Lei. Even the arrogant and domineering Shatu people became more honest this year – they no longer cause any trouble in Pingxi City. Tiger Lei has not come to Pingxi Prefecture since his appointment as the Provincial Governor, yet he came to visit as soon as you returned. The purpose of his visit could be to mark his territory and declare his power to you...”

“I met the Provincial Governor last year and got a basic understanding of his temper. It is indeed true that the Governor has a bad temper and uses vicious tactics, but I don’t think his intention was to show his superiority. I think he simply wanted to reminisce and discuss what happened in the Imperial Capital!” Yan Liqiang smiled in reply.

He wasn’t surprised that the Provincial Governor wanted to meet him. Based on the timing, it was highly likely that the Provincial Governor had heard the news of his homecoming and planned to let him spend two days with the family before making his way to Pingxi Prefecture. One of the main reasons why the Provincial Governor wanted to meet him was none other than to ask about his plan on the Shatu Seven Tribes since the Emperor had appointed him as the Qiyun Protectorate General. When he was still in the Imperial Capital, he had let Manager You spread the information. But as the Provincial Governor, Lei Sitong obviously would not settle for information obtained from rumors unless he met Yan Liqiang in person.

Just as Lei Sitong wanted to meet Yan Liqiang, Yan Liqiang also wished to meet Lei Sitong. Lei Sitong was one of the people he wanted to wangle during this trip back to Gan Province. If he could get the support from Lei Sitong, success would follow. With this meeting, he could take advantage of the opportunity depending on what Lei Sitong had in mind.

“Liqiang, you need to guard yourself well. The winds howl around the highest peaks. Your status is different now and your reputation precedes you, not only in the Gan Province but also in the northwestern provinces. You went to the Imperial City and made a name for yourself. There were even some vivid rumors which claimed that you can communicate with deities in your dreams. Tiger Lei is the Gan Provincial Governor. You are now here in Gan Province with such a high reputation and you also hold the position of Qiyun Protectorate General which he has no command over. It is hard to predict what Tiger Lei has on his mind! You must not let your guard down around him!”

“You are right Uncle, I’ll be careful!” Ever since he acknowledged Old Master Lu, whenever Yan Liqiang was around him, he would address Old Master Lu as Uncle. “I wonder who are the current Pingxi Prefecture and Military Governors?”

“The Pingxi Military Governor is Liu Yucheng. I heard that he used to be a trusted commandant of Tiger Lei. The Pingxi Prefectural Governor’s name is Wang Jianbei. He used to be a clerk from the Provincial Governor’s office. They are not from Gan Province and seem to be from influential clans in the southern region. I have met them before. They were outstanding figures selected by Tiger Lei.

“Lei Sitong has only been in Gan Province for less than six years, but it was only after he seized the Ye Clan last year did he truly establish his authority as the Gan Provincial Governor. Inevitably, he’d promote his trusted aides to take control of Pingxi Prefecture.”

“Although Tiger Lei appears to be a straightforward man, he is in fact a cautious man with many tricks hidden under his sleeve. It was all clear when he relocated Huangfu Qianqi to Weiyuan Prefecture as the Military Governor. Weiyuan Prefecture was the Ye Clan’s lair. Although the Ye Clan had fallen, the influence of the Ye Clan and their supporters did not just disappear overnight. When Huangfu Qianqi sided with Sun Bingcheng in taking down Ye Tiancheng, he was at odds with the Ye Clan. Tiger Lei killed two birds with one stone by relocating Huangfu Qianqi to Weiyuan Prefecture...”

Yan Liqiang sighed inwardly as he heard that Huangfu Qianqi had been relocated to Weiyuan Prefecture as the Military Governor. Huangfu Qianqi was a capable and diligent man. He would’ve had no problem in taking on the role as Prefectural Governor after Ye Tiancheng had been overthrown. But the biggest challenge for Huangfu Qianqi was that he had no backing and he was not from an influential clan. He came from an ordinary background and earned everything he had today by fighting hard. He was not from the Ye Clan, nor was he associated with Sun Bingchen. He was also not one of Lei Sitong’s cronies, and was thus always subjected to tasks but not entitled to any rewards in return. In Lei Sitong eyes, Huangfu Qianqi was just a small pawn. Although the Military Governor position was one of the highest ranking posts envied by many ordinary men, the position was not a big deal in Gan Province officialdom. For an individual with no backing and good family background, this ranking was the highest he could possibly get. It would be extremely challenging to further promote oneself. There was an invisible ceiling where many had knocked their heads into a bloody mess. Only Huangfu Qianqi knew this the best.

The four-wheeled carriage leisurely moved along the public road on the outskirts of Pingxi Prefecture. Old Master Lu, who was inside the carriage, updated Yan Liqiang on the changes that occurred in Pingxi Prefecture this year while examining the interior design of the passenger compartment with great interest. Old Master Lu was an experienced and knowledgeable man, but he was overwhelmed by the new experience of riding the carriage with Yan Liqiang. He touched and looked around the surroundings with admiration.

Aside from Yan Liqiang, officials of different ranks in Pingxi Prefecture, as well as prominent and worthy people in the region were also on the list of people whom Lei Sitong wanted to meet during this trip to Pingxi Prefecture. Old Master Lu was invited too as he was one of the local influential figures in the prefecture. He received the invitation a day before and was making his way to Pingxi City today. Yan Liqiang went to the Lu Residence to pick up Old Master Lu and they made their way to Pingxi City together in the four-wheeled carriage.

Today was the first time that the black four-wheeled carriage had left the manufacturing bureau. On the way to the Lu Residence, all passerby stopped and stared at the outrageous carriage. When Yan Liqiang reached the Lu Residence, it caused a commotion as crowds gathered to catch a glimpse of such an unusual sight. Everyone’s eyes were on the carriage. Yan Liqiang felt the vanity inside of him and was satisfied with the accomplishment. As Yan Liqiang and Old Master Lu were leaving the residence, children from the Lu Residence chased after the carriage along the roadside and ran for almost one li despite the cold weather.

“I read from Peien’s letter that you came out with something called a ‘newspaper’ in the Imperial Capital and it caused a commotion. Everyone, from royalty and ministers to the peddlers in the capital are reading the newspaper that you created?”

“That was something I thought of when I saw the court bulletin. It was not as great as what Brother Lu described, but it had some added value. Newspapers are not hard to run as the cost is not high. It won’t be long until it will be available throughout Gan Province!”

“Of course. It is already available in Lan Province. One of our stewards brought one back when he traveled to Lan Province for work. Everyone in the residence read it and found it to be interesting. Beixin even requested Peien to assign someone to bring back the newspapers from the Imperial Capital on a regular basis...” Old Master Lu said while subtly diverting the conversation to Lu Beixin.

“Oh right, I haven’t seen the Ninth Lady today. Do you know where she is?”

Old Master Lu laughed as he stared at Yan Liqiang, “A few days ago, she was thrilled to hear that you would be back. She knew you were coming to the residence today but I don’t know why she did not come out to meet you!”

After hearing Old Master Lu, Yan Liqiang could only scratch his face awkwardly. Lu Beixin’s temper and thoughts were the most difficult to make sense of.

Cold winds were howling outside the carriage, but it was peaceful and quiet on the inside. The compartment was well confined to keep the cold air out. The extraordinary technology behind the pair of coil springs installed to the carriage efficiently raised the comfort level to the best possible in this era. The windows with stained glass panels were shut, but one could still vaguely view the scenery outside the carriage. While Yan Liqiang was chatting with Old Master Lu in the carriage, he caught a glimpse of amazed onlookers. Some on rhinodrake steeds even turned their steeds around just to follow the carriage to get a better view of the rare sight.

If it wasn’t for Zhou Yong and the other four fully armored soldiers from the manufacturing bureau escorting the carriage on their rhinodrake steeds, the carriage could have been surrounded by over a thousand curious onlookers.

“Look, a four-wheeled carriage...”

“Ahh, it has four wheels but how can it move so fast and seem so light...”

“The coachman is so handsome...”

“It’s turning, the four-wheeled carriage is turning...”

Although they were sitting inside the carriage, the discussions and gasps of admiration from the surroundings could be still be heard.

This was Old Master Lu’s first time experiencing what it was like to cause a commotion and attract a crowd anywhere he went. Hu Haihe felt the excitement of being the coachman of the carriage. Although he was the driver, it felt as though he was the general of a patrol unit. The whip in his hand cracked noisily in the air. The soldiers who escorted the carriage straightened their backs and looked at the glorious carriage with hearts full of pride.

By the time the beautiful four-wheeled carriage reached the city gate of Pingxi Prefecture, there were over a few dozen of curious onlookers following it, reluctant to leave such elegance.

There were a lot of people leaving and entering the town when the carriage reached the gate entrance, immediately causing a big commotion. Many stood still near the city gate staring at the unprecedented invention in disbelief.

The troops of soldiers guarding the city gate were also shocked by the sight of the gorgeous black carriage drawn by two rhinodrake steeds coming into the city that they forgot how to speak...

“I’ve never seen such an impressive four-wheeled carriage before. Could this be the Provincial Governor’s?” One of the guards at the city gate asked after the carriage entered the city.

“Ah, but I recall that the Provincial Governor rode a steed into the city yesterday!”

“Aside from the Provincial Governor, who else could own such a carriage in Gan Province?”

...

It wasn’t until the four-wheeled carriage entered Pingxi City did Yan Liqiang realize that he had underestimated the impact caused by the appearance of such a four-wheeled carriage. It was easy to draw too much attention which resulted in huge crowds, especially in the city.

It was dead silent at first when the carriage was drawn slowly along the street. But it wasn’t long until loud noises began to form.

“Look, it’s a four-wheeled carriage!”

“Wow, it’s so beautiful!”

“It’s so impressive...”

“The Provincial Governor must be inside...”

Both sides of the street were filled with people fighting to get closer to the four-wheeled carriage. Other two-wheeled carriages on the street were no match for the eye-catching four-wheeled carriage. Everyone on the street stopped to stare at it. Windows of restaurants and tea houses opened one after another. As the four-wheel carriage approached, other coachmen couldn’t help but halt their carriages to give way. They watched in envy as Hu Haihe gracefully drove the carriage with the reins in his hand.

The commotion caused by the appearance of the four-wheel carriage was comparable to the scenario of a superstar appearing downtown in Yan Liqiang’s previous life. It shook all of Pingxi City...

Chapter 415: Own Respective Plans

Lei Sitong lived in a manor in Pingxi City near the Plum Gardens, the very same one that Sun Bingchen stayed in when he was in Pingxi City last time.

When Yan Liqiang’s four-wheeled carriage entered Pingxi City, Lei Sitong, the newly-appointed Prefectural Governor Wang Jianbei, and Military Governor Liu Yucheng were seated near a fire stove while they conversed in the manor’s study.

The exquisite metal stove was burning lotus root briquettes inside it. The study’s window was open, so there was no need to worry about carbon monoxide poisoning. It was freezing outside and there were also signs of snowfall. However, the study was still rather warm thanks to the little stove.

Lei Sitong was a fit man dressed in his official Provincial Governor robe. He sported a mustache, a beard, and a sharp nose as well as long eyebrows that reached his temples. He was only sitting by the fire, yet he was oozing with pride and a powerful aura. Sitting to his left was the newly-appointed Pingxi Prefectural Governor Wang Jianbei and on the right was also the newly-appointed Military Governor, Liu Yucheng. Wang Jianbei was a graceful and refined man in his forties. He looked quite like a teacher. He had a pair of narrow eyes that shined brilliantly.

On the other hand, Liu Yucheng was much younger than Wang Jianbei. He seemed to be in his thirties and was dressed in a silver half-body scale armor. He was a man with a masculine physique with a parted black mustache above his lips. He had broad shoulders and his biceps were as thick as the average person’s thigh. One would know he was a valiant man at first glance for he was overflowing with aura akin to that of a ferocious tiger.

“I wonder why my lord fancies that young man named Yan Liqiang so much. I heard he is only sixteen years old, a mere child. Let me know if you wish to meet him; I will have my subordinate bring him to you. Your words are absolute in Gan Province and I do not believe anyone else can possibly take them otherwise. That Qiyun Protectorate is nothing to me. If he dares to leave White Stone Pass, the Shatu people will serve his head on a silver platter within three days...!” The newly-appointed Pingxi Prefecture’s Military Governor Liu Yu Cheng spoke roughly. As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Wang Jianbei smiling while shaking his head. He glared at him and asked indignantly, “What? Did I say something funny?”

Wang Jianbei smiled and pointed at the exquisite metal stove and lotus root briquettes at their feet, “Can you make this thing?”

“No.” Liu Yucheng shook his head.

“If you were in the Imperial Capital, would you be able to make His Majesty pick you as the Crown Prince’s mentor in archery?”

“No.” Liu Yucheng shook his head again.

“Can you earn the respect of the best engineer in the world?”

“No.” Liu Yucheng continued shaking his head but then retorted, “So what? I can just lead my troops and crush my enemies! I don’t need to know everything!”

Wang Jianbei’s smile widened. “How can you be so sure that Yan Liqiang doesn’t know how to lead a troop? I believe you’ve heard that the Blackwind Bandits have yielded and disappeared without a trace over the past year. Lord Lei must have his own reasons to think so highly of Yan Liqiang...”

“Ugh...” Liu Yucheng was immediately rendered speechless.

“I met Yan Liqiang once last year when he was still Sun Bingchen’s attendant. I didn’t pay much attention to him back then. Little did I expect for him to be so lucky to rise to fame while serving Sun Bingchen in the Imperial Capital after such a short amount of time. That was indeed my oversight!” Lei Sitong shook his head and sighed ruefully. “Pity, what a pity! If I had noticed him earlier, he would’ve been very useful to me...”

Wang Jianbei’s eyes gleamed. He was still smiling as he spoke to Lei Sitong, “If Yan Liqiang served Sun Bingchen in some capacity back then, he can also do the same for you now that he has returned to Gan Province. At the end of the day, his Qiyun Protectorate General title is nothing but an empty husk. So what if he has a weaponsmiths quarter with a few hundred craftsmen of all ages directly under his command? If my lord wants to make him lower his head, I naturally will find a way to get it done!”

“There’s no need to do that!” Lei Sitong waved it off and smiled indifferently. “We have more talented people than carps in the rivers. Yan Liqiang has offended Lin Qingtian in the Imperial Capital and was chosen by His Majesty. If I am to snare him, I may end up losing more than what I can gain. Not only will I fail to get him on my side, but I may even be inviting trouble upon myself. Yan Liqiang must be a smart person. He never visited both of you when he returned to Pingxi Prefecture not because he’s rude, but he was merely trying to avoid me. For this reason, it makes me want to meet him even more and figure out the real intention behind His Majesty’s new appointment for him!”

“Lin Qingtian takes pride in the protection he provides to the Shatu Seven Tribes. It won’t be easy for His Majesty to lay a finger on them!” Liu Yucheng said while rubbing his chin before his voice turned sinister. “If you would allow me, I wish to make a move against the Shatu people in Pingxi City. These Shatu people come and go from this city as though this is their place. They are arrogant and tyrannical. Wretches like them should die...!”

“Three feet of snow doesn’t just pile up in a day. Getting rid of the Shatu people in Pingxi City requires lengthy consideration. If we act rashly, we’d just be giving others an opportunity to grab onto something that can be used against us to ruin Lord Lei’s great plans!” Wang Jianbei told Liu Yucheng with a solemn face.

Lei Sitong squinched his eyes and said, “I am actually looking forward to Yan Liqiang doing something outrageous upon returning this time. We may not be able to move recklessly against the Shatu people, but if he takes charge of that, then we can naturally...”

Wang Jianbei’s eyes suddenly lit up and he carefully asked, “My lord, you mean to say...”

Lei Sitong only responded with a smile. Wang Jianbei and Liu Yucheng exchanged glances with each other, having seemingly caught onto something...

When the trio was conversing in the room, a clamor suddenly emerged outside the manor. It took only a moment for the noise to increase in volume, and it seemed to be gradually drawing closer toward the manor.

Lei Sitong creased a frown and ordered the attendants standing outside the room, “Go see what is going on!”

“Yes, my lord!” One of the attendants quickly left.

In just less than half a minute, the attendant returned with a strange expression on his face.

“What’s all that ruckus out there about?” Lei Sitong asked.

“T-There’s a strange four-wheeled carriage outside and it has attracted a crowd in town...!”

“Four-wheeled carriage?” Lei Sitong was briefly stunned. “What’s so strange about it?”

“I-I can’t put it into words. It’s just totally different than all the other carriages! It’s wide and spacious, almost like a moving house! A-And... it’s rather impressive!”

Any typical official would only ask for more details in most cases like this. They would be too embarrassed to personally go out for just a horse carriage. However, Lei Sitong was Lei Sitong. When he heard about an interesting four-wheeled carriage out there, he immediately stood up and spoke without a second thought. “Let’s go out and see which prominent and worthy personage has arrived in Pingxi Prefecture for his carriage to be causing such an uproar in the city...!”

Wang Jianbei and Liu Yucheng were curious too. When they saw the Provincial Governor going out there to take a look, both of them naturally followed behind him.

As soon as Lei Sitong and the other two went outside, a black carriage had slowly pulled up to the manor’s entrance under the gazes of a big group of Pingxi Prefecture officials and squires. Not far away, a dark mass of Pingxi Prefecture citizens was being blocked by soldiers who were standing guard outside the manor. They were the source of the noise and their gazes were fixated on that black four-wheeled carriage.

When Lei Sitong saw the carriage, his eyes lit up and shone sinisterly...

“Greetings, Provincial Governor, Prefectural Governor, and Military Governor...!”

The officials and squires outside were shocked by the trio’s appearance as they hurriedly bowed to them in greetings and moved out of their way.

The carriage had come to a stop now. Hu Haihe nimbly jumped off from his coachman seat and opened the door from outside before standing obediently at the side.

Old Master Lu was naturally the first to alight the carriage.

He was shocked at the sight of Lei Sitong and the other two, and quickly greeted them.

Just when Lei Sitong was wondering who this old man was to afford to ride a carriage like this, Yan Liqiang finally alighted the carriage, looking handsome in his white fox fur coat.

Yan Liqiang swept his glance around and immediately spotted Lei Sitong who was standing nearby staring at him.

“Greetings, Provincial Governor...” Yan Liqiang saluted to Lei Sitong. However, he didn’t bow like he was greeting his superior. He merely cupped his fists to Lei Sitong as though he was greeting his peer.

When the group of officials and squires standing at the manor’s entrance saw Yan Liqiang’s ‘haughtiness’, their eyes twitched. Although your Qiyun Protectorate General is a high ranking title, it is only an empty husk! How dare you place yourself on the same level as the Provincial Governor! Preposterous!

“Hahaha, I was just wondering who caused such a huge commotion with just a carriage. It turns out to be the Protectorate General...!” Lei Sitong laughed loudly, seemingly not bothered. His gaze flickered to the carriage and his smile became broader. “Just paying a visit here is enough, Protectorate General. You don’t have to go out of your way to bring me such a sophisticated and expensive gift! I shall gracefully accept it since it would be impolite to refuse. Someone, take the four-wheeled carriage away, do not damage the Protectorate General’s gift...!”

Hu Haihe’s eyes immediately widened when he heard the latter and glared at Lei Sitong from beside the carriage.

Yan Liqiang seemed like he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at the situation either. He didn’t expect a dignified Provincial Governor to be this shameless to be asking for his four-wheeled carriage as soon as he spoke. Where was his integrity?

Still, he had to give face to Lei Sitong since they were in public. Yan Liqiang could only treat gifting Lei Sitong his carriage as an advertising fee.

“Hahaha, good to know that the Provincial Governor likes it...!” Yan Liqiang said and gestured to Hu Haihe with his eyes. “Haihe, bring carriage into the manor for the Provincial Governor...”

Since Yan Liqiang had spoken, Hu Haihe could only lead the carriage away glumly with Lei Sitong’s two attendants.

“Come, come, come! Let me introduce you. This is Pingxi Prefectural Governor Wang Jian Bei and this is Pingxi Prefectural’s Military Governor Liu Yucheng. I think the Protectorate General has never met them before!”

“Greetings, Prefectural Governor and Military Governor...” Yan Liqiang greeted the other two officials of Pingxi Prefecture by cupping his fists like they were his peers too. Seeing Yan Liqiang repeating the same gesture again, the other officials and squires around them were once again in shock. However, this time, they no longer thought that Yan Liqiang was arrogant. They thought he was neither servile nor overbearing, and was graceful and poised instead. Quite a few of them were even secretly praising Yan Liqiang in their hearts.

Wang Jianbei and Liu Yucheng carefully sized up Yan Liqiang before cupping their fists to him to return the greeting. The Provincial Governor addressed Yan Liqiang as the Protectorate General and also frankly accepted his greeting. This was tone he had set for Yan Liqiang’s status in Gan Province. Hence, both of them would have to comply and go with the flow...

“This is my uncle, the head of the Lu Clan in Huanglong County. Since he was also invited here, I came together with him today...” Yan Liqiang calmly introduced Old Master Lu and had him show his face to Lei Sitong.

After they exchanged greetings at the entrance, Lei Sitong entered the manor while chatting pleasantly with Yan Liqiang.

The Pingxi Prefecture officials and squires at the manor were shocked at the unfathomable scene of Yan Liqiang walking side by side with Tiger Lei despite his young age.

As soon as Yan Liqiang walked through the manor’s door, he felt a strange gaze on him from behind. It felt different than other people’s gazes. In the coldness, it carried a bone-chilling murderous intent like a sharp arrow flying toward him...

Yan Liqiang pretended to not notice. As soon as he walked around the screen wall facing the entrance directly, he glanced into the distance without making it seem obvious.

Several hundred meters away from the Plum Gardens, a green figure flashed across one of the windows at the top of a tall tower...

That was an expert archer and he seemed to be after Yan Liqiang...

Less than half a minute of walking through the manor, Yan Liqiang got the strange feeling of being watched again. He inadvertently glanced to the sky and saw a gray falcon hovering in the air above Pingxi City. From several thousand meters above the ground, it appeared as a mere black dot in the sky. It gave Yan Liqiang the same feeling of being watched by the Blackwind Bandits when he left Gan Province with Sun Bingchen back then...

F*CK!

There are two parties?!

Yan Liqiang’s eyelids twitched as he cursed inwardly...

Chapter 416: Confiding

Simply put, the banquet Gan Provincial Governor Lei Sitong organized tonight was equivalent to the tea parties that the world leaders in Yan Liqiang’s previous life used to host. The most influential figures of Pingxi Prefecture had gathered in the manor to show their loyalties to the Gan Provincial Governor and criticize Ye Tiancheng and the Ye Clan. The dinner ended after everyone enjoyed the feast and wine together.

During the dinner, Yan Liqiang was seated together with Lei Sitong at the main table. They pleasantly chatted with each other over the meal, thus becoming the main focus of all the other guests.

The Yan Liqiang from last year would still revere Lei Sitong and think that a Provincial Governor was a superior being. However, after his trip to the Imperial Capital, Yan Liqiang no longer looked up Lei Sitong like he did before.

Besides, Yan Liqiang had met the Emperor when he was in the Imperial Capital. Not only that, but he also managed to escape unscathed after going up against the Grand Chancellor and the other high officials. These experiences helped him gain confidence and composure. Now that he was reunited with Provincial Governor Lei Sitong, he no longer felt inferior before him and was able to act neither humbly nor arrogantly around him. The officials and squires at the scene were secretly impressed by his graceful bearing and composure.

That was what experience and knowledge could do to a man. With those in heart, one’s insecurities would diminish when faced with important figures or situations. When one’s confidence was brought out, so would his graceful bearing.

After the banquet, Lei Sitong invited Yan Liqiang to his study. He had his attendants serve them tea before releasing them. Very quickly, Yan Liqiang and Lei Sitong were the only people left in the study room.

“I heard Lord Sun promoted Liqiang as his personal attendant in this manor too. Back then, this was the very same study room he used. Liqiang must be even more familiar than me around here...” Lei Sitong glanced at Yan Liqiang with admiration. He then personally poured a cup of tea and pushed the cup toward Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang rose from his seat slightly to accept the gesture, then scanned the room. “Well, it’s not bad. The study room has not changed since the last time Lord Sun was here!”

“Another year has passed since I parted ways with Lord Sun that day. I heard stories about Liqiang fearlessly driving away the Blackwind Bandits during Lord Sun’s return journey to the Imperial Capital. Not only that, you also performed well in the Imperial Capital to make His Majesty think so highly of you. The moment ‘The Great Han Times’ was published, it took the world by storm and became a leading trend in the nation. I have to say I am impressed by Lord Sun’s wise insight. Everyone has been holding a newspaper in their hands lately in Gan Provincial City, and such behavior is the result of Liqiang’s influence...”

“You’re flattering me, Lord Lei!” Yan Liqiang laughed self-deprecatingly. He spread open his arms with resignation and sighed, “Lord Lei, you are an outspoken person so I won’t put up any pretenses with you. Truth be told, the political struggle in Imperial Capital city is intense. I am merely a nobody. I only did my best trying to survive while bumbling my way through there. I ended up offending quite a few people and I had no choice but to flee back to Gan Province with my tail between my legs. I am lucky to have made it out alive, so please don’t jest me, Lord Lei...”

It was indeed comfortable to speak with an interesting individual. Seeing how Yan Liqiang was so outspoken, Lei Sitong laughed heartily while slapping his palm against the table. “You are indeed capable to be able to gain your fame and retreat from a tiger’s den like that. To be honest, I didn’t expect Liqiang to decisively give up on the lavish life and leave it all behind!”

“I had no choice. If I stayed in the Imperial Capital, I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to come back alive in another year. Speaking of a lavish life, I still think that our Gan Province is not bad either. It is indeed difficult to leave one’s hometown. I feel so much more relaxed and comfortable now that I have returned to this place!”

“You may feel comfortable, but you should know how many are going to be uncomfortable because of your return as the Qiyun Protectorate General!” Lei Sitong picked up his teacup and gently blew on it.

Yan Liqiang smiled. “If those bastards in the Shatu Seven Tribes are going to feel comfortable, then that will be the end of the Great Han Empire! I think it’s good to let them feel uncomfortable!”

“Well said!” Lei Sitong set his teacup down as a glint flashed across his eyes. “Speaking of this, I shall stop beating around the bush now. Liqiang, you are a smart man. Surely you have realized my intention of meeting you this time?”

Yan Liqiang looked at Lei Sitong seriously. “The appointment of a Qiyun Protectorate General is no trivial matter. Naturally, I am aware of your concern as the Gan Provincial Governor, Lord Lei. Truth be told, His Majesty has no intention of waging a war against the Shatu Seven Tribes. He merely appointed me as the Qiyun Protectorate General for show only to make some people feel uncomfortable. I’m sure the Provincial Governor knows the reason behind His Majesty’s actions better than I do.”

“No intention of waging a war?” Lei Sitong stared dead straight at Yan Liqiang and repeated his words with more emphasis.

“No intention of waging a war.” Yan Liqiang nodded with confidence.

Lei Sitong let out a sigh and revealed a smile. His facial expression visibly relaxed too. “I guess His Majesty indeed regards you very highly, Liqiang. He must be waiting to assess your capability!”

“Hahaha, all I am good for is leading some people in a small business. That’s not enough to put myself in His Majesty’s discerning eye!” Yan Liqiang smiled modestly.

“You are too humble. It has only been a few days since you returned to Pingxi Prefecture and you have already made a four-wheeled carriage! I reckon that this type of carriage will become popular before long. This is a great achievement!” Lei Sitong laughed.

“In my opinion, this carriage isn’t only good for carrying passengers. If it is used to transport military supplies, the load it can carry will easily double the efficiency. For the same load, it will put less stress on this type of carriage compared to the usual ones. This will certainly become a great asset to the military! It’s simply impressive!”

Yan Liqiang was also secretly impressed. Lei Sitong had keen eyes. It took him only one look at the four-wheeled carriage to figure its significance in the military. This was probably the reason why he had taken Yan Liqiang’s four-wheeled carriage without a care as soon as they met. A carriage used to transport passengers needed the springs to suspend its frame for the sake of comfort. If this was used to transport goods, then the springs were no longer needed. As long as he showed the carriage to the craftsmen, they would be able to take a good look at its steering mechanism and copy the design.

“Speaking of this, I have a suggestion. I wonder if Lord Lei would be interested in hearing it?” Yan Liqiang threw the bait out with a smile.

“Oh, you mean making four-wheeled carriages?” Lei Sitong burst out laughing. “I may be interested in making money, but I do not wish to take this business away from you, Liqiang...”

Yan Liqiang laughed too. “If I can have the opportunity to do business with Lord Lei, of course it won’t be a small business like the four-wheeled carriages. They are only good for several million taels of silver in a year at best. That may be enough to feed a group of craftsmen, but to Lord Lei, I’m sure this sum of money hardly amounts to anything...”

“Pft...!” Lei Sitong choked when he heard Yan Liqiang, spraying out a mouthful of tea that trickled down his beard. He turned his head around to look at Yan Liqiang. His eyes sparkled and he didn’t even mind the droplets of tea clinging to his beard. “What was that? Your four-wheeled carriages can make a million of taels of silver in a year?” he asked in disbelief.

“Yes, of course. Is that a lot?” Yan Liqiang deliberately gave Lei Sitong a look of innocence, not forgetting to even blink. “I am going to sell them at 5,000 taels of silver each. That means 50,000 taels of silver for ten and 500,000 tales of silver for a hundred. Based on the capability of my manufacturing bureau, there shouldn’t be a problem for them to build a few hundred units of those carriages in a year. One million taels of silver should easily be within their reach.”

“Hahaha...!” Lei Sitong laughed loudly while pointing at Yan Liqiang and shaking his head. “Oh Liqiang... You must be joking and I almost believed that! It is true that your carriage is pretty good, but someone else will be able to replicate it with just a glance. You may own a weaponsmiths quarter, but there are many craftsmen in other places too. Which weaponsmiths quarter in Gan Province can’t replicate it? Putting aside the fact that it is 5,000 taels of silver for one, maybe there are many others who can make it at just 500 taels of silver! How are you going to earn that 5,000 taels of silver?”

“Lord Lei has only seen the exterior of the carriage, but you are not aware that there is a special component beneath the carriage frame near the wheels. Even if that component is revealed to the world, I am the only one who can make that. Even if someone else can replicate the carriage, they won’t be able to provide the same level of comfort to passengers without it. That component is the selling feature which warrants the price tag of 5,000 tales of silver on my carriage...”

“Oh, what exactly is that component then?” Lei Sitong immediately asked in curiosity.

“It’s called a spring. It’s resilient steel that can be compressed or stretched...”

“Ah, resilient steel that can be compressed or stretched?!” Lei Sitong had a look of astonishment on his face, looking as though he was in disbelief. In his impression, steel was a naturally hard and strong material that could be tempered into armor, weapons, or tools. How could a resilient object be made out of steel? It was impossible...!

“The carriage is parked in the manor. If Lord Lei doesn’t believe me, you can send someone to check. You will know if you look at the bottom of the carriage and have two people moving around inside the passenger compartment...”

“I just simply can’t believe something like that exists. Wait here, Liqiang. I shall go take a look personally. I must see it with my own eyes to believe...!” Lei Sitong told Yan Liqiang, then swiftly left the study room.

Yan Liqiang sipped his tea with a smile while waiting in silence. Less than five minutes later, Lei Sitong once again returned to the study room.

He was rubbing his hands while looking at Yan Liqiang with his sparkling eyes. The smile on his face was so broad that it reminded Yan Liqiang of those pimps trying to pull in customers at the entrance of a brothel.

“Ah, Liqiang...”

The Provincial Governor called out to him with such emotion that Yan Liqiang couldn’t help but shudder.

His smile blossomed like a flower and his mouth was full of honey as he looked at Yan Liqiang lovingly. “You may be young, but I am not any wiser despite being older than you. It’s rare that we can get along so well, and I think we should stop being strangers with each other. You don’t have to address me as Lord Lei, just call me Uncle Lei. I shall make sure that you can do whatever you please in Gan Province from now on. If anyone dares to lay a finger on you, I shall have my men wipe them off the surface of this land...!”

The Provincial Governor spoke the murderous words so affectionately, creating perfect harmony...

“U-Uncle.... Uncle Lei...” The sudden change in the Provincial Governor’s demeanor shocked Yan Liqiang so much that he was tongue tied. At that split moment, Yan Liqiang even felt like he seemed... to have... made a mistake.

“Good, we are family from now on. Ohh, your cup is almost empty! Come come come, Uncle Lei will pour you some more tea...!” Lei Sitong happily filled Yan Liqiang’s cup to its brim before he set the teapot down. His smile faded and he let out a sigh. He had a miserable look on his face as he stared at the ceiling of the room.

“Uncle Lei has to be honest with you, Liqiang. I have been in the Gan Province for six years and I deeply feel that a being a provincial governor is a tough job. Gan Province is simply too poor. We are located at the border where battles rage. We have many men to feed here, but the imperial court isn’t providing enough funds. I have to think of ways to resolve this.

“Unfortunately, Gan Province lacks natural resources. The province isn’t prospering either and we don’t have enough taxes to collect. Even as a Provincial Governor, I have to tighten my belt. I am aware that everyone in Gan Province has been calling me Tiger Lei behind my back, but this old tiger is starving to the point that it is going to become a vegetarian.

“Some people say that I was ruthless to lay a finger on the Ye Clan while some say that I hold grudges against them. They are all wrong. The truth is that poverty compels me to do so...”

Chapter 417: Big Business

The powerful Gan Provincial Governor who was able to eliminate the Ye Clan was someone who could make countless influential clans in Gan Province tremble just by hearing his name. At this very moment, the proud Tiger Lei was reduced into nothing but a rambling poor old man.

Yan Liqiang finally realized his own mistakes. He had never been a materialistic person in his previous or this life. He never thought that money could dictate everything even when he was at his poorest, and this was especially true in this lifetime where he could easily obtain wealth. His dream of getting rich quick and achieving financial freedom had been realized when he plundered the Shatu men last time. Although he possessed an unfathomable amount of wealth, he didn’t really see how the few hundred thousand taels of silver brought any changes to his life. Therefore, ten thousand, a hundred thousand, or even a million taels of silver, they didn’t make much of a difference to him. Yet, Yan Liqiang forgot that the value of money held different meanings to different people. It wasn’t only the poor that fancied money. Very often, the more influential the individual, the more they could feel the power of money. After all, money was a necessity to achieve many great things.

Looking at Lei Sitong’s knitted eyebrows and miserable expression while lamenting about his poverty, Yan Liqiang pinched himself hard on his own thigh to wake himself up.

“...Gan Province has more than a hundred thousand troops to feed. Money is needed for wages and for covering the costs of maintaining the troops, stables, barracks, and transportation. Our men’s socks, boots, and every thread on their uniform cost money. I am the one responsible for obtaining this sum of money. The Gan Province’s army require an annual expense of more than three million taels of silver, which isn’t exactly a small amount. Everyone can only see the great authority I hold in my hands as a provincial governor, but no one knows the difficulty of being in this position without being in my shoes. Uncle Lei isn’t afraid to tell Liqiang that I nearly chose to do wretched things like the Blackwind Bandits for the sake of money...”

Unbeknownst to Yan Liqiang, his hand was already in Lei Sitong’s grasp. The latter was patting on his hand affectionately while talking. That sent shivers down Yan Liqiang’s spine and his scalp was tingling.

Yan Liqiang swallowed audibly and laughed dryly. He used drinking tea as an excuse to quickly pull his hand out from the grasp of Lei Sitong’s tiger claws. “Oh... Well, I didn’t know things have been so tough for you, U-Uncle Lei!”

“Isn’t it? No other province would keep this many troops – they would’ve cut the size down to half long ago! However, the Shatu people and the Dark Ram Tribe have been eyeing Gan Province covetously. It worries me if we don’t have a large number of troops! As the Gan Provincial Governor, I must protect our citizens at all costs and keep enemies at bay. Apart from that, it has also been a long time since we last performed any maintenance on the city walls and a few important checkpoints at the borders because we are short on money...” Lei Sitong spoke while looking at Yan Liqiang helplessly.

“Well... Things are difficult indeed when you don’t have money!”

“Isn’t it? Other provinces can do anything because they are wealthy, but it is the opposite in Gan Province! I wonder if the business Liqiang mentioned just now can bring in more profit than the four-wheeled carriage? If not, it’s alright. The four-wheeled carriage business looks decent enough. That spring of yours... is fantastic indeed as no one else can make it. Since we’re a family, I will speak bluntly – if you give me half of your carriage business and let me earn three or five hundred taels of silver out of it every year, I can even give you the position of a prefectural governor. In any case, the imperial court did not state that a protectorate general cannot hold the post of a prefectural governor. Therefore, you can become the prefectural governor of any prefecture you wish! Just leave everything to me! If anyone has a problem with that, I shall crush them...!” Lei Sitong declared boldly.

Yan Liqiang nearly spat out the mouthful of tea when he heard Lei Sitong, but fortunately he was able to swallow it in time. This man was behaving more like a mafia boss than a provincial governor.

“Well, please forgive me Uncle Lei. I have already promised half of the profit from the four-wheeled carriages to the craftsmen in the manufacturing bureau. I can’t possibly go back on my word!”

“Huh? You’re saying that you’re giving half the profit of a business that’s potentially worth one million taels of silver annually with the craftsmen from the former weaponsmiths quarter?” Lei Sitong was truly shocked now. He might’ve been exaggerating in his acting when he was lamenting earlier, but he was really surprised after listening to Yan Liqiang. The profit Yan Liqiang shared was definitely a huge sum of money. If Yan Liqiang really shared half the profit from the four-wheeled carriages with the several hundred men in the weaponsmiths quarter, these struggling craftsmen would become wealthy men in less than a year.

“Yes!” Yan Liqiang nodded. “Since I requested His Majesty to transfer them under me, I must make sure they lead a good life instead of the opposite. I do understand Uncle Lei’s trouble. By right, the manufacturing bureau’s business belongs to the Qiyun Protectorate, so it works differently than other business organizations. His Majesty has also given his approval for no taxes to be imposed on us. However, I shall give one-tenth of the manufacturing bureau’s profit to support Uncle Lei! That’s the most I can do!”

Once the four-wheeled carriage business was established, it would definitely make many jealous. However, good things being monopolized by one party wouldn’t last long. Since the manufacturing bureau was located in Pingxi Prefecture and conducted all sorts of transactions with other places within the prefecture, Yan Liqiang had already planned to pay taxes. A good environment could only be created for the manufacturing bureau by paying taxes and letting the bureaucracy enjoy the benefits in Gan Province. Now that Yan Liqiang had met Lei Sitong and the opportunity had presented itself, Yan Liqiang might as well sort it out with him.

“Good, Uncle Lei didn’t misjudge you after all!” Lei Sitong seemed rather touched. Yan Liqiang’s words had just guaranteed him another ten thousand taels of silver annually. This was a considerable sum of money, definitely more than enough for a bribe. “Well then, the business Liqiang mentioned just now which is more profitable than the four-wheeled carriage is...”

Yan Liqiang cast a glance at Lei Sitong, then took out a black and a white porcelain bottle from his chest. He first removed the white bottle’s cork then poured a small amount of its contents on the table.

Looking at the sparkling white particles on the table’s surface, Lei Sitong creased a frown. “This is...”

“You will know once you get a taste of it, Uncle Lei!”

Lei Sitong glanced at Yan Liqiang, then pinched a small amount between his fingers and put it in his mouth without any hesitation or concern that it might be poisonous. His eyes instantly widened. “Salt...”

“Yes, it’s salt!” Yan Liqiang smiled.

“How can salt be this white? Even the quality of the blue salt imported by Gan Province and the finest lake salt produced in Lan Province pale in comparison. Not only that, the bitter aftertaste is absent too! Is this a new type of imperial tribute salt you’ve brought back from the capital?” Lei Sitong asked in surprise.

Yan Liqiang smiled and shook his head. “This is neither blue salt, lake salt, nor some new type of imperial salt from the royal palace. It is produced by our Gan Province!”

“Impossible!” Lei Sitong almost stood up in shock as he shook his head. “We only have earth salt in Gan Province! If we could produce this kind of salt, we would have been rich ages ago and I wouldn’t be this dirt poor as a provincial governor!”

Yan Liqiang smiled, then removed the black porcelain bottle’s cork and poured out its contents.

The black porcelain bottle contained the earth salt produced in Gan Province, which was yellowish brown in color. It looked more like crystalline sand rather than salt. Apart from the salty flavor, it also had a strong astringent and a bitter aftertaste. It was the lowest quality salt, commonly consumed by the poor and average families. Despite its quality, it came with quite an expensive price tag. A jin of earth salt cost more than 120 copper coins, while a jin of fine blue salt cost more than a tael of silver, and a jin of Lan Province’s lake salt cost more than 600 copper coins. As for the rumored ‘imperial salt’, unfortunately, those were not for sale and normal people wouldn’t even get to see it no matter how rich they were...

“If I can turn the earth salt in this black bottle into the type of salt in the white bottle and also reduce the production cost by half, do you think this business will work, Uncle Lei?”

Chapter 418: Oil Comparison

In Yan Liqiang’s previous life, oil was no doubt the most precious commodity in modern society. Oil was the blood of the modern world’s economy. It was the source of wealth and foundation of industries. Without oil, society as a whole would come to a halt. In Yan Liqiang’s previous life, oil was often connected to the status of the country’s economy, influential families, and secret groups. It not only brought about massive wealth, but it also caused countless wars, joys, and separations. Countries fought over oil all the time. There was an old saying from an ‘old friend’ of China – Henry Alfred Kissinger once said, “Whoever controls oil controls the world.”

On the Silver Continent, the world that Yan Liqiang currently lived in, the value of salt was undoubtedly equivalent to oil in his previous life. In fact, salt was even more valuable than oil as one could live on without oil but it was impossible to live without salt. The mineral was the absolute protagonist in this world and was the largest trade commodity. The rise and fall of influential clans along with countless wars between countries and clans were all related to salt.

Similar to oil production in the modern world, places that could produce salt would acquire great wealth. In the Great Han Empire, most of the wealthy and influential clans were all connected to salt. In fact, salt tax was the primary source of income in the Great Han Empire.

In a world where martial prowess trumped everything else, the Great Han Empire’s bureaucracy did not monopolize the sale of salt. The salt trade was open to the public. In order to gain control and profit over the salt trade, the Great Han Empire invented a brilliant system by introducing the ‘salt note’.

The salt note had three functions – the first was for market admittance, the second was a tax receipt, and the third was a purchasing method.

If one produced ten thousand jin of salt annually, one would then need to purchase salt notes from the bureaucracy for ten thousand jin. Only then could one enter the distribution market legally. From the early stages of salt production, salt notes had been designed to undertake the function of tax collection and admittance approval. For example, when commoners bought a jin of salt, they could purchase a salt note for a jin of salt from the salt merchants. They would then present the salt note to the relevant salt management office to obtain a rebate for the salt. With this, the salt notes were once again returned to the hands of the imperial court.

Salts were categorized into upper, medium, lower and lowest grades. Different grades of salts could be purchased with different types of salt notes. Usually, a salt note worth a jin was equivalent to about fifty percent of the retail cost. Regardless, salt trading was still a profitable industry because the profit margin of the retail price against the production cost ranged between twenty to thirty percent. Even if the government took away half the profit, there was still around ten times the profit left for the salt merchants.

If salt merchants failed to produce salt notes to the commoners when they bought salt, the salts that was purchased would be considered as smuggled salt. Salt smuggling was a serious offense in the Great Han Empire. If a commoner reported that they had bought a jin of smuggled salt and it was verified to be true, they would be rewarded with a ton of gold which could make one rich overnight. As for the salt merchants, their houses would be confiscated and they would be sentenced with the death penalty.

With such a perfect management system in place, there was only a handful of salt smuggling cases.

Yan Liqiang did not focus on salt trading since he wasn’t after wealth. However, during his trip back to Gan Province, Yan Liqiang kept questioning himself on how he could accumulate massive power within the shortest amount of time. He saw group after group of wealthy salt merchants that reminded him of the history he read in his previous life on how Zhang Sicheng and Zhu Yuanzang ruled the world by smuggling salt. It was only then that the salt that he consumed on a daily basis suddenly came into his mind and got his thoughts running.

In his previous life, Yan Liqiang bought a few books on salt smuggling out of curiosity on how salt smugglers such as Zhu Yuanzhang were a huge part of history. At that moment, Yan Liqiang suddenly came to the realization that salt was an extremely valuable thing in ancient times. According to legend, the war between the Yellow Emperor and Yan Emperor was over the ownership of Xiechi Pool, a place for salt production. Eventually, the Yellow Emperor won the ownership of Xiechi Pool and became the hegemon of most tribes during that time. Before Zhang Sicheng, Huang Cao and Wang Xianzhi had almost ruined the country. They were all salt smugglers, including the devilish Cheng Yaojin. These were the groups that deeply influenced the historical trend of a few important dynasties in Ancient China.

Gan Province produced earth salt which was a type of brine salt. Due to the limitations of technology in this era, the processing technology of brine salt was not up to standards. The earth salt produced in Gan Province was of moderate quality and thus its value was much lower compared to premium quality salts such as blue and lake salts.

Fortunately, Yan Liqiang had read books regarding salt processing technology. Relying on his memories, Yan Liqiang prepared some simple tools and containers. He easily transformed the low quality earth salt produced in Gan Province into premium quality white salt in his room at the manufacturing bureau overnight.

The salt business was a much more profitable business compared to the four-wheeled carriage business. However, Yan Liqiang had not reached the influential status that was required in order to get him into the salt business. He might be able to get into the field on his own given a few more years. Unfortunately, time waits for no one and Yan Liqiang needed time more than ever now. Finding a strong partner and influencer within Gan Province would be the fastest solution and there was no better candidate other than Lei Sitong.

Not only was Lei Sitong the provincial governor of Gan Province, but Sun Bingchen also spoke highly of him. He was the perfect candidate in terms of capability and personality. Naturally, Yan Liqiang wanted Lei Sitong on his own chariot.

Both parties chimed in together on the money-making opportunity.

The salt production within Gan Province was not upscale. Local influential clans controlled the saltpans, including the ones outside Gan Province. In Yuntao County, there were a few small-scale brine mines. Yan Liqiang and Lei Sitong hashed out the details of their collaboration during their initial discussion.

Their first step following the collaboration was for Lei Sitong to gain control over Yuntao County’s existing or newfound salt mines. Yan Liqiang would supply manpower, capital, and the facilities needed for production. Lei Sitong would be responsible for the safety of the saltpans, provide help, and facilitate the marketing of the salt. Yan Liqiang would be in charge of marketing, and the net profit would be split in half.

It would take time for Lei Sitong to gain ownership of all the salt mines within Yuntao County. Although Lei Sitong was the provincial governor, he could not simply snatch all those salt mines and hand them to Yan Liqiang. In order to get involved in a trade bigger than oil, it was absolutely normal for preparations to last from half a year to a year. By the time they finished their discussion, it was already late so Yan Liqiang took his leave. He was then sent to the gate of the manor by Lei Sitong and a group of Pingxi Prefecture’s officials and squires ...

“Uncle Lei, there’s no need to send me any further...” After a long discussion, Yan Liqiang found that it was easier to address Lei Sitong as Uncle Lei.

“Liqiang, if you come across any trouble, you can directly look for Jianbei and Yucheng. Anyone who dares to look for trouble with you means they are looking for trouble with me. Anyone who dares to cause you pain will be hurting me too. My guillotine is ready for such people...” Lei Sitong smiled as he pointed at the newly-appointed Pingxi Prefectural Governor and Military Governor while making such an imperious statement. His words made countless people around them nervous.

“Alright, I understand. I’m afraid I will need to bother Uncle Lei and the two lords in the future...”

Chapter 419: Silent Thunder

“My lord, the carriage is ready. The Provincial Governor’s bodyguard arranged a two-wheeled carriage for us. Are we heading back to the manufacturing bureau now?” Hu Haihe said dully as he pulled over a ‘luxurious’ two-wheeled carriage. No matter how good the two-wheeled carriage was, it was still nothing compared to the four-wheeled carriage. Thinking of the four-wheeled carriage that now belonged to the Provincial Governor made Hu Haihe extremely gloomy.

The bodyguard had also arranged a two-wheeled carriage for Old Master Lu. Yan Liqiang walked Old Master Lu to the carriage and bid him farewell. After Old Master Lu’s carriage left, Yan Liqiang went over to Hu Haihe and Zhou Yong’s soldiers and said, “You can go back first, I have not been in Pingxi Prefecture for quite a while. I would like to stay a night in Pingxi City and reminisce with a few old friends. I will go back on my own once I am done!”

“My lord, let us stay with you. It will be convenient in case anything happens!” Zhou Yong responded immediately.

“Haha, don’t worry. There’s no danger in Pingxi City. Don’t forget that I am more familiar with this city than you all. Go back, I will be fine alone!” Yan Liqiang smiled as he waved his hand. “Go now, it will be late if you depart any later!”

“Do you need a rhinodrake steed? Should we leave one for you?”

“No need!”

Having seen that Yan Liqiang was firm about his decision, Zhou Yong and Hu Haihe could only follow his orders. They bid their farewells to Yan Liqiang and returned to the manufacturing bureau.

Yan Liqiang squinted his eyes as he watched Zhou Yong, Hu Haihe, and the rest leave. He raised his head to look at the dusky sky with a mysterious smile. He strolled leisurely as he left the manor. He followed the crowds on the street and arrived at the Plum Gardens.

The Plum Gardens was a scenic spot within Pingxi City, especially at night as many visitors flocked to gardens. The Lake of Longevity was adjacent to the gardens as well. During the night, many restaurants within the Plum Gardens hung strings of red lanterns. From afar, the view of the entire area lit by those lanterns was magnificent. Music could be faintly heard from restaurants and opera theaters. The dimly discernible music and soft ripples of the Lake of Longevity created a peaceful ambiance.

At the Plum Gardens, no one recognized Yan Liqiang. There were a lot of youngsters hanging out in the garden. Aside from his slightly glamorous outfit, Yan Liqiang was no different from the youngsters that were there. No one recognized him as the Provincial Governor’s guest of honor who just had a meeting with him on setting foot into the salt trading industry.

Yan Liqiang felt a special connection to the Plum Gardens. Everything in the garden seemed familiar. Staring at the isle and pavilion on the edge of the Lake of Longevity reminded Yan Liqiang that he had murdered Wang Haofei on that exact isle, giving Yan Liqiang a time-traveling illusion.

The last time he was here, he had murdered someone. This time, he was waiting for someone who wanted to kill him to appear.

The Wang Clan which used to be the influential clan of Huanglong County had vanished into thin air. And now, Yan Liqiang had become a thorn in the eyes of many others.

Previously, he thought that the Shatu people had sent the falcon in the sky. However, he could not be absolutely certain that the person who hid in the tall tower and stared at him with murderous eyes was indeed one of the Shatu people. As per Yan Liqiang’s understanding of the Shatu people, if they had already sent an eye in the sky, it would be unlikely for them to send someone to track him in the places near the manor. Lei Sitong lived in the manor and security around the manor was tight. It was highly doubtful that the person in the tall tower was one of the Shatu people, because a Shatu person would inevitably attract attention near the manor.

However, this was only Yan Liqiang’s deduction. It was also possible that the one hidden in the tall tower was an ally of the Shatu people, but not necessarily a Shatu person. He might also be one of the Shatu people’s lackeys. Even if the person was at the tall tower, they might not have raised any alerts.

Yan Liqiang thought and strolled through the Plum Gardens. He passed by the tall tower which was a seven-story restaurant. The restaurant was bustling with noise. Yan Liqiang did not go up for an inquiry as he knew based on the volume of customers, it was impossible for the waiters and manager to recall exactly when and where someone monitored the manor from there.

If someone were to kill him, they would be waiting for him to come out from the manor to monitor their movements and strike at the opportunity.

Yan Liqiang strolled for a while at the Plum Gardens. As expected, he felt he was being watched from above. A black dot appeared once again across the Pingxi City sky.

Yan Liqiang pretended to be unaware and continued strolling for a while. He exited the Plum Gardens from a different entrance and called for a carriage. He got on the carriage and headed to the Pingxi Prefecture Martial Arts Academy, pretending to visit old haunts.

Yan Liqiang knew that Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng were not at the Martial Arts Academy.

Just a month ago, all the new students of the Martial Arts Academy had gone for a field trip to Lan Province, led by Shi Changfeng and a few other tutors of the academy. They would only be back next spring.

After he made one round at the Martial Arts Academy, Yan Liqiang felt slightly disappointed as did not see any ‘familiar faces’. By the time he left the academy, it was already late. Yan Liqiang settled down in a quiet inn named Verdant Lodge and stayed in a guest room with a small courtyard.

......

In the middle of the night, Pingxi City was filled with darkness. Three elusive figures climbed the tall northern city wall of Pingxi Prefecture and hastily moved toward the Verdant Lodge.

The three elusive figures wore black full body suits. The only things exposed were the three pairs of eyes gleaming with murderous intent. One of them had a longbow on his back, one had a black scimitar on his waist, and one had two daggers in his hands.

The one with the longbow suddenly stopped when he was around fifty meters away from the inn. He gently leaped onto the roof of adjacent loft on the third floor. He took the bow and nocked a black metal arrow onto it. The longbow was drawn into a full-moon shape and was aimed at Yan Liqiang’s room.

Meanwhile, the other two elusive figures continued approaching Yan Liqiang’s room. They gently leaped over the wall of Yan Liqiang’s courtyard like two feathers landed on the wall without a sound. They split courses, and one of them stood outside the locked door of Yan Liqiang’s room while the other stood in front of the window. Simultaneously, they pushed hard on the window and door and barged into the room.

At that moment, the glow from the blades radiated like a rising sun in Yan Liqiang’s dark room...

Yan Liqiang’s room collapsed under the gleaming blades like a piece of tofu split into two. One of the elusive figures who entered the room was slashed in half while the other one had blood spilling out from him as he was thrown outside the room.

As the room collapsed, it revealed Lei Sitong who was sitting on the bed holding a nearly two-meter long deadly machete. His eyes stared coldly at the two defeated men. “Damn, took you all long enough! You are pretty good for being able to withstand my attack...”

Lei Sitong stood up after he finished his sentence. With dignified manner of an emperor, he took quick steps and waved the machete in his hand...

The rows of bamboo and ten-meter wall in the Verdant Lodge were once again split into two by the gleaming machete. The man who was coughing up blood attempted to flee the scene by climbing over the wall. However, his body and the scimitar in his hand were also split into two by the Provincial Governor’s gleaming machete before he could even scream.

Just as the courtyard was filled with blade gleams, the black elusive figure who stood on the nearby roof of the loft with his long bow felt the roof tiles giving way. A large hand as powerful as steel suddenly grabbed his leg. With a loud noise, the whole roof collapsed. The archer was taken down.

Loud noises were heard inside the loft. The walls of the loft cracked and the whole tower shook violently. Dust and shattered tiles came pouring down.

A few seconds later, Pingxi Military Governor Liu Yucheng was coughing up dust while dragging the shattered body of the black-suited man as though he was dragging a dead dog from the loft. He stopped in front of Lei Sitong and lit the area with the light from his torch. He ripped off the man’s head cover and revealed the bloody face of a lifeless Shatu person.

“Son of a b*tch, it was indeed the Shatu people...”

“My lord...” Wang Jianbei grimly walked forward with soldiers carrying torches in their hands. “These three are from outside of the city. They are not from the Shatu people’s settlement in the city!”

“The Shatu people had the intention to assassinate me. Continue to search the Shatu people’s settlements in the city. Kill as many rebels as you can on the spot...” Lei Sitong laid the orders out coldly.

“Yes!”

After he issued his orders, Lei Sitong looked at the three corpses in front of him. He narrowed his eyes and whispered, “The three Shatu assassins were Martial Grandmasters. These Shatu people were really not fooling around!”

“What about Yan Liqiang...” Liu Yucheng asked.

“There’s no need to worry about him. He is brighter than a monkey. We’ll just wait for the news. These Shatu people were really unlucky to have crossed paths with him...” Lei Sitong gently shook his head. He stared at the western part of the city and let out a smile.

It wasn’t long before Lei Sitong’s soldiers shook the dreams of countless residences within Pingxi City with the sound of metal hooves. A large group of soldiers with torches in hand marched into Shatu people’s settlement with murderous intent. They went from house to house to search for the assassins. When they came across Shatu people who were uncooperative, the soldiers barged in to thrust the long spear in their hands at those uncooperative individuals.

Chapter 420: Retaliation

As Lei Sitong killed the three assassins in Pingxi City, Yan Liqiang shot his first arrow...

Although the ten-picul Horned Python Bow was not as powerful as the twenty-picul one rewarded by the Emperor, a bow like this could easily pierce through two people at once within a distance of seventy to eighty meters.

Yan Liqiang’s target was the temporary barracks of the Shatu people located in a valley about twenty li west of the Imperial Capital City.

There were more than forty Shatu people in the barracks which seemed like a caravan. The barracks were surrounded by over twenty camels and rhinodrake steeds. The merchandise the camels were carrying had all been unloaded on the ground. The camels and merchandise surrounded five cowhide leather tents. Bonfires were set in the middle of the tents. Beside the bonfires were leftover grilled meat and kettles were placed over the burning flames. A few Shatu people were sitting beside a bonfire guarding the area in a relaxed manner...

Nobody would ever notice any anomalies with this Shatu caravan as they looked no different from the caravan that traveled to White Stone Pass and Pingxi City.

However, Yan Liqiang knew this was no ordinary Shatu caravan for they were, in fact, a group of assassins. The falcon that monitored him from above came from this group. The situation was precisely similar to the time when he was attacked by the Blackwind Bandits when he escorted Sun Bingchen back to the Imperial Capital. The Shatu people released the falcon to secure the target and the assassins would immediately take action to annihilate the target.

This was a well-tested strategy of the Shatu people which hardly failed on or off the battlefield. But it was a pity that the Shatu people were up against Yan Liqiang.

With Yan Liqiang superior sense of awareness, when the falcon soared across the sky and targeted him, he had simultaneously targeted the falcon too. He followed the falcon to track down its owner.

Sacred Flame Priests were the ones who could control those birds, and there was one priest from the Sacred Flame hidden within the caravan. Yan Liqiang felt a sense of familiarity from the silhouettes of those Shautu people in the middle of the barracks. They reminded him of the Blackwind Bandits.

Since he was their target, the strongest assassin should be in the center of Pingxi City right now. They would be hit on the head by Lei Sitong’s hungry machete blade. Although there seemed to be a large number of Shatu people in this small valley, there would not be any ferocious characters here. This was the time where this ‘special squad’ of Shatu people was at its weakest.

Yan Liqiang was disinclined to find out why the Shatu people targeted him. It could be the hatred between him and the Blackwind Bandits or it could be an order from an anonymous superior from the Imperial Capital city. All these could be valid reasons as to why the Shatu people wanted to take his life. To Yan Liqiang, the latter option seemed more likely.

If that was the case, there was nothing more to say but kill!

For some reason, Yan Liqiang did not feel any fear knowing that he would shortly be facing dozens of Shatu people. He felt excited instead. The adrenaline rush caused Yan Liqiang’s pupils to dilate. His breath uncontrollably grew slightly faster; his heartbeat and blood rushed at this instant. The dilated pupils enabled him to see more clearly in the darkness while his rapid breathing provided more oxygen and energy in his body. The accelerated heartbeat made Yan Liqiang felt like a car on S-gear on a race track. Yan Liqiang had not felt this kind of excitement ever since his encounter with the Blackwind Bandits. He could not deny that he was fond of this feeling.

Yan Liqiang made his first shot of four arrows in one go. When the four arrows left Yan Liqiang’s fingers, the whistling sound of the flying arrows pierced through the silence of the valley. It went through the skulls of all four of the Shatu people who were seated beside the bonfire.

The mixture of brain and blood spattered onto the bonfire, making sizzling noises. One of the Shatu people who was shot fell forward and overturned the water kettle beside the bonfire.

The peacefulness of this small barracks was instantly shattered. One of the Shatu people came out from his tent immediately after he heard the noises from outside the tent. Before he even had the chance to check his surroundings, a flying arrow pierced through his skull. At the same time, the other three arrows passed straight into the cowhide tent and pierced through a few Shatu people who were sleeping on the floor. The inside of the tent was instantly splattered by blood and filled with deadly screams...

Yan Liqiang was like an accurate and precise machine. He aimed his arrows to the five tents located below. He did not need to deliberately aim accurately; he just positioned his arrows with a certain gap and angle while shooting. Those tents were filled with Shatu people who were resting and sleeping. The thin layer of cowhide leather was not even comparable to normal armor. The arrows from Yan Liqiang’s ten-picul Horned Python Bow easily made a hole in the leather just like holes through a piece of paper. The arrows that pierced the tents were like the kiss of the Death God bringing a wave of cold air, mercilessly piercing the bodies inside the tent.

At this moment, it was evident that Yan Liqiang had surpassed the level of an ordinary archer.

He could shoot two batches of arrows within one second, with four arrows in every batch. In one second, that would be eight arrows. The frightful firing power created a deadly storm in the small valley. After Yan Liqiang shot the second batch of arrows, terrifying loud screams echoed from within those tents.

The Shatu people inside the tents realized that they were under attack. They heard terrifying screams from outside and saw how those beside them had been shot by arrows coming from the outside. They believed that it was not just one person attacking them but a group of archers with powerful bows.

Some of the Shatu people tried dashing out from their tents but none survived. Those who fled the tents were immediately taken down by the flying arrows buried inside their heads.

Yan Liqiang brought along two quivers each containing thirty-six bows, seventy-two in total. These seventy-two arrows were all fired across the five cowhide leather tents within nine seconds only. Each tent was penetrated by at least ten arrows. The largest tent was penetrated by at least twenty arrows, thus making countless holes in it.

Once he emptied the two quivers of arrows, Yan Liqiang put down his bow and drew his long sword. He ran past the hill, bushes, and thickets on the hill like a ferocious tiger and made a beeline for the Shatu Barracks.

The tents of the Shatu Barracks were filled with casualties in just under ten seconds. Blood-curdling screams reverberated throughout the barracks. However, there were still survivors amidst the rain of arrows.

When Yan Liqiang reached the barracks, a Shatu man with bloody face was cutting up a tent near Yan Liqiang. He rushed out but immediately bumped into Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang reacted very quickly and didn’t even give that Shatu man a chance. The moment he came rushing out from the tent, Yan Liqiang thrust his sword into the Shatu man’s chest. The man let out a cry and Yan Liqiang followed up with a hard kick. With the sound of broken bones, the Shatu man’s body flew backward into the tent like a cannonball, knocking into the second Shatu man that was just about to come out of the tent from the same exit. Both men were bleeding profusely as they both fell back inside the tent.

Yan Liqiang barged into the tent through the same exit.

There were eight to nine Shatu people inside. More than half of the people were either dead on the ground or badly injured by the arrows that Yan Liqiang had shot earlier and had lost their combat ability. They were screaming in pain on the floor and blood was all over the tent. By the time Yan Liqiang rushed into the tent, only one Shatu man remained unscathed. Before he could even react, Yan Liqiang had swung his sword and decapitated him...

Another two Shatu men with injuries on their shoulders and abdomen tried to pick up their weapons. Yan Liqiang’s sword gleamed and both men were also decapitated.

In just the blink of an eye, Yan Liqiang had wiped out every lifeform inside the tent. He dashed out of the tent with lightning speed. His figure that was akin to a ferocious tiger with the might of an elephant bumped into a fleeing Shatu man. Sounds of bones fracturing were heard and that Shatu man was sent flying over thirty meters away before crashing into a tent. At the same time, Yan Liqiang brandished his sword and sliced the two Shatu men who were charging in his direction into halves.

The Shatu people were no match against Yan Liqiang who had condensed the strength of two elephants in his body. Both his speed and strength far exceeded theirs. Yan Liqiang didn’t even need to use any special moves as the Shatu men couldn’t even withstand a simple attack from him. He could either send them flying or kill them with just touch.

Those that were lucky enough to survive Yan Liqiang’s torrent of arrows had just come out from their tents. Yan Liqiang engaged them in close quarter combat, but it took him only a short while to cut through them like vegetables.

Yan Liqiang’s current strength was simply too terrifying. He did not exercise any restraint at all. None of the Shatu people that he killed had their bodies intact. With just a wave of his sword, the Shatu people before him were split into two...

Yan Liqiang heard horses neighing not far away as he finished off the last of the Shatu people. He ran past a tent and spotted two Shatu people helping an elderly Shatu man onto a rhinodrake steed.

When the elderly man saw Yan Liqiang dashing toward them, he pointed at Yan Liqiang and said something. One of the Shatu people then picked up a knife and charged toward Yan Liqiang while shouting. The other Shatu man quickly got onto a rhinodrake steed and fled with the elderly Shatu man as fast as they could.

Although Yan Liqiang was alone, he had thoroughly crushed the Shatu people’s will to fight with his performance just now...

Yan Liqiang immediately chased after the fish that had escaped from the net...

Chapter 421: Destruction

The Shatu man that was running toward Yan Liqiang had a strong build. The red flames from the bonfire reflected off his sinister face which glowed like a malicious devil. As the Shatu warrior ran toward him, Yan Liqiang noticed something special about the scimitar he was holding – it looked like a sickle. The palms of the Shatu warrior were pitch black and there was a strange metallic glow...

Yan Liqiang suddenly felt alert as he recalled the scene where he and the two disciples of the Wise Ruler Sect killed a Sacred Flame priest.

The Shatu person let out an angry roar. The sickle-like scimitar left his hand and flew toward Yan Liqiang like a stream of light from ten meters away.

Ordinary people would be shocked and be put at a disadvantage if their opponents used flying knives and concealed weapons at such close proximity. The moment the scimitar left his opponent’s hand, he did a backbend in a strange way. His feet were still planted on the ground, but his body from his knees upward was bent backward and he was almost lying flat on the ground. While running, Yan Liqiang had just exhibited a stunning Iron Bridge move from the Iron Body Martial Arts.

The whistling sickle glided a foot above Yan Liqiang’s face. The gale that it stirred caused Yan Liqiang’s hair to fly. When the sickle flew past him, Yan Liqiang threw the long sword in his hand.

The sword was sent flying like how professional baseball players swung their bats. It did not fly in a straight line, but spun like a frisbee instead. It flew close to the ground and faster than the flying sickle.

When it came to using concealed weapons, Yan Liqiang could be the ancestor of that Shatu man.

The spinning sword cleanly cut through the approaching Shatu man below his right knee, disconnecting his lower leg from his body in just a split second. The Shatu man who was running toward Yan Liqiang let out a loud shriek and immediately fell to the ground. The flying sword continued its course and headed toward Yan Liqiang’s two other targets. It caught up with the two rhinodrake steeds that were galloping thirty meters ahead, and cut off their two legs. The rhinodrake steeds let out painful neighs and instantly crashed to the ground, sending the two riders into the air...

Yan Liqiang bounced back up from the floor like a centipede right after the sword left his hand. With great leaps and each covering three feet, he went to the Shatu man who had one of his legs severed.

The Shatu man shrieked but was still laying on the ground, unable to get up. He reached out with his demon claw-like hands, wanting to grab Yan Liqiang’s leg.

Yan Liqiang frowned slightly and lifted his leg to avoid the Shatu man’s grip. Without waiting for the struggling Shatu man to get up, Yan Liqiang stomped hard on his chest with that leg.

Yan Liqiang’s immense strength resulted in a cracking sound when he stomped on the Shatu man. The Shatu man’s ribcage was instantly crushed and his eyeballs were squeezed out of their sockets. His body sunk three inches into the ground and half of the bones in his body shattered.

Yan Liqiang continued to march forward. The spinning sword flew back to Yan Liqiang after cutting through the rhinodrake steeds’ legs. Yan Liqiang caught hold of the sword and threw it out once again.

The spinning sword flew several dozen meters away. The Shatu warrior who fell from his steed had just managed to get up, but the sword cut through his waist before he could even react. His body was split into two and dropped to the ground.

In just the blink of an eye, no Shatu people were left standing in front of Yan Liqiang.

The small valley was filled with the stench of blood.

The flying sword made a beautiful arc in its trajectory and came back to Yan Liqiang’s grip.

With his sword in hand, Yan Liqiang walked toward his last target...

The rhinodrake steed was unable to get up after one of its legs was cut off. An old treacherous-looking Shatu man with disheveled hair was pinned underneath the rhinodrake steed. Half of his body was soaked in fresh blood from an arrow wound on his shoulder. The wound was most likely inflicted by Yan Liqiang when the old Shatu man was in the tent.

The old Shatu man struggled to free his trapped legs from underneath the rhinodrake steed. The weight of the steed was as heavy as a mountain.

When the old Shatu man saw Yan Liqiang approaching him with the long sword, he stopped struggling. His pupils constricted while he panted heavily, “Who are you?! We are a regular Shatu caravan protected by the laws of your Great Han Empire. Why do you attack us? If you are after the money and goods, they are all in the tent!” The old Shatu man pointed at one of the tents with his trembling hand while subconsciously holding his other hand close to his heart.

Yan Liqiang stopped when he was about ten steps away from the old man. He did not move any closer as he still had some lingering fear against the tactics used by those Sacred Flame priests. Those priests were usually frail old men who were capable of vicious tactics that were difficult to guard against.

Yan Liqiang smiled when he heard the old Shatu man’s words. He scanned the priest’s body and his smile turned cold, “Stop pretending, you must know who I am. The three men that you sent to Pingxi City should be all dead by now and it’s your turn. Do you have any last words?”

“How did you know that we were here?” The old Shatu man suddenly calmed down as the fear on his face immediately vanished without a trace.

“Since you’re about to die, I see no harm in telling you...” Yan Liqiang shifted his gaze and said, “I knew you were here was because I had laid a trap in the city. And of course, I had an informant. Don’t go thinking that all you Shatu people are united. If all of you died here, Lin Qingtian might be disappointed, but someone within the Shatu Seven Tribes would be happy!”

“Impossible...” There was a great change in the old Shatu man’s expression. He stared fiercely at Yan Liqiang and said, “Our people will not let you get away with this...”

“Really?” Yan Liqiang smiled coldly. “If they have no intention of sparing me, then you should go to hell!”

When Yan Liqiang finished speaking, he threw the sword in his hand. The blade flew like a cold beam of light and easily pierced through the priest’s chest over a distance of ten steps, nailing him to the ground.

The hilt of the long sword was still quivering when the Sacred Flame’s priest spewed out a mouthful of blood and died an instant death with his eyes wide like saucers...

Half a minute later when Yan Liqiang saw the old man was completely still and there were no unusual movements around him, he slowly approached the old man to retrieve his long sword that was buried in his chest. He then cautiously picked off the old man’s clothes with the long sword.

There was a small black snake writhing on the old man’s chest. It had been chopped by Yan Liqiang’s sword just now. Yan Liqiang felt a chill run down his spine as he looked at the snake. The man had deliberately tried to divert his attention when he mentioned the goods and valuables. It was a deadly trap – if Yan Liqiang were greedy and curious, he would have fallen into the trap, thinking that the old Shatu man was hiding something valuable in his chest. Had he come closer to check on it, what awaited him would probably this black snake’s deadly kiss.

The cries of pain from those Shatu men who survived Yan Liqiang’s arrows could be heard coming from the tents.

Yan Liqiang cast a glance at the Shatu camp that he had destroyed, then looked at the sky with a grim expression on his face. He mumbled to himself irresolutely, then vanished from the spot with a flash...

...

Ten minutes after Yan Liqiang left the scene, a bird suddenly flew toward the east from a tree near the priest’s corpse. Another hour later, the small valley was filled with the sounds of thundering hooves and burning torches. The Pingxi Military Governor, Liu Yucheng, had arrived with a group of his soldiers. When Liu Yucheng saw the corpses lying around the camp and the tents that were full of holes, he drew a cold breath. He could not believe this was all done by a single person within such a short period of time...

“Bring back those Shatu dogs who are still alive and get rid of those who are seriously injured...”

Chapter 422: Leveraging Force

On the night of the seventh day of the eleventh lunar month in the 13th year of the Yuanping reign, the Shatu people attempted an assassination on Lei Sitong in Pingxi City. The news shocked the whole Gan Province!

It had been decades since the Shatu Seven Tribes submitted to the Great Han Empire. This was the first time a top Provincial Governor had ever encountered an assassination attempt by the Shatu people. Gan Province was a border province in the first place, so for a Military Governor to be targeted for an assassination by a foreign tribe, the impact of this event was even greater than the Ye Clan’s case.

The assassination, of course, was not successful. Three assassins attempted to murder Lei Sitong but all three were caught red handed and killed on the spot. Not a single one managed to escape.

According to the news from the Provincial Governor’s Office, Lei Sitong’s bodyguards and Pingxi Military Governor Liu Yucheng led his soldiers to surround the assassin’s accomplices and found out that the three assassins were hiding themselves among one of the Shatu Seven Tribes’ caravans. After a battle, the majority of the members from the caravan were killed. The few captives that were still alive not only confirmed that the assassins were indeed from the Shatu Seven Tribes, but they also confirmed that many of the caravan members were part of the Blackwind Bandits.

The Blackwind Bandits who once wreaked havoc in the northwestern region, killed countless people, and were feared by many traveling merchants were all in fact a disguise by the Shatu people from the Shatu Seven Tribes.

Many people were utterly shocked by such news.

After encountering an assassination attempt by the Shatu people, Lei Sitong, who was nicknamed Tiger Lei, naturally wouldn’t let things slide. There was a saying that ‘The rear of a tiger cannot be touched.’ The Shatu people had not only wanted to touch his rear, but they also intended to chop his head off this time, so of course Lei Sitong was furious.

On the night of the seventh day of the eleventh lunar month, Lei Sitong gathered Pingxi City’s troops and his own guards to search the Shatu community to capture the “assassins’ accomplices”. The troops and Lei Sitong’s guards conducted a massacre in the Shatu community under Lei Sitong’s command during this search. Around one hundred rebellious Shatu people were killed. Those arrogant Shatu people who thought that the Han Chinese would always bow down to them if they caused riots and rampages in Pingxi City finally got their first taste of the Great Han Empire’s swords and spears. During that night, the Pingxi City’s troops and Lei Sitong’s personal guards uncovered a large quantity of weapons and arrows hidden in the basement of a warehouse in the Shatu community.

The next day, the citizens of Pingxi Prefecture who wanted to enter the city in the early morning immediately noticed an additional few dozen wooden frames on the city gate’s tower. Inside those wooden frames were the decapitated heads of the Shatu people.

Most of the residents in Pingxi City noticed that the atmosphere of the city had changed as soon as they woke up. The streets were filled with patrolling soldiers and bailiffs. News about the assassination attempt on the Provincial Governor spread like wildfire in the city. Not only that, but Lei Sitong had also displayed all the weapons, bows, crossbows and arrows on the public square at the entrance of the Prefectural Governor’s Office for all the residents of Pingxi City to see.

Although the residents in the city hated Shatu people, most of them purely hated them and did not give much thought about it. However, when they saw the Prefectural Governor’s Office showcasing a massive amount of military weapons that were confiscated from the Shatu people this morning, they were all shocked.

There were over five to six thousand different types of swords, several hundred bows and crossbows, and tens of thousands of arrows. There was also a massive amount of different armor and military weapons. Those weapons were sufficient enough to equip two battalions of elite soldiers. Why would the Shatu people in Pingxi City keep stock of so many weapons? If the Shatu Seven Tribes bought the weapons, then why were they secretly stashed within the city and not directly delivered to them?

Anyone with common sense would probably give that question a good thought.

It was also on this day that the Pingxi Provincial Governor of Pingxi City Lei Sitong issued new laws to every prefecture and county in Gan Province.

––From now on, all prefectures of Gan Province will increase the toll by three times for any Shatu caravans that wish to enter any city. City gates are to tighten security measures and conduct stricter checks on the goods transported by Shatu caravans. Any weapons transported by Shatu caravans will be confiscated without exception.

––From now on, the Shatu people are prohibited from carrying weapons in public within the Gan Province. If any Shatu people are found carrying weapons in the city, anyone is allowed to kill the offender on sight and be awarded five hundred taels of silver. Any official caught covering up for any Shatu offenders will be charged with treason, and be subjected to raids and clan extermination. The Provincial Governor will personally carry out the trials.

––From now on, any Shatu people who gather around to cause riots or attack any bureaucracy offices, barracks, or cause obstruction to bailiffs or soldiers while they are carrying out their duties in Gan Province will be killed without exception. Any Shatu people who violate the laws and orders of the Great Han Empire will be heavily penalized without exception. Military Governors and Law Enforcement Officers who arrested any Shatu offenders have the right to carry out voluntary decision without reporting.

––Every prefecture and county are to put up a notice of the new laws for a month upon receiving them, and ensure that their citizens are well aware of the passing of the new laws.

Pingxi City was the first to post the new laws issued by the Provincial Governor. With the announcement of the new laws, the citizens of Pingxi City were impassioned. Everyone was eager to spread the news. Regardless of the civilians or the military, everyone felt satisfied with the new laws from the Provincial Governor that were aimed at the Shatu people. With them, the residents of the city could finally stand up to the Shatu people and no longer be suppressed by them. Tiger Lei was suddenly known as Justice Lei by the citizens of Pingxi City and his reputation was at its peak.

The situations of the other cities in Gan Province were pretty much the same as Pingxi City. The citizens were all rejoicing and eager to spread the news. The Shatu people from all places immediately withered and lost their arrogance.

Of course, this was not enough for the Provincial Governor.

While the citizens of Pingxi Prefecture were busy spreading the news, Lei Sitong was speaking loudly to the Records Official beside him in the study room of his manor. “Do you need me to teach you how to write the report? Just write that I was surrounded by a few hundred assassins from the Shatu Seven Tribes and I had sustained dozens of wounds on my body. It was a narrow escape as I only managed to defeat those Shatu assassins at the very last moment and found out that they were from the Shatu Seven Tribes. The fact that they attempted to assassinate me means that they harbor ill intentions on Gan Province. The province is now in a dire situation, but there are insufficient armaments. The city checkpoints are in need of repairs. Our soldiers’ armor and weapons in various regions are getting worn out. This is an official request to the imperial court to allocate thirty to fifty million taels of silver as military funds so that I can resolve the issue with the Shatu Seven Tribes and protect the Great Han Empire so that it does not fall into the hands of the Shatu people. Just write down how serious the situation is. Is that difficult to do so...?”

The Records Official inside the study broke out in cold sweat, ” But the Grand Chancellor...”

“Lin Qingtian is nothing. There was an assassination attempt on one of the provincial governors from the imperial court. Conclusive evidence, statements from witnesses, and the corpses are all available. What is there to be afraid of? Whoever wants to see the heads of those Shatu assassins, I can cure those heads with lime so that they can place them on their ancestors’ graves....” Lei Sitong shouted. “So what if I am to pass a few orders in Gan Province that target the Shatu people? The Shatu people are not his father. If he is to stand up for the Shatu people, is he not afraid of being criticized by the masses? Even if he is the Grand Chancellor, do you think it’s fun to be pointed at the nose and be called a traitor or the adopted son of Shatu people by everyone?”

“Yes, yes, my lord... I know what to write now...” The Records Official nodded as he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

“Then quickly finish it up. Seal it and let the military’s postrider deliver it...”

“Yes!” The Records Official bowed and left.

After the official left, Lei Sitong turned his head and a friendly smile appeared on his face. He looked at Yan Liqiang who was also in the same study room, “Liqiang, what do you think about this?”

Yan Liqiang also smiled, “Congratulations Uncle Lei, you have gained both fame and fortune. I just heard that when the citizens of Pingxi City saw the notice, they all started calling you Justice Lei. The few laws that you passed down today felt really satisfying and honorable to everyone. The citizens of Gan Province have longed for this day...”

“Hahaha, if there is such a situation again in the future, come look for me!” Lei Sitong laughed heartily and touched his beard.

“There were too few assassins last night. There wasn’t enough to kill. I’ve been thinking about how to punish those Shatu people every day, but I couldn’t find an excuse to do that. I couldn’t believe they delivered themselves to my doorstep this time and presented me with the perfect opportunity. I must thank you for this!”

“I only did what I am supposed to do!” Yan Liqiang smiled modestly. He had used this opportunity to deal with those Shatu people. Together with Lei Sitong, they managed to keep the destruction that the Shatu people could cause to the minimum and plan ahead. Yan Linqiang felt a sense of relief and all this was well worth the hassle. Both Lin Qingtian or the Shatu Seven Tribes probably didn’t anticipate things to turn out this way.

They could decide the beginning but not the outcome...

Lei Sitong looked at Yan Liqiang. His smile faded as his expression turned serious. “The Shatu people have incurred such a big loss. I don’t think they will let this slide. Their target was you Liqiang, do you need a bodyguard? If you do, I can find a few experts so that the Shatu people wouldn’t even have the chance to harm you!”

“We can discuss the bodyguards again in the future. By then, I may need to trouble you, Uncle Lei. This incident somehow worries me. I have decided to find a place to cultivate in seclusion in two days time. After all, the most logical solution is to strengthen myself...”

“Not bad, not bad!” Lei Sitong nodded, “But about the salt business that we discussed...”

“Uncle Lei, how about we set a time limit of half a year? You will settle the salt pans within half a year and once I complete my training, I will take over the salt pans!”

“Half a year...” Lei Sitong muttered to himself irresolutely but eventually nodded. “It would indeed take around four to five months to take over the few large salt pans. Half a year is not too long. We have a deal then...”

“Great!”

Chapter 423: I am the Red Scarf

The waves on the sea rolled, the dry cold northwest wind that blew from the dry land caused the winter sea to become violent. The seawater that was once azure darkened, and the endless sea waves with unpredictable power recklessly lifted and suppressed anything on the sea surface...

Among the raging waves, a fleet of twelve warships sailed stubbornly against the wind in rows of two, toward the dry land in a zigzag pattern. On the ninth day of the eleventh lunar month, this fleet completed the last sea patrol for this winter season and was on its way back to the harbor.

The huge lead ship for this fleet was the flagship of the Great Han Empire’s Southeastern Navy – the Black Dragon Warship. It was nearly the height of a three-story building, more than twenty zhang in length, and the bow of the warship was extremely sharp with its metal enclosure. All of this contributed to the black giant ship’s imposing aura.

Whenever the giant warship appeared in the southeastern territorial waters of the Great Han Empire, pirates of various sizes would start evading them even from a hundred li away because everyone knew the commander of the Black Dragon Warship. Not only that, but they knew the person who was most feared by countless pirates would definitely be on this giant warship. All the pirates in these vast territorial waters referred to him as the Black Dragon King!

The Black Dragon King was Zheng Huaian!

At this moment, Zheng Huaian was standing at the bow of the Black Dragon Warship. With his hands clasped behind his back, he stared at the boundless sea and vivid coastline as his blood-red cloak fluttered behind him.

Zheng Huaian had graying hairs on his temples and he wasn’t that tall and burly. On the contrary, he kind of looked like a chubby, middle-aged man. If it wasn’t for his dignified aura and sharp eyes, he seemed more like the manager of a restaurant or an inn rather than a high-ranking Navy General of the Great Han Empire’s Southeastern Navy at first glance.

The giant warship rode the wind and waves. Although it was a bit shaky, Zheng Huaian stood, unmoving, on the ship’s bow as though his feet were rooted to the ground.

Gazing at the distant gulf that was gradually becoming clearer, Zhen Huaian quietly sighed with a worried look on his face.

Unbeknownst to Zheng Huaian, a handsome navy officer in his forties was behind him. When he heard Zheng Huaian sigh helplessly, he asked, “My lord, it’s been more than two months and there’s still no news from the Ministry of War...”

“It’s still the same as last time...” Zheng Huaian calmly replied without turning his head. His tone revealed a sense of helplessness.

Upon hearing Zheng Huaian’s reply, anger immediately appeared on the face of the young navy officer, “When will those old men in the Ministry of War understand that the boundless sea is also part of the Great Han Empire? There are over thousands of islands in this ocean with endless spices, pearls, gold, silver, and an abundance of wealth and treasures. There are hundreds and thousands of countries overseas, both big and small, almost too many to count. If the Great Han Empire does not increase the force of the Southeastern Navy, the safety of the Great Han Empire will be compromised. Just a few months ago, I heard that the Cheni Kingdom was destroyed by an unknown race that had red hair and green eyes. They were bloodthirsty, greedy, and fond of black gowns. The foreign fleet was rumored to be brought to Cheni Kingdom by the storm. When they arrived at the Cheni Kingdom, they were treated with great hospitality and were brought to the royal capital. A few days later, they killed all twenty thousand residents in the royal capital. After plundering the capital, they torched the place to the ground. Eyewitnesses said that those foreigners traveled with a few dozen lateens and that the design of the ship was unprecedented. Those ships are definitely not what ordinary pirates or small foreign countries are capable of building, I am afraid...”

The young navy officer wanted to say something more but hesitated. Even if he didn’t finish the sentence, Zheng Huaian also understood that when a wolf finished his meal and left, something bad was bound to happen. This wolf might bring a whole pack of wolves back in the future.

“I have no control over the affairs in the Imperial Capital!” Zheng Huaian turned his head to look at the young navy officer and bluntly said, “Once we return, spread the news to all the sea merchants that whoever can provide news and a historical track record of those foreigners will be greatly rewarded. Any navy that captures those foreign ships will be promoted by three ranks and be rewarded with ten thousand taels of silver. All pirates, regardless of whom, will be rewarded with the island where the Cheni Kingdom sits as long as they hand over the foreign ships...”

“Yes!”

Zheng Huaian looked at the dark sky toward the north where the fleet was heading and sighed inwardly. The imperial court did not value the navy and because of that, the coastal pirates were running rampant. The thousands of islands in the southern sea that guarded the southeastern coast of the Great Han Empire were not only strategic locations, but they were also rich with resources and abundant with treasures. Even so, those were not enough for the old men in the imperial court. To them, the navy only needed to safeguard the coast of the Great Han Empire and keep pirates from inciting troubles. In the last ten years, the numbers of pirates along the southeastern coast had been on the rise. Several pirates joined forces and had already gained some power. On the contrary, the Southeastern Navy was not even given a single new warship in the last ten years.

The destruction of the Cheni Kingdom was a good wake up call. This ocean was boundless – it was simply too vast and nobody knew what was on the other side.

...

Two hours later, just before nightfall, the fleet finally reached the bustling harbor in Hai Province. An attendant quickly went to Zheng Huaian as soon as he disembarked and whispered something to him. Zhen Huaian looked slightly taken aback and immediately issued an order. “Bring them to the Navy General’s Office. I shall meet them there!”

Half an hour later, the travel-worn Zheng Huaian met the two visitors who claimed to have hailed from Hui Province in the Navy General’s Office.

One of the guests was in his fifties while the other was in his thirties. At a glance, one could tell they were highly capable experts, especially the older one. Just from afar, Zheng Huaian could sense that he had attained the Martial Grandmaster realm.

“Greetings from the escort leader of Hui Province’s Guangsheng Escort Agency, Zhou Yuanlong! I have brought along another escort, Chen Zhiwu, with me!”

When the two visitors entered the hall, Zhou Yuanlong cautiously watched Zheng Huaian to confirm his identity before greeting him.

“Hui Province is quite far from Hai Province. What brings you here, Escort Leader Zhou?” Zheng Huaian asked calmly once they were seated.

“About a month ago, our escort agency accepted an escort request. The client entrusted us to personally deliver this to you before the 15th day of this month!” Escort Leader Zhou took out something and placed it on the table beside him. One of the attendants beside Zheng Huaian took it and placed it in front of Zheng Huaian.

Zheng Huaian scanned the object with his eyes. It was a metallic cylinder sealed with a layer of wax. There were some flower patterns on the wax. Such things were commonly seen in the military. This delivery method was widely used for urgent and important military situations, but the folks in the community also utilized this method regularly. The metal cylinder protected the contents from damage during the delivery. The flower wax seals ensured that the metallic cylinder would not be opened during delivery. If the content had been opened or tampered with, the flower wax seal would be damaged and it would be visible from a glance.

This metallic cylinder and flower wax seal were still intact. Nobody had opened the seal on the way here.

Zheng Huaian did not open the cylinder immediately. Instead he asked, “Who requested you to deliver this to me?”

“The requestor did not leave his name. He just said that he was an old friend of yours and you would know who he is once you see the letter inside!”

“Oh?” Zheng Huaian became curious. He searched his mind but recalled that he did not have any old friends or relatives in Hui Province, “May I ask what that person looked like?”

“He’s a tanned man in his twenties, sporting a mustache. He looks quite ordinary and speaks with a slight Imperial Capital accent.”

“Oh, and since he made Escort Leader Zhou personally send this thing over, how much did he offer?”

“According to the business regulations, we cannot leak any information on our requestors’ offers. But since it was the Navy General who asked, I will be truly honest with you. He paid us twenty thousand taels of silver and insisted that I must deliver this personally without any mistake. Our escort agency simply could not reject such a tempting offer!”

Zheng Huaian raised his eyebrows upon hearing that someone had spent twenty thousand taels of silver just to deliver a letter to him.

“Alright, I understand. Thank you both. You must have endured a long exhausting journey, please have a good rest!”

“Since the goods have been delivered, we shall take our leave!” Escort Leader Zhou stood up and cupped his fist respectfully to Zheng Huaian.

Zheng Huaian glanced at the attendant beside him and the attendant politely showed the guests from Guangsheng Escort Agency the way out.

Zheng Huaian hesitated for a moment after he thoroughly examined the metallic cylinder, then requested for a pair of deer leather gloves. After wearing the gloves, he carefully broke the flower wax seal and carefully opened the cylinder.

As expected, a letter was indeed inside the cylinder...

The letter had no opening and closing lines; it just contained a series of dates and events –

–On the 13th day of the eleventh lunar month in the 16th year of the Yuanping reign, the Minister of Rites, Gong Zicheng, passed away due to illness. His Majesty granted him the Wu Xin title...

When he read the first sentence, Zheng Huaian eyes lit up because it would be the 16th day of the eleventh lunar month a week from now. There were more to follow...

–On the 18th day of the eleventh lunar month in the 13th year of the Yuanping reign, an earthquake occurred in Suyang Prefecture of Xu Province. The northern gate tower in Suyang City collapsed during the earthquake. There were over a hundred thousand victims in the disaster and around three thousand houses collapsed during the earthquake. The imperial court allocated one hundred thousand taels of silver as disaster relief.

–On the 26th day of the eleventh lunar month in the 13th year of the Yuanping reign, Qinshui Prefecture of Hai Province sighted a comet streaking across the sky. The comet fragments crashed in the southeastern part of Qinshui Prefecture. The impact created a crater in the ground, and the loud crash could be heard from miles away. This led to a forest fire which burned for three days before it was finally extinguished by a snowfall.

–On the fourth day of the twelfth lunar month in the 13th year of the Yuanping reign, in Yushan Kingdom, a vassal state in the southern part of the Great Han Empire, experienced political changes. The ruler of the Yushan Kingdom was murdered, and the crown prince of the Yushan Kingdom fled to Annan Prefecture to seek aid from the Annan Provincial Governor to pacify the rebellion...

–On the ninth day of the twelfth lunar month in the 13th year of the Yuanping reign, the White Lotus Society arrived at Leng Province...

Reading the letter that stated the future events that were about to occur in the Great Han Empire made Zheng Huaian mind turn blank first, before he felt at a loss on what to feel. He could not understand who would spend twenty thousand taels of silver just to prank him. As he continued to read the remainder of the letter, the last section made Zheng Huaian’s mind turn blank...

–In the second lunar month in the 14th year of the Yuanping reign, the Great Han Empire’s Southeastern Navy was caught up in a ‘corruption case’. Grand Chancellor Lin Qingtian ordered for the Southeastern Navy General Zheng Huaian to be put under investigation for corruption of military funds and receiving bribery from shipyards. Not only that, his son-in-law and son were also suspected to be colluding with the pirates. Zheng Huaian’s clan was stripped of their properties, and the entire clan of forty-seven people were sent to jail while another thirty navy officers and high-ranking officers were also implicated.

–In the third lunar month in the 14th year of the Yuanping reign, Zheng Huaian, his clan, and the thirty navy officers died in a fire at Qingjiang Prison. There were no survivors...

–In the fourth lunar month in the 14th year of the Yuanping reign, former Deputy Navy General of the Southeastern Navy, Zeng Jiuming was promoted to the Navy General by Lin Qingtian. The former Southeastern Navy General’s Office promoted local magistrate Li Zhaofeng to the Prefectural Governor of Xuanbing Prefecture in Hai Province ...

By the time he finished reading, Zheng Huaian hands were trembling slightly.

A gust of wind blew inside the hall. Zheng Huaian felt a chill and realized that his back was covered in cold sweat.

At the end of the letter, there was only one sentence.

–Don’t ask who I am, please call me the Red Scarf!

Just then, Zheng Huaian heard the voice of an attendant ringing beside his ears.

“My lord, Lord Li is outside the hall and he is requesting for an audience...”

Zheng Huaian calmed his state of mind and stashed the letter into his robes. He took off the deer leather gloves and placed them inside the drawer of his desk. He took a deep breath then ordered the attendant, ” Let Lord Li in...”

A few seconds later, a magnificent-looking man came in with a few rolls of papers in his hands. His face lifted when he saw Zheng Huaian, “I heard that you were here, so I came with these official documents which require your seals...”

Zheng Huaian also smiled and asked with a relaxed manner, “Zhaofeng, you are not letting me rest? I just got back and you are bringing a pile of official documents for me. Leave it there first, I will go through them slowly!”

“My lord, you are the Navy General, so heavy responsibilities naturally lie on your shoulders!” The man smiled as he placed the pile of rolled-up documents in front Zheng Huaian and asked without thinking, “By the way, I heard that there were two escorts who wanted to meet you. Is there anything I can help with...?”

Zheng Huaian shifted his glance. He waved his hand and briefly explained, “It was nothing much, just an old friend that I know had some challenges with his cultivation. He was not able to come so he requested an escort agency to deliver a letter to consult with me and also to schedule a time to meet up...”

Chapter 424: Agitation

A few days after Navy General Zheng Huaian of the Great Han Empire’s Southeastern Navy received the letter delivered by the Guangsheng Escort Agency, in the distant Northeast, Storm Army Commander Long Feicheng and the new Provincial Governor Sun Bingchen also received similar letters delivered by the escort leaders of two different escort agencies from Hui Province.

On the letter that Long Feicheng received, the beginning was exactly the same as Zheng Huaian’s letter. They were all the ‘major events’ that were going to happen in the Great Han Empire in the coming months, but the end the letter included events related to the Storm Army four years in the future. Anbei General Shi Tao impeached Long Feicheng, Grand Chancellor Lin Qingtian allowed Long Feicheng to self-testify at the Imperial Capital, and Long Feicheng then died of an accident in the Imperial Capital. Anbei General Shi Tao later turned to the Chaman people. During the war between the Chaman Army and the Storm Army, Shi Tao burned the three largest military warehouses of the Haicheng, Ningyuan, and Changtu Prefectures. They cut off the Storm Army’s resources and roads of retreat...

The letter Sun Bingchen received was almost the same. At the end of his letter, there was a dense list of dozens of individuals within the Great Han Empire. Those people were those who would be exposed in the near future for leading the White Lotus Society in the southern provinces for causing a riot. Some of those people were from the bureaucracy, some were local squires, some were bandits and rebels, and some were even hosts of shrines and temples...

The two letters were from an ‘old friend’ of Long Feicheng and Sun Bingchen, who had spent a fortune to have those letters delivered personally by the escort leaders. The back of both letters had the same signature – ‘Don’t ask who I am, please call me the Red Scarf.’

Those letters were written by none other than Yan Liqiang. This was the first time Yan Liqiang put the knowledge that he learned from the future to good use. He believed that figures like Zheng Huaian, Long Feicheng, and Sun Bingchen were extremely rare in the Great Han Empire. Their intelligence, capability, tactics, and resilience were beyond imagination. If they knew what was going to happen in the future, they would naturally find a solution to change the outcome so that they would not fall into the same pit again. If the fate of those figures changed, the future of the Great Han Empire would be altered too.

There was a side effect for being the Red Scarf as once the letters were delivered, the butterfly effect would kick in. Aside from the inevitable Heavenly Tribulation that was bound to happen in four years, Yan Liqiang would no longer be in control of any events that would occur in the Great Han Empire for the next few years. Therefore, everything would become unknown to him.

...

On the same night Long Feicheng received the mysterious letter, something else was going on in the western part of the Great Han Empire, deep in the vast Gulang Plains. In one of the huge tents by the White Lake where the Dark Razor Tribe of the Shatu Seven Tribes gathered, a group of prestigious figures from the Dark Razor Tribe were attentively listening to a bird speaking on a round table.

It was a black gracula with blood-red eyes, the same bird that flew away not long after Yan Liqiang destroyed the Shatu caravan a few days ago. To ordinary people, there was nothing special about this bird. However, this was no ordinary bird for the Sacred Flame’s priests who poured their heart and soul into raising this bird as a spiritual bird. Most of the Sacred Flame’s priests who cultivated beast taming techniques usually had a spiritual animal with them. The gracula that looked ordinary was, in fact, the spiritual animal of one of the priests and it had extraordinary power.

...

“Who are you?! We are a regular Shatu caravan protected by the laws of your Great Han Empire. Why do you attack us? If you are after the money and goods, they are all in the tent!”

“Stop pretending, you must know who I am. The three men that you sent to Pingxi City should be all dead by now and it’s your turn. Do you have any last words?”

The black spiritual bird was speaking, and what came out of the bird’s mouth was the final conversation between Yan Liqiang and the Shatu priest in the outskirts of Pingxi City. Although the words came out from a bird, it was able to replicate the tones of the priest and Yan Liqiang. Those who listened to it were able to distinguish the ones in the conversation. If Yan Liqiang was at the scene, he would’ve been shocked that there was a bird that could be used as a recorder on the Silver Continent. It was simply an unprecedented ability...

“How did you know that we were here?”

“Since you’re about to die, I see no harm in telling you. I knew you were here was because I had laid a trap in the city. And of course, I had an informant. Don’t go thinking that all you Shatu people are united. If all of you died here, Lin Qingtian might be disappointed, but someone within the Shatu Seven Tribes would be happy!”

...

The group of prestigious figures from the Dark Razor Tribe was shocked as the spiritual bird repeated the entire conversation between Yan Liqiang and the Shatu priest twice inside the huge tent.

After the bird finished its speech, the large tent was silent except for the sound of heavy breathing and the crackling noise of the burning candles.

In the midst of the silence, an aged noble of the Dark Razor Tribe took a step forward and asked with a cold glint in his eyes, “Chief, are the words from this...this spiritual bird reliable?”

The chief of Dark Razor Tribe didn’t reply. He cast a glance at the Sacred Flame’s high priest who was standing beside him.

The high priest was already a hundred years old; his aura was as gloomy as a rotten animal from the abyss. The wrinkles on his face were as deep as the gullies, but his eyes flashed with coldness. “This is the spiritual bird of Priest Sada, and besides Priest Sada, no one else can control it. This spiritual bird came back as it was Priest Sada’s dying wish. It will die after a few days. What all of you just heard was the conversation between Priest Sada and his murderer moments before his death. There is no need to doubt the credibility...”

The group of prestigious figures from the Dark Razor Tribe immediately erupted in the huge tent...

“No wonder our tribe suffered great losses this time! Priest Sada’s group failed their mission. All the troops fell into the Han Chinese’s trap and were wiped out. It turns out that someone within the Shatu Seven Tribes was leaking information to the Han Chinese...”

“Who is it? Find him and kill him...”

“Yes, kill him, kill him...”

“I am going to behead that informant and make a wine jug out of his head. I’ll make his family members and daughters into the lowest slaves...”

The Dark Razor Tribe’s prestigious figures grew rowdy. Some even unsheathed the scimitars on their waists and brandished them in the tent.

“Do not divulge any information we learned today inside this tent. Any informant will be punished according to the rules of the tribe!” The chief of the Dark Razor Tribe scanned his surroundings coldly and spoke with a hoarse voice filled with murderous intent, “Among the Shatu Seven Tribes, only a few dozen people, including all of you here, knew about Priest Sada’s mission. The reason why I gathered all of you here today is to inform you all that the Dark Razor Tribe is currently in a bad position. The high priest and I have been speculating that someone within the Shatu Seven Tribes has been colluding with the Han Chinese. The aim is to weaken the strength of the Dark Razor Tribe within the Shatu Seven Tribes so that we can be replaced...”

“It must be the Dark Wood Tribe!” someone immediately yelled.

“Yes, it must be those bastards from the Dark Wood Tribe. They will be most thrilled to see our tribe fall as they have always resented our tribe for defeating them a few decades ago since we took over the most fertile plains near the White Lake. They are also jealous that we are the strongest tribe among the Shatu Seven Tribes...”

“It must have been the Dark Wood Tribe...:”

The prestigious figures of the Dark Razor Tribe were all convinced that it was the Dark Wood Tribe’s doing. The strongest tribe among the Shatu Seven Tribes was the Dark Razor Tribe, and they and had always been the leader and spokesperson. However, the Shatu Seven Tribes were not wholly united as there were a lot of internal conflicts and different interests between the tribes. At times of distress, the Shatu Seven Tribes would unite together in order to survive, but after many years of peace, the conflicts between the tribes had gotten more intense. As the second strongest tribe, the Dark Wood Tribe had always posed the biggest threat to the Dark Razor Tribe due to various historical reasons. The mission led by the Dark Razor Tribe had failed and there were casualties. The return of the bird instantly caused an emotional outburst in the Dark Razor Tribe...

Chapter 425: Changes

Just when the Shatu Seven Tribes and all of Gan Province were in chaos due Lei Sitong’s ‘assassination’ case, Yan Liqiang who was involved in both cases withdrew himself and returned to the manufacturing bureau.

Prior to this, Yan Liqiang had established a close relationship with the newly-appointed Pingxi Prefectural Governor Wang Jianbei and the Military Governor Liu Yucheng when he was still in Pingxi City.

Wang Jianbei and Liu Yucheng were both Lei Sitong’s reliable subordinates. They knew about Lei Sitong and Yan Liqiang’s plan on stepping into the salt business and they supported it. Given the situation that Yan Liqiang addressed Lei Sitong as ‘Uncle Lei’, both parties instantly became allies without any additional effort.

They had set foot into the salt business, and also worked together to get rid of the Shatu people during the ‘assassination’ case. It was sufficient to say that both parties had been through thick and thin. Hence, it was inevitable that they would become fast friends.

Before Yan Liqiang left Pingxi City, he saw that Wang Jianbei felt troubled about the overcrowding issue among the Shatu community in the city. Yan Liqiang acted on the opportunity promptly by proposing a non-violent solution to progressively resolve the overpopulation problem and Wang Jeibei was extremely shocked by his proposal.

The core principle behind Yan Liqiang’s proposed solution was to reduce the Shatu people’s money-making capability and substantially increase the cost of living for them.

The Shatu people in Pingxi City ran all sorts of businesses that involved medicinal ingredients, fur, leather, wood, jewelry, and even restaurants. They sold their products to all the merchants in Pingxi City and they bought all their daily necessities from the city. To resolve the problem, all they needed to do was get the Provincial Governor to gather all the merchants, trading companies, chambers of commerce, and merchant groups who dealt with the Shatu people to form a union to counteract the prices that the Shatu people had set.

From there onward, the products that the Shatu people sold should only be purchased at half the price or just one-third of the selling price at maximum – the lower the better. And when the Shatu people wanted to buy their daily necessities, they should be sold at higher prices. With both sides working in unison, the Shatu people’s earnings would be reduced while their spending would be increased. Most of the Shatu people in the city would then be forced to leave. With that, the population of Shatu people in Pingxi City would decline and the security risks within the city could be put to an end.

The merchants in Pingxi City were naturally willing to cooperate for the opportunity of reaping big profits from the Shatu people. Wang Jianbei’s role was to establish a monitoring and penalty control department. If any merchants in the city were found breaking the rules, they would need to pay a severe penalty.

This solution would not involve any violence or require any intervention from the bureaucracy. All the bureaucracy had to do was support this behind the scenes. This way, the imperial court would not be able to track their involvement and at the same time, the merchants in the city could reap some benefits. Wang Jianbei was shocked to see a young man like Yan Liqiang come up with such a progressive solution to solve all the provincial governors’ headaches without any bloodshed. Apart from Pingxi City, the solution that Yan Liqiang had proposed could also be executed across the other prefectures in Gan Province.

To Yan Liqiang, the solution did not require any particular skills or techniques. He just needed all the Pingxi City merchants to form a small cartel against the Shatu people.

A cartel was a form of monopolization, commonly practiced in industries that manufactured the same products or provided similar services. They divided the market by setting a production limit, agreeing on the same selling prices, or they would make agreements on a few factors, thus partnering together to achieve market dominance and higher profits. This was something that existed in Yan Liqiang’s previous world. However, the chambers of commerce of every prefecture in this world also functioned like cartels.

Since the Shatu people were bold enough to ‘assassinate the Provincial Governor’, then it was only natural to let the Shatu people in Gan Province to have a taste of cartels. They’d experience the pain of being stripped of revenue while dealing with evil merchants.

It was not Yan Liqiang’s style to stop with just the cartel. He had a ‘long conversation’ with Lei Sitong, and by the time he left Pingxi City, Lei Sitong had already decided that when he returned to Gan Provincial City, he would get people to start the ‘Gan Province Times’ newspaper. On every issue, an article on the dark history of the Shatu people in Gan Province would be published. Once the social pressure created by the future ‘Gan Province Times’ took its course, the Shatu people in Gan Province would be in a difficult position, and the detested ‘Writ of Grace’ would be reduced into nothing but a joke. When the ‘Writ of Grace’ first came out, the newspaper hadn’t been invented yet. Hence, the ‘Writ of Grace’ did not state any rules that prohibited the report of negative news regarding the Shatu people. Regardless of how powerful Lin Qingtian was, there was no way he could clamp the mouths of the masses...

Usually, it wouldn’t be possible to implement any methods that would put the Shatu people at a disadvantage. However, the recent ‘assassination attempt’ had given Gan Province a justifiable cause to retaliate against the Shatu people. This opportunity would reduce the damage done by the Shatu people to a bare minimum when the Great Han Empire would undergo massive changes in four years time.

From this instance, Lei Sitong, Wang Jianbei, and the others were able to personally witness Yan Liqiang’s capability and intelligence. They finally understood how Yan Liqiang had made a name for himself in the Imperial Capital within such a short period of time.

...

Yan Liqiang returned to the manufacturing bureau in Huanglong County and continued to work on the final processes and details of manufacturing the four-wheeled carriage.

The manufacturing of the four-wheeled carriage involved many processes and technology. From the beginning, Yan Liqiang was involved in every step of the process, so he had a very solid understanding of the entire thing. Based on this foundation, he was able to breakdown the process of manufacturing a four-wheeled carriage into stages. With that, he had silently set up the first generation of the four-wheel carriage manual assembly line.

Aside from that, Yan Liqiang had also established a set of refined weight and measurement standards in the manufacturing bureau...

Of course, at that moment, the craftsmen working in the manufacturing bureau could not see how the changes that Yan Liqiang made could impact the future of the Great Han Empire...

Chapter 426: Strong Foundation

“One zhang equals ten feet, and one foot equals ten inches. The dimensions are fixed, so take the three inches and round it off to one meter. One meter equals ten decimeters, one decimeter equals ten centimeters, one centimeter equals ten millimeters, one millimeter equals ten decimillimeters, and one decimillimeter equals one hundred micrometers. Although the decimillimeter and micrometer seem very small and are not widely applicable, let’s set it down so it can be a reference in the future...”

On the morning of the 16th day in the eleventh lunar month, a newly-fabricated signboard was hung in the courtyard of the Huanglong County manufacturing bureau. The signboard contained three golden characters –”Measuring Device Hall”. In one of the rooms inside the Measuring Device Hall, Yan Liqiang, Qian Su, and a group of craftsmen were carefully placing the brand new standard measuring devices that the manufacturing bureau had made in a display cabinet. From now on, these tools would be used by the manufacturing bureau as their standard measuring tools.

The new measuring tools were made of the most expensive meteoric iron, mixed with gold. They were firm, wear-resistant, and unbreakable as long as they weren’t thrown into a furnace.

Yan Liqiang felt strange when he looked at the metallic rulers of various lengths that felt heavy on his hands, including the metallic cubes of different weights and the metallic measuring cylinders. It could be said that he was creating a history in this world to a certain degree right now.

When he was still in the Imperial Capital, Yan Liqiang actually discussed unit measurements with Zhang Yourong. Zhang Yourong agreed with Yan Liqiang that there was indeed a huge flaw with the current measuring standards in this world. The flaw was unfavorable toward the development of the path of mechanics and the investigation of things. For example, the units of measurement in this world consisted of five types only –’li’, ‘zhang’, foot’, ‘inch’, and ‘fen’. One li was equivalent to 150 zhang, one zhang was equivalent to ten feet, one foot was equivalent to ten inches, and one inch was equivalent to ten fen. The smallest unit of length was ‘fen’ and one ‘fen’ was equivalent to 3.333 millimeters. The most precise measurement used by the craftsmen when manufacturing items was ‘fen’. The inaccuracy of around three millimeters at minimum was still acceptable visually when it came to manufacturing furniture, weapons, armor, and even buildings. However, when it came to manufacturing items that required precision, the problem with using ‘fen’ as the smallest unit of measurement would then be made obvious. Hence, the so-called ‘precision’ was no more than a subjective perception which lacked standards.

In view of this, Yan Liqiang spent two days introducing the units of measurement that he was familiar with to the manufacturing bureau. Using the standard of three feet was equivalent to one meter, he worked his way downward. When the unit went down to the millimeter, Yan Liqiang invented a new unit of length – the decimillimeter. It was the unit in between the millimeter and micrometer so that it’d be easier for the craftsmen to accept.

With these standard units of measurement for length, the units for area and volume were also set. The area with one centimeter sides would be equal to one square centimeter, while a cube with one centimeter on each side would have a volume of one cubic centimeter. At the same time, one cubic centimeter was equivalent to the volume of one milliliter and one cubic meter was a thousand liters...

With the introduction of area and volume, the four measurement units that were previously used by the manufacturing bureau –’hu’, ‘dou’, ‘sheng’, and ‘he’ paled in comparison to the new sets of measurement units.

With the measurement of volume and area, Yan Liqiang had set a new metric weight unit – one liter of water at room temperature was set to be equivalent to the weight of one kilogram. One kilogram was equivalent to a thousand grams, and one gram was equivalent to a thousand milligrams.

In the Measuring Device Hall, Yan Liqiang held those meticulously manufactured measuring tools and explained the connections between the different measurement units to the chief weaponsmiths in the manufacturing bureau.

After he put down the one kilogram standard weight that was made of metal, Yan Liqiang picked up a round disc and pointed to the marked scales and characters on the disc. He then explained to everyone, “Aside from those measuring tools, let me also introduce to all of you the standard way of measuring time. I am sure everybody is used to using the twelve earthly branches to tell the time in a day. One time period is divided into eight quarters of time, but even if you can split one quarter into two half quarters of time, this method of division is too unsophisticated. For an expert, half a quarter of time is enough to decide the life and death of a battle, and he can even kill hundreds of people within that time frame. Just a short half quarter of time is enough to affect numerous lives and affect the outcome of winning or losing. We as artisans should not be unsophisticated. In order to perfect something that is already outstanding, one should refine time. As artisans, we must believe that all things in this world are measurable...”

An old craftsman cleared his throat and chimed in, “Ahem... Actually, aside from the time period and one-quarter or half-quarter of time, we also refer to time in other ways. The shortest is ‘the space of one breath’, then we have ‘in a flash’, ‘the time it takes to finish a cup of tea’, and ‘the time it takes for an incense to burn’. These are measurements for length of time...”

“Very well. You mentioned that ‘the space of a breath’, ‘in a flash’, ‘the time it takes to finish a cup of tea’, and ‘the time it takes for an incense to burn’ are all units of time. Let me ask all of you this: how much time is ‘the space of a breath’? One inhalation and one exhalation? If so, then how many breaths are there in one-quarter of time?” Yan Liqiang smiled as he raised the question.

“Well, I’ve never counted before. Perhaps... around two to three hundred?”

“Well then, let’s assume that in one quarter of time, you can breathe two hundred times. So you are implying that one quarter of time is equivalent to the space of two hundred breaths? Do you think everyone else will agree with what you just said? When you said ‘the space of ten breaths’, do you think the duration of ten breaths is the same for everybody?”

“Well...” The old craftsman was instantly rendered speechless.

“The answer is of course it is different. For different people, the time taken for one inhalation and one exhalation is different. Children and people with weak physical health may have shorter breaths, but their breathing is more rapid. People with stronger physical builds have longer breaths, especially martial practitioners. Their duration of one breath is equivalent to ten breaths for normal people. Just take this room for instance – my one breath is different from everyone else’s breath. Basically, the majority of you have to breathe six times or more while I breathe just once. So your ten breaths and my ten breaths are different. You said that one quarter of time is equal to the space of about two hundred breaths, but to me, one quarter of time is merely the space of several tens of breaths. The same goes for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. Some people take a longer time to drink while some take a shorter time to drink. Therefore, the ‘time it takes to drink a cup of tea’ is also different for every individual. Likewise, it is the same for ‘the time it takes for an incense to burn’ as different types of incense take a different amount of time to burn. So for time, a standard measurement should be in place...”

“From now onward, the twelve time period will still be used in the manufacturing bureau, but every time period will now be divided into two hours. For example, the ‘hour of the rat’ will be classified as ‘the upper hour of the rat’ and ‘the lower hour of the rat’, with an hour each. At the same time, one hour is equivalent to sixty minutes, which is the same as four quarters. Every quarter is fifteen minutes and every minute is equivalent to sixty seconds. So then, how long is one second? That is about the length of time we use to pronounce one, two, three, four at a slightly fast speed. Everyone can try with me: one, two, three, four, and that’s about one second each. In order to be more precise, one second is the length of time for an egg to reach the ground when it falls from a five-meter tall tree. Currently, we do not have any tools to accurately measure one second, but not having it now does not imply that it will be unavailable in the future. Whoever can invent a measuring device to measure time in seconds will be rewarded with ten thousand taels of silver...”

‘Ten thousand taels of silver?’ Yan Liqiang’s words stirred a commotion among the group of craftsmen. Many craftsmen’s eyes sparkled immediately...

“From now on, everyone in the manufacturing bureau should establish the habit of using the measuring tools that are on display in the Measuring Device Hall to determine all measurements. Any items that are to be manufactured must use these sets of new measurement standards to accurately determine the length, weight, and size. The time required for each process should be accurate to the minutes. For example, the interval between applying the first and second coat of paint should be defined by the minutes to determine the exact amount of time to achieve the best result instead of solely relying on experience. The size for a lot of sophisticated tools and devices needs to be accurate to the millimeter or even a decimillimeter. Tools and devices made from processed metals should be accurate to the grams. Have a discussion amongst yourselves to set the error of uncertainty for the different measurements!”

“Some of you may not understand why am I emphasizing this in the manufacturing bureau. But let me tell you that just within these few days, we have already received orders for over thirty four-wheeled carriages. 170 to 180 thousand taels of silver are already in our accounts since we collect payment before we deliver the product. Half of those payments are yours. These are just the orders from Pingxi Prefecture alone and there will be more orders in the future. Many others will be envious of us and they will start replicating the carriage. If you are thinking of having a good life in the future and thinking of getting a big annual bonus, then we need to have better workmanship than the others. We need to be better than them and in order to do this, we must have the mindset of constantly striving to improve ourselves. By using these measuring tools...” Yan Liqiang turned around and pointed to the measuring devices and tools displayed in the room.

“Rest assured, Protectorate General. We know what to do!” The chief weaponsmiths spoke one after another.

Yan Liqiang finally felt relieved to see approving nods from the craftsmen. He turned his head to look at Qian Su, “Uncle Qian, I think the manufacturing bureau can take out fifty thousand taels of silver to distribute to everyone first as a reward for everyone’s hard work and an incentive. Let them experience the concept of bonus distribution. In the future, the more money the manufacturing bureau earns, the greater the bonus that will be distributed to everyone. The rules that I set in the bureau must be strictly adhered to. Every statement is real, as are the rewards and punishment...”

“Alright, I can arrange for that and distribute it by today so that everyone can be happy!” Qian Su nodded because he understood Yan Liqiang’s intentions.

The bonus distribution session started in the afternoon. Everyone in the manufacturing bureau, from the craftsmen to the chief weaponsmiths, soldiers, and servants, they were all excited. As per the calculations, the servants were the lowest-ranking members in the bureau and they had one share each. Even so, they still received fourteen taels and six maces of silver. The chief weaponsmiths and stewards held thirty shares each and everyone received about four hundred taels of silver. The most ordinary craftsmen and soldiers had three shares and they received forty taels of silver each. Many people were shedding tears of joy with the sparkling silver in their hands.

Ever since Yan Liqiang had come to the manufacturing bureau, he had made tremendous and effective changes to the manufacturing bureau within a short period of time. The distribution of the fifty thousand taels of silver was indeed effective. The morale of the entire manufacturing bureau was boiling like a volcano. This established Yan Liqiang’s esteemed reputation inside the hearts of those working in the manufacturing bureau...

Chapter 427: The First Snow

“Wow, it’s so beautiful...”

When the first brand new four-wheeled carriage came out from the ‘assembly workshop’, everyone couldn’t help but marvel at it. Even Yan Liqiang who stood at the side was also staring at it with sparkles in his eyes.

This was a unique four-wheeled carriage. In terms of size, this carriage was thirty percent bigger than the first four-wheeled carriage that Yan Liqiang rode a few days ago and it looked more luxurious. The materials used and workmanship for the whole carriage had achieved the peak of what the manufacturing bureau was capable of. Yan Liqiang personally supervised every procedure and process of the carriage production in the manufacturing bureau. In order to build this carriage, Qian Su personally went to Pingxi City to invite a few skilled jewelry smiths to take part in the manufacturing process.

With the participation from the jewelry smiths, the appearance of this white carriage with pure gold dragon-themed carvings made it even more exquisite and dazzling. The interior of the carriage was even more luxurious. A large surface of the interior door panel was covered with colorful enamel and golden decorative boards. The seats and interior of the carriage were decorated by decorative motifs made from copper and silver. Every corner of the carriage glowed with a delicate and exquisite taste.

This carriage was unique as it was made based on Yan Liqiang’s requirements and was well worth the price.

“Let’s test it out...” Yan Liqiang said to Qian Su.

“Alright, let me do it!” Qian Su nodded and walked up to the carriage to wear the cotton overshoes that the craftsman passed to him from the side before getting on. He drove the carriage and made two turns within the huge ‘assembly workshop’. Then he went in the passenger carriage to take a look inside. Finally, Qian Su stopped the carriage and nodded to Yan Liqiang, “No problem with it. It’s better than the previous one...”

“Let’s make preparations to dismantle the carriage for packing...” Yan Liqiang nodded.

Qian Su waved his hand as he alighted the carriage. A group of craftsmen flocked over to carefully dismantle the accessories such as the passenger compartment, wheels, frames, and poles. They carefully wrapped them with cotton cloth, then with linen, and secured it using rope before placing them inside a product container. The whole process was as if they were packing fragile porcelain.

Everyone was extremely careful as they all knew that this carriage was to be delivered to the Imperial Capital by the Protectorate General as a gift to the Emperor.

“If we continue producing these four-wheeled carriages, I believe people will still want them even if we are selling them at ten thousand taels of silver each,” Qian Su sighed in amazement as he watched the group of craftsmen dismantling and packing up the carriage. Just a few days ago, Qian Su was still skeptical of selling the four-wheeled carriage for more than five thousand taels of silver. However, the experience from the past few days was enough to make him ‘bolder’.

“This specification of the carriage is not for sale. After this unit has been delivered to the Imperial Capital, we will build another similar unit to be displayed at the four-wheeled carriage exhibition hall that we will be setting up for customers to view...” Yan Liqiang showed a ‘wicked merchant’ smile to Qian Su, “Of course, if the members of the royal family come to place an order, it is even possible to ask for ten thousand taels of silver!”

“I really wonder where you learned your business strategy. You can think up just about anything!” Qian Su gave a Yan Liqiang a bizarre look. “I’ve never even thought of sending a four-wheeled carriage to the Emperor, but you had it planned already. Once this carriage is delivered to the Imperial Capital, our manufacturing bureau will no doubt be recognized to have the best four-wheeled carriage in the Great Han Empire whenever anyone mentions it.”

Yan Liqiang only smiled without saying anything. He then went outside with Qian Su.

As someone who had lived two lives, Yan Liqiang would have lived his previous life in vain if he didn’t even have the concept of ‘celebrity branding’. Commoners did not have the chance to give anything to the Emperor, but it was easy for him. Since the Emperor appointed him as the Qiyun Protectorate General, it was only natural for the Emperor to be informed of the things he did and his achievements in Gan Province. After all, a faithful official was one who thought of the Emperor first whenever he was in possession of good things.

The four-wheeled carriage could not simply be driven all the way to the Imperial Capital, so it had to be dismantled, packed, and reassembled in the Imperial Capital.

It was a long journey from Gan Province to the Imperial Capital. Yan Liqiang did not need to worry as his dear Uncle Lei had informed him that there would be no issues with arranging an escort. Yan Liqiang only had to get everything ready and send a few skilled craftsmen. They would then be escorted to the Imperial Capital along with the annual tax funds. The tax funds would be escorted by military troops, and they would be protected by the bureaucracy along the way. No one would dare to do anything to the tax funds that were going to be delivered to the imperial court either, so it would be a safe journey. Once they reached the Imperial Capital, they would go to Deer Villa to look for Eunuch Liu and he would arrange the rest.

Of course, the delivery to Imperial Capital was not only one but four carriages. The Emperor’s “Royal Model” was of course the one and only one model – the largest and most luxurious. The other three units were same as what the manufacturing bureau was producing now. One unit was for Eunuch Liu, one unit for Fang Beidou, and one unit was for Manager You at the Gan Provincial Guild Hall to return the favor for the carriage that Manager You had gifted to Yan Liqiang before.

Yan Liqiang couldn’t suppress his joy at the thought of having his four-wheeled carriages roaming the Imperial Capital’s streets and attracting the attention of countless onlookers in just a few months time.

“Speaking of the Imperial Capital, the Provincial Governor has already ordered the Gan Province Weaponsmiths Quarter to start replicating the four-wheeled carriage for the delivery of goods. I heard that this time, those tax funds will be delivered to the Imperial Capital by a four-wheeled carriage...:”

“It is very convenient to deliver cargo using a four-wheeled carriage. It is only natural for the Provincial Governor to think about this. However, we do not need to be so worried. While they are able to replicate the steering wheel for the carriage, they will not be able to replicate the coil spring that is crucial for shock absorption. We should only focus on manufacturing high-quality four-wheel carriages for passengers and leave the rest to the others. Once I leave the manufacturing bureau, I will hand over this place to you, Uncle Qian. As long as we keep the secret of manufacturing the spring, we do not need to worry about others being jealous. Uncle Qian will have to put extra effort into the safety and security of the manufacturing bureau...”

“Don’t worry, I will keep an eye on this!” Qian Su nodded.

The two of them talked as they passed by a construction site within the manufacturing bureau. Two shabby courtyards and a few rooms were being taken down there. With hundreds of artisans working hard, the outline of the new building made of limestone could already be seen. This would be the exhibition hall of the manufacturing bureau and the four-wheeled carriage would be the first displayed item in the hall.

The taking down of the courtyard and buildings was just the beginning. In the future, the manufacturing bureau would manufacture four-wheeled carriages while progressively extending the manufacturing bureau altogether. According to Yan Liqiang’s plan, the area would expand over ten times of what it was now in the future. The whole manufacturing bureau would be redesigned into a fort with strong defense security. Within the protective shell of this fort, the most profitable factory in the Great Han Empire would be born. A lot of new things would also be born here and all the skillful artisans in the Great Han Empire would gather here. With such a manufacturing bureau in Gan Province, the Soul Mountain Sect’s Thousand Engineering Hall would have to share the limelight...

At the thought of Soul Mountain Sect’s Thousand Engineering Hall, Yan Liqiang calculated the time in his heart. Given Zhang Yourong’s capability and these few months, the Thousand Engineering Hall should have created their first prototype of the steam engine. Yan Liqiang was curious about how the first steam engine would look like in this world...

“Protectorate Governor, Bureau Supervisor...”

Yan Liqiang and Qian Su halted in their footsteps when they heard someone calling them. They turned their heads and saw the jewelry smiths that Qian Su had hired from Pingxi City walking toward them.

The few smiths were at least forty years old, with the oldest being sixty years old. Although they were not famous top craftsmen, they were considered to have impressive craftsmanship in Pingxi Prefecture for being able to perfectly reproduce whatever Yan Liqiang had drawn on paper.

“Is there a problem?” Yan Liqiang asked kindly.

The few smiths exchanged glances. One of them was blushing as he mustered up the courage and spoke in front of everyone, “Is...is the bureau still hiring artisans? We discussed among ourselves that if...if... the Protectorate Governor and Bureau Supervisor wouldn’t mind and are satisfied with our skills, we are willing to stay and serve the manufacturing bureau...”

Qian Su had initially invited these smiths to work as contingent workers to help manufacture the “Royal Carriage”. Yesterday, these contingent workers saw the scene where the manufacturing bureau was distributing dividends to the artisans. They were shocked as they never thought that such a place existed in this world. After a night of discussion, they decided to muster their courage to look for Yan Liqiang and Qian Su after they packed the “Royal Carriage” and completed the day’s work.

Yan Liqiang and Qian Su looked at each other with smiles in their eyes.

Yan Liqiang focused and was able to instantly read the thoughts in these people’s minds with the Psychic Serpent in his head. These people were sincere and honest artisans for they did not have any bad intentions in staying at the manufacturing bureau.

When Qian Su saw Yan Liqiang’s slight nod, he cleared his throat, “I think you all understand the rules of the manufacturing bureau. Although it looks like a workshop, it is also part of the military which adheres to military discipline. Mistakes will be subject to punishment according to military rules and there is also the possibility of you losing your heads. Do you all understand?”

“Yes, we understand!”

“Good, then you may stay here. Judging from your skills, your rankings in the manufacturing bureau could be considered the third. However, since all of you are new here, your experience and contribution in the manufacturing bureau is still insufficient. As a start, all of you are entitled to five shares each. In future, for every year you stay in the manufacturing bureau, you will receive an additional share per year. If you stay here for more than five years, your shares will be the same as the other third-ranking artisans in the manufacturing bureau, which is ten shares. Furthermore, if there is any opportunity for promotions in the future, all of you will be given the same opportunities and treatment as the other third-ranking artisans. How does that sound?”

“This is good, this is good, we are willing...” the artisans kept nodding, and everyone had a smile on their face.

“Great, all of you should go look for Steward Qiu to go through the formalities!”

The jewelers and artisans expressed their gratitudes and left.

“Uncle Qian, I need to discuss with you and the chief weaponsmiths on coming up with a new system. We will reward the best performers, and those who can invent and innovate new things, new tools, and also improve the production process. In future, we shall honor and reward these artisans on a yearly basis. Furthermore, this can be an important target for others on their personal advancement.”

“Alright...”

...

By the time all the work in the manufacturing bureau and Pingxi City was complete, it was already afternoon. Yan Liqiang, together with a few bodyguards and Hu Haihe, got on their rhinodrake steeds and left the manufacturing bureau to return to Qinghe County.

As Yan Liqiang rode on his rhinodrake steed, he suddenly felt a chill on his face. As soon as he stretched his hand out, a snowflake melted in his hand. He lifted his head and noticed that it had started snowing...

On the 17th day of the eleventh lunar month in the 13th year of the Yuanping reign, the Great Han Empire’s Gan Province welcomed its first winter snow of the year...

Chapter 428: Back At Home

Draped in a cape and moving against the snow, Yan Liqiang and his company returned to Liuhe Town by nightfall. Upon Yan Liqiang’s return to the Yan Clan’s manor, the place instantly became lively.

“Young Lord, you are back!”

The moment Yan Liqiang dismounted his steed, Yu Qing came over to take Yan Liqiang’s cape.

“Have you gotten used to living in Liuhe Town over the past few days?” Yan Liqiang asked. While making his way inside from the yard, he was looking Yu Qing up and down. It had only been a month since he last saw her, but Yu Qing’s face seemed to have grown rounder and she had also grown taller. Yan Liqiang wondered if it was because she had settled down in life or because she was still a growing girl. At first glance, she seemed to have grown into a slender and graceful woman.

“Old Master, Uncle Zhou, and his wife have been taking good care of me. Mother Wu also taught me many things too! I’m enjoying my time here!” Yu Qing replied obediently.

“What about those skills and fundamentals I taught you? Have you been practicing?” Yan Liqiang casually asked.

“I’ve been practicing!” Yu Qing nodded.

“Good. Cultivation requires perseverance. Look for me first if you have any doubts, do not act rashly. It’ll be bad if you hurt yourself in the process. Remember not to run before you can walk!”

Yu Qing’s gaze flickered to Yan Liqiang and she blushed, “Alright.”

While they were talking, Zhou Hongda who knew Yan Liqiang had returned came running toward them from the courtyard ahead of them. “Greetings, Young Lord!”

“Where is my father?”

“The Old Master is in the dining room. He’s been working until quite late in the blacksmith workshop lately so he’s been taking his dinner late...”

“Very well. I shall head over to the dining room since I haven’t had my dinner yet either. Steward Zhou, please have the kitchen prepare ginger soup and dinner for Hu Haihe and the others too...”

“Understood, I will have it ready for everyone shortly!”

“Good.”

...

Yan Liqiang dined with Yan Dechang and Zhou Tiezhu tonight. Steward Zhou had ordered the kitchen to make a few more dishes knowing that Yan Liqiang would be coming home. The three of them had dinner together at the same table just like how they did before the Yan Clan became wealthy.

Zhou Tiezhu left first after dinner, knowing that Yan Dechang would have quite a lot of catching up to do with his son.

As soon as Zhou Tiezhu left, Yan Dechang couldn’t stop himself from asking the most pressing question on his mind. “You have just returned to Pingxi City and the Shatu people have caused such a huge incident. I heard in town that the Provincial Governor has killed many Shatu people in the city. Did any of them come after you?”

“Those Shatu people have been targeting me...” Ensuring that there were no outsiders around, Yan Liqiang recounted the incidents that transpired in Pingxi City to Yan Dechang.

As expected, Yan Dechang immediately tensed up as soon as he heard that the Shatu people were going to assassinate Yan Liqiang. “What will happen to you from now on? Knowing these Shatu people, they’ll surely make a second or third attempt even if they failed the first time...!”

“Those Shatu people are indeed troublesome. Putting aside the fact that my position as the Qiyun Protectorate General agitates them, I’m afraid that the Grand Chancellor in the Imperial Capital isn’t going to let me off so easily. Even so, don’t worry about me, Father. Those Shatu people are mortals too. They’ve suffered heavy losses this time so I’m guessing that they’ll stop for the time being!”

“But you can’t just wait for them to come. There’s a proverb that says ‘There are thieves of a thousand days but not guarding against them for a thousand days.'[1] This simply won’t work!” Yan Dechang still looked worried.

“It’s actually very easy to make the Shatu people give up. I’ll just have to let them know that they won’t be able to bear the consequences of assassinating me or I’ll make it so that they have no way of killing me. Many things in this world cannot be solved by just relying on a few assassins. On the contrary, things would’ve been very easy if assassins could be used to solve every problem!” Yan Liqiang smiled as he spoke with confidence.

“I have returned this time to inform you that I will leave Qinghe Town tomorrow. I shall find a place to focus on my cultivation for half a year alone. As long as I improve my cultivation, I have nothing to fear against any assassins sent out by the Shatu people!”

“You’re right. One must be strong to forge iron. If one is capable, then he has nothing to fear against the Shatu people’s despicable methods. Where do you plan to cultivate?”

“I haven’t decided yet. I’m just looking for a quiet and peaceful place, probably outside Pingxi Prefecture, but not too far from there either.”

“Is our home is no good?”

“The spear technique I’m cultivating now will cause great disturbances. Not only that, but I also need to be in a very specific environment. Home isn’t a very suitable place and I may just attract more trouble home if I stay here. I’ll just find a spot in the wilderness!”

“You’re leaving tomorrow?”

“Yes, I will be leaving tomorrow. I have already asked Uncle Qian to take care of the manufacturing bureau. Oh right, they will send a four-wheeled carriage over tomorrow for you. Since the carriage is slower than rhinodrake steed, we rode back without it today...”

“Do not worry so much, just focus on your cultivation!” Yan Dechang patted Yan Liqiang’s shoulder. “Steward Zhou and Steward Lu are very capable men, you don’t need to worry about home. The County Magistrate paid a visit two days ago. Ever since your return, everyone in town has been supportive of us. I’m guessing no one in Pingxi Prefecture will dare to find trouble with the Yan Clan now. In two days time, I will ask Steward Zhou to hire a few more competent guards. We’ll hire experts since we’re not short on money...”

“Father, you don’t need to worry about hiring guards. During my meeting with the Provincial Governor, he promised me that he’ll introduce a few veterans that have retired from the Gan Provincial Army to serve as the Yan Clan’s guards. They are seasoned soldiers who have fought on countless battlefields and have seen all sorts of battles. Every single one of them is reliable and loyal. By the time they arrive, you won’t have to worry about your safety at home any longer!”

Yan Dechang let out a long sigh. “That’s great!”

“When those veterans are here, you can arrange them to train the youngsters in Liuhe Town as preparation for them to join the archery academy...”

...

...

After discussing the arrangements for the second half of the year with Yan Dechang, Yan Liqiang returned to his little courtyard and then called Hu Haihe and Yu Qing over to brief them. He then proceeded to pack his luggage that night, preparing some necessities he needed for his cultivation.

The Heavenly Realm collapsed because he was assassinated by an expert lurking in the Divine Sword Sect. His return journey to Gan Province was also full of unexpected perils. The moment he returned to Pingxi City, a Shatu assassin came after him. Yan Liqiang might’ve appeared to be calm, but such encounters in succession had made him aware of the immense danger he was facing.

This was the exact reason why Yan Liqiang decided to cultivate in seclusion. He was prepared to spend half a year to significantly raise his strength to another level. This was so that he could better protect himself, and give a big surprise to those who were planning to do him in through despicable methods.

Before sunrise the next day, Yan Liqiang put on a thick cape and silently left the Yan Residence with only a Dragon Spine Steel spear, a warbow, a quiver, and his luggage.

It was snowing heavily and frosty outside. In just one night, the entire land was blanketed by the silvery white snow.

After Yan Liqiang left Liuhe Town and saw no one around, he held his spear and performed the lightness skill technique. Each step covered the distance of several zhang. In just the blink of an eye, Yan Liqiang’s silhouette disappeared into the snowy landscape as he sprinted through the wilderness....

Chapter 429: I Am The Ancestor (1)

“...More than three hundred li away northeast of Pingxi Prefecture, there stands a lofty and perilous mountain range called the Jade Dragon. Mount Jade Dragon is a mostly deserted area with many rare beasts dwelling within. Facing Mount Qiyun, both mountains resemble a pair of dragons among the clouds. The head and body of Mount Jade Dragon are situated within the Gan Province, overlooking the Gulang Plains. Its tail extends into the center region of Mount Qiyun where the heavenly natural creation ends and fits the saying: ‘One can see the head of the divine dragon but not its tail [1]. The valley at the intersection between Mount Jade Dragon and Mount Qiyun has a gap of less than one li at the narrowest point. The White Stone Pass sits here, as the military strategic location of Northwestern Gan Province...”– Memoirs of Pingxi Prefecture.

On the 21st day of the second lunar month in the 14th year of the Yuanping reign, the cold winter ended, giving way to the first signs of spring. When the sun rose and its first rays shone on the land, a strange ball of light appeared an isolated valley surrounded by cliffs of a hundred zhang tall in the depths of Mount Jade Dragon. The ball of light was constantly shifting. Tiger roars and gibbon hoots resounded across the valley, startling the gray eagles that dwelled within, causing them to fly away from their nests...

The ball of light was a Dharmic projection, and it was strange due to its constantly shifting shape. At first, the ball of light was the image of a ferocious tiger leaping against the precipitous cliff walls while roaring loudly. In just the blink of an eye, it transformed into an elegantly moving bleating white deer. After a while, the silhouette of a white deer turned into a mighty black bear. The silhouette of the bear then flickered and turned into a golden gibbon with long arms.

The golden gibbon jumped around, darting between the rock crevices. It stretched its long arms and quickly scaled the precipitous cliff walls as though it was moving on flat land. By the time the golden gibbon rushed up to the top of the cliff about a hundred zhang tall, it suddenly jumped down as though it was bungee jumping down the valley. Before hitting the ground, its silhouette then transformed into a crane. Flapping its wings, the crane soared high into the sky elegantly, parting the clouds that shrouded the mountain before it dived into the valley again...

If another martial practitioner saw the scene, he would probably be so shocked that his jaw would drop.

While Dharmic projections were common occurrences in secret techniques, no one had probably seen or even heard of a single technique that could give rise to five Dharmic projections of a tiger, a deer, a bear, a gibbon, and a crane. Such a technique was unprecedented in this world.

When the white crane was about to land, the Dharmic projection finally disappeared and the silhouette of a person was revealed. That figure was none other than Yan Liqiang who had been away from home for nearly three months.

Yan Liqiang was barefooted and his long hair was fluttering in the wind. Wearing only a pair of shorts, his muscular body plunged into the ground head first like a missile.

The floor of the valley was rapidly expanding in Yan Liqiang’s field of vision. Beneath him was a pool about the size of fifty mu. When he was about to dive into the pool, Yan Liqiang threw his fist out.

The real missile was Yan Liqiang’s fist!

His fist punched through the air so powerfully that it created a vacuum around it. Loud explosive noises that sounded like firecrackers cackled in the air.

Following the loud noise, a splash of several dozen meters in height was created in the pool, generating violent waves around it. The powerful force that Yan Liqiang brought with him when he plunged into the water like an artillery shell was instantly dissolved by the pool’s water.

In the midst of the flying water droplets, Yan Liqiang’s figure changed direction. He penetrated the pool with his feet first without any hesitation like an arrow.

The water was so clear that the bottom of the pool was visible and it was glowing an eerie blue. Since the water was from the melted snow on the mountain peak in the distance, it was piercingly cold. Even so, Yan Liqiang had long gotten used to its coldness.

The moment Yan Liqiang came into contact with water, he transformed into a fish. With the momentum of his dive, he made a beeline to the pool’s bottom. In just the blink of an eye, he was thirty meters deep into the pond. There, he started practicing his fist technique.

Yan Liqiang’s movements were simple yet powerful. Every punch he threw was like dropping a bomb deep into the pool. Violent undercurrents surged in the calm water and waves rolled on the water surface as though there was a gigantic beast churning in the water.

As soon Yan Liqiang threw his punch, a Dharmic projection once again appeared around him even though he was underwater. This time, it was neither a human nor an object. There were two impressively lofty words – Eight Extremities!

If those martial arts practitioners from Yan Liqiang’s previous world were here, they would definitely recognize the fist technique he was performing underwater right now. It was none other than the 64th form in the Eight Extremities Fist called the Cannon Fist.

The 64th form, Cannon Fist, really turned Yan Liqiang’s hands into a cannon. Every punch he threw was like firing a round destructive enough to cause landslides. Bursts of waves formed in the pond.

As a famous boxing proverb went, ‘Practicing tai chi brings peace to the country, exercising the eight extremities brings stability to the world.’ At this very moment, Yan Liqiang could feel the terrifying power of the Eight Extremities Fist technique in his fists.

Before he even finished performing the 64th Form, Cannon Fist, Yan Liqiang’s body was enveloped by a dazzling red light. Despite being underwater, a powerful wave of heavenly energy still came to him as usual. It poured into Yan Liqiang from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet, mutating every cell in his body and injecting more powerful vital force into his body.

This was the 13th Heavenly Bestowment he received ever since he cultivated the Eight Extremities Fist technique.

The Heavenly Bestowment lasted for nearly five minutes. By the time its effects faded, Yan Liqiang’s next punch became even more powerful. It was like the water currents at the bottom of the pool had been cut by a giant axe, creating a vacuum around him for a brief moment.

Yan Liqiang shot into the sky from the bottom of the pond like a missile. He leaped out of the water then firmly landed on a huge rock by the pond.

Yan Liqiang looked at his own hands. While sensing the new wave of powerful energy within his body, a smile slowly appeared on his face. He then tilted his head back and started laughing at the sky. His laughter reverberated throughout the valley, filled with joy and excitement...

Chapter 430: I am the Ancestor (2)

Naturally, there was a reason for Yan Liqiang’s joy and excitement. After the Heavenly Bestowment he received today, he could feel the completion of his Eight Extremities Fist technique and he had thus attained the highest realm. In this world, he once again became the founder of a new technique.

The reason why he described it with ‘once again’ was because he had already attained the highest realm in the Five Animal Frolics technique before this. With these two secret techniques and the blow dart technique from last time, that made him the founder of three new techniques. If word of this got out, it would definitely be shocking news to the world.

The highest realm of the Five Animal Frolics technique was the seventh layer, while the Eight Extremities Fist technique was the thirteenth layer. With both of these techniques at the highest realms, Yan Liqiang had received a total of twenty Heavenly Bestowments.

The Heavenly Bestowment was the fastest, most direct and efficient way for someone to improve their strength apart from cultivating. After experiencing twenty Heavenly Bestowments, Yan Liqiang’s physical fitness and strength took a qualitative leap compared to the previous time he cultivated in seclusion.

Truth be told, Yan Liqiang never expected to become the founder of another secret technique before he came to this secluded valley deep within Mount Jade Dragon. The main focus of his training this time was the ‘real spear technique’ that Li Hongtu imparted to him. At the same time, he also hoped to bring his cultivation realm to the next level, progressing from a Martial Master to Martial Grandmaster. If he was lucky or gained special insight, it would have been wonderful if he could also raise his archery cultivation to the Sixth Heavenly Layer within these six months.

During his first month at this nameless valley within Mount Dragon Jade, Yan Liqiang was fully immersed in his training and undistracted by any other affairs. He had reverted his lifestyle to the simplest state.

Apart from cultivating, Yan Liqiang was either eating or sleeping. No one and nothing could bother him – he couldn’t even find anyone to talk to here. If he was thirsty, he’d drink from the spring in the valley. If he was hungry, he would eat Solomon’s Seal, truffles, arrowroots, or wild fruits he could find in the valley. If he was tired, he’d either take a nap in the cave that he used as a temporary shelter or lie down in any random spot in the valley. If he was bored, he’d listen to the birds chirping in the mountain forest, the sounds of the running stream, or the buzzing noises of the bugs. Or perhaps he’d look at the moving clouds high up in the sky, watch the sunrise or sunset, or gaze at the stars in the sky. The lifestyle he adopted on Mount Jade Dragon was no different than a man in the wilderness.

This was the first time Yan Liqiang had cultivated in seclusion. Leading such a simple lifestyle allowed him to be in a focused state, hence improving his cultivation at an astonishing speed. However, the biggest change wasn’t only his rapidly improving cultivation, but his body and mind which were cleansed and purified.

––’The five colors make a man blind, the five sounds make a man deaf, and the five tastes make a man lose his sense of taste. Riding and hunting make a man wild with excitement, and rare goods goad a man into stealing. Thus, the sage does not satisfy his eyes with colors but satisfies his stomach with enough food. He discards the former and takes the latter.’

In such a purified physical and mental state where there were no five colors, no five sounds, no five tastes, no riding or hunting, no rare goods, no gratitude or grudges, no resentment or murderous intent, many things buried deep inside Yan Liqiang including those he never thought of turned clearer. They started to resurface from the depths of his memories.

–– Yan Liqiang saw the old men who would always practice the Five Animal Frolics and tai chi fist techniques every morning in the park where he sold paintings at a vendor stall...

–– He saw himself buying more than ten old ‘Martial Arts’ magazines from an old man’s vendor by the roadside on his way home from the office one night in his previous life. He took those magazines home and tossed them aside in the toilet, where he would only flip through them when he felt bored while doing his business in there.

–– He saw himself accidentally open a martial arts forum while browsing the Internet in his previous life. He then spent an entire night lurking on the forum, skimming through the various China martial arts techniques introduced there with great interest. Of course, he only read and didn’t practice them. After spending a night reading those, he had forgotten all about it two days later. At that time, martial arts and cultivation were nothing but fantasy to Yan Liqiang. He had nothing to do with them at all...

–– He once entered a bookstore and picked up ‘The Martial Arts Essentials’ from the competitive sports section. After a quick flip through the book, he returned it to the bookshelf...

In Yan Liqiang’s previous life, everyone probably had similar experiences. It was as natural as breathing. Most people would completely forget about the things that they had only briefly come into contact with. No one would take things that were so easily obtainable seriously.

When Yan Liqiang’s memory replayed the scenes from that night in his previous life in slow motion, he realized that every word, sentence, picture, and scene which he had seen only once in his life emerged in his mind once again. Lying on the hilltop while gazing at the starry sky, tears involuntarily leaked out of his eyes.

It turned out that those precious things never left him and had always been by his side.

It turned out that he had treasures that he’d nearly forgotten in the depths of his memories.

It turned out that a sage once said, ‘When a person is disciplined, he will be able to concentrate. With concentration, wisdom will be produced,’ because everyone had wisdom in the depths of their heart.

There were countless martial art techniques in his memories. Yan Liqiang roughly sorted out the big amount of information in his head and found at least several hundred types of them.

Though elated, he was also rather nervous because he had no idea if these things from the memories of his previous life would work in this world, or if they had already been successfully cultivated by someone before. Even so, as long as ten percent of things in his memories were useful and never existed in this world before, then their values and the changes they could bring to Yan Liqiang would be immeasurable.

In the end, the first martial art technique that Yan Liqiang carefully selected from his memories was the legendary Five Animal Frolics, an ancient Chinese physical exercise regimen invented by Hua Tuo. It was the safest, simplest, and most stable technique as its practitioners were less likely to fall into Qi deviation.

On his first day of practicing the Five Animal Frolics, Yan Liqiang once again experienced the effects brought about by the Heavenly Bestowment, which he hadn’t felt in a long time. This time, he obtained the power of the tiger form. His walk became more powerful and awe-inspiring...

During the second Heavenly Bestowment, Yan Liqiang received the power of the deer form which significantly improved his sense of hearing. This also enhanced his body’s reaction speed and agility.

For the subsequent Heavenly Bestowments, he received the power of the bear form, the ape form, and then the crane form...

Chapter 431: Real Spear Technique

After becoming the founder of the Five Animal Frolics in this world, Yan Liqiang felt great. He then chose another fist technique that had an outstanding reputation in his previous life and continued practicing. This fist technique was the Eight Extremities Fist technique.

Reality proved that there was no Eight Extremities Fist technique in this world. With Yan Liqiang’s current foundation in his cultivation, a Heavenly Bestowment came once again on the third day of cultivating the Eight Extremities Fist.

The Eight Extremities Fist technique was an incisive fist technique for close combat. The formidable power of this fist technique was many times stronger than the Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist technique that Yan Liqiang previously cultivated. One of the reasons for cultivating the new martial technique was to raise his combat prowess, but a more important reason would be due to the reward and blessing of the Heavenly Bestowments brought on by the new martial art technique and heavenly resonance. Obtaining repeated Heavenly Bestowments was the fastest way to increase one’s strength.

Cultivating dart blowing technique had not only tremendously raised Yan Liqiang strength within a short time, but also made him understand something by the means of inference. Through the cultivation of dart blowing technique and receiving Heavenly Bestowments, Yan Liqiang was able to quickly transform himself from an amateur to an expert in using concealed weapons.

It was the same for cultivating the Five Animal Frolics technique. After obtaining the complete set of Heavenly Bestowments for the Five Animal Frolics, Yan Liqiang vaguely discovered that there was a strong connection between the Five Animal Frolics technique and the three stages that Martial Warriors needed to pass when establishing their foundations. Practicing the Five Animal Frolics seemed to be able to speed up the process of completing the Horse Stance, Stretching Tendon and Extending Bone, as well as Establishing Dantian stages.

The discovery shocked Yan Liqiang. For ordinary folks, the challenge in progressing into a Martial Warrior lay in the difficulty of passing these three stages. There were countless cultivators that were shut outside the door due to these three stages. The Horse Stance and Establishing Dantian stages were particularly difficult for many people. If the Five Animal Frolics technique would really help in passing these three stages, then its value in assisting the advancement as a Martial Warrior would be immeasurable.

Aside from the Five Animal Frolics technique, the Heavenly Bestowment of the Eight Extremities Fist technique also brought Yan Liqiang’s comprehension in fist techniques to a whole new level. He was now able to grasp the concept that he could never grasp before. With this new understanding, he was able to make a difference with even the most basic Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist technique. The fist technique and spear shaking were both interconnected, and due to his deeper understanding of the fist technique, Yan Liqiang’s cultivation with the spear also improved.

The cultivation techniques complemented each other. As Yan Liqiang grew stronger from the effects he received from the continuous Heavenly Bestowments, his cultivation in spear shaking also became easier for him to grasp.

Over the past few days, Yan Liqiang clearly felt the difference when he shook the spear. He felt as though he had entered a strange realm. In that realm, the spear in his hand disappeared. Instead of holding the Dragon Spine Steel spear, he was holding a thought in his hands, and that thought was alive...

Yan Liqiang had a hunch that this was the ‘real spear technique’ that Li Hongtu had mentioned to him before, and he was about to master it!

Yan Liqiang did not stop after perfecting the Eight Extremities Fist technique. Instead, he continued by plunging into the middle of the pond and started shaking the spear at the bottom of the pond. The water of the pond barely stilled before the vibrations of Yan Liqiang’s spear stirred it up again. Circular ripples spawned in the middle of the pond and spread to all sides as though someone had dropped a huge rock into the pond. At the heart of the ripples, over thousands of water droplets rose and fell every second. It was a beautiful sight to behold...

After shaking for half an hour, the water droplets that were bouncing on the water surface stopped. Yan Liqiang resurfaced from the water to take a deep breath of fresh air before diving back down again. A few seconds later, water droplets were seen bouncing on the water surface again. Another half an hour later, the water droplets stopped and Yan Liqiang resurfaced again to take a deep breath before diving back into the water again...

After repeating this for about ten times, it was already late in the afternoon. Yan Liqiang was exhausted. He dragged himself out from the water and lay down on a giant rock by the pond. Basking in the sun, he looked at the white clouds in the sky while panting heavily.

After Yan Liqiang’s body had recovered slightly from exhaustion, he went to a stream nearby and took out the Solomon’s Seals and arrowroots that he had placed in the stream after finding them on a mountain a few days ago. After rinsing and chopping them with a knife, he started wolfing them down.

The melted snow water from the distant mountains formed the cold and clean stream. This stream had become Yan Liqiang’s natural refrigerator. Whenever he found anything such as wild fruits or Solomon’s Seals, he would put them in between the rock crevices in the stream. With this method, he could preserve those fruits for a few days without having them flushed away by the stream water.

Eating raw Solomon’s Seals caused Yan Liqiang’s mouth to feel slightly numb and at the same time, it also caused slight irritation to his throat. However, the numbness and irritation were nothing to Yan Liqiang. After he ate the Solomon’s Seal, he ate a few arrowroots and the inside of his mouth became sweet again. Once his body regained a bit of strength, Yan Liqiang wasted no time in cultivating the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing to strengthen his body...

After two rounds of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing, Yan Liqiang felt a gust of strong wind above his head. After hearing a loud bird cry, a golden, majestic-looking mythical bird with a wingspan of three meters descended from the sky. It circled around Yan Liqiang twice before dropping a strong bharal beside him, then soared into the sky again with another powerful gust of wind.

This bird was no ordinary bird; it was a Fiery-Eyed Golden Falcon. Yan Liqiang summoned the bird through the ‘toy capsule machine’ as his little companion and invisible bodyguard. After witnessing the Sacred Flame Priest’s skill in using birds on two occasions, Yan Liqiang was inspired and created one for himself too. As long as the Fiery-Eyed Golden Falcon was in the sky, it was as though he had placed a satellite and a drone up there. Nothing within a radius of several hundred li would be able to escape the Fiery-Eyed Golden Falcon’s eyes. If anyone were to approach this remote valley, the Fiery-Eyed Golden Falcon would alert Yan Liqiang.

For the next few days, Yan Liqiang fully immersed himself in his spear shaking training. Aside from sleeping and eating, he would either be shaking his spear underwater or resting at the edge of the pond to recover his stamina and strengthening his body through the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing.

As Yan Liqiang cultivated, the ripples he generated in the pond grew bigger in size, and more water droplets were bouncing higher at the heart of the ripples.

Finally on an afternoon ten days later, Yan Liqiang once again went to the bottom of the pond for half an hour. The water droplets bouncing on the pond’s surface suddenly stopped, and the water ripples on the water surface also gradually died down. However, Yan Liqiang didn’t resurface to take a breath this time. Around ten minutes later, two whirlpools suddenly formed in the placid pond. One of the whirlpools was turning clockwise while the other was turning counterclockwise. Both whirlpools grew bigger and deeper as they slowly moved toward the center of the pond. Amidst the waves, the two whirlpools formed an image that resembled a pair of Yin Yang fish...

Boom... A column of water shot several tens of meters into the air. The image of the Yin Yang fish created by the two whirlpools were crushed by Yan Liqiang, who jumped up from the bottom of the pond with his Dragon Spine Steel spear like a violent dragon, and landed on a huge boulder by the pond.

Countless water droplets rolled down from Yan Liqiang’s body and hair. Yan Liqiang held the Dragon Spine Steel spear in his hand with his eyes closed and remained still as though he was meditating.

Yan Liqiang might be holding a spear in his hands at this very moment but to him, the spear was neither a spear nor a thought in his mind. Everything that existed may not have existed...

A light breeze blew against the long spear. At that moment, the subtle changes to the airflow and even the water evaporation that was too small to be observed by the naked eye were all in Yan Liqiang’s heart...

Yan Liqiang submerged the spearhead into the water. Countless ripples formed in the water. The string of bubbles gathered where the stream converged with the pond, and with the slight changes in the water temperature, everything became clear to him...

“That’s it. This is what the real spear technique is capable of...” Yan Liqiang opened his eyes that shined with unfathomable depth.

Right at that moment, Yan Liqiang sensed something, and he lifted his head to look at the sky. A small and hardly visible black dot was flying. Its flight path revealed boundless information to Yan Liqiang...

Someone was coming. Not just one, but about thirty people were thirty li away from the southeastern part of this valley. Wait... There were two groups of people. A few were running and a group was chasing them...

Chapter 432: Massacre

Humans were curious creatures, and Yan Liqiang was no exception!

The place where Yan Liqiang had chosen to cultivate in seclusion was in the depths of Mount Jade Dragon, which was usually deserted. He simply could not think of why anyone would want to come here.

Yan Liqiang was thinking of rushing out of the valley, but realized that he was almost bare naked as soon as he moved. Since he wasn’t appropriately dressed, he turned quickly and rushed up a steep cliff wall.

For Yan Liqiang, the ninety-degree steep cliff was like a leveled pathway underneath his feet. He was pretty much sprinting up the steep cliff wall at lightning speed. The Dragon Spine Steel spear in his hand that was unusually heavy did not affect his speed at all.

In just the space of a few breaths, Yan Liqiang reached the top of the cliff, which was seventy to eighty zhang in height. He went to the cave that was formed between the rock crevices of the cliff where he had placed all the belongings that he had brought along with him here.

He set the Dragon Spine Steel spear down, then stripped off his drenched underpants before swiftly changing into a fresh set of clothes. Just as he walked to the entrance of the cave, he recalled something and went back to the cave again to rummage through his belongings. He retrieved King Cobra’s mask and put it on. With his new face, he opened his arms like a bird to embrace the vigorous mountain wind and jumped off the cliff.

Yan Liqiang fell like a shooting star. One of his legs lightly touched the cliff wall before landing to reduce the impact of his landing. When he was only about twenty meters above the ground, he pushed against the cliff wall with his foot. His body flew out like an arrow and landed on a treetop thirty meters away. Yan Liqiang was almost there, there was only another fifty meters. With a strong leap, he propelled himself out of the valley and headed in the southeast direction at a flying speed.

The Fiery-Eyed Golden Falcon was like a drone in the sky; it helped Yan Liqiang to navigate his way. The lofty mountains and precipitous ridges were no challenge to Yan Liqiang as they felt like flat land beneath his feet. It only took him less than ten minutes to cover a distance of thirty li along the mountainous path. From afar, he saw the chasing scene...

A woman and a man were being chased. The woman was around twenty years old – she wore blue tie-dyed clothing and had long, black hair. Her attire was quite special as it had decorative designs made of silver and fur, and didn’t resemble Han Chinese attire. Yan Liqiang had never seen clothes like that before. The burly man who was with this woman was wearing strange clothes too, and he seemed to be the woman’s bodyguard.

They were being chased by a group of about thirty fierce-looking Shatu people who were waving their weapons about while shouting at them.

There were five corpses lying on the ground about a few hundred meters away and in the ditch that was a thousand meters away. Two of the five corpses were wearing the same clothing as the woman’s bodyguard, while the other three seemed to be Shatu people...

Just when Yan Liqiang spotted them...

“AH...!” The man who was running behind the fleeing woman let out a miserable scream and immediately fell on the ground. He had been shot in the chest by the Shatu people who were chasing after them.

The woman who was being chased let out a sob and tried to help the injured man up. “RUN, MY LADY...!” The man yelled at her angrily and pushed the woman’s hand away. With an angry snarl, he snapped off the arrow that was embedded in his chest and flung himself at their pursuers.

Three scimitars came down on the man at the same time. The man held onto one of the Shatu people in the front and plunged his blade into his chest. The tip of the blade penetrated the Shatu man’s chest and protruded out the back. Both of them then rolled down the hill. This caused a few seconds of slight obstruction to the Shatu people in their pursuit.

The woman held back her tears while she continued running uphill. When the Shatu people saw that only the woman remained, they became even more excited as they rushed toward the woman while yelling strangely.

The group of Shatu people caught up with the woman in just a flash. The woman was panting heavily with her back against a large tree. She pulled out a shiny dagger and glared at those Shatu people who had surrounded her like a pack of hungry wolves.

One of the Shatu people trained his bow on the woman, but the person beside him held him back and grumbled something to him loudly. The Shatu people then shifted their gaze to the woman’s undulating chest as they put away their swords and smiled lecherously at her.

The woman clenched her teeth and held onto her dagger tightly.

All of a sudden, one of the Shatu men jumped toward the woman. The woman quickly spun around to evade him, then struck out with her dagger. The Shatu man let out a miserable shriek from being stabbed in his left rib. He stumbled and staggered from side to side before falling on the ground.

As soon as the Shatu men saw that the woman had killed one of their comrades, the lecherous smiles on their faces immediately faded. One of them pointed at the woman and shouted in anger. In the next second, four Shatu people pounced from three different directions toward the woman...

The woman paled when she saw four hideous Shatu men coming toward her. Without even thinking, she turned the dagger in her hands and was about to plunge it into her heart. She’d rather die than fall into the hands of these Shatu people.

At that exact moment, Yan Liqiang landed beside the woman like an arrow from the sky.

While landing, Yan Liqiang’s foot landed squarely on the head of the Shatu man who was running in front. Like an egg being stepped on by an elephant, the Shatu man’s head was crushed into his chest cavity under Yan Liqiang’s foot before he could even make a sound. Bone-chilling cracks were heard as the man’s body was instantly crushed to the ground by Yan Liqiang. He couldn’t be more dead at this moment.

The moment Yan Liqiang’s feet touched the ground, he let out three punches. The other three Shatu people who were running toward him were thrown twenty meters away, each with a gaping wound as wide as a bowl in their body as though they had just been hit by a cannonball. They had already stopped breathing before they even reached the ground.

In the next second, Yan Liqiang reached out to numb the woman’s wrist and snatched her dagger right as she was about to impale it into her chest.

It was then that the Shatu people realized what was going on. Their expressions contorted while they yelled in their gibberish-sounding language. They unsheathed their blades and charged toward Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang tossed the dagger. The dagger spun like a ray of light and decapitated two Shatu men who were just about to lift their bows at the rear of the group. The two archers fell on the ground with blood spurting out of the stump of their necks.

Yan Liqiang moved like a lightning bolt. He charged toward the Shatu people at the front like a ferocious wolf and started slaughtering them like they were chickens.

His fist met the blade that was swung toward him...

His fist met the sword that was thrust toward him...

His fist flew at those who tried to evade him...

The twenty to thirty Shatu people were no match against Yan Liqiang. Their attack did not even snag the corner of Yan Liqiang’s clothing. Yan Liqiang only had to strike with his fist to blow a bloody hole through them and smash all their internal organs into pieces...

To Yan Liqiang, killing those Shatu people was as effortless as blowing off dust.

After a few seconds, the dagger which flew like a ray of light once again returned to Yan Liqiang’s hand. Aside from the corpses in front of Yan Liqiang, there were no more Shatu people around.

The woman was dumbstruck by what had happened in front of her eyes. Her whole body became stiff and she simply could not believe what she had seen. Those strong and fearsome Shatu people were powerless against Yan Liqiang and they were completely wiped out.

Yan Liqiang went over to the woman and passed the dagger to her. “Take this. It is better to use this on the Shatu people instead of yourself!”

“Who...who are you?” The woman asked. She had a very pleasant voice and she could actually speak Chinese fluently.

Chapter 433: The Arrival of the Pursuing Troop

“My name is Long Aotian...” Yan Liqiang made up a name without much thought.

“Thank you, thank you for saving me...” The foreign woman spoke with her reddened eyes.

“What is your name?” Yan Liqiang asked while observing the woman. It was at this moment he came to realize that this woman looked very similar to Fan Bingbing. She had long eyelashes, big eyes, a pointy chin, and she seemed to be younger than Yan Liqiang had expected. She was probably less than twenty years old, maybe just nineteen years old. The only difference was that Fan Bingbing had fuller lips, which made her look sexier. The woman had light blue eyes and seemed to be a mixed race. Yan Liqiang had never gotten the chance to be this close to Fan Bingbing, but he was certain that even Fan Bingbing’s skin condition was not as good as this woman’s. Even without any makeup, the woman’s skin was fair and creamy like milk. It was as though water would leak out with just a light squeeze. She had a good figure too – her breast size was at least a 36D. Yan Liqiang could smell the faint fragrance of her body just by standing beside her.

No wonder those Shatu people were acting like wolves and tigers when they saw her. Yan Liqiang was secretly impressed by the woman’s determination. Not many women would end their own life without any hesitation under circumstances like that. Not only that, but she was such a beautiful woman. When she killed the Shatu man earlier with her dagger, her movements were very agile. From the looks of it, she was probably a martial practitioner who had yet to progress into a Martial Warrior.

“My name is...Selena, I am from the Great Moon Tribe!”

The Great Moon Tribe? Yan Liqiang felt a jolt. This was one of the tribes that used to reside in the Gulang Plains. When the Shatu Seven Tribes invaded the Gulang Plains, they killed many from this tribe and the other smaller tribes. There was not much news after that and it was rumored that some of the tribes fled to the western regions in order to hide from the Shatu people. Yan Liqiang never thought that he would meet someone from the Great Moon Tribe here on Mount Jade Dragon.

The woman by the name of Selena seemed to have noticed Yan Liqiang’s doubts. “Our tribe has been hiding in the depths of Mount Jade Dragon in order to escape from the Shatu people...” As soon as Selena finished her sentence, she quickly went downhill without waiting for Yan Liqiang’s response. Yan Liqiang watched as the woman ran toward the guard who was shot dead by an arrow just now. She kneeled down and carefully examined his body before tears rolled down her face. She wiped her tears away, then took off a piece of the silver decoration on her clothing and placed it on the guard’s forehead. After that, she took a fistful of soil, stood up, and scattered it on the body of the dead guard. She chanted softly in words that Yan Liqiang could not understand, as though she was performing a ritual...

Once she finished chanting beside the guard, she went to the body of another guard who was not too far away and repeated the same ritual.

While Selena was performing the strange ritual, Yan Liqiang sensed something and lifted his head. The Fiery-Eyed Golden Falcon was sending him some information through its flight path. Another group of people was approaching and they were about twenty li away at the southeastern part of the valley. There were about a hundred people in the group, dressed in clothes similar to those Shatu people he had just killed.

Yan Liqiang did not panic upon receiving the news from the Fiery-Eyed Golden Falcon. He quietly watched Selena perform the ritual on each of the dead guards who had protected her, and only went to her side when she was done with the ritual. “There is another group of Shatu people coming this way. There’s about a hundred of them and they are just a few li away from here. If you do not wish to fall into their hands, then I shall bring you out of here...”

Selena cast a glance at Yan Liqiang with her red puffy eyes that made her look pitiful and nodded to him. “Thank you Brother Long, let’s go. Do you know the way?”

“I do not need to know the way!” Yan Liqing said as he shook his head.

“Ah, then where should we go to?” Selena looked at her surroundings in confusion.

“I said I didn’t know the way because wherever I go, there will be a way!” Yan Liqiang smiled and drew Selena’s slender waist closer. Selena yelped in surprise as she was suddenly lifted off the ground and was whisked away at lightning speed.

In just the blink of an eye, Selena found herself at the top of a twenty-meter tall tree. She then felt strong winds hitting against her face and she could barely keep her eyes open. Everything around her passed like a blur. They were moving a few times faster than a running horse. Selena was in Yan Liqiang’s arms as they dashed toward a mountain wall in the distance. Selena thought they were going to crash into the wall and she was about to cry out in fear. All of a sudden, Yan Liqiang was running up the mountain wall vertically and scaled the mountain as though it was leveled ground. Selena felt like her heart was about to jump out and couldn’t help but hold on tighter to Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang wasn’t trying to show off. He could traverse across the mountains with ease while holding a Dragon Spine Steel spear that weighed four hundred jin, to say nothing of carrying a woman.

Selena’s waist was soft and slender. Yan Liqiang could feel her amazingly bouncy globes pressed tightly against his chest when she held on tight to him, and his body couldn’t help but react to it.

Yan Liqiang knew Selena felt it too as her ears turned red and things became a little awkward. However, this was a natural reaction that even Yan Liqiang was unable to control. As a martial practitioner, Yan Liqiang had stronger instincts than ordinary people, but he always held himself back. The only time he did that was with Hua Ruxue.

Fortunately, the awkwardness did not last long. In just a flash, Yan Liqiang was halfway up the mountain with Selena and they were two hundred zhang away from the ground. On the wall of the mountain, there were a few natural crevices which were two meters high and ten meters wide. The inside was around twenty meters deep. Like a flat funnel, there were a few giant rocks that blocked the wind out of the crevices. Yan Liqiang stopped in between the crevices. He put Selena down and took a step back like a gentleman. He averted his gaze, feeling a little embarrassed to look at Selena’s face, “Ahem, you can hide here first. Don’t let anyone find you, I will be back soon...”

“B-Brother Long, where are you going?” Selena lowered her head and spoke in a much softer voice.

“I am going to wipe out all those Shatu dogs who are chasing all the way here...” Yan Liqiang turned around and jumped off the cliff as soon as he finished speaking...

Selena snapped her head up in shock when he heard Yan Liqiang’s response, only to find that he had vanished. She rushed two steps forward and held on to the rocky wall beside her as she looked down. There she saw Yan Liqiang descending the mountain with the speed of a shooting star. Within a few seconds, he was already on the ground and within a flash he was back to the place where he rescued her moments ago.

Before she met Yan Liqiang, Selena never thought someone who could say he was going to wipe out a hundred fierce Shatu people so casually like Yan Liqiang existed...

Did he bring her here because he was worried that she would get hurt when the Shatu people got here? She did not expect him to be so attentive. A strange feeling welled up within her.

...

The strong stench of blood lingered on the hillside, and bodies of lifeless Shatu people were scattered all around. Yan Liqiang who just returned to the battlefield immediately went over to the two archers whom he killed earlier. He bent down to pick up the bow that one of the Shatu archers used, and tested it out in his hands...

Chapter 434: Annihilation

Yan Liqiang was merely pulling the bow back lightly when it snapped into two like it was a child’s toy made for shooting cotton balls. The handle broke and the bow was instantly rendered useless...

“A one-picul bow!” Yan Liqiang mumbled to himself and shook his head. He was so used to holding powerful bows that he accidentally broke the Shatu people’s wooden bow with his strong pull.

To Yan Liqiang, a one-picul bow was too light. It might not even be sturdy enough to be a toy, but a bow like this was the standard weapon for most Shatu people. Although there were only about thirty people in this group, there were only two archers. This was not because the Shatu people lacked archers among them, but it was because not many people could afford a bow as they were very expensive. Needless to say, not many people could even touch a Horned Python Bow. It would take at least a year or three and above to manufacture a standard warbow. The six materials for making bows – wood, horn, sinew, glue, silk, and paint – all had their own specific requirements. The amount of time and craftsmanship required to make a bow were even more stringent. These were the factors that contributed to the hefty price tag of a real warbow. Therefore, when someone said that they were ‘adept in archery and horsemanship’, they most likely said that to flaunt their wealth rather than to talk about their skills. After all, not many people could afford the luxury of horse riding and archery, at least not for Yan Liqiang’s family. During his younger days, he had never touched any decent bows.

Fortunately, there was another bow on the ground. Yan Liqiang picked up the only bow left on the ground and examined its handle carefully. “One-picul bow it is, as long as it can kill people within one to two hundred meters...” he sighed.

Yan Liqiang picked up the bow and gathered all the arrows from the two Shatu men’s quivers. He counted that there were around sixty arrows left, then slowly walked down the valley to an open field with the bow and quivers. He found a large tree tens of meters away, then sat cross-legged on the treetop as he waited patiently for those Shatu people to come.

To Yan Liqiang, the more Shatu people he could get rid of now meant he would reduce the damage done by them across the Great Han Empire in the future, as well as the number of soldiers dying to their hands. Hence, Yan Liqiang was unapologetic to the Shatu people. As long as an opportunity arose, he would go after them with the intention of exterminating them.

Furthermore, those Shatu people were the raw materials for the toy capsule machine to create new life forms, so there was no way Yan Liqiang was going to waste them.

Sure enough, Yan Liqiang did not need to wait too long. The valley was soon filled with noises and those Shatu pursuers were really here. Whenever a clown or a villain was needed, the Shatu people would never let anyone down.

The group of Shatu people soon reached the open field between the valley and were within Yan Liqiang’s line of sight. Yan Liqiang quickly scanned the group and was able to gather all the information he needed. There was a total of 124 people, and seven of them were archers led by a strongly built man wearing soft armor made of tiger leather. The leader appeared to be quite powerful as he was holding a terrifying-looking and heavy great axe. Judging by his appearance, he would at least be a Supreme Martial Warrior.

Those Shatu people grew agitated as soon as they saw the corpses not far ahead in the valley. The Shatu man in the tiger leather armor immediately shouted in their language and directed his troops up to a distant hill.

At this moment, Yan Liqiang shot four arrows toward them.

The four Shatu archers were instantly taken down...

This had always been Yan Liqiang’s habit. As an archer himself, he would always kill off the enemy’s archers first before slowly getting rid of the rest.

Yan Liqiang’s speed was too fast. As soon as the four archers dropped to the ground and before the Shatu troop even had the chance to react, he had already released another four arrows. Blood spilled out as the three remaining archers dropped on the ground after being shot in their necks. The other arrow was headed straight for the Shatu leader in tiger leather armor.

As expected, the Shatu leader had good reflexes. He saw the approaching arrow and swung his great axe, instantly slicing the arrow from Yan Liqiang. He pointed to the treetop where Yan Liqiang was hiding, then shouted. In just the blink of an eye, all the remaining 116 Shatu pursuers were running in Yan Liqiang’s direction like a swarm of bees.

Yan Liqiang let out a sigh. The one-picul bow was lacking in not only its shooting range, but also its speed and firing power. This was the first time Yan Liqiang’s arrow was cut off by his opponent with an axe. This simply was an insult and humiliation to an archer. If only he had his twenty-picul bow, Yan Liqiang was convinced that the man could not have blocked his arrow using the axe. This distance would allow an arrow to achieve maximum velocity, and he would’ve definitely been able to finish off this man with only a single shot.

The good thing about Shatu warriors was that they were brave, fierce, and fearless against death. Yet, they had no idea of what sort of a monster they were about to face.

Yan Liqiang’s shooting speed was consistent like a machine. He stood on the treetop, firing two sets of four arrows every second. Every arrow was a soul chaser. With such terrifying power output, all the arrows inside the quivers were depleted in merely seven seconds and turned into deadly wooden sticks that pierced the Shatu people’s vital body parts.

The Shatu people weren’t aware of anything when they were rushing toward Yan Liqiang; all they heard were the sounds of arrows whooshing past them in the air. By the time they reached the tree where Yan Liqiang was at, they finally realized that half of their troop had fallen over the short distance of a hundred meters. The initially crowded troop was reduced by half in just the blink of an eye...

A sense of unspeakable fear rose in the hearts of all the Shatu people. Before they could even think, Yan Liqiang had transformed into God of Death and jumped down from the tree.

The Shatu leader with the tiger-leather armor let out an angry snarl when he saw Yan Liqiang come down from the tree. Without even thinking, he swung his great axe of seventy or eighty jin at Yan Liqiang.

“I really cannot stand it when someone other than Brother Hou wears tiger skin. How dare you insult my idol? Go to hell...!” Yan Liqiang shouted as he directly smashed against the great axe using the Stalking Tiger technique from the Eight Extremities Fist technique. The great axe was repelled by a force that was tens of times greater than the force that the man used to swing it at Yan Liqiang...

Yan Liqiang’s immense strength instantly broke the Shatu leader’s wrist, exposing his white bones to the air. Before he could even let out a scream, the repelled great axe slammed back against his body and instantly made a huge depression in his chest. The man was sent flying twenty meters backward with his huge axe and he died an instant death.

All that was left to do now was to kill the group of remaining scum.

When there was only around ten out of a hundred Shatu warriors left, one of them screamed in terror. He dropped his weapon and escaped in the direction they had come from. When the other warriors saw that, they also started to flee.

Needless to say, none of them were able to escape from Yan Liqiang. With every step covering a distance of several zhang, Yan Liqiang gave chase to those fleeing Shatu warriors. With every step he took, one Shatu warrior was smashed like a crock hit by a metal hammer.

Among those fleeing warriors, one of them was slightly ‘clever’ and chose a different escape route from the others. By the time Yan Liqiang finished killing all the other fleeing warriors, that person had already escaped seventy or eighty meters away.

Yan Liqiang saw a long sword in the hands of a Shatu man that he had just killed. He kicked the sword’s hilt and sent the sword flying with a whoosh. It flew over a distance of seventy or eighty meters before piercing the fleeing warrior in his heart.

Then the world was quiet!

The battle ended in only two minutes...

Selena witnessed the whole battle from afar in the rocky crevice halfway up the mountain. She was completely stunned by the flow of the battle.

The moment Yan Liqiang finished the battle, Selena suddenly felt a sharp pain in her leg. She lowered her head to find a grayish-brown snake beside her. It stuck its forked tongue out while staring at her with its cold eyes...

When the snake was about to launch its second bite, Selena sliced its neck with her dagger. She felt the world in front of her spinning and she collapsed on the ground...

When Yan Liqiang returned to the rocky cliff, he was stunned to find Selena on the ground and the poisonous snake which had been cut into two beside her. “Sh*t...!” he cursed.

Chapter 435: Saving a Life

It took Yan Liqiang only one glance to identify the poisonous snake as a gray-bellied rock viper. Rock vipers loved to live in mountainous rocky areas since the color of its body was very similar that of a rock. If one got bitten by this poisonous snake, it could be fatal if not treated in time.

When Yan Liqiang arrived, he actually checked out the surroundings of the rock crevice. Since he discovered nothing poisonous, he left Selena here. Little did he expect a rock viper to come out of nowhere and bite this woman.

Blood was still flowing out of the viper which had been cut into two. However, a blood puddle hadn’t formed yet. This indicated that the viper had just bitten its victim not too long ago. If the victim was treated in time, then the damage could be kept to a minimum.

Since Selena had lost her consciousness, Yan Liqiang couldn’t ask her any questions. He had no choice but to personally check her body for the wound. As the first step, treating a snakebite involved sucking out the venom before it spread throughout the whole body.

At a time like this, Yan Liqiang couldn’t afford to think so much as saving a life was his priority.

After a quick check on Selena’s body, he discovered a light trail of blood on the inside of her right pantskirt, slightly above her knees. Yan Liqiang clenched his jaw, then took out a dagger to make a foot long cut on her garment. As expected, the bite marks of the rock viper were revealed as soon as the garment was cut open.

The bite marks made by the rock viper’s venomous fangs formed a stark contrast against Selena’s thigh.

However... this was a sensitive spot to women. If he had to suck the venom out, then...

After two seconds of hesitation, Yan Liqiang took another look at the unconscious woman before he steeled his resolve...

I am a physician, I am saving a life here...

I am a physician, I am saving a life here...

Repeating that while hypnotizing himself, Yan Liqiang bent down and started sucking out the venom...

He only stopped sucking when the wound on Selena’s thigh started bleeding red, and the bruises around the bite marks had faded significantly.

Yan Liqiang could feel his own lips and tongue getting tingly as though he had just chewed a Sichuan pepper during a meal. Knowing this was the effect from the small amount of poison seeping into his mouth, he took out an antidote pill from a medicine bottle that he carried with him and crushed the pill between his teeth before ingesting it.

He then propped Selena up, squeezed her mouth open, and fed her the pill too. Lastly, he cut out a strip of fabric from Selena’s skirt and crushed another antidote pill so that he could use it on her external wound. Using the strip of fabric, he simply dressed her wound. When color gradually returned to Selena’s face after a short while, Yan Liqiang held her up and jumped down from the rocky cliff...

...

Selena finally woke up with a soft groan. The first thing she saw was the warm bonfire which illuminated the entire mountain cave. She then realized that she was lying on a bunch of fluffy Dark Fur Grass. She could feel a strange sensation coming up from her right thigh. Recalling the scene where she got bitten by a snake, Selena shot up and reached into her skirt to touch the wound.

She instantly blushed.

Just then, footsteps came from the cave entrance. Selena lifted her gaze and saw Yan Liqiang walking in. When Yan Liqiang saw Selena had woken up, he tried his best to pretend like nothing had happened.

“You’re awake,” Yan Liqiang said. After casting a glance at Selena, he walked to the bonfire and placed the meat skewers in his hands over the bonfire. At this very moment, Yan Liqiang tried to avoid looking at Selena’s face to avoid any awkwardness.

“Um... Brother Long... D-Did you save my life again?” Selena asked very softly.

“Ahem... Well... You were in a critical condition. Just taking medicine without any proper measures won’t do, so I administered some treatment to you...” Yan Liqiang tried his best to speak with composure. However, his heart couldn’t help but race at the thought of those fair thighs in front of his eyes.

“Thank you, Brother Long!”

“You’re welcome!” Since there wasn’t much to say about that, Yan Liqiang quickly changed the topic. “Oh right, why were those Shatu people chasing after you today?”

“I don’t know either!” Selena’s eyes were glazed over as she looked like she was recalling something. “I left my tribe this morning to gather some herbs. When I arrived at the Eagle Beak Valley this afternoon, I ran into those Shatu people. My guards... they all died trying to protect me...” Thinking of the guards who sacrificed themselves, tears welled up in Selena’s eyes again.

“Do those Shatu people usually venture deep into Mount Jade Dragon?” Yan Liqiang asked.

Selena shook her head. “The depths of Mount Jade Dragon are very dangerous as the roads are difficult to travel on. Apart from the poisonous bugs and ferocious beasts, several tribes that despise the Shatu people also take refuge on Mount Jade Dragon. The Shatu people have always been our archenemies. Therefore, they rarely dare to venture into the depths of Mount Jade Dragon. It is hard to travel in big groups. But if they travel with too little people, they’ll be killed by the warriors from the tribes...”

Yan Liqiang immediately narrowed his eyes. “Apart from your Great Moon Tribe, are the other tribes living on Mount Jade Dragon the Wusu, Cheshi, and Piyue Tribes which originally dwelled in the Gulang Plains?”

“The Cheshi Tribe currently lives on Mount Qiyun. Only the Great Moon, Wusu, and Piyue Tribes live on Mount Jade Dragon for now. The Shali and Suluo Tribes have migrated to the west after the Shatu people arrived. I heard that they are now living in the Gogol Desert...”

Yan Liqiang nodded. “I see that you speak differently and seem to know a lot. Not only that, but you also have guards with you. I’m guessing you are not an ordinary person from the Great Moon Tribe, right?”

Selena hesitated only for a moment before replying honestly. “I am the daughter of the Great Moon Tribe’s chief who will succeed as the next tribal chief in the future!”

“I see.” Yan Liqiang immediately understood. Thinking back about Selena’s mishap, he spoke up again, “You mentioned that the Shatu people are your archenemies. Did someone from your tribe advocate for reconciling with the Shatu people?”

Upon hearing Yan Liqiang’s question, Selena’s eyes widened in surprise. “Brother Long... H-How did you know that?”

“This is the oldest trick in the book!” Yan Liqiang showed her a smile. “Think carefully about your mishap today again and you will understand it too. If it wasn’t for someone from your tribe leaking information to the Shatu people, why would they be able to ambush you at the Eagle Beak Valley?

“We encountered about a hundred of them today. According to the information you shared just now, this is quite a huge number of Shatu people venturing into the deeper parts of Mount Jade Dragon. The fact that they weren’t detected or got lost made it very obvious that someone was helping them. Given your status in the Great Moon Tribe, these Shatu people can probably threaten the Great Moon Tribe into submission if they have you in their hands...”

Selena froze and mumbled to herself. “C-Could it be... Elder Gezong...”

“Don’t think so much now. Their plans today were foiled and they have failed to capture you. Hence, they will have no way to proceed with their schemes. Your tribe has noticed that you’re missing and will naturally be on their guard, so nothing will happen for now. As long as you return safely to your tribe tomorrow, everything will be solved...”

While saying that, Yan Liqiang flipped the meat skewers over. He then picked up the metal can on a rock by the bonfire and sprinkled a pinch of salt from it onto the meat. “Come over and eat something. If you eat, your body will recover... a bit faster!”

“Alright!” Selena responded obediently, then sat down beside Yan Liqiang. She looked at the can of salt that Yan Liqiang had set down by the bonfire. “Brother Long, are you cultivating here on Mount Jade Dragon?”

“You’re smart...” Yan Liqiang laughed.

Salt was a daily necessity that Yan Liqiang had brought with him here. Although he could do without food during his training, his body would have problems without salt. Hence, Yan Liqiang brought some with him. Another reason was because Yan Liqiang couldn’t stand not brushing his teeth for a few months. Salt was an essential item for cleaning teeth. It was something that not even the most powerful experts could live without.

From that point alone, the importance of salt was evident. Ever since he started training in seclusion, he realized that those experts or protagonists who went to cultivate some ultimate techniques on some remote mountains or in some secluded caves empty-handed in the movies he watched in his previous life were all nonsense. Without salt, the protagonists or those experts were probably dead after three months at most...

After sprinkling salt, cumin, and pepper on the meat skewers, the mountain cave was soon filled with the aroma of roasted meat...

Yan Liqiang passed one of the meat skewers to Selena.

“How very kind of you, Brother Long...” Selena smiled sweetly at Yan Liqiang, who was stunned by her charm. When she took the meat skewer from Yan Liqiang, her fingers brushed his.

A mischievous idea suddenly popped into Yan Liqiang’s mind. He wanted to see what was in Selena’s mind at this very moment. The Psychic Serpent immediately sent the thoughts and images in her mind to him.

“Ah, Brother Long, why is your nose bleeding...?!” Selena immediately cried out in surprise...

Chapter 436: Choices

It was difficult for Yan Liqiang stop himself from nose bleeding after seeing the fleeting scene in Selena’s mind and discovering that he was the male protagonist in it. It was at this point in time that Yan Liqiang discovered that sexual fantasies were not limited to only men. It seemed like his performance today had totally impressed the princess of the Great Moon Tribe...

He couldn’t believe that even a beauty would fall for someone with King Cobra’s face, which wouldn’t even be attractive to an old lady. This had once again proved that it was strength that made a man charming rather than his appearance.

“Ah, my nose is bleeding!” Yan Liqiang rubbed his nose, then looked at his hand and quickly lowered his head. “Oh, I g-guess some of the snake venom seeped into my body when I was treated you earlier...”

Selena ripped off one of her sleeves without any hesitation, exposing the velvety skin on her arm. She walked toward Yan Liqiang with concern, then kneeled before him and gazed up at him. “Here, Brother Long. Let me wipe it for you...”

“Your sleeve...”

“Brother Long rescued me so bravely twice and is not even afraid of the snake venom. This is nothing compared to that...” Selena said while gently wiping the blood away from Yan Liqiang’s nose.

Yan Liqiang didn’t move either. He was just enjoying the service from the beauty.

Soon enough, his nose stopped bleeding.

“Are you feeling better now, Brother Long?” Selena asked with a concerned voice.

“Yes, much better!” Yan Liqiang nodded. He suddenly reached out and gently held Selena’s chin to lift her face up, so that he could stare at it with his burning gaze.

He had to admit that looking at a beauty was always a joy to anyone.

Selena didn’t resist Yan Liqiang’s touch. Her cheeks were tinted pink as she gazed back at him shyly.

The mountain cave immediately grew silent.

The bonfire swayed beside them, Yan Liqiang could also see its reflection in Selena’s eyes.

Selena’s face was still lifted and she slowly shut her eyes. Her ample bosom moved rhythmically along with her increased breathing rate.

Yan Liqiang chuckled gently then released Selena’s chin. He pressed his finger against her soft lips, then took a deep breath. “Let’s eat something first!”

“Brother Long, is Selena not pretty enough for you?” Selena opened her eyes then fixed her gaze on Yan Liqiang.

“That’s not it...” Yan Liqiang shook his head.

“Brother Long, do you dislike me? Selena’s body is untainted! I have never been touched by any other men for all my life!” Selena said while biting her lips.

“That’s not it either...” Yan Liqiang continued shaking his head.

“Then why? Is it because Selena isn’t a Han Chinese?”

“Hahaha, what are you thinking...?!” Yan Liqiang burst out laughing. He gently pinched Selena’s tender cheek, then pointed to the meat skewers on the bonfire. “The meat skewers are going to be burnt if we don’t eat them. I worked hard to put them together. It took me a lot of effort to find those spices in the wild...”

“Oh...” Selena looked at the meat skewers on the bonfire, then smiled embarrassingly through her tears.

...

It was quite late by the time they finished eating. Yan Liqiang let Selena rest in the cave and then left. He went to a precipice and performed three rounds of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing and two rounds of fist techniques as usual. He only returned to the cave again once he finished his evening training late at night.

It turned out that Selena wasn’t asleep yet and was warming herself up in front of the bonfire. She immediately stood up when she saw Yan Liqiang had returned.

“Why are you not asleep yet?” Yan Liqiang asked.

“I was waiting for you, Brother Long...”

“For what?”

“If the man hasn’t slept yet, the woman isn’t allowed to sleep first, that is the rule for women of the Great Moon Tribe!”

Yan Liqiang scratched his head. “Well... go ahead and sleep first. I will meditate for awhile by the bonfire!”

Selena shook her head stubbornly, then pointed at the resting spot Yan Liqiang made out of some Dark Fur Grass. “No way. You will sleep there. I shall be fine with sitting here for the night!”

“You got poisoned today, you need a good rest!”

“Brother Long battled so many people today, you need the rest more than I do!”

The Dark Fur Grass would only dry out during autumn and winter. Due to its soft texture, it was great for keeping warm. Aside from being used as mat in the mountain cave, it could also be stuffed into clothes or shoes for warmth. Yan Liqiang made that sleeping spot when he came to Mount Jade Dragon. Since it was already spring, Dark Fur Grass had started sprouting on the mountain, but they were wet and therefore useless, so Yan Liqiang offered up the spot for Selena to sleep on. However, she was extremely stubborn and wouldn’t sleep there alone, so both of them ended up sleeping together on the Dark Fur Grass. Selena slept closer to the wall, with a gap of less than a foot between them.

When both of them laid down, neither of them spoke. Only the crisp crackling sound of firewood burning in the fire and their sound of their breathing could be heard in the cave.

The faint fragrance of the beauty lying down beside Yan Liqiang wafted into his nose. Just looking at the graceful outline of Selena’s body alone was an enjoyment itself. Looking at the beauty while peeking into her struggling thoughts was double the enjoyment to Yan Liqiang. The former was a feast for his eyes while the latter was a feast for his mind, so he found it to be extremely entertaining.

Selena moved closer to Yan Liqiang ten minutes later, taking the initiative to reduce the gap between them. She turned around to look at him, then whispered softly. “Brother Long, are you asleep?”

Yan Liqiang opened his eyes. He looked at the beauty in close proximity and her a smile. “I’m not.”

“What’s on your mind, Brother Long?” Selena’s cheeks unknowingly grew red. Her eyes glistened in the red light from the bonfire.

“I’m contemplating if I should become a beast or not.” Yan Liqiang told her with a serious tone.

“Ah, what do you mean?” Selena blinked then moved closer to Yan Liqiang. Her sweet scent wafted into Yan Liqiang’s nose.

“Ahem...” Yan Liqiang cleared his throat. “This is a story about a warrior who wished to join a major sect which is very far from his home. When he was hurrying on with his journey one day, it suddenly started to rain...”

By the time Yan Liqiang finished telling the story, Selena had turned the other way with her crimson face. Yan Liqiang chuckled gently, then reached out to flip her onto her back and pinned her beneath him. “Tell me, how should I choose?”

Selena’s response was a sudden kiss on his lips...

In the small mountain cave, a hot steamy scene ensued...

Chapter 437: The Great Moon Crisis

The next morning, birds were chirping and hopping around on the tree branches outside of the mountain cave. A squirrel ran down the pine tree beside the mountain cave to pick up fallen fruit at the cave entrance, but it was startled by the sounds coming from inside the cave and scuttled back up the tree.

The sounds of footsteps rang out, then Yan Liqiang and Selena emerged from the mountain cave.

Yan Liqiang got up a lot later than usual, compared to when he was training alone. Needless to say, sleeping in for a few more hours occasionally wasn’t that bad at all.

Yan Liqiang’s face was glowing and he was grinning mischievously. Beside him, Selena’s gorgeous face was tinged with red.

In his great mood, Yan Liqiang only realized that it was a lovely spring day at the valley he’d been training in. He took in a deep breath of fresh air in the valley, then grabbed Selena’s slender waist and asked, “Nana, in which direction is the Great Moon Tribe?”

After a night together, Yan Liqiang had started calling Selena by an endearing name.

Selena observed the sun’s location and the valley terrain. “Mount Jade Dragon is vast and we’re in the deeper parts where people rarely set foot. Our Great Moon Tribe is probably this way...” Selena pointed to the east. “If we go in this direction, I’ll know where to go once we reach a more familiar location...”

“Great, hold on tight then!” As soon as Yan Liqiang finished speaking, he embraced Selena and soared high up into the sky. Yan Liqiang stepped on the precipitous cliffs and sped in the direction Selena pointed to with lightning speed.

Strong wind blew against Selena’s face. She could feel Yan Liqiang’s powerful arms and the terrifying speed they were moving at. The heroic feeling of traversing across the cliffs and having everything beneath your feet brought excitement to Selena. She couldn’t help but wrap her arms tighter around him and lay her head against his shoulder. She moved her lips closer to Yan Liqiang’s ear, then gently whispered against the howling wind. “Brother Long...”

With a beauty in his arms while sprinting, Yan Liqiang responded, “What’s wrong?”

“Will you stay on Mount Jade Dragon?”

“I may not stay too long on Mount Jade Dragon. It’ll only be another two months at most because I still have other things to attend to!”

“Will we see each other again after you escort me back to the Great Moon Tribe?”

“As long as fate wills it to be so, we shall meet again even at the end of the world!”

“Does Brother Long think we are fated?”

“Fate lies in the heart. As long as you will it, so will fate!” Yan Liqiang looked at the lush mountains beneath his feet and a strange smile appeared on his face. He didn’t know much about the Mount Jade Dragon before he came here. Now that he was here and had met Selena, he realized that there was more to this place than what met the eye through the information he gathered from her.

The ancient proverb: ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’ was the most accurate way to describe their battle with the Shatu people. Since they were plotting something against the Mount Jade Dragon, then Yan Liqiang shouldn’t let them do whatever they pleased here.

“Selena knows that Brother Long is a man capable of great things. There’s a saying in our Great Moon Tribe that the skylarks will never get in the way of the male eagles just to fly with them. Likewise, the women of the Great Moon Tribe are sensible skylarks. I shall be content to know that Brother Long will remember me when you return to Mount Jade Dragon next time!” Selena let out a soft sigh beside his ear.

“I feel that I am deeply connected to this place through fate. I shall visit more often in the future!”

Upon hearing Yan Liqiang’s words, a sweet smile appeared on Selena’s face before she planted a big kiss on his cheek.

...

Yan Liqiang traveled very quickly on his feet. In just less than half an hour, Selena started yelling excitedly in his arms. She pointed to a waterfall that was gushing down from the snow on the mountain peak like white silk under the sunlight.

“That’s the Thousand Feet Waterfall, Brother Long! If we go along the mountain ridge and go across the mountain, we will reach the Great Moon Tribe’s settlement!”

“Great!” Yan Liqiang continued dashing in the direction Selena pointed to. Just when he was going to cross the mountain that she mentioned, a black column of smoke suddenly rose into the sky. It came from where the Great Moon Tribe was gathered. One could still easily spot it even from a hundred li away.

“Ah, something must have happened to our Great Moon Tribe...!” Selena’s expression contorted as her voice immediately turned anxious.

“Don’t be afraid, we’ll be there soon! I’m here!” Selena felt as though she was imbued with the mysterious power in Yan Liqiang’s firm but calm voice and immediately calmed down. When she thought of how Yan Liqiang could single-handedly wipe out a hundred fiendish Shatu people in just the blink of an eye yesterday, she was able to relax a bit even though she was still anxious.

After Yan Liqiang said that, he immediately increased his speed by fifty percent. The wind blowing against their face was so strong that Selena couldn’t even open her eyes.

Yan Liqiang looked up at the sky while sprinting. The reconnaissance satellite code-named ‘Fiery-Eyed Golden Falcon’ was already flying toward the black smoke. Moments later, he received a message from the sky.

There were three key points in the message – firstly, there was a big fire. Secondly, there was a big crowd of several thousand people fighting against each other. Thirdly, many among the crowd were wearing same attire with those Shatu people whom Yan Liqiang killed yesterday...

Just these three key points were enough to make Yan Liqiang understood what was going on at the Great Moon Tribe.

Using a shorter amount of time than what Selena had imagined, both of them finally arrived at a peak which was seven or eight li away from the Great Moon Tribe’s settlement. On there, they observed the situation of where the rolling smoke was coming from in the distance...

Chapter 438: The Show Must Go On

The Great Moon Tribe’s settlement was among the higher hills and deep valleys in the depths of Mount Jade Dragon. From afar, the entire hill and valley seemed to be surrounded by the green forest. Within the forest, there were short wooden or stone houses all around, and they resembled a huge village. There was only a very narrow mountain path that led up to the top of the hill at the valley’s entrance...The area behind the Great Moon Tribe’s settlement was a wide meadow with fertile soil that occupied a few dozen square kilometers...

The Great Moon Tribe had constructed two checkpoints at the entrance to the valley where the settlement was. At the moment, the first checkpoint had been destroyed. There was a widening valley around a thousand meters long in between the two checkpoints. At this moment, the second checkpoint was being assaulted by countless Shatu warriors in gray armor. The guards at the checkpoint were fighting at close quarters with them. The loud roars from both parties shook the heavens while arrows and stones flew about like flying locusts. Spears and swords clashed hard against each other. For nearly every second, there were warriors from the Great Moon Tribe defending the second checkpoint and Shatu warriors being knocked out from the battlefield...

From afar, it was obvious that the Shatu people were on the offensive. Around two thousand Shatu warriors had rushed into this valley. On the other hand, the Great Moon Tribe’s warriors seemed to be in disarray. Aside from those warriors guarding the second checkpoint, countless people were running around the settlement like headless chickens. Yan Liqiang could sense that there were some problems with the organization and the Great Moon Tribe’s commander with just a glance.

Thick smoke rose from a few buildings in the Great Moon Tribe’s settlement. The intensity of the fire was shocking. The people of the Great Moon Tribe were at a loss. They couldn’t decide if they should put out the fire first or defend against the attack of those Shatu people.

Others would have felt nervous seeing such a scene. However, when such a violent battle scene entered Yan Liqiang’s sight, it instantly warmed his blood and excited him instead.

“Brother Long, you must help us...” When Selena saw the situation that the Great Moon Tribe was in, she immediately grabbed Yan Liqiang’s hands and sobbed.

“Of course! I wouldn’t just stand aside and do nothing. I feel like your tribe has encountered some issues and I need to think carefully on how to help...” Yan Liqiang pointed to those people from the Great Moon Tribe who were running around like tiny ants in the distant valley and hillside. He licked his lips, “Why is no one in the tribe giving them instructions at a time like this? It feels like they are completely lost and they don’t know what to do. Where are the chief and the elders?”

“They must be at the Moon Prayer Hall...” Selena exclaimed.

“Where is the Moon Prayer Hall?”

“The Moon Prayer Hall is right over there, near the peak of the mountain...” Selena pointed to an area at the top of the hill within the Great Moon Tribe’s settlement. “That is where our tribe usually discusses major events. If no one is commanding the tribe right now, then my mother and the elders should be there!”

“Your mother?” Yan Liqiang was slightly taken aback.

“Yes, my mother is the Great Moon Tribe’s current chief...”

Yan Liqiang always thought that Selena’s father was the Great Moon Tribe’s chief. Little did he expect it to be her mother instead. This was a small unexpected finding, however, this was not the time for questioning as Yan Liqiang had to put those trivial matters aside. Since the people of the Great Moon Tribe approved a woman to be their chief, there was no reason for him to make a fuss either. The most crucial thing to do now was to find out about the current situation of the Great Moon Tribe...

“Do you recall how you almost fell into the hands of the Shatu people? I am afraid your elders have encountered the same situation. Otherwise, it would not be so chaotic down there...”

“Brother Long, I know there is a secret passage from behind that hill that leads to the Moon Prayer Hall...” Selena looked at Yan Liqiang with her pleading eyes. Her eyes were red and tears were rolling down her face. “Nobody knows about the secret passage except the immediate family of the Great Moon Tribe’s chief. My mother brought me there once. I know it is very dangerous to go down there now but...”

“That’s enough, where is the entrance to the secret passage? You can show me the way and we will go inside the passage first to check on the situation inside the Moon Prayer Hall!” Yan Liqiang exclaimed decisively.

“Thank you, Brother Long!” Selena wiped away her tears and pointed in the direction behind the Great Moon Tribe’s settlement. “The entrance to the secret passage is between the rock crevices under that mountain cliff...”

“Alright, let’s go now!” Yan Liqiang held Selena in his arms and sped in the direction Selena had pointed to.

Since they were far from the battleground, Yan Liqiang deliberately concealed themselves in the dense forest and avoided places with people. Hence, nobody even discovered that Yan Liqiang and Selena were silently approaching the mountain behind the Great Moon Tribe’s settlement.

The mountain was full of rubble and the walls were steep. There were lots of caves and crevices in the cliff wall. The place seemed dangerous and had a similar terrain to the valley where Yan Liqiang was cultivating in seclusion. As soon as they arrived, Selena pointed to the overhanging cliff about two hundred meters above her head, “Brother Long, it’s around there. The entrance is just behind the shrub on the mountain wall...”

Yan Liqiang sprinted up the mountain wall and headed toward the overhanging cliff. It took him only around ten seconds to reach the cave entrance under that overhanging cliff with Selena.

The cave entrance wasn’t that different from ordinary cave entrances. Shrubs and weeds grew on the outside of the cave, completely covering the entrance. The entrance to the cave was not big; it was just a crack of one meter in height. One would have to duck their head to get in, but it soon became spacious after walking ten meters into the cave.

About thirty to forty meters deep into the cave, the light from the cave entrance grew weaker and the surroundings started to dim.

“Brother Long, there’s a fire torch here...” Selena ran forward and retrieved a torch in between the rocks. She quickly lit the torch and the cave was illuminated in just the blink of an eye.

Yan Liqiang was able to see clearly inside the cave even without the torch, but it was impossible for Selena to do so.

Beside the torch was a bundle of ropes, which was probably used for emergency escapes from the cave.

“You can follow me. Just tell me the directions!” Yan Liqiang took the torch and held Selena’s hand as they ventured deeper into the cave. Although the cave was naturally formed, they started seeing traces of man-made construction as they went deeper. Halfway through the journey, Yan Liqiang discovered a hidden chamber with a lot of weapons and armor stored inside. Spotting a fine steel spear among the weapons, Yan Liqiang conveniently took one with him.

After walking for about two li inside the winding cave, Yan Liqiang’s path was finally blocked by a metal door in front of a narrow passage in the cave.

“Brother Long, behind this metal door is the secret underground chamber of the Moon Prayer Hall...” Selena walked to the metal door and gave the door a sharp pull, but her countenance contorted. “How terrible, the metal door is locked from the other side. It is usually unlocked...”

“Step back and let me try...” Yan Liqiang passed the torch to Selena and placed his metal spear against the cave wall. He went over to the door and reached out to touch the solid metal door. He found two spots where he could get a good grip on the door then gave it a powerful pull...

With a thunderous noise, the whole metal door was instantly deformed by Yan Liqiang’s pull, and a one meter opening was made. Yan Liqiang gave it another pull and the deformed metal door was completely torn down. Selena was utterly shocked by Yan Liqiang’s strength and was rendered speechless because the solid metal door seemed like a piece of paper to Yan Liqiang...

Yan Liqiang threw the metal door in the cave and took the long spear. Together with Selena, they continued to move forward. Behind the metal door was indeed a secret chamber made of bricks and stones. There was a bed and some food inside the chamber. Outside the chamber was an underground tunnel and both sides of the tunnel were lit with torches. Selena threw the torch in her hand and led Yan Liqiang forward. After just a few steps, they heard a faint mournful shriek above them...

Yan Liqiang could feel Selena’s palm was drenched in sweat. He gave her hand a light squeeze and spoke softly. “Is there any place where we can monitor the situation in the hall?”

“There is an air vent hidden up there. From there, you will be able to view the Moon Prayer Hall...”

After a while, Selena brought Yan Liqiang to the location of the concealed air vent. It was indeed hidden at a high place, for they had to climb dozens of stairs from the underground tunnel just to get there. The air vent was only an arc-shaped slit that was half a meter higher than a fist. Faint rays of light seeped through the vent. Yan Liqiang and Selena went over to it and peered through the vent. The entire Moon Prayer Hall was visible from where they stood. It was only then Yan Liqiang realized that the vent was, in fact, the slit of a giant statue’s parted lips. Unless someone looked at the statue at eye level, it was impossible for anyone to discover any shenanigans going on in this statue.

Chapter 439: Sorrow At The End Of The Road

Around thirty to forty corpses were lying around the Moon Prayer Hall, overflowing with blood. The Great Moon Tribe’s most sacred place had become a battlefield. When Yan Liqiang and Selena reached the scene, the battle was still ongoing down there.

It was obvious that there were two parties involved in the battle. One was attacking while the other was defending. There were more people defending than attacking, but there was a large disparity between the strengths of both parties. The offensive party with fewer people was pushing the defensive party with more people back toward the high platform in the Moon Prayer Hall. The steps that led up to the platform were covered by corpses that were still bleeding...

Without Selena’s explanation, Yan Liqiang already could tell who were the foes and allies with just a glance.

The Great Moon Tribe had the most people and they were being beaten to retreat in defeat, while the Shatu people had fewer people. Among the Shatu people in the hall, one of them particularly stood out. He was a bald, burly man with a wolf’s head tattoo on his face. He moved swiftly with a pair of strange-looking scimitars in his hands and possessed tyrannical strength. The scimitars moved like a violent sandstorm and the five experts from the Great Moon Tribe who surrounded him were enveloped in his blade glows.

Despite being surrounded by five experts from the Great Moon Tribe, that powerful Shatu man was still winning the fight. Every attack he launched left the five experts from Great Moon Tribe gasping for breath, and the Shatu man was mostly on the offensive.

On the other side, a man in ash white-colored Great Moon Tribe attire was leading dozens of Shatu people and battling against the forty other Great Moon Tribe warriors inside the hall. Although there were not that many Shatu people, it was obvious that each and every one of them was an elite warrior and most of the Great Moon Tribe’s warriors couldn’t even stand a chance against them.

The main entrance of the Moon Prayer Hall had been locked from the inside, and Yan Liqiang could hear people shouting and banging on the door from the outside. Even so, none of them were able to get the door open.

A woman in the purple robes stood on the stage, holding a long staff with an intersecting golden full moon and a crescent. Her unwavering gaze was on the Shatu people that were inching towards her, but she was guarded by a few Great Moon Tribe warriors. With just a quick glance, Yan Liqiang was able to tell that the woman was Selena’s mother, the Great Moon Tribe’s chief, because she looked just like Selena. She was very young, and her appearance suggested that she was only in her thirties. If she stood beside Selena, she would look more like her sister instead.

As for the others, Yan Liqiang was able to instantly find out their identities through Selena’s thoughts by using his Psychic Serpent without even asking.

The man who was leading a group of Shatu warriors against the Great Moon Tribe warriors was indeed Elder Gezong whom Yan Liqiang had doubted yesterday. From the looks of it, Elder Gezong was indeed a traitor.

Selena had never seen the valiant, bald, and powerful Shatu man with the wolf head tattoo on his face. She did not know him either. The people who surrounded the powerful Shatu man were the other five elders from the Great Moon Tribe.

Another one of the elders from the Great Moon Tribe was long gone. He was lying lifelessly on the ground in a pool of blood with his head separated from his body.

The Great Moon Tribe was undoubtedly facing their greatest crisis right now...

“Brother Long...” Selena clearly saw what was happening in the hall. Her hands were icy and she was holding onto Yan Liqiang’s hands tightly. Her entire body and voice were trembling. She was in fear and she felt hopeless, “Elder Gezong led the Shatu people here...”

Yan Liqiang narrowed his eyes at the powerful Shatu man with a pair of scimitars. He gently tapped on Selena’s hands to reassure her. “I can clearly see who is a friend and who is the enemy. Stay here and don’t move. Leave the rest to me. By the way, tell me where the exit is...”

“Go down from here and turn left in the passageway. Open the door below and you will enter the prayer room. There is a door in the prayer room that leads to the hall...”

“Alright, remember my words – wait until it is safe down there before you come out!”

“Alright Brother Long, I will listen to you...”

Seeing that Selena would follow his words, Yan Liqiang took the fine steel spear and went down the staircase...

...

As soon as Yan Liqiang left Selena, the tide of the battle instantly turned in the hall. The five elders of the Great Moon Tribe who surrounded the man were suddenly drawn in by the glow of his scimitar. They all had a bad feeling about how the blade glint changed, one glowed and the other dimmed which resembled yin and yang...

“Be careful...” one of the elders from the Great Moon Tribe shouted, but it was too late...

Through the whistling and exploding sounds, the five elders who were enveloped by the blade glint coughed up blood and were sent flying backward. Knife cuts instantly appeared on their bodies and blood spilled wildly. One of the elders even had one of his arms cut off...

The powerful Shatu man followed up with a lunge at an elder closest to him...

“STOP...!” Selena’s mother shouted from the stage but unfortunately, the blade had already sunk into the elder’s body as soon as her voice trailed off. The elder was instantly split into two and his body fell to the ground.

In just the blink of an eye, only four elders remained. They were all injured and one of them had lost an arm, thus losing more than half of his combat power. At this point, the battle that was happening in the Moon Prayer Hall seemed to have reached a predictable outcome...

Selena’s mother lowered her gaze to look at the Moon Goddess Staff which represented the Great Moon Tribe’s authority in her hands with great sorrow. Was this the fate of the Great Moon Tribe?

Elder Gezong impaled his longsword into the heart of one of the Great Moon Tribe’s warriors. That warrior glared at him with bloodshot eyes. He tried to swing the blade in his hand at Elder Gezong, but he was sent flying backward by the elder’s kick. The sword left the warrior’s body and blood came gushing out of the wound in his chest, splattering Elder Gezong on the face and dyeing his ash white robes red...

At this moment, the few injured elders and the remaining Great Moon Tribe warriors had all retreated onto the stage. They formed a protective ring around Selena’s mother, and their faces were full of anger and despair...

Elder Gezong exchanged glances with the powerful Shatu man. Then he led those Shatu warriors with bloodstained weapons to the center of the stage.

“Hahaha...” Elder Gezong laughed hysterically while looking at the group of people protecting Selena’s mother. “Chief Seranchi, if you had listened to me earlier, you could have avoided this outcome and there wouldn’t be so many deaths...”

“Gezong! You traitor! You are a disgrace to the Great Moon Tribe. Even as a ghost I shall come back to haunt you...” The elder who had lost his arm shouted at him.

“Bayinda, there is no need for you to shout here. Rest assured that when you are dead, I shall help you take good care of your wife and daughters.” Gezong smiled coldly at the one-armed elder with an ominous glint in his eyes.

“Gezong, you have not won yet!” Selena’s mother said coldly. “I admit that what you plotted today was beyond our expectations. You are very clever indeed for none of us would have guessed that such a highly respected elder of the Great Moon Tribe would give up on his dignity as an elder and chose to degrade into a lowly dog who is despised and disdained by others. You turned to the enemy and betrayed your own tribe by pointing your sword at your own brethren. You have indeed succeeded in breaking the records of disgrace by doing what everyone couldn’t bring themselves to do. However, do not forget that there are five thousand warriors from the Great Moon Tribe outside this hall at this very moment. Although our Great Moon Tribe is small and weak, we never lack the courage to take our enemies down with us. If the Moon Goddess wills for the end of our tribe today, then that is the will of Heaven. The reason why I stopped you was not because I wanted to surrender, but it was to hear your terms...”

Chapter 440: Appearance

“Not bad, not bad! I heard from the others that Chief Seranchi of the Great Moon Tribe is not only a woman, but she is also the most beautiful woman on Mount Jade Dragon. Furthermore, she also has wisdom and tactics that exceed that of a man. Our meeting here today has proven that those rumors are indeed true ...” The powerful Shatu man, who had just defeated the five elders from the Great Moon Tribe, took a step forward and looked at Selena’s mother face and figure with lust while swallowing his saliva. He touched his bald head and laughed, “I’m afraid that you might not be aware, but at this very moment, over a thousand warriors from our Dark Wood Tribe have already breached the two checkpoints at the Grass Tail Valley and they are making their way here. The fate of your Great Moon Tribe depends on your decisions, Chief Seranchi...”

“Who are you?” Seranchi turned her gaze to the powerful Shatu man, then spoke with composure. “Do you represent the Dark Wood Tribe?”

“Hahahaha, my name is Morbeto. I go by the name of ‘Phantom of the Wild Blade’ in the Gulang Plains. Chief Seranchi should have heard of my nickname before and known about my position in the Dark Wood Tribe. As long as the Great Moon Tribe obediently serves our Dark Wood Tribe, Chief Seranchi will remain as the chief of the Great Moon Tribe hehe...”

Seranchi’s expression changed slightly when she heard the name ‘Phantom of the Wild Blade’. Morbeto, the Phantom of the Wild Blade, was rumored to be the son of the Dark Wood Tribe’s chief. He was brutal by nature, ruthless and murderous. Not only that, but he was also a lecherous man, known to be a nightmare to the women from smaller and weaker tribes on the Gulang Plains. Ever since Morbeto was a teenager, countless women had been violated to death by him. Yet, Morbeto was extremely gifted in cultivation. It was said that he had broken through the Martial Knight realm and attained the Martial Lord realm two years ago. It was unexpected that Gezong had allied with the Dark Wood Tribe from the Shatu Seven Tribes...

Seranchi felt a chill when she recalled all those horrible rumors about Morbeto. Her face turned slightly pale as she felt her heart squeeze and shuddered.

“Chief, we’d rather die in the battle! The whole Great Moon Tribe would rather perish than live as the Dark Wood Tribe’s dogs...!” an injured elder shouted aggressively.

“Yes, Elder Ghan is right...”

“We’re going to fight them to death. We won’t let them get away with this...!” The elders and warriors who were left within the Moon Prayer Hall shouted in anger and despair. Everyone clenched their teeth as they glared at Moberto and his men. It seemed like they were waiting for Seranchi’s order to duke it out for their last fight against the enemies in front of their eyes.

“Hahaha, what a bunch of insects. If you are so keen to die, I can help you with that. The Great Moon Tribe does not need any male survivors – it is enough as long as your women live. When you die, they will be my slaves. I will cut off all of your heads and make a giant bed out of your skulls so you can see how I will make your woman serve me on that bed...” Morbeto laughed nastily as licked the blood off his scimitar with his scarlet tongue.

“Where is my daughter Selena? Is she already in your hands?” Seranchi narrowed her eyes at Gezong as she questioned him.

A glint flashed across Gezong’s eyes and he replied without any hesitation, “Of course Selena is in our hands. As long as you agree to surrender, we can assure Selena’s safety. However, if you choose to keep resisting, then I will surely put Selena in a situation that is ten times more miserable than you can even imagine. As her mother, have you never thought of the consequences that Selena would suffer if you continue to resist?”

“Let Selena out. I need to confirm her safety and have a few words with her first...”

“Hahaha, we have already sent Selena to the Dark Wood Tribe. As long as you order all the Great Moon Tribe’s warriors outside this hall to drop their weapons and surrender, we shall bring you to the Dark Wood Tribe to meet Selena!”

Seranchi watched Elder Gezong’s face closely while he spoke. By the time Elder Gezong finished speaking, Seranchi suddenly laughed and let out a long sigh, “It seems like you have not captured Selena...”

The expression on Elder Gezong’s face immediately contorted as he spoke with a malicious tone, “Chief Seranchi, do you know what you are talking about?”

Seranchi threw him a disdainful look, “Did you know that when you are lying or trying to deceive someone, you have the habit of blinking more than usual in the space of three breaths? Don’t try to act smart. As soon as I asked you the question just now, you already revealed the answer to me. You haven’t captured Selena, have you? ”

Elder Gezong’s expression immediately turned extremely unpleasant but he remained silent. Morbeto was roaring with laughter, “Interesting. How interesting! Chief Seranchi, I have never encountered a woman like you, and I’m becoming more fond of you. I shall treat you well as long as you are obedient and serve me well...”

“Morbeto, if you wish to discuss things, then call the Dark Wood Tribe’s chief over. I shall talk to him directly...” Seranchi held her head high as she spoke fearlessly.

“Hehehe, it seems like you are still trying to stall for time while waiting for those outside the door to come to your rescue. However, I heard that the door to this Moon Prayer Hall is made out of over ten thousand jin of cold steel as this is the last refuge for the Great Moon Tribe. I’m afraid that it’ll take a while for them to get in...” Morbeto said while grinning, and he slowly walked toward the people on the stage. “It doesn’t matter. By the time I finish killing all the people around you, you will find out if I mean my words. After that, I will be f*cking you on this stage while you give your orders...”

“Ahem... Excuse me, is this the Moon Prayer Hall of the Great Moon Tribe?”

Just when the two parties were on the verge of fighting, a cold voice from a stranger suddenly resounded in the hall. Both the Shatu people and the Great Moon Tribe people were surprised by the voice. Everyone immediately turned their heads to the source.

Unbeknownst to anyone, a young Chinese man dressed in a black outfit was already standing in the Moon Prayer Hall. He had a fine steel spear in his hands and was looking in their direction.

This person was none other than Yan Liqiang.

Nobody had ever seen this man nor did they know how he had gotten here. When Seranchi saw Yan Liqiang and the fine steel spear in his hands, a strange glow immediately flashed across her eyes. Her gaze shifted quickly to the door that led to the prayer room, then at the gigantic statue of Moon Goddess standing in the distance before she looked as though she had realized something.

“This is the Moon Prayer Hall of the Great Moon Tribe!” Seranchi opened her mouth to break the silence in the hall.

“Oh, then I’ve found the right place. It seems that I didn’t get lost after all!” Yan Liqiang swept his eyes at the people on top of the stage and smiled.

“Who are you and where did you come from?” Morbeto looked at Yan Liqiang coldly and shouted roughly.

“You f*cking idiot, didn’t your father ever teach you to respect an adult?” Yan Liqiang pointed at Morbeto and scolded him with a stern face. “Who am I? Listen well then, my surname is Ye, and the last name is just one word, ‘Ye’. Keep that in your mind...!”

“Yeye...” Morbeto frowned upon hearing the strange name as he softly repeated the name once more to find that it sounded awkward.

Yan Liqiang suddenly convulsed into fits of laughter. He lifted his eyebrows and winked to Morbeto while hooking his pinky, “Hahaha, good grandson. That’s right, when you see me you should call me Yeye. I am your Yeye, your father’s father...” [1]

Morbeto eyes instantly turned red from being teased by Yan Liqiang in front of the crowd. He roared like a gorilla that had a lit firecracker shoved up his assh*le. “I’m gonna rip you...!” He jumped from the stage and pounced toward Yan Liqiang. The dual blades in his hands swept toward Yan Liqiang like a tornado...

This was the moment that Yan Liqiang had been waiting for. He smiled as he saw Morbeto pounce toward him and immediately thrust his long spear at Morbeto...

Chapter 441: Instant Kill

Out of all the Shatu people in the Moon Prayer Hall, Morbeto was the one with the most valiant capability. One could say that as long as they got rid of Morbeto, there would be no other opponent in the hall who could match Yan Liqiang. There were many different ways to kill Morbeto, but there was only one solution that was the fastest, most reliable way. It would reduce Morbeto’s counterattack to the lowest – and that was to catch him off-guard and kill him within the shortest amount of time.

This was the reason why Yan Liqiang provoked Morbeto so that Morbeto would be the first one to pounce on him. If he were to fight and kill the others beforehand, Morbeto would be vigilant and it would be harder to kill him. Therefore, even if Morbeto was the hardest to kill, he was still the first person Yan Liqiang wanted to eliminate.

Yan Liqiang had already witnessed Morbeto’s capabilities, and he was considered the strongest opponent that Yan Liqiang had ever encountered throughout his whole life. Morbeto’s valiant capability had been well demonstrated when he was surrounded by the five elders just now, which surpassed that of Ye Tiancheng’s. If Yan Liqiang had met such an opponent like Morbeto when he was at the Imperial Capital, he doubted that he would be Morbeto’s match. However, at this moment, especially after Yan Liqiang had completed the cultivation of the spear technique, Morbeto had become the first person Yan Liqiang would test his new technique on.

Morbeto was insolent, full of self-confidence, cruel, and fond of killing. Although he sensed Yan Liqiang’s ill-intention against him and even slightly hesitated when he charged at the latter, Morbeto still wasn’t particularly threatened by Yan Liqiang’s appearance, physique, or temperament. Furthermore, Morbeto had killed at least twenty individuals such as Yan Liqiang who normally spoke of conceited nonsense throughout his life. Thus, his hesitation flashed through his mind like lightning and was cast aside. Morbeto simply didn’t believe that a powerful man would suddenly appear out of nowhere and defeat him. In this world, powerful individuals were not commonly found like the wildflowers blooming everywhere in the Gulang Plains.

His overconfidence on his capability and misjudgment of Yan Liqiang’s capability, especially the latter, became Morbeto’s fatal mistake today.

During a life and death battle, such a mistake could cost a life. Moreover, there was never a second chance to get revenge.

Yan Liqiang aimed at the center, assumed his stance, grasped the spear with both hands, and thrust it straight toward Morbeto’s throat. It looked like a common technique which was not special in any way.

Morbeto felt relieved when he saw Yan Liqiang’s spear thrust. In his eyes, aside from the speed which was slightly faster, more stable, and the fact that Yan Liqiang seemed to be a little calm, there was absolutely nothing special about the technique. Such a technique was common to anyone who knew how to use a spear.

There was a saying: the longer the weapon, the longer the range of attack, and the shorter the weapon, the shorter the range of attack. During a battle between a spear wielder and a dual blade wielder, it was important for the spear wielder to maintain their distance from the blade wielder. Yan Liqiang’s spear thrust reflected this theory.

Such a move was good for dealing with an average swordsman, but to deal with him...

Morbeto laughed sinisterly in his heart. He had been cultivating the Dual Blades Breaking Spear Technique since he was ten years old. Therefore, how would he even pay any attention to Yan Liqiang’s technique? For such a thrusting technique, he only needed to block, slide, then use his first blade to cut off his opponent’s hand and his second blade to send his opponent’s head flying without hesitation.

Morbeto blocked Yan Liqiang’s incoming spearhead with his scimitar. However, the moment he tried to deflect the spearhead, he realized that the powerful force coming through Yan Liqiang’s spear had exceeded his expectations. He could feel the spear coming toward him with the force of a sledgehammer knocking down the entire city gate through his blade. The momentum of the spear thrust did not reduce in the slightest as it continued piercing toward him. Morbeto was shocked...

However, Morbeto was still Morbeto. An ordinary competent warrior would’ve been at a loss in such a situation, but the scimitar in Morbeto’s hand twisted its course in a flash. He changed his steps, intending to dodge...

Unfortunately, his opponent was Yan Liqiang – a person who had just mastered Li Hongtu’s so-called ‘real spear technique’.

When the spear in his hands came into contact with Morbeto’s scimitar, Yan Liqiang felt that the spear in his hand was no longer a spear but rather a thought from his own consciousness. The moment the two weapons collided, Yan Liqiang was able to sense the change in Morbeto’s strength. It was an odd feeling, as if a messed up Rubik’s cube that was scattered had automatically reset to its original order. Even in the middle of a battle, Yan Liqiang was able to feel the odd yet beautiful rhythm...

Morbeto had not even shifted his technique, yet the changes in the strength and feel delivered from the spear had already given Yan Liqiang a clear idea on Morbeto’s next course of action – to evade and approach...

All techniques were virtual as a single technique was only an outer image of strength. Strength was the foundation and the change in strength was linked to thoughts forming the difference between real and fake, strong and weak, first and last. This then formed the difference in the comparison between the strong and the weak. There was one common ground between real, fake, strong, weak, first and last, not fake, not real, not strong, not weak, not first, and not last: the thought would’ve been exhausted before the strength was delivered. This was when the Yinyang field changed. Mastering this point would mean mastering the outcome of life or death and paving a path for a victorious situation.

This was the secret to strength hearing, or the real spear technique – predict the enemy’s move and evade the attack. A spear in hand keeps trouble away from god and devil.

Just when Morbeto was about to shift his technique, he discovered that Yan Liqiang had already made his move. The spear that looked so ordinary in Yan Liqiang’s hands seemed to have suddenly come alive. When he twirled, the long spear followed the scimitar in Morbeto’s hand, causing his technique to fail. The blades and spear were still closely sticking next to each other with absolutely no change in positions. At that moment, the bitterness from the failed technique almost made Morbeto spit blood.

What sort of spear technique was this? Morbeto was overwhelmed. He shifted his footsteps in an attempt to dodge the tip of the long spear. However, the third unexpected change happened. The moment the long spear deflected him, a frightening force instantly numbed Morbeto’s hand, and the scimitar he was holding was sent flying. It seemed that the long spear had already predicted his next move and the spearhead pierced toward his neck like a bullet with an increased speed of at least tenfold. Morbeto couldn’t even think about changing his technique. The spearhead of the fine steel long spear had predicted his every move and strength...

Although it sounded like a lengthy process, everything actually happened in just less than a second.

Shluk...!

Watching how the black spearhead pierced through Morbeto’s throat and protruded from the back of his neck, everyone on the stage thought their eyes were playing tricks on them. The details of the battle were not understood nor felt by those who stood at a distance. In their eyes, Morbeto charged toward Yan Liqiang with lightning speed and collided into him for a brief moment. After that... he slammed his own throat on Yan Liqiang’s spearhead...

The famous Phantom of the Wild Blade from the Gulang Plains was a first-class martial lord. Yet, he had just been killed like a dog by a stranger who appeared out of nowhere.

Was this all a dream?

Some people on the stage even rubbed their eyes, but the scene in front of them was self-explanatory...

The Moon Prayer Hall was in absolute silence. Only the sounds of blood dripping from Yan Liqiang’s spear onto the floor could be heard.

Morbeto struggled to keep his eyes wide open before losing consciousness. He slightly lowered his head in an attempt to see the cold spearhead underneath his chin. Until now, Morbeto found it hard to believe that he got killed just like that. His punctured throat with blood spilling out was trembling as if he was trying to say something. He wanted to ask Yan Liqiang for the name of the spear technique and the person who killed him. It was such a shame that it was extremely challenging for him to even utter a word in this situation...

Morbeto hands dropped and the other scimitar in his hand fell onto the floor with a loud ‘clang’. Everyone on the stage finally snapped back to reality.

Yan Liqiang withdrew the long spear in his hand, and a buzzing sound akin to the cry of a dragon was heard. The long spear bent and thrashed Morbeto’s body which weighed about two hundred jin like a ping pong ball twenty meters away. Morbeto’s body slammed into the wall of the Moon Prayer Hall with full force and his body slid down the wall like a lump of meat paste. Before the Shatu people could even react, Yan Liqiang picked up the scimitar that Morbeto dropped on the floor with his long spear and sent the scimitar flying instantly. It howled in the air while making its way toward the remaining Shatu people...

Chapter 442: Display of Martial Prowess

The scimitar that was knocked away by Yan Liqiang’s spear flew at lightning speed. Like a chakram, it slit the throats of those Shatu warriors in the hall. Before those Shatu warriors could react, the scimitar had slit four of their allies’ throats. Blood spurted out, dyeing the platform into a bloody canvas...

Although the scimitar flew at a high speed, Yan Liqiang wasn’t slow either. When the scimitar flew out, Yan Liqiang’s figure zoomed up to the platform from below. With an angry bellow, he shook the spear in his hands and lunged at Elder Gezong of the Great Moon Tribe.

“AHH...!” Elder Gezong was nearly scared out of his wits when he realized that Yan Liqiang was already in front of him with his spear coming directly at his throat in just the blink of an eye. At this point, it was already too late for him to run. Watching the spear closing in on him, Elder Gezong instinctively tried to deflect it with his longsword.

It took Yan Liqiang only a spear to kill Morbeto, let alone Elder Gezong. Although the elder’s sword clashed against Yan Liqiang’s spear, his counterattack was merely child’s play as it was full of flaws and openings. Yan Liqiang ground his spearhead against the sword’s blade, then exploited the opening by thrusting his spear forward when Elder Gezong tried to switch stances for his next attack.

“Oooof...!”

The sharp spearhead pierced Elder Gezong’s throat. Yan Liqiang lifted his spear with Elder Gezong’s body dangling like a salted fish, then smashed him hard into the three other Shatu warriors who could barely react at the side. There was the terrifying sound of bones fracturing and being crushed. The three Shatu warriors coughed out blood and were sent flying off the high platform before they landed heavily on the ground. All of them instantly lost their lives.

“CHARGE...!” The remaining elders and warriors of the Great Moon Tribe finally reacted with angry bellows and began to fight back.

F*cking hell, these people are kill stealing...!

Yan Liqiang muttered under his breath when he saw the Great Moon Tribe people making their moves. He increased his hand speed; his spear made noises akin to dragon roars and formed a phantom image of a huge flower about the size of seven or eight bowls. It enveloped the Shatu warriors who were charging at him within a radius of three meters...

These Shatu people were not weak, but they were rare ingredients for the ‘toy capsule machine’ that Yan Liqiang didn’t want to waste.

Yan Liqiang’s spear pierced the throats of those Shatu warriors who surrounded him. Blood flowers bloomed on their necks and then scattered like red fragments of exploded firecrackers before they collapsed around Yan Liqiang.

Right after taking care of those warriors, Yan Liqiang bolted to another three Shatu warriors who were surrounded by a few warriors from the Great Moon Tribe while yelling, “Let me get them...!”

As soon as his voice trailed off, he leaped into the battle ring and swung his fine steel spear fiercely. The three Shatu warriors tried to block his attack, but Yan Liqiang’s powerful strength deflected their weapons back at them and he also swept his spear with terrific force. The three men were instantly sent flying thirty or forty meters away before they landed heavily on the ground, dead with every bone in their body broken.

Yan Liqiang made every second count. After sending a few more Shatu warriors flying, none were left standing on the platform or even within the entire Moon Prayer Hall. The remaining few had been killed off by the few elders from the Great Moon Tribe.

It was a mess on the platform and the grand hall reeked of blood. The elders and warriors from the Great Moon Tribe were panting heavily while looking at Yan Liqiang cautiously with slight fear. No one dared to approach him because his earlier performance had frightened them terribly. After all, this unknown and suspicious-looking Han Chinese man could kill Morbeto like he was slaughtering a dog. No one knew how he got into the Moon Prayer Hall either. If he were to harbor ill intentions against the Great Moon Tribe, no one in this grand hall would survive.

“May I ask for your name, great hero?” Just then, Selena’s mother, Seranchi, pushed aside a few of the warriors who had been protecting her. She ignored the warning in the elders’ eyes and bravely walked out of the crowd to stand before Yan Liqiang. She put her right hand on her chest and bowed to Yan Liqiang, greeting him in the Great Moon Tribe’s way. “Chief Seranchi of the Great Moon Tribe would like to thank you for your help, great hero!”

This woman was indeed a smart one. She knew that if Yan Liqiang indeed harbored ill intentions against them, she would have nowhere to hide. There was no way the remaining elders and warriors in this grand hall from their tribe could kill him. Therefore, she might as well step forward and take the initiative to communicate with him. At this point, her priorities were to gain his favor and decipher his real intentions.

Yan Liqiang was secretly singing praises for her in his heart. As expected of the chief. Her courage and insight greatly excelled that of the other elders. It was only at this point in time did he take a good look at Seranchi.

As Selena’s mother, there was no doubt that Seranchi was a great beauty too. She appeared to look like she was only in her thirties, showing no signs of aging. She wore her silky black hair in a bun on top of her head, and her radiant skin was glowing. Seranchi’s face shape, big watery eyes, and sharp nose resembled Selena’s. The only difference between them was that graceful and wise aura she exuded as the chief of the Great Moon Tribe. Her wisdom was a type of charm that could only be seen in women her age.

When Seranchi bowed, Yan Liqiang’s gaze couldn’t help but be drawn to the amazing cleavage below the neckline of her long dress. As expected of a woman who had given birth before, they were fuller and rounder than Selena’s. Just in this regard alone, he could tell that the mother and daughter indeed shared the same set of genes.

Seranchi straightened back up. Her gaze met with Yan Liqiang’s burning one the moment she lifted her head. Even so, she showed no signs of change in her expression and she seemed to have rather gotten used to all of this, including the way some men looked at women. Likewise, Yan Liqiang also had a calm expression on his face while he activated Psychic Serpent’s abilities as usual. He then smiled at her, “My name is Long Aotian. I am a friend of Selena’s!”

–– Oh, a friend of Selena’s? How come she never spoke of this to me? Oh right, Selena must have been with this man together yesterday and was able to stay safe from the Shatu people. I wonder what his intentions are. How is he so powerful? It must be Selena who brought him in here through the secret passages. That means Selena must be safe and sound...!

“Selena hasn’t returned since she went out yesterday. I fear that she might have been captured by the Shatu people! Is she safe?”

Seranchi’s words contradicted the thoughts in her mind. Even though she knew Selena was probably safe and sound right now, she still had a look of concern on her face. She even went up to Yan Liqiang and seized his arm with both hands while saying that.

“Selena is safe. She was nearly captured by those Shatu people yesterday. Fortunately, I was there to rescue her...” Yan Liqiang replied calmly.

“Mother...!” Yan Liqiang had just finished speaking when Selena came running out from the passage where he had come out from earlier. As soon as she reached the grand hall, she shouted loudly and then ran toward the platform.

“Selena...!” Seranchi lifted the hem of her dress up and rushed down the platform. The mother and daughter embraced each other tightly below the platform, both shedding tears of joy.

When Yan Liqiang was talking with Seranchi, the elders in the grand hall signaled the remaining warriors from their tribe with their eyes. All of them rushed down the platform with the fastest speed possible and removed the three bars behind the huge metal doors at the entrance of the Moon Prayer Hall. A group of anxious Great Moon Tribe warriors outside the hall was finally able to enter.

“Bad news, Chief and Elders! The Shatu people... they’ve come...!”

Chapter 443: To The Battlefield

“AHH...!” After rushing into the Moon Prayer Hall, every warrior from the Great Moon Tribe exclaimed in shock as their countenances contorted when they saw the corpses littered all around the grand hall.

Since neither Selena nor the search party that was sent out to find her returned last night, the chief gathered all the elders here this morning to discuss the situation regarding Selena. The morning assembly had barely begun when someone shut the hall’s doors from the inside. No one outside knew what was going on in the Moon Prayer Hall. All they heard was the faint noise of weapons clashing against each other, angry yells, and miserable cries. Since they couldn’t get in, all they could do was panic outside. When they finally managed to come in, everyone was stunned by the corpses and blood covering the floor of the hall. They were even more baffled by the bodies of the Shatu people lying in the big hall.

“No need to panic. Elder Gezong has betrayed the Great Moon Tribe and colluded with the Shatu people. He secretly led these Shatu people into the Great Moon Hall to ambush and harm to us, but they all have been executed. How is the situation outside now?”

One of those who barged in calmed himself down before replying, “There are many Shatu people outside – they breached our last line of defense and have set many places within our stronghold on fire...!”

“Elder Mutu is heavily injured, summon the physician at once to treat him! Elder Ghan, assemble your men to put out the fire before it spreads any further! Elder Pimond, you lead the troop outside the Moon Prayer Hall to purge Elder Gezong’s remaining allies within our stronghold. Do not give them any chances to start another revolt! Also, gather the women, children, and elderly at the Moon Prayer Hall. As for the rest, pick up your weapons and follow me to the inner gates to greet the Shatu people! Today is the day we decide our Great Moon Tribe’s fate...!”

Seranchi wiped the tears from the corner of her eye. In just a split second, she switched from being a mother to being the chief of the Great Moon Tribe. She issued her orders with great composure and was able to immediately calm everyone down.

Even Yan Liqiang was secretly moved by Seranchi’s performance. She was indeed an outstanding woman.

After issuing the orders, her gaze finally landed on his face. She seemed like she wanted to say something but decided against it. In the end, she only cast a glance at Selena.

As expected of the pair of mother and daughter, Selena was able to immediately understand her mother’s intention just by looking at her eyes. She then gave Yan Liqiang a pleading look and called out to him, “Brother Long...”

“Hahahaha...!” Yan Liqiang laughed heartily. “Don’t worry. There are so many Shatu dogs who have sent themselves to our doorsteps. I’m not done killing them yet...!”

Selena’s gaze instantly fell on the fine steel spear in his hands. “Ah, Brother Long, your spear is crooked. I shall fetch you a new one...!”

Yan Liqiang didn’t notice that the handle of his spear was indeed crooked until Selena pointed it out. Since it was an ordinary steel spear, it probably got deformed because the material couldn’t withstand all the heavy beating Yan Liqiang gave the Shatu people with his terrifying strength.

“It’s alright, no need for that. This steel spear may be slightly crooked, but it’s still usable. I’ll fix it in an instant!” Yan Liqiang smiled gently and then started bending the handle under everyone’s gazes, straightening out the crooked steel spear almost instantly. The steel handle of the spear seemed as though it was made out of mud in Yan Liqiang’s hands. The elders, Great Moon Tribe warriors, and two women in the grand hall were stunned by the sight. After straightening the steel spear, Yan Liqiang gave the handle a few pats before he audibly knocked its end against the limestone flooring of the hall. “See? All good!”

“Wooow, how is that even possible?” Selena gazed at Yan Liqiang with sparkles in her eyes.

“Dire situation outside. I will cut this short and go there ahead of everyone since I can move faster. We’ll talk after I kill a few more Shatu people and keep the situation under control. Come after all of you have assembled your men! Avoid sending men in waves to the battlefield at a time like this!” Yan Liqiang reminded everyone on the scene and was about to head outside the grand hall.

“Wait, Brother Long...!” Selena’s mother called out to him, then took off the green cape she wore. She came before Yan Liqiang and kneeled to personally tie her cape around Yan Liqiang’s waist like a belt. “The warriors outside have never seen you. To avoid confusion, wear this cape so that they will instantly recognize you as an important guest of the Great Moon Tribe!”

Yan Liqiang was secretly impressed again by her thoughtfulness. He nodded without saying anything, then flashed out of the Moon Prayer Hall toward the battlefield near the valley entrance...

Just as Seranchi said, the Great Moon Tribe’s warriors, whom he ran into on the way, didn’t attack him as soon as they saw the green cape around his waist. They let Yan Liqiang pass without even questioning him.

At the valley, there was a pass that protected the Great Moon Tribe’s mountain village. It was known as the Inner Pass.

By the time Yan Liqiang arrived, the Inner Pass of the Great Moon Tribe was in imminent danger. Half of the gate had been broken open by a huge log. Hundreds of Great Moon Tribe warriors and Shatu warriors were clashing against each other in the narrow space between the gates. Some Shatu warriors scaled up to the top of the wall and fought their opponents there. Warriors from both parties were seen continuously falling off the Inner Pass’ wall.

Yan Liqiang could see the Great Moon Tribe warriors clenching their teeth while fighting the Shatu warriors as if their lives depended on it. The morale was extremely low. If it wasn’t for the fact that their families were right behind them, most of them would have turned around and fled by now.

Perhaps the others would be nervous at the sight of this, but to Yan Liqiang, the scene was no different than the one that Selena had showed to him last night. It immediately ignited his lust, but for blood.

‘Whoosh...! Whoosh...! Whoosh...! Whoosh...! Whoosh...!’ Arrows rained down from the other side of the gates. Yan Liqiang managed to deflect them with his sword, but the other warriors around him weren’t that lucky. The rain of arrows immediately knocked more than a dozen Great Moon Tribe warriors to the ground. Some of them got hit in their vital parts and died instantly, while some were injured and let out blood-curdling screams. However, on such battlefields filled with rallying cries, no one would care about the blood-curdling screams.

The moment the torrent of arrows touched down, Yan Liqiang had climbed on top of the wall. He shook his steel spear and punched a hole through the throat of three Shatu warriors who had just climbed on top of the wall. With a miserable scream, they fell off the top of the wall.

Not far away from there, a half-naked, muscular Shatu man sporting a braid that looked like a rat’s tail was battling against another Great Moon Tribe warrior with his saber. The latter looked like a soldier from the Great Moon Tribe since he was obviously better dressed than the other warriors. His upper body was protected by scale armor and he appeared to be more powerful than the rest...

Unfortunately, his opponent was a Shatu expert who was about the size of a wild bear and he was struggling. As soon as Yan Liqiang reached the top of the wall and easily sent three Shatu warriors flying, the Great Moon Tribe soldier let out a miserable wail. He had failed to withstand the Shatu man’s saber and was knocked off from the top of the Inner Pass’ wall.

“RAGHHHHHH...!!” The bear-like Shatu expert sent the soldier flying with his weapon, then slapped his own chest, roaring while brandishing his weapon over his head as he yelled loudly in the Shatu language.

Yan Liqiang couldn’t understand what the man was yelling about, but the way the Shatu man acted immediately reminded Yan Liqiang of a scene from the movie ‘Kung Fu Hustle’ when Feng Xiaogang shouted, ‘Who else?!’

F*CK!

Just when Yan Liqiang was looking for some more good ingredients for his toy capsule machine, he saw the Shatu expert’s insolence. After cursing inwardly, he charged toward the man at lightning speed.

The Martial Master expert was only distracted for a moment but Yan Liqiang was already in front of him. He yelped, then raised his saber without even thinking and swung it toward the latter.

Saber and spear clashed against each other. Yan Liqiang’s spear easily glided down the Shatu expert’s saber, slick like a loach in water. It pierced through the Shatu expert’s mouth with the tip protruding out from the back of his head...

Yan Liqiang flung his sword and the Shatu man’s head was smashed into pieces. His corpse was also thrown off the top of the wall.

There could only be one winner on the battlefield. When Yan Liqiang was excited, whoever tried to pretend in front of him would die the quickest.

The other Great Moon Tribe warriors on top of the wall were shocked. When they saw Yan Liqiang dispose of that terrifying Shatu expert with his spear just as quickly as he had arrived, their morale boosted greatly...

Chapter 444: Crushing Defeat

Yan Liqiang felt a burst of energy as soon as he got rid of that bear-like Shatu man. Without thinking, he lunged forward with his spear.

A sharp arrow flying toward him from the distance was instantly shattered in mid-air by his spear. The sharp arrowhead was reduced into pieces of metal and fell to the ground, while its fragile wooden shaft was crushed into powder and was carried away by the wind.

Yan Liqiang gazed into the distance. About two hundred meters away behind all the Shatu warriors, there was a man who appeared to be their leader. He wore a gorgeous armor set and wielded a Horned Python Bow. The man stared back at Yan Liqiang in shock, as though he couldn’t believe Yan Liqiang had just smashed the arrow with a spear. That certainly required deft skills.

From the contact alone, Yan Liqiang was able to determine that the man was wielding a five-picul Horned Python Bow and had attained the Third Heavenly Layer in his archery cultivation. He definitely possessed extraordinary strength. Even so, he was still a little too weak against the current Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang smiled coldly at the Shatu man from the top of the wall. The man’s expression instantly contorted before he pointed to Yan Liqiang and started yelling.

The Shatu man had about a hundred archers around him. As soon as they heard the man’s yell, all the archers took aim at Yan Liqiang standing on top of the Inner Pass’ wall and they attempted to rain arrows down in that direction.

Without waiting for the arrows to reach him, Yan Liqiang’s figure swooped down from the wall like a bird. He leaped off from the top of the wall and landed right in the middle of the Shatu warriors gathered near the Inner Pass’ entrance.

When he landed, Yan Liqiang’s foot touched down on a Shatu warrior’s head and crushed the man’s head into his chest cavity. Before the other Shatu warriors could even react, Yan Liqiang swung his steel spear in a circle, hitting all the Shatu men within a radius of three meters.

Yan Liqiang’s terrifying amount of strength was unleashed at this very moment. The fine steel spear in his hands became a blurry image. Blood-curdling screams rang out all around as the seven or eight Shatu warriors next to him were knocked away to the ground in all directions with the sound of crushed bones. The area around him was instantly cleared out.

‘Whoosh...!’ Another arrow came flying toward Yan Liqiang, but it was deflected by his steel spear. Without giving a chance for the Shatu archer to target him again, he charged toward the group of Shatu warriors at the rear all alone with his spear.

With only a light thrust of his steel spear, every Shatu warrior along the way was either clutching their throat or chest after being knocked out of the way. None of them stood a chance against him. With Yan Liqiang’s monstrous strength and powerful spear technique, the Shatu warriors who encountered him were either dead or sent flying by a single attack. Yan Liqiang was akin to a tiger charging into a flock of sheep. He made them wail miserably as he crushed them completely. In just the blink of an eye, Yan Liqiang charged a hundred meters against two thousand Shatu men in the formation like a hot knife slicing through butter...

The Shatu soldiers were attacking the Great Moon Tribe, but Yan Liqiang was fighting against them solo.

His speed and strength had obviously alarmed the Shatu leader at the rear of the group. Seeing Yan Liqiang rushing toward him, he shouted at the men around him. The archers desperately fired arrows at Yan Liqiang without a care for anything else...

Yan Liqiang’s spear danced and formed an impenetrable shield in front of him, easily blocking a few dozen arrows. The arrows that dropped around Yan Liqiang knocked more than ten Shatu warriors down in the surroundings, drawing cries of agony.

Not waiting for another wave of arrows from the Shatu archers at the back, Yan Liqiang picked up a wooden spear dropped by a Shatu warrior from the ground with his foot. He grabbed the spear and hurled it at the Shatu leader...

His spear traveled more than a hundred meters through the air like a bolt of lightning. It impaled the Shatu leader’s chest just as he was shouting at his men to lift their bows. The impact sent him flying ten meters backward before he landed heavily on the ground.

The Shatu leader seemed to hold a special position among the Shatu warriors and was perhaps their commander. When he was impaled by the spear Yan Liqiang hurled at him, the archers and other Shatu warriors in the surroundings immediately fell into despair...

Yan Liqiang didn’t stop. Among the chaos, he zoomed through the entire Shatu formation and reached the archers at the rear of the group. Then he started to massacre them.

The Shatu archers were never good at close combat in the first place, let alone dealing with an opponent like Yan Liqiang. In just the blink of an eye, Yan Liqiang made them flee in all directions.

At this moment, the Great Moon Tribe warriors in the mountain village close to the Inner Pass were cheering loudly. This greatly boosted the morale of those who were defending at the top of the wall. Selena’s mother also finally arrived with a group of reinforcements.

One party’s leader and commander just got killed, while the other party’s reinforcements had just arrived. The tide of the battle had turned, disrupting the Shatu men’s rhythm in attacking. Some of them even started fleeing when they noticed that the situation was off...

The most worrisome thing on a battlefield like this was having someone take the initiative to flee during grim situations, as this would completely destroy the morale of the troop. Sure enough, when the other Shatu warriors started noticing some of their peers had fled, more and more of them followed suit.

Yan Liqiang, who was right at the end of the Shatu formation, blocked the Shatu men’s escape route and started harvesting their souls. His fine steel spear turned the three-meter radius area around him into an execution ground. Every Shatu warrior that got close to him was either sent flying or died an instant death from being impaled.

The dead bodies of Shatu warriors piled up on top of each other, forming a wall in front of Yan Liqiang. Even so, quite a few of them continued running past him on both sides too...

KILL...! KILL...! KILL...! KILL...! KILL...!

There was nothing but the word ‘kill’ in Yan Liqiang’s mind. He even lost count of how many Shatu men he had slaughtered. With the attack speed of his spear, at least two Shatu men were felled by his steel spear every second.

His fine steel spear finally snapped due to his brute force. Yan Liqiang dropped it and crushed two more Shatu warriors. He picked up the Horned Python Bow left behind by the Shatu leader and a few of the quivers off the ground. He shot out four arrows at once, every single one of them deadly...

After going through all the arrows, he tossed the Horned Python Bow away. Then he picked up two sabers which the Shatu people had dropped on the ground nearby and started slashing violently. Before he even realized it, no Shatu warriors were left standing before him. The Great Moon Tribe warriors came rushing out from the gates of the Inner Pass.

Looking at the warriors who rushed out of the Inner Pass with reddened eyes, Yan Liqiang wiped the fresh blood away from his face then yelled at them, “KILL THEM ALL...!” Having said that, he brandished the sabers in his hands and chased after a fleeing Shatu warrior. He struck out with his blade and sent his victim’s head flying.

Encountering an opponent like Yan Liqiang on the battlefield was simply a nightmare to those Shatu warriors. He wasn’t only faster, but he was also a lot more skilled and powerful than them. It was almost as though he had the stamina of a few T-Rexes within his body.

Without waiting for the fleeing Shatu warriors to run out of this valley, Yan Liqiang chased after them again from behind. The sabers in his hands cut through the fleeing group, leaving a trail of blood and corpses behind as he made it to the front...

When the blood-soaked Yan Liqiang caught up with those Shatu people who had terrified looks on their faces, he lifted his sabers high in the air and brought them down without any hesitation...

Chapter 445: Total Annihilation

The sharp saber came down from behind, chopping the Shatu warrior’s neck at an angle. A fountain of blood gushed out from the Shatu warrior and splattered on the azalea flowers at the side of the mountain path, dyeing the leaves crimson too. Even after his head fell to the ground, the Shatu warrior’s body moved a few more steps before it collapsed on the narrow path...

Yan Liqiang put the saber away. He looked at the corpse, then let out a long sigh.

With the final Shatu warrior dead, none that attacked the Great Moon Tribe got away, including Morbeto and his lowest-ranking men. Every single one of them had been wiped out.

This place was more than thirty li away from the entrance of the Great Moon Tribe’s mountain village. Yan Liqiang chased after the Shatu people along the craggy mountain path from the Inner Pass to this area and finally killed the last of them. He even lost count of how many he had killed.

He looked at the damaged saber that was nearly useless now, and toss it on the ground. He turned around then headed back to the mountain village.

He could see corpses of Shatu people along the way back. When the Great Moon Tribe’s warriors who followed him here saw Yan Liqiang walking toward them, they parted to give way and stood solemnly at the side. They looked at Yan Liqiang with reverence and watched him as he walked past them.

Yan Liqiang’s clothes were stained with so much blood that no one could tell its original colors. It went without saying that not even a single drop of the blood on his clothes belonged to him. In the eyes of the Great Moon Tribe’s warriors, his clothes were like the armor worn by the God of War. It was an amazing and revering sight to behold.

None of them knew about the event that had transpired in the Moon Prayer Hall, but everyone witnessed everything on the battlefield just now. It was fair to say that without Yan Liqiang, no one would be able to predict the outcome of the battle between them and those Shatu people even if Seranchi managed to arrive with reinforcements. The best possible outcome would probably be the Shatu people withdrawing from here. Total annihilation was simply impossible.

“L-...L-Lord Long...” The elder who followed Yan Liqiang all the way here – sorry to say that Yan Liqiang didn’t even know his name yet, stammered when he saw him. Fear and respect were written all over his face at this moment.

“Don’t forget to give all the Shatu people on the ground another stab as good measure...” Yan Liqiang reminded the elder, then continued in the direction from where he came from.

By the time he returned to the mountain village’s entrance, the sun was already blazing high up the sky. The fire that burned the gates had been extinguished, leaving behind only wisps of smoke. Although the valley was a mess, the Great Moon Tribe’s warriors had started cleaning up the battlefield by removing the weapons from the corpses. The atmosphere was depressing and stifling. Regardless, the Great Moon Tribe still claimed victory...

Selena quickly ran over to Yan Liqiang when she saw him. She hugged Yan Liqiang without a care in the world and lifted her head. Her eyes were filled with concern. “Are you hurt anywhere, Brother Long? Hurry and show me, I have some ointment here...”

“I’m fine, it’s just the Shatu people’s blood on my clothes...” Yan Liqiang smiled.

“I’m glad to hear that. We are in your debt this time, Brother Long...!” Selena looked at Yan Liqiang thankfully. “If it wasn’t for you, we would’ve...”

“Hahaha, no need to say any further. Oh right, is there any place in the mountain village for me to take a bath? I want to clean myself up and get a fresh change of clothes. My clothes are sticky and reek of blood. I feel extremely uncomfortable...”

“Selena...” Selena’s mother, Seranchi, came over. She took a look at Yan Liqiang, then took a deep breath. “Lead Lord Long to the Prestigious Courtyard so he can clean up himself and rest...”

“Yes, Mother!”

Yan Liqiang glanced at Seranchi and only nodded wordlessly. He followed Selena into the mountain village, escorted by a few Great Moon Tribe warriors.

By now, the fire at a few places in the mountain village had also been put out. Overall, the Great Moon Tribe didn’t sustain too much damage. Along the way, Yan Liqiang saw a few Great Moon Tribe warriors escorting a few of their own people into the prison. They were all tied up and had wounds on their faces. He found out that these were Elder Gezong’s allies after asking Selena. Naturally, Yan Liqiang had nothing to worry about what would become of them...

The Great Moon Tribe’s Prestigious Courtyard was a courtyard made of bricks and stones. It was a quiet place surrounded by trees, not far from the Moon Prayer Hall. The ordinary residences were at least two hundred meters away, and only the tribal chief’s residence was situated nearest to the Prestigious Courtyard, almost adjacent to each other in fact.

Compared to the low wooden houses and tents the ordinary members of the tribe lived in, this Prestigious Courtyard could really be regarded as a luxury.

Selena had the Great Moon Tribe’s warriors guard outside the courtyard and then personally led Yan Liqiang to the rear courtyard.

The rear courtyard was steamy and hazy. Yan Liqiang was greatly astonished by the sight of a steamy pool, surrounded by fir trees and a rock garden. Beside the pool was a small running stream. He didn’t expect to be able to enjoy a hot spring in the mountains. This accommodation definitely reached the standard of a five-star hotel from his previous life.

“Hahaha, not bad... Not bad at all...!” Yan Liqiang chuckled while looking at the clear water in the hot spring. He immediately stripped himself down, not even bothered by the fact that Selena was beside him, then jumped into the warm pool. He submerged himself to the pool’s bottom then resurfaced and leaned against a smooth big rock in the water.

He had never enjoyed such a great hot spring ever since he had come to train on Mount Jade Dragon.

Selena stood next to the hot spring, looking like a beautiful fairy shrouded by the mist.

“Come have a soak in here too, Selena...” Yan Liqiang beckoned to her.

Selena’s cheeks were tinged with a bit of red when her gaze swept across Yan Liqiang’s naked muscular body. “No one will come and disturb you here. Have a nice bath and rest first, Brother Long. I shall get someone to prepare food for you...”

“I’ve seen too much blood today and lost my appetite for meat. Just some fruits or dried fruits will do...”

“Understood...”

After Selena said that, she picked up the pile of clothes Yan Liqiang had discarded next to the hot spring, then left.

Yan Liqiang relaxed his body in the hot spring and nearly moaned from the pleasure. Soaking in a hot spring like this after a war was definitely the greatest enjoyment.

He slow shut his eyes while he soaked in the hot water. While his body relaxed, thoughts started rushing through his mind.

If he wasn’t here, he wondered how the Great Moon Tribe would end up in the Heavenly Realm that he used to possess. The outcome probably wouldn’t be optimistic. His arrival at Mount Jade Dragon had given him the chance to rescue the Great Moon Tribe. This whole thing was more like a mysterious arrangement by the unseen world of spirits as the Great Moon Tribe was one the tribes that once inhabited the Gulang Plains under the jurisdiction of the Qiyun Protectorate. From certain perspectives, it could be said that Yan Liqiang, as the Qiyun Protectorate General who existed only in name, was the true ruler and protector of the Great Moon Tribe.

Now, when chaos descended upon the Great Moon Tribe who was isolated and helpless against the threat of Shatu people, it was a golden opportunity for him to take care of them. If he could gain such force from Mount Jade Dragon on his side, they would make fine troops that would prove useful to him!

Yan Liqiang unknowingly sunk deeper into his thoughts...

Yan Liqiang had no idea how long had passed when light footsteps once again rang out in the misty small courtyard. He opened his eyes and saw Selena enter. She was holding a tray of fruits dressed in a thin layer of clothes. The vague outline of her hot body through the thin layer of clothes and mist was another kind of aesthetic.

Yan Liqiang’s eyes immediately lit up...

He watched Selena set the tray of fruits on the ground beside the hot spring. Looking at the sparkles in his eyes, she smiled charmingly back at him. Without even needing Yan Liqiang’s orders, she slipped off her clothes, gently slid into the water, and went to his side. She wrapped her arms around Yan Liqiang and leaned her face against his chest. “Brother Long, I can’t even imagine what would have become of our Great Moon Tribe without you. I didn’t know if I would even be reunited with my mother. Thank you so much!”

“Perhaps this is the so-called fate!” Yan Liqiang gently lifted Selena’s chin. A strange smile then appeared on his face...

Chapter 446: To Submit

The sky had turned dark while the stars started to appear and filled up the sky. The bustling day in the Great Moon Tribe eventually began to calm down. Today, the Great Moon Tribe had encountered huge changes. Although most of the matters had not been settled completely, the condition of the Great Moon Tribe was considered to be stable now. After a long busy day, Seranchi finally had time to visit the Prestigious Courtyard.

Within a day, she had experienced a life and death trial and dealt with lots of matters for the Great Moon Tribe. In addition, she also visited and placated the wives and children of those who suffered casualties. Seranchi’s face maintained the same amount of grandeur and calmness without even slight fluster or exhaustion. Just the sight of her calm and beautiful face was enough to assure everyone, from the elders to the women and children, in the Great Moon Tribe.

When she reached the outside of the Prestigious Courtyard, Seranchi suddenly slowed down her steps. She took a deep breath and told the two servants beside her, “You can wait here!”

“Alright!” the two servants obediently waited outside the Prestigious Courtyard.

Seranchi walked forward to the main door of the courtyard. It was quiet inside, and only the sound from the insects in the flower beds of the courtyard could be heard. There were two young maids of the Great Moon Tribe waiting to be summoned at the entrance of the anteroom.

“Is Selena still inside?” Seranchi asked softly. The two maids nodded. Without saying anything, Seranchi walked through the anteroom and the garden in the middle of the anteroom before she turned to the corridors. She eventually reached the place where the guest of honor stayed with a backyard connected to a hot spring.

Just as she stepped foot in the garden of the backyard of the Prestigious Courtyard, Seranchi heard sounds that were like intensive clapping sounds coming from the room. Among those sounds was her daughter Selena’s voice.

The moment she heard the sounds, Seranchi’s feet felt as though they were being nailed to the floor. Her initially calm face slowly revealed a faint blush; however, she did not leave. Instead, she stood quietly in the garden, unmoving like a tree.

Those indescribable sounds in the room rang out for half an hour before it gradually died down. Seranchi had been waiting quietly outside all along. She waited for a while more before she lightly coughed in the backyard and walked forward to knock on the door.

Selena, who was in orderly attire, opened the door. Her face was blushing and she was slightly embarrassed. After sneaking a quick glance at Seranchi, she lowered her head.

“Selena, Lord Long has not eaten dinner yet. Can you make the arrangements? I have something to discuss with him!” Seranchi said calmly and immediately entered the room.

“Alright!” Selena turned her head to look at Yan Liqiang who was inside. Yan Liqiang nodded and smiled at her. Selena closed the door as she left because she knew Seranchi had something to discuss with Yan Liqiang.

At that moment, Yan Liqiang was sitting calmly on a stool inside the room wearing a large silk bathrobe. He looked at Seranchi who walked into the room with great interest. To be honest, he was a little impressed with this woman. He knew the instant she was here, but he had not expected this woman to quietly wait outside for more than half an hour. It was this patience that made Yan Liqiang have a whole new level of respect for her. Even if it was the Great Moon Tribe’s tradition to always have a female chief, she definitely had to have extraordinary capability as a woman tribal leader to be able to lead groups of men to settle on Mount Jade Dragon.

The moment Seranchi walked in, Yan Liqiang had already activated his Psychic Serpent ability out of habit.

“Have a seat Chief Seranchi. I didn’t know you were coming. Please do not feel offended by my lack of manners!”

“If it wasn’t for Lord Long today, I am afraid we might not have been able to preserve the Great Moon Tribe. Speaking about the lack of manners, it was our Great Moon Tribe who was lacking in preparation.” Seranchi scanned the room and headed directly to the long bench with a silver lampstand and sat calmly across Yan Liqiang. She smiled, “Does Lord Long like it here? This is the Prestigious Courtyard which we’ve had since we were still residing in the Gulang Plains. Back in those years when the Qiyun Protectorate General came for an inspection visit to the Great Moon Tribe, he would always stay at our Prestigious Courtyard. And because of that, the Prestigious Courtyard has always preserved the construction style of the Han Tribe which the Qiyun Protectorate General was fond of. Only the most honorable guests of the Great Moon Tribe could stay here.”

“It is pretty good here!” Yan Liqiang nodded and looked around him. “Before I met Selena, I wouldn’t have guessed that the Great Moon Tribe could speak the Han language!”

“Long before the Shatu people’s invasion, the few tribes that resided in the Gulang Plains had already gotten used to the Han language. We have similar food and traditions too!” Seranchi slightly paused, then looked into Yan Liqiang’s eyes, “Lord Long saved Selena yesterday, so she really likes and respects you. Lord Long must have felt it, right?!”

“I understand what Chief Seranchi means!” Yan Liqiang smiled faintly. He knew the woman in front of him had delved into the main topic, “Chief Seranchi only needs to know that my encounter with Selena was totally by accident and I never intended to approach her in the first place or make use of her to achieve my own goal. Regardless of what happens in the future, I’ll never hurt Selena!”

“Is this Lord Long’s promise to me?” Seranchi questioned closely.

“You may think of it as such!”

“Lord Long has done a great favor to the Great Moon Tribe today. I really do not know how to repay you. If Lord Long has any requests, please ask. We’ll make sure that Lord Long is satisfied to the very best of our capabilities!”

Yan Liqiang shook his head and sighed, “Chief Seranchi, I am truly disappointed to hear that. Considering that you are Selena’s mother, I’ve treated you with sincerity. However, I did not expect for you to still play tricks on me at a time like this. The Great Moon Tribe is at the brink of destruction with dangers still lurking around, but you are talking about repaying me. Do you think that is of help? Do you think that with my capability, there is something that the Great Moon Tribe can achieve that I cannot? To be honest, if you intend to hold me back, you wouldn’t be able to do that even if you placed the life and wealth of everyone in the Great Moon Tribe on me. Even within the Silver Continent, countries with billions of people also had moments where they perished, let alone a small tribe such as the Great Moon Tribe. My purpose in coming to Mount Jade Dragon is to cultivate and not get involved in any other matters. I’ll be leaving the Great Moon Tribe tomorrow, so as to what the Shatu people do for revenge, you can take care of that yourself. Any matters concerning the Great Moon Tribe in the future will have nothing to do with me. Please leave now, Chief Seranchi!”

Hearing Yan Liqiang’s words and seeing the frosty expression on his face caused tears to well up in Seranchi’s eyes before they cascaded down her face. She cried and stood up to bow at Yan Liqiang, “Serianchi is wrong, as the chief of the Great Moon Tribe, I had no other choice. Please don’t be mad, Lord Long. The Great Moon Tribe is now at the brink of destruction and the Dark Wood Tribe will be coming soon to seek revenge. I am afraid that the Great Moon Tribe won’t be able to withstand them and we definitely need Lord Long’s aid!”

“I can assist you, but the condition is for us to be sincerely honest with each other and everything will be done according to my rules. I really hate it when someone is plotting schemes right in front of me. Are you able to agree to my request?” Yan Liqiang calmly looked at Seranchi who suddenly cried in front of him.

“Please rest assured, Lord Long!”

“Alright, then let’s give it a try. I’ll give you a chance to see if we can be sincere and honest to each other!”

“Please say it, Lord Long!”

“I noticed that you kept looking at me during our discussion just now. Demonstrate to me what came across your mind at that time!”

Seranchi was utterly shocked as she looked into Yan Liqiang eyes. It seemed as though his eyes had magical powers to see through her own eyes. Seranchi’s beautiful eyes suddenly widened as goosebumps rose all over her body. At that moment, Yan Liqiang was ten thousand times more terrifying than Morbeto in Seranchi’s heart.

Her breathing became rapid and her chest moved up and down. Impossible! It’s impossible for him to know what I was thinking about just now. There’s no one like that in this world. He could be just saying that randomly, so let’s probe into it...

“Chief Seranchi, let me remind you that you only have one chance. If you cannot be a hundred percent honest with me, I will not stay. I’m not obligated to risk my life for the Great Moon Tribe. If Selena begs me, I will bring her along and that’s all I can do. You can continue to gamble with your scheme, but be prepared to accept the consequences of a lost gamble! Of course, when it comes to honesty, before you show your sincerity, let me show you mine first!” Yan Liqiang gently touched the back of his ears and took off the King Cobra mask that he wore on his face to reveal his real identity.

Seranchi suddenly felt her head spinning as she looked at the sixteen-year-old young delicate face hidden behind the mask all this while. When she recalled Yan Liqiang’s performance during the battle in the Moon Prayer Hall earlier today, Seranchi simply couldn’t believe that this was the face hidden behind his mask.

“Who...who are you?”

“Even Selena has never seen my real face before. You are the first one on Mount Jade Dragon to see my true identity. As for my name, that’ll entirely depend on your decision!” Yan Liqiang looked at Seranchi calmly. He wasn’t even worried that Seranchi would guess who he was after looking at his face since it was impossible. Even if Seranchi had seen him before, as long as he denied his identity, nobody could say that he ever appeared in the Great Moon Tribe. This was the wonder behind this.

In order to take in the Great Moon Tribe, he would need to exert himself physically, and most importantly, he needed to conquer the mind and heart of the tribe too. Especially for people like Seranchi, unless he was able to completely bring down the defensive wall in her heart and her facade as a chief within the shortest amount of time, then leave a powerful and irresistible impression of himself in her heart, it would be difficult for her to entirely submit to him. There were other ways, but those would take longer. With the current situation of the Great Moon Tribe, they didn’t have much time to tarry. Before he proceeded to place his bet on the Great Moon Tribe, he needed to confirm if he was able to entirely grasp the Great Moon Tribe inside his hands.

All he could say was that the Psychic Serpent’s ability was too f*cking awesome...

...

Granted, Yan Liqiang did not let Seranchi really do her part of the demonstration. He stopped her right at the beginning as his intention was for her to submit herself and not to humiliate her. He did not have any perverted indulgence. Regardless of whether one was a man or woman, everyone experienced lust. As long as it did not hurt oneself or others, it was nothing to be shameful about.

“My real name is Yan Liqiang. I am the newly appointed Qiyun Protectorate General of the Great Han Empire. Chief Seranchi should have heard of the name. Since we are able to be honest and sincere with each other, we can now properly discuss the matters of the Great Moon Tribe!”

About an hour later, Selena returned to the Prestigious Courtyard after she was done with dinner preparations. She knocked on the door, “Brother Long, dinner is ready!”

“Come in...” Yan Liqiang’s voice filled the room.

Selena pushed the door open and saw that only Yan Liqiang was inside the room. He had already changed into a set of fresh clothes. He stood beside the window with his head lifted and his hands clasped behind him while staring at the starry sky, “Ah, Brother Long, where’s my mother?”

“Your mother left after we finished the discussion!” Yan Liqiang turned around and smiled.

“Brother Long, would you like to have dinner here or at the dining hall?”

“Let’s go to the dining hall!”

“Alright!”

Both of them talked while walking out of the room.

“Selena...” Yan Liqiang suddenly called her softly.

“Yes, what’s the matter Brother Long?” Selena turned her head and gave Yan Liqiang a sweet smile.

Yan Liqiang gently squeezed Selena’s hand. “Just now while I was discussing some matters with your mother in the room, she convinced me to stay and help the Great Moon Tribe through this crisis!”

“Ah, that’s great...” Selena suddenly felt happy and excited. “I knew Brother Long would never abandon us.”

Chapter 447: Elders of Great Moon

After a day, Moon Prayer Hall had already changed its appearance!

Yesterday, when the corpses drenched in blood were scattered around the Moon Prayer Hall, it resembled the Hall of the Hell King. Dozens of lives from the Great Moon Tribe and Shatu people had perished here. After yesterday’s cleaning, the corpse and blood inside the hall were gone without a single trace left. Only those who were attentive enough would be able to smell the indistinct scent of blood inside the hall. The stench of blood had mostly been covered by the smell of burning incense inside.

The next morning, Yan Liqiang was invited by Chief Seranchi of the Great Moon Tribe to attend an important internal meeting.

Aside from Yan Liqiang, Seranchi, and Selena, the ‘remaining great’ four elders of Great Moon Tribe attended the meeting too.

Among the four elders of the Great Moon Tribe, Elder Mutu had lost an arm and was considered handicapped. However, he still insisted on joining the meeting. The three elders – Elder Ghan, Elder Pimond, and Elder Ruda were all injured with different severities. Yan Liqiang had met all of them yesterday, so they weren’t complete strangers to him. However, the meeting this time allowed him to learn the names of all the elders.

Of course, Yan Liqiang did not need to do any self-introductions as all the elders knew the name of this expert was ‘Long Aotian’. Yan Liqiang’s capability had already left an unforgettable impression on the elders since yesterday’s battle. When they met Yan Liqiang today, their gazes were filled with respect.

“I believe everyone is aware of what happened yesterday so I do not need to disclose any unnecessary details here!” At the start of the meeting, Chief Seranchi had already displayed the powerful vigor, confidence, and control as the chief of the Great Moon Tribe. She swept her eyes across the few elders, but as soon as her eyes landed on Yan Liqiang, she quickly averted her gaze as though she was afraid of making eye contact with him. “At this moment, our Great Moon Tribe is in a critical situation. The reason why I have gathered all the elders in this meeting is to announce an important matter!”

“Chief Seranchi, please be straightforward with us if there’s anything. After all, we have just survived such an ordeal yesterday and were given a second chance to live. There is nothing else to fear now. Worst comes to worst, we can go heads on once more with the Shatu people!” Elder Ghan was the first to declare his opinion. The other three elders exchanged glances and nodded.

“This is the moment that our Great Moon Tribe will unite as one. With the death of traitor Gezhong, those who remain are united with you, Chief Seranchi. You can go ahead and announce any decision that you have made!” Elder Mutu spoke up even though he was still a little weak.

“Alright, the first thing that I wish to announce is that from today onward, Selena will be promoted as an elder of the Great Moon Tribe. She will be replacing Gezhong in the administrative role of taking charge of all matters related to the Moon Prayer Hall!”

Selena, who sat beside the long table, solemnly nodded to all the other elders when her mother introduced her.

The few elders looked at each other and nodded to her. At the moment, Selena was the sole candidate for the chief of the Great Moon Tribe to replace Seranchi’s role in the future. According to the tradition of the Great Moon Tribe, the little princess who was chosen to assume the role of a chief would need to first assume the role of an elder as practice. Selena had brought ‘Lord Long’ during a critical time and saved everybody yesterday. She had made a major contribution and based upon this, Selena was considered to have grown as an individual. Thus, she was qualified to assume the role of an elder. Furthermore, the Great Moon Tribe had suddenly lost three elders, so they couldn’t afford to be picky about Chief Seranchi’s choice of letting Selena take up the role of an elder.

“Any objections?” Seranchi swept her glance over the faces of the elders.

“No objections from us!” All four elders nodded.

The first resolution was considered approved.

The newly-appointed elder, Selena, turned her head and smiled at Yan Liqiang. He nodded and gave an eye signal to Selena reminding her not to be mischievous –– underneath the table, Selena was caressing Yan Liqiang’s leg with her foot. While the other elders were unable to see it due to the viewing angle, only Yan Liqiang could feel it.

“The second announcement for today is related to Lord Long!” Seranchi’s sight finally fell on Yan Liqiang’s face for a very brief moment. She didn’t dare to look into Yan Liqiang’s eyes that could see through hearts. The experience yesterday was too terrifying for her to bear. She took a deep breath and said, “I have already discussed with Lord Long and pleaded for him to stand alongside with the Great Moon Tribe, taking up the role as Elder Guardian. He will be with us throughout the crisis and assist us in confronting the threats from the Shatu people!”

Elder Guardian was a highly respected position among the Great Moon Tribe. The position of the Elder Guardian was usually left vacant and was only filled in very rare occasions. Elder Guardian signified that whoever appointed would be the adviser of the Great Moon Tribe. The position held an enormous amount of authority within the Great Moon Tribe and was above all ordinary elders. Aside from being incomparable to the chief, the Elder Guardian was the one who was truly above a million people and even the chief could not give commands to the Elder Guardian. In the history of the Great Moon Tribe, those who were appointed as the Elder Guardian were not people from the Great Moon Tribe but the noble people who had helped the Great Moon Tribe...

Seranchi’s announcement was beyond the few elders’ expectations. However, when they thought over it in detail, it was within their expectations as at this very moment, the Great Moon Tribe indeed needed a powerful person like ‘Lord Long’ to protect them.

“Are there any objections?” Seranchi asked after a pause for the elders to digest the information.

“Agree. We agree!”

“This position should be granted to none other than Lord Long!”

“Even if Chief Seranchi had not thought about it, I would’ve also suggested Lord Long to be the Elder Guardian of the Great Moon Tribe!”

Thinking of how Yan Liqiang had killed Morbeto yesterday in this very hall, the elders could not possibly have any objections. Not only that, they even felt relieved. It was as if the Great Moon Tribe was a sky that was about to collapse and a capable person finally went on top to hold it up. Everyone nodded in agreement!

“Ahem... since all the elders agree, I would like to say a few words. I will be very straightforward and I hope nobody will feel offended by it!” Yan Liqiang stared at the elders and spoke with an imperious manner, “Firstly, I agreed to this position because Chief Seranchi pleaded me, I did not want this in the first place. I accepted the position because I have long disliked the Shatu people and I am not afraid of getting into any trouble. Secondly, I have a bad temper and I would go around killing if I get angry. I dislike people who play tricks with me and hold me back. Just be straightforward with me. I will do what’s required for this role and I would like to request all elders to not create a chance for me to show my temper. Otherwise, do not blame me for not warning beforehand. Lastly, I will not be staying long on Mount Jade Dragon, so all of you need not worry. I will not settle down here and take away your power since I have no interest in doing so. Alright, I have come to the end of my speech...”

Seeing that all the elders were completely silent, Chief Seranchi lightly coughed, “That will be all for the tribe meeting this morning. All elders are dismissed. Everyone may return to their respective tasks and stay vigilant within the mountain. Elder Long, please stay back as I have something to discuss with you!”

The elders exchanged glances and left in succession. Even Selena left after Seranchi signaled for her to leave with her eyes. Within seconds, only Yan Liqiang and Seranchi were left in the Moon Prayer Hall.

“How was it? Are you satisfied?” Even if it was just the two of them, Seranchi still could not gather the courage to look straight into Yan Liqiang’s eyes. She lowered her gaze and tried her best to speak calmly, “What’s your next plan?”

“The Shatu people only understand the messages delivered by swords and blood. The next step is pretty simple, it is just one word – kill. We only have to determine how to kill. This morning you will have to select a hundred archers within the Great Moon Tribe who are not afraid of death. Then, find a few clever individuals who are proficient in the Shatu language. Let them wear the clothes that were taken off from the dead Shatu people from yesterday and prepare a set for me too. I will make a move this very afternoon!” Yan Liqiang said as he walked toward the doors of the Moon Prayer Hall...

“Ah...” Upon hearing Yan Liqiang’s instructions, Seranchi finally lifted her face to look at Yan Liqiang in shock.

Yan Liqiang suddenly turned over his head and winked at the beautiful lady in front of him. “I forgot to tell you yesterday that you are very cute when you blush. And of course you are even cuter when you act as the chief...”

Chapter 448: First Strike

The Great Moon Tribe was very efficient in handling matters. Following Yan Liqiang’s request in the morning, 107 Great Moon Tribe warriors were already lined up in front of Yan Liqiang by noon.

Among the 107 warriors, a hundred of them were archers handpicked by the Great Moon Tribe. The remaining seven were people fluent in the Shatu language. When these people lined up in front of Yan Liqiang, there was a big pile of Shatu attire on the ground in front of them.

Those clothes were removed from all the Shatu people who were killed yesterday. They contained complete sets from head to toe. Although they weren’t new and some were even bloodstained, wearing them would make their disguise much more convincing.

All the Great Moon Tribe’s warriors were looking at Yan Liqiang. None of them could figure out his intentions.

The assembly wasn’t held the Great Moon Tribe’s mountain village but a forest outside it. The operation was very secretive. Up to this point, no one knew what kind of mission they were about to undertake.

Yan Liqiang’s gaze swept across the Great Moon Tribe’s warriors.

Although the Great Moon Tribe was a small and weak tribe, there were still warriors among them. Yan Liqiang nodded in approval as he looked at these people lined up in front of him. They were all fine men who were not afraid of dying.

“All of you probably know who I am by now. If you don’t, then allow me to introduce myself. My name is Long Aotian, the Great Moon Tribe’s Elder Guardian. You are all on a secret mission led by me. I have only one request, and that is to obey my orders. To put it simply, you shall do whatever I tell you to. If I order for you to leap, then you will leap even if there’s a pit of fire or a cliff in front of you. Also, without my permission, all of you are wooden logs that are mute and deaf. You are not allowed to scream even if you get struck by an enemy’s blade. I shall personally execute those who fail to obey my commands and orders before the Shatu people can even kill you. Understand?”

“Understood!” All the Great Moon Tribe warriors shouted in unison, causing the birds in the forest to fly off in shock.

“Good. My first order is that you will strip every piece of your clothing!” Yan Liqiang pointed to the pile of Shatu clothes on the ground. “Then put these on!”

While speaking, Yan Liqiang took the lead in taking off his own clothes, then changed into the Shatu clothes on the ground in front of him.

Seeing Yan Liqiang’s actions, the Great Moon Tribe warriors very quickly changed their clothes without any hesitation too.

In just ten minutes, everyone including Yan Liqiang was dressed like the Shatu people. If one didn’t pay attention, one would think it was a group of Shatu people standing here.

“This is a paste made by mixing ashes from stoves with mud and insect repellent liquid. Smear some on your face like what I’m doing so you won’t get recognized...” Yan Liqiang demonstrated by smearing the black paste on his face. The Great Moon Tribe warriors followed his lead and did the same. In just the blink of an eye, everyone had painted their faces. The disguise concealed their distinctive facial features so well that 99 out of 100 people would be convinced that they were Shatu people.

Although the Great Moon Tribe warriors couldn’t figure out the meaning behind Yan Liqiang’s actions, they were quite entertained.

“Very good!” Yan Liqiang nodded. “Those fluent in Shatu language may come forward...”

Seven men stepped forward from the line. Yan Liqiang pointed at them and solemnly told the others, “From now on, all of you are mutes except these people. Do not speak to anyone beside you without good cause. If you need to speak to someone next to you under special circumstances, try to keep it low. Do not let the others around you hear you, understand?”

“Understood!”

“As for the few of you...” Yan Liqiang turned to those fluent in Shatu, “From now on, you are only allowed to communicate with each other using the Shatu language. Understand?”

“Understood!” The seven men quickly nodded.

“Good, you’ll be given two minutes to check your equipment and rations. If there’s no problem, we’ll set off...!” While speaking, Yan Liqiang also checked his personal belongings: a water canteen, some beef jerky, the Horned Python Bow he looted from the Shatu man, and a quiver full of arrows.

Two minutes later, there were no problems, so Yan Liqiang started the journey. Under his lead, everyone disappeared into the forest.

Selena and her mother only appeared in the forest after Yan Liqiang and the others left.

“Mother, do you know what Brother Long is planning to do with them?” Selena looked in the direction where Yan Liqiang had disappeared to as she asked worriedly.

Seranchi was also looking in the direction where Yan Liqiang and the rest had gone off to. Although she had a hunch, she also didn’t know how Yan Liqiang was going to pull his plan off. Therefore, she could only shake her head in response to Selena’s question.

...

Yan Liqiang led his men through the hills in Mount Jade Dragon.

He wasn’t familiar with the roads and terrain on Mount Jade Dragon. There was no need for him to be familiar before he came into contact with the Great Moon Tribe. However, these 107 warriors had grown up on the mountain. Almost everyone on the mountain was very familiar with the roads and terrain here enough to become a guide. Yan Liqiang only had to tell them where he wanted to go and these warriors would eventually be able to find the way without Yan Liqiang worrying about it. Although he was the leader, he was merely following these warriors for three days and three nights on Mount Jade Dragon in reality.

It was only then that Yan Liqiang realized how much determination the Shatu people from the Dark Wood Tribe had during their operation. The mountain path was craggy and hard to travel on. Man-made roads were pretty much non-existent. He could see nothing but rocks, rivers, cliffs, forests, and ravines. It was extremely difficult for even Yan Liqiang and the 107 warriors from the tribe to travel along the route, let alone two thousand Shatu warriors. Even with the help of a traitor from the Great Moon Tribe, the Dark Wood Tribe must have gone through an ordeal to reach the Great Moon Tribe’s mountain village.

It was unfortunate for the Dark Wood Tribe to meet with Yan Liqiang. Without him, the Great Moon Tribe would perhaps find themselves in a completely different situation by now.

In the evening on the fourth day, Yan Liqiang and the Great Moon Tribe warriors finally reached the Scale Fragments Valley...

The Gulang Plains was just beyond the valley. It was currently occupied by the Shatu Seven Tribes.

By sunset, Yan Liqiang and the 107 warriors were standing on a mountain in the Scale Fragments Valley. The long and narrow valley beneath them was as vast as the sea. The grass in the plains rolled in the breeze, revealing the cattle and goats that were hidden among the bushes.

Even Yan Liqiang was dazed by the spectacular scenery before his eyes. Five minutes later, he turned around to the other Great Moon Tribe’s warriors and said, “Let’s go down!”

Yan Liqiang led the 107 warriors to find a hiding spot in the Scale Fragments Valley. After that, he called the warriors who were fluent in Shatu language and another seven or eight that he deemed to be more quick-witted to his side to start ‘training’.

Out of respect and trust for Yan Liqiang, the other warriors from the Great Moon Tribe didn’t question his orders. If Yan Liqiang asked them to conceal themselves in the Scale Fragment Valley, then they would.

Two days later at noon, a group of about three hundred Shatu men appeared on the plains beyond Scale Fragments Valley, then charged right into it!

“Relay these orders! We shall strike only when the Shatu people reach the gap below us! All of you are only allowed to shoot when you see my first arrow later. Whoever dares to alert the enemies by mistake can go slit their own throat! From this moment on, no one will be allowed to speak except for those who can speak Shatu!” Seeing that the Shatu people had entered the Scale Fragments Valley, Yan Liqiang immediately issued his orders to the person beside him and had the man pass the orders down to everyone else.

Chapter 449: Ambush

The entrance to the Scale Fragments Valley was like the cross-section of a horn. It was more than ten li in width, facing the Gulang Plains. From there, the road became narrow while the cliffs on both sides increased in height. One would find themselves in the depths of Mount Jade Dragon after venturing further into the valley.

The riders who entered the valley were from the Shatu Seven Tribes’ Dark Wood Tribe. The exact figure was 318 men. Without Yan Liqiang’s hindrance, these people were probably here to rendezvous with Morbeto and transport the first batch of captives from the Great Moon Tribe.

Given Morbeto’s confidence in taking down the Great Moon Tribe this time, he didn’t even consider the possibility of failing. His only concern was probably the few days of delay while transporting the first batch of captives due to the bad road conditions. Hence, he scheduled the rendezvous five days after he ‘took down’ the Great Moon Tribe. By right, he would have caused a great stir in the Gulang Plains right now after destroying the Great Moon Tribe by capturing the elders and other important figures. Therefore, he would gain respect for himself and the Dark Wood Tribe.

The troop of about three hundred men entered the Scale Fragments Valley with a few steeds at the rear, pulling along wooden caged wagons behind them.

That was Morbeto’s plan. Even when he was at death’s door, he was still fantasizing the scene where he would bring Seranchi back to the Dark Wood Tribe and dominate her. Sadly, the thoughts that flashed through his mind before his death never became a reality. Yet, it allowed Yan Liqiang to discover a lot of information that Morbeto never mentioned. That was why Yan Liqiang assembled a team to carry out this operation.

Morbeto was a ruthless show-off. The planned rendezvous at Scale Fragments Valley was definitely to have these people from the Dark Wood Tribe wait for him in the depths of the valley instead of him waiting for them outside the valley with all the captives in tow. Therefore, the men from Dark Wood Tribe charged inside without any hesitation.

The prisoner wagon creaked along the road. Due to the large number of people traveling between the valleys over many years to enter Mount Jade Dragon, a road was paved to be wide enough for the prisoner wagons to pass through.

Among the troop of three hundred men, less than twenty men carried bows on their backs while the rest carried scimitars. Everyone had extremely relaxed expressions on their faces. They were chatting with each other while riding because they were not here to fight a war; they were here to transport their ‘spoils of war’ today. Naturally, no one felt anxious since they didn’t have to risk their lives. Furthermore, this place was one of the Shatu Seven Tribe’s territories and the Dark Wood Tribe’s settlement was right next to it. What could possibly happen? Given a few more guts, no one probably dared to do something as foolish as messing with the Dark Wood Tribe here.

Yan Liqiang narrowed his eyes while watching the troop of 318 men slowly walking into his trap like a few hundred sheep walking into a slaughterhouse. The Great Moon Tribe’s warriors hid, silent and unmoving, among the bushes as well as behind the rocks and trees on both sides of the valley while keeping a close watch on those approaching Shatu men.

Hatred and determination were in their eyes. Many lives were lost in the Great Moon Tribe this time. These warriors’ family members, brothers, companions and acquaintances died or were injured during the upheaval a few days ago. As the Shatu men drew closer to them, the flames in their heart burned even more intensely.

Everyone clutched their bow their hands, ready with an arrow nocked onto the bowstring. They held their breath, waiting for Yan Liqiang to release the first arrow. No one dared to be reckless and challenge Yan Liqiang’s authority as the Elder Guardian at this very moment.

Minutes felt like hours to these Great Moon Tribe warriors. When all the Shatu men entered their area of attack, the warriors hiding on both sides of the valley could even hear the Shatu men laughing loudly below them...

A few seconds later, the anticipated sound of arrows slicing through the air was finally heard...

Yan Liqiang finally fired his first shot. Four arrows flew out from the Horned Python Bow in his hands. They passed through the gap between the rocks and the short bushes at the foot of the mountain like bolts of lightning, then impaled four archers riding at the rear of the troop. The four archers immediately fell off their steeds.

The archers were all riding at the back, giving Yan Liqiang the perfect chance to seal off the troop’s escape route.

The first shot was like a starter pistol. As soon as the Great Moon Tribe’s archers heard the arrows, they immediately came out from their hiding places and started shooting downward.

Chaos immediately descended upon the Scale Fragments Valley. Blood-curdling creams, angry bellows, frightened yells, and the agonized neighs of steeds resonated across the valley.

These hundred men Yan Liqiang requested from the Great Moon Tribe were all above average archers. They were hiding on the high ground on both sides of the valley, which was only fifty meters away from troops down in the valley. The well-prepared group suddenly attacked and immediately reduced the Shatu riders by a quarter.

When the Great Moon Tribe’s archers released their first shots, Yan Liqiang had already made his second shot.

The targets of his four arrows were still the archers down there. As soon as the first four archers fell off their steeds, another four behind them followed suit. It was only at this moment that the archers with quicker reactions leaped off their steeds or retrieved their bows...

Even so, their reaction speed wasn’t quick enough to Yan Liqiang. They were slow, too slow in fact. Dismounting and retrieving their bows required at least a second. During the span of one second, Yan Liqiang fired twice, launching eight arrows. The remaining few archers in the troop were completely wiped out by Yan Liqiang alone without even having the chance to draw their bows...

Without their archers, only a bloodbath awaited the remaining men at the open space in such a short distance from the hundred well-prepared archers from the Great Moon Tribe.

Of course, Yan Liqiang didn’t hold back either. Within ten seconds, he fired every arrow in the two quivers before him. It took only a man and his bow to wipe out a quarter of the Shatu troops. A few Shatu men among the group who had progressed into a decent cultivation realm, well above the Martial Warrior level, took the initiative to rush up the hills on both sides. These opponents were conveniently Yan Liqiang’s focus. When the bowstring of the Horned Python Bow in his hand vibrated, it was proven that these men’s lives weren’t worth more than the other ordinary Shatu men around them.

The entire battle lasted for only half a minute from the moment Yan Liqiang fired his first arrow until the moment when the final Shatu warrior collapsed on the ground.

Chapter 450: Intentions

The ambush was quick and intense. When the arrows stopped howling through the air, only the scent of blood remained in the Scale Fragments Valley.

Yan Liqiang made a hand gesture. All the Great Moon Tribe’s warriors, dressed in Shatu attire hiding on both sides of the valley, stood up. They unsheathed their blades and rushed into the valley below them.

“Check if any of them are still alive! Stab them...!”

One of the Great Moon Tribe warriors who was fluent in the Shatu language yelled his line that was prepared earlier.

“Got it. We won’t let anyone in the Dark Wood Tribe get away!” another warrior growled.

Yan Liqiang was the first to rush out. He didn’t speak, only pointed at the fallen Dark Wood Tribe’s men and made a few hand gestures. The Great Moon Tribe’s warriors who were rushing down the Scale Fragment Valley scattered in a well-coordinated manner, each knowing what they should do.

Blades pierced into the vital organs of those fallen Dark Wood Tribe’s warriors and were then pulled out. None of them were spared.

Corpses covered about a hundred meters of the mountain valley. The Great Moon Tribe’s warriors scattered and silently inspected the corpses, giving them another surefire stab to properly send the not completely dead Shatu men to heaven.

“Quick, send them all to Morbeto! Don’t let anyone live and don’t leave behind any witnesses...!”

“What are you afraid of? We’ll return to the White Lake by the time those people from Dark Wood Tribe arrive. Hehehe... Let the Dark Wood Tribe find those living on the Mount Dragon Jade for revenge. Let them fight among themselves to death, then we shall be back to clear up the mess. The Shatu Seven Tribes only need one man as their leader...!”

Two Great Moon Tribe warriors checked the corpses while ‘casually conversing’ at the designated spot. There were more than ten Shatu corpses lying around them. Just then, one of the Shatu men on the ground who took an arrow earlier at the rear of the troop suddenly jumped up. He snatched one of the steeds at the side, then whipped his steed and galloped out of the Scale Fragments Valley while keeping body low.

“AH, ONE IS STILL ALIVE, DON’T LET HIM GET AWAY...!” Someone suddenly shouted in the distance.

The people who were stabbing the corpses were alerted and nearly everyone chased after the man. Angry yells and the vibrating sounds of bowstrings could be heard.

A few minutes after the chaos died down, a deep voice rang out. “Let’s leave quickly, don’t linger too long here...!”

The Great Moon Tribe’s warriors ran across the valley, but not forgetting to stab the remaining corpses they passed by. In just a flash, all of them disappeared from the Scale Fragments Valley, leaving behind only the riderless steeds and corpses all over the place.

...

About ten minutes later, one of the Shatu men lying on the spot where the two Great Moon Tribe’s warriors were conversing in fluent Shatu language earlier moved, then struggled to slowly get up.

The Shatu man in his thirties had a tanned face and wore his hair in a small braid. He was short, but he had a strongly built body. The arrow was lodged in the left side of his chest, just a few inches above his heart. Fortunately, it missed his heart due to angle and instead pierced into the area near his left armpit. The arrow was buried very deeply into his body, but wasn’t fatal. When those people were leaving, he was again very ‘hurriedly’ stabbed on his back. The wound near his right shoulder was a little long, but it wasn’t fatal either.

The Shatu man stood up and looked at the corpses lying around him. He trudged to a rhinodrake steed nearby, then clenched his teeth and climbed onto it with great difficulty. He turned the steed around and quickly rode to the exit of the Scale Fragments Valley.

More than seven hundred meters away from here, he saw a collapsed steed with countless arrows stuck in its body. Several tens of meters ahead, a headless Shatu corpse lay on the ground with more than ten arrows in his body...

“The Dark Razor Tribe...” That Shatu man riding on the rhinodrake steed gritted his teeth so hard that they nearly cracked. He looked at the corpse of his companion with his reddened eyes, then gave his steed’s abdomen a tight squeeze. He lowered his body against the rhinodrake steed’s back and rushed out of the Scale Fragments Valley into the Gulang Plains...

...

Yan Liqiang stood on a small peak not far from the Scale Fragments Valley as he watched the rhinodrake steed rushing out of the valley with a meaningful smile on his face. He turned to the other Great Moon Tribe warriors behind him who watched him with respect, then issued an order, “Let’s go!”

...

In the evening, the Dark Wood Tribe’s chief was looking at a Shatu man who was lucky enough to survive the incident in the biggest tent at the center of the Dark Wood Tribe’s settlement. He was kneeling before the chief like a ferocious stray wolf. “Did you truly hear that?”

The man who was kneeling on the floor ripped open his clothes and lifted his head, showing the freshly dressed arrow wound on his chest and the cut on his back. As soon as he ripped his clothes, crimson blood seeped out of his wound. “If I, Dulu, misheard even a word, you may cut my ears off, Chief! If I uttered an extra word by mistake, you may cut my tongue off or even behead me, Chief...!”

“Morbeto, my son...” The Dark Wood Tribe’s tribal chief let out an anguished wail, then started crying while beating his chest in the tent.

When Morbeto learned to kill at a young age, Wugusa always thought that he was talented and delightful child. He was like the pillar of the Dark Wood Tribe. This time, it was finally his turn to experience the pain of losing a son.

“We must avenge big brother...!” Wugusa’s youngest son yelled. “The Dark Razor Tribe is getting harsher to us over the past few months. Not long ago, a few of our patrol teams somehow disappeared. Since we can’t even find their corpses, we can rule out the possibility of wolf encounters. It must have been the work of the Dark Razor Tribe! Just two days ago, they led their sheep to the plains to the east of Xi River. Not only that, they also chased away many of our people from there. In addition, they also injured our people and snatched our livestock. They suffered a defeat in Gan Province due to their own incompetence, yet they target us. They are afraid that we’ll surpass them. And now, even big brother fell prey to them...”

“Yes, avenge him!”

“Avenge him!”

The important figures from the Dark Wood Tribe shouted angrily in the big tent. The bad blood between them and the Dark Razor Tribe dated back to a few decades ago. The Dark Wood Tribe had been brooding over the defeat they suffered back then. All this while, they believed that the Dark Razor Tribe had only won because they had a little luck on their side.

The Dark Razor Tribe had also been making some moves against them over the past few months, but the Dark Wood Tribe had been enduring them in silence. However, the incident today infuriated everyone in the Dark Wood Tribe. Who could still continue tolerating someone if they had their blade right up against your throat?

The Dark Wood Tribe’s chief, Wugusa, lifted his gaze, showing his teary red eyes. Then seethed through his teeth, “Do you really think the Dark Wood Tribe is afraid of you, Sultan? We shall let you give you the taste of losing your son...!”

Chapter 451: Progressing Into Martial Grandmaster

Vigorous life force radiated from every single one of the bones inside the body. During the days of progressing to the Martial Master realm, the practice was to ‘channel Qi into the bones’. However, the vital Qi that was channeled into the bones half a year ago was like a seed that had been planted into the ground. Nourished by the sun and rain, it had begun to germinate, bringing about a whole new change to Yan Liqiang’s body.

After the vital Qi entered the bone, it began to nourish the bone marrow in the bones. The Qi and bone merged while the bone marrow was the real essence of the body’s Qi and blood. Therefore, strengthening the bone marrow would surely strengthen the Qi and blood throughout the entire body. Strong Qi and blood would produce an abundance of vital Qi to the dantian and the vital Qi from the dantian would once again return back to the bone to nourish the bone marrow. This would hence complete the circulation within the body and enable a person to progress from the Martial Master to Martial Grandmaster realm.

How ‘grand’ was that?

His physical strength, stamina, and the power in the hand and leg movements were significantly increased. His overall physical aspects were also brought to a whole new level. The bones were now as strong as steel while the Qi and blood coursed throughout the entire body. The powerful vital force formed from the bone marrow circulated endlessly in the body. Teeth that had fallen out could be regrown, bones that were broken could be regenerated, and even a person’s height could possibly be extended to make them taller. This was the realm of Martial Grandmaster.

Yan Liqiang undid his clothing and lay on the stone bed inside the secret chamber with his chest exposed. He closed his eyes while sensing the gratifying changes within the bones of his body. He gently massaged the Zhongwan Acupoint above his belly button with the palm of his right hand to harmonize the vital Qi and blood inside his body.

The simple-looking motions were the secret to progressing from a Martial Master to a Martial Grandmaster found in the ‘Ten Dragons Ten Elephants Divine Technique’.

A clockwise massage would be for refilling while an anticlockwise massage would be for expelling. The blood, bone, and vital Qi intersected with each other. The strengths and weaknesses of each type of Qi were different, depending on the individual. Therefore, it had to be carefully reconditioned using the massage technique to transfer the Qi from the lungs and liver in order to complement each other. This could then construct the inner body circulation needed in order to complete the progression into the Martial Grandmaster realm.

Yan Liqiang had already been massaging for one whole night inside the cave. When morning came, the dantian in his abdomen suddenly produced sounds that resembled thunderclaps. They only ceased after a good while. After Yan Liqiang exhaled a long breath, he quietly got up from the bed. He got dressed and exited to the naturally-formed valley outside the cave.

It was already noon and the sun was already high up in the sky. Inside the small valley, flowers bloomed and birds were chirping. A few orioles were chirping and singing on a trumpet vine nearby.

Yan Liqiang closed his eyes to take in the fragrance of the flowers in the valley. He felt the warm sunshine on his body that made him feel refreshed.

Time passed by very quickly; it was already summer. It was the fifth lunar month and it had been almost three months since Yan Liqiang stayed with the Great Moon Tribe. During the past three months, the Great Moon Tribe had carefully prepared for the Shatu soldiers who might once again trudge through the depths of Mount Jade Dragon. However, the Shatu people never came and neither did the Dark Wood Tribe nor the other Shatu tribes. It had been peaceful on Mount Jade Dragon. It was almost as if the battle with the two thousand soldiers led by Morbeto three months ago never happened and had been completely forgotten.

Of course, Yan Liqiang had not been fooling around within these three months either. Although he was staying with the Great Moon Tribe, he had once again re-entered the painstaking state of cultivation for about three whole months.

The place he chose to cultivate now was a deserted little valley about ten li away from the Great Moon Tribe’s settlement. There were a lot of caves on both sides of the valley and this was where the elders of the Great Moon Tribe cultivated in seclusion. It was a restricted area in the Great Moon Tribe and a convenient place for Yan Liqiang to come to the rescue of the Great Moon Tribe at any given time. It was quiet as no one would disturb him as the place was off-limits to everyone, except for the chief and elders.

Hard work eventually paid off. After six months of continuous cultivation on Mount Jade Dragon, it was no surprise that Yan Liqiang progressed into a Martial Grandmaster today, bringing his strength to the next level.

“It’s been six months, so it’s almost time to go back!” Yan Liqiang looked at the lush flowers and plants beside him, then mumbled to himself, “Since six months have passed already, the project in Liuhe Town should be half-complete by now. The field for the archery academy should be there and Lei Sitong should have taken all the salt pans!”

When he left home half a year ago, it was still winter. By now, flowers were already blooming everywhere. While he was cultivating on Mount Jade Dragon, there were a lot of matters waiting for him to resolve in Pingxi Prefecture, and it was about time for him to go back.

“Brother Long...” A voice came from afar. Yan Liqiang turned his head and saw Selena in a beautiful floral dress standing at the entrance of the valley looking at him. She waved her hands and ran toward him excitedly.

Selena was now one of the elders of the Great Moon Tribe. Thus, she had access to this place. It had been five days since Yan Liqiang last saw her. Selena was here to deliver food to Yan Liqiang and also to provide ‘comfort’ to Yan Liqiang who had been painstakingly cultivating so that his days in the valley were not so depressing.

“Selena, why are you here?” According to the agreement, Selena would only deliver food to Yan Liqiang once a week. It had only been five days and Selena had come again. However, looking at Selena’s expression, it seemed that nothing bad had happened. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be smiling.

“Brother Long, the Shatu people started fighting...” Selena shouted before she even got close to Yan Liqiang. “We just got the news that the Dark Razor Tribe and Dark Wood Tribe have started fighting in the Gulang Plains!”

Yan Liqiang was slightly taken aback first before bursting into laughter. It seemed that the hatred and distrust he had planted in the Shatu people had finally started to brew. Prior to this, Yan Liqiang had only tried his best and didn’t expect it to really succeed. When he heard the news, Yan Liqiang felt that God was on his side. The Dark Razor Tribe and Dark Wood Tribe had been old foes within the Shatu Seven Tribes, and they were finally clashing against each other.

“What happened? Take your time to explain...” Yan Liqiang hugged Selena who ran toward him, “Where did you hear the news from?”

“Elder Ghan and his people caught a few Shatu people who came into Mount Jade Dragon to gather herbs. After interrogating those Shatu people, we found out that the two sons of the Dark Razor Tribe’s chief were ambushed and killed out of the blue by the Dark Wood Tribe when they were hunting in the Gulang Plains a few days ago. This instantly caused a huge stir. A battle instantly broke out between the Dark Razor Tribe and the Dark Wood Tribe, resulting in a lot of fatalities. The Shatu Seven Tribes are now in chaos. As soon as my mother heard this news, she asked me to quickly come and inform you!” After she finished her sentences, Selena suddenly noticed that there was something unusual with Yan Liqiang, “Ah, Brother Long, it’s only been a few days since I last saw you, but why do I feel that you’ve suddenly become taller? Look! Even your sleeves are much shorter now...”

Chapter 452: Farewell

“What? You are leaving Mount Jade Dragon to return to Pingxi Prefecture?” Selena’s expression changed slightly after hearing what Yan Liqiang said.

“The Dark Wood Tribe and Dark Razor Tribe are battling on the Gulang Plains. This hatred will not be easily resolved. Large tribes like them have equivalent capabilities and they understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses. The outcome of the battle will not be known within a day or two and may be protracted. Before both tribes can determine the winner and restore peace on the Gulang Plains, the Great Moon Tribe will be safe. You can rest assured that the Shatu people will not come to Mount Jade Dragon to find trouble with your tribe. Even if there is an outcome for the battle, the winning tribe will still need a period of time to recover. This period of time will be considered as the safest time for the Great Moon Tribe ever since the Shatu tribe invaded Mount Jade Dragon. You will be fine without me. Furthermore, I have a lot of matters to attend to in Gan Province...” Yan Liqiang had already returned to the Great Moon Tribe and his room in the Prestigious Courtyard in a fresh set of clothing. He narrowed his eyes as he spoke while looking at the woman in front of him...

Seranchi was as beautiful as ever. The purple robe she wore brought out her elegance and sexiness, as the tight-fitting clothing outlined her exquisite figure. Her delicate facial features and her elegant updo hairstyle further brought out her charm as a mature woman. Yan Liqiang couldn’t help but steal a few more glances. In any case, the beauty of a woman was always delightful to a man.

After Yan Liqiang resolved the Great Moon Tribe’s imminent crisis three months ago, this woman’s attitude toward Yan Liqiang had changed slightly. She was no longer afraid of him, but she instead had become slightly dependent on him. At least now, she could gradually discuss matters with Yan Liqiang on her own.

“Until now, I still cannot understand how you came to know so much about the Dark Wood Tribe. It’s as if you can predict the future and everything is within your expectations. Rumor has it that you are receiving guidance from some deity in your dreams. Is that true?” Seranchi gazed firmly at Yan Liqiang as she twirled her hair coyly.

“All you need to know is that I am worthy of your trust and reliance!” Yan Liqiang smiled and looked at Seranchi, “An opportunity has presented itself to the Great Moon Tribe now. Are you willing to seize it?”

“What opportunity?”

“I heard from Selena that there is a small passageway within Mount Jade Dragon that bypasses the White Stone Pass and leads into Pingxi Prefecture. Is that true?”

“Yes, there is indeed such a passageway!” Seranchi nodded in certainty. “The Great Moon Tribe, Wusu Tribe, and Piyue Tribe usually use this little passage inside the mountain to enter Yingwei County in Pingxi Prefecture. They secretly exchange produce in the mountain with the garrison troops for some salt and ironware. Otherwise, it would simply be impossible for us to survive. One of the reasons why the Shatu people are eyeing us covetously is because they want to gain control over the passageway that can bypass the White Stone Pass. Although this passageway is too narrow to allow an army to pass, they can still send small troops of a hundred men or so to the back of the White Stone Pass during critical situations!”

“This is the opportunity that I am talking about!” Yan Liqiang lightly tapped on the table in front of him. “At a time when the Shatu people are in chaos, the trade between Shatu Seven Tribes and Gan Province will surely be affected. The leather, medicinal ingredients, jewels, rare beast core crystals, and valuable wood that the Shatu people usually deliver to Gan Province will be greatly reduced. But the demand from Gan Province for these things will remain unchanged, and the price for these items will definitely increase. If the Great Moon, Wusu, and Piyue Tribes can open the access of this passageway to deliver goods from the mountains using horses, I can set up a border trading post at Yingwei County to openly do business with you. You can use the resources in your hands to exchange for more goods and earn more money...”

Seranchi’s eyes immediately lit up. Ever since the three tribes were banned by the Shatu people, they had been surreptitiously conducting small business in Yingwei County in exchange for some salt and other stuff. The garrison troops in the barracks knew of their background and demanded a huge reduction in the prices. Whatever they sent to Yingwei County was only one-third of the price or even lower for the similar products offered by the Shatu people. If things went as Yan Liqiang said, that would definitely be a huge advantage to the three tribes that lived on Mount Jade Dragon...

“I understand that the Great Han Empire has set rules for a border trading post. You need to at least get approval from the Provincial Governor...” Seranchi still had some slight doubts.

“You don’t need to worry about the Provincial Governor. It’ll be alright when I say it’s alright!” Yan Liqiang said with confidence.

“We can give it a try. As long as you can set up the border trading post, there might not even be a need for me to contact the Wusu and Piyue Tribes. They will be even more positive than the Great Moon Tribe in regards to this. After all, the population of the Great Moon Tribe is less than ten thousand people while the population of the two tribes is more than thirty thousand. The ban from the Shatu people forces them to rely on the border trade even more!”

“I will be returning to Pingxi Prefecture tomorrow. If everything goes according to plan, the border trading post should be ready in three months!”

“If something happens here, how do we keep in touch with you after you leave?” Seranchi frowned as she asked.

Yan Liqiang smiled and stood up. He walked to the side of the house, opened one of the windows, and lightly clapped his hands. The sound of flapping wings was heard and a silvery-gray bird flew in from the outside and landed on Yan Liqiang’s arm. It turned its head while scanning the room with its sharp eyes.

“Ah, a silver falcon...” Seranchi was shocked. Of course she recognized this bird species. On Mount Jade Dragon, there was a type of exotic animal that was very difficult to capture. It was an extremely clever bird that could fly with lightning speed in the sky. Even if it were caught, it was still very challenging to tame it. A tamed silver falcon would be worth thousands of gold. It was unbelievable as to how Yan Liqiang had managed to tame such an exotic animal. Yan Liqiang never revealed this and Serainchi did not know that there had been a silver falcon following him around all the time.

Seranchi looked at Yan Liqiang and the silver falcon perched on his arm. His enigma once again sent a chill down her spine.

“If anything happens in the future, you can contact me through this silver falcon. If you want to deliver a letter to me, all you need to do is to come into this house and open this window. The silver falcon will come...” Yan Liqiang spoke and lifted his arm. The silver falcon flapped its wings and flew away.

Seranchi suddenly sighed, “I do not know how the Great Moon Tribe could ever repay your kindness!”

“Hahaha, you can rest assured that I will not let the Great Moon Tribe run to the battlefield as a scapegoat. Besides, the size of the Great Moon Tribe is too small to be made a scapegoat!” Yan Liqiang laughed heartily. He retraced his footsteps, but did not return to his seat. Instead, he came in front of Seranchi, gently lifted her chin, and looked into her eyes.

He wasn’t sure if something crossed Seranchi’s mind, but her face gradually turned crimson, causing her to appear even more seductive.

Yan Liqiang couldn’t hold himself back as he gazed into Seranchi’s eyes while taking in the faint fragrance from her body. He lowered his head and kissed Seranchi’s delicate lips...

“Uhm...!” Seranchi’s eyes widened and she was overwhelmed. In just the blink of an eye, Yan Liqiang realized that his tongue was tightly locked with Seranchi’s.

“Elder Long...” Selena’s voice suddenly rang out from outside the door.

They two of them were slightly shocked and they immediately parted. Yan Liqiang returned to his seat and Seranchi quickly adjusted her clothing while blushing. She glanced at Yan Liqiang and wiped away the string of saliva left by him on the corner of her lips. Compared to the kiss just now, that stare was even more amorous...

“Ahem, come in Selena...” Yan Liqiang called out from inside the room.

Selena pushed the door open and came in with a package in her hands, “Ah, Mother, you are here too...”

“Yes. I had something to discuss with Elder Long, but we’re done here and I am about to leave!” Seranchi’s face returned to the usual calmness she had. She stood up and noticed the package in Selena’s hands, “What is that you are holding?”

“Some of Elder Long’s clothes don’t fit him anymore. These are the clothes that I...I have prepared for Elder Long!” Selena replied shyly.

“Alright. Elder Long will be leaving the Great Moon Tribe tomorrow. Have a good talk with him...”

Selena’s mind went blank...

Even after Seranchi left, Selena was still staring at Yan Liqiang blankly. Tears slowly welled up in her eyes before the big teardrops rolled down her face. Yan Liqiang walked over and gently wiped Selena’s tears away, “Silly girl...”

“Elder Long, are you...you leaving?”

“Have you ever heard of a saying?”

“What saying?”

“If the love between two people is everlasting, the parting today is meant for a better reunion in the future!”

Selena hugged Yan Liqiang tightly and buried her head in his chest. She remained silent but it only took a moment for her tears to soak through Yan Liqiang’s clothes.

...

Before daybreak the next day, Selena and Seranchi sent Yan Liqiang off with mixed feelings. Yan Liqiang waved to both of them and left the Great Moon Tribe in a flash...

Before going home, there was still one important thing that Yan Liqiang had to do. He did not have the opportunity to do it before, and this time, the opportunity was there and he was ready to give it a try. He wanted to see what sort of surprises the toy capsule machine had in store for him...

Chapter 453: The Precious Human Body

After Yan Liqiang left the Great Moon Tribe, he traveled with lightning speed to the valley where he cultivated previously. He packed the belongings he had left in the cave – the Dragon Spine Steel Spear, the Horned Python Bow, and some clothing.

After Yan Liqiang was done packing, he left the valley with his belongings and continued his journey eastward for a few hundred li until he reached his second stop on Mount Jade Dragon.

‘A wily hare has three burrows,’ and likewise, Yan Liqiang had also taken note of another few potential places for cultivation on the day he arrived on Mount Jade Dragon. The second stop was on the east side of the mountain. It was very close to Pingxi Prefecture and a few li of mountainous road away from the mountain’s exit.

When Yan Liqiang reached the second stop, he could no longer suppress his excitement. He found a hidden cave and sat cross-legged in it. It only took a brief moment for his consciousness to enter the Heavenly Shrine where he found himself standing before the ‘toy capsule machine’ in there.

This was the third time Yan Liqiang had entered the Heavenly Shrine since he started cultivating in seclusion. He had obtained the Fiery-Eyed Golden Falcon and the silver falcon from the toy capsule machine during his previous visits. This time, he planned to use the toy capsule machine for something that he had never done before.

Although this was not the first time that Yan Liqiang used the toy capsule machine, he still felt nervous at the thought of creating something from the machine. His entire body was shuddering from the excitement of breaking taboos. According to legend, only God and Nuwa [1] had the power to create humans. To think that he would be able to follow his heart’s desire to create a human from the toy capsule machine made Yan Liqiang lightheaded.

Yan Liqiang stood in front of the ‘toy capsule machine’, rubbing his hands to relieve himself from the tension as he sized up the object.

At this moment, the toy capsule machine had already accumulated a four-digit total amount of usable spirit points – 1278. The figure was mostly contributed by the Shatu people on Mount Jade Dragon three months ago. Yan Liqiang was considered a real killing machine on the battlefield.

The usable vitality points and usable intelligence points had created a new record by breaking through one hundred thousand points.

To Yan Liqiang, the ‘toy capsule machine’ in front of him was like a sports car waiting for him to take the driver’s seat and make the engine rumble.

He had already planned his explanation: after cultivating in the wild for half a year, he met a few like-minded friends and brought them to Pingxi Prefecture. It would sound legit without any flaws!

...

Without further hesitation, Yan Liqiang operated the ‘toy capsule machine’ to select the human option for the very first time, followed by selecting the male option before pressing the activate button!

However, the seal of life for a human had no response at all...

He selected activate again...

There was still no response!

Could it be that the ‘toy capsule machine’ had broken down? Yan Liqiang tried a few times to activate the seal of life for a human, but the toy capsule machine remained unresponsive. This drove him mad!

“There is nothing wrong with the Heavenly Stone. The problem lies in the energy that you infused into it. It is still insufficient to activate the seal of life for a human!”

A familiar voice came from behind. Yan Liqiang quickly turned around to find Fu Guang standing behind him and looking at him calmly.

“This cannot be. When I previously summoned the Fiery-Eyed Golden Falcon and Silver Falcon, only a small portion of the energy that was infused into the Heavenly Stone was consumed! In fact, it took up less than one percent in total! How is it not sufficient to activate the seal of life for a human?” Yan Liqiang was baffled and was in disbelief. Ever since he obtained the Psychic Serpent, the energy that he infused into the Heavenly Stone for the past six months had been massive. He always emptied out his dantian before he used Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing to strengthen his body on a daily basis. The energy that he emptied from his dantian was all infused into the Heavenly Stone. After his progression from a Supreme Martial Warrior to Martial Grandmaster, the vital Qi and energy stored inside his dantian increased. This in turn increased the energy that was being infused into the Heavenly Stone. With that much energy, how could it still be insufficient?

“Different seals of life require different amounts of energy to activate. The higher ranking the life form, the more energy is required!”

“I understand that, but...”

“Hehe, you think you understand but you actually don’t!” Fu Guang shook his head and a cryptic smile appeared on his face.

“What does that mean?”

“Let me put it this way: there are over billions of seals of life in the Heavenly Stone. Within the vast universe and space, human is one of the very few high-ranking seals in existence. In order to activate the seal of life for humans, the energy required is beyond your imagination!”

“Ah, that’s impossible!” Yan Liqiang was so shocked to the point that he felt like laughing. If those words were not from Fu Guang, Yan Liqiang would have been convinced that someone was mocking him. “So you are saying that among the billions of seals of life in the Heavenly Stone, the human seal of life is at the top?”

“Yes. You are a human being and you are surrounded by human beings. You have seen so many human beings that you might not realize how precious your body is. Let me tell you one thing: the value of a person’s body is beyond imagination. To many beings that are beyond your imagination, the human body is the real treasure of the universe. In the distant past, this Heavenly Stone once made a deal with a powerful being who desired a human body and he paid an unbelievable price for it!”

“What price did he pay?”

“A rich planetary system about the size of the solar system that you lived in previously!”

Yan Liqiang’s mind instantly went blank before he burst into laughter, “Fu Guang, this is the first time I realized that you are humorous. That was a really good story; it even made me feel filthy rich!”

“I am not joking with you. The human body is valuable because it is among one of the very few species in the whole universe that can evolve and attain the highest realm of life. It is formed by the laws of the universe, including heaven and earth. A person is a universe, the wonders and value of which you cannot understand now. Some humans live for the money, some for love, and there are even some who live for wine, lust, wealth and all sorts of short term desires and pursuits. All that is significant in your eyes is not even significant in the eyes of many powerful beings. In their eyes, reaching the highest realm of life is what every lifeform should constantly pursue. You humans are just not aware that you have what countless creatures in the universe are envious of. A human body is a priceless treasure in the universe and yet, you are not aware of it!”

“What is the highest realm of life? Becoming God?”

Fu Guang laughed, “Due to your current life form energy, this question is beyond your understanding and imagination. It is also difficult for me to convey the answer to you through words!”

“Then make it simple!” Yan Liqiang pointed at the glowing human seal of life that he wanted to activate on the toy capsule machine. “How much more energy do I need in order to activate this seal? Would doubling it be sufficient?”

“You want me to tell you the truth?”

“Of course!’

“When you increase the energy infused into the Heavenly Stone by 1,738,500,000 times, this seal of life for a human will be activated.”

“What...?!” Yan Liqiang shrieked in shock and was completely dumbfounded. “1,728,500,000 times to activate it?”

“Yes. I know all this is very challenging for you, but this is the least amount of energy required to activate the human seal of life in the Heavenly Stone. You are surprised because you don’t understand the true value of the human body.”

Chapter 454: Back to the Prefecture

As the weakest person among the 3,936,884,329 entrants who were lucky enough to enter the Heavenly Shrine, Yan Liqiang made a wise decision to give up on the idea of creating a human after he learned how much energy it would take to activate the seal of life for it. Based on Fu Guang’s explanation, he would have to spend a few centuries doing nothing but infusing energy into the Heavenly Stone every single day with his current ability if he wanted to create a human. Even with that, it wasn’t guaranteed that he would be able to activate the seal of life for a human. This completely defeated the purpose for Yan Liqiang, even if he could create a competent warrior.

Therefore, the Heavenly Stone’s function of creating a human became completely useless to Yan Liqiang and instantly destroyed many of his plans and strategies which revolved around this.

Yan Liqiang didn’t doubt Fu Guang when he mentioned that the value of a person’s body was beyond a person’s imagination. As an ordinary human being who possessed a body that was worth an entire galaxy, one still had to bear the responsibilities and obligations of owning it. In order to survive and live, one still had to work, eat, and even kill if necessary.

God had always been fair. Perhaps it was because the human body was too perfect and precious that He had to tie humans to the ground and allow them to be controlled by simple emotions and desires. This led people to be power-hungry and start killing each other, thus ultimately destroying themselves. Fu Guang stated that this was the rule of heaven – there’d always be a tiger and a hundred thousand ants on a mountain, but never the opposite.

Yan Liqiang comforted himself by telling himself that the Heavenly Stone was still capable of creating other life forms aside from a human. After the brief disappointment, Yan Liqiang sorted out his emotions, then exited the Heavenly Shrine and left Mount Jade Dragon...

On the 13th night of the fifth lunar month in the 14th year of the Yuanping reign, Yan Liqiang had completed his six-month cultivation period and quietly returned to his home in Liuhe Town.

The Yan Residence was lively again with Yan Liqiang’s return.

...

“Look, Young Lord, the stone yard is over there. The stones that were used for the fortress walls of the town were all brought from outside and reshaped as required by the stone factory for convenience. The excavation of the trench around the fortress walls of Liuhe Town has been completed. These stones will be used as the foundation of the fortress...”

On the next dawn after Yan Liqiang’s return, he followed Steward Lu Wenbin to conduct a patrol on the construction progress of Liuhe Town after he had his breakfast.

At that time, the sun had just risen but the construction site outside Liuhe Town was already operating in full swing. The whole parameter of Liuhe Town had become a large construction site. The scene in front of Yan Liqiang’s eyes reminded him of a bustling real estate construction site from his previous life. The day had barely begun, but over a thousand people had started their work on the vast construction site. The site echoed with clanking noises and the rhythmic ‘heave-hos’ from the workers exerting forces...

Lu Wenbin brought along another steward and a bookkeeper with him while Yan Liqiang had Hu Haihe and Yu Qing by his side. It had been six months since they last saw Yan Liqiang. He returned slightly late yesterday, but the two attendants woke up early in the morning and followed Yan Liqiang closely while waiting for his orders.

There were no major events at Liuhe Town and Yan Liqiang didn’t need any escorts, especially when he was only checking on the progress of the construction site. Just when he was about to dismiss Yu Qing, her eyes reddened as she asked if Yan Liqiang didn’t want her anymore. Yan Liqiang was shocked by her reaction and quickly reassured her. The little girl finally smiled after some reassuring words from Yan Liqiang, then continued sticking close to him with a satisfied expression on her face.

Yellow sand covered the construction ground, and it was not easy to walk on as certain areas were muddy. Since Yan Liqiang didn’t mind it, the others didn’t either. Lu Wenbin led Yan Liqiang around the construction site of Liuhe Town’s fortress while giving him an update on the progress.

“How deep is the foundation of this fortress?” Yan Liqiang asked while walking.

“The foundation of the fortress is four feet deep and six feet wide. The base is filled with three-ingredients mortar while the upper part is made of stone materials. The fortress is so sturdy that not even a chariot can knock it down. The fortress of the Lu Residence was built the same way. According to Old Master Lu, it can last even two centuries...!”

“Where are the stones delivered from?”

“The stones are obtained from nearby stone quarries at Mount Big Bend in Qinghe County. Most of the stones in those quarries are being supplied to us here. We used to transport the stones with two-wheeled bullock carts, but thanks to you, Young Lord, the stones are now being transported by four-wheeled bullock carts. The drivers and the stone quarries commented that the four-wheeled carts are much more convenient than the two-wheeled bullock carts. Not only is the capacity larger, but it is convenient for them to stop or rest at any time. Loading and unloading are also easier compared to before...” Lu Wenbin halted in his footsteps while speaking to let a four-wheeled bullock cart loaded with stones to pass in front of them.

It had been six months since he last saw Lu Wenbin, and he had changed a lot too. The most obvious change was that he had become thinner. Lu Wenbin was a little bit plump before, but now he had slimmed down a lot and his face was tanned. Not only did his body size change, but there was a change in his temperament too. Six months ago, Lu Wenbin had the aura of a scholar. Now, he looked more capable with the sideburns on both sides of his face and a few strands of silver hair that were never there before.

Yan Liqiang asked Lu Wenbin a few questions and noticed that he was very well informed on all matters at the construction site, including the material cost, process, expenses, financial transactions, and the artisans’ skillset. Many helpers, workers, and supervisors at the construction site seemed to know Lu Wenbin. Some of them even came forward to greet him or ask some questions. Not to mention, Lu Wenbin was also able to call out their names without any difficulties and resolve most issues in just the blink of an eye. It was evident that Lu Wenbin had indeed deeply involved himself in the construction project and had been working hard for the past six months. The man had always been smart but now, he was even more capable with the effort and training that he had put in for the past six months. Yan Liqiang secretly nodded in approval at his achievement.

The few of them walked around the construction site. Not far away from the stone quarry, Yan Liqiang spotted an old man with white hair and a beard. Dressed in tight-fitting clothes, he was instructing a group of young and strong laborers from Liuhe Town on how to mix the mortar that would be used for filling the foundation.

The old man was extremely energetic. Yan Liqiang could clearly hear his powerful voice even from afar, “Dashun, there is not enough limestone powder here, go inform the cement warehouse to deliver more cement powder, this item cannot get low...”

“Ergouzai, do not shovel too much sand into the three-ingredients mortar. Otherwise, the mortar can easily fall apart once it dries up...”

“Shitou, make sure the clay is finely ground by the miller, the fewer clumps, the better. If I see any clumps on the clay again, I will beat you up. Don’t you even know how to usher a donkey? When the miller completes one rotation, you need to flip over the clay once!”

Yan Liqiang was a bit shocked by the old man. He walked toward him and greeted him, “Good morning Sixth Great Uncle. You are here too!”

When Sixth Great Uncle saw everyone around him suddenly stop working and was looking past him nervously, he turned around on the mound he was standing on while instructing the others. As soon as he did, he noticed Yan Liqiang approaching him with a smile.

“Ah, it’s a mess here. Don’t come over here, Young Lord, you will soil your shoes!” Sixth Great Uncle immediately shouted when he saw Yan Liqiang walking toward him.

“Young Lord is here, Young Lord is here!” Everyone in the town shouted excitedly when they saw Yan Liqiang.

“Hahaha, don’t worry. If Sixth Great Uncle and our fellow townsfolk can be here, so can I!”

“These old bones have nothing to do, so I wish to contribute to our fellow townsfolk before I get buried in the ground. Hohoho, every time I come here, it brings joy to me to see our Liuhe Town getting a fortress that can shelter us from natural disasters and protect our people from harm...” Sixth Great Uncle chuckled.

“Hahaha, please don’t overwork yourself!”

“No, no, I am only here to oversee the progress and give verbal instructions only. It is not tiring at all. Over the days of walking and looking around the construction site, I can eat an extra bowl of rice every day...”

“You are indeed are hale and hearty despite your age!” Yan Liqiang laughed and turned around to tell Lu Wenbin, “When it becomes hot in the afternoon, remember to send some herbal tea to the construction site. Ensure that the three meal portions of the day is sufficient and that meat is provided daily. We have to make sure that everyone is not only full, but also well-fed. Do not let the fellow townspeople and workers who come to help starve or get a heatstroke!”

“Yes Young Lord, I will arrange this!” Lu Wenbin nodded.

After talking to Sixth Great Uncle and walking for another hundred meters, Yan Liqiang suddenly recalled something when he saw Sixth Great Uncle and his people mixing something on the ground. “Is that the three-ingredients mortar that is going to be poured into the foundation as you mentioned earlier, Steward Lu?”

“That’s right, the three-ingredients mortar is construction material made from a mixture of sand, clay, and limestone powder mixed with water. With more water, it will form a paste that can be conveniently poured into the gaps in between the stones and harden once it dries up. With less water, it will become concrete that will be needed for stacking the bricks of the fortress later!”

“You are now the expert!” Yan Liqiang laughed.

“No, no, it’s just that I’ve seen a lot of it and came to understand more about it!”

“Once the work in Liuhe Town is complete, I will speak to Old Master Lu so that you don’t have to go back to the Lu Residence as a steward. I have a profitable business that I would like for you to manage. You will be the manager and you will receive thirty percent of the shares. In the future, you are allowed to run the business independently and easily earn ten or twenty thousand taels of silver annually!”

Lu Wenbin’s heart raced in excitement after hearing Yan Liqiang’s offer. He felt his mouth go dry and he was slightly dazed, but he suppressed his excitement and humbly said, “I am afraid my capability is not up to standard... I might end up disappointing you, Young Lord!”

“Hahaha, there is no need to be modest around me. I know you can do it. Consider that settled!” Yan Liqiang smiled as he gave Lu Wenbin a pat on the shoulder.

After making a round in Liuhe Town, Yan Liqiang went to the archery academy. Compared to the Liuhe Town’s fortress, the archery academy was a smaller project so it was already close to completion

Chapter 455: Pulley

The archery academy that Yan Liqiang wanted to set up was at the foot of Mount Hundred Zhang, occupying an area of about three hundred hectares.

Yan Liqiang initially thought that he would need to pay for the archery academy’s land, but he only found out that the Pingxi Prefectural Governor had generously given the land under Mount Hundred Zhang to the archery academy after his return.

Since Gan Province was a border province where war raged, the bureaucracy gave preferential treatment to dojos and organizations that were catered to cultivate talented individuals and soldiers. Due to the current relationship between Yan Liqiang and Lei Sitong, whom he addressed as ‘Uncle Lei’, nobody could make a fuss about Wang Jianbei granting a piece of uncultivated land at Mount Hundred Zhang to Yan Liqiang for setting up an archery academy.

Although the archery academy spanned over a large area, most of the space was leveled to build a spacious ranch and archery range. Therefore, there weren’t many buildings within the archery academy. Due to this, the construction for the archery academy was much faster compared to the construction at Liuhe Town.

News of Yan Liqiang’s archery academy construction had spread across all of Gan Province and the northwestern region. For the past six months, when Yan Liqiang was cultivating, countless visitors came to visit the archery academy while it was still under construction. Yan Liqiang had scheduled for the archery academy to officially open for registration on the first day of the eighth lunar month.

Based on the current progress, all the construction work at the archery academy would be completed by the first day of the seventh lunar month. The remaining one month would be used for preparations for the opening of the academy. The reason why Yan Liqiang had chosen the first day of the eighth lunar month as the official opening date of the archery academy was very simple. To Yan Liqiang, the two digits combined together represented honor, responsibility, mission, and the halo of triumph in every battle. [1] This was a small token of hope and expectation from Yan Liqiang toward the archery academy.

The whole morning had gone by when he returned from the archery academy.

Yan Liqiang called Lu Wenbin into his study after lunch.

The Yan Residence had a study in the big courtyard, and Yan Liqiang was the only one using it.

Lu Wenbin was aware that Yan Liqiang had called him to his study to discuss what he had told him this morning. He was both nervous and excited because he knew Yan Liqiang was not joking with him when he told him about the profitable business, given his high reputation. Aside from feeling nervous and excited, Lu Wenbin also had another indescribable complex feeling of finally receiving appreciation and approval when he thought of all the meticulous hard work he had done in Qinghe County over the past six months.

“Please be seated for a while, I have something to show you.”

“Please do as you wish, Young Lord!”

Lu Wenbin sat down while Yan Liqiang retrieved some papers and charcoal pencils that Yu Qing had sharpened this morning from the drawer inside the study. He laid the piece of paper on the table and quickly sketched something using the charcoal pencil in front of Lu Webin.

Yan Liqiang sketched very quickly; it took him less than three minutes to complete the sketch. He set the charcoal pencil down and handed the paper to Lu Wenbin.

When Lu Wenbin received the paper, his eyes instantly widened as he looked at the unprecedented object on the sketch. It slightly resembled a series of wheels that were connected together, and there was a triangular frame. Lu Wenbin looked at it repeatedly, but still failed to identify or figure out the function of the object that Yan Liqiang had drawn on the piece of paper.

“Young Lord, what is this...this thing?” Lu Wenbin looked at Yan Liqiang with slight embarrassment. Although he used to brag about how smart he was, Lu Wenbin was still a little diffident of his intelligence and knowledge after learning about Yan Liqiang’s ‘glorious achievements’.

“This is what I came up with after surveying with you at the construction site this morning!” Yan Liqiang smiled, “You can call it a pulley!”

“What is the use of this...this pulley?”

“Did you see how those artisans moved the boulders today?”

“Yes, I did!” Lu Wenbin nodded.

“With this pulley, those artisans will no longer need to exert so much effort when moving the stones or other heavy things. All they need to do is to put a rope through the pulley and one average person would be able to lift a big boulder like the one which required four to five people to lift this morning...”

“Ah Young Lord, do you mean to say that this pulley will give someone extraordinary strength?” Lu Wenbin’s eyes suddenly widened as he looked at Yan Liqiang in disbelief. If those words hadn’t come from Yan Liqiang, he might’ve been roaring with laughter.

“No, it won’t give someone extraordinary strength...” Yan Liqiang shook his head.

“Can it be this will make the boulder lighter?” Lu Wenbin’s expression dulled.

“It won’t make the boulder lighter either!”

“Then how can a person use this thing to lift a giant boulder that previously required four to five people?”

Yan Liqiang scratched his head as he struggled to explain the principle of a pulley to someone who had zero knowledge of physics. He wasn’t free enough to give an old man a class on junior high school level physics either. After much consideration, he could only give him a general explanation. “The principle behind this is almost similar to how we would use a wooden stick to lift a boulder off the ground. It is impossible for a person to lift a boulder with his own strength, but if he uses a wooden stick and finds a fulcrum on the ground to start lifting, then he will be able to move the boulder...”

“But these are just wheels and ropes. There’s no wooden stick nor fulcrum, and it’s not even placed on the ground!” Lu Wenbin was still puzzled.

“Uhm, this is for you to slowly understand!” Yan Liqiang put up a profound and mysterious expression on his face. “You will understand if you take my sketch to the blacksmith’s workshop and have them construct it according to the drawing and test it for yourself. As for the triangular frame, it is a movable wooden frame that can be opened and be stably placed on the ground. It can also be closed to put it away when it is not needed. You can take this to the carpenters and let them build the frame according to the specified dimensions. Just place the triangular frame on the ground and affix the pulley at the bottom, then you can give it to the workers at the construction site who are moving the boulders from the carriage or placing the boulders in the trenches of the foundation. This will greatly increase efficiency and speed up the progress at the construction site...”

“Alright. Rest assured, Young Lord. I will make necessary arrangements!” Lu Wenbin said as he was about to stand up.

“Hahaha, there’s no rush. I have called you here for another important reason. I want to discuss what I mentioned to you this morning!” Yan Liqiang smiled and had Lu Wenbin sit back down.

“What plans do you have for me, Young Lord?” Lu Wenbin asked uneasily.

“After looking at the construction site of Liuhe Town, I realized that you can actually gather a group of workers to form a construction company with you as the manager!”

“Ah, construction company?” Lu Wenbin’s mind went blank as he had never heard of the term before. “Is this a company that builds houses for people?”

“More or less, but it has to be even more professional. Not only do you have professional manpower, but you will also need professional tools and materials. As long as you are able to set this up, money will definitely start flowing in and it’ll be extremely easy for you to build your own reputation in Gan Province or even in the northwestern region!”

Lu Wenbin gulped and asked carefully, “What...what do you want me to do now, Young Lord?”

“This morning, you mentioned that many artisans from Pingxi Prefecture are bringing people to Liuhe Town. You’ll need to take note of those capable people at the construction site, then check out the large brick kilns that produce the best quality bricks in Pingxi Prefecture along with their workers. You’ll need to buy a brick kiln first as it will be very useful later...”

Chapter 456: Surprise

Lu Wenbin left Yan Liqiang’s study while holding Yan Liqiang’s drawing of the pulley in his hands and his heart was filled with excitement. He had no doubts about Yan Liqiang’s plan, but being appointed as the manager of the so-called construction company by Yan Liqiang meant he might be leading many people, and this made him feel a little nervous. However, he understood that this was also the most important opportunity in his life. If he failed to grasp this opportunity, he would be stuck as a steward at the Lu Residence forever. There were about ten stewards in the Lu Residence with moderate status. If he seized this opportunity, his life might become very different and he could rise above others in the Lu Residence. He was aware that Yan Liqiang had chosen him for his capability. It was also because he could trust him wholeheartedly due to his affiliation with the Lu Clan which Yan Liqiang was very familiar with.

I must seize this opportunity!

As someone who wasn’t that old yet and was still thinking about his future, Steward Lu had secretly made his decision when he left Yan Liqiang’s study. He took another look at the design of the pulley that he was holding tightly in his hand and was deeply astonished by Yan Liqiang’s capability. He couldn’t figure out how those rollers could aid a person in lifting heavy objects, but if it was as what Yan Liqiang had claimed, this thing called a pulley would quickly take the world by storm and bring good business to countless blacksmiths.

Young Lord called this a pulley, but this name sounds plain. We might as well name it the Yan Pulley or Yan Rollers. Once people hear the name, they would know that it is one of Young Lord’s inventions.

As he left the study, Steward Lu almost ran into someone outside the corridor. However, that person was agile. Just as they were about to collide, Steward Lu thought his eyes were playing tricks on him because that person was already a few steps away from him.

“Ah, Lady Yu, I’m so sorry that I almost ran into you...” Steward Lu greeted Yu Qing courteously. Although Yu Qing was Yan Liqiang’s maid, the shrewd Steward Lu would never treat Yu Qing as an ordinary maid. For Yan Liqiang to bring this young lady all the way from the Imperial Capital City to Gan Province, he knew it was best not to offend her regardless of her status. Of course, Lu Wenbin didn’t have any filthy impressions of Yan Liqiang as he observed that the relationship between the latter and Yu Qing was strictly platonic up until now.

“Steward Lu, you’re too polite. It’s me who should be saying sorry!” Yu Qing was a bit shy as she added, “Steward Lu, is Young Lord still inside the study?”

“Yes, he is still there!”

“Um, is he busy?”

“He should be free!” Steward Lu thought about it again, “I just came out from his study, so he should be free now!”

“Alright, thank you Steward Lu!” Yu Qing smiled to Lu Wenbin and walked toward the study.

Seeing that Yu Qing had left, Lu Wenbin quickly walked toward the direction of the blacksmiths workshop. As he walked, his mind kept replaying the scene when they were about to collide. He couldn’t help but feel the way Yu Qing dodged was quick and light – it was completely beyond his expectations. “Could it be that Yu Qing also possesses impressive martial arts skills?” Steward Lu mumbled to himself.

When Yu Qing was in front of Yan Liqiang’s study, she hesitated for a while. Just when she was about to knock on the door, Yan Liqiang’s gentle voice came from inside of the study, “Is it you, Yu Qing? Come in!”

The moment Yu Qing arrived, Yan Liqiang already knew. He stopped writing and looked at the piece of paper which he had written down the simplest steps for clay burning based on his memories. Before calling Yu Qing in, he gently kneaded the paper into fragments.

Yan Liqiang had a feeling that Yu Qing wanted to tell him something since last night. However, he returned very late yesterday, so he only managed to greet and briefly speak with his father before retreating into his room to sleep. Hence, Yu Qing did not have the opportunity to speak with him. During the morning patrol, Yu Qing looked like she wanted to tell him something a few times, but then hesitated, so Yan Liqiang had been expecting her to come.

“Alright, there’s no outsider here. If there’s anything you wish to tell me, you may do so!” Yan Liqiang smiled at Yu Qing. As the proverb goes, ‘A girl changes eighteen times between childhood to womanhood.’ It had only been six months since they last met, but Yan Liqiang noticed that Yu Qing’s face was slightly elongated, making her look even more beautiful.

“I...I indeed have something to tell you, Young Lord!” Yu Qing was still a bit shy, not knowing how to start the conversation.

“Go ahead, I’m listening!”

Yu Qing took a deep breath and calmed down a little, “Young Lord, do you still remember those martial arts techniques you taught me half a year ago?”

“I remember!” Yan Liqiang was slightly taken aback before he laughed, as he thought he knew what Yu Qing wanted to talk about, “Why, did you come across any difficulties during your cultivation? If there’s anything you do not understand, you can always ask me!”

“I didn’t encounter any difficulties, but...” Yu Qing hesitated slightly for a moment.

“But what?”

“But I noticed that what Young Lord told me was slightly different from what happened during my practice!”

“Tell me, how was it different?” Yan Liqiang was suddenly interested, “Was it because it was difficult to practice? Or was it because your body could not adapt to it?”

“It’s not that!” Yu Qing shook her head, “Young Lord, you mentioned that it was difficult to advance as a Martial Warrior as one needs to pass three stages, right?”

“Yes!”

“I...I realized that I have already progressed to a Martial Warrior!” Yu Qing said while slightly blushing.

“What?” Yan Liqiang was shocked. He looked at Yu Qing in disbelief, “You’re saying that you’ve already passed the Horse Stance, Stretching Tendon and Extending Bone, and Establishing Dantian stages?”

“Yes, I felt my dantian open up last month!” Yu Qing slowly began to speak smoothly, “When I passed the Horse Stance stage, as well as the Stretching Tendon and Extending Bone stage, everything went according to what you had described to me, Young Lord. I felt as though there was a fire burning beside me while doing the Horse Stance before the silhouette of a horse appeared and entered my body. I immediately felt my body being filled with energy, and establishing dantian became very easy!”

“How many months did it take for you to pass the Horse Stance stage?”

“I think it was three months, so around a hundred days!” Yu Qing nodded affirmatively.

With a flash, Yan Liqiang suddenly moved to Yu Qing’s side from behind the table. He grabbed one of Yu Qing hands and channeled a hint of vital Qi into her body.

In just a short moment, an astonished expression appeared on Yan Liqiang’s face. He looked at the innocent and pure Yu Qing in shock – this girl had really progressed into a Martial Warrior...!

Chapter 457: My Qing’er

“Did anyone at home ever teach you any fundamental martial arts skills before?”

Yan Liqiang released Yu Qing’s hand after he felt the young lady’s face suddenly blush with slight embarrassment.

“No. I never touched any martial skills before I met you, Young Lord. Everything I know was all taught by Young Lord!” Yu Qing said shyly as she looked at Yan Liqiang.

“Then... have you eaten any strange things during these six months? For example, did anyone give you any sort of medicinal pills?” Yan Liqiang asked again.

Yu Qing shook her head, “I’ve been staying in town for the past six months. When Young Lord wasn’t around, I took care of Mother Wu. I have not eaten any strange things or medicinal pills!”

“Hmm, this is strange!” Yan Liqiang frowned and was in deep thought. This could not be right. How could a lady who had never cultivated any martial arts before progress to a Martial Warrior in just six months? He recalled the reason why it was easy for him to progress to Martial Warrior was because he had already cultivated Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing. If it was so easy for ordinary people to progress into a Martial Warrior, then becoming a Martial Warrior would be worthless. By just looking at the students in the Pingxi Prefecture Martial Arts Academy, it was evident that it was difficult for ordinary people to progress into a Martial Warrior.

“Young Lord...” Yu Qing called out to Yan Liqiang with a timid voice.

“Ah, yes?”

“Aside from progressing into a Martial Warrior, I have already mastered the ‘Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps’ and ‘Flying Swallow Sword ‘ techniques that you taught me. I have attained the sixth layer realm of ‘Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps’ and the fifth layer realm of ‘Flying Swallow Sword Technique’...”

“What?” Yan Liqiang was once again in shock, “You mean to say that you have already mastered and attained the highest realms for both the ‘Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps’ and ‘Flying Swallow Sword’ techniques?!”

“Yes...” Yu Qing continued nodding with slight embarrassment. “I am also not sure what is going on, but I just feel that what Young Lord taught me wasn’t difficult. I practiced them on my own and eventually mastered them!”

“Let’s go, let us try it out in the courtyard...” Yan Liqiang spoke as he pulled Yu Qing out from the study to the little bamboo courtyard outside. After taking their positions, he told Yu Qing, “Let us try two tricks. Attack me at full strength so I can check your cultivation progress.”

“Young Lord... is that alright?”

“Don’t worry!” Yan Liqiang smiled, “Let’s begin!”

Yu Qing took a deep breath, then extended her right index and middle fingers to form the posture of ‘Flying Swallow Seeking Path’ from the ‘Flying Swallow Sword Technique’. She had a serious look in eyes as she exuded the aura of a well-trained martial practitioner, “Young Lord, here I come...”

Yan Liqiang nodded.

Within the next second, Yu Qing moved with a flash. She stepped forward and her two fingers aimed at Yan Liqiang’s chest.

Yan Liqiang lightly took a step back and also stuck his two fingers together to perform the sword technique. He aimed and thrust his fingers at Yu Qing’s elbow. The technique that Yan Liqiang used was also from the ‘Flying Swallow Sword Technique’, and it was named the ‘Young Swallow Homecoming’...

Yu Qing was quick to change her technique. With one of her feet on the ‘xun’ position on a Nine Palace arrangement [1], she moved to the third palace and made a left turn. With the change in body position, she used the technique of the ‘Flying Swallow Playing Water’ and thrust her two fingers toward Yan Liqiang’s underarm. Of course, Yan Liqiang also shifted his technique. Using the ‘Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps’ technique, he stepped on the ‘kun’ position. He moved to the fourth palace and made a right turn, then aimed his two fingers at Yu Qing’s shoulder with the ‘Flying Swallow Among Clouds’ technique...

Within ten seconds, Yan Liqiang and Yu Qing exchanged around seven to eight techniques in the small courtyard outside the study. Of course, Yan Liqiang wasn’t using his full strength either as he only wanted to test and confirm Yu Qing’s cultivation realm.

Yan Liqiang used the ‘Double Flying Swallows’ technique as the final move. He opened his palm and gently grasped Yu Qing’s wrist to stop her. He stopped as well and lightly took a step back, “Alright, we shall stop here. Let’s talk in the study!”

Yu Qing obediently followed Yan Liqiang back into the study.

When they were inside the study, Yan Liqiang’s intense gaze moved from Yu Qing’s head to her toe, then traveled from her toe back up to her head again.

“Young Lord...” Yu Qing had her head lowered as she mumbled with a barely audible voice. The back of her ears and neck were already flushed with a delectable crimson color.

“Does anyone else know about your cultivation progress aside from me?” Yan Liqiang asked.

“No!” Yu Qing shook her head, “No one else knows aside from you, Young Lord. I was in my own room when I passed the Horse Stance stage and progressed into a Martial Warrior. No one has seen the dharmic projection produced by the cultivation technique either!”

“That’s great!” Yan Liqiang nodded before the expression on his face turned solemn, “Remember, you must keep your cultivation progress a secret from everyone from now on!”

“Young Lord...is there...is there any problem with me?” Yu Qing asked, feeling slightly insecure.

“Problem? Of course there’s a problem!” Just as Yu Qing’s expression changed slightly, Yan Liqiang was already laughing heartily. He held Yu Qing up in his arms and spun her around the room, “I didn’t expect my Qing’er to be a genius in cultivation! Haha, I have found a gem, muack...!”

Yan Liqiang was excited and kissed Yu Qing’s face when she saw her cute face.

Yan Liqiang’s excitement was understandable as he had never expected Yu Qing would turn out to be a talented martial practitioner. When they were sparring earlier, he had confirmed that Yu Qing had indeed mastered and attained the highest realms in the ‘Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps’ and ‘Flying Swallow Sword’ techniques, and she was also able to merge them together as a single technique. Not only that, he also noticed that the little girl was able to shift her techniques accordingly to adapt to situations and it was simply impressive. At the beginning, her movements were still quite stiff, but they gradually improved after she performed two techniques. It was extremely shocking for her to possess such talent and aptitude. If she were given a long sword at this moment, not even seven or eight average Martial Warriors would be her match.

“Young Lord...” Yu Qing’s face instantly turned red.

“Qing’er, you can go back first. I will think about what martial arts techniques to teach you next. Once you are done practicing them, you can become my bodyguard, hahaha...”

“Alright!” Yu Qing nodded obediently and left Yan Liqiang’s study.

Yan Liqiang watched as Yu Qing left, then sat on the chair in the study and rubbed his face while he mumbled to himself, “What should I teach this girl next? The ‘Ten Dragons Ten Elephants Divine Technique’? No, I can’t since Master said that this is a masculine martial arts technique that is not suitable for women. Who knows, a woman might even grow a beard after cultivating it...” Yan Liqiang quickly shook his head as he shivered at the thought of a beard growing out of Yu Qing’s adorable face. “Aside from that, what other martial art technique can I teach her? Wing Chun Fist technique? No, I can’t teach her since I haven’t cultivated Wing Chun Fist technique myself either. Maybe we can leave that until next time. Furthermore, the Wing Chun Fist technique is not an internal cultivation technique – thus it cannot condense vital Qi. Internal cultivation is essential to progress in the path of martial arts. Aside from the ‘Ten Dragons Ten Elephants Divine Technique’, what other internal cultivation technique do I know?”

As Yan Liqiang was racking his brain before an image of a secret manual suddenly popped into his mind – the ‘Fusion Sword Technique’– this was one of the top-notch secret techniques that he had obtained from the Divine Sword Sect in the Heavenly Realm. The ‘Fusion Sword Technique’ included an internal cultivation technique called the ‘Fusion Sword Heart Sutra’...

...

“My Qing’er...” Yu Qing gently touched her face where Yan Liqiang kissed her just now as she walked along the corridor outside the house. Her eyes immediately glazed over as a beautiful glow appeared on her pink cheeks...

Yan Liqiang did not stay long in Liuhe Town. The third day after his return, Pingxi Prefectural Governor Wang Jianbei personally sent someone to deliver him a letter from Provincial Governor Lei Sitong to invite him to Pingxi Prefecture for a ‘discussion on an important matter’. Yan Liqiang knew exactly what ‘important matter’ Wang Jianbei wanted to discuss with him because over these six months, the money-obsessed ‘Uncle Lei’ had long settled the salt pans in Pingxi Prefecture. He had been waiting for Yan Liqiang to come back to work his magic and turn them into gold so they could start earning a fortune together...

Chapter 458: Gradually Visible Trend

Catkins fell on the avenue, the sun shone brightly, and the weather was great today. A lot of people went on excursions in the spring, so the road was bustling with the rumbling of wheels from carts and horses. In Pingxi Prefecture’s Huanglong County, there was a place which was livelier than the public road, and it was the Gan Province Manufacturing Bureau.

In just half a year’s time, the Gan Province Manufacturing Bureau, which was previously known as the Huanglong Weaponsmiths Quarter, had completely changed. When Yan Liqiang rode the black four-wheeled carriage out from the manufacturing bureau, there were still long queues of carriages at the entrance.

There were three types of carriages queued at the manufacturing bureau’s entrance. The first type consisted of the four-wheeled ox carriages used by the villagers of Shugang Village and Pingba Village near the manufacturing bureau to deliver goods. Although they were slow, they had bigger load capacities. The four-wheeled carriages manufactured by the manufacturing bureau had already gained popularity in Huanglong County. Those ordinary four-wheeled carriages were not fitted with high-end shock absorption components such as coil springs, but they were still far more convenient than the two-wheeled carriages. Once artisans from various regions understood the principle of the four-wheeled carriage’s steering mechanism, there were more four-wheeled carriages seen on the public roads. Trends started to show that those carriages might completely replace the two-wheeled carriages.

The villagers of Shugang Village and Pingba Village delivered processed long swords and arrows as requested by the manufacturing bureau. These were the two types of weapons that the military heavily used. Today was the day when the villagers and manufacturing bureau exchanged goods once a month. Thus, there were more ox carriages coming in than usual.

The spears and arrows on the ox carriages were nicely packed together. The artisan of the manufacturing bureau was in charge of receiving and storing them in the warehouse inspected the goods. As long as the goods passed the quality check, payments were made to the villagers immediately. Once the goods were received, payments were delivered immediately without any delays or owing slips. The villagers who received their payment all smiled happily.

After Shugang Village and Pingba Village enjoyed the benefits from the manufacturing bureau over the past six months, more people joined the field of forging weapons. Every night after dinner or during time-off from farming, a home would be transformed into a small workshop. Men and women, old and young, were all involved. The whole village worked in full swing to complete the orders from the manufacturing bureau. When it was time for delivery, the young and old masters of the village would drive their carriages full of quality spears and arrows to the manufacturing bureau. Such a situation had already become a unique scene in Huanglong County.

When the manufacturing bureau received the arrows and spears from the villagers, they were stored in the warehouse but were then very quickly sold off as weapons to the Pingxi Prefecture’s garrison. Compared to long spears, arrows had the highest demand since they were the most consumed in the military. There was never a time when there was enough supply. When Lei Sitong found that the arrows manufactured by the manufacturing bureau were more durable, he immediately bought the entire stock for the Gan Province Army with the same price as the arrows the Gan Province Army procured from the other weaponsmiths quarters.

Due to this, the items that were delivered to the manufacturing bureau would immediately be sent out. They were once again loaded onto four-wheeled carriages and distributed to the military barracks throughout Gan Province as requested by the Provincial Governor.

Among the four-wheeled carriages that were outside the manufacturing bureau, those that were drawn by horses and heading outside of the bureau were the ones transporting the arrows and long spears.

There were still many traditional two-wheeled carriages outside the manufacturing bureau. Four-wheeled carriages that were drawn by rhinodrake steeds were also sighted, but those carriages were for transporting people instead of cargo. They came from all locations – the nearest were from Gan Province, slightly further were from the northwestern provinces, and the furthest were from other prefectures in the Great Han Empire. Well-dressed people with exquisite tastes rode in those carriages. Through the carriage’s window, one could see the people inside the carriage conversing and looking at the carriages lined up outside the manufacturing bureau. These carriages had come to the manufacturing bureau to place orders.

In the past six months, the four-wheeled carriage manufactured by the Gan Province Manufacturing Bureau had become very well-known, even becoming a symbol of status in the Great Han Empire. All of this started from Yan Liqiang’s ‘gift’ to the Emperor in the Imperial Capital City before he went to cultivate in seclusion last year, and this was all part of his carefully planned ‘celebrity branding’.

According to the artisans who came back from delivering the four-wheeled carriage, when Eunuch Liu brought the four-wheeled carriage that completed its final assembly at Deer Villa into the Imperial Palace, it immediately stirred up a commotion in the Imperial Capital. The Emperor was delighted upon receiving the carriage from Yan Liqiang. He organized a winter hunt with his subjects in the court on the royal hunting grounds outside the Imperial Capital City. Under the envious gazes of many, His Majesty appeared at the royal hunting grounds on the unique four-wheeled carriage that completely outshined Grand Chancellor Ling Qingtian’s carriage. From then on, the reputation of the four-wheeled carriage manufactured by the Gan Province Manufacturing Bureau had become well-known among the high-ranking officials and influential clans.

Before the artisans even returned from the Imperial Capital, orders for the luxurious four-wheeled carriage flew in from all corners of the Great Han Empire.

A carriage that cost five thousand taels of silver was a huge sum in the eyes of ordinary citizens; however, it was nothing to the influential clans and high ranking officials, as one exotic rhinodrake steed would sometimes cost tens of thousands of taels of silver. Some rare exotic rhinodrake steeds might even cost up to a few hundred thousand taels of silver. Compared to those exotic rhinodrake steeds, the four-wheeled carriage that cost below ten thousand taels of silver was not expensive, but were rather cheap to them instead. To those people, as long as the manufacturing bureau could let them have a chance to ride on the four-wheeled carriage that even the Emperor was fond of, it was well worth it even if it was priced ten times more.

After dealing with the stewards of the influential clans from all around the Great Han Empire, this was the first time that Qian Su rewrote his view of the wealthy.

It was just a special customized four-wheeled carriage that cost more than ten thousand taels of silver, and yet many people came to place silver promissory notes in front of Qian Su to order tens of those carriages. It was as if they were buying watermelons off the street.

The waiting time for a pre-ordered four-wheeled carriage was long. A lot of customers said that if they could receive their order a day earlier, they would even pay an additional one thousand taels of silver.

There were even some who sought for Qian Su, offering him more than millions taels of silver to buy the manufacturing method of the coil spring that was used in the four-wheeled carriages...

There were also those who saw the business opportunity of the four-wheeled carriage and wanted to collaborate with the manufacturing bureau.

Of course, during the time when Yan Liqiang was away to cultivate in seclusion, the four-wheeled carriage had made Yan Liqiang’s name well-known in the Great Han Empire. This time, not only across the northwestern Gan Province and the Imperial Capital, but the entire Great Han Empire also knew about the existence of the famous Qiyun Protectorate General in Gan Province’s Pingxi Prefecture.

Yan Liqiang’s past history was brought up by others, and all of a sudden, many people compared his attainment on the path of mechanics and the investigation of things to Zhang Yourong, the best engineer of the Great Han Empire. Hence, they came to refer to them as ‘Zhang of the East and Yan of the West’. With this, Yan Liqiang’s reputation in Gan Province and Pingxi Prefecture suddenly reached its peak...

Chapter 459: Bottleneck

The old wooden gate of the manufacturing bureau had been replaced with a ten-meter square green stone gate. The two bronze lions on each side of the gate looked majestic and powerful, just like those lion statues that Yan Liqiang had seen at the entrance of those European castles in his previous life. There were gatehouses on both sides of the stone gate. The fortress wall connected to the entrance was half-complete. There was a vacant plot of land of a few dozen mu near the side of the gate that had already been leveled. In the near future, the manufacturing bureau would use it as carriage parking space. Artisans flattened the ground by using ox-drawn stone mills. Once the parking field was completed, it would resolve the situation of carriages queuing in front of the manufacturing bureau. The road from the Huanglong County public road which led to the manufacturing bureau had long been reconstructed to an avenue that could allow four carriages to pass through simultaneously.

Half a year went by, and the Gan Province Manufacturing Bureau also went through some major uplifts after generating profits. It slowly looked like what Yan Liqiang had in mind. The manufacturing bureau was still operating while upgrading their facility. In this half a year’s time, the artisans of the manufacturing bureau had already gotten used to such changes. Every one or two months, one or two workshops would be relocated to new workshops, along with the factories or artisans moving into new living quarters. The new workshops were spacious, bright, clean, tidy, and comfortable. Everything was a lot better compared to before. This lifted the artisans’ morale and everyone was fully devoted to their work.

The popularity of the four-wheeled carriages exceeded Yan Liqiang and Qian Su’s expectations. The production line of the four-wheeled carriage was now operating twenty-four hours non-stop across two working shifts. The monthly production of the four-wheeled carriages had already reached ninety units. Even with such a production rate, orders received from all over the Great Han Empire were placed on the waitlist which went up to three years.

The profits generated by the four-wheeled carriage for this year alone had already exceeded four million taels of silver.

This was a number that nobody had expected.

According to the manufacturing bureau, pre-orders needed to be paid in full and the carriages would be collected once completed. Due to this, the current funds in hand was over fifteen million taels of silver.

Yan Liqiang was shocked after learning how much money the manufacturing bureau had now. The accumulation of wealth at such a rate and scale was truly shocking. In his previous life, the accumulation of wealth at such a speed was only possible through those frauds by direct sales organizations. Of course, the manufacturing bureau was not a crowdfunding fraud – the success was all due to the four-wheeled carriage being such a unique and remarkable product. Another factor was because Yan Liqiang’s advertisement was a huge success.

Qian Su, who was in charge of the manufacturing bureau, was no longer worried about being broke. However, he felt anxious about having too much money and not knowing how to spend it properly. Since there was too much money in the manufacturing bureau, Qian Su had even instructed someone to dig an underground storage that was guarded with tight security to store all the silvers and silver promissory notes accumulated by the manufacturing bureau.

To Yan Liqiang, the huge and steady amount of cash flow contributed by the four-wheeled carriage production could be used to do big things. He had countless plans in mind, but all of them crumbled due to the fact that the Heavenly Stone was unable to create a human. The biggest problem he had to face now was no longer about the lack of money but rather not having enough manpower. This forced him to either stop or change his plans.

In the blink of an eye, Yan Liqiang had left Liuhe Town for half a month.

For the past half month, he spent most of his time in Yuntao County, busy with the salt factories. The salt factories in Yuntao County were already in his hands. Yan Liqiang’s original plan was to create a group of loyal and reliable artisans to take control over the critical processes in the new salt factories with the Heavenly Stone after obtaining the salt factories. This was so that he could keep the secret of producing high-quality edible salt to himself for the long term. However, this plan had been foiled due to the current situation of the Heavenly Stone. Hence, Yan Liqiang was forced to make adjustments and compromise by collaborating with Lei Sitong.

What was the secret to producing high-quality edible salt from the brine mines? The answer was simple: through carbon removal. It only required some slight improvements to the traditional processing method of traditional salt. With the introduction of some simple equipment and adjustments to the procedure, low-quality earth salt could be transformed into high-quality salt. This was the so-called ‘turning stone into gold’.

Yan Liqiang originally wanted to keep the secret to himself, but the current situation forced him to share the secret with Lei Sitong. It was because the carbon removal method was very simple and one would be able to understand it with just a glance. Since it was a large scale production, a lot of people would be participating in the project. In order to prevent those involved from leaking the secret, a strong and powerful controlling technique needed to be in place. Since he was unable to create a human, only Lei Sitong had the ability to keep everything under control.

However, ‘expectations were far from reality’. Yan Liqiang once again experienced the meaning of this phrase.

For the salt factories in Yuntao County, the final decision that Yan Liqiang made was to promote a few artisans and stewards from the manufacturing bureau to take charge of the production process and financial affairs. At the same time, Qian Su would take up the role as the manager of the salt factory, managing both the salt factory and the manufacturing bureau. Luckily, the manufacturing bureau was already on the right track. There was nothing much for Qian Su to worry about so he would be able to attend to the salt factory in Yuntao County. The shortest amount of time required to go back and forth between the manufacturing bureau and the salt factory was less than two hours while riding on a rhinodrake steed and four hours on a four-wheeled carriage. The general production and safeguarding of the secret was handed over to Lei Sitong, and they were still splitting the profits fifty-fifty.

Yan Liqiang had no choice but to adjust and compromise. Lei Sitong, who did not know the reason behind all this, was very happy as he thought he had gained Yan Liqiang’s trust. In order to ensure there would be no impact to the salt business of Yuntao County, Lei Sitong immediately transferred a new Yuntao County Magistrate and stationed a garrison beside the salt factory. Hundreds of workers and supervisors who were involved in the critical stages of the production were all personally selected by him. Word had it that they were selected from the group of retired veterans from Lei Sitong’s personal troop and there were even a few competent ones among them. The entire salt factory was managed in a strict military-style that was even more strict than the manufacturing bureau.

It took more than ten days to finish setting up the salt factory in Yuntao County. After the first batch of salt was produced yesterday, Yan Liqiang parted with Lei Sitong in the evening and returned to the manufacturing bureau.

To Yan Liqiang, his return from Yuntao Country signified that he had settled all matters related to money-making and industry projects. Although there were still countless blueprints in Yan Liqiang’s mind, he had no choice but to take a break due to the current situation.

Upon his return from Yuntao County, Yan Liqiang realized that in order to do big things and make a breakthrough, he needed to establish his own group of people. However, there weren’t enough people for him to use right now. Due to that, the places he was truly in control were only the manufacturing bureau and Liuhe Town. Once he left those two places and went off to do something on his own, he wouldn’t be able to make ends meet. There was basically no one beside him. People were the fundamental factor, and only with someone beside him would he be able to tackle the situation in front of him and make a breakthrough. Without people, even if he made more money, it would only make him a mere wealthy man and a scrooge.

Early this morning, Yan Liqiang had Hu Haihe drive the four-wheeled carriage and brought Yu Qing along with him. Together, they left the manufacturing bureau and drove toward Pingxi City on the public road...

Chapter 460: Changes Had Occurred

“Young Lord, were those spears and arrows on those ox carriages outside the manufacturing bureau really manufactured by the villagers from neighboring villages?”

Upon hearing Yu Qing’s question, Yan Liqiang lifted his eyes from the court bulletin in his hands and looked outside through the slightly ajar stained glass window. He smiled as he noticed that the carriage was already on the public road, “Yes, all the weapons in the manufacturing bureau, such as the long spears and arrows, are now being manufactured by the villagers!”

The court bulletin was delivered from the Pingxi Prefectural Governor’s Office last night. Before Yan Liqiang left Yuntao County last night, he had only casually mentioned it and Wang Jianbei requested someone to have it delivered to Yan Liqiang. Thereafter, whenever the Prefectural Governor’s Office received the court bulletin from the imperial court, they would make one copy to send to the manufacturing bureau so that Yan Liqiang could learn about the latest happenings in the imperial court.

“Young Lord, are you not worried about the qualities of the items produced by the villagers?” Yu Qing’s glowing eyes were filled with curiosity.

“Of course I’m not worried!” Yan Liqiang shook his head. “The artisans in the manufacturing bureau are human and likewise, the villagers are also human. In fact, you only need to provide the opportunity and guidance to those villagers and teach them how to manufacture the items. Meanwhile, the manufacturing bureau can conduct proper product examination checks. This will let villagers earn money by producing quality items and what those villagers are capable of will probably exceed our expectations. They are actually amazing!”

Long spears and arrows were nothing in comparison to Yan Liqiang’s previous life where Chinese farmers created a lot of miracles. Sometimes, as long as there was a leader leading the village under the right conditions, it wouldn’t take long for those farmers who previously only knew how to work in the fields to come out with something that could be a pillar of the industry or even become the first in the world with their shocking speed and creativity. Gears, lighter, belts, speakers and even military weapons were of no challenge to them. Some even sold drawings to make money. Once the villagers throughout the entire village put down their hoes and picked up their brushes, they transformed into artists. On the other hand, there were also villages that made money from fraud and robbery, so it all depended on what sort of opportunities were given to them. At times, the number one driving force was not science and technology, but poverty. Due to poverty, those people would grab hold of any available opportunities and they would be bursting with the eagerness to learn and the motivation to research. They would do every single task to the best of their ability.

“There’s no one else who can enable them to do this other than you, Young Lord! So you’re the amazing one!” Yu Qing looked at Yan Liqiang in admiration. The little girl didn’t know what Yan Liqiang did in Huanglong County and Yuntao County before this. Now that Yan Liqiang brought her out to look around, she was looking at him with sparkles in her eyes.

“Sometimes, amazing miracles can be created with the lowest cost when poverty is combined with the spirit of artisans!” Yan Liqiang sighed in amazement.

“I can’t really get what you are saying, but I feel like whatever you say must be right, Young Lord!” Yu Qing smiled at Yan Liqiang sweetly.

Yan Liqiang poked Yu Qing’s nose, then focused on reading the court bulletin in his hands.

–On the 13th day of the eleventh lunar month in the 16th year of the Yuanping reign, the Minister of Rites, Gong Zicheng, passed away due to illness. His Majesty granted him the Wu Xin title...

...

–On the 18th day of the eleventh lunar month in the 13th year of the Yuanping reign, an earthquake occurred in Suyang Prefecture of Xu Province. The northern gate tower in Suyang City collapsed during the earthquake. There were over a hundred thousand victims in the disaster and around three thousand houses collapsed during the earthquake. The imperial court allocated one hundred thousand taels of silver as disaster relief.

...

–On the 26th day of the eleventh lunar month in the 13th year of the Yuanping reign, Qinshui Prefecture of Hai Province sighted a comet streaking across the sky. The comet fragments crashed in the southeastern part of Qinshui Prefecture. The impact created a crater in the ground, and the loud crash could be heard from miles away. This led to a forest fire which burned for three days before it was finally extinguished by a snowfall.

...

Yan Liqiang already knew about the events before the eleventh lunar month as stated on the court bulletin. There were no changes in the things that should have happened or should still be happening. However, when Yan Liqiang saw the content for the twelfth lunar month, he immediately felt a burst of energy because he finally saw some news about Sun Bingchen.

On the twelfth lunar month last year and the first lunar month this year, Sun Bingchen had taken down the White Lotus Society and captured nearly a thousand bandits and some important people from the organization across the southern provinces. The news sent shockwaves across the nation and the imperial court even gave a commendation. The Emperor was delighted and appointed Sun Bingchen as the Crown Prince’s personal guard. In addition, he also conferred ten thousand taels of gold, thousand rolls of brocades, ten handfuls of pearls, and an imperial sword. With that, Sun Bingchen’s reputation suddenly skyrocketed.

The White Lotus Society, which was supposedly in the south at this time, immediately withered because of Sun Bingchen. They were no longer operating at the same scale as what Yan Liqiang had observed in the Heavenly Realm back then. They were only mentioned twice at the end of the court bulletin and they only existed in a few counties. So far, there had not been any reports on cities, counties, or prefectures being under attack.

After reading the news on the court bulletin, Yan Liqiang knew that the letter that he sent to Sun Bingchen had finally taken effect. The things that were supposed to happen had changed quietly. The White Lotus Society which wreaked havoc in the northern provinces last year was suddenly restricted to an extent and countless people were spared from being the sacrifices of war.

After Sun Bingchen, Yan Liqiang also saw the news about the Southeastern Navy General of the Great Han Empire, Zheng Huaian.

On the first lunar month in the 14th year of Yuanping reign, the Southeastern Navy General Zheng Huaian was out on a mission to capture bandits on the sea. He was ‘unfortunately’ injured by the cannon from a pirate’s ship and was in a ‘coma’...

A week after Zheng Huaian’s ‘accident’, the Great Han Empire’s Southeastern Deputy Navy General Zeng Jiuming and Southeastern Navy General’s Office Local Magistrate Li Zhaofeng encountered pirates when they were on the sea and had ‘died in a heroic manner’. Thus, both of them became the highest-ranking navy generals in the Great Han Empire that were killed by pirates in the recent century.

However, the record that Zeng Jiuming and Li Zhaofeng had set only lasted for less than a month. By the second lunar month of the 14th year of Yuanping reign, a group of violent pirates of unknown origin suddenly came onshore to ambush Hai Provincial Governor Ruan Yuanzhou and his party who were on a sea patrol. As a result, Ruan Yuanzhou was murdered, along with the other prefectural governors and military governors that were with him.

In the beginning of the 14th year of the Yuanping reign in the Great Han Empire, the terms ‘White Lotus Society’ and ‘pirates’ frequently appeared in the court bulletin.

An even more shocking event happened in the fourth lunar month. According to a statement on the court bulletin, many high-ranking officers from the Great Han Empire’s Southeastern Navy and Zheng Huaian who was supposedly ‘recovering at home from a serious injury’ suddenly ‘disappeared’ overnight. Disappearing together with them were the entire members of the Great Han Empire’s Southeastern Navy fleet, as well as the family members of Zheng Huaian and the other navy generals. Up until now, the imperial court remained clueless on the whereabouts of Zheng Huaian and all of the Southeastern Navy fleet’s members. At least according to the latest court bulletin updates, there was still no news about it...

Others who read the news of Zheng Huaian on the court bulletin might’ve been shocked and confused, but Yan Liqiang knew everything. Zheng Huaian who was unwilling to die inside the prison along with his family had finally made up his mind. Regardless if it was Zeng Jiuming or Li Zhaofeng from the Southeastern Navy or Hai Provincial Governor Ruan Yuanzhou, they were all on Lin Qingtian’s side. Zheng Huaian wiped out all of Lin Qingtian’s accomplices so that Lin Qiangtian would be left with nothing, then brought the entire Southeastern Navy including their families to the sea.

By now, the Southeastern Navy and Zheng Huaian might have already claimed one of the islands around the vast eastern ocean of the Great Han Empire to build their own empire. Zhen Huaian was indeed a ruthless character...

Compared to Zheng Huaian, there was no news yet from the Storm Army on the northeastern side. Long Feicheng was still keeping a low profile as usual and hardly appeared on the court bulletin.

Yan Liqiang was already very satisfied with this. He would consider it a success as long as he could foil Lin Qingtian’s plans.

While Yan Liqiang was focused on reading the court bulletin in his hands, Yu Qing had obediently lit sandalwood inside the carriage. Shrouded by the sandalwood fragrance, Yan Liqiang’s carriage drove into Pingxi City and soon arrived at the entrance of the Pingxi Prefecture Martial Arts Academy...

Yan Liqiang sent Hu Haihe and Yu Qing to look for a place to rest, then opened the carriage door and got out. He lifted his head to look at the place that he was very familiar with. After looking for a while, Yan Liqiang smiled and walked through the martial arts academy’s door...

Chapter 461: Down Memory Lane

There were guards guarding the entrance of the martial arts academy, so not everyone could enter the martial arts academy on their own will. When Yan Liqiang arrived, two guards at the entrance kept staring and sized up his four-wheeled carriage. He went through the entrance of the martial arts academy and gently nodded to the two guards – they were overwhelmed by his gesture. They welcomed him with a smile and let him through without any questions.

“Do you know the young lord who just went in? How come we’ve never seen him before?”

Even after Yan Liqiang walked dozens li away from the entrance, he could still hear the two guards whispering behind him.

“Many people don’t usually come to the martial arts academy, but the young lord seems to be very familiar with the academy, so he might be a student whom we have never seen before. And did you see his carriage? It is estimated that not more than five people in the whole Pingxi Prefecture is qualified to ride on those four-wheeled carriages!”

“Ha, isn’t it just another four-wheeled carriage? I’ve seen more than one on the street...”

The other guard laughed, “You have bad eyesight. The four-wheeled carriage that the young lord rode on is different from the other four-wheeled carriages. It is definitely manufactured by the Gan Province Manufacturing Bureau. Although the other carriages can replicate its appearance, there are still differences in some parts. You’ll be able to tell as you see more. For someone who can ride in such a carriage, we can’t stop him if he intends to come in, even if he’s not a student here!”

“Ha, tell me the difference between the carriages manufactured by the manufacturing bureau and other carriages. I’ve heard a lot of talks that the carriages manufactured by the manufacturing bureau are one of a kind, but what is so special about them?”

“Ahem, I haven’t ridden on one, but I heard the lecturer of the martial arts academy mention that the carriages manufactured by the manufacturing bureau have two steel mechanisms at the bottom of the carriages which are connected to the wheels. They are flexible yet durable. With those two mechanisms, riding in those carriages isn’t bumpy like the other carriages. The manufacturing bureau also manufactured the carriage that is used by the Emperor of the Imperial Capital City...”

“I heard that the person who established the Gan Province Manufacturing Bureau was a former student of our martial arts academy!”

“Ahem, of course. When Lord Yan was still at the martial arts academy back then, I always saw him around. We are well acquainted and he would greet me every time we met. I bumped into him at a restaurant before and we even had a drink together. Let me tell you this, Lord Yan is a lightweight. Just a cup of wine is enough to cause his face to flush like a lady. Before Lord Yan left the martial arts academy for the Imperial Capital with Lord Sun Bincheng, he told me that I could always get someone to send him a letter if I came across any problems...”

“Ah, it turns out that Brother Hui is so familiar with Lord Yan...”

“I like to keep a low profile so I don’t show off. You’ve never seen me tell anyone that I’m close with Lord Yan, have you?”

Yan Liqiang broke into laughter as he listened to the conversation behind him.

Mount Thousand Pine remained the same. The small road and forest barely changed at all. Everything was still the same as when he was last here. Yan Liqiang walked through Mount Thousand Pine, feeling sentimental as he listened to the rustling of pine trees in the wind, as well as the chirping of birds and insects.

There was only one class per week at the martial arts academy. Since there was no class today, not many students were around. Furthermore, the weather today was great as the sun was bright and beautiful – it was a perfect time to take a walk. Hence, there were even fewer students inside the martial arts academy.

Yan Liqiang came to the martial arts academy to look for Shen Teng, Shi Dafeng, and Shi Changfeng.

Among all the people that Yan Liqiang knew, Shi Changfeng was the one who loved reading the most. On a day like this, most of the lecturers would have gone for an excursion, but Shi Changfeng would most likely be in the martial arts academy burying his head in books, meditating, or cultivating. Unless there was a special case, Shi Changfeng would be the one who stayed the longest at the martial arts academy.

Needless to say, Shen Teng and Shi Dafeng were at the martial arts academy even if the others were not there. Yan Liqiang heard that after he left Pingxi Prefecture with Sun Bingcheng, Shen Teng and Shi Dafeng changed completely. They started to work really hard.

Shen Teng and Shi Dafeng invited each other to go to the martial arts academy every day before daybreak. They started off by running around Mount Thousand Pine while carrying sandbags, then they would make a few rounds going up and down Mount Thousand Pine. They never missed a single class and when there was no class, they would stay in the martial arts academy to either practice their spear or sword skills and other fundamental martial skills, or spar with the other students at the arena. Those who joined the martial arts academy in the same year as both of them were terrified of sparring with them. Whenever anyone saw both of them, they would take a detour just to avoid them. The two of them ended up starting to challenge their seniors in the arena since the middle of last year. They even competed amongst themselves to see who had the most wins from sparring with their seniors...

While Yan Liqiang was cultivating in seclusion for the past six months, Shen Teng and Shi Dafeng had gone to Liuhe Town to find him, but they left after they found out that Yan Liqiang wasn’t at home. Now that Yan Liqiang was back from cultivating, it was only natural for him to find them at the martial arts academy. Not only that, but he was also planning to rope them and Shi Changfeng into something.

Yan Liqiang was familiar with the surroundings. After he reached Mount Thousand Pine, he did not go anywhere else. Instead, he headed straight to the tournament hall of the martial arts academy. Yan Liqiang predicted that there was a high possibility that both Shen Teng and Shi Dafeng would be at the arena today.

Yan Liqiang met some students of the martial arts academy along the way. They probably never met Yan Liqiang before, but they weren’t curious about him either. They merely swept their gazes across him before continuing on.

It was only when Yan Liqiang reached an intersection did a student of the martial arts academy who came from a small alley at the side meet him face to face.

“Ah...” The student’s mind when blank the moment he saw Yan Liqiang and suddenly became tongue-tied. Judging from his facial expression, it was as if he had never expected that he would meet Yan Liqiang here.

Yan Liqiang glanced at him and realized that the person was a classmate from Qinghe County. His name was probably Wang Hai, a student two years older than himself and placed seventh during that year’s Martial Arts County Trial. Although they didn’t interact much with each other, they were at least acquainted.

“Haha, long time no see, Brother Wang. May I know if Shen Teng and Shi Dafeng are at the arena hall?” Yan Liqiang smiled and took the initiative to ask while nodding to his fellow villager.

After hearing Yan Liqiang’s words, Wang Hai quickly responded with a nod, “Yes, yes, Shen Teng and Shi Dafeng have been hanging out at the arena hall for the past few days.”

“Oh, thank you!” Yan Liqiang nodded and walked toward the arena hall.

Wang Hai watched Yan Liqiang walk into the distance before he was suddenly swept by indescribable excitement. A strange emotion brewed inside his heart, “He still remembers my name...!”

...

The moment Yan Liqiang stepped through the arena hall’s entrance, he could already hear Shi Dafeng’s arrogant laughter, “Hahaha, how’s that?! Aren’t my fists amazing? Anyone else want to come up here to get a beating from me? Don’t waste time now, show me your manners as a senior...”

Chapter 462: Brotherhood

Yan Liqiang looked around the arena hall to find that there weren’t many people inside there. Aside from the people practicing their martial moves on two arena stages, there was another small crowd gathered around one of the arena stages at the eastern part of the hall. Yan Liqiang could almost immediately spot Shi Dafeng who was laughing his head off.

Shi Dafeng stood half-naked on the stage with his back facing the arena hall’s entrance, showing off his muscular body. He was insolently pointing his finger at those who were below the stage.

Shen Teng was also spectating the battle below the stage. Although he was facing the entrance, he didn’t notice Yan Liqiang enter the arena hall. Shi Dafeng was pointing to about seven or eight people below the stage. They were about one or two years older than Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng. Yan Liqiang had never met them before, but they were probably seniors who had joined the martial arts academy before Yan Liqiang. Among those seven to eight seniors, one of them was rubbing his shoulder with a pained expression. It was possible that he was the one Shi Dafeng defeated just now.

Yan Liqiang slowly made his way toward the stage. Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng did not take notice of Yan Liqiang who was slowly approaching.

“Don’t get mad, I’ll spar with you...” Among the seniors, one of them who wore blue warrior attire pressed his hand gently on the stage and lifted himself onto the arena stage after hearing Shi Dafeng’s words. He shot Shi Dafeng a cold stare, “Today I’ll show you that there’s always someone who is better than you. The Pingxi Martial Arts Academy is not a place for you two to act insolently. I bet you didn’t even know what a Full Arm Boxing technique was when I was practicing it!”

Shen Teng’s expression changed slightly as he watched that person step up to the stage. He also jumped onto the stage, then spoke to Shi Dafeng, “You just had a match. Get down, I’ll take this...”

“Don’t worry, the match just now was just a warm-up session. I am just getting into it. Aren’t we working toward progressing into Martial Warriors? What is there to be afraid of? I’m itching to fight him!” Shi Dafeng spoke dismissively and waved at Shen Teng. He whispered, “Besides, I am thick-skinned, I don’t care if I lose. I heard that his Full Arm Boxing technique is very powerful. Let me see what he’s got while you watch from below. You can take on the stage after I lose and be the finale for today’s gamble of ten taels of silver...”

“Are you done with your discussion? Who is up for it?” The person on the stage asked impatiently.

“We’re done discussing, I’ll be up for this round...” Shi Dafeng replied with a smile.

“Be careful then!” Shen Teng gave a pat on Shi Dafeng’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry!”

Shen Teng then got off the stage. The two people on the arena stage were about five meters away from each other. They both cupped one fist in the other hand, signaling their readiness.

“Please proceed!”

“Yes, please proceed!”

The gesture was an indication that the battle had officially commenced. Shi Dafeng let out a roar and was the first to pounce on his opponent. His opponent showed no intention of giving in. When he saw Shi Dafengcharging toward him, he took a step and charged forward too. Dharmic projections rose from both of them immediately.

Shi Dafeng’s Dharmic projection was still a black long-armed gibbon, indicating that he was performing the Full Arm Boxing technique. Likewise, the Dharmic projection of his opponent was also a black long-armed gibbon. Both of them were fighting each other with Full Arm Boxing techniques. They collided head on with each other in just the blink of an eye.

Full Arm Boxing was all about offensive power. A battle between Full Arm Boxing techniques was direct and efficient. There weren’t that many gimmicks as most of the moves were were powerful, quick, and intense.

Of course, a battle between two martial arts academy students who had yet to progress into Martial Warriors was no longer intense to Yan Liqiang now. At most, it could barely be considered as interesting.

Shi Dafeng’s Full Arm Boxing technique had improved very rapidly. Yan Liqiang recalled that when he first joined the martial arts academy, Shi Dafeng’s Full Arm Boxing technique had only attained the third layer. In just less than two years, Shi Dafeng’s Full Arm Boxing technique had reached the fifth layer and it was stronger than before. The powerful force of his fists could be heard as they sliced through the air noisily in between his movements.

Aside from being strong and ferocious, Shi Dafeng’s body was also very agile. Yan Liqiang was able to tell from a glance that the agility was a result from experiencing many real life battles. It seemed that Shi Dafeng had not been fighting any less after Yan Liqiang left the academy.

Although Shi Dafeng had made significant improvement, his opponent was still slightly stronger than him. Shi Dafeng’s Full Arm Boxing technique had attained the fifth layer, but his opponent had trained it to the sixth layer and his fist technique was also overpowering Shi Dafeng. Not only that, but his opponent also seemed to have his fair share of experience on arena stages.

In the eyes of others, the two of them were fighting intensely as the Dharmic projections of their two black long-armed gibbons were flying around and colliding against each other on the stage. The spectators would occasionally cry out in surprise. However, to Yan Liqiang, it had been a long while since he last saw such a ‘pure’ battle. Both of them were solely competing with the strength of their fist techniques. They were pulling their punches as they weren’t aiming to take each other’s lives. The two Dharmic projections might look majestic and impressive to the rest, but they just appeared to be rather innocent and adorable in Yan Liqiang’s eyes. Such a battle could only be seen in the martial arts academy.

Among the battles that Yan Liqiang fought after he left the martial arts academy, he saw less Dharmic projections as he encountered stronger opponents. However, that did not mean Yan Liqiang’s opponents were no longer able to produce Dharmic projections. It was because a person would be able to control the appearance of Dharmic projections after one progressed into a Martial Warrior. The battles in the adult world were full of dirty tricks and schemes. Dharmic projections would not enhance a person’s cultivation or the technique’s power but instead expose the user’s cultivation realm to his opponents. Hence, his opponent would be able to assess his cultivation realm and remain vigilant. This was why Dharmic projections were rarely seen in fights between the experts. Even if one really appeared, the opponent would think that it was a trick or a trap.

They were indeed at an innocent age for their Dharmic projections to be still visible in fights. It was a pity that they didn’t shout the name of their techniques! Yan Liqiang sighed in his heart as it had been a very long time since he unleashed his Dharmic projection during a battle.

Shi Dafeng didn’t want to admit defeat. Although he was being overpowered, he clenched his teeth to endure three punches from his opponent at the end. Right before Shi Dafeng was going to be pushed off the stage, he managed to land a blow on his opponent’s right shoulder, causing his opponent to stagger back two steps.

Shi Dafeng flipped himself back upright from the ground after falling off the stage. He touched the trace of blood at the corner of his lips while he spoke to Shen Teng, “I punched his right shoulder – it will definitely affect the speed of his fist later. You can make use of your speed and focus on attacking his right side. We still have a chance to win...”

As Shen Teng was about to go on stage, a voice came from behind him, “There’s no need to continue the fight. Shen Teng, beware of getting hit with a bloody nose and a swollen face if you go up. You won’t look handsome, and furthermore it’s not your usual style and principle to have your hair messed up...”

Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng immediately froze after they heard the voice. They quickly turned their heads to find Yan Liqiang walking toward them with a smile. Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng were unable to hide their surprise; they looked at each other and without even thinking, they left the stage and ran toward Yan Liqiang. As they rushed toward Yan Liqiang, one of them swung a fist while the other swung his palm at Yan Liqiang’s chest...

“Hey, is this how you welcome your good brother at first sight...?!” Yan Liqiang shouted as he gently took a step back to dodge their attack.

“Haha, we wanted to see if you have improved after returning from the outside world...” Shi Dafeng laughed, “Hmm, it would seem like your footwork has improved a lot. Let us give it another try...”

Shen Teng and Shi Dafeng exchanged glances with each other before they both pounced on Yan Liqiang with another technique. Yan Liqiang did not dodge this time, but he straightened up his body and leaned forward instead, ready to receive their attacks with his chest. When they saw Yan Liqiang’s reaction, the forces of their fist and palm suddenly weakened before they finally landed on Yan Liqiang’s shoulder with an average force.

Yan Liqiang also punched both of them on their shoulders. The three of them looked at each other and laughed loudly together.

Chapter 463: Partnership

“Hey, are you still competing or not? Otherwise, you’ll be considered the loser!”

Just as the three of them were getting excited, a voice came from the arena stage nearby.

“Hahaha, please wait a while, Liqiang. I’ll finish sparring with that person, then we’ll find a place to catch up...” Shen Teng laughed and was about to return to the stage.

Yan Liqiang pulled Shen Teng back and shook his head, “Don’t continue...”

“Shi Dafeng landed a punch on that person’s shoulder. I might not lose if I go for the battle!” Shen Teng was still unconvinced as he spoke.

“Yes, I think Shen Teng will definitely win if he continues. I strived to hit him twice just now in order to create an opportunity for Shen Teng!” Shi Dafeng chimed in.

“That person was holding back to deliberately let you hit him so that Shen Teng would continue with the fight. He’s afraid that if he had won so easily, Shen Teng would never go up there to get beaten...”

“Ah, how is that possible?” Shen Teng and Shi Dafeng were shocked.

Yan Liqiang smiled at the person standing on the stage and cupped his fist at him, “Thank you for your leniency. My two brothers lost this battle. If you really want to compete, please wait until my two brothers have progressed into Martial Warriors. I’m afraid it would be unfair for you to compete with them now!”

The expression of the young man changed upon hearing Yan Liqiang. Shen Teng and Shi Dafeng were shocked too.

“What? He’s already progressed into a Martial Warrior? That’s impossible! He hadn’t progressed yet the last time we fought!” Shi Dafeng asked in disbelief.

“When was your last fight with him?” Yan Liqiang asked.

“Just seven days ago!” Shen Teng replied.

“He was not a Martial Warrior seven days ago, but he is now!” Yan Liqiang smiled, “Seems like you two are still offending others in the martial arts academy over the past year. People even had to restrain themselves just to have the chance to beat you up to vent their anger!”

“If that’s the case, then there’s no need to compete...” Shen Teng definitely would not deliberately fight against someone he knew had no chance against. Although he had improved a lot compared to the time when Yan Liqiang left, he still had some way to go before he could become a true Martial Warrior. It would be a disgrace for him to get beaten up in front of Yan Liqiang.

Shi Dafeng frowned as he glanced at the stage and sighed, “What a pity for my ten taels of silver!”

“May I ask for your name?” The young man who was on the stage came forward. He returned the silver in his hands to Shi Dafeng. “When Shen Teng and Shi Dafeng made the appointment for the competition, I had not progressed into a Martial Warrior yet. They were the ones who initiated the fight that day and it wasn’t my intention to conceal my strength. Since there are wins and losses in the battle today, we’ll consider it a tie!”

Yan Liqiang cast a glance at that person. With his Psychic Serpent’s ability, he was able to read that person’s mind to see if he was telling the truth.

He had to admit that though there might be bastards like Ye Xiao or Wang Haofei among those who were qualified to enter the martial arts academy, there weren’t many bad people among the youngsters here. Most of them had not been polluted by the outside world, thus they were not as cunning and still retained some youthful spirit and innocence. The young man who battled Shen Teng and Shi Dafeng was a prime example. He had heard about Shen Teng and Shi Dafeng, and when the two of them invited him for a battle, his intention was to teach the ‘arrogant’ Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng a lesson and let them suffer a little. However, he had no other ill intentions. When he discovered Yan Liqiang’s ability to see through him, he was shocked and yet curious as he noticed Yan Liqiang’s unusual aura. Furthermore, since Yan Liqiang was close with Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng, he thought that Yan Liqiang was also a student of the martial arts academy and he would like to get to know him.

“Haha, you’re too kind. My name is Yan Liqiang. I used to be a student at the martial arts academy!” Yan Liqiang smiled without excessive arrogance.

“Yan Liqiang...why does this name sound so familiar...” That person frowned and mumbled to himself. His eyes almost instantly widened as he looked at Yan Liqiang in shock and excitement because he finally recalled who Yan Liqiang was. In the Pingxi Prefecture Martial Arts Academy, this name had become a legend filled with mystery...

Yan Liqiang smiled but remained silent. He cupped his fist then left the arena hall together with Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng.

“Ah, Brother Fei, who is that?” The other young men came over and asked.

The person named Brother Fei took a deep breath and tried his best to answer in a calm tone, “That person is Yan Liqiang!”

“What?” The few people beside him immediately gasped!

By now, Yan Liqiang, Shen Teng, and Shi Dafeng had left the arena hall.

“Where are we going now?” Shi Dafeng immediately asked.

“I have not seen Teacher Shi for a long time. Is Teacher Shi at the martial arts academy? If he’s here, let’s find a place where we can all sit down together!” Yan Liqiang said.

“I saw Teacher Shi this morning, he should be at his quarters!” Shen Teng replied.

“Let us call Teacher Shi!”

“Liqiang, you’ll be paying for today’s meal. I heard that you’re rich now, so we’ll choose the most expensive place in Pingxi Prefecture!” Shi Dafeng laughed and giggled as he spoke.

“Hahaha, you can choose any place that you like. I can even pay for the whole month!” Yan Liqiang also laughed.

“It’s a deal then!”

“When was I ever a rascal?!”

“Hahaha, alright, we’ll go look for Teacher Shi!”

The three of them arrived outside of the courtyard where Shi Changfeng stayed on Mount Thousand Pine. Before even reaching the entrance, Shi Dafeng already shouted, “Teacher Shi, open the door quickly! Look who’s here to see you!”

A few seconds later, the door of the courtyard opened with a creak. Shi Changfeng appeared behind the door with a scroll in his hands and saw Yan Liqiang looking at him with a smile.

“Teacher Shi, it’s been a while. You look great as always!”

“Yan Liqiang...” Shi Changfeng’s expression was immediately filled with shock and delight. He didn’t expect Yan Liqiang would come to the martial arts academy to see him.

“Hahaha, Teacher Shi, I already made a deal with Yan Liqiang that he’ll be paying for today’s meal. We will go to the most expensive place in Pingxi City and make him spend some good money!” Shen Teng laughed.

“Indeed, we should let him spend some good money. After all, the carriage he created made everyone green with envy!” Shi Changfeng also laughed and then looked at Yan Liqiang. “Did you come here on your carriage today? If you did, I’d like to take a ride on the carriage that even His Majesty is fond of to see how comfortable it is. I heard that it’s the best choice for a gentleman to travel in!”

“If Teacher Shi likes it, I’ll have the manufacturing bureau make one for you as a gift!”

“If you put it that way, I’ll take it as real!” Shi Changfeng put away the scroll in his hands and gave Yan Liqiang a half-smile, “If it’s not a gift from you, then I am not rich enough to afford a four-wheeled carriage from the manufacturing bureau!”

“Of course it’s for real!” Yan Liqiang blinked, “I’m still looking for a provost for the archery academy. If Teacher Shi is willing to come over, the four-wheeled carriage will be my deposit to you!”

“Just one four-wheeled carriage is not enough!” Shi Changfeng smiled as he shook his head.

“If one is not enough, then we’ll make two!”

Shi Changfeng was taken aback before bursting into laughter. When he was done laughing, he sized up Yan Liqiang through his squinted eyes, “It’s been over a year since we last met, you’ve become quite the smooth talker and you’ve grown a lot too. What cultivation realm have you attained? There were rumors from the Imperial Capital City claiming that you had fallen into Qi deviation and lost your cultivation from a serious dantian injury!”

“If I tell Teacher Shi the truth, will you come with me?” Yan Liqiang asked with double meaning.

“Hahaha, maybe...”

“If it was someone else asking, I’d definitely muddle through it. But since it’s Teacher Shi who asked, I’ll tell you the truth!” Yan Liqiang smiled as he looked at Shi Changfeng, “I have now progressed into Martial Grandmaster. Is this sufficient to make Teacher Shi follow me and leave the martial arts academy?”

“What?!”

Shi Changfeng’s expression did not change, but Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng who were beside him were deeply shocked. Shi Dafeng couldn’t help but scream in shock.

Shi Changfeng suddenly sighed, “The three of you, please wait here for a moment!” After he finished speaking, he turned around and went inside the courtyard.

“Liqiang, have you really...really progressed into a Martial Grandmaster?” Shi Dafeng grabbed Yan Liqiang’s arms and stared firmly into his eyes.

Yan Liqiang nodded...

“That’s absurd!” Shi Dafeng said bitterly. He smacked on his head and smiled bitterly. “Shen Teng and I even made an agreement to see who can catch up to you first, but I guess there’s no chance now! People are saying you can meet deities who teach you secret techniques in your dreams, is that real?”

Yan Liqiang smiled but remained silent...

After a while, Shi Changfeng returned with a luggage in his hand, a package on his back, and also a long sword. It was as if he was ready to go on a long journey.

“Teacher Shi, you’re...” Shen Teng was utterly shocked when he looked at Shi Changfeng.

Yan Liqiang had walked forward and taken one of the packages in Shi Changfeng’s hands. He smiled to Shen Teng, “Of course Teacher Shi will not be coming back so he went inside to pack his belongings. He also left a letter for the headmaster...”

“The two of you should stop spacing out!” Shi Changfeng said to Shen Teng and Shi Dafeng, “Go pack your belongings and let’s go to the archery academy. Yan Liqiang came here today to ask us to go together. Following someone with a million net worth and has progressed into Martial Grandmaster under the age of eighteen is a thousand times better than staying at this martial arts academy. Even if you don’t pack up your things now, you will still be packing your things in two days!”

“Hahaha, Teacher Shi knows me the best...”

“I’m going, I’m going...” Shen Teng had not even opened his mouth and Shi Dafeng was already jumping in joy...

Chapter 464: The Beginning

All construction work on the archery academy was completed on the first day of the seventh lunar month. On the tenth day of the seventh lunar month, Yan Liqiang brought a few people from Liuhe Town to stay at the archery academy and they began their work.

A few days before returning to the archery academy, Yan Liqiang brought Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng to Pingxi Prefecture’s Yingwei County to finalize the matter of the border trading post.

The border trading post was actually a commodity trading market approved by the government officials. The conflict within the Gulang Plains had escalated and there was already a trend of it expanding. For the past few months, there were visibly less Shatu caravans coming into Gan Province from the Gulang Plains. This caused an increase in the price of imported wood material, medicine, leather, and other similar products. After the discussion of salt pans with Lei Sitong, official approval was granted when Lei Sitong returned to Gan Province on setting up the border trading post at Yingwei County to start trading with the Great Moon Tribe, Wusu Tribe, and Piyue Tribe of Mount Jade Dragon.

When Yan Liqiang arrived in Yingwei Country, it was only then that he learned that besides the ‘influential tribes’ such as the Great Moon Tribe, Wusu Tribe, Piyue Tribe, there were also some Han Chinese and smaller tribes who lived in the mountains too. Those Han Chinese were war refugees who fled to the mountains a long time ago. They then settled down in the mountain and formed numerous independent and ungoverned small villages. Those villages were small scale villages with around ten to a few hundred villagers and scattered with a bit of distance from each other. Due to that, they hardly communicated with each other. Influential tribes such as the Great Moon Tribe, Wusu Tribe, and Piyue Tribe had low populations and thus they were not of high importance. This was the same for all the other smaller tribes and villages on Mount Jade Dragon as they also needed to leave the mountain to trade for salt and ironware. Since there was a demand for trading, a border trading post would bring convenience for many people.

Yingwei County was the most impoverished county in Pingxi Prefecture, so it was only natural that they didn’t have any funds to build a border trading post. The county’s warehouse could not even come up with a few thousand taels of silver, so the cost for construction of the border trading post eventually fell on Yan Liqiang’s shoulders.

Yan Liqiang went to Yingwei County to meet the County Magistrate and the Barrack General of the Yingwei County garrison to discuss the location, investment, and agreement on how the three parties could split the profits and benefits from the border trading post.

By right with Lei Sitong and Wang Jianbei’s support, Yan Liqiang could have monopolized the border trading post when he was setting it up with his position as the Qiyun Protectorate General. He could have safely ousted characters such as the County Magistrate and the Barrack General of Yingwei County. Due to the consideration of a long term situation, Yan Liqiang chose to give up a few of his benefits and share them with Yingwei County’s local authorities.

By the time Yan Liqiang left Yingwei County, all three parties were delighted and satisfied. The County Magistrate and Barrack General of Yingwei Country escorted Yan Liqiang for about ten li before parting reluctantly.

This trip to Yingwei County made Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng reach a resolution to stay beside Yan Liqiang.

To Yan Liqiang, this trip to Yingwei Country had once again exposed his shortcoming of not having trustworthy, competent people beside him. In the end, Yan Liqiang could only select a steward who was considered bright among the others from the Yan Residence to lead a few servants to Yingwei County to follow up on the progress of the border trading post.

Upon his return from Yingwei County, Yan Liqiang focused on the matter of the archery academy.

He was fortunate that he was no longer a lone commander as this time he had Shi Changfeng, Shen Teng, and Shi Dafeng assisting him. Yan Liqiang had also temporarily transferred a group of people and two capable stewards from the manufacturing bureau so that the preparation work of the archery academy could progress smoothly.

...

On the 28th day of the seventh lunar month, Yan Liqiang woke up before daybreak. As usual, he completed his routine morning tasks, cultivated three rounds of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing, and ate breakfast that was served by Yu Qing before walking out from his courtyard.

Yan Liqiang stayed in a quiet and beautiful courtyard which was located at the back of the Justice Hall, halfway up Mount Hundred Zhang. There was a fragrant peach forest outside his residence. When he walked out from the courtyard, he could oversee the whole archery academy.

The layout of the archery academy adapted the chinese character, ‘zhong’ ( 中). The east side of the academy was a huge leveled-off horse ranch which took up one-third of the area of the archery academy. The horse ranch was surrounded by the Pine Forest and across the horse ranch, on the west side of the archery academy, there were the archery range and training grounds. Other facilities such as the student hostel, library, dining hall, meeting rooms, and administration buildings were located at both sides of the middle of the archery academy, all the way up along Mount Hundred Zhang.

The air quality on top of Mount Hundred Zhang was good, especially at the place where Yan Liqiang stayed. Even without going outdoors, one could already smell the fragrance from the peach forest. In the third and fourth lunar months of the year, romantic peach blossoms would fill the forest. In the seventh and eighth lunar months of the year, which was now, the forest was filled with ripe peaches hanging from the trees, releasing a tempting scent.

It was such a coincidence that this peach forest in the archery academy of Mount Hundred Zhang was the exact forest where Yan Liqiang had killed Hong An. This was also the place where Yan Liqiang began to gradually transform from an inexperienced youth to a decisive man. Every time he saw this peach forest, he would recall the crisis that his clan was in two years ago. In his mind, he wondered if people from the Hong Clan ever regretted their insolence back then if they saw the archery academy today.

It was a special day today, so Yan Liqiang donned a new black brocade gown set which made him look handsome and heroic.

“Good morning Liqiang...” With flushed complexions, Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng came from a courtyard not far away and greeted Yan Liqiang as he walked out from his courtyard.

“Good morning!” Yan Liqiang smiled, “You guys are quite early!”

“Hahaha, today is a big day for the archery academy. Of course we cannot be slacking off!” Shi Dafeng chuckled mischievously. He walked toward Yan Liqiang and winked at him, after making sure that there were no other people around, he said, “Your Five Animal Frolics technique was awesome. Shen Teng and I have just practiced it for a few days and we can already feel the powerful effects in our bodies. I guess we will pass the Stretching Tendon and Extending Bone stage soon; the days to progressing into Martial Warrior are not too far!”

“Mmm, as long as it’s useful!”

“Liqiang, you mentioned that the archery academy will only accept two thousand students for the first intake. How many people do you think will be coming today?” Shen Teng asked as he stared into the distance, “I heard from Teacher Shi that people have been waiting outside the archery academy since yesterday morning!”

“We’ll know how many people are coming in a short while!”

“Ah, Teacher Shi is here too!” Shi Dafeng shouted.

As the three of them were talking, they saw Shi Changfeng emerge from a bamboo forest not far away. Shi Changfeng also looked fresh today – he wore a long white robe which gave off his unusual aura, and made him look as though he was treading on air. He walked toward them and greeted them, staring deeply at Yan Liqiang before speaking with a serious tone, “Liqiang, once the archery academy opens its doors today, you are the leader and headmaster of this archery academy. You will be responsible for the future of the thousands of students of this academy as their destinies will be strongly connected to you. Are you ready for this?”

“Don’t worry Teacher Shi, I am already well-prepared!” Yan Liqiang took a deep breath, “There’ll be many matters in the archery academy which will require your help in the future!”

“From today onward, you do not need to address me as ‘Teacher’, just address me by my name or my job title. Everyone in this archery academy sees you as a leading figure!”

“In that case, I shall address you as Deputy Headmaster!”

“Haha, that sounds much more noble!” Shi Changfeng laughed, “Let’s get ready and go, I guess people have waited long outside to register for the academy!”

“Alright!”

Ten minutes later, when the first ray of sunlight touched the tip of the drum tower of the archery academy, Yan Liqiang instructed someone to open the doors of the archery academy. He was shocked by the sight of the large crowds at the plaza outside the entrance.

Yan Liqiang had only prepared to accept two thousand students for the archery academy’s first intake, but there was definitely more than ten thousand people outside the academy right now. This scenario immediately reminded Yan Liqiang of the bustling scene of registering as a civil servant in his previous life...

Chapter 465: Obey Orders In All Your Actions

When the dense crowd saw the archery academy open, many people couldn’t help but surge forward. However, the people in front stopped in their tracks before the sill at the main entrance.

Facing the archery academy and the people at the entrance that were standing solemnly before them, the people at the front quickly quieted down. The people at the back were quite rowdy at first, but the noise gradually died down too when the people at the front went silent.

Since this was well within Yan Liqiang’s expectations, he had the blacksmith workshop construct a few big horns made out of iron sheets. By the time they were completed, everyone thought the idea was novel. Without the existence of megaphones, these items were indeed extremely useful and one of the best tools Yan Liqiang could think of. Of course, an expert’s yell could be heard within a radius of ten li and would thus render the big horns useless, but even so they would still come in handy for now.

Yan Liqiang stood at the archery academy’s entrance along with Shi Changfeng, Shi Dafeng, and Shen Teng behind him. The veterans that were introduced to the Yan Clan by Lei Sitong lined up solemnly and respectfully on both sides of the entrance with their heads held up high. The unusual aura they exuded caused them to look formidable and reliable. With the two rows of veterans standing there, the grandeur of the archery academy was instantly brought out.

Yan Liqiang was holding one of the big horns as he swept his gaze across the young faces.

The age range of the people who came to sign up at the archery academy was around twelve to twenty years old. Some were dressed in gorgeous silk robes while some were only wearing simple linen clothing. The people gathered here were not only different in age, but they also had very different family backgrounds. The only similarity they had was perhaps the expression on their faces. Every single one of them looked in this direction with excitement. The golden rays of the morning sun shone upon their youthful faces brimming with energy.

After taking a deep breath, Yan Liqiang raised the big horn in his hand. He mustered up his inner strength and the air in his lungs, then shouted at everyone outside the archery academy. “I AM YAN LIQIANG!”

The simple four words were clearly conveyed to the crowd outside of the archery academy’s entrance, immediately stirring up another commotion out there. Yan Liqiang’s cultivation realm was amplified by the big horn as his words reverberated in all directions with a volume that was not inferior to a modern loudspeaker.

The youths looked at the big horn Yan Liqiang was holding curiously as they wondered about the mysterious object that was capable of generating such a loud sound. The eyes of those who had only heard of Yan Liqiang’s name and the stories about him, immediately lit up, as their impression of Yan Liqiang immediately grew like a mountain.

“First of all, thank you everyone. I am aware that all of you have ambitious hearts and have come here because you have faith in me. First, allow me to express my gratitude!” Yan Liqiang bowed to everyone, then straightened up.

“Today, the archery academy will be recruiting students for the very first time. We plan to only recruit two thousand students this year. Like any dojos or martial arts academies, this place does not welcome all comers. Everyone will be tested before they will be allowed to join the archery academy and we have certain requirements toward student’s aptitudes in various aspects. Therefore, all of you will need to be mentally prepared. Only those who stand out are eligible to join the archery academy! Regardless of your background, anyone who wishes to join should remember the first rule of the archery academy as soon as you step over the sill in front of me!”

Yan Liqiang scanned around, then lifted a finger and pointed to the big crimson red words painted on the screen wall behind him. “All of you must keep these six words in mind –’Obey Orders In All Your Actions’. As soon as you enter this place, you are only allowed to act on orders – that includes eating, drinking, urinating, defecating, walking, running, sitting, and sleeping. Anyone who dares to break or challenge this rule shall be expelled immediately. My archery academy will not allow the existence of any rulebreakers! Understood?!”

“Understood!”

“LOUDER! ALL TOGETHER! UNDERSTOOD?!” Yan Liqiang roared.

“UNDERSTOOD!” More than ten thousand people roared in unison.

“Well then, those who wish to join the archery academy follow me inside. You will be able to join after taking the test!” Yan Liqiang turned around, then whispered something to Shi Changfeng and the rest before they headed directly to the training field inside the archery academy.

The people outside the archery academy exchanged looks with each other. One of them took the lead to go through the main entrance before everyone else followed suit. The crowd of more than ten thousand people outside the archery academy was not inferior to the crowd at a train station during peak travel season. The crowd surged toward the archery academy and followed Yan Liqiang into the training field to the left of the main entrance.

The training field occupied about four or five hundred mu of land and had a high platform. The ground was hard and leveled. Huge green rectangular bricks about a square foot each were set a meter apart from each other on the ground. From the high platform in the training field, these green bricks were neatly laid in a straight line. This place could accommodate twenty thousand people, not to mention only ten thousand.

Yan Liqiang looked at the influx of people into the training field from the high platform, then lifted the big horn in his hand once again. “The recruitment exam for joining the archery academy may take a long while. No one is allowed to leave the venue when the exam is taking place. You will immediately fail and be disqualified upon leaving the venue. To be fair, you will now be given fifteen minutes to prepare yourselves. You may relieve yourselves in the public washrooms on both sides of the training field. The exam will officially commence in seven minutes!”

Those who just entered the training field immediately made a beeline for the public toilet on either side of the training field as soon as they heard Yan Liqiang’s announcement. The youths very quickly discovered the first unusual place in this archery academy and were all amazed. The washrooms in this place were spacious, clean and tidy. The ground and walls were covered by magnificent marble stone. Such luxury was rare even among the inns in Pingxi Prefecture, let alone the washrooms.

Yan Liqiang had people build the public washrooms in the archery academy according to the standards from his previous life. Naturally, there was nothing much left to say about their cleanliness.

In less than seven minutes, people returned to the training field in succession.

“Everyone, please look at the ground you are standing on. Do you see the green bricks? Find one for yourself to stand on!”

Fifteen minutes was up. Many were already standing in position but some were still not. Yan Liqiang made a signal with his eyes – Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng rushed into the field with two groups of veterans. They pulled out the people who didn’t manage to find a spot to stand on and immediately disqualified them before sending them out of the archery academy.

“Why are you chasing me away?! We haven’t even started yet?!” A young man that was being chased away shouted loudly.

“All of you were told that you will only be given fifteen minutes. The time is up, so those who aren’t standing where they should be cannot participate in the exam because you have just been disqualified. You do not meet the requirements of joining the archery academy. Follow me outside...”

In just the blink of an eye, dozens were disqualified and requested to leave the venue. The training field instantly went silent as the atmosphere turned solemn. Everyone standing there felt a chill down their spines. It was at this point in time that everyone realized that the rules in this archery academy were no joke...

Chapter 466: Trial

Yan Liqiang stood on the high platform. After the disqualified candidates left the venue, the entire training field immediately fell silent. It was then that Yan Liqiang lifted the big horn in hand and spoke again.

“Very good. Now all of you understand what it means to act only on command. Laziness and negligence in this archery academy come with a price to pay. This is neither a market that will allow you to bargain nor an ordinary dojo that serves you after you enroll with a sum of money. For the disciples from Pingxi Prefecture, you won’t be required to pay any fees and you will be allowed to stay and study here for free. However, my only requirement for you is to obey every command. The management of this archery academy will be extremely strict, even more so than an army camp. All of you may treat this as getting enlisted in the army. You’ll be staying here from now on and won’t be allowed to leave this place easily, that means you won’t be returning home every year. Therefore, those who expect to lead a relaxing life in this archery academy and learn something before returning home may leave now. If you walk out of this training field on your accord, no one will laugh at you. Such expectations will crush you in the long run. Even if you manage to pass the exam today and join the archery academy, you won’t be able to make it through the harsh training that the archery academy will be putting you through and you will ultimately be expelled in just the matter of a few days. Therefore, you might as well leave now to save your own dignity!”

Yan Liqiang paused after he finished speaking, because there were actually some people standing in the training field who were intimidated by his words after reconsideration. They left the training field on their own accord, and were then escorted out of the archery academy by the people Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng had arranged.

“For those who decided to stay behind, do not rejoice yet as most of you will fail the exam and be eliminated today. There are more than ten thousand people standing here today, but probably only one-fifth of you will make it. For those who fail the exam, do not be discouraged. If you still wish to join the academy, we’ll still be recruiting next year. By then, you can come and try your luck again. For those who manage to join the archery academy, do not rejoice yet either. As I have previously mentioned, you are not here to enjoy your life but to be prepared for hardships. It takes sweat and blood to learn the necessary skills and become the best of the best. If you cannot bear the hardships when you are in the academy, you will still be expelled. Understand?”

“Understood!”

“Louder! Understand?!”

“UNDERSTOOD!” Ten thousand people in the training field shouted in unison.

“Good, I shall explain to you about the recruitment exam now!” A strange smile appeared on Yan Liqiang’s face. “Take a good look at the green-colored bricks under your feet. We’ll be playing a game called ‘We’re All Dummies’ in a moment. When I yell ‘one, two, three, start’ later, all of you will stand on the brick and imagine you are a tree. Apart from blinking and breathing, you are not allowed to move or speak under any circumstances. You are to mimic how a tree roots itself into the ground. Any slight movement will get you disqualified. Understand?”

“Understood!”

The ‘game rules’ Yan Liqiang explained were very simple. Everyone understood as soon as he finished speaking.

“Since everyone is able to understand, then get ready. One, two, three, start...!”

As soon as Yan Liqiang yelled ‘start’, the training field fell into absolute silence. Everyone stood still on the green bricks with their arms by their sides. Yan Liqiang came down from the high platform. Along with Shen Teng and Shi Dafeng, they led two groups of veterans to inspect the training field.

Just a few minutes later, one of the youths on the training field couldn’t help but scratch his leg. Yan Liqiang pointed at him and made two hand gestures. One of the old veterans saw his gestures and immediately walked over to escort the youth away.

As time passed, more people had to leave after being caught for slight movements, and less remained standing in the training field. Even so, many gritted their teeth and persevered. As the sun rose higher into the sky, beads of sweat started to form on the youthful faces. They rolled down their foreheads to their cheeks before dripping onto the ground.

By noon, the temperature began to rise. The youths in the field were famished and thirsty. Just then, a group of servants from the Yan Residence appeared on the training field. Under everyone’s gaze, they started setting up tables around the field and laying the dishes they brought here on the tables.

Moo shu pork, red braised pork meatballs, salt and pepper chicken, pork kidney slices, braised beef briskets with potatoes, salted duck gizzards, salt and pepper pork chops, smoked fish, vinegar cabbage, scrambled eggs with chives, sauteed tofu, shredded chicken, and stinky tofu with capsicums...

One couldn’t deny the fact that the chefs from the Yan Residence were highly skilled. The moment the dishes were served, their aroma filled the air in the training field.

Just the aroma itself alone caused some people to turn their head around. The moment they moved, they were pulled out by the veterans patrolling around the field and were disqualified.

“Is... Is this really alright?” Sitting on the table, Shen Teng couldn’t help but scratch his head and asked when he saw the scrumptious meal laid on the table.

Yan Liqiang sat on the table at the high platform. Under countless gazes, he picked up a piece of pork chop with his chopsticks and took a bite. Grease instantly oozed out in his mouth. “Don’t worry. If they can’t even withstand such a small test, they don’t qualify to be part of the archery academy. Let’s enjoy the meal!”

Shi Changfeng picked up a slice of pork kidney and put it into his mouth. “Oh, the chefs in your residence are indeed skillful!”

“Let’s just eat in peace. There are more events after this!” Shi Dafeng chuckled mischievously and picked up his chopsticks too.

Shen Teng smiled wryly at the thought of Yan Liqiang’s subsequent plans, then began eating too.

The moment they started eating, a few young men stormed out of the training field on their own accord, choosing not to participate in the exam any longer.

“Ah, some people just left on their own...” Shen Teng said.

“Let them go.” Yan Liqiang calmly picked up a piece of beef. “I mentioned earlier that they’re not here to be spoiled in the archery academy. They want to learn some skills here yet cannot even stand the sight of their masters eating while they are starving. We do not tolerate those who cannot bear to see others enjoying while they are suffering!”

The exam Yan Liqiang designed might seem simple, yet it put the stamina, willpower, and patience of these young men to the test. If there were fewer candidates, Yan Liqiang naturally had other ways to test them. Since there were too many of them, this was the cheapest and most effective screening method.

By the time they were done with lunch, the sun was hanging high above their heads like a scorching fireball. The cicadas on the trees at the sides of the training field started chirping in harmony. The vapor coming from the ground turned the training field into a huge steam basket under the sun. The youths on the training field had persevered for over five hours. Their backs were drenched in sweat, their mouths were dry, they were seeing stars before their eyes and were zoning out. Some were even on the verge of collapsing. By now, only less than half of the initial ten thousand people remained...

Then, someone finally collapsed!

However, Yan Liqiang was well-prepared for such a scenario. When he saw the youth collapse, he waved and someone immediately went over to carry the youth into a house at the side of the training field. He was stripped of his clothing, then fed with medicine to replenish his Qi and cool down his body.

It was almost time!

Yan Liqiang cast a glance at Shi Changfeng, then nodded. The latter seemed to understand his intention and led the two groups of veterans away.

A few minutes later, the two groups of veterans reappeared on the edge of the training field, holding a few large bamboo baskets. They entered the crowd, then dumped the content in the bamboo baskets on the ground.

“ARGH, SNAKES!! SNAKES...!!!” The youths standing in the training field immediately jumped up in fright.

“AHHH, RATS!! RATS...!” Someone else shouted.

Big piles of colorful snakes were dumped on the ground and they looked extremely venomous. The moment they were emptied out of the bamboo baskets and were exposed to the sun, they were grilled by the heat from the ground. They immediately writhed in pain and then scattered in all directions, instantly shattering the calm of the training field and caused many to scream in fear while jumping out of the way.

The rats that were poured out of the bamboo baskets also scattered in all directions as soon as they landed on the ground, scurrying all around the training field.

Despite the chaos, many clenched their teeth and remained standing firmly on the spot. Yan Liqiang’s gaze fell on the youths who were still standing in the same spot, motionless like logs and boulders, unaffected by the chaos around them. A small smile finally appeared on his face...

Chapter 467: Students of the Archery Academy

Although a lot of vicious snakes were placed on the training field, they were all non-poisonous snakes such as Beauty Rat Snakes, lndian Wolf Snakes, Red Banded Snakes, Mandarin Rat Snakes, Mock Vipers, King Rat Snakes, Sawtooth Neck Bronzeback Snakes, Brahminy Blind Snakes, and etc. In order to create confusion, some venomous snakes such as Cobras and Stejnegeri Pit Vipers with their fangs removed were placed together with those non-venomous ones. Under such circumstances, even if someone was able to identify a few non-venomous snake species, they would be startled and panic from the sight of those venomous snakes that were placed intentionally.

Yan Liqiang bought those snakes from the medicinal merchants in Pingxi City. Getting the rats was even easier since the people of Pingxi City only needed to send the rats caught by the traps.

A few hundred roaming snakes and rats instantly caused chaos on the training field. Those young people who came to participate in the archery academy entrance examination never thought that Yan Liqiang would set such a trick as a test. But even if they had foreseen this, it was still difficult to control one’s body reflexes toward these animals.

For those who jumped, screamed, and fled, as long as they moved their bodies, they were immediately asked to leave the training field. In just less than ten minutes, when the last snake and rat disappeared from the training field, there were only 2,600 people left. The rest who were disqualified left the training field and the archery academy.

Yan Liqiang once again went up to the stage and looked at those who were still standing on the training field with satisfaction. The test today wasn’t too hard, but to those who were primarily fifteen or sixteen years old, it was difficult to stand still with an empty stomach for a whole morning. Not to mention, strictly maintaining their discipline even after experiencing such chaos just now was very hard to come by. They had fulfilled Yan Liqiang’s requirements. Had it been the university students from Yan Liqiang’s previous life, Yan Liqiang was uncertain as to how many could fulfill such requirements out of a hundred grown-ups.

With that, the test ended. Although the number of people that remained on the training field was slightly more than he had expected, the archery academy had planned for the extra capacity during the initial construction plan. For example, Yan Liqiang had requested for the hostel to accommodate two thousand people, but in reality, the hostel construction, which was similar to an army camp, had no issue accommodating three thousand people.

“Congratulations, the test is over. Those who are still on this training field are qualified to enroll into the archery academy. You will now be dismissed and you may take a short break. Soups to cool your body and buns have already been prepared in the dining hall over there. Everyone can have a bowl of soup and three buns. After eating, proceed to the corridor beside the dining hall to register your name, birthplace, and collect your student identity pass. You may go home today and officially report back to the archery academy at sunrise on the 30th day of the seventh lunar month. You are all dismissed!”

As soon as Yan Liqiang finished his speech, a lot of people immediately slumped to the ground. There were also a lot of people who made a beeline to the toilet as soon as they heard Yan Liqiang’s dismissal. Due to the prolonged standing, their legs became numb, and as a result, they couldn’t even run two steps before falling onto the ground. The entire training field was immediately left with a few who remained standing...

However, accidents did happen. Just when many of the people slumped to the ground, a young man bellowed on the training field. He punched the crotch of his trousers underneath his lower abdomen at full strength as if he was going mad. After furiously hitting his lower abdomen about ten times, he screamed then suddenly fell to the ground and remained motionless.

The condition of the young man induced chaos in the surroundings. When Yan Liqiang saw what happened, he ran toward the young man who collapsed on the ground.

“Make way, everyone make way!” Yan Liqiang speedily pushed through the crowds and went beside the young man. He squatted beside the young man and started to carefully examine him.

The young man who fell on the ground was around fifteen to sixteen years old. His face was quite young and tender, but he had a lofty build. He wore a rustic short-sleeve shirt made of coarse fabric, and he had a square face, dark brows, tanned skin, and dusty hair. Gritting his teeth with eyes closed, he passed out and collapsed onto the floor.

“Ah, he’s bleeding! Blood is soaking through the crotch of his trousers...!” A young man on the side cried out in surprise.

Yan Liqiang also saw it when he was checking this young man. A bloodstain was spreading out from the young man’s crotch.

“Let’s go to the infirmary!” Yan Liqiang held the young man by the waist, carried him, and ran toward the archery academy’s infirmary in the distance.

Before the opening of the archery academy, Shi Changfeng had already invited an experienced physician and a few of his apprentices in Qinghe County to take charge of the archery academy’s infirmary. Those body-cooling soups today were prepared by the physician and his apprentices.

The young men on the training field were astonished when they saw Yan Liqiang speeding toward the infirmary with the young man who had collapsed. At this moment, the image of him rushing impatiently to the infirmary with a person in his arms was very different from the image of him feasting as he liked in front of others with rumbling stomachs.

The archery academy’s infirmary was a brand-new two-story small tower, and everything was new inside out. One could see all the different herbs being dried under the sun on the bamboo winnowing basket outside of the infirmary.

Yan Liqiang was the first to arrive at the infirmary, “Physician Yang, hurry, someone fainted and is bleeding too...”

An elderly man in front of the medicine cabinet was arranging the medicinal herbs inside the medicine cabinet with his back facing the entrance of the infirmary. When he heard Yan Liqiang’s voice, he turned around and quickly walked away from the medicine cabinet, “Ah, lie him down on that bed first and let me check him!”

Yan Liqiang placed the young man on the bed. Physician Yang came over quickly and grasped the young man’s hand. He checked for his pulse, then slightly raised his brows, “It’s not heatstroke. He was in a fit of rage, causing him to suddenly suffocate...”

Physician Yang looked at the bloodstain on the young man’s trousers and immediately removed them. Since they were all men, there was no need for Yan Liqiang to avert his gaze, so he stayed and watched.

When the trousers were removed, it was a bloody mess inside and there was a dead rat. Yan Liqiang was shocked at the sight, but at the same time, he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at the situation.

“There’s no big issue, the blood is not from the young man but from the rat. There are some wounds on the young man’s thigh from the rat bites, but they are not serious. I’ll apply some ointment for disinfection and healing, as for the other places... there are no issues!” Physician Yang skillfully conducted a round of checkups.

“Alright Physician Yang, I’ll pass him to you. I’ll come back when he wakes up!”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry, nothing’s wrong!” Physician Yang nodded.

Yan Liqiang cast another glance at the young man on the bed to remember his face before exiting the infirmary.

Shi Changfeng also hurried over, “What happened?”

Yan Liqiang explained the situation.

“Ah, that means when the young man was still standing, there was already a rat inside his trousers?” Shi Changfeng had a weird expression on his face – he wanted to laugh but he managed to stifle it with two coughs, “This young man was able to resist moving and only broke out at the very end. He’s an individual with a firm and persistent nature which are rare to come by!”

“I also feel that people like him are rare to come by – ordinary people wouldn’t be able to endure this!”

“In that case, that young man has quite an unusual side!”

“Hopefully he is of great potential. Let’s go, we’ll visit him again when he wakes up...”

...

By the time the student registration was done, it was already evening and silence had once again returned to the archery academy. Yan Liqiang, Shi Changfeng, Shi Dafeng, and Shen Teng went to the infirmary together. The young man had regained his consciousness. When he saw Yan Liqiang and the rest come in, his tanned face immediately reddened as the expression on his face showed slight embarrassment and also his cuteness.

Yan Liqiang smiled and asked kindly, “What’s your name?”

“My... My name is Xiong Gungun...”

“What?” Yan Liqiang thought he had not heard clearly.

“My surname is Xiong, first name is Gungun...Gun as in rolling around [1]. It was a name given by my father!” The young man said with his head lowered in embarrassment as his voice suddenly became softer.

“Where are you from?”

“I’m from Yingwei County!”

“Mm, your performance today was good. You passed the test and you are qualified to join the archery academy. This is your identity pass. I heard from Physician Yang that the injury on your thigh is not serious and that he has already treated it. You may go home to your family to explain today’s events and report back to the archery academy the morning after tomorrow...” Yan Liqiang said and passed the metal plate with ‘archery academy’ engraved on the front and four numerical digits ‘1396’ engraved on the back.

Xiong Gungun took the metal plate and held it tightly in his hands. He remained silent for a while, then lifted his head to look at Yan Liqiang and asked, “May I...may I stay in the archery academy?”

“You already passed the archery academy test, so you’ll be staying in the archery academy for a long period of time. Don’t you want to go home to inform your family about it first?” Shi Changfeng reminded the young man.

“I have no family...” Xiong Gungun suddenly smiled. The smile was a bit mournful, “My father and I had been relying on each other since I was very young. My father passed away from sickness half a month ago, and his dying wish was for me to leave Yingwei County, to walk out from that village and join the archery academy in Qinghe County. He wanted me to eat well, practice martial skills, make friends, and never be bullied again...” When Xiong Gungun saw Yan Liqiang, Shi Changfeng, and the rest suddenly became silent, he quickly added, “I’ll just stay an extra day in the archery academy. Don’t worry, I won’t freeload here. I can do other work such as splitting logs, carrying water, cleaning, and feeding horses for the archery academy...”

Looking at Xiong Gungun’s hopeful eyes, Yan Liqiang took a deep breath. “Alright, you may stay at the archery academy...”

Chapter 468: Forging Steel

A day’s time was very short, especially to Yan Liqiang who was fully focused on the archery academy. Apart from the allocated time for his daily cultivation, Yan Liqiang wished so badly that there were 48 hours in a day.

There was a plethora of things to tackle in the archery academy. Even with Shi Changfeng, Shi Dafeng, and Shen Teng’s assistance, Yan Liqiang still found himself not having enough time to spare. It was only at this point in time he realized the magnitude of the effort involved in being responsible for the future of more than two thousand people and overseeing their wellbeing.

The 29th day of the seventh lunar month passed in just the blink of an eye. The students who earned the rights to enroll in the archery academy were already waiting outside the gate before sunrise the next day.

The total number of recruits in this class was 2,768 students. Among these youths, 188 of them hailed from Liuhe Town. They were immediately accepted by Yan Liqiang without taking the exam. The rest were those who passed the exam from the other day. All the 2,768 students hailed from the various towns, villages, and counties in Pingxi Prefecture.

It was worth mentioning that six among them were actually students from the Pingxi Prefecture Martial Arts Academy and the same class as Yan Liqiang back then. Another five were from the Lu Clan of Huanglong County. Among the 2,768 students, the youngest was only fifteen while the oldest was twenty-one years old. 80% of these students were between the ages of sixteen to eighteen.

The 188 youths from Liuhe Town were given preferential treatment and were accepted without being screened since they were from Yan Liqiang’s hometown. Even so, they were well-aware of the selection criteria. Yan Liqiang even took the time to have a conversion with them. With his encouragement, these 188 youths from Liuhe Town arrived at the archery academy’s entrance on Mount Hundred Zhang when it was still dark on the 30th day of the seventh lunar month.

When the first sunray shone on the land, the main entrance of the archery academy opened.

“Everyone, gather your bags and assemble in the training field!” Shi Dafeng announced loudly to the crowd outside the archery academy with the steel horn in his hand.

Since the students waiting outside the archery academy had been briefed beforehand, they didn’t come with too many bags. All they had with them were some clothes and personal belongings. No one brought their blankets or bedding along.

Since the students already knew where the training field was, they rushed inside the archery academy and quickly made their way there as soon as they heard Shi Dafeng’s instructions.

Shen Teng was already waiting by the training field’s entrance, also holding a steel horn in his hand. “Everyone, look at the numbers on your identity pass and stand on your designated green tiles in the training field according to your number!”

The rows of green bricks on the training field’s ground had been labeled with numbers.

‘1–100’ was written with limestone on the ground in front of the first row of green bricks. ‘101–200’ for the second row, ‘201–300’ for the third row, and so on. There were no less than a hundred in every row of green bricks on the training field. That meant that if the bricks were fully occupied, there’d be a hundred people in each row.

After entering the training field, the students gradually found their own spots according to the number on their identity passes. Twenty-seven rows were fully occupied with a hundred people in each, leaving another row not fully occupied with only sixty-eight people in the line.

After the twenty-eight rows of groups were in position, a veteran came to stand in front of every row. Each of them held a two-meter long flag pole. A red triangular flag flew at the top of the pole, labeled with ‘1st Unit’, ‘2nd Unit’, ‘3rd Unit’ and so on. The veterans stood facing the students in front of every row.

“SILENCE...!” The twenty-eight veterans shouted in unison, and the entire training field fell into silence.

“From now on, all of you are to remember your position and your neighbors in line!” Yan Liqiang appeared on the platform in the training field and looked at the students.

“Every row will be considered as one group from now on, so that makes every hundred people a unit...” Yan Liqiang pointed at the rightmost group below the platform, “All of you would be the First Unit, then you all are the Second Unit, then the Third Unit and so on... If you look at the number on your identity pass, you will know which unit you belong to in the archery academy. The person standing before you all are retired veterans from the Gan Province military who once served, defended, and contributed to the Great Han Empire on battlefields. They are now instructors in the archery academy and your seniors. You are to remember the face and name of the veteran standing in front of you, as well as the flag they are holding. For the next three months, they will be acting as your respective company commanders and all of you are to obey their orders in the archery academy. After three months, I shall select the most outstanding individuals among all of you and officially appoint them as the company commanders. Remember my words today – before you learn archery or martial arts in the academy, you will first learn discipline and obedience! By the time you grasp their true essence and meet my requirements, only then shall we start learning archery and martial arts. Alright, instructors, please lead them away!”

“First Unit, follow me...!” The veteran standing at the side raised his flag so that everyone in his line could see, then led the first troop away.

After the first group of people left the field, the second and third units followed. Each veteran raised the flag they were holding and led the students away like a tour guide.

When the 14th company left, Xiong Gungun glanced at Yan Liqiang who was standing on the high platform from his place in line. The latter gave him a gentle nod and an encouraging look.

The veteran of the first unit led the hundred students to a warehouse in the archery academy. The students queued up to receive a set of brand new and neatly-folded beddings, some daily necessities, and two sets of clean clothes and shoes.

All the students were excited when they received the distributed items. They didn’t expect to actually receive such great benefits in the archery academy.

After receiving the items, the veteran of the first unit then led the one hundred students to a courtyard which consisted of a few large and a few smaller houses. Three of the bigger houses had spacious and brightly-lit rooms, and every room was fitted with about thirty beds. The courtyard could accommodate up to a hundred people.

After the veteran led the students into the rooms, everyone entered in an orderly fashion and every bed was easily allocated according to the sequence. The students were asked to place their belongings on their beds, then they were called to the courtyard by their respective unit commanders to learn a song.

An hour later, loud singing could be heard in every courtyard in the archery academy. It was said that the song was composed by the head of the archery academy, Yan Liqiang. The song was titled ‘Anthem of the Archery Academy’–

All good men must always bear in mind the three main rules of discipline and eight points of attention.

One, obey orders in all your actions, for unity is also a strength.

Two, do not take a single needle or piece thread from the masses. The masses support us and love us.

Three, turn in everything captured. Make every effort to lessen the people’s burden.

We must carry out the three main rules of discipline, and never forget the eight points of attention.

One, speak politely. Respect the masses and do not be arrogant.

Two, pay fairly for what you buy. When buying and selling, do not be overbearing.

Three, return everything you borrow. Return things promptly without damage or loss.

Four, pay for anything you damage. Repay the true value, do not stint at all.

Five, do not hit or swear at people. Direct your blade at only the vicious.

Six, do not damage crops. Riding practitioners must pay attention to this.

Seven, do not take liberties with women. Abandon all hooligan attitudes.

Eight, neat appearance reflects health. Care for your equipment and public properties.

Observe discipline and be aware. Supervise one another so that no one breaks the rules.

Remember clearly the rules of the academy. The archery academy houses only good men.

Train well to defend the homeland. Make your parents proud and your reputation fly.

Initially, the singing voices in every courtyard were still not in unison. By noon, they gradually grew louder, aligning one another. The wind carried the song, and the air was filled with youthful energy and vigor...

Chapter 469: Military Treasure

Shi Changfeng attentively listened to the faint singing voices coming from the houses as his gaze on Yan Liqiang started to turn weird. “I really wonder where you learned this song. Compared to the rules and restrictions in other sects and dojos, this song is rather catchy and easier to remember. Although the melody and notes are a little strange and different from ordinary songs, its lyrics are easy to memorize. Even illiterates can learn and understand the content of the lyrics after listening to it a few times...”

Before this, Shi Changfeng always thought that the tale about Yan Liqiang meeting a deity in his dreams was made up by his fellow villagers with their own interpretations added in. However, Yan Liqiang’s actions during the time they spent together lately started to make Shi Changfeng doubt his past judgment. Yan Liqiang did many things that were completely beyond his age and experience. One example would be this song: Shi Changfeng actually wrote down a comprehensive set of rules for the archery academy. He was planning to have the students memorize them after Yan Liqiang reviewed them. The latter didn’t say anything after reviewing them but composed this song the very next day instead.

Both of them were currently inside one of the small courtyards at the academy. It was where Yan Liqiang managed the academy’s affairs as the head of the archery academy.

“Ahem. Actually, rules are hard to remember if there are too many of them. I also think they’re unnecessary as all the rules can be summed up to one principle –’Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself’!” Yan Liqiang cleared his throat, then stealthily switched the topic.

‘The Three Rules of Discipline and Eight Points of Attention’ was one of the weapons that strengthened the glorious Chinese Red Army and aided them in their victory. This had been proven by history and properly tested through real experience. Yan Liqiang of course borrowed the work, then slightly amended it into an anthem that everyone in the archery academy had to know how to sing.

“Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself... Exactly! Every rule in this world can basically be summed up in these thirteen words!” Shi Changfeng looked at Yan Liqiang.

“You haven’t talked about the cultivation plan for the archery academy when it officially opens on the first day of the eighth lunar month. All you mentioned was that these young men will be learning the rules here for the first three months. What kind of rules are you planning to teach them?”

“The rules I’m talking about are naturally the most basic ones!” Yan Liqiang gave him a mysterious smile.

“What are the most basic rules? You plan to have everyone start from the Horse Stance?” Shi Changfeng curiously inquired.

“Of course not!” Yan Liqiang shook his head. “The Horse Stance is too advanced. I’m going to find something simpler for them!”

“Huh? There’s something simpler than the Horse Stance?”

“Of course!” Yan Liqiang confidently answered.

“I’ve been in the martial arts academy for so many years and been to quite a number of places. I still have no idea what can be simpler than the Horse Stance,” Shi Changfeng had a puzzled expression on his face.

Yan Liqiang smiled. “I’m planning to teach them how to walk and make their beds!”

“Pardon?” Shi Changfeng thought he misheard Yan Liqiang and even seemed a little angry. “Walking and making beds? Are you kidding me, Liqiang? You have invested so much in the archery academy. This is not a game!”

“Hahaha, don’t be angry, Teacher Shi. Take a look at this first!” Yan Liqiang retrieved two items bound up by cotton thread from the drawer beside him while speaking, and handed them to Shi Changfeng. “I spent the past two days producing these. The lessons for walking and making beds are inside here!”

“Everyone knows how to walk and make their beds. How did you manage to write so much on them?” Although Shi Changfeng said that, he couldn’t help but take the items from Yan Liqiang out of curiosity.

Just looking at the text on the covers of the two items was enough to stun Shi Changfeng.

The one on top was ‘The Archery Academy’s Routine Service Regulations’, and the one on the bottom was ‘The Archery Academy’s Formation Regulations’.

“Regulations?” Shi Changfeng mumbled to himself. Despite being well-versed in historical books, he had never come across the word in any other book before.

“Yes. Regulations are rules that are to be obeyed. ‘Routine Service Regulations’ teaches how to make the beds while ‘Formation Regulations’ teaches how to walk!” Yan Liqiang smiled. The content in these two items were naturally from Yan Liqiang’s previous world.

Yan Liqiang had seen stuff like the ‘Regulations on Routine Service of the People’s Liberation Army’ on the Internet in his previous life, but he didn’t remember any of it. Little did he expect to be able to clearly recall even the things he had only seen once in his previous life after being struck by the Heavenly Stone. He could retrieve the information at the snap of his fingers whenever he needed it.

Of course, Yan Liqiang didn’t copy the exact contents. He merely made some adjustments to fit the specific circumstances in the archery academy and the Great Han Empire while keeping the true essence of the original text. Adapting them to fit reality would make it more relatable and easier to understand.

Shi Changfeng curiously and skeptically flipped open the ‘The Archery Academy’s Routine Service Regulation’, and his gaze fell on the first page. A few seconds later, he drew a sharp breath as his eyes widened. His eyebrows were raised and his eyes sparkled. By the time he read half of the book, his hands were already trembling involuntarily as he flipped through the pages. He seemed to be extremely excited and was thoroughly engrossed in the book.

Shi Changfeng was reading ‘The Archery Academy’s Routine Service Regulations’ word for word for a full ten minutes, even forgetting that Yan Liqiang was still beside him. When he finally closed the small book, he shut his eyes as he took a moment to breathe.

After completely calming himself down, he then opened ‘The Archery Academy’s Formation Regulations’. By the time he read half of the book, not only his hands but his entire body trembled. Even the expression on his face changed.

After reading both books, Shi Changfeng’s face was unusually red. The next thing he did totally surprised Yan Liqiang. As he took a deep breath, his palms turned redder and larger before they were smashed together violently. The great force reduced the two books that Yan Liqiang took the trouble to write into powder. It spilled out between the gaps of his fingers like snowflakes.

“Teacher Shi, you...!” Yan Liqiang was stunned.

“This is a military treasure. I may have read countless books, but never have I seen such a book that contained the art of war or training method on such a level. If these two books get out there, they would definitely invite endless troubles and disasters!” Shi Changfeng gave Yan Liqiang a solemn look that the latter had never seen before. “It’s not like you can’t practice this in the archery academy, Liqiang, but you must ensure that it must never be documented. If someone sees this, it will be hard to predict whether it’ll invite fortune or misfortune.”

“Ah... Was...was it that impressive?” Even Yan Liqiang himself was shocked by the solemn expression on Shi Changfeng’s face.

“Are you not aware that the value of this book on the art of war far exceeds any secret technique manuals? Even in the Great Han Empire, the art of war is never documented and is only verbally passed down through families.”

“Ah... I-I really didn’t know that!” Yan Liqiang didn’t expect his imitation work to actually contort Shi Changfeng’s countenance.

Shi Changfeng hesitated for a moment, but couldn’t stop himself from whispering a question to Yan Liqiang. “Could it be that the content of this book was... imparted to you by the deity in your dreams?”

Yan Liqiang didn’t even expect Shi Changfeng to ask such a question and was completely caught off-guard. If he were to say that it was something he made up, then he would be insulting Shi Changfeng’s intelligence. If he were to say it was knowledge imparted by some deity, then he would be deceiving him.

“Well...” Yan Liqiang was suddenly at a loss for words.

Shi Changfeng looked at Yan Liqiang’s expression, then let out a long sigh and nodded in understanding. He lifted his head and looked at the ceiling of the room as though there was some hidden secret there, then mumbled to himself. “Ah, so such miraculous things do happen in this world...”

HEY BIG BRO, I DIDN’T EVEN SAY ANYTHING YET! Yan Liqiang blinked as he screamed internally.

Chapter 470: Prototype

On the first day of the eighth lunar month, the new students of the archery academy officially started their academy lives.

To mark the official launch of the archery academy, 2,768 new students attended the archery academy’s first flag-raising ceremony on the training field in black martial garbs that morning.

The first flag-raising ceremony was extremely simple. Yan Liqiang personally raised the archery academy flag that he designed on a high wooden pole behind the stage as everyone watched him.

The archery academy’s flag had a red background with a golden dragon and tiger totem that was similar to the Yan Blades’ logo right in the middle. The center of the dragon and tiger totem had seven intersecting arrows.

Yan Liqiang originally wanted to design the archery academy’s flag with a pentagram with the two characters ‘8’ and ‘1’ at the center. However, after much consideration, the significance of the design would be too cryptic. Apart from him, no one else in the archery academy would be able to understand it. As an archery academy with a mission to continuously guide its people in moving forward, ‘visual composition’ was a very important factor. A complex and difficult-to-understand flag design would not be able to effectively convey the spirit and concept of the archery academy, thus failing to inspire its students. After pondering on it a bit more, he eventually sketched the flag of the archery academy by himself.

The coiling dragon and tiger totem in the center of the flag was traceable to the Yan Blades and Manufacturing Bureau – any perspicacious person would be able to make the connection between the three organizations. The intersecting arrows in the middle of the dragon and tiger totem firstly represented the identity of the archery academy, and secondly represented the discipline and unity pursued by the archery academy.

The end of the flag-raising ceremony marked the beginning of the life in archery academy that all the students looked forward to. They were stunned to learn that the first thing they would be learning after reporting in was to fold their blankets and tidy up their own living quarters.

Two days before the new students were to report to the academy, Yan Liqiang gathered all the veterans in charge of each respective unit of the academy to teach them the housekeeping requirements and blanket-folding method. Those veterans had a room of their own in the living quarters where Yan Liqiang had personally demonstrated to all of them on how to fold a blanket like cubes of tofu along with the housekeeping standards.

All the veterans were dumbstruck when they saw how Yan Liqiang tidied up the blanket by transforming it into a perfect tofu-like cube. It was probably their first time seeing anything like this since they were born.

Truth be told, Yan Liqiang once enlisted in the military. During his service, he folded his blanket in such a manner too. Back then, he didn’t understand why the military had such strict requirements. What was the use of folding a blanket so neatly? It wasn’t like it could kill an enemy. Not only that, but it was also a waste of time. However, as he gained more experience, he finally understood the meaning behind it. Of course folding blankets and doing housekeeping could not kill an enemy, but it could train a person to be strictly obedient with instructions as well as developing habits and unity to adhere to the rules. With such habit and style, it was an absolute guarantee and contributed to a powerful foundation of building a more powerful troop.

Aside from folding blankets, Yan Liqiang also gathered the veterans to personally demonstrate the specific formations of walking, marching, striding, running, making a left turn, making a right turn, halting and freezing, standing at ease, sitting, standing, and other military dispositions.

Those veterans were recruited with ‘high salaries’ by Yan Liqiang – they had been in the barracks for a long time. Therefore, they knew what military orders were. Even if they did not understand what Yan Liqiang taught them, they had no problem in learning them.

Yan Liqiang trained those veterans for two days and they practiced folding quilts for two days. He told those veterans about his standards and requirements so that those veterans could teach everything to the new archery academy students.

Not only those veterans, but even Shi Dafeng, Shen Teng, and Hu Haihe also participated in the training.

From the first day of the eighth lunar month, students of the archery academy began their ‘military training’ in the archery academy. They were all tormented to death by the strict daily schedule set by the archery academy from the time they woke up to the time they slept.

Yan Liqiang would first inspect the housekeeping of the veterans’ living quarters followed by the unit living quarters every day. If one person was found with unsatisfactory housekeeping, everyone in that living quarter would not be given any lunch. After inspecting the housekeeping, Yan Liqiang would then go to the training field to monitor the formation training. He would raise his concerns and correct any mistakes. More often than not, Yan Liqiang ended up personally demonstrating the formations.

External resources were no longer assigned to cater meals or attend to the housekeeping of the entire archery academy – they made use of the duty roster instead. Each unit was in charge of the academy’s meals and housekeeping for one week, and with such an arrangement, each unit would take about two turns per year. The food for the archery academy could be purchased at the few villages outside the academy. Those villages planted grains, so they had lots of grains and food but not other materials. Usually, they had some grains in hand. However, there were challenges in selling their grains as they needed to either deliver them to town or wait for the market fair to exchange the grains and eggs at home for some money. Sometimes they were not even able to sell them for any money at all. With the presence of the archery academy, the surrounding villages no longer had any issues in selling their grains, vegetables, meat, and eggs as not only there was a high demand from the archery academy, but the price offered by the archery academy was very generous too. The villagers from the surrounding villages were all delighted.

The archery academy gradually moved toward the right track and the systems were also slowly moving toward perfection.

Even though Yan Liqiang was in the archery academy, he did not relax on his cultivation. Every other night since the first day of the eighth lunar month, the secret cultivation room underneath the courtyard would be filled by flashes from the Heavenly Bestowments.

To Shi Changfeng and the rest, Yan Liqiang’s aura became more mysterious with each passing day.

When the sun rose on the 21st day of the eighth lunar month, Yan Liqiang once again stood on the stage of the training field overlooking the lines of troops shouting the ‘one, two, one’, ‘one, two, one’ cadence in between the rhythmic sounds of the whistle. Traces of smiles finally appeared on the faces of the students as they marched in uniform steps into the training field.

After over twenty days of harsh training, all students of the archery academy were changed anew. The scene of the troops of two thousand people entering the field was entirely different compared to twenty days ago. A unique strength appeared from the troops of young men.

Two thousand people performing the entrance march was indeed firm, powerful, and uniform. Even from above the stage, one could feel the slight tremors on the ground.

Shi Dafeng, Shen Teng, and Hu Haihe were also in the troop. Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng both led a unit each while Hu Haihe was part of a troop. After going through challenging experiences for more than half a month, they were a bit more tanned but they appeared more capable.

The twenty-eight troops that came to the training field went to their respective regions and began their formation practice without waiting for Yan Liqiang’s order.

Shi Changfeng stood beside Yan Liqiang and looked at the troops that had entered the field with flashes across his eyes. In Shi Changfeng’s eyes, although the troops in front of his eyes were still young, he had already seen the prototype of a strong army troop. In the uniform steps and resounding cadence, there was already a different energy being nurtured.

“Last night, students from the 3rd Unit and 17th Unit were caught fighting!” Shi Changfeng narrowed his eyes to look at the training field as he spoke to Yan Liqiang.

“Were they put into detention?”

“Yes, they were!” Shi Changfeng nodded, “These young men were bursting with energy, so they got agitated easily. Although the push-wrestling ring promoted by the archery academy is widely accepted to help drain most of their energy, fighting still happens frequently and the incidents have been increasing for the past seven days. It seems that putting them into detention is not enough...”

A few ideas suddenly flashed through Yan Liqiang’s mind, some were from the movies and documentaries that he had watched during his previous life. Yan Liqiang muttered to himself before he finally made a decision to toss away the apprehensions and put in some of the measures that he was hesitant about for some time. “Make some preparations within these two days. Starting from the day after tomorrow, once everyone in the archery academy hears the reveille, half of the people will be blindfolded using black cloth and it shall not be removed for the rest of the day. On that day, those people who are blindfolded will need to be assisted by those who are not blindfolded in going through their daily tasks such as eating, drinking, going to the toilet, and even training. They can only remove their blindfold after hearing the lights-out command. They will swap roles the next day. Once everyone within the units completed this training, we will do the swap by units after two days. Today, we will blindfold everyone in the 1st Unit and let the 2nd Unit assist them in going through their daily duties and training in the archery academy for a day and the next day it will be the 2nd Unit’s turn to be blindfolded.”

Shi Changfeng stared blankly at Yan Liqiang – he had not thought that Yan Liqiang would came up with such a solution. That solution was novel, but what was the use of it...

As Shi Changfeng was still pondering over Yan Liqiang’s intention of using such a method, he saw an anxious servant from the Yan Residence who came into the training field. After he saw Yan Liqiang, he hurried in front, “Young Lord, Old Master was injured.”

Upon hearing this, Yan Liqiang’s expression suddenly changed.

Chapter 471: Injured

After handing over the archery club’s affairs to Shi Changfeng, Yan Liqiang rushed back home, not even bothering to hide his own cultivation. In a flash, he reappeared in the Yan Residence. Even the servants in the manor thought their eyes were playing tricks on them.

“Ah, the young lord is back, the young lord is back...!” A few servants cried.

“Where is my father?”

“The old master just returned to his courtyard!”

Upon hearing the servant’s reply, Yan Liqiang briskly walked toward Yan Dechang’s courtyard.

Passing through corridors and buildings, it took him only a short while to arrive at Yan Dechang’s courtyard. He pushed open the door and entered.

Yan Dechang was sitting in a chair under a grape trellis with Zhou Hongda and Zhou Tiezhu by his side. The three men were talking to each other in the courtyard. Yan Liqiang was half relieved when he saw Yan Dechang. When he was on his way back here, he was afraid to come home to the same scene during Yan Dechang’s last encounter with King Cobra. Now that he found out Yan Dechang was only slightly bruised on his forehead but was still well enough to speak with his other two companions, Yan Liqiang immediately heaved a sigh of relief.

“Father!” Yan Liqiang called out and hurried over to him.

“Young Master!” Zhou Tiezhu and Zhou Hongda quickly bowed to Yan Liqiang.

“I already said it’s a small matter and I’ll be fine. Who notified Liqiang?” Yan Dechang looked at Zhou Tiezhu and Zhou Hongda. There was a trace of discontentment in his voice.

“Old Master... It was I who sent someone to bring Young Master back!” Zhou Hongda admitted beside him. “When Young Master left home last time, he ordered us to inform him if anything happened at home!”

“Father, please don’t blame Steward Zhou. What happened? The messenger told me you got hit. Who hit you?” Although Yan Liqiang was calm, his voice was murderously cold. If his father was still being bullied in their hometown in Pingxi Prefecture at this point in time, then Yan Liqiang would stand no chance in venturing any further.

“I didn’t get beaten up by anyone. It was from when I fell off the horse. I scraped the skin on my head and legs, but they’ll heal in two days with some ointment. There’s no problem at home, so you don’t need to worry. The archery academy is much more important. You should go back and settle your matters. Don’t let yourself be distracted...” Yan Dechang seemed like he didn’t want Yan Liqiang to get involved, so he deliberately downplayed the truth.

“Alright. If it’s nothing then rest well, Father!”

Yan Liqiang didn’t press further when he noticed Yan Dechang’s reluctance to speak. After talking a little more with him, Yan Liqiang left the courtyard. However, he shot a glance at Zhou Hongda before doing so.

...

Yan Liqiang was waiting in the corridor outside of his father’s courtyard and didn’t go far. Two minutes after he exited, Zhou Hongda came out too.

“Young Lord...” Zhou Hongda whispered after casting a glance at Yan Dechang’s courtyard.

“What is going on, Steward Zhou?”

“Old Master just warned me not to tell!” Steward Zhou replied awkwardly. He shrunk under Yan Liqiang’s gaze and further lowered his voice.

“Old Master went to Qinghe Wharf with two guards to order some pig iron this morning, but returned with injuries. I questioned the two guards who accompanied him, and was told that they ran into a group of officers on their way back. The officers were riding recklessly on their steeds and speeding on the road. Old Master was riding on the same road, but the officers hit his steed for getting in their way when they passed by. This caused the Old Master’s steed to rear in fright. He was caught off guard and fell off his steed. Our guards confronted the officers but got struck down by them...”

F*CK!

Yan Liqiang was fuming when he heard the truth. “Which Law Enforcement Office are the officers from?” he seethed through his teeth.

“No idea, but they are definitely not from Qinghe County. Our guards mentioned that all of them wore black uniforms and were carrying Yanling Sabers. There were about twenty of them acting all high and mighty while escorting a four-wheeled carriage. After the officers knocked them down, they didn’t even stop. They just spat on them and hurled insults at them before they left!”

“Where were those people headed?”

“Huanglong County!”

“How long were they gone for?”

“It has only been less than two hours since Old Master returned!”

“Bring those two guards before me and prepare my steed!”

“Right away!” Zhou Hongda didn’t dare to tarry after seeing the look on Yan Liqiang’s face and quickly left.

A few minutes later, Yan Liqiang saw the two guards in the Yan Residence waiting room. One of them was named Liu An while the other was Xu Hong. There was a red welt running down from Liu An’s temple to his cheek. Xu Hong suffered a bone fracture on his left arm and had just received treatment. The guard explained that one of the officers hit him with his scabbard so hard that he fell off his steed.

Yan Liqiang personally questioned the two guards, and the answers he got from them matched Zhou Hongda’s story.

“Will you still be able to recognize the officers who hit you?”

“We will surely recognize them even if they are reduced to ashes!” Liu An seethed through his teeth while Xu Hong nodded.

“Xu Hong, you’re still injured. It’ll be inconvenient for you as it’ll be a bumpy ride, so stay in the manor and rest up. Liu An, do you have the guts to go with me and find them?”

“Your humble servant, I only have myself to blame for my incompetence. I failed to stand against them and let them get away. Otherwise, I would have fought them. If Young Lord wishes to seek them, I naturally have the guts to join you!” Liu An answered bravely and solemnly.

Yan Liqiang cast a glance at the guard named Liu An. “Good. The steeds have been prepared. Follow me, Liu An!”

“Yes!”

Just when Yan Liqiang was about to leave, Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng came. Both of them heard from Shi Changfeng at the archery academy that something had happened to the Yan Clan, so they hurried here.

After listening to Yan Liqiang’s explanation, Shi Dafeng immediately got angry. “Come, we’ll go together! Let’s find those bastards! I’ll beat them to death!”

“Let’s go!” Shen Teng didn’t talk much, but he looked at Yan Liqiang firmly.

Yan Liqiang nodded. Shi Dafeng, Shen Teng, Liu An, and six other guards from the Yan Residence got on their steeds. The party of exactly ten people then rode swiftly toward Huanglong County.

Through the information they gathered from restaurants, teahouses, and coachmen along the way, they discovered that the officers had indeed traveled on the same less than two hours ago. As expected, they were making their way to Huanglong County.

By noon, the party reached Huanglong County. They asked the people around and finally tracked those people all the way to the Manufacturing Bureau...

The group of officers actually made their way to the Manufacturing Bureau as soon as they arrived at Huanglong County...

F*ck, what do they call this again? Walking right into the trap?

Chapter 472: Transportation Office

Today, the gate of the manufacturing bureau was a lot quieter as it was not the day for inbound delivery of goods from neighboring villages or outbound deliveries.

The construction of the parking field on both sides of the entrance of the manufacturing bureau was complete. The parking field was wide and orderly, and the ground was laid with green-colored slabs. In between the rows of parking lots, rows of cypresses were planted. At the edge of the field were a few rows of long stables for tying horses and resting corridors for people to rest. Two clean and bright public toilets were also built. According to the plan and arrangement, the entire parking field could occupy more than eight hundred four-wheeled carriages.

With a parking field as big as a public square, the aura of the manufacturing bureau was instantly uplifted.

Not only in Huanglong County, but the entire Pingxi Prefecture and Gan Province did not have such a wide and impressive parking field. Thus, during the construction, a lot of people did not understand why the manufacturing bureau needed to build such a big parking area. They all thought that the manufacturing bureau had too much money to spare and was flaunting their wealth. Of course, Yan Liqiang did not explain as he knew that if such a parking field was not built, it would take years for the gate of the manufacturing bureau to resolve crowding traffic issues.

Things had to be done ahead of time.

Today, Yan Liqiang’s feelings were completely different when he came to the manufacturing bureau.

He brought along Shi Dafeng, Shen Teng, a few servants, and guards with him. They rode on their horses and dashed to the manufacturing bureau’s gate.

The soldiers of manufacturing bureau guarding the gate were led by a squad commander whose surname was Niu. Those soldiers of course recognized Yan Liqiang.

“The Protectorate General is here...” The squad commander and a few soldiers at the manufacturing bureau gate immediately came forward to salute Yan Liqiang as they saw Yan Liqiang on a steed with the others.

Yan Liqiang lifted his leg and deftly jumped off Snowstorm Cloud. Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng also came down from their horses.

Yan Liqiang swept his eyes across the soldiers at the gate of the manufacturing bureau and saw that their complexion did not look good. They seemed to be relieved when they saw him coming. There was even a bright red streak across the squad commander’s face.

“Oh, Niu Delu, what happened to your face?” Yan Liqiang asked the squad commander.

The squad commander called Niu Delu clenched his teeth, “Someone whipped me!”

“Who whipped you?”

“The group of officers that just came holding the Northwestern Transportation Office identity tag. Just now, those people came to the manufacturing bureau in an aggressive manner. Squad Commander Niu only approached them for interrogation and was whipped by one of the officers!” Before Niu Delu could even open his mouth, the soldier next to him told Yan Liqiang everything with a loud voice and furious face.

Northwestern Transportation Office? Yan Liqiang slightly frowned. He had not expected for the group of officers to be from the Northwestern Transportation Office. Regardless of Gan Province or even in the Imperial Capital, he did not have any business with them. The transport commissioner oversaw the Northwestern Transportation Office. In the Great Han Empire, the official ranking of a transport commissioner was equivalent to that of a provincial governor. The Transport Commissioner was responsible for managing the government revenue and taxes to enrich the national treasury. As the ‘transport’ in his title suggested, the Transport Commissioner was also in charge of travel management and supervising territories. Such a title was considered a highly-paid position.

The Northwestern Transportation Office was not based in Gan Province and Yan Liqiang had never met the Transport Commissioner before. The officers from the Transportation Office had traveled a great distance to Gan Province. Yet, they came directly to the manufacturing bureau before even greeting the Provincial Governor or Prefectural Governor first. It wasn’t entirely inaccurate to say that they came breaking in with full fury.

Many thoughts ran through Yan Liqiang’s mind. After a while, he flattened his brows as a trace of a cold expression flashed across his face, “Are those people already inside?”

“They have already gone in. They said they came to the manufacturing bureau for official work and blocked the entrance to the manufacturing bureau. They intended to barge in but Lord Qian happened to be on his way out so he let them in...”

Yan Liqiang took a deep breath as he looked at Niu Delu and the group of soldiers at the gate who looked at him with eyes with unspeakable emotion behind them. A cold smile appeared on his face as he ordered Niu Delu, “Call the people from the quarters and close the manufacturing bureau gate. Take out all the weapons and guard it well. From now on, no one is allowed to enter or exit without my orders. Anyone who dares to disobey shall be beaten to death. I will be responsible for any fatalities!”

Niu Delu and the few soldiers looked at each other after hearing Yan Liqiang’s order – all of them instantly felt a burst of energy. Niu Delu made an eye signal and one of the soldiers ran toward the weaponsmiths quarter to notify others.

“Liu An, come inside with me. You all can stay here with and guard the gate with the others...” Yan Liqiang said to the servants and guards that he brought along with him. Six people stayed back to guard the gate while he, Shi Dafeng, Shen Teng, and Liu An went deeper inside the manufacturing bureau.

“Liqiang, those people from the Northwestern Transportation Office came to the manufacturing bureau with ill intentions. We must be careful!” Shen Teng reminded Yan Liqiang as they were walking.

“F*ck being careful. We’ll beat those sons of b*tches up and talk later...” Shi Dafeng had already rolled up his sleeves, eager to fight.

Yan Liqiang cast a glance at Shen Teng and while walking, an unexpected smile appeared on his face, “Although this manufacturing bureau is in Gan Province’s Pingxi Prefecture, it belongs to and is a property of the Qiyun Protectorate. Even if the Northwestern Transportation Office wants to steal it, they cannot control the Qiyun Protectorate. Those people came to my manufacturing bureau under the name of government officers, but they did not send an official communication letter to the Provincial Governor or the Prefectural Governor’s Offices before they came. Furthermore, they don’t even understand who owns the manufacturing bureau. Since they are clueless about the rules of the officialdom, I firmly believe that they are merely imposters. Impersonating officers is a crime that warrants capital punishment...”

Shen Teng wanted to say something but shivered instead when he noticed Yan Liqiang’s murderous smile. He had not expected for Yan Liqiang to have such a nerve to even beat the people from the Northwestern Transportation Office.

What Yan Liqiang said made sense. According to protocol, the Northwestern Transportation Office indeed had to notify the regions they would be working at beforehand. However, over the years, there were only very few occasions where the Transportation Offices in the entire Great Han Empire would comply to doing so. The people of the Transportation Office were already infamous in the Great Han Empire for being arrogant. Since they were in charge of government revenue and supervision, local officials always welcomed them with smiles and never dared to offend them. As time passed, whenever people from the Transportation Office went out for work, they became too lazy to inform the local officials. Moreover, the Qiyun Protectorate who owned the manufacturing bureau was merely an empty title.

The moment Yan Liqiang arrived at the manufacturing bureau, he saw Zhou Yong and a group of soldiers who had been temporarily arranged by Qian Su to guard the gate of the spring processing workshop in the manufacturing bureau. They were frowning when they saw more than ten officers of the Northwestern Transportation Office approaching them.

“Halt! This is a restricted area in the manufacturing bureau!” Zhou Yong stepped forward and spoke with a deep voice.

An officer of the Northwestern Transportation Office who stood at the frontmost was in his forties – he had a skinny long face with a malicious expression and slanting eyes. When he saw Zhan Yong step forward, he smiled coldly and lifted his head upward. With his nostrils pointing at Zhou Yong, he spoke arrogantly, “What are you? Get out of my sight this instant. Not even your Gan Provincial Governor can stop the Transportation Office. Such a small workshop like yours dares to declare this place as forbidden and talk big. We are here to inspect if there are any ongoing illegal activities. If you insist on obstructing us from conducting our official business, you’ll be sorry...”

Zhou Yong sized up those officers from the Northwestern Transportation Office, then noticed that two people among those officers looked fishy even though they were wearing uniforms. Ever since they came here, their eyes were darting around as they tried to catch a glimpse of the workshop behind Zhou Yong.

“Without the orders from the Protectorate General and Lord Qian, nobody is allowed to enter!” Zhou Yong replied coldly. His hand was already on the handle of the sword on his waist as he stared firmly at that person, not willing to back down a single step. The other soldiers guarding the spring workshop had also taken a step forward and pointed the spears in their hands at those officers from the Northwestern Transportation Office.

Seeing that Zhou Yong and the soldiers guarding the workshop’s gate were not going to back down, a cold glimpse flashed across the eyes of the officer who led the group from the Northwestern Transportation Office. A fierce-looking, evil and cold expression appeared on his face as his palm flew toward Zhou Yong’s chest.

When Zhou Yong saw his opponent make his move, he unsheathed his sword with a loud yell, then aimed at the man’s hands.

“I see that even a firefly dares to give off its tiny light...” The man shot Zhou Yong a disdainful look, then suddenly moved with speed ten times faster than before. His palm moved like a venomous snake as it glided past Zhou Yong’s sword glint and struck Zhou Yong’s chest.

CRACK! Zhou Yong’s mirror armor plate under his chest armor shattered. He spurted out a mouthful of blood as he was sent flying by the man’s blow.

The soldiers beside Zhou Yong bellowed and thrust the spears in their hands toward that person.

A green light flashed and a blade gleam streaked across. The spearheads coming toward the man were instantly cut off. Around seven or eight soldiers were immediately sent flying before they fell hard on the ground.

The man with a long face smiled coldly as he looked at the soldiers from the manufacturing bureau on the ground. He reinserted his blade into the scabbard on his waist and waved his hand, “Let’s go inside.”

Chapter 473: How Would You Like To Die?

Just when the officers from the Northwestern Transportation Office were about to enter the workshop where the springs were manufactured, an icy voice filled with murderous intent rang out.

“Who dares to trespass into my manufacturing bureau...?”

The next thing that followed was the terrifying sound of something slicing through the air.

The horse-faced officer who sent Zhou Yong flying had just taken a step forward, but immediately jumped backward without thinking when he heard the terrifying noise.

BANG...! Dust flew everywhere. A white ash spear came flying from the distance like a bolt of lighting, then buried itself in the stone slab at the spring workshop’s entrance. The spearhead penetrated the slab, causing the ground within a radius of one meter around it to crack with a spider web pattern. Two-thirds of the three-meter-long spear was deeply buried into the ground, leaving the end of its handle vibrating like a bowstring after it hit the ground.

The spear that came flying seemed to carry an imposing aura. It immediately caused the countenance of those officers from the Northwestern Transportation Office to contort. The more timid ones couldn’t help but tremble after witnessing this display of might.

Yan Liqiang came with a group of soldiers from the manufacturing bureau. He swept his murderous eyes across the officers, just like a lion patrolling his own territory.

When Yan Liqiang arrived here, he saw the situation outside the spring workshop from afar. He took the spear from a soldier beside him without a second thought and threw it in that direction. As soon as he launched the spear, his terrifying strength stunned everyone including Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng who were walking with him. It had been a very long time since they last saw Yan Liqiang do something like that. Seeing that again sent a chill down their spines. They looked at each other and exchanged a message that only both them could understand through their eyes, then continued walking behind Yan Liqiang.

As soon as Liu An saw the horse-faced man, he immediately pointed at him and told Yan Liqiang, “Young Lord, it was that horse-faced man who beat Old Master’s steed and caused him to fall off...”

Yan Liqiang nodded then quickly walked over to the man with his own men behind him.

The horse-faced man shifted his gaze to Yan Liqiang and asked, “Who are you?”

Yan Liqiang only looked at him coldly as though he was looking at a corpse. He walked to Zhou Yong and pulled him up by the hand. “Are you alright?”

Zhou Yong wiped away the blood from the corner of his mouth with a pained look on his face and got up while holding his chest. “I... I am alright. Please be careful, Protectorate General. The opponent... is strong...”

The other soldiers at the side also got up from the floor.

Yan Liqiang patted Zhou Yong on his arm and gave the other soldiers a nod. He turned around to face the officers from the Northwestern Transportation Office.

“So, you are Yan Liqiang?” The horse-faced man obviously figured out Yan Liqiang’s identity when he heard Zhou Yong address him. The spear that Yan Liqiang threw just now made him hold back a little, but he still had that arrogant look on his face and seemed fearless as though he had a backing. He spoke to Yan Liqiang like how a superior would to his subordinate.

“Hehe, good timing. I am Shi Zhiyao, Gan Province’s Patrol Examiner from the Northwestern Transportation Office. I am here on duty with the Vice Transport Commissioner Zhong today. Get your subordinates out of my way quickly so we can inspect whatever is in there, and I shall pardon their rudeness from earlier!”

Yan Liqiang took a deep breath and raised his hand to calm Shi Dafeng and the other soldiers behind him. He then sized up the Gan Province’s Patrol Examiner named Shi Zhiyao through his narrowed eyes before asking him a question. “Tell me, how would you like to die?”

“What was that?” Shi Zhiyao was somewhat taken aback. He blinked, even leaning his head to the side and dug his ear with his pinky finger as though he couldn’t believe what he just heard. “Say it one more time!”

“I asked, how would you like to die today?” Yan Liqiang remained to look calm as he spoke every word like he was asking something as normal as the price of a jin of pear at the market.

“HAHAHAHA!” Shi Zhiyao heard the question clearly. Instead of flying off the handle, he was roaring with laughter.

“This is the best joke I’ve ever heard in my life. Someone actually dares to threaten me here, in Gan Province, asking me how I would like to die? From the sounds of it, you’re planning to lay a finger on us? Tell me, isn’t it a joke that there are people actually asking for their clans to be executed? Ahaha...!”

“Of course it is. In the Great Han Empire, I’ve yet to see anyone who dares to lay a finger on us!” A fat man chimed in from the side, fawning over Shi Zhiyao.

“Everyone has been saying there is a genius boy from Gan Province’s Pingxi Prefecture who made a big name for himself in the Imperial Capital. I think he looks more like a fool who doesn’t know his place to me. As the patrol examiner for Gan Province, Lord Shi has already progressed into a Martial Grandmaster a year ago and has yet to meet a worthy opponent since then! In the northwestern region, even the Provincial Governor has to show him some respect! Who is prepared to throw away their life and lay a finger on my lord?”

The fat man was still grinning after saying all that. He then strutted forward from Shi Zhiyao’s side and came in front of Yan Liqiang. He fearlessly bowed down, stuck his head out, and patted the back of his neck noisily, “Come, come, come. Don’t talk about doing something to our Lord Shi first. I’ve heard enough empty threats before. You better take a look at the uniform I am wearing. If you have the guts, then take out your sword and chop my head off. You’re only a real man if blood is shed; just a scratch won’t count. All of you from the Northwestern Transportation Office look here. I, Liu Qingshan, shall put my life on the line here today. Come now, chop my head off! If you don’t dare to then you are...”

SNAP...!

All the noises immediately ceased. The outside of the spring workshop fell so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. It was as though time had stood still.

“How noisy.” Yan Liqiang said while shaking his head and stopped. “Killing someone like you will be like squashing a bug. There’s no need for me to use a sword!”

The head of the fat man who taunted Yan Liqiang was twisted 180 degrees. He was bending down with his head facing the ground just now. However, his face was facing toward the sky with the tip his nose pointing to his back now. His stiff body kept the strange posture for two seconds before his knees gave way and he collapsed in a heap before Yan Liqiang, causing dust to rise about a foot into the air. He was no longer moving, but his eyes were still wide open and staring at the sky...

“Y-Y-Y-... Y-YOU... W-WANT TO REVOLT AGAINST...!” An officer beside Shi Zhiyao pointed his finger at Yan Liqiang and shouted like a strangled duck. He tried to sound fierce, but his shaky voice betrayed him.

“So have you decided how you want to die today?” Yan Liqiang looked at Shi Zhiyao and repeated the same question again.

A sword gleam flashed by. Shi Zhiyao clenched his teeth and slashed toward Yan Liqiang’s neck with his sword in silent fury...

Chapter 474: Break Their Worthless Legs

When the gleaming blade flashed, it was only then that Yan Liqiang, who had been calm all this time, erupted like a volcano...

Instead of retreating, he charged toward Shi Zhiyao like a bolt of lightning and then formed the Bow Stance. He brought his knee up and right into his opponent’s crotch, then moved his arms at lightning speed to elbow him in the gut. The single technique felt like three consecutive explosions. Vital Qi surged in the air, causing resounding thunderclaps.

This was the first time Yan Liqiang had used the Eight Extremities Fist technique in front of people.

The technique was best used in close combat for its direct and strong movements. The blows it delivered were heavy like mountains and powerful like steel. Close combat was all about the six big openings – the six major ways of breaking the opponent’s defense. Hitting any of the eight places like the head, shoulders, elbows, hands, back, crotch, knees and legs, would hurt. Wherever the force extended, every part of the body became an eye or hand, unleashing formidable moves that would be hard to ward off. It’d take just one careless move to lose the whole game.

Shi Zhiyao was shocked. He didn’t expect Yan Liqiang to be able to move so fast and hit so powerfully with his fists. What he expected the least was the fact that Yan Liqiang had already progressed into a Martial Grandmaster and received a few dozen Heavenly Bestowments. The physical aspects and reaction speed of both parties were as different as day and night.

Didn’t rumors from the Imperial Capital say that Yan Liqiang’s dantian was damaged to the point that it could no longer condense any vital Qi? How could he be this ferocious...?

The thought flashed across Shi Zhiyao’s mind. He swung his long saber, but Yan Liqiang was already within arm’s reach so the saber only met air. Faced with the terrifying force in Yan Liqiang’s fist, Shi Zhiyao’s instinct told himself to dodge backward and put a distance between him and Yan Liqiang. At the same time, his eyes glinted dangerously as he resorted to a finishing move.

Shi Zhiyao jumped backward with lightning speed. The long saber in his hand spun around like a snake. He gripped his weapon in reverse and tried to stab Yan Liqiang’s back, looking as though he was going to stab himself. This was the ‘Piercing Sun In Chest’ technique, his finishing move. In close combat, eight or nine out of ten Martial Masters or Martial Grandmasters would fall prey to this technique.

‘If the enemy moves, so will I. With movements come changes, with changes come transformations, with transformations come manifestation.’– This was the true essence of the Eight Extremities Fist technique.

Facing Shi Zhiyao’s deadly attack, Yan Liqiang spun around. Showing his back to his opponent and looking at the incoming blade, he yelled, “OPEN...!” Then he swung his fist.

The blade was coming down with lightning speed, but Yan Liqiang’s eyes and fist were quicker.

To Shi Zhiyao’s shock, Yan Liqiang’s fist came down on the surface of his blade like a hammer with mountain-shattering force.

When experts fought, even an error with the breadth of a single hair could lead one a thousand li astray. Deadly battles would take place in just a flash of time.

Shi Zhiyao never expected Yan Liqiang to still hit his blade when changing his course of attack under such circumstances. The latter’s immense strength came as an even bigger surprise to him.

There was a saying that one power could suppress ten techniques. Therefore, with the combination of immense strength and techniques, terrifying might could be brought about.

In that instant, Shi Zhiyao felt the web between his thumb and forefinger explode. The bones in the fingers he held the saber with were fractured. The long saber that had never slipped out of his grip ever since he started cultivating saber techniques was forcefully knocked out of his hand. The immense force traveled from the blade to his fingers, then to the web between his thumb and forefinger before finally reaching his body. His entire arm and half of his body were numb as though he had gotten struck by lightning.

Shi Zhiyao was aghast. He wanted to retreat, but he realized that his numb body made his legs move sluggishly...

After knocking the long saber out of his opponent’s grip, Yan Liqiang fluidly executed the ‘Iron Mountain Lean’ of the Eight Extremities Fist technique and rammed into Shi Zhiyao’s chest with his shoulder.

The ‘Iron Mountain Lean’ was the most deadly technique among the Eight Extremities Fist technique. Despite the ‘fist’ in its technique name, its finishing move wasn’t executed with a fist but with the shoulder instead.

Shi Zhiyao could hear every bone in his body being crushed to pieces when he drew his last breath. To him, the ‘Iron Mountain Lean’ from the Eight Extremities Fist technique felt like getting slammed by an iron mountain at a high speed. No ordinary human could possibly withstand such immense force. His bones were instantly shattered and his internal organs were turned into gunk. Blood came rushing out of his seven orifices. His eyeballs burst from the tremendous force and blood sprayed out from his eye sockets.

BANG...! Shi Zhiyao’s figure turned into a blurred image. It flew with ten times the speed he used when jumping backward earlier. He was sent flying thirty meters backward by the powerful impact before smashing into a newly-repaired stone wall in the distance.

The stone wall shattered and collapsed. Shi Zhiyao, the arrogant Gan Province inspector from the Northwestern Transportation Office was dead!

The second Yan Liqiang made a move against Shi Zhiyao, they did not exchange any more than three techniques. Since both parties were experts, they were fighting at lightning speed. Although it was a total of three techniques, Shi Zhiyao was pretty much slaughtered by Yan Liqiang in less than a second.

The entrance to the spring workshop was in complete silence. Both parties from the manufacturing bureau and the Northwestern Transportation Office were stunned. Their minds stopped working because the scene before their eyes was beyond comprehension for many of them. Everyone at the scene either didn’t expect Yan Liqiang to be so much more powerful than Shi Zhiyao, or expect him to kill Shi Zhiyao in front of everyone. After all, Shi Zhiyao was an inspector from the Northwestern Transportation Office! His rank was nearly the same level as a Prefectural Governor. Yet... yet Yan Liqiang actually killed him?!

Quite a few officers who were acting fearlessly and haughtily when they arrived with Shi Zhiyao earlier immediately wet their pants at the sight of Shi Zhiyao’s lifeless body under the stone wall, reduced into nothing but a pile of bloody gunk, and the frightening bloody remains of his eyeballs on the ground.

SPLAT...! Yan Liqiang stepped on the Shi Zhiyao’s eyeballs on the ground, crushing them like grapes. He threw a disdainful look at the shivering officers from the Northwestern Transportation Office, then reached out to pull the white ash spear out of the ground.

“Break all their worthless legs! Kill any that dare to resist on the spot...!”

Yan Liqiang swung the white ash spear at an officer’s legs at the side while speaking. The solid spear handle cut through the air and landed squarely against his shins, breaking his legs with loud snaps. The officer immediately fell to the ground and howled in pain while holding his legs.

It was his anguished howl that snapped the soldiers from the manufacturing bureau back to their senses. Seeing that Yan Liqiang had started moving, the angry soldiers also rushed toward the officers and gave their legs a good greeting with the weapons in their hands without any hesitation.

Shi Dafeng was the first to follow Yan Liqiang’s example and hit one of the officers hard on his shins with the metal rod in his hand. Shen Teng hesitated for a moment, but he ultimately joined Shi Dafeng.

The officers were already scared out of their wits from Yan Liqiang’s earlier performance. No one dared to resist after being told that they would be killed on the spot. In just a flash, all of the officers were like fallen calabashes on the ground, holding their broken knees while crying out in pain.

“Zhou Yong, where is that Vice Transport Commissioner?” Yan Liqiang asked.

Zhou Yong stopped and was panting heavily. He wiped the blood away from the corner of his mouth and replied respectfully. “Lord Qian led the Vice Transport Commissioner to the Iron Transportation Hall just now!”

The Iron Transportation Hall was a newly-built courtyard. It was the heart of the manufacturing bureau, and also the place where Qian Su and Yan Liqiang worked.

Yan Liqiang nodded, then pointed to the people on the ground. “Lock all of them up!”

“Understood!”

“The rest of you, follow me!” Yan Liqiang said, then made his way to the Iron Transportation Hall.

They walked about a hundred meters and arrived at the courtyard which assembled the four-wheeled carriages. Yan Liqiang saw a few other officers from the Transportation Office walking around the place. They opened one of the newly assembled four-wheeled carriages’ doors and were jumping around it. They were laughing loudly, touching and poking it. They even knocked on the newly-installed stained glass and damaged it. A supervisor came forward and tried to stop them from further damaging the vehicle but was rewarded with a slap on his face by an officer from the Northwestern Transportation Office.

Chapter 475: Decisive Kill

After slapping the supervisor from the manufacturing bureau, the officer from the Transportation Office even pointed at his nose and started scolding him. His spittle landed on the face of the supervisor as he bawled, “Do you know what the Transportation Office does? Go ask around if you don’t know. Within the Great Han Empire, all the carriages and ships that run on the ground and sail across the water are governed by our Transportation Office. Needless to say, you will not be able to do anything even if I set your lousy workshop on fire, let alone breaking one of your lousy windows. Truth be told, the Transportation Office shall expropriate half of the four-wheeled carriages that are produced in this manufacturing bureau in the future. Whatever is in this courtyard now should not be pulled away as they have all been expropriated by us. I will reside here after this and my words will be the law here, do you understand?”

The courtyard was quite a distance away from the spring processing workshop. The officers here had no clue about what was going on in the spring processing workshop, so they continued bluffing in the name of the Transportation Office.

The supervisor of the manufacturing bureau who got slapped across the face was the first to notice Yan Lqiang leading a group of people in their direction. When he saw Yan Liqiang coming forward them, he ignored the burning pain on his cheek and hurriedly bowed to Yan Liqiang, “Greetings to the Qiyun Protectorate General!”

The officer who had slapped the supervisor only turned around slowly after hearing the greetings. When he saw Yan Liqiang approaching emotionlessly, the officer raised his eyebrows, then swept his gaze across the white ash spear in Yan Liqiang’s hands and the people following him. A small disdainful smile appeared on his face as he smirked, “What are you trying to do by bringing so many people over? Are you trying to scare someone with your spear? I am going to tell you the rules around here today, you are the one by the surname...”

Before the officer of the Transportation Office could even finish his words, Yan Liqiang thrust the spear into his mouth. The shiny bloody spearhead protruded from behind his head.

The supervisor and the weaponsmiths were all stunned. The officers who were laughing loudly on the four-wheeled carriages were also stunned and it took them a while to actually process the situation. Two other officers intended to draw the sabers on their waists, but the moment their hands touched the handle of their sabers, Yan Liqiang turned the spear in his hand and pierced their throats in just a flash. Their bodies were picked up from the carriage before being tossed onto the ground.

“Holy sh*t...” The remaining two officers’ legs turned into jelly from the shock of seeing three of their colleagues dead. One of the officers’ legs gave way while the other turned around and tried to escape. Regardless how fast that person was, he was no match against the speed of the spear in Yan Liqiang’s hand.

“Ooof...” The white ash spear stabbed the man in the middle of his back. The spearhead pierced through his chest and was instantly retracted. That man only managed to take two steps before collapsing on the ground.

“Supervisor Zhu, are you alright?” Yan Liqiang retracted his spear and asked the supervisor.

“Yes...Yes, I am alright!” Supervisor Zhu looked at Yan Liqiang and touched his reddened face. His expression was indescribable – he was shocked, emotional, and also a little scared. “My lord, t-those people were from the Transportation Office.”

“The Transportation Office? I don’t know anything about that. I only saw a group of wretched people impersonating officers. They’re not that rare these days!” Yan Liqiang smiled coldly.

“Our manufacturing bureau is not a place for those bastards to show off and do as they please. Regardless of who they are, as long as they dare come to our manufacturing bureau looking for trouble, then they are courting death!” Yan Liqiang looked at the person who was kneeling on the ground as his legs gave way earlier. He had a wet patch on the crotch of his trousers. Yan Liqiang ordered his soldiers, “Break his legs and lock him up...”

Two soldiers immediately rushed over. One of them raised the metal baton stick in his hand while the other raised the back of his blade, then smashed the man’s lower shins. He let out a blood-curdling scream, held his broken legs, and rolled on the ground. He was then dragged away like a dead dog. The arrogance that he had vanished completely.

Yan Liqiang continued to march on with his men to the Iron Transportation Hall.

Two minutes later, after clearing out a few bastards along the way, Yan Liqiang arrived in front of the Iron Transportation Hall. Two officers from the Transportation Office stood arrogantly in front of the Iron Transportation Hall with their hands on the handles of the sabers on their waists. Their attitudes were like that of a host warding off strangers.

“Who are you and what are you doing?” One of the officers stared at Yan Liqiang and shouted as he saw Yan Liqiang heading toward them with a group of people.

Yan Liqiang did not open his mouth to reply to him. Instead, he used the white ash spear to answer him.

In the blink of an eye, there were two more corpses at the entrance to the Iron Transportation Hall.

“All of you go and check if anyone escaped. I only need Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng to follow me inside!” Yan Liqiang issued his orders and passed the white ash spear to the soldier beside him before he led Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng into the Iron Transportation Hall.

The main hall was just beyond a screen wall near the entrance. There was no one there at the moment, but Yan Liqiang knew that Qian Su should be with the Vice Transport Commissioner at the reception pavilion, a convenient place to discuss private matters. Hence, he headed directly to the reception pavilion at the back.

The moment Yan Liqiang was outside of the reception pavilion at the back of the Iron Transportation Hall, he heard Qian Su’s angry voice, “Lord Zhong, don’t you think that this is too much? I am not the only one who has a say in this manufacturing bureau. However, I am unable to agree to what you just requested!”

“Hehe...” The arrogant chuckles echoed in the room before an extremely cold voice followed, “That wasn’t a negotiation; it was an order from Lord Jiang, the Transport Commissioner. An internal strife has broken out among the Shatu Seven Tribes. They wrote a letter to the imperial court a few days ago, requesting them aid in clearing out the Dark Wood Tribe to restore order in the Gulang Plains. The Ministry of War has already sent an official written letter to the Northwestern Transportation Office to request Lord Jiang to prepare for the transport of funds and food. According to the rules and regulations of the Great Han Empire, Lord Jiang has the rights to expropriate and allocate all the carriages and ships within the northwestern border to transport the required army provision and military supplies. Naturally, this manufacturing bureau which is producing four-wheeled carriages, is no exception. At this very instant, I have already taken over this manufacturing bureau. All incoming and outgoing funds or carriages are to be approved by me. It does not matter if you agree or disagree, a small manufacturing bureau like yours dares to defy the laws of the imperial court? Can you afford to shoulder the responsibility if this affects the imperial court in deploying troops to the Gulang Plains? Do you not fear capital punishments and clan exterminations?”

That was a strong death threat toward the end of the conversation.

“This manufacturing bureau is the property of the Qiyun Protectorate and he is in charge of it. According to the rules and regulations of the Great Han Empire, the Northwestern Transportation Company has no right to interfere with the matters of the Qiyun Protectorate!” Quan Su replied coldly.

“Hahaha, what is this nonsense about the Qiyun Protectorate? Didn’t it go into extinction many years ago? We are now within the border of Gan Province which belongs to the Great Han Empire and our Northwestern Transportation Office has the right to take control over it. All in all, the Qiyun Protectorate is non-existent. Wasn’t this manufacturing bureau a weaponsmiths quarter before? Also, where is your Qiyun Protectorate?

“Since His Majesty personally conferred the title of Qiyun Protectorate, the Qiyun Protectorate definitely exists. Unless Lord Zhong doubts His Majesty’s edict?

“I talked so much to you because I think highly of you. Otherwise, you are just an insignificant Quartermaster in the Weaponsmiths Quarter who doesn’t even qualify to stand in front of me. Are you waiting to be forced into this?” The voice had turned frosty with anger.

“Like I said, the only one who can have the final say is the Protectorate General. I can’t do anything about it. Lord Zhong still needs the Protectorate’s approval to take over the control of the manufacturing bureau!” Qian Su’s voice remained calm.

“There’s no problem with it. You can inform Yan Liqiang to meet up with me after I have taken over the manufacturing bureau.”

By then, Yan Liqiang had reached the entrance of the reception pavilion. He pushed open the door and entered the room.

There were two people sitting in the room, separated by a tea table between them. Qian Su’s face was full of anger, both of his hands were curled into fists and resting on his knees. The obese man who sat across Qian Su looked like a pig. He was wearing a dark red official robe with a teacup in his hands. His tilted his head as his lips curled into a disdainful smile. He cast a glance at Qian Su through his squinted eyes as he brought the teacup to his lips.

When Yan Liqiang made his entrance, Qian Su was shocked as he quickly stood up.

“Impudent! Who are you? How dare you come into this place...” That fatty’s mind went blank for a while before getting furious.

Yan Liqiang silently walked in front of that fatty, then delivered a hard slap across his face.

The fatty sprayed out a mouthful of blood mixed with a few broken teeth. The force of Yan Liqiang’s slap actually knocked a man weighing about two hundred jin out of his chair. The fatty made a 720-degree somersault in the air before smashing heavily into a wall that was three meters away. He fell with a loud crash, broke the table and other items like vases beneath it, then passed out without even making any sound.

Chapter 476: Punishment

In the evening, Pingxi Prefectural Governor Wang Jianbei was reading a letter in his office with a strange expression.

The letter was delivered by someone from the manufacturing bureau, written on Qian Su’s behalf.

Wang Jianbei and Liu Yucheng were both Lei Sitong’s subordinates and close friends. Hence, they had an unusual bond between them compared to prefectural governors and military governors from other places. They were very close and would often discuss matters together. When the letter was delivered here, Liu Yucheng was in Wang Jianbei’s study room. After the latter finished reading the letter, he passed it to the other man. “Take a look at this, Yucheng.”

Liu Yucheng accepted the letter. Few seconds after reading it, he raised his thick eyebrows as he exclaimed aloud, “Ah, people actually dare to pose themselves as officers from the Transportation Office and act ostentatiously in the manufacturing bureau! How bold of them...!”

“I’m afraid that these are not imposters but real officers from the Transportation Office!” Wang Jianbei watched a sparrow jumping on the branch of a magnolia tree, then continued speaking in an indifferent tone. “Two days ago, I received a confidential letter from Lord Lei saying that the Northwestern Transportation Office’s Vice Transport Commissioner Zhong Xiankui was leading a group of officers into Gan Province and making haste to Pingxi Prefecture. It’s about time they reach the Pingxi Prefecture today...”

“The Transportation Office didn’t issue an official document to the Provincial Governor?”

“No, the Prefectural Governor’s Office did not receive any notice either!” Wang Jianbei shook his head. “The Transportation Office has always been unbridled in their way of doing things over the past few years. They entered Gan Province this time without providing any documents either. Since they didn’t bother to cover up their tracks, they naturally couldn’t escape Lord Lei’s eyes. After knowing they entered Gan Province and seemed to be coming to Pingxi Prefecture, Lord Lei even warned me to be more careful so we wouldn’t leave anything for these people to use against us!”

“The Transportation Office is targeting the manufacturing bureau?”

“It seems so!”

The Pingxi Military Governor read the letter in his hand again, then drew a sharp breath. “How bold of them to take Zhong Xiankui down. Although that man is useless, he definitely brought an expert along with him to Gan Province. I met Gan Province Inspector Shi Zhiyao from the Transportation Office last year. He has progressed into a Martial Grandmaster and is a troublesome one. I wonder if he is here with Zhong Xiankui...”

“Since Zhong Xiankui has come to Gan Province, Shi Zhiyao is most likely here too!” Wang Jianbei nodded. “Although this letter is from Qian Su, I’m guessing Yan Liqiang is in the manufacturing bureau right now and instructed him to send this letter to inform us just in case...”

“How can the manufacturing bureau be so bold to even dare to take down people from the Transportation Office?”

“Did you not see the reason they wrote in the letter? The manufacturing bureau is under the Qiyun Protectorate’s jurisdiction, and therefore operates independently of the Northwestern Transportation Office. Yet these people came making trouble at the manufacturing bureau without such common sense, so they must be imposters without a doubt. Besides, the manufacturing bureau mentioned that these people weren’t carrying any official documents with them...”

“F*ck, how ruthless! It does sound like what Yan Liqiang would do!” Liu Yucheng slammed the letter on the table and clicked his tongue. “They have taken down the people, so if the manufacturing bureau claims that these people didn’t carry any official documents, then they didn’t. I guess the reason they found is a pretty solid one. However, Northwestern Transport Commissioner Jiang Tianhua will probably lose his head once he finds out about this incident and he’s not going to take things lying down. The manufacturing bureau has really stirred up a hornet’s nest this time...”

“Jiang Tianhua has always been Lin Qingtian’s blind follower while Yan Liqiang is an ally of His Majesty’s. If this dispute is taken to court, Yan Liqiang wouldn’t be scared even if it is escalated to the Imperial Capital. He must have thought of this already!” A meaningful smile appeared on Wang Jianbei’s face.

“I’m sure Jiang Tianhua is aware of this too, so I don’t think he will dare to say anything about taking things to court with Yan Liqiang!”

“Of course!”

“Then how could Yan Liqiang still be this bold?”

“Even rabbits can bite when they feel threatened, let alone humans. Yan Liqiang has instructed for this letter to be delivered us as a notification. We’ll just inform Lord Lei. As for the rest, since we didn’t receive any official documents from the Transportation Office regarding Zhong Xiankui’s visit to Pingxi Prefecture, we can pretend to be unaware and just ignore it. We’ll do what we should and buy whatever time we have. Just pretend nothing happened!”

“But Jiang Tianhua is a vicious and merciless man! They really have a backing in the Transportation Office!”

“Regardless, Lord Lei is absolute in the Gan Province. It’d be even better if Yan Liqiang fails to handle things and come seeks us for our aid!” Wang Jianbei’s gaze deepened.

“You mean the salt pan at Yuntao County?”

“That’s Lord Lei’s wallet. You should visit that place more frequently, Yucheng. The goods from our salt pan in Pingxi Prefecture can shock even the most established salt merchants in the northwestern region. Lord Lei has already assigned an expert to oversee the place. But over the past few days, there has been quite a number of troublemakers appearing in Yuntao County Town. We should assign a battalion of cavalry there if necessary with the excuse of conducting a training drill to save trouble...”

“Alright. Damn, that Yan Liqiang really knows how to make money. Anything that passes through his hand becomes gold. I never believed the rumors from outside saying that Yan Liqiang is capable due to the guidance he receives from a deity. Now, I’m a little convinced. Let’s see how he will handle this...”

...

...

SPLASH...!

Vice Transport Commissioner Zhong Xiankui was startled awake from having a basin of water poured from his head to toe. He slowly opened his eyes. In his daze, he gradually got a good look at his surroundings.

He was in a dark cell surrounded by stone walls. A stove of blazing coals was burning in the room, dyeing the entire room red. Qian Su, whom he had seen before, was calmly looking at him with another few unfamiliar faces standing in the room.

As soon as he took a good look at the scene before him, he felt his cheeks hurting very badly. His head felt like a wooden block and he tried to touch it. However, the clang he heard made him realize that his limbs had been chained to a metal frame.

“What are you all doing?! I am the Vice Transport Commissioner from the Northwestern Transport Office! It is a capital offense to beat or hold an official of the imperial court captive...!” Zhong Xiankui immediately struggled to break free while yelling like a pig that was about to be slaughtered.

“You’re not an official from the imperial court! You’re just an imposter...!” Yan Liqiang chuckled as he watched the chained Vice Transport Commissioner shrieking.

“NONSENSE! I-I... I have my official paiza with me and I also carry an official document...!” Zhong Xiankui shouted, trying to fish something out. It was a shame that his limbs were chained so his movements were too limited for him to find something on his body.

“Are you looking for these?” Yan Liqiang picked up the stack of official paizas and a few documents from the side.

Zhong Xiankui looked up. His eyes immediately lit up when he saw the items Yan Liqiang was holding. “YES! Yes, yes! Those! Since you already know who I am, release me at once! Do you have a death wish...?!”

Yan Liqiang smiled coldly, then tossed the official documents and paizas into the blazing flames beside him. The documents immediately burned up when they came into contact with the fire. The few wooden official paizas engraved with the words ‘Northwestern Transportation Office’ also caught on fire in just a flash...

“What about now? Is there anyone else who can prove your identity?” Yan Liqiang asked Zhong Xiankui.

“T-THIS IS A CAPITAL OFFENSE! A CAPITAL OFFENSE...!” Zhong Xiankui couldn’t even speak properly but he was yelling.

“Impersonating an official from the Northwestern Transportation Office and coming to cause trouble at the manufacturing bureau under the Qiyun Protectorate’s jurisdiction is a capital offense!”

“NONSENSE! I am Zhong Xiankui! The Transport Commissioner of the Northwestern Transportation Office! How dare you accuse me of being an imposter...!”

“Brother Zhou, I think he’s still not very awake yet. Why don’t you sober him up...?” Yan Liqiang ordered Zhou Yong who was standing beside him.

Although Zhou Yong was injured, his condition had pretty much stabilized after he took some medicine and received treatment, so he could move without much problem. While clenching his teeth at the side, Zhou Yong had been staring menacingly at Zhong Xiankui whose head had swelled up like a pig’s head. As soon as he heard Yan Liqiang, he immediately picked up a glowing red triangle branding iron from the stove with a pair of metal tongs and approached Zhong Xiankui...

“W-What are you doing...? What are you doing?! I am an official of the imperial court...! Qian Su, do you not value your lives...?!”

Looking at the glowing red object drawing closer to him, Zhong Xiankui screamed in terror.

SIZZLE...!

When the glowing red branding iron was pressed directly against Zhong Xiankui’s chest, the smell of burnt flesh filled the room. Zhong Xiankui let out a blood-curdling scream as he struggled against the metal frame like a fish out of water, but to no avail. After a moment, his head finally lolled to the side as he lost consciousness.

Another basin of cold water was poured from his head to toe again, and Zhong Xiankui’s eyes snapped open once more. He saw Yan Liqiang looking at him calmly. Apart from terror and fear, there was nothing else left in Zhong Xiankui’s eyes.

“What’s your name?” Yan Liqiang asked calmly.

“Z-Zhong... Xiankui!”

“Wrong. You’re not Zhong Xiankui. You are Zhu Dakui, right?”

Zhong Xiankui hesitated for a moment. However, when he saw Zhou Yong looking at him while licking his lips and was about to reach for the branding iron again, he immediately shivered and hurriedly nodded. “Yes, yes, yes. My name is Zhu Dakui, my name is Zhu Dakui...!”

A smile finally appeared on Yan Liqiang’s face. “Tell me, who sent you here...?”

Chapter 477: Improvised

It was very easy to judge if a person had completely lost his willpower. In the next hour, Vice Transport Commissioner Zhong Xiankui broke down in tears and spilled out all that Yan Liqiang wanted to know, not daring to withhold any information.

Vice Transport Commissioner Zhong Xiankui’s trip to Gan Province this time was indeed to find trouble with the manufacturing bureau. He was assigned by Transport Commissioner Jiang Tianhua of the Northwestern Transportation Office. Before he came, they were already prepared to improvise anytime. If everything went according to plan, the Transportation Office would’ve taken over the entire manufacturing bureau. If the Pingxi Prefectural Governor’s Office or Gan Provincial Governor Lei Sitong were to get involved and foil their plans, they would need to at least get the spring manufacturing method and take away one of the artisans who knew how to make the spring.

The Dark Razor Tribe wrote an official letter to the imperial court on behalf of the Shatu Seven Tribes, stating that the Dark Wood Tribe was rebelling so they were seeking aid from the imperial court to quell the rebellion together. This was indeed true, however, there had not been any formal consensus from the imperial court. Lin Qingtian wanted the northwestern provinces to dispatch troops to assist the Dark Razor Tribe to take down the Dark Wood Tribe, but the Emperor expressed his disapproval. Jiang Tianhua made use of this opportunity, intending to take over the manufacturing bureau in the name of the Northwestern Transportation Office. At the very least, they wanted to ensure that the manufacturing bureau would not be monopolizing the massive profit from the four-wheeled carriages.

Regardless of whether it was Jiang Tianhua or Zhong Xiankui of the Northwestern Transportation Office, they had not expected that Yan Liqiang would be so tough before they came to Pingxi Prefecture. This was something that they had miscalculated. They believed that unless Wang Jianbei or Lei Sitong dared to step up for Yan Liqiang and clash with the Transportation Office, Yan Liqiang was absolutely nothing to worry about. Moreover, even if Wang Jian Bei or Lei Sitong fell out with the Transportation Office, it would ultimately be a strategic battle within the officialdom. There should not be any danger in sending Zhong Xiankui and his men to Pingxi Prefecture.

Considering Yan Liqiang’s past, they learned that Yan Liqiang was a little ‘capable’ and was considered a ‘rebel’. Jian Tianhua had ordered Gan Province’s inspector Shi Zhiyao from the Northwestern Transportation Office to accompany Zhong Xiankui to subdue Yan Liqiang so that he wouldn’t dare to meddle around. Shi Zhiyao had already progressed into Martial Grandmaster and he was a character who could assume personal responsibility in the Transportation Office. Therefore, Jiang Tianhua and Zhong Xiankui thought that even if Yan Liqiang was unconvinced, with his little capability, Shi Zhiyao would still be able to handle him.

Expectation was far from reality – Jiang Tianhua and Zhong Xiankui never thought that Yan Liqiang would be so tough and even dare to attack the people from the inspection office. Even Shi Zhiyao who had already progressed into a Martial Grandmaster was unable to withstand a single blow. Yan Liqiang’s capability, courage, and insight became the main reason for their failed plan.

According to Zhong Xiankui, Northwestern Transportation Officer Jiang Tianhua had always been very close to Grand Chancellor Ling Qingtian. They exchanged letters frequently. Upon hearing this, Yan Liqiang already knew the mastermind behind this incident.

By the time Yan Liqiang walked out from the dungeon of the manufacturing bureau after interrogating Zhong Xiankui, the sky was filled with stars. Yan Liqiang lifted his head to look at the starry sky and let out a long breath.

Qian Su, who was beside Yan Liqiang, had his eyebrows knitted together. Since the moment he saw Yan Liqiang send Zhong Xiankui flying with a slap across the face today and learned that Yan Liqiang had killed the people from the Transportation Office, Qian Su’s eyebrows never unfolded even after Shi Zhiyao died under Yan Liqiang’s hands. His eyebrows remained knitted along with the grave expression on his face.

They walked toward the Iron Transportation Hall and Qian Su was the first person to break the silence.

“Within the manufacturing bureau, everyone’s statement was that those people posed as officers from the Transportation Office and acted ostentatiously. We have already issued a gag order, and a majority of the people would have no idea about the real situation!”

“Uncle Qian, are you worried?”

“Liqiang, you should understand that this incident is no small matter. If the people in the manufacturing bureau learn about the real identity of those who died in the manufacturing bureau today, I am afraid they would all start panicking. Everyone knows how powerful the Transportation Office is. This is a serious crime that warrants decapitation, and there are plenty who are afraid of it!” Qian Su said worriedly.

“So Uncle Qian, are you afraid?” Yan Liqiang turned around and looked at Qian Su with a smile.

“Of course I’m afraid. Uncle Qian’s life did not jump out from the seams of a rock. How can I not be afraid?!” Qian Su stared at Yan Liqiang angrily and blew his mustache. “At a time like this, you are still in the mood to be sarcastic. There is no use for me being afraid anyway because I can’t run from this. I’ve got to stick to you instead. Worst comes to worst, I’ll just follow you and your father to escape to some unknown place and live my life secretly!”

“I know that in your heart, you’ve slightly blamed me for being impetuous.” Yan Liqiang let out a long breath and spoke disappointedly, “If it was for my father’s matter, as a son, I would at most beat the offenders to help my father seek justice and not kill anyone. However, I had no choice but to give it my all because of the manufacturing bureau. The bureau is a seed that I planted with my own hands – it’ll grow into a giant tree that many people can rely on. In the future, whenever a storm comes, this giant tree may be able to shelter lots of people, so I cannot let this seed get destroyed by the hands of those bastards. I’ll ensure that whoever wants to destroy this seed will pay a high price for it. We cannot back down this time because the Transport Commissioner Jiang Tianhua of Northwestern Transportation Office is just one of Ling Qingtian’s dogs. As per my understanding of Ling Qingtian, if we had let this dog bite us without retaliating and chose to back down and compromise, this dog will undoubtedly want more in the future. It’s even possible that it will gather more wild dogs to chew and swallow us whole. We can only choose to fight head to head with them this time without any room for compromise!”

“However, we are dealing with the Northwestern Transportation Office!” Qian Su let out a bitter smile. “To be honest, when I thought about going against such a colossus, I could taste the bitterness inside my mouth, anxious about not knowing what to do. If it wasn’t for you, I would have already packed my bags and fled!”

“Don’t worry Uncle Qian, this situation is different from before. Transport Commissioner Jian Tianhua of the Northwestern Transportation Office will not bring this up to the imperial court because the manufacturing bureau was indeed personally assigned to the Qiyun Protectorate by His Majesty. The Northwestern Transportation Office has absolutely no jurisdiction over the manufacturing bureau. If he brings this up to the imperial court, it’ll be as if he’s slapping His Majesty’s face – he doesn’t have such guts. For this incident, we are not up against the imperial court as Northwestern Transportation Office will not get any support from them!” Yan Liqiang said with a calm expression. His eyes shone with brilliance and profoundness that did not match his age.

“With my relationship with Lei Sitong in Gan Province, even if Lei Sitong does not openly support me, he would never stand alongside Transport Commissioner Jiang Tianhua. In fact, he will put some pressure on Jian Tianhua discreetly. Jiang Tianhua did not receive support from the imperial court or any responses from the local government to deal with us. He is now in the middle of nowhere with no help. So, we only have to deal with the Transportation Office that is a thousand miles away!”

“But it’s still the Transportation Office after all!” Qian Su sighed.

“Yes, it’s the Transportation Office after all. The reason why the Transportation Office is feared by others is because aside from representing the imperial court, a lot of people are in this office. Jiang Tianhua had around six thousand men in his troops, around two groups of men from the Patrol Cavalry Battalion. When those troops gathered, they were indeed frightening. However, according to what Zhong Xiankui said, among those six thousand men, most of them were infantry. There were only around a thousand cavalrymen. We are so far away from the Transportation Office and I’ve been thinking that without the support from the imperial court and Gan Province’s local bureaucracy, Jian Tianhua only has a cavalry of a thousand men against us!” Yan Liqiang halted his footsteps and looked at Qian Su earnestly. A cold gleam flashed across his eyes, “If Jiang Tianhua dares to dispatch his cavalry here, I’ll wipe... it... out...completely!”

“Ah...” Qian Su looked at Yan Liqiang in shock. Up until now, he had never heard the tone or the words that came out of Yan Liqiang’s mouth. The confidence and aggressiveness that Yan Liqiang revealed at this instant were as bright as the stars in the sky.

“There’s no need to be shocked Uncle Qian, for I have discovered that in this world, there’s point in reasoning with anyone. In the end, it still comes down to fists and blades. Wait until Jiang Tianhua finds out that the blade in the Gan Province is no sharper than the blade that I have. That’s when we can reason with him. Our manufacturing bureau is very wealthy now, but being wealthy is not enough. It’s time for others to be afraid of us...” Yan Liqiang smiled.

“Besides, there is no use in issuing a gag order about this incident and concealing it from the people of the manufacturing bureau. Uncle Qian can gather everybody for a meeting tomorrow morning, I’d like to tell them the truth. Those who are afraid can leave, we will not stop them!”

Chapter 478: Unity of Will Is An Impregnable Stronghold

Confidence came with mastery. After progressing into a Martial Grandmaster and successfully cultivating the ‘true spear technique’, Yan Liqiang realized that he had indeed gained more confidence. The most obvious change was that he no longer felt threatened by his opponent’s name and influence, even when he was facing the ‘powerful’ Dark Wood Tribe of the Shatu Seven Tribes or the Northwestern Transportation Office. The only questions he had in mind were always how many people his opponent could send and if he could deal with them all.

When one became stronger, one would become more optimistic. If Yan Liqiang encountered an entity like the Transportation Office in the past, all he could probably think of was how to mobilize the resources around him and his other social connections to deal with starving wolves like them. This time, however, he was going to take them head-on.

Before making a move against them, Yan Liqiang was clearly aware that he wasn’t going up against these officials simply as an individual, but also as an official. He was the Qiyun Protectorate General personally appointed by the Emperor. The Transportation Office wanted to take the manufacturing bureau in their jurisdiction, and that meant they were declaring war on the Qiyun Protectorate. For such a conflict, there was no way the Transportation Office would gain the support of the Imperial Capital City and Gan Province. Therefore, his only opponent was the Transportation Office and the troops available to them.

Simply put, this was a contest of strength. Whoever had the sharpest blade would win!

The only threat the Northwestern Transportation Office could pose on the manufacturing bureau was a cavalry of a thousand men. To Yan Liqiang, it would theoretically take him only about three minutes to wipe out his enemies with his firing power of eight arrows per second. He only needed to draw his bow three hundred times and ensure he had about a thousand arrows with him.

However, the Transportation Office’s cavalry wasn’t going to line up and wait for him to kill them in reality. Even so, Yan Liqiang still didn’t feel threatened by them at all.

The very next morning, Yan Liqiang called everyone for a general meeting in the manufacturing bureau’s dining hall before breakfast.

As Yan Liqiang expected, everyone in the manufacturing bureau still found out about the event that transpired yesterday despite Qian Su’s gag order. They knew Yan Liqiang had killed people from the Northwestern Transportation Office in the manufacturing bureau. In such a small place where everyone was well-acquainted with each other, it was impossible to cover up such a huge incident.

The dining hall was completely silent. Although everyone was quiet, they had their own fears and worries written all over their faces. No one spoke or laughed. The atmosphere in the dining hall was extremely heavy.

Everyone’s gazes fell on Yan Liqiang’s face, but the latter calmly spoke up instead. “I believe everyone found out what happened in our manufacturing bureau yesterday!”

He only had to sweep his gaze over everyone to determine the thoughts running through their heads. “For those who don’t know or are not sure, I will briefly explain it. A group of people from the Northwestern Transportation Office came to our manufacturing bureau yesterday. Since the four-wheeled carriages that we’re building is a form of public transport, they tried to take over the manufacturing bureau with the reason that the Transportation Office has the right to expropriate all means of transportation. Not only that, but they also wished to take away any profits made by the manufacturing bureau. From then on, everything made in the manufacturing bureau, including the four-wheeled carriages, would belong to them. They wish for us to become their slaves. The moment they arrived, they hit someone and acted arrogantly. They were even about to kill a few people who dared to stand up against them. If it wasn’t for a mirror armor plate, Zhou Yong would have been critically injured or even lost his life for protecting the spring workshop by now!”

Everyone in the manufacturing bureau stared at Yan Liqiang blankly. Some in the crowd were slightly agitated. Apart from Qian Su, no one expected Yan Liqiang to openly discuss the elephant in the room today.

“I sent a letter to Pingxi Prefectural Governor Wang Jianbei yesterday to inform him that there was a group of people causing trouble and injuring people in our manufacturing bureau while posing as officers from the Transportation Office. I also added the fact that we had already taken them down. This is the explanation we will give to outsiders – we will claim that they are imposters. In reality, there’s no use in hiding the fact from everyone here. Those people were indeed from the Northwestern Transportation Office, led by Vice Transport Commissioner Zhong Xiankui. In terms of official rank, his position is higher than a prefectural governor. The other person who led the group was Gan Province Inspector Shi Zhiyao, but I have already killed him!

“Why am I so ruthless to these people and why do I dare to even kill them? That’s because these people are behaving like thieves and robbers while abusing their status as officials! They see that the manufacturing bureau is earning money from the four-wheeled carriages and know that everyone is about to share the huge profit and enjoy a better life. So they got jealous and want to snatch what is ours!”

Yan Liqiang’s tone became harsher. “Why do I say they are thieves and robbers? That’s because the manufacturing bureau used to be a weaponsmiths quarter. I’m sure everyone is already aware that His Majesty has given his consent in regards to this transition and has placed the manufacturing bureau under the Qiyun Protectorate’s jurisdiction as family property. The Qiyun Protectorate and the Northwestern Transportation Office are completely unrelated to one another. No matter the reach of the Northwestern Transportation Office’s influence, they have no right to meddle in the Qiyun Protectorate’s affairs. Although our manufacturing bureau is located in Pingxi Prefecture, we are not under their jurisdiction.

“Therefore, the people who came to the manufacturing bureau yesterday were thieves or robbers, despite their status as officials. Not only that, but they are the most despicable type of robbers who gobble up everything without leaving even the bones behind. They are blinded by greed, corrupt officials who abuse laws and commit evil deeds in the name of justice. They operate under the imperial court’s name, yet do things that destroy its reputation. I shall kill anyone who dares to bully us! If one day a group of thieves barges into your home to rob you, dishonors your family, holds a knife against your throat, and demands you to become their slave, are you going to be a coward or are you going to fight against them to the bitter end?”

“Of course we shall fight those bastards until the end!” A few soldiers immediately roared in anger after listening to Yan Liqiang, and more people followed suit. Their angry voices rose like rolling waves, nearly bringing down the dining hall’s roof.

“I understand that everyone is concerned about how the Northwestern Transportation Office will get back at us. Truth be told, they have yet to find out what transpired in the manufacturing bureau yesterday. If they do, they will definitely retaliate. Even so, we can’t allow people to undermine us. I am the Qiyun Protectorate General, personally appointed by His Majesty. I am not worried that this incident will really be escalated to the court in the Imperial Capital, because the Provincial Governor and the Prefectural Governor will not side with them. The Northwestern Transportation Office is a group of bandits and thieves – they do not represent the imperial court. The manufacturing bureau will represent the Qiyun Protectorate this time and fight against the Northwestern Transportation Office to the bitter end!” Yan Liqiang announced loudly.

“Yes, yes, fight against them to the bitter end!”

The soldiers and craftsmen in the manufacturing bureau roared in anger.

“I wish to fight against the Northwestern Transportation Office to the end, but I shall not force everyone to travel this dark path with me. The reason I am telling you all these things today is to make it clear to everyone that the manufacturing bureau will soon encounter danger with the enemy. I would like to give everyone a choice – those who wish to leave may do so today. For those who wish to stay, we will fight against the Northwestern Transportation Office to the bitter end!” Speaking up to this point, Yan Liqiang turned his head around to look at Qian Su. “Uncle Qian, how much is the manufacturing bureau’s earnings per share over the past six months?”

Qian Su looked at Yan Liqiang, already knowing his intentions. He cleared his throat and announced to everyone loudly, “Over the past six months, our manufacturing bureau has earned a profit of over four hundred thousand taels of silver. Our earnings per share is at least fifty taels of silver! If we count annually, we are expecting nearly a hundred taels of silver per share for this year!”

No one in the manufacturing bureau knew of this figure. Everyone was shocked to find out from Qian Su here today. In just half a year, even the lowest-ranking servants in the manufacturing bureau could get fifty taels of silver. The most average soldiers and craftsmen in the manufacturing bureau who held three shares would get 150 taels of silver. The leaders, chief weaponsmiths, and supervisors would get more, about a thousand taels of silver each. Many in the manufacturing bureau never possessed such a large sum of money in their lives before. Not only that, but this was the first bonus that the manufacturing bureau would receive this year. As long as the manufacturing bureau existed, they would be getting such a large sum of money every year in the future.

“If anyone wants to leave, the manufacturing bureau shall fulfill its duty by issuing the dividend one deserves for the past half year. At the same time, they’ll also automatically lose their shares in the manufacturing bureau. From then on, they will be dissociated from us and be spared from any trials and tribulations in the manufacturing bureau, but they will also be excluded from any benefits we have to offer!” Yan Liqiang told Qian Su.

“Alright, anything you say!” Qian Su nodded.

There were no idiots here. The people from the manufacturing bureau standing in front of Yan Liqiang mentally calculated and immediately figured out how much money they would be getting. However, those dogs from the Northwestern Transportation Office were here to snatch all this money from them.

Destroying someone’s means of getting money was akin to murdering someone’s parents! Not only did those trash from the Transportation Office plan to stop everyone from getting their money, but they also wanted to make everyone their slaves!

In just a flash, many people’s eyes reddened. Their hearts were filled with anger and resentment toward the Northwestern Transportation Office.

“Kill those thieves from the Transportation Office!”

“Yes, kill them!”

“We’ll fight them!”

Countless people shouted. Even those who were worried or frightened earlier were now shouting indignantly at the thought of the money they were about to lose...

Chapter 479: Strategy From The Pugilistic World

“Anyone wish to leave?” Yan Liqiang looked around and asked.

“Protectorate General, we will not leave. We shall fight until the end against those bastards from the Transportation Office. Everybody agree?” someone from below shouted.

“Right, right, right, we will not leave. This manufacturing bureau is ours and the Qiyun Protectorate’s. It is a family property that the Protectorate General established with us. We are people of the Qiyun Protectorate and we are also officials, not dogs who flee in defeat when someone raises a rod. There are even times when even a dog will be driven to action in desperate times. If we leave the manufacturing bureau now, even if the world is big, where else can we go? We can still roam around, but we’ll be bullied by others and we’ll live submissively. If this is how it’s going to be for the rest of our lives, even if we can live till a hundred years and eat another hundred years more, what’s the value to it?”

Supervisor Zhu was the first one among everyone below to step out. He turned around to look at everyone in the manufacturing bureau with a face full of emotion. He continued speaking, “Everybody, touch your heart to speak with a conscience. If you leave the manufacturing bureau and walk around every corner of the world, where else can you find another manager and employer such as the Protectorate General who’s willing to distribute shares with you? Others came to our doorstep to bully us and beat us up. If, at this moment, we are still afraid to stand our ground and fight against those vicious tyrants from the Transportation Office for our own destiny, such an attitude is worse than a dog’s. If you give food to a stray dog that you’ve picked up from the road and treat it well, when a thief breaks in, it’ll dare to bark and even guard the house for you. Protectorate General and Lord Qian treated us so well. At a time like this, are we not worse than a dog if we flee when a thief is breaking in? Turning our backs against our lord to live like dogs means we are destined to a lifetime as lowlives, living in poverty and hardship, never to stick out for one’s posterity.”

After hearing Supervisor Zhu’s words, a few people in the manufacturing bureau lowered their heads with shameful expressions. Those people had thought about leaving the manufacturing bureau just now as they were afraid that the Transportation Office might seek revenge. However, Supervisor Zhu’s words had enlightened them with wisdom, making them feel ashamed.

Yan Liqiang was slightly taken aback as Supervisor Zhu had done a good job in delivering the message truthfully. He had not made any arrangements with Supervisor Zhu – he looked at Qian Su and Qian Su gently shook his head, indicating that it wasn’t him who arranged for Supervisor Zhu to say such a thing.

Supervisor Zhu’s eyes reddened as he spoke and wiped his tears, “The reason why I stood out at a time like this to say what’s on my mind is because when those bastards from the Transportation Office slapped me yesterday, Protectorate General happened to witness it. He walked forward and immediately killed that son of a b*tch without saying a single word. I believe that even if it was not me who was there yesterday and it was any one of you who had been bullied and slapped in the manufacturing bureau, as long as Protectorate General sees it, he will still step up to protect everyone from being bullied. I, Zhu Zhicheng, would like to declare in front of everyone that I live as a member of the manufacturing bureau and will die as a ghost of the manufacturing bureau. As long as the manufacturing bureau is still around, I vow to live or die with the manufacturing bureau! If those people from the Transportation Office ever come again, there will be no need for the Protectorate General to take any action as I will take my crossbow to shoot down those sons of b*tches myself!”

“Anyone who leaves now is lower than an animal!”

“Supervisor Zhu is right! We vow to live or die with the manufacturing bureau!”

“As long as we unite as one, we can surely fend off those sons of b*tches from the Transportation Office. There’s no need to be afraid of them!”

“Yes, we will unite as one to defend against the insults from others together!”

At this moment, everyone was like a pile of flammable material that had been set on fire. In such an impassioned atmosphere, everyone in the dining hall had sparked off, nobody said anything about leaving the manufacturing bureau anymore. Even those who initially had such an idea were influenced by the atmosphere and bellowed even harder.

In this atmosphere, Zhou Yong and the two soldiers dragged the Vice Transport Commissioner Zhong Xiankui in from the side door.

Everyone in the dining hall bellowed in rage when they saw Zhong Xiankui, “Beat him to death! Beat him to death!”

Zhong Xiankui was instantly terrified as he shook like a leaf. He fearfully looked at the eyes that were burning in anger, “What do you...you want to do? I...I’m an official of the imperial court, Vice Transport Commissioner Zhong Xiankui!”

Zhong Xiankui shouted, but not many people could hear his hoarse voice for it was drowned by the bellow of a few hundred people. Just as he was shouting, Zhou Yong and the two soldiers who dragged him in earlier tied him on a metal pole in the dining hall like a slaughtered pig who was unable to move. They then placed a few gleaming knives and daggers that were as sharp as cow horns on the table in front of him.

When Zhong Xiankui saw those knives and daggers, the crotch of his trousers instantly became soaking wet. He wanted to shout, but a lump of sackcloth was stuffed into his mouth before he could. He could only struggle and whimper.

Qian Su walked forward and looked at everyone inside the dining hall. He spoke in a loud voice, “Since everybody wants to stay, then we shall unite as one, live or die with the manufacturing bureau and fight until the very end with those sons of a b*tches from the Transportation Office. Ever since the establishment of the manufacturing bureau, we never conducted any sacrifice rituals. Today, we will use the life of this corrupt official as a sacrificial offering. We’ll see if anyone dares to find trouble with the manufacturing bureau again in the future. Those who want to stay can come over to slash this corrupt official. We shall dice him up today!”

After Qian Su finished speaking, he was the first one to walk in front of Zhong Xiankui. He picked up a knife and cut off Zhong Xiankui’s ear.

Blood was all over Zhong Xiankui’s face – he couldn’t even scream even if he wanted. The intense pain made him tremble as he struggled.

Zhou Yong was the second to go up. He took a knife and cut off Zhong Xiankui’s other ear. Supervisor Zhu was next.

A few hundred people from the manufacturing bureau were waiting in line. They went up one by one with a knife and they all gave Zhong Xiankui a cut.

This was a private punishment – the death of a thousand cuts which was the most violent and uncivilized strategy practiced by the pugilistic world. It was like the proof of an allegiance. If Yan Liqiang wanted to kill someone, he would have just done so without so many strategies. The one who came up with this idea was Qian Su. In order to let everyone in the manufacturing bureau unite as one and to fight until the end with the Transportation Office, Qian Su believed that such a ceremony was necessary. Only after taking Zhong Xiankui’s life to boost morale could they be certain that there were no traitors among those who stayed back in the manufacturing bureau. It would dispel all apprehensions, cutting off the road to retreat and thus fighting until the very end with the Transportation Office.

Such a strategy had gone on for many thousands of years. The reason why it had continued on was because it was effective, and it was widely adopted by the White Lotus Society.

Zhong Xiankui had never even dreamt that his trip to Pingxi Prefecture would result in him dying from a thousand cuts.

Zhong Xiankui initially struggled with each of those cuts, but toward the end, there were gradually no signs of life.

Yan Liqiang watched from the side. At this moment, he couldn’t help but sigh. In that crazy atmosphere, the timidness and uncertainty in those people’s hearts vanished as Zhong Xiankui endured cut after cut. The influence transformed them into ruthless characters with their hands smeared with the Vice Transport Commissioner’s blood. None of them had a way out and could no longer leave the manufacturing bureau. They could either unite as one or be smashed like a broken jug, fighting until the last breath with the Transportation Office.

Yan Liqiang had already predicted that the meeting would eventually lead to this. Since the very beginning, he had already told Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng not to come because if they came at this moment, they would be completely stuck with him forever. However, the two of them still insisted on coming.

Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng were the last to act.

Looking at Zhong Xiankui who had already turned into a bloody man, Shi Dafeng gritted his teeth and walked forward. He took a dagger and stabbed it into Zhang Xiankui’s heart without hesitation. Shen Teng eventually went up with his slightly pale face. He took a knife and let out a shout as he thrust it into Zhang Xiankui’s lower abdomen.

By the time Shen Teng returned to Yan Liqiang’s side once again, he was already soaking in sweat and looked as if he was about to collapse. Yan Liqiang gave a pat on his shoulder. Yan Liqiang was the last to walk up as he took a knife and cleanly cut off Zhang Xiankui’s head, putting an end to this violence and uncivilized ceremony.

Qian Su was right. This violent punishment ceremony worked like magic. Everyone in the dining hall, regardless of whether they were soldiers, artisans, or general laborers, their auras had changed. They were all panting heavily as they clenched their fists tightly. Their eyes were burning with fury and determination. Some of them instantly looked relieved, as if a great burden had been lifted and they were no longer timid or hesitant. At this moment, even if they were to attack the Pingxi Prefectural City instead of the Transportation Office, as long as Yan Liqiang was leading, these people would follow him.

“Victory is ours!” Yan Liqiang raised the knife in his hand that was stained with blood.

“Victory, victory...” Everyone inside the dining hall raised their fists and chanted.

Chapter 480: Recruiting A Large Army

It was already noon when the scorching sun was high up in the sky and the sun’s rays were as hot as fire. Looking from afar, heat waves were rolling on the dry ground surface and the sand on the ground was extremely dry as if they had been stir fried in a wok, radiating with heat and thus causing the air to move. Within a radius of ten li, it was practically impossible to see anything green except for a short thorny bush and the trunks of some toppled poplar tree that had been air-dried, reflecting the harsh natural environment. Occasional strong winds would blow across the sand on the ground, conjuring it up like a yellow dragon and causing pain once it came into contact with one’s face.

This was the common border that Gan and Lan Province shared. It was the most desolate place for there was not a single human being within a radius of a few dozen li. The only thing that could be seen in broad daylight was the wandering stray wolves that blended with the wilderness, but they ran as fast as flying lizards as soon as they sensed a threatening presence.

At this moment, the sound of horseshoes and wheels echoed. A group of people rode swiftly across the wilderness on rhinodrake steeds, pulling along some four-wheel carriages. From afar, a trail of dust followed behind them.

When they passed by a dry riverbed, the troop slowed down with the neighs of their rhinodrake steeds.

Shi Dafeng pulled down his face scarf and shouted on his rhinodrake steed while pointing at an old boundary stone. “Look, there’s a Gan Province boundary stone here. Lan Province is just beyond this!”

“That’s right, this the border between the Gan and Lan Province. We’ll be in Lan Province once we cross here!” Snowstorm Cloud made a turn as Yan Liqiang also pulled off his face scarf. He squinted his eyes, then pointed into the distance, “Wolf Fang Valley is just beyond that hill. The entire valley is about thirty li long, so we should be able to reach the Hui Clan Gathering before dark once we made it through there!”

Shen Teng took two steps forward on his rhinodrake steed and came to Yan Liqiang’s side, “Liqiang, it seems like you and Lord Sun used this road the last time you left Gan Province?”

“That’s right!” Yan Liqiang nodded and a smile appeared on his face, “The last time I used this road with Lord Sun, we encountered the Blackwind Bandits in the Wolf Fang Valley, haha...”

“They say the Blackwind Bandits suffered heavy losses!” Shi Dafeng chuckled mischievously. “Ever since then, the Blackwind Bandits vanished without a trace. It has been a while since anyone has heard about them within these two years in Gan and Lan Province!”

“Yes, we were so close to exterminating the Blackwind Bandits!”

“It’s alright, leave some for the archery academy to practice in the future!”

“Let’s go, there will be chances in the future...” Yan Liqiang smiled and he squeezed Snowstorm Cloud in between his legs and it immediately leapt forward. The other steeds and carriages followed Yan Liqiang past the Gan Province’s boundary stone, then galloped into the distance.

Today was already the 24th day of the eighth lunar month – it had been two days since they executed Zhong Xiankui at the manufacturing bureau. On the same afternoon after the execution, Yan Liqiang left the manufacturing bureau together with some men and carriages, and rode tirelessly toward the border of Gan and Lan Province.

Shi Dafeng, Shen Teng, Hu Haihe, Zhou Yong and twenty elite soldiers of the manufacturing bureau followed Yan Liqiang; there were twenty-five men in total. Yan Liqiang and a few men rode on rhinodrake steeds while Hu Haihe and the rest of the soldiers drove seven four-wheeled carriages. They were all in casual attire and they left Pingxi Prefecture silently. They traveled day and night, and it only took them two days to get here.

There was only one reason for Yan Liqiang to come, and that was to recruit a large army and turn the silver that he couldn’t finish spending into power that would be feared by others.

If it wasn’t for the unexpected incident with the Transportation Office, Yan Liqiang had planned that after one year, he would be able to utilize the first intake of students from the archery academy. By that time, the number of troops and horses that the Transportation Office could utilize would be nothing to Yan Liqiang. However, he had suddenly made an archenemy with the Transportation Office and in order to cope with the impending revenge from the Transportation Office, Yan Liqiang had no choice but to make preparations. What he needed now was a group of strong and courageous men who dared to fight and kill. Although the soldiers of the manufacturing bureau dared to fight and kill, they were still lacking in numbers. A group of soldiers was barely enough to guard the manufacturing bureau, and the students of the archery academy had just started learning from the academy. They were still inexperienced and it was obvious that they were not ready to take on such a huge responsibility yet. Hence, Yan Liqiang had no choice but to seek alternatives.

According to Zhong Xiankui’s confession, Jiang Tianhua had given him half a month’s time to take control of the manufacturing bureau. After half a month, he would need to send someone back to the Transportation Office to provide updates to Jiang Tianhua on the progress and also deliver the first batch of silver obtained from the manufacturing bureau. Pingxi Prefecture was a great distance from the Transportation Office for they were not in the same province. After taking all possible factors into consideration, Jiang Tianhua might be able to sense that something was wrong if he did not receive any news from Zhong Xiankui and would start taking action. The earliest would be around a month later, which was toward the end of the ninth lunar month. It was only until then that they would know if Jiang Tianhua would have a complete fallout with the manufacturing bureau by dispatching his troops to Gan Province to teach Yan Liqiang a lesson.

Therefore, Yan Liqiang had to make preparations within one month to gather a group of people who could go against the Transportation Office forcefully.

In Yan Liqiang’s opinion, he would rather not wait for the people from the Transportation Office to show up at the manufacturing bureau to defend passively. Instead, he wanted to intercept the troop of a thousand soldiers from the Transportation Office before they could even enter Pingxi Prefecture.

Yan Liqiang did not want to involve Lei Sitong in this matter although he knew that Lei Sitong would certainly help him to the best of his abilities if he asked. Lei Sitong had been looking forward to see if Yan Liqiang would beg him. It was for this exact reason that Yan Liqiang was very reluctant to ask for his help. If he became overly dependent on Lei Sitong, it would be very troublesome in the future and their collaborative relationship would change. This was definitely something Yan Liqiang didn’t want to see.

Apart from Lei Sitong, Yan Liqiang could also transfer some soldiers from the Great Moon Tribe. At this moment however, Yan Liqiang did not want to expose his relationship with the Great Moon Tribe yet so he eliminated that option.

After much thought, only the third option was left...

Poor people could do a lot of things in exchange for money. Formidable people could do a lot of things whereas timid people were unable to. A group of poor but formidable men was exactly what Yan Liqiang needed right now.

But where could he find poor and formidable people?

Yan Liqiang thought of the Hui Clan Gathering. Within the barren mountain range between Gan and Lan Province, other places like Hui Clan Gathering definitely existed...

Chapter 481: Accidental Encounter

Yan Liqiang was like an old horse who knew the way home when he was on this old road again. He led everyone and made a beeline to the Hui Clan Gathering. Since the Blackwind Bandits no longer posed a threat, Yan Liqiang and the rest used the road in Wolf Fang Valley that Sun Bincheng didn’t use last time.

The terrain of Wolf Fang Valley was dangerous and treacherous. Both sides of the long and narrow valley were like intertwined wolf fangs on the bare mountain ridges and cliffs. There was only a small pathway that was not even ten meters wide in between the ridges and cliffs – only a few carriages or seven to eight steeds were able to pass through side by side.

The small road in the valley was no longer deserted like before and it became more lively again with the disappearance of the Blackwind Bandits. At least during broad daylight, there were a few caravans that would use this road to travel from Gan Province to Lan Province.

When the people in those caravans heard the sounds of horseshoes echoing behind them, they all felt a little nervous. However, when they saw Yan Liqiang and his troops with their horse carriages, they felt relieved. Yan Liqiang’s troop consisted of an all-man troop and they all appeared formidable, equipped with blades and bows. When those caravans saw Yan Liqiang and his troops approaching, they all stopped at once to give way to Yan Liqiang. It was the same for other caravans that they met along the way.

The four-wheeled carriages traveled a lot faster compared to two-wheeled carriages. There weren’t that many people in the party. The four-wheeled carriages were light and fast, so Yan Liqiang and his troops were able to reach the Hui Clan Gathering before sunset.

Underneath the setting sun, the Hui Clan Gathering was like a destitute and dejected old man in his late days crouching in the wilderness, revealing a bleak aura. It had been two years since his visit the Hui Clan Gathering with Sun Bincheng, and there was barely any change to the Hui Clan Gathering. Several silhouettes were closely watching Yan Liqiang’s direction on the dilapidated mud brick wall outside of the Hui Clan Gathering. Just when Yan Liqiang and his troops were about two hundred meters away from the Hui Clan Gathering, someone on the mud wall raised his bow and shot an arrow toward them.

The arrow was not aimed at anyone but toward the ground. It landed a few steps in front of Yan Liqiang and his troops, causing them to halt. Everything was exactly the same as before.

“Who are you?” shouted the person on the mud wall.

“Decent people. I stayed in the Hui Clan Gathering two years ago, Chief Chang has seen me before!” Yan Liqiang raised his hands to signal everyone to halt and replied loudly to the people from the Hui Clan Gathering.

“What’s inside your carriages?”

“Valuable goods!”

“Do not rush over, ride your steed over slowly. If you rush over, the arrows in our hands have no eyes!”

“Everyone follow me. Do not rush lest they misunderstand!” Yan Liqiang spurred Snowstorm Cloud on again and led everyone toward the Hui Clan Gathering slowly.

“I didn’t expect that the Hui Clan Gathering would be so cautious!” said Shi Dafeng.

“People in the Hui Clan Gathering live in an inhospitable natural environment. They deal with bandits since young so they know all the techniques those bandits use since they have experienced it all. If it wasn’t for that, they would not be able to survive in such a desolate place as they would have been slaughtered!” Yan Liqiang explained, “Last time we encountered the Blackwind Bandits, those bandits couldn’t even take down the Hui Clan Gathering.”

“I see!”

“Teacher Shi was right. It’s better to travel ten thousand li than to read ten thousand books to increase one’s knowledge. I could tell that the deployment and tactics of the Hui Clan Gathering are similar to that of a military base. They seem to be quite capable. No wonder you wanted to visit this place first!” Shen Teng exclaimed in amazement beside him.

Yan Liqiang smiled.

When Yan Liqiang and his troops reached the entrance gate, about thirty to forty men had gathered inside the Hui Clan Gathering, waiting for them. Those men had grayish faces – their eyes were the only things that sparkled. They were all holding spears and bows with fierce expressions.

When they saw Yan Liqiang’s carriages approaching, two of them tried to get into the carriages to inspect them without saying anything.

“What are you doing?” Zhou Yong raised his eyes and his hand was already on the handle of the sword on his waist. A few soldiers who were with Zhou Yong also had their hands on their weapons, ready to draw their blades at any time.

“According to the rules of Hui Clan Gathering, any carriages entering the Hui Clan Gathering must be inspected. We need to check if anyone is hiding inside the carriages!” A man around his forties glared at Zhou Yong fiercely. At the wave of his hand, dozens of men at the side immediately surrounded the carriage like a bunch of wolves as they pointed their weapons at Zhou Yong, Yan Liqiang, and the rest.

“Zhou Yong, open the compartments of the carriage and let them inspect!” Yan Liqiang said calmly.

Zhou Yong took a deep breath and jumped off his rhinodrake steed. He opened a lock on the compartment of the carriage, “See for yourself!”

There was no one inside the carriage, only bundles of bows and arrows. Those men who had surrounded the carriage were shocked as there were at least three to four thousand arrows inside. With just a glance, anyone could tell that those were premium arrows.

“Why are there so many arrows inside your carriage? What do you trying to do?” The man from the Hui Clan Gathering who spoke earlier asked Yan Liqiang with a frown.

“They are for killing someone, of course. As for why do we have so many arrows is none of your business. We let you conduct the inspection to honor the rules of your Hui Clan Gathering. All you need to know is that there is no one inside the carriage!” Yan Liqiang smiled as he responded briefly, “Do you still need to check?”

“Of course!” That man clenched his teeth and looked at the few other carriages. His eyes suddenly lit up as he walked directly to one of the carriages with its wheels sinking the deepest into the ground, “Open up the compartment of this carriage. We want to see what’s inside!”

Zhou Yong glanced at Yan Liqiang. Yan Liqiang gently waved his hands, and Zhou Yong then opened the carriage door.

Inside the carriage were four wooden boxes lined with bronze metal sheets. After the carriage was opened, a young man from the Hui Clan Gathering jumped onto the carriage and opened one of the wooden boxes.

Dazzling silver light immediately blinded the eyes of countless people outside the carriage.

The boxes inside the carriage were completely filled up with shiny silvers that radiated an alluring splendor.

At that instant, the group of men from the Hui Clan Gathering who stood outside the carriage were stunned as they gulped audibly. Truth be told, they had never seen a carriage full of silver being transported into the Hui Clan Gathering in their entire life. There should be around twenty to thirty thousand taels of silver in that carriage, and to the people of Hui Clan Gathering, this was a huge amount that could make them lightheaded.

These carriages were filled with either weapons or silver. Who in the world had such nerve to bring along so much silver with them?

The man from the Hui Clan Gathering swallowed hard. Just when he was about to say something, the person beside him who had been staring at Yan Liqiang’s face suddenly moved closer and whispered something into his ear. Only those who stood closest to them could barely make out a few words –”Two years ago...Sun Bincheng...Blackwind Bandits...cannot provoke...”

The man’s expression suddenly changed as he listened. He frowned and gazed at Yan Liqiang deeply as though Yan Liqiang had flowers blooming on his face. He took a deep breath, then waved his hand, “Alright, you may go inside now!”

Yan Liqiang knew at that the people from the Hui Clan Gathering had finally recognized him, after all, it hadn’t been long since he left. Despite the changes in his appearance and figure within these two years, he should still be recognizable. Besides, he had left a strong impression on the Hui Clan Gathering last time, so it was natural for them to recognize him.

Yan Liqiang waved his hands then led the rest into the Hui Clan Gathering, then toward an inn.

The man who blocked Yan Liqiang earlier stared at Yan Liqiang’s disappearing silhouette through his squinted eyes for a while, then ran somewhere in the opposite direction.

Half an hour later in the room, Yan Liqiang was once again reunited with the chief of the Hui Clan Gathering, Chang Lu, who had a hunched back and a wrinkled face. In Yan Liqiang’s eyes, he was like a shedding coyote. Though his body was hunched over, there was still an indistinctive, invasive power in his sly eyes.

“Hui Clan Gathering Chief Chang Lu greets Lord Yan!” Chang Lu greeted Yan Liqiang before Yan Liqiang could do so.

“Haha, you remember me!” Yan Liqiang looked at him with full of interest.

“If we were unable to recognize the person who became world-famous after following Sun Bincheng to the Imperial Capital, then everyone in the Hui Clan Gathering should be stabbed blind!” Chang Lu let out a sigh. “What brings you here, Lord Yan?”

Ever since Chang Lu walked in, Yan Liqiang had been staring at him. He had also activated his Psychic Serpent ability so every thought inside Chang Lu’s mind was transmitted to Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang had initially prepared a speech, but the thoughts he received from the Psychic Serpent shocked him. He was so stunned that he stared blankly at Chang Lu for half a minute, unable to utter a single word.

“What’s wrong, Lord Yan? Why do you remain silent?” Chang Lu blinked his eyes and asked.

Yan Liqiang wanted to speak, but he was overwhelmed. He quickly made an important decision based on the thoughts that were delivered by Psychic Serpent.

“Chang Lu, do you believe that spirits exist in this world?” Yan Liqiang suddenly asked an unexpected question.

Chang Lu was taken aback while he gawked at Yan Liqiang. Numerous thoughts flashed across his mind. He then smiled humbly, “An old man like me already has one foot in the grave. Of course I believe in that. I am even looking forward to touring around heaven after I die. I’m just worried that the guards of heaven will deem me unworthy of doing so. I heard that Lord Yan can meet deities in your dreams. Can you help plead a deity to see if he could accommodate me to let me have a tour around heaven?!”

Yan Liqiang let out a sigh and looked at Chang Lu seriously, “A few days ago, I dreamed about my great grandfather. He told me that he had an old subordinate named Fu Changde who changed his name to Chang Lu and lived in seclusion in the Hui Clan Gathering since then. My great grandfather wanted for me to look for him and said that when that person knew my identity, he would definitely help me!”

As soon as Yan Liqiang uttered the name ‘Fu Changde’, Chang Lu’s aura immediately changed. He suddenly began exuding a dangerous and powerful aura. He lifted his head and was staring at Yan Liqiang with his burning eyes. At this very moment, the shedding coyote suddenly transformed into a ferocious lion.

Chapter 482: Ex-Servant of the Gu Clan

“How do you know my real name?”

Chang Lu, or more precisely, Fu Changde, stared at Yan Liqiang with his eyes wide like saucers. The aura he exuded had risen to an overwhelming intensity. Unbeknownst to anyone, another weapon which resembled a tiger’s claw had appeared in one of his hands. He was like a ferocious beast that was ready to pounce on Yan Liqiang any moment.

Yan Liqiang secretly put up his guard. Fu Changde should be a Martial Grandmaster, but Yan Liqiang wasn’t scared. However, if a fight were to break out between them right now, then he would ultimately fail. He definitely did not wish for that outcome.

This was the best time to put the Psychic Serpent to good use. Fu Changde’s mind was in a rather chaotic state. All sorts of thoughts and visions flashed through his brain. The fact that Yan Liqiang managed to call out to him by his real name filled his heart with shock.

“I just mentioned that there are many things in this world that are difficult to explain through reasoning. If you really want to know the reason, I can only say that this is perhaps the Will of Heaven!” Yan Liqiang gently shook his head at Fu Changde whose aura had completely changed.

“If I wished to harm you or scheme against you, I wouldn’t have brought so little people with me today. You were the commandant-in-chief for the Qiyun Protectorate’s southern barracks back then, and you are now the chief of the Hui Clan Gathering. Back then, you escaped with a group of surviving soldiers and officers from the Qiyun Protectorate to live in seclusion here. Do you think there’d be a third person who knows about all these things aside from yourself?”

“Impossible! That’s impossible! Someone must’ve told you that! Stop trying to act all mysterious and don’t try to trick me! Tell me, who was it that knew about my identity? Who in the Hui Clan Gathering recognized me? If you don’t make that clear today, I will make sure that none of you will leave this place!” Fu Changde shook his head firmly while keeping his eyes on Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang suddenly changed his tone. He spoke sorrowfully and solemnly to Fu Changde. “Changde, the Qiyun Protectorate has fallen today. There is a traitor within the imperial court and we are being watched. The Shatu people will never give up if they don’t see my head today. There’s no need for you to be sacrificed along with me. Lead the surviving men and break out from the northern hill. If you manage to survive this, remember to never avenge me. Live out the rest of your life well. The Gu Clan has watched over Mount Qiyun and the Gulang Plains for over two centuries. For generations, my ancestors have respected nature and loved people. They emphasized that with all tribes and never governed with cruelty. The Gu Clan has guarded the northwestern gate of the Great Han Empire and protected peace of the plains for two hundred years. If Heaven has eyes, it will certainly spare one life from the Gu Clan... Forget it, there’s no use saying all this now. Hurry up and leave. If you don’t leave on the count of three, I, Gu Tianxiong, shall slit my own throat before your eyes today. So are you going to leave...?”

CLANK...! The tiger claw-like weapon fell to the ground from Fu Changde’s grasp. Unbeknownst to anyone, tears were already streaming down his face. He watched Yan Liqiang as his lips trembled. He couldn’t even say a single thing. Yan Liqiang’s words had hit him right in the gut, causing him to completely lose control of his own emotions...

“These were the words of my great grandfather to you before he parted ways with you in the protectorate office’s secret passage. Apart from you, no one else in this world heard them. I’ve already explained everything up to this point. I have nothing else to say if you still don’t believe me. You might as well pretend I never came here and continue to act as the Hui Clan Gathering’s chief. I’ll just pretend that I had a strange dream. From now on, we’ll have nothing to do with each other.”

“Can... Can it be that... My lord’s soul lives on in Heaven and the Gu Clan bloodline still runs today in this world?” Fu Changde mumbled to himself while still staring at Yan Liqiang. However, there was no longer any killing intent in his gaze, only unspeakable pain. He swept his eyes over Yan Liqiang’s face, trying to find some hints on it.

“Does Lord Fu still remember a guard who served my great grandfather who suddenly left the protectorate with his family and returned to the pass before something happened to the protectorate?” Yan Liqiang sighed inwardly. The way he addressed Fu Changde also changed without him realizing it.

“Back then, my great grandfather had a premonition, so he made some arrangements in advance. That was the reason why he said all those things to you that day, allowing me to be able to stand here today...”

“Y-You’re... saying Chu Heng...!” Fu Changde suddenly got worked up.

Yan Liqiang told Fu Changde the story about himself which Yan Dechang told him before.

“Ah, so the Shuiyun Token is still around?”

Yan Liqiang smiled and fished the Shuiyun Token out from his chest.

It was a coincidence that the Shuiyun Token was made with an extremely unusual casting technique. Apart from its wonderful workmanship, it seemed to also contain a spirit talisman technique. Since Yan Liqiang had been studying spirit talismans lately, he kept the Shuiyun Token close to him so he could conveniently study it when he was alone.

When Fu Changde saw the Shuiyun Token, he couldn’t stop his tears from gushing out.

Yan Liqiang didn’t say anything. He merely bit his finger, then let his blood drip on the black Shuiyun Token.

Like a fantastic chemical reaction, the black token glowed hazily in just less than a few seconds. Red token writing appeared in the middle of the token amidst the luster, which was surrounded by large peaks of luxuriant hills formed by moire patterns akin to that of sea waves as well as a vast plain.

Nothing could prove Yan Liqiang’s identity better than the visible changes in the Shuiyun Token.

“Greetings from the ex-servant of the Qiyun Protectorate, Commandant-In-Chief of the Southern Barracks, Fu Changde!” Fu Changde, who was already trembling in excitement, immediately knelt down before Yan Liqiang to pay homage to him.

“Unacceptable, this is unacceptable! Please get up, Lord Fu!” Yan Liqiang hurriedly went forward and pulled Fu Changde up by his arms.

Fu Changde wiped his tears while clutching Yan Liqiang’s arms tightly. After calming down himself, he finally spoke. “Heaven indeed has eyes, to allow me, Fu Changde, to once again be reunited with my lord’s descendant. Young Lord is a promising young man, I am sure you will be able to restore the Qiyun Protectorate to its former glory and avenge my lord! Most of the 2,318 people in the Hui Clan Gathering are descendants of the Qiyun Protectorate’s ex-servants! From now on, we shall follow only the Young Lord’s command!”

“Truth be told, I do have an urgent matter that I wish to seek help from the Hui Clan Gathering!”

“What is it?”

Yan Liqiang honestly told Fu Changde about the incident with the Transportation Office.

“Good job killing them...!” Fu Changde immediately slapped his own thigh in excitement after Yan Liqiang finished his story. “How is a mere one thousand people worth mentioning...!”

Chapter 483: Reluctant To Part At The End Of A Song

“The Transportation Office can indeed only mobilize a limited number of cavalrymen, so I have nothing to worry about. However, if this isn’t handled properly, these people will bring big trouble to the manufacturing bureau!” Yan Liqiang said as he put away the Shuiyun Token into his robe once again.

He let out a long sigh inwardly and secretly thought to himself that the Psychic Serpent was indeed scary. Although it seemed useless when unused, this tiny Psychic Serpent could possibly surpass a magnificent army with thousands of men and horses when it was put to proper use. If it wasn’t for the Psychic Serpent, his conversation with Fu Changde would have been completely different. It would have been merely just a deal. Yan Liqiang was secretly thankful that he had made the right choice in choosing the Psychic Serpent back then.

“What I’m thinking is that if the Transportation Office dares to deploy them, I will wipe them out before they even enter Pingxi Prefecture. We must show the power of the manufacturing bureau and the new Qiyun Protectorate with this battle so that no one will ever dare to extend their claws on the manufacturing bureau again!”

“Have the imperial court and local authorities decided not to interfere this time?”

“The imperial court will not interfere. This incident appears to be a conflict between Jiang Tianhua and me on the surface, but in actuality, it is a contest between the Qiyun Protectorate and the Transportation Office. However, the big picture is that this is a crossing of swords between Lin Qingtian and the Emperor. I am now on the Emperor’s side while Northwestern Transport Commissioner Jiang Tianhua is secretly associated with Lin Qingtian. Lin Qingtian is probably the mastermind behind this conflict that the Transportation Office started. Fortunately, I am on good terms with Lei Sitong now, so he will never take the side of the Transportation Office even if he decides not to help me!”

“So it’s that traitor Lin Qingtian again!” Fu Changde was fuming as his eyes burned with intense hatred. “If it wasn’t for this traitor backing up the Shatu people, the Shatu Seven Tribes would never have been able to gain a foothold in the Gulang Plains and things wouldn’t have turned out the way it is today!”

“That’s right, Jiang Tianhua intends to use the manufacturing bureau as an excuse to prepare for the requisition of supplies before the imperial court could dispatch troops and get involved in the Shatu Seven Tribes dispute!”

“Young Lord, you have brought along so much silver and weapons to the Hui Clan Gathering this time. Do you intend to recruit soldiers here?”

“That’s correct. I initially planned that if I was unable to persuade you to help me, I would take out all that silver to buy a troop. I know that in this mountainous area, there are still many villages and towns beside the Hui Clan Gathering. People from those places are also tough and brave. As long as I am able to pay the price, recruiting a thousand soldiers should not be a big problem!”

“The Hui Clan Gathering should be able to gather at least a troop of five hundred soldiers and horses for you, Young Lord. Although it is a small number, all of them are skilled in handling bows and horses. I am the one who personally trained them. As long as we are well prepared, we can surely catch the Transportation Office’s troops unprepared even if they outnumber us by two or three times!”

The wrinkles in the corners of Fu Changde’s eyes creased like ripples on water. He shot a glance at Yan Liqiang and hesitated for a moment before speaking in his deep and low voice, “I don’t know if you are aware of this, but after the mishap in the Qiyun Protectorate Office back then, there was actually another troop beside the Hui Clan Gathering that managed to escape from the pass!”

“Ahem ahem...I really had no clue about this!” Yan Liqiang awkwardly coughed twice. “To be honest, before I met you, I didn’t know if my dream was real or not. In that dream, my great-grandfather told me that your loyalty is unquestionable and that you have been enduring everything silently in the Hui Clan Gathering, planning for a day to come to seek revenge on his behalf. He only wanted me to find you but didn’t share any other details...”

“Did... Did my lord really say that to you in your dream, Young Lord?” Tears welled up in Fu Changde’s eyes as they turned red. His emotions were in turmoil. At a time like this, he did not even doubt Yan Liqiang’s words as it was widely known in the northwestern region that Yan Liqiang could meet deities in his dreams. With Yan Liqiang’s legendary reputation and words that recounted events which only Fu Changde would know, Fu Changde placed complete trust in Yan Liqiang. It was more than trust – his heart was also filled with respect and traces of hope toward Yan Liqiang’s ability to communicate with supernatural beings...

“Yes, that was what my great-grandfather said!” Yan Liqiang nodded seriously.

“I did not expect my lord to still trust and regard so highly of me even after he had passed on. With such a statement from him, I can now die with no regrets!” Fu Changde wiped his tears. For the past decade, the tears that Fu Changde shed were probably not as much as what Yan Liqiang had seen within this half an hour today. Fu Changde was beside himself as every word Yan Liqiang said pierced deeply into his heart.

“We need to live well. Death is for people such as Lin Qingtian and the Shatu people!”

“I am indeed too emotional today. Please do not laugh at me as I have certainly made a fool of myself, Young Lord!” Fu Changde wiped his tears again.

“Of course not. Your unwavering loyalty is enough to move the Heavens to tears, so why would I even laugh at you? With your age, you can even be my uncle. If you do not mind, I’d like to call you Uncle Chang from now on. Please do not call me Young Lord either, it makes me feel awkward. Just call me Liqiang so that others will not be skeptical even if they hear it!” Yan Liqiang’s words caused warmth to well up inside Fu Changde once again.

“Alright, I shall take up the honor and address Young Lord as Liqiang from now on to avoid further complicating our circumstances!” Fu Changde agreed.

“That’d be great!” Yan Liqiang smiled and nodded, “So who is in the other troop from the Qiyun Protectorate Office that Uncle Chang spoke about?”

“Have you heard of Solo Cloud?”

Yan Liqiang was shocked; of course he had heard of this name before. Their reputation was on par with the Blackwind Bandits as they were the biggest brigand in the Lan and Gan Provinces. However, the difference was that the vicious and merciless Blackwind Bandits did everything from stealing to killing, while Solo Cloud was more honorable. They only collected tolls and their fees were reasonable. In fact, it was lower than most of the tax collected by the local bureaucracies. After they collected the toll fees, they would ensure that one would stay safe within the range of their influence. Due to that, Solo Cloud was rather popular among many caravans in the Gan and Lan Provinces. Rumors had it that there were over ten thousand people in Solo Cloud and they had rejected multiple recruitment offers from the Lan and Gan Provincial Governors.

“Could it be that the Solo Cloud that Uncle Chang mentioned is the same Solo Cloud that claimed that they have over ten thousand brigands?”

“That’s right. Many years ago, I came across a random opportunity to meet their leader and discovered that he is Situ Feixing, the former administrator of the Qiyun Protectorate Office. There were also a few familiar faces among the people in charge of Solo Cloud. Situ Feixing was also in the private army at the time, and he was the most arrogant personnel but also most highly regarded by my lord. If Young Lord can make Situ Feixing come back, the one thousand people from the Transportation Office is nothing!”

“Situ Feixing!” Yan Liqiang repeated the name as a glint flashed across his eyes...

Chapter 484: Building A Troop

After deliberating for a moment, Yan Liqiang firmly shook his head. “Although Solo Cloud will be helpful, this is not the time to look for them or Situ Feixing!”

“Ah, why not?” Fu Changde asked.

“Didn’t Master Chang mention that Situ Feixing is very arrogant? My opponent is a cavalry of a mere thousand men from the Northwestern Transportation Office. If I can’t even solve a small problem like this and seek his aid by showing him the Shuiyun Token, how will he look at me?”

“Ah!” Fu Changde finally caught on. His expression slowly turned grave after coming to realize that, and then he slowly nodded. “You are right, Liqiang. I was really too hasty and failed to consider that. People are bound to change. Putting aside the possibility that Situ Feixing still considers himself as part of Qiyun Protectorate’s private army and will bow to the Shuiyun Token, he may have different opinions even if we seek his aid. I worry he may be difficult to control. Past dynasties and generations have again and again proven that a weak master and a strong servant is known to be the source of calamity!”

“Yes, that’s what I’m thinking too. If I were to risk it by exposing my identity to do this, I might end up losing more than what I can gain!” Yan Liqiang smiled. “It’s not that we cannot contact Solo Cloud and Situ Feixting, but now is definitely not the time!”

“How prudent of you, Liqiang!” Fu Changde’s eyebrows slowly knitted together after that. “The cavalry of a thousand men from the Transportation Office...”

“Didn’t Master Chang say that I can easily gather a troop of more than five hundred men in the Hui Clan Gathering?”

“That’s right. It’s so simple that it can be done with a word from me!”

“Didn’t Master Chang say these five hundred people know how to draw a bow and ride a horse?”

“Of course everyone knows how to draw a bow. Although their skills vary, they can still shoot an arrow. Their aim is decent, and their arrows are deadly if they hit the targets. Although the Hui Clan Gathering is poor and can’t afford fine horses, the children here grew up with horses. I can’t say that they are extremely skillful in bowmanship and horsemanship, but they definitely have no problem in drawing bows and riding horses. If they didn’t, the people of the Hui Clan Gathering wouldn’t be able to survive in this inhospitable environment!”

“That’s good to hear. Master Chang can hand over these five hundred people to me. I shall train them intensely for twenty days, then pick three hundred candidates. Dealing with the cavalry of a thousand men from the Transportation Office isn’t a difficult matter!” Yan Liqiang said confidently.

Fu Changde glanced at Yan Liqiang deeply. “The younger generation of the Hui Clan Gathering is led by my son. I shall invite him over later and introduce him to you. Let my son lead them this time!”

“Oh? Who is your son, Master Chang? Have I met him before?”

Fu Changde suddenly roared with laughter. “Of course you have met him, Liqiang! When you visited the Hui Clan Gathering for the first time with Sun Bingchen, you both even fought against each other!”

Yan Liqiang immediately recalled the person Fu Changde was talking about...

...

Yan Liqiang talked privately with Fu Changde in the room for two hours. Fu Changde then left the inn’s room for a short while and brought his son over to meet Yan Liqiang.

Fu Changde was known as Chang Lu in Hui Clan Gathering. It had been a long time since he changed his surname and name. Naturally, his son followed his father’s new surname and was named Chang Kuan. This person was none other than the archer whose bow was broken by Yan Liqiang’s arrow when he first came to this place with Sun Bingchen, and he could be considered a fine archer. He was the leader of the younger generation and was greatly admired by them.

While Fu Changde was an astute and patient man, his son Chang Kuan gave Yan Liqiang a feeling that he was a very tough and frank person, and he soon found out that this was true. When Yan Liqiang fought with Chang Kuan last time, he had completely subjugated him. Not only that, but Yan Liqiang’s reputation had also grown rapidly over the past two years. Therefore, when both parties were reunited this time and Chang Kuan found out about Yan Liqiang’s identity, he very quickly worshipped Yan Liqiang.

With the father and son from the Chang Clan on Yan Liqiang’s side, the rest was easy.

After resting a night in the inn, the field in the Hui Clan Gathering was filled with young men who got the news the next day at dawn. They had been waiting in excitement, looking at the huge chests with dazzling silver sitting in them with their sparkling eyes while secretly salivating.

Yan Liqiang picked up an ingot of silver, then threw the first question at the young men. “Do you wish to earn this silver?”

“YES!” Everyone roared.

“It’s very easy to earn this silver. All you have to do is two things – obey commands and kill. Of course, we aren’t going to commit crimes. The people we will be killing are not commoners but bandits. Tell me, do you dare to kill?”

“YES!” The crowd roared even louder.

“Will you obey my command?!”

“We will if we’re getting paid, hahaha. Otherwise, why would we listen if we’re not getting paid...?” A young man replied while laughing.

“Oh, then let me give it a try...” Yan Liqiang said, then pointed to a barren hill about three to four thousand meters away. “See that hill over there? Whoever gets to the hilltop and picks up a stone that is no less than two jin in weight will be rewarded with an ingot of silver. The first to make it back will be given four ingots, second will be given three ingots, and third will be given two ingots. The rest will get an ingot each!”

“Seriously?” Everyone’s eyes lit up.

“I am in the Hui Clan Gathering. Are you afraid that I might escape?”

The first to make it back was of course, Chang Kuan. When the rest came back with their stones and exchanged it for the silver in Yan Liqiang’s hand, the Hui Clan Gathering grew rowdy.

The rest of the event went smoothly.

With money as well as Fu Dechang and his son’s support, Yan Liqiang quickly established his reputation for keeping his words in the Hui Clan Gathering. His recruitment also worked out very well. In just a day, he managed to recruit 516 men in the Hui Clan Gathering. Each and every one of them was valiant and energetic young men who knew how to draw a bow, ride a horse, and was experienced in fighting against robbers and mounted bandits. These people were trained by Fu Changde in the Hui Clan Gathering since young, and hence they were highly disciplined. Among them, Chang Kuan and another man named Zhao Hui had even progressed into Martial Warriors. Such a group of people only required a little more effort in polishing them into a powerful troop. Yan Liqiang was extremely pleased with them.

After gathering the group, Fu Changde brought Yan Liqiang to visit a few more villages and gathering places around the edge of the mountainous region for the next two days. There, they recruited another three hundred young men who were skilled with bow and riding. The two groups merged, then trained in the Hui Clan Gathering for two days.

On the sixth day, a fleet of four-wheeled carriages arrived at the Hui Clan Gathering. The eight hundred young men gathered here were assigned to the carriages and were transported back to Pingxi Prefecture where they began Yan Liqiang’s intensive demonic training as requested...

Chapter 485: The Transportation Office

Wisps of smoke carrying an ethereal scent floated out of a copper crane incense burner.

The scent of sandalwood mixed with the ordinary air in the surroundings, causing it to smell expensive.

It was an antique study room. Inside the incense burner was a hundred-year-old phoenix sandalwood, comparable to the price of gold. The study room was situated on the eastern side of the Zhu and Yin provinces, or more accurately, in the Northwestern Transportation Office in the Yin Provincial Town. The owner of this study room was mighty Transport Commissioner Jiang Tianhua.

The Northwestern Transport Commissioner was dressed in dark red official robes and seated at a desk in the room. He reached out and pinched up snow crystal-like particles between his chubby and well-maintained fingers from a porcelain dish placed at the center of the desk, then brought them in front of his nose for closer examination.

Jiang Tianhua was over fifty years of age. He had a square face, a pair of big ears, and a rather fat physique. His face was so fat that one would think that it got stung by a hornet. His eyes were hidden by the fat, leaving only two narrow slits. His eyeballs couldn’t be seen, but bone-chilling gleams occasionally flashed across those narrow slits. Since he was obese, Jiang Tianhua looked like he was always smiling.

In the northwestern officialdom, Northwestern Transport Commissioner Jiang Tianhu was nicknamed the ‘Smiling Tiger'[1] because he was a ruthless, greedy, and insatiable man. He not only had the northwestern officialdom in his control, but he also the backing of the Grand Chancellor. Even the provincial governors needed to give him some respect and wouldn’t dare to simply offend him. As time went on, Jiang Tianhua became more and more brazen in the northwestern region.

Jiang Tianhua examined the tiny white particles on his hand very seriously. After staring at them for half a minute, only then did he place them in his mouth before he closed his eyes.

A moment later, his eyes snapped open and then he nodded. A beautiful servant served him a cup of warm Snow Peak Tea of the finest quality. Another beautiful servant knelt before him and raised a spittoon made of pure gold.

Gurgle... Gurgle... Jiang Tianhua lifted his head and took a swig of the tea to rinse his mouth before he spat into the golden spittoon. The third beautiful servant came and handed a towel for him to wipe his mouth and hands. He then waved his hands and dismissed all the servants.

Jiang Tianhua stared at the paunchy merchant who was smiling obsequiously in front of him and asked, “So this is the new snow salt produced by Pingxi Prefecture?”

“Yes, my lord. This is the snow salt. Do you know the current price for a jin of this?”

“How much?”

“The snow salt is now in short supply. A jin of it is priced at four or five candareens of silver on the market, twice as expensive as the finest blue salt! Twice!” When the merchant mentioned the snow salt’s price, his eyes sparkled and he even licked his lips. Greed was written all over his face.

“It is certainly worth the price!” Jiang Tianhua nodded and chuckled mischievously. “Very few places in the Great Han Empire can produce this kind of salt. It is so much better than even the tribute salt for the royalty!”

“Isn’t it?” The paunchy merchant smiled too. “I heard Gan Provincial Governor Lei Sitong owns the salt pans which produce this snow salt. My lord has sent a letter from the Imperial Capital, hoping Lord Jiang can do us a favor by negotiating with Lord Lei if he can share half of the snow salt’s profit with my clan as commission from now on?”

“Hahaha, with Lord Gu’s status, he could have just sent a letter to Lei Sitong directly. Why would he even need my help? I believe Lei Sitong will definitely give Lord Gu some face!” Jiang Tianhua laughed.

The paunchy merchant laughed too. “My lord says that he isn’t very close with Lei Sitong, so it might be a little inconvenient to discuss that with him. Besides, Lei Sitong is unmoved by neither force nor persuasion. Since my lord is in the Imperial Capital, he’s not in a good position to intervene with anything in the northwestern region. The salt is considered to be goods transported by the military, so it would be perfectly justifiable for Lord Jiang to intervene in this matter. If Lord Jiang can settle this, then my lord will definitely settle the matter you previously mentioned to him!”

Jiang Tianhua’s eyes lit up before he started laughing. “Alright, tell your lord that I’ll think of something. I’ll visit Gan Province soon and have a chat with Lei Sitong first!”

“Well, then I shall wait for your good news!” The paunchy merchant was very attentive. Seeing Jiang Tianhua reach for his teacup, he stood up courteously to bid his farewell and left obediently.

After watching the merchant leave, Jiang Tianhua’s smiling face slowly turned icy as he snorted with disdain. “The Gu Clan is getting greedy. Do you think you’d have the turn to get your hands on such business? Did you really think that being a vice minister can get you anything? You should wait until the old master in your clan becomes a minister first!”

A figure flashed behind a screen in the study room. A meager, silver-haired man gracefully dressed in blue clothes sporting a long beautiful beard quietly came out, holding a folding fan.

The old man walked to Jiang Tianhua’s side, then spoke softly to him. “The Gu Clan is indeed too greedy. My lord, you should distance yourself from the Gu Clan from now on to avoid being implicated in anything!”

“Yes, that’s right. The Gu Clan is overstepping their boundary. They are now earning at least more than four hundred taels of silver annually in the northwestern region. Yet, they are still not satisfied and want to instigate me to snatch Lei Sitong’s business. Since when could Lei Sitong be simply provoked? Do they really take me for a fool?!”

The old man lightly fanned himself and smiled. “It doesn’t matter what Lei Sitong thinks. Most importantly, what does the Grand Chancellor think? He is an ambitious man with great plans. If the Gu Clan doesn’t know their limits and ends up offending everyone, the Grand Chancellor may decide to eliminate the Gu Clan since he has no use for them anymore. Not only will the wealth that the Gu Clan accumulated over the past few decades become the Grand Chancellor’s, but this will also boost the Grand Chancellor’s reputation among the commoners. Since it’s a really good thing, do you think the Grand Chancellor will decide to do that, my lord?”

Jiang Tianhua was shocked and quickly stood up to cup his fists at the old man. “Thank you, sir. It seems like I should really stay away from the Gu Clan from now on!”

“Yes. As long as you take over the manufacturing bureau, the salt pans in Pingxi Prefecture will eventually fall into your hands too, my lord!”

“Ah, are you comforting me, sir? The salt pans are Lei Sitong’s lifeblood. How can they possibly fall into my hands?”

“Do you not feel strange, my lord? The Pingxi Prefecture’s salt pans are in Yuntao County. The salt pans there have been producing earth salt since before, but why are they suddenly capable of producing such fine salt?”

“Didn’t the news from Pingxi Prefecture mention that Lei Sitong got lucky and discovered a rare underground salt mine beneath the salt pan in Yuntao County?”

“My lord, do you really believe that explanation?”

Jiang Tianhua slightly frowned. “You mean to say that...”

“Before Yan Liqiang’s return, the salt pans in Yuntao County produced earth salt for so many years. Why did no one discover some sort of rare salt mine back then? Why was this salt mine suddenly discovered as soon as Yan Liqiang returned? Don’t you think this is too much of a coincidence, my lord?”

“You are implying that Yan Liqiang has a way to refine that low-quality earth salt into snow salt?” Jiang Tianhua had a look of shock on his face. To him, such news sounded like being told someone could magically turn stone into gold. It was simply incredible.

“My lord, do not forget that Yan Liqiang was well-known in the path of mechanics and the investigation of things in the Imperial Capital. He could even sit down and debate with Zhang Yourong, the best engineer in the world! Everyone in the northwestern region claims that Yan Liqiang has been receiving guidance from a deity in his dreams. In fact, the method he shared to save the drowned was imparted to him by the deity in his dream, and this method is now being circulated everywhere. My lord, how can you relate common sense with such an individual?”

Jiang Tianhua was taken aback. The fat on his face shook a bit before it was covered by an oily sheen. He rubbed his hands in excitement. “If Yan Liqiang has this ability, then I really underestimated him before...”

“As long as you manage to take over the manufacturing bureau this time and get a firm foothold in Pingxi Prefecture, we can slowly plan this out. If we find out Yan Liqiang’s method, you will be able to turn earth salt into snow salt. By then, you will get as much money as you wish! If you share this method with the Grand Chancellor, I’m sure he will think even more highly of you and you will have boundless prospects ahead of you, my lord...!”

“Hahaha, right. You are right. As long as I get a firm foothold in Pingxi Prefecture and take over the manufacturing bureau, that Yan Liqiang will completely be in my grasp. I wonder what happened to Zhong Xiankui. I haven’t heard from him for so many days now...”

While both of them were chatting in the study room, a bureaucrat from the Transportation Office came running to the study room with a stack of documents, requesting to meet Jiang Tianhua. Jiang Tianhua allowed the bureaucrat to come in. The moment he unsealed the official document, the expression on his face instantly contorted...

Since there was no news from Zhong Xiankui for the past few days, Jiang Tianhua thought Lei Sitong was deliberately making things difficult for Zhong Xiankui and his entourage in Gan Province. He ordered the Transportation Office to send a formal document to the Gan Provincial Governor’s Office, and he was prepared to pressure the Provincial Governor’s Office through authority. He didn’t expect the latter to drag the matter for another few days and only sent a reply today saying that they were totally unaware that the Transportation Office had sent people to Gan Province on duty. There was no news about Zhong Xiankui and his entourage in Pingxi Prefecture either...

“Summon Qu Mingcheng here at once...!” Jiang Tianhua shouted angrily in the study room.

After half an hour, the hurried footsteps of a cold-looking man clad in armor approached Jiang Tianhua’s study room...

...

Two Patrol Cavalry Battalions stationed outside of Yun Provincial City grew rowdy tonight. Countless military officers in the Patrol Cavalry Battalions were yelling for everyone there to assemble...

The next daybreak, the Northwestern Transport Office’s Chief Patrol Examiner Qu Mingcheng rushed out of the Yin Province’s barracks with two patrol examiners and more than a thousand full-armored cavalrymen with great murderous intent. They then rode swiftly to Gan Province.

Today was already the 26th day of the ninth lunar month...

Chapter 486: Ready To Ambush

What was the most direct way to draw out someone’s potential?

The answer was very simple – through rewards!

As the saying goes: ‘When a high reward is offered, brave fellows are bound to come forward.’ The eight hundred young men Yan Liqiang gathered from the Hui Clan Gathering returned to Pingxi Prefecture disguised as guards recruited by the Yan Residence in Liuhe Town. With the reward he offered, they began working hard on the first day of training. They were told that after twenty days of training, only two hundred of those who performed well would be rewarded with a rhinodrake steed, a suit of armor, and weapons. Not only that, but the top ten performers would also additionally receive a hundred taels of silver and a promotion opportunity.

Yan Liqiang’s reward definitely pushed the right buttons with these young men. Who wouldn’t wish to look impressive with a fine steed and a golden saber at such a young age? Rhinodrake steeds, armor, and weapons were extremely expensive equipment. Although the young men living in the Hui Clan Gathering or the surrounding mountainous regions had seen these items since young, they never expected to own them.

Whether it was for the sake of money or dignity, the eight hundred young men Yan Liqiang recruited were immediately fired up after hearing about the rewards.

The eight hundred guards were definitely eye-catching in other places. However, laws were generally lax in a war-ravaged border province like Gan Province, and the imperial court didn’t set a limit for the number of guards that squires and influential clans could hire. It was fine as long as they had enough money to maintain the cost and didn’t flout the laws or bring destruction upon their hometown.

In addition to the relationship between the Yan Clan and Prefectural Governor Wang Jianbei, no one in the Liuhe Town or Qinghe County was really shocked by the large number of guards Yan Liqiang recruited, and this entire thing didn’t cause much commotion. In fact, many people thought nothing of it because the Yan Clan was an influential clan that was wealthy enough to repair the defense wall for Liuhe Town. So, hiring a few hundred guards felt perfectly normal to them. In Pingxi Prefecture, there were multiple influential clans which also owned several hundred guards.

Training was very simple. For the first week, Yan Liqiang divided everyone into eight teams with a hundred people each. He then began to train them in formation and cultivate their team spirit and discipline. The exact same thing was done in the archery academy where everyone was trained like new military recruits. Seven days later, the formation training was starting to show results. The few hundred rhinodrake steeds and big batches of weapons like longbows Yan Liqiang ordered someone to buy had also arrived. For the other two weeks, Yan Liqiang had everyone continue formation training in the morning, then practice horsemanship and bowmanship in the afternoon.

The eight hundred young men had been living in harsh conditions. Every single one of them struggled against nature, terrain, and their peers since young, so they had long learned the ability to survive. Everyone basically knew how to ride a horse and shoot an arrow, only with varying standards. Now they lacked neither bows, arrows, or warhorses. They also had a well-known teacher to guide them through the essentials and the most correct way to ride a horse and shoot an arrow simultaneously. Under the condition where they also had unrestricted supplies of bows and arrows, everyone made significant progress in the shortest amount of time. By the third week of training, those who performed exceptionally well in the different trainings started to stand out among their peers and got noticed by Yan Liqiang.

On the 16th day of the ninth lunar month, Yan Liqiang held a big contest for those eight hundred young men. Everyone had to ride a rhinodrake steed in groups, up to two kilometers in a circle within a prescribed time limit. While doing so, they were also required to fire twenty arrows at twenty targets about the size of pot lids, situated a hundred meters away from the track. The winners would then be determined by the archery result. After a day of contest, the two hundred best performers among the eight hundred candidates were immediately revealed.

That made up about a quarter of the people he recruited. These eight hundred candidates were tougher than the average person when he recruited them. Those who were chosen through a contest like this were undoubtedly the best of the best among these young people. In Zhou Yong’s words, the average combat power of the chosen ones definitely exceeded most of the ordinary soldiers in Pingxi City.

Yan Liqiang didn’t expect he would be able to groom such an invincible armored cavalry in just a month’s time either. His objective was to only make these people useful enough to help him stall enemies for a short while during crucial moments.

Yan Liqiang also honored his promise and distributed two hundred rhinodrake steeds, two hundred sets of armor, shields, warbows, and weapons. The morale of those two hundred young men was at the peak after they gained their own warhorses, armor and warbows for the very first time in their lives. By nightfall the next day, Yan Liqiang led these two hundred people on their rhinodrake steed toward the border between the Gan and Yin Provinces with the excuse of conducting a field training. Carrying their bows with them, these people vanished into the night.

He was accompanied by about two hundred people, thirty four-wheeled carriages prepared by the manufacturing bureau, and about sixty soldiers from the manufacturing bureau led by Zhou Yong. The thirty carriages were transporting supplies like arrows, tents, and Yan Liqiang’s Dragon Spine Steel spear. If Yan Liqiang were to carry the spear, Snowstorm Cloud wouldn’t even be able to gallop under its heavy weight. Hence, he had no choice but to transport the spear via a four-wheeled carriage.

Yan Liqiang who led them to the border between Gan and Yin Province didn’t stay there. Instead, he ventured more than a hundred li into Yin Province where he then hid himself in an uninhabited mountain ridge where he examined the terrain and chose the ambush location. While making all sorts of preparations and relevant training, he waited anxiously for the arrival of the cavalry from the Northwestern Transportation Office.

...

At noon on the 26th day of the ninth lunar month, Yan Liqiang brought Zhou Yong, Shi Dafeng, Shen Teng, and Chang Kuan to hide behind a pile of rocks on the ridge of a valley. He pointed to a slope that was about three hundred meters ahead of them and less than twenty meters in width, which led up to here.

“This valley connects Yin Province to Gan Province. Not many caravans travel here because this place is very deserted and bandits used to come here frequently. Therefore, I deduce that the Transportation Office’s cavalry will definitely take this route as it is the shortest route to Gan Province. By going through here, the cavalry can travel two hundred li less, saving them half a day’s worth of traveling time and effort. When those people get the information, they will definitely mobilize their troops to travel to Gan Province. They’ll be rushing here with so much murderous intent that they’d wish they could fly here. In addition to their huge number, they will definitely pick this route as they are not afraid of running into any bandits. We’ll just set up an ambush here and catch them off guard. By the time we commence the ambush, the Transportation Office’s cavalry will realize that they have been trapped in the valley and will definitely rush up this hill. Your mission is not to rush down there to fight them. Instead, you all will help me defend this slope. Don’t let anyone come up here to bother me. I only need you all to help me defend this place for fifteen minutes and this battle is good as won...!”

Speaking up to this point, Yan Liqiang’s heart suddenly throbbed. He looked up to the sky and noticed a silver falcon coming from the distance and flying a figure 8. He quietly looked away and took a deep breath. “The people from the Transportation Office will probably be here in two days. We don’t have much time left. Have everyone get ready!”

Chapter 487: The First Battle

The sunset dyed the barren mountain ridges crimson.

Birds were flying back to their nests, wild wolves were roaming in the wilderness, and bharals were scampering up to the precipitous cliffs. The land that had been baked by the burning sun during the day time started cooling down now. The valley was in absolute silence. Only the birds flying over the mountain would occasionally chirp.

In the twilight, the troop of less than 300 men was hidden on the hillside to the north of the valley. Most of them were excitedly and nervously preparing themselves.

“Check your bows and arrows! Don’t grip your bow right now. Otherwise, your hands will get sweaty and the bow will slip easily...!”

“You may take out a few arrows and stick them into the ground in front of you so that you can conveniently reach for them later...!”

“Don’t stay in the same position for too long or else your body will go numb. After staying awhile on the ground, change to another posture...!”

“If you’re feeling nervous, then take a few deep breaths...!”

Yan Liqiang kept an eye on the group of young people and constantly corrected the young soldiers on the things they should pay attention to at this time. He even patted those who were nervous on their shoulders and gave them a few words of encouragement. It was only at this moment Yan Liqiang realized that he wasn’t really worried about the Transportation Office’s cavalry that he was about to face. He was more worried about the two hundred men he brought here instead. Most people in this battle formation were inexperienced. Therefore, they were not as calm as the seasoned ones who had been through the battlefield.

It was only when Yan Liqiang was put in this position that he understood the difference between a commander and a solo fighter. A solo fighter could do whatever he pleased as he was only responsible for his own actions. However, as a commander who led several hundred men on a battlefield, he was responsible for all these men. Although casualties were inevitable on battlefields, Yan Liqiang secretly wished he would be able to bring back everyone he brought here.

Looking at those youthful faces, Yan Liqiang felt the burden on his shoulders grow even heavier. He finally understood how those commanders in history maintained their composure during wars – most of them were definitely forced to be like that during the first few battles. They put on a facade because they knew they were being watched by countless men. Any hint of nervousness would cause panic in the soldiers who were watching them. This effect would then be magnified by ten or a hundred times, affecting the morale and possibly turning the tide of battle.

Therefore, they had to appear unperturbed, calm, and perfect from every angle, just like that one historical figure who always pretended to be calm while playing chess at the rear while the frontline was fighting a war. However, when the battle outcome was announced, he’d be so excited that he’d even lose his shoes. This was a pretense, and a man had to know how to pretend!

At this point in time, Yan Liqiang wasn’t the one who knew how to put up the best pretense. It was those soldiers from the manufacturing bureau instead. They were not holding warbows in their hands, but powerful crossbows. Yan Liqiang had mixed them in with the two hundred people. Although many of the manufacturing bureau’s soldiers were also very nervous, they behaved like they were ‘veterans’ in front of those ‘newbies’ who followed Yan Liqiang here. Every single one of them pretended to be relaxed.

“There’s nothing to battling in formation. Let me tell you all this: the Protectorate General recently led us in taking down the Vice Transport Commissioner who came to cause trouble at the manufacturing bureau. That so-called Vice Transport Commissioner was actually an official with higher status than that of a prefectural governor! You didn’t even see how arrogant and domineering they were when they first arrived at our manufacturing bureau! They acted like they were the Emperor who came to patrol the place! Then, when the Protectorate General displayed his might, ahahahaha damn, it sure got them wetting their pants on the spot! They literally pissed their pants! Those bastards from the Transportation Office were really asking to be killed. All they knew was how to bully the citizens, and they actually have the guts to snatch what’s ours now! So we decided to fight them to the bitter end! Guess what happened to the Vice Transport Commissioner after that? The Protectorate General killed that son of a b*tch at the manufacturing bureau’s dining hall in front of everyone...!”

A soldier from the manufacturing bureau, who was lying on the ground on his stomach near Yan Liqiang, was telling a few people around him about the incident that transpired in the manufacturing bureau like it was not a big deal. The blood of those who were listening to him surged, but their anxious hearts unknowingly calmed down. If even a high official like the Vice Transport Commissioner wet his pants and got killed, then what was there to be afraid of with the rest from the Transportation Office?

On the other side...

Another ‘veteran’ from the manufacturing bureau secretly whispered to a few ‘newbies’ next to him. “Guess what’s in my carriage?”

“Aren’t they supplies?”

“Hehehe, bet you didn’t know this. I’m transporting the Protectorate General’s weapon. It’s a really huge spear...!”

“A spear that needs a carriage to transport it?”

“See, that’s what I call inexperienced. Did you think that the Protectorate General would use ordinary spears like the ones we have? Let me tell you this, his spear actually weighs about four hundred jin! You can’t even hold it in your hands. Even most rhinodrake steeds struggle under its weight. That’s why we can only transport it with a carriage. I reckon there’s no spear heavier than his in this world. If you get hit by a spear like that, you’ll definitely die or suffer bad injuries! I can hardly wait to see the Protectorate General kill his enemies with this spear...!”

The young men next to him were fascinated by the information they heard...

Seeing how calm the veterans from the manufacturing bureau around them were, the young men who were on the battlefield for the very first time also gradually calmed down as they looked forward to the upcoming battle.

After scanning around him once, Yan Liqiang returned to his spot which was next to a huge boulder on a hill.

Shi Dafeng was eager to battle while Shen Teng had his eyes closed to maintain composure. The powerful Horned Python Bow that the Emperor bestowed upon Yan Liqiang was on the ground, with thirty quiverfuls of arrows placed beside it. There were also many arrows stuck in the ground around him. Yan Liqiang had two veterans from the manufacturing bureau stay here so they could pass him arrows during the battle later.

“Liqiang, can we charge up against the enemies later?” When Shi Dafeng saw that Yan Liqiang had returned, he leaned closer to him. He licked his lips and whispered his question.

Yan Liqiang cast a glance at Shi Dafeng, then replied to him emotionlessly, “No!”

“Even at the end?” Shi Dafeng looked at Yan Liqiang with hopeful eyes.

“No!” Yan Liqiang firmly shook his head, not giving in. “If you are not going to listen to orders, then I’ll have no choice but to pull you out of this battle! I’ll either knock you out or tie you up and let you watch from the side!”

Shi Dafeng’s countenance instantly changed as he hurriedly waved his hands. “No, no, no! I’ll listen to orders, of course I will! I was only asking! In this kind of situation, it’s only exciting if we get to charge up against them...”

Shen Teng opened his eyes and smiled. “This is an ambush. We have so many crossbows that can kill our enemies. Why would you want to charge out there? Wise people do not use their weakness to challenge the strength of others!”

“You dare imply that I am stupid?!” Shi Dafeng glareed at Shen Teng.

“I didn’t say that, you said it yourself!”

Shi Dafeng rolled his eyes. “Hehe, I saw your pinky jerking just now. Are you secretly scared? I guess this is Lord Shen’s first experience in something like this!”

This time, it was Shen Teng’s turn to glare at Shi Dafeng. When he was about to retort back, Yan Liqiang made a gesture and Shen Teng immediately kept quiet.

“Get everyone ready, our prey is coming!”

Dust could be seen flying up the wilderness in the distance. A silver falcon was flying around in circles above, watching the wilderness beneath it through its keen eyes...

By now, the Transportation Office’s cavalry of about a thousand men had been traveling for nearly one whole day. Both men and steeds were already exhausted. No one expected people rush into Yin Province and wait for a few days just to ambush them here...

The ending seemed to have been decided from the very beginning.

Sure enough, about a thousand cavalrymen dressed in eye-catching dark red uniforms appeared at the valley’s entrance half an hour later. The cavalry formed a long line of three to four hundred meters and defenselessly barged into the valley without any hesitation.

To them, this valley located in the common boundary between the Gan and Yin Provinces was the usual road they had traveled countless times before. It wasn’t like there’d be anyone brave enough to lay a finger against people from the Transportation Office...

Chapter 488: Pocket

“Everyone keep up with me, we will be entering Gan Province tonight and we will spend the night in Bianma County...” Qu Mingcheng turned his head around on the horse and announced loudly while wiping away the sweat on his forehead that had already turned into grains of salt.

“Keep up the pace, keep up the pace...” One after another, the low-ranking officers of the thousand-man cavalry troop shouted. Although there were a lot of people shouting, they still sounded weak and powerless.

The troop set off from Ping’an County of Luyang Prefecture in Yin Province before daybreak and it had been more than twelve hours since then. Although everyone was traveling on a rhinodrake steed and also took breaks in between the journey, most of them were already exhausted, thirsty, and hungry by now. The rhinodrake steeds underneath them were also weary. No matter how hard they whipped to spur their steeds on, their steeds were struggling to stride along as though their hooves were made of lead.

To reach Bianma County in Gan Province by tonight, they still had to travel over a distance of a hundred li after sunset. Just the thought of that alone was enough to make many people in the troop feel defeated. However, this was an emergency and Transport Commissioner Jiang had passed down an absolute order – no one was allowed to complain. Everybody knew that they had been enjoying a good life in Yin Province and could run amuck everywhere they went by relying on the Transportation Office’s reputation. This time, someone in Gan Province was actually bold enough to smash the reputation of the Transportation Office. This was the same as bearding the lion in his den. Hence, their objective of coming to Pingxi County was to let those people who dared to challenge the Transportation Office regret being born into this world no matter what.

Qu Mingcheng also knew what the men in his troop were thinking right now. After he finished the sentence, he immediately added, “The manufacturing bureau is wealthy. As soon as we settle the matter at Pingxi County, the ladies in the town and the women in the Yan Fortress will be for you bastards to have fun with for three days!”

“Yeah...!!” Being told that they could have fun with the women in Pingxi County after they were done finally lifted the men’s spirits. Some of them even howled like wolves. Every time the Patrol Cavalry Battalion dispatched their cavalrymen troop, lots of families were broken, houses were searched, possessions were confiscated, and the locals kept quiet out of fear. This was an extremely lucrative post.

The terrain of the valley ahead seemed quite treacherous. Qu Mingcheng glanced at both sides of the valley and checked the terrains. A thought flashed through his mind, but he mockingly laughed at himself –– who would dare to lay a finger on the Transportation Office’s cavalry within the borders of the Great Han Empire? Even if there were a few bandits, they would probably be too scared to even show their faces since they were outnumbered.

Right when this thought flashed through his head, a strange noise was suddenly heard in that valley. Qu Mingcheng’s face changed immediately as he quickly shouted, “Be careful...!”

He managed to finish his words, but it was too late. As soon as he finished speaking, a terrifying howl rang out and four soldiers fell off their steeds at the same time...

They were all cavalrymen with war bows on their backs.

Everything happened too fast and most of the cavalrymen could not even react in time. Just merely half a second later, the sound of arrows breaking through the air was heard, and this time, another four cavalrymen with war bows on their backs fell from the back of their steeds.

It’s an expert! The thought flashed through Qu Mingcheng’s mind.

The power, speed, and accuracy revealed by the sound of the arrows breaking through the air made Qu Mingcheng shiver. Not to mention, four arrows were being released at the same time. Such archery cultivation vaguely reminded Qu Mingcheng of someone...

However, the current situation did not allow Qu Mingcheng to think too much as in the blink of an eye, another eight cavalrymen fell down. The whole troop was in chaos.

The archer showed himself on top of a hill that was five hundred li away while raining down torrents of deadly arrows. He was wearing black clothing with a sinister-looking bronze mask, so Qu Mingcheng was unable to see his face clearly. However, that ghastly archery skill made Qu Mingcheng feel like no matter how many people he had on their side, all of them would still be shot dead by that man in this valley.

“Over there! Everyone, follow me...!” Qu Mingcheng was drenched in cold sweat. Without even thinking, he led everyone forward.

Under Qu Mingcheng’s command, the troops that were in a pitiful state rushed forward. Even so, the cold, deadly arrows didn’t cease. For every second, four arrows were fired twice. Every arrow was accurate enough to send someone off their rhinodrake steed. There was nowhere to escape, nowhere to hide. Such archery cultivation was enough to strike fear into the Transportation Office’s cavalry on the battlefield.

It took the troops ten seconds to dash forward a hundred li. The one hundred cavalry archers riding at the rear of cavalry were all shot off the backs of their steeds.

Qu Mingcheng’s eyes bulged out of anger. After leading his troops another dozen li forward, Qu Mingcheng shouted, “Continue to push forward!” While commanding this troop to continue moving forward, he drew his iron sword breaker from the saddle and leaped off his steed. Stepping on the steep valley wall, he rushed straight toward the man in black.

“KILL...!” The Transportation Office’s cavalry shouted in the valley as they braced themselves and continued forward.

Luckily, they were only being ambushed by one person...

The thought flashed across Qu Mingcheng’s mind. Within the next second, a scene that made his blood freeze unfolded before his very eyes. On both sides of the hill, two hundred people dressed in black suits suddenly appeared with bows and crossbows in their hands. Arrows suddenly rained on the cavalry in the valley, instantly knocking down a few dozen soldiers.

The battle steeds neighed miserably and the valley was in complete chaos. Even so, the Transportation Office’s cavalry pressed onward.

When the cavalry with swords came across enemies with bows and crossbows, they could only choose to get closer or escape. If they stayed in place, they would become the target of their enemies. So in order to survive, their only option was to move quickly.

However, it did not take long for the Transportation Office’s cavalry to make another horrifying discovery. Over ten burning four-wheeled carriages filled with firewood had been pushed off the hills, effectively blocking the road ahead. In just the blink of an eye, they formed a burning fire wall which completely blocked the path.

Another batch of arrows came pouring down. Again, dozens of people from the Transportation Office’s cavalry were taken down.

“Retreat, retreat...!”

Amidst the chaos, the troops turned their steeds around and found the same scene repeating itself at their escape route. Another ten four-wheeled carriages covered in raging flames came rushing down the hillside, instantly blocking their pathway of retreat...

The man in black was, of course, Yan Liqiang. Even if he had seen Qu Mingcheng charging forward, Yan Liqiang did not put down the bow in his hand. He continued to shoot out eight deadly arrows within a second with the speed and accuracy of a machine that had gone berserk. Among the cavalry, some were low-ranking officers with little cultivation background while some were Martial Warriors and Supreme Martial Warriors. In just the blink of an eye, they were all shot down by Yan Liqiang.

With Yan Liqiang’s bow and the distance between them, the survival rate of those so-called Martial Warriors, Supreme Martial Warriors, and even Martial Master experts were equivalent to ordinary soldiers. Yan Liqiang’s arrows were fast and powerful, something completely beyond their capabilities. Their chances of survival were no more than that of an ordinary person’s or a boxing champion being shot in the head at point blank.

“Yan Liqiang...!” Qu Mingcheng bellowed. He dashed toward Yan Liqiang like a speeding horse against the cliff wall. In just the blink of an eye, the distance between them was only fifty li.

Yan Liqiang once again shot two batches of arrows, and eight more people were killed. Within a second, Qu Mingcheng was only twenty li away from him.

“I knew it was you...” Qu Mingcheng eyes reddened and he was boiling with murderous intent.

The moment Yan Liqiang put down his Horned Python Bow, he reached for the Dragon Spine Steel spear which he had stuck in the ground. He smiled as he looked at Qu Mingcheng who was already in front of him.

“Go to hell!” Qu Mingcheng’s figure was like a legendary roc spreading its wings as he leaped over a few zhang at once, swinging his iron sword breaker at Yan Liqiang.

This was exactly what Yan Liqiang was waiting for – for Qu Mingcheng to make the first move.

In the next second, the Dragon Spine Steel spear that weighed four hundred jin in his hands moved like a furious dragon which had been startled awake. The giant pole was swung directly at Qu Mingcheng without any fancy moves.

The noise it made when it broke through the air was like a summer thunderclap...

Chapter 489: Killing the Chief Patrol Examiner

The Northwestern Transportation Office’s Chief Patrol Examiner Qu Mingcheng was a first-class expert who had progressed into a Martial Lord. Yan Liqiang had known about this before he even came here!

Watching Qu Mingcheng jump off his steed and directly run up the cliff wall, Yan Liqiang was able to confirm one point. No wonder Northwestern Transport Commissioner Jiang Tianhua favored this man. From the lightness skill technique he exhibited alone, it was evident that he was definitely a Martial Lord.

Today, Yan Liqiang would kill Qu Mingcheng the same way he did with Morbeto. In a battle between experts, a wrong judgment would be deadly.

Qu Mincheng was aware of the fact that Yan Liqiang was very powerful with a bow. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to cause such a huge commotion in the Imperial Capital. Yet, he didn’t know that Yan Liqiang had something that was more terrifying than his cultivation in the art of archery.

Qu Mingcheng wasn’t stronger than Morbeto. However, Yan Liqiang was a lot more powerful now compared to the time he killed Morbeto.

Qu Mingcheng thought he would be able to kill or seize Yan Liqiang in close combat. What he didn’t know was that the moment he rushed up and flung his iron sword breaker at Yan Liqiang, the final outcome had already been decided. This was the exact moment Yan Liqiang had been waiting for.

Qu Mingcheng’s countenance contorted at the sound of Yan Liqiang’s Dragon Spine Steel spear cracking through the air. However, in such close proximity, by the time he realized the terrifying force on Yan Liqiang’s approaching spear, the spear had clashed directly against the iron sword breaker he was holding. It was a head-on attack and a contest between brute forces.

CLANG...!

Just one hit was enough to bend Qu Mingcheng’s iron sword breaker. It was knocked out of his grip, subsequently ripping apart the web between his thumb and forefinger. His five fingers and forearm were instantly crushed by the tremendous force as well. Blood sprayed out like crazy. He was sent flying by Yan Liqiang’s spear at a much higher speed than he used to run up here...

The force that traveled up the Dragon Spine Steel was bone-chillingly immense like a mountain or the ocean. In the face of such force, Qu Mingcheng couldn’t help but shiver, feeling his own vulnerability while fighting an opponent like this. In the end...

Yan Liqiang watched as he sent Qu Mingcheng flying with his spear. Then, Qu Mingcheng quietly fled into the distance while coughing up blood, leaving behind all his subordinates who were caught in the ambush. He didn’t even have the courage to fight against Yan Liqiang again.

“Damn...!” Yan Liqiang only cursed before giving chase, with each step covering the distance of several zhang and blurring his figure...

F*ck, where is his pride as a Martial Lord and his dignity as the Northwestern Transport Office’s chief patrol examiner?! He fled after just one exchange!

Yan Liqiang cursed inwardly. This Qu Mingcheng was really too much of a disappointment!

Qu Mingcheng wasn’t slow, but Yan Liqiang was still faster. Without waiting for Qu Mingcheng to rush down the hill, Yan Liqiang threw his spear out with a loud yell.

Hearing something coming from behind him, Qu Mingcheng’s figure moved in a strange way. Not only did he suddenly speed up, but he also deviated from the original path he was running on.

Unfortunately, the target of Yan Liqiang’s spear wasn’t Qi Mingcheng, but something else on the ground behind him.

The spear directly hit a huge boulder and eroded to the size of a calf by the wind, behind Qu Mingcheng. The huge boulder was instantly smashed into a million pieces of smaller rocks. The projectiles flew toward Qu Mingcheng like countless hidden weapons.

Qu Mingcheng didn’t even expect Yan Liqiang to have this trick up his sleeve. There were simply too many rock fragments flying toward him and they covered a radius of several zhang around him. There was no way he could evade them. Under such emergency circumstances, Qu Mingcheng let out a yell and ripped his robes off. He turned around and single-handedly waved his robes like a windmill to protect his own body. Using softness to conquer strength, he managed to block all the rock fragments of various sizes flying at him with a single piece of clothing, exhibiting his prowess as a Martial Lord.

Despite his quick thinking, the rock fragments were simply too many. One of them about the size of a pigeon egg flew at Qu Mingcheng close to the ground, going past his robes and hitting him squarely on his shin.

The piercing pain in his shin caused Qu Mingcheng to groan in pain. His movement immediately slowed down. At this moment, Yan Liqiang rushed up like a lightning bolt, retrieved the spear that was stuck in the floor and then charged toward Qu Mingcheng...

“Yan Liqiang, I know it is you! How dare you kill a subject of the imperial court and ambush the Transport Office’s cavalry?! Are you not afraid that your clan will be executed?!” Shi Mingcheng panicked and cried out.

“People who plunder while dressed in official robes are lesser than animals, so they should be killed!” Yan Liqiang replied coldly and didn’t deny his identity either. The spear in his hand flew right toward Qu Mingcheng’s heart.

WHOOSH...! Under the might of Liqiang’s spear, Qu Mingcheng’s robes, which helped him block off countless rock fragments, were shred into a million pieces. They fluttered away in the night breeze like dancing butterflies.

Qu Mingcheng wanted to escape, but he realized that Yan Liqiang’s spear was following him closely like his shadow. It was impossible to escape! The murderous malice dripping from the spear tip made the skin on his neck crawl. His heart froze. This was Yan Liqiang’s determination to kill him...

“ARGH...!” Qu Mingcheng naturally wouldn’t resign himself to death. He roared angrily. Instead of retreating, he charged toward Yan Liqiang instead and slapped his palm against the spear tip.

What’s going on?

The sensation on Qu Mingcheng’s palm wasn’t the solid surface of the spear, but flowing water. The water slipped through his fingers and smoothly ‘traveled’ up along his forearm, unhindered...

“Ooof...” Qu Mingcheng felt a pang in his heart, and lowered his head to find that the spear had penetrated his chest. All the strength in his body was quickly drained away at this very moment.

“W-What is this... spear technique...!” Qu Mingcheng coughed up a mouthful of blood, then asked his final question with his eyes wide like saucers.

“You won’t get it even if I tell you!”

Qu Mingcheng grabbed onto the Dragon Spine Steel spear and glared at Yan Liqiang fiercely. “Don’t... be smug... Someone will... avenge me...”

Yan Liqiang gave him a disdainful smile, then gently jerked the spear he was holding. Qu Mingcheng’s body was sent flying up before landing heavily against the ground, immediately losing all signs of life.

Yan Liqiang turned his head. Not too far away, the cavalry from the Transportation Office had dismounted in desperation. They were going to rush up the hillslope, but it was already sealed off by two hundred war bows and several tens of powerful crossbows. None of the cavalrymen from the Transportation Office made it up the hill. At this very moment, every single one of them was already on the ground...

Without delay, Yan Liqiang returned to his original spot. He set his Dragon Spine Steel spear down and once again picked up his Horned Python Bow...

The bowstring vibrated, and cavalrymen collapsed with miserable yells one after another...

What awaited the Transportation Office’s cavalry was a bloodbath...

Chapter 490: A Miraculous Battle

The battle was brief yet bloody. It started off with the archers among the one thousand men from the Transportation Office’s cavalry getting killed one after another in an ambush. The cavalry was trapped in the valley while being attacked by the archers from both sides of the valley. The entire battle was like a massacre.

The cavalrymen were like wild beasts trapped in a metal cage, while their enemies thrust their spears at them through the gaps between the bars from outside until they were about to die from severe injuries. The entrapped wild beasts could not strike back; they could only snarl and howl in agony.

The metal cage’s exit was a one-hundred meter sloping hill. The cavalrymen from the Transportation Office tried to escape from that slope but were unsuccessful, for God had only given them a very short time to escape. The moment Yan Liqiang killed their Chief Patrol Examiner Qu Mingcheng and picked up his Horned Python Bow again, their chance to escape was gone.

Arrows that poured like raindrops formed an invisible wall on that slope. Those who tried to escape through that slope were eventually severely injured by the wall ahead of them. They howled in grief and pain as their hopes in escaping were crushed...

By the time the last person from the Transportation Office’s cavalry fell to the ground with more than ten arrows sticking in his body, the carriages which blocked the path on both sides of the valley were still ablaze. The entire process lasted for only fifteen minutes.

The ownerless rhinodrake steeds were roaming about in the valley among the twilight while whinnying. Corpses with many arrows sticking out of them could be seen everywhere on the slope.

The archers and crossbowers were stunned by the scene in front of their eyes. The victory came to them so easily that for a moment, it all just felt as unreal as a dream to them. The two hundred of them ambushed a thousand people, but the battle ended with no casualties from their side. It was indeed an unbelievable miracle that even they themselves couldn’t believe their own accomplishment.

Those who participated in the battle just now were so shocked that no one could speak at the moment. The battlefield was in complete silence for half a minute.

“Everyone, gather all your weapons, pack your quivers, and go down with me! We do not want to leave any survivors! If you see someone without an arrow in their vital body part, shoot them again from a distance before you approach them and stab those with an arrow in their vital body part with your knife!” Zhou Yong shouted the orders with his deep voice. He waved his hand, then led everyone down the hill from both sides of the valley and started cleaning up the battlefield.

Yan Liqiang put down the Horned Python Bow in his hand. He stood on the hill as he calmly watched the scene in the valley. His face showed no traces of excitement or happiness – a trace of helplessness and pain flashed across his eyes instead. Those who had fallen were his enemies, yet they were also the people of the Great Han Empire. Perhaps not all of them were heinous and deserved death, but he had no choice in a situation like this. If he didn’t get rid of them, then these people would hurt more people when they entered Pingxi Prefecture.

“We...we’ve won...!” Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng came over and looked at Yan Liqiang who stood on the hill silently watching the scene below in the valley. Although they were close with Yan Liqiang, they could still feel his lofty aura and the faint splendor shrouding him that made them truly revere him.

This was the first time the two of them ever witnessed Yan Liqiang’s performance on the battlefield. Truth be told, Yan Liqiang had frightened the two of them because they never thought that he was already this powerful. Yan Liqiang had only used three techniques to kill Chief Patrol Examiner Qu Mingcheng of the Northwestern Transportation Office. The first technique injured Qu Mingcheng when he was charging toward Yan Liqiang and made him retreat in defeat, the second technique injured Qu Mingcheng who was retreating again to stop him, and with the third technique, Yan Liqiang’s spear severed the powerful martial lord’s soul in the wilderness.

Yan Liqiang had used up at least ten quivers of arrows that were placed in front of him. Every arrow from those quivers struck a person down there. It was safe to say that Yan Liqiang had wiped out a third of his enemies. Every time Yan Liqiang drew his bow, four people would be struck by an arrow. The powerful bow which no ordinary person was able to draw was like a toy to Yan Liqiang. He could draw the bow for an unlimited number of times without feeling exhausted. It was indeed terrifying to have such a person on the battlefield. Yan Liqiang was equivalent to four powerful expert archers, and this was one of the reasons why there were no casualties on their side.

Yan Liqiang only stopped shooting when there were only around three to four hundred men left in the Transportation Office’s cavalry. He held his bow and quietly watched the two hundred men that he brought along with him crush the remaining struggling enemies with their arrows.

“F*ck!” Yan Liqiang swore. At this moment, perhaps swearing could help him vent a bit of his pent up anger.

Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng were a little shocked to hear Yan Liqiang curse out loud. Shi Dafeng scratched his head as he didn’t understand why Yan Liqiang was still unhappy with their victory. Only Shen Teng who took a glance at the corpses lying around the valley was able to vaguely guess why Yan Liqiang was unhappy, “Liqiang, we can only prevent this from happening again when we are truly powerful. Just like Teacher Shi said, there’s no need to blame yourself on the battlefield...”

“I’m not blaming myself... It’s just that... Never mind, forget it...” Yan Liqiang shook his head and took a deep breath. His eyes shone with determination once again as he glanced in the direction of Yin Provincial City, “Let’s hope that this time Jiang can wake up...”

“There is no way for him not to wake up. I reckon that he will be scared out of his wits. Even if he still has men in his hands, he wouldn’t dare to deploy them to Gan Province again. Someone should be coming to make peace soon!”

“Yes, let’s get prepared. We should head back to Pingxi Prefecture...”

Around ten minutes later, the battlefield was cleared. Yan Liqiang and the other two hundred people climbed onto their rhinodrake steeds and carriages, then shortly disappeared into the hills.

The sun had set completely and darkness started to shroud the land. The flames on the burning carriages at the valley only gradually died out two hours after Yan Liqiang and the rest left.

On the way back, Yan Liqiang remained silent while riding on Snowstorm Cloud as he pressed on. However, he realized that everyone else was looking at him in a new light, including Zhou Yong and Chang Kuan. The gazes that the men directed at him were filled with revere, admiration, and faith as one would have for their commander or leader. At the same time, they were also undergoing unprecedented changes. The sharp aura they were exuding was a mixture of self-confidence and formidability.

Zero versus a thousand!

This miraculous battle, which no one would probably believe if it was recorded in the books, had brought about huge changes and impacted everyone.

On the next day, the remains of the Transportation Office’s thousand-man cavalry were discovered before Yan Liqiang and his troops even returned to Pingxi Prefecture. The news instantly sent shockwaves across the northwestern provinces.

Chapter 491 Influence

The thousand-man Northwestern Transportation Office’s Patrol Cavalry Battalion was actually annihilated in the mountainous region between the Gan and Yin Provinces. Such news was enough to shake the entire officialdom in the northwestern region.

Though there were many incidents at the borders of the northwestern region, such an incident had never happened before in recent centuries. On top of that, this happened within Yin Province. These were a thousand fully-armored cavalrymen from the Transportation Office, not unarmed and defenseless commoners. It could be considered as earth-shattering news since only very few figures and influencers were capable of performing such acts in the northwestern region.

Almost immediately, bureaucracy of various levels in the Silver Continent, the Northwestern Transportation Office, and the influential clans in the northwestern region sent out investigators and spies to the battleground at the border between the Gan and Yin Provinces, hoping to find some clues. The desolate hills suddenly grew livelier than ever.

One of the quickest to get angry was, of course, Northwestern Transport Commissioner Jiang Tianhua.

When Jiang Tianhua heard the news, he was in complete disbelief. Only very few figures in and influencers in the northwestern region dared to lay a finger against the Transportation Office and was capable of annihilating his thousand strong cavalry.

Aside from a few provincial governors and a small number of wealthy clans, almost no one could do that. Even if they were capable of it, they wouldn’t risk public condemnation just to challenge the Transportation Office. Assaulting the imperial court’s cavalry was nearly equivalent to revolting. Without a certain amount of confidence, who would possibly be bold enough to do that?

Jiang Tianhua only believed the news when Qu Mingcheng’s corpse was placed before him. A hundred cavalrymen from his Patrol Cavalry Battalion had really been wiped out by someone. Not even one was spared.

The day Jiang Tianhua received the news, he was both surprised and angry. His voice boomed like thunder. In just a day, countless vases and tables in the Transportation Office were smashed by him. On the same day, he paid a formal visit to the Provincial Governor’s Office.

On the very next day, the Transportation Office offered a hundred thousand taels of silver as bounty on the perpetrator. Every troop in the Yin Province Law Enforcement Office was mobilized to search for clues everywhere. Two battalions of soldiers under the Yin Province Military Governor also left their barracks and made haste to the mountainous region at the border where the battle had taken place. It stirred up a huge commotion but unfortunately, it was all in vain because by that time, Yan Liqiang and his entire party had already returned to Pingxi Prefecture. On their way back, they even covered their tracks. Therefore, the spies and investigators were only able to gather the fact that the troops that ambushed the Transportation Office came and left on steeds, used bows and arrows, and had carriages. They couldn’t find any more information beyond this.

For Jiang Tianhua, he was well aware of why he had sent those troops. Therefore, when something happened to those men, he immediately suspected it was the work of Gan Provincial Governor Lei Sitong. Jiang Tianhua swore through his clenched teeth that he would definitely impeach Lei Sitong as soon as he found any evidence, and have the latter labeled as a rebel.

Despite utilizing all his connections to look for any clues that pointed to Lei Sitong, he still ended up empty-handed. Two days before the incident, Lei Sitong and a few generals under him were all in Gan Provincial City. There was no mobilization of over a hundred men among the troops under Lei Sitong, especially the cavalry. There was no news of any casualties among the cavalry units in the prefectures of Gan Province either. Therefore, according to all the collected information, Lei Sitong was completely not involved in this incident...

If it wasn’t Lei Sitong, who else could it be?

Yan Liqiang’s name flashed across Jiang Tianhua’s mind. However, the thought was immediately denied because he didn’t believe Yan Liqiang would be capable of this even if he had the motive. The size of the cavalry he sent out consisted of one thousand men; not a thousand rabbits or boars.

In Jiang Tianhua’s mind, the person who was capable of eliminating a thousand men without leaving behind any trace was definitely not a simple person. Yan Liqiang was only a brat who was a little knowledgeable in the path of mechanics and the investigation of things. Even if he had a bit of skill and was rumored to also have a decent cultivation, Jiang Tianhua had deployed more than a thousand cavalrymen. Not only that, even Qu Mingcheng, who had long progressed into a Martial Lord, was killed. If Yan Liqiang was truly capable of such acts, he wouldn’t have been forced to retreat from the Imperial Capital back to Gan Province by the Grand Chancellor in the first place...

Jiang Tianhua firmly believed his own judgment without a doubt. A few days later, he heard another piece of news – right before something happened to the troops under his command, Yan Liqiang left Pingxi Prefecture with two hundred newly-recruited guards. After the incident, he returned to Pingxi Prefecture again with his guards. It was estimated that there were no casualties among the guards that followed him.

From the motive and time frame, Yan Liqiang was the biggest suspect. Yet, another question emerged – how was it possible for Yan Liqiang to annihilate a thousand men in Jiang Tianhua’s cavalry without suffering any losses on his side? That didn’t make sense at all. If randomly recruited guards were that impressive, there’d be no need for the imperial court to fund all those armies. Perhaps, Yan Liqiang had received some assistance from powerful or influential figures whom Jiang Tianhua didn’t know about. Or perhaps this wasn’t just the work of one person or one party, but many who had a score to settle with him!

This inference bewildered Jiang Tianhua even more. He tried to recall the people whom he had offended as a Transport Commissioner over the past few years. Aside from bewilderment, he was even more frightened and terrified. If those people who had bad blood with him dared to kill this many people, then he was probably less than a cavalry of a thousand strong men to them. An arrow in the back, a cup of poisoned wine, or a skillful assassin could easily take his life...

Qu Mingcheng was a Martial Lord, but Jiang Tianhua wasn’t.

While the Transportation Office and Yin Provincial Governor’s Office ended up with more fruitless investigations, the more Jiang Tianhua became unsure, the more empty he felt. By now, everyone appeared malicious to him.

The huge incident that shook the entire northwestern region started off with a bang. A few days later, it dwindled and became nothing more than an unresolved cased spread by unreliable sources. However, quite a lot of people still coveted the bounty of a hundred thousand taels of silver offered by the Transportation Office. They provided all sorts of clues to the Transportation Office, such as saying that they had seen a big group of Blackwind Bandits at the common border between the Gan and Yin Provinces, or claiming they had seen a number of people from the White Lotus Society around that mountainous area. Not only that, even Shatu people and people from the Dark Ram Tribe were mentioned...

However, the Pingxi Prefecture’s manufacturing bureau, which was the source of this commotion remained silent as though they weren’t involved in this after their return.

Yan Dechang’s injuries had pretty much healed. The manufacturing bureau was still constructing four-wheeled carriages and earning big profits every single day. Liuhe Town’s defense was also growing higher and higher, slowly forming an outline. Everything went on as usual in the archery academy. All sorts of trainings were conducted every day and the place was filled with energy...

On the 17th day of the tenth lunar month, Pingxi Prefectural Governor Wang Jianbei’s sudden visit to the archery academy surprised Yan Liqiang.

When Wang Jianbei arrived at the archery academy, Yan Liqiang was still supervising the students practicing with a square formation on the training field. A student who was on watch duty at the entrance came running to report that there were a few unfamiliar faces outside the archery academy, and that one of them claimed to be Pingxi Prefectural Governor Wang Jianbei. It was only then that Yan Liqiang knew Wang Jianbei was here...

Chapter 492: Inspection

Yan Liqiang called Shi Changfeng. Both of them went to the archery academy gate and saw Wang Jiangbei in casual attire with three personal attendants pulling along the horses. Wang Jianbei’s face was calm and genial, however, one of the personal attendants beside him who had strong build was glaring at a few students who were on duty at the gate. The students stood beside the archery academy’s gate with spears in their hands were blocking Wang Jianbei and his personal attendants.

“Greetings to the Head of the Archery Academy and Chief!” When they saw Yan Liqiang and Shi Changfeng approaching, one of the students on duty wearing the red captain armband came over and straightened up to salute Yan Liqiang and Shi Changfeng. He pointed at Wang Jianbei and his personal attendants, “These people came to the archery academy and that person claims that he’s the Pingxi Prefectural Governor!”

“Alright, I understand. You can continue with your duty!” Yan Liqiang nodded.

“Yes!” The young man who wore the red captain armband once again saluted Yan Liqiang. He made a left turn, ran in small steps toward the gate, and continued to execute his duty. Wang Jiangbei stood outside the archery academy gate, watching the whole process with a smile. When he saw the young man with the red captain armband run toward Yan Liqiang, straighten up to make a report and then run back, a glint secretly flashed across Wang Jianbei’s eyes. The so-called ‘You may know by a handful the whole sack’ meant that based from little details, Wang Jianbei had already sensed that Yan Liqiang’s archery club was not as simple as it seemed.

Yan Liqiang and Shi Changfeng did not stop; they walked directly to the gate to greet Wang Jianbei.

“Lord Wang, we are honored by your presence. Forgive me for not coming out to welcome you!” Yan Liqiang smiled as he greeted Wang Jianbei. He then introduced Shi Changfeng to Wang Jianbei, “This is Shi Changfeng. He was previously my teacher at the martial arts academy and he’s now the chief of the archery academy. Master Shi is basically in charge of the whole academy!”

“Shi Changfeng greets the Provincial Governor!”

Wang Jiangbei smiled as he nodded to Yan Liqiang and Shi Changfeng, “Not bad, not bad. You have turned the archery academy into a remarkable place. I made a sudden decision to come here for a visit today but I did not expect quite a number of rules here. The few young men at this gate even stopped me from entering!”

“Precisely. Your archery academy is too arrogant. The Provincial Governor came for an inspection and already explained his identity, yet he was still denied entrance. Is there any place that the Provincial Governor cannot enter in Pingxi Prefecture?” The personal attendant beside Wang Jianbei huffed in anger, seemingly displeased.

“Haha, please do not feel offended, Provincial Governor. I have set these rules because we’ve had some curious people trying to scout the archery academy and it became a nuisance. These young men at the gate were just carrying out their duties. Furthermore, they have never seen you before which thus led to the misunderstanding. Had I known that you were coming today, I would have led the students of the archery academy to clean the road from ten li out and cover the road with fresh flowers to welcome you. We never would have stopped Lord Wang from entering!” Yan Liqiang laughed, “If Lord Wang and the rest of the brothers have to blame someone for this, please put the blame on me!”

Yan Liqiang’s words had given enough honor to Wang Jianbei that his personal attendant’s anger immediately dissipated and he even felt a little embarrassed. Wang Jianbei wasn’t angry either. Even without considering Yan Liqiang’s relationship with Lei Sitong, Wang Jianbei wouldn’t be upset because Yan Liqiang’s words were pleasing enough to the ears.

Yan Liqiang was like an old fox in the officialdom. Was he really capable of discreetly exterminating a troop of over a thousand soldiers from the Transportation Office?

Wang Jiangbei muttered to himself in his heart. After laughing and greeting Yan Liqiang, he entered the archery academy under Yan Liqiang’s lead.

“Before I came to Liuhe Town, I heard that the villages nearby have started thriving ever since you started the archery academy and everyone is singing praises about this. Why is that so?” Wang Jianbei asked while he sized up the building structures inside the archery academy.

“Haha, do you know how many students we have in the archery academy?” Yan Liqiang asked while smiling.

“I heard there were about two thousand!” Wang Jiangbei swept his eyes over the surroundings and sighed in amazement, “Such a scale for an archery academy could be rated as number one among the northwestern provinces. Even in the Great Han Empire, it is rare to have an academy of this scale. It is indeed good fortune to the locals and a blessing to the common people to have such an archery academy situated in my Pingxi Prefecture!”

“Haha, thank you for the compliment!” Yan Liqiang smiled, “The daily food consumption of two thousand people in the archery academy is high. The nearby villagers are providing the food supply. We are offering them a good price, and in fact, it’s one or two times higher than the market price. Moreover, the quantity of our daily purchases is huge. Regardless of what they plant – grains, vegetables, or even poultry and eggs, we buy all of them. Furthermore, the clothing and handcrafted utensils that the students use were all passed to the neighboring villagers to make and are bought by me. With this, as long as the archery academy is around, the neighboring villages will naturally gain massive income. This is income that they never have had before. To them, it is as if they are selling at the market every single day. The villagers are, of course, delighted as they are becoming wealthier and leading better lives!”

“Perhaps only you, Yan Liqiang, have the ability to spend such a fortune to benefit the fellow villagers. This is totally admirable!”

“Haha, I am also a resident of Pingxi Prefecture. I also wish for the fellow villagers live a better life. I had always wanted to do this, it was just that I had no money. Now that I have money in my hands, it’s only natural for me to think of ways to benefit my fellow villagers too!” Yan Liqiang secretly bit his tongue as he almost blurted something about ‘the rich first pushing those being rich later’.

“Not bad, not bad. Liqiang’s intentions are indeed noble,” Wang Jianbei nodded. The discussion topic suddenly took a turn as Wang Jianbei asked, “Just now I noticed that one of the young men who was on duty at the archery academy gate was wearing a red armband. What was that?”

“Oh, that’s the captain’s armband. It is used to indicate that the person wearing the armband is the captain in charge of the guards for the day!”

“Watching his movements, I noticed that he is slightly different from ordinary people. His actions were direct and efficient in a very organized way. Why is that so?”

Yan Liqiang and Shi Changfeng exchanged glances. Shi Changfeng smiled and briefly explained, “This is because there were a lot of new students at the archery academy. Some of the students were young and they naturally could not stay put. Yan Liqiang felt that the archery academy had too many people and it was difficult to manage with a lack of rules, so he implemented a set of rules to let the students of the archery academy follow the rules even while walking and running. This is to build a habit to adhere to rules before expanding the parameters!”

Wang Jianbei smiled, “I find it very interesting. Liqiang, are you able to give me some insight as to how the students of the archery academy are usually trained?”

“Of course!” Yan Liqiang also smiled.

Shi Changfeng glanced at Yan Liqiang –– Is this alright?

Don’t worry, they just want to have a look. –– Yan Liqiang winked at Shi Chengfeng.

Soon after, Yan Liqiang and Shi Changfeng brought Wang Jianbei and his men on the training field platform. At that time, a few students on the training field were taking their break. Groups of students gathered around the push-wrestling ring on the training field. The minimum number of people required to play push-wrestling ring was one versus one, while the most was a hundred versus a hundred in a complete chaotic warfare. The people inside the rings were striving to wrestle while the spectators outside of the rings were cheering and whistling loudly. There were over a hundred push-wrestlings that were in progress on the training field filled with youthful and cheerful energy.

“Haha, they are energetic and lively. That’s how young people should be!” Upon seeing the scene on the training field, Prefecture Governor Wang Jianbei laughed with joy. As the Pingxi Prefecture Governor, he was delighted to see the young, energetic youths of Pingxi Prefecture. He turned to look at Yan Liqiang, “When will the training start?”

“Any time!” Yan Liqiang smiled and nodded to Shi Changfeng who signaled the horn player standing beside the platform. The man took the cow horn that hung on his waist and blew it three times with all his might.

Upon hearing the sound of the horn, students who were playing happily on the training field began to move. Regardless if they were sitting on the floor, standing, playing push-wrestling, or spectating the wrestling, everybody promptly hopped up and stopped what they were doing at the sound. They quickly hustled and gathered at their respective team’s assembly areas.

The veterans of Gan Province who were appointed as instructors blew the whistles around their necks. With the tempo of the whistles, everyone hastily returned to their original positions. Looking from the top of the platform, those on the training field that were initially like a lump of loose sand, but in the blink of an eye, the lump of sand started to coagulate rapidly...

“Look forward!”

“Look right!”

“Stand at ease!”

“Attention!”

“Number off...!”

“One.””Two.””Three.””Four.””Five.””Six.”...

The troops that gathered hastily were stomping their feet. The ground of the entire training field shook and produced sounds like a beating drum. Amidst the tremor, the gathered troops started to align their standing positions followed by the sound of them calling out their numbers...

Before they finished numbering off, Wang Jianbei who stood on the platform was already stunned because in less than two minutes, he saw an orderly, huge standard square-shaped formation presented right in front of him. It was simply like magic. The few barracks of soldiers in Pingxi Prefecture were definitely unable to gather in such an orderly square-shaped formation in such a short amount of time. Even if they were given two additional hours, they might not be able to line up in such an orderly square-shaped formation.

Chapter 493: Shocked

At the moment, the students in the archery academy were different from before. There used to be a total of 2,768 students back then. However, the archery academy now had 3,000 students and therefore expanded into thirty units.

After Yan Liqiang returned not long ago, he had more than two hundred men follow him in the operation to join the archery academy. These people were to train with everyone else in the archery academy, including Zhou Yong.

It hadn’t been long since Zhou Yong and the rest came to the archery academy. Under Yan Liqiang’s order, the group of two hundred people were scattered and very quickly threw themselves into the archery academy’s training. After only a week of training, they quickly blended in with the other students.

A part of them were young ambitious students, another part had ‘seasoned men’ who had just fought bandits on a real battlefield. They had seen blood, killed people, skinned the Vice Transport Commissioner alive, and were involved in a case that ‘sent shockwaves’ across the northwestern provinces. After Zhou Yong and the rest joined, there were subtle changes in the archery academy’s dynamics...

Wang Jianbei happened to be the first outsider to witness the changes.

“Reporting to the Chairman, there is a total of a hundred in the 1st Unit. A hundred out of a hundred are present...!”

“Reporting to the Chairman, there is a total of a hundred in the 2nd Unit. Ninety-eight out of ninety-eight are present...!”

“Reporting to the Chairman, there is a total of a hundred in the 3rd Unit. Ninety-nine out of ninety-nine are present...!”

...

Every group quickly numbered off in order. Even Wang Jianbei was shocked into silence by the efficiency and level of discipline exhibited by the formation. As someone who once led a troop, he naturally knew what this meant. For a moment, he even suspected that the Emperor definitely had a deeper intention in appointing Yan Liqiang as the Qiyun Protectorate General and sending him to Gan Province.

The few servants beside Wang Jianbei were stunned too. They were rendered speechless with their eyes as wide as saucers. The uniforms that the archery academy’s students were wearing, along with their synchronized movements and shouting instilled an amazing sense of power in them.

“H-How... How long have these people been trained?” Wang Jianbei asked Yan Liqiang after regaining his composure.

“Less than three months!” Yan Liqiang replied with a smile while looking at the square formation in satisfaction. After persevering in their training for more than two months, the people were like sharpened swords. They were visually close to the military parades that Yan Liqiang had seen on television in his previous life.

Even on the platform, all of them appeared to be standing in a straight line horizontally, vertically, and diagonally. Their movements were perfectly synchronized, or at least no one was able to pick out any flaws. Not only the spectator, but even the students participating in the formation were impressed by the united sense of power and honor.

“They are able to achieve this in less than three months?” Wang Jianbei mumbled to himself, as his gaze on Yan Liqiang turned weird. “If I’m not mistaken, this method is used to train soldiers. Please forgive my ignorance, though I would like to claim myself to be quite knowledgeable since I have met many troops in the Great Han Empire’s military, including a few elite ones. Even so, I have never seen such a training method. From where did you acquire it, Liqiang?”

“Hahaha, I have made a fool out of myself. Indeed, I’m not very knowledgeable in training soldiers and I wasn’t given any opportunity to learn either. However, I love seeing neat things. I blindly came up with the training method that this archery academy currently uses!” Yan Liqiang replied humbly.

“Blindly came up?” Wang Jianbei didn’t believe it, of course. Thoughts ran through his head. His eyebrows were knitted together for a moment before they relaxed again. A smile appeared on his face as he gently dismissed it. “I see. How original of you, Liqiang!”

“Hahaha, there are more formation trainings later. I’ll be needing your guidance, Prefectural Governor!” Yan Liqiang said, then nodded to Shi Changfeng, who was standing on a high platform that faced the training field while holding a red flag. He made a few special hand gestures, then students on the training field started moving and commenced their formation training.

As soon as the training began, the training field was filled with voices that resounded through the sky. “One, two, one!””One, two, one!” Every square formation started moving in sync with the voices. It was a natural sight to Wang Jianbei, yet it also brought an entirely different feeling and amazement to him. He personally went down the platform and into the training field to watch how the troops trained. He would nod occasionally and appear to be in deep thoughts.

Wang Jianbei stayed in the training field for nearly an hour. After he was done watching all sorts of training there, he proposed to have a look around the student’s living quarters in the archery academy, so Yan Liqiang and Shi Changfeng showed him the way.

...

“W-What... What is this?” As soon as Wang Jianbei entered a room in one of the units’ barracks, he saw a dark green tofu-like block sitting on a bed that had been made without even a wrinkle. No matter how stoic he was, he couldn’t help but be flabbergasted when he saw the folded blankets which resembled blocks of tofu. Before he came to the archery academy, he never expected he would witness such an ‘marvel’ in his life. On every wooden bed was a block of tofu with perfect edges and angles made out of blankets.

Oh dear! A-Are... are my eyes playing tricks on me...?

“Ahem, Lord Wang, these are the blankets our students have folded!” Looking at Wang Jianbei’s expression which looked like he just got tricked, Yan Liqiang nearly burst out laughing but he managed to hold himself back. For some reason, this situation gave Yan Liqiang an indescribable joy.

“Blanket?” Wang Jiangbei took a deep breath, then went in front of a bed. He pressed his hand on the block of tofu, and its shape immediately changed. “It’s really a blanket!”

“Yes, of course it is!”

“All the students’ beds look like this?”

“Yes, all the students’ beds look like this!” Yan Liqiang nodded.

“How do they fold their blanket like this?”

“It’s very simple!” Yan Liqiang went over to spread open the blanket that Wang Jianbei pressed earlier, then skillfully demonstrated how to fold it back into a standard tofu-looking block in front of him.

Watching the blanket being magically transformed into a block of tofu by Yan Liqiang’s hands, the way the Pingxi Prefectural Governor Wang Jianbei looked at him changed.

“Can I take a look around the other living quarters?”

“This way, my lord!”

Truth be told, Wang Jianbei was truly shocked by Yan Liqiang after viewing another few living quarters...

Chapter 494: Purpose In Coming

After watching the formation practice and touring the living quarters, Wang Jianbei wanted to continue on another tour to the archery range and track so Yan Liqiang accompanied him.

When they arrived at the archery academy’s training track, one of Wang Jianbei’s personal attendants made an excuse to take a look at the stables and rhinodrake steeds and requested Shi Changfeng to show him around. Shi Changfeng immediately knew what was going on upon hearing his request. He calmly led Wang Jianbei’s personal attendants to the stable, leaving behind Yan Liqiang and Wang Jianbei at the training track.

Standing at the side of a spacious track field that was bigger than four to five football fields, Wang Jianbei halted his footsteps and looked into the distance. While gazing at Mount Hundred Zhang and the white clouds in the sky, Wang Jianbei curiously asked, “Based on what I’ve seen, I’ve found that the training which has been conducted here for the past few months is tough and dull, yet its requirement is meticulous and even stricter than the army’s. If those rules were implemented in the army, many soldiers might not even be able to take it. The students in the archery academy are young and lively. Just how did you manage to make them settle down and obey your commands, Liqiang?!”

“The students who were allowed to join the archery academy were selected after taking a test. Those who did not have firm willpower were eliminated earlier on. Those who remained mostly came from ordinary families in Pingxi Prefecture – they are mostly children from poor families without any backgrounds or connections. From the moment they arrived, I already told them that if they wanted to excel, they must be able to bear hardship, as it is what will hone them to be the best of the best. I also made use of a little trick so that those who remained would not complain, and all of them would cherish their opportunity to learn in the archery academy!”

“Oh, what is that little trick that you speak of?” Wang Jianbei asked curiously.

“I will tell you, but you must keep it a secret, Prefectural Governor!”

“Haha, certainly!”

“Actually, it is very simple. You only need to let the students know that being able to study in the archery academy is a rare opportunity, and emphasize the fact that persisting is the same as making money.” Yan Liqiang had a crafty look on his face.

“The first intake of students are from the younger generation of Pingxi Prefecture, but one of them came all the way from the Imperial Capital City to study in the archery academy. The residents of Pingxi Prefecture are allowed to join the archery academy unconditionally, but outsiders will need to pay ten thousand taels of silver a year to study here!”

As a bright and perceptive person, Wang Jianbei was able to immediately catch on. “You mean to say that he was arranged by you?”

“Hahaha. The measure of hardship and pleasure all come down to comparisons. As long as they understand that the opportunity to study in the archery academy is the same as earning ten thousand taels of silver a year, they will gladly endure any hardship, regardless of how difficult or harsh my requirements are. What you see is their hardship but what they see is that they are earning ten thousand taels of silver just by studying in the archery academy for a year. This is a huge sum of money that ninety-nine out of a hundred of those students’ families won’t be to come up with in their entire lives, so how can they not value such an opportunity!”

“That’s right, most of the time, small tricks can be of great use. You really understand people’s minds!” The Prefectural Governor nodded and pointed at the spacious track field ahead, “Liqiang, is the archery academy practicing horsemanship too?”

“Yes, horsemanship is one of the six skills that they are required to learn!” Yan Liqiang calmly replied.

“Apparently it seems that the students have not learned horsemanship yet?”

“They are now learning how to take care of the horses before moving on to horsemanship, but it won’t be for long. By the end of this month, they will have completed their three months of formation training. All students will then start learning horsemanship and archery skills!”

“Horse riding, bow training, and drill practice are the skills on the battlefield. Liqiang, your archery academy is simply a big army camp. It is absolutely amazing!” Wang Jianbei looked at Yan Liqiang with sparkles in his eyes and commented with profound meaning.

Yan Liqiang smiled faintly. He knew that from Wang Jianbei’s knowledge and experience, he must have made a judgment based on his visit to the archery academy today. It was no doubt that his archery academy was a military academy. This certainly could not escape Wang Jianbei’s eyes. Upon arriving at that conclusion, Yan Liqiang stopped beating around the bush and instead got straight to the point with Wang Jianbei. He calmly looked at the Pingxi Prefectural Governor, “Do you understand why I am doing all this?”

“Why?”

“Because of fear,” Yan Liqiang suddenly let out a long sigh.

“Fear?” Wang Jianbei was shocked.

“Yes, because of fear!” Yan Liqiang nodded. He continued to speak in an indistinct tone as he gazed into the distance. “Last year I dreamt about something big. I saw a lot of things in my dream. When I think about it now, it is still fresh in my memory. I dreamt that Pingxi City was engulfed in a huge fire. The city was seized by the Shatu people who rode on their armored horses. Many of our people lost their lives. In the dream, I stood beside the river bank watching Xi River dyed red by blood. Heads and corpses of Pingxi residents floated for a hundred li on the bloody Xi River like duckweeds...”

Even if it was broad daylight with the sun shining brightly in the sky, Wang Jianbei couldn’t help but shiver when he visualized the scene based on Yan Liqiang’s words. If it was someone else who told him the same thing, he would have given him a slap across the face or even flogged that person as a punishment for deluding people with lies. However, Wang Jianbei’s expression couldn’t help but turn grim because it was Yan Liqiang who said such things.

Yan Liqiang’s dream was different from ordinary people’s dreams. It was now a famous rumor among the commoners in Gan Province that Lord Yan was enlightened by deities in his dream and was thus capable of performing all the outrageous things akin to turning rock into gold. After seeing how Yan Liqiang managed to turn earth salt into snow salt, even Wang Jianbei wavered and started to revere Yan Liqiang’s dreams. When Wang Jianbei heard about Yan Liqiang’s dream, he was shocked, even if he never believed in supernatural powers. If Yan Liqiang’s dream was real, then it didn’t take a genius to figure out what end he would meet as the Pingxi Prefectural Governor...

Wang Jianbei gulped and asked with a sudden hoarse voice, “Liqiang, you previously made a suggestion to the Provincial Governor on putting a restriction to weaken the power of the Shatu People in Gan Province and Pingxi City. Was that...because of this dream of yours?”

“Yes, it is due to this. Of course, I hope that all this will remain just a dream of mine. Unfortunately, my personal experience told me that there is a possibility that the dream may become a reality in future. I have no choice but to plan ahead and start doing some early preparations so that when the real crisis hits, the younger generation of Pingxi Prefecture can form an organization and we would have more self-defense power. Lord Wang might have felt that because the Emperor appointed me to be the Qiyun Protectorate General, the conflicts between me and the Shatu Seven Tribes were unavoidable. You might also think that the reason why I had been thinking of ways to weaken the power of the Shatu people and made exaggerations was to drive away Shatu people from the Gulang Plains to achieve goals and recognition!” Yan Liqiang smiled, “To be honest, the official position of Qiyun Protectorate General is of no importance to me. The reason why I demanded this job from His Majesty is not to achieve goals or recognition. It is simply the fact that I do not want my dream to turn into reality!”

Wang Jianbei pondered for a moment before looking at Yan Liqiang with keen eyes and raised a sudden question, “Was it you who exterminated the one-thousand-men cavalry from the Transportation Office?”

Yan Liqiang nodded gravely, “Since the Prefectural Governor asked, I will tell you the truth. What is said here stays here. I was indeed the one who exterminated the one-thousand-men cavalry from the Transportation Office. I brought along two hundred people from the archery academy and dozens of soldiers from the manufacturing bureau to wipe them out. I chopped off the claws of Northwestern Transport Commissioner Jiang Tianhua!”

After today’s visit to the archery academy, Wang Jianbei was a little desensitized from being shocked. He just drew in a deep breath after hearing Yan Liqiang’s words, “It was just as what Provincial Governor had said, only you would be able to do such a thing!”

“Oh, Provincial Governor said that?” Yan Liqiang asked curiously.

“Provincial Governor said that you were born with divine strength. You can draw a bow without ever feeling exhausted. On that day at Deer Villa in the Imperial Capital City, you shocked His Majesty with a demonstration of that very skill. He also said that you could fight over hundred of master archers all by yourself. As long as there is a sufficient amount of arrows, you can even possibly kill over a thousand people. So when news about the Transportation Office came, the Provincial Governor already had a hunch that it was your doing!”

“Haha, I didn’t expect the Provincial Governor to understand me so well! Those people from the Transportation Office did deceitful things in the name of the officialdom. They deserved to be killed for wanting to rob my belongings and destroying my base!” Yan Liqiang said murderously.

“I am here today under the request from someone to discuss something with you!”

“Regarding?”

“What else could it be? Of course it was about what you had done. You exterminated the Transportation Office’s cavalry. Jiang Tianhua is now stuck in the middle, very scared and on the edge. He has already started to give in. The manufacturing bureau caught some imposters from the Transportation Office right? Find an excuse and release those people. From there onward, the Transportation Office and the manufacturing bureau will mind their own businesses. Let bygones be bygones. What do you think about this?” Wang Jianbei finally revealed his purpose in coming.

Chapter 495: Ending and Trouble

Yan Liqiang knew Jiang Tianhua would admit defeat after he showed his strength by crushing the thousand-strong Transportation Office. This was something expected, because in this world, reasoning wouldn’t work. There were no deities or saviors to defend the so-called justice either. Only the words of those who had a stronger fist, a sharper blade, or a louder voice made sense. In the Great Han Empire, the one with the strongest fist and sharpest blade was naturally the imperial court. Therefore, they were the most arrogant and most authoritative.

Offices of various sizes operating under the imperial court were different too. Given the same circumstances, it would all come down to a contest between fists and blades in the end as well. The thousand-strong cavalry which Jiang Tianhua deployed was his fist and blade. He was going to use that blade to slay the manufacturing bureau and Yan Liqiang. Had the cavalry really arrived at Pingxi Prefecture, the current situation in the manufacturing bureau and Liuhe Town would probably be different. By then, Yan Liqiang would be in hot water and other people would just be watching from the side. Even if some wanted to help, they were probably looking for benefits or some sort of deals in exchange. If things were to escalate to that point, who would then defend justice?

Chapter 496: Progressing of the Comrades

Yan Liqiang sent Wang Jianbei and his personal attendants off a few hundred meters outside the archery academy’s gate. He waited until their silhouettes completely vanished behind the little hillside in the distance before averting his gaze.

When Wang Jianbei arrived, he was stopped at the gate of the archery academy. However, when he left, Yan Liqiang had carried out the full etiquette and there was nothing that Wang Jianbei and his personal attendants could nitpick.

“Did the Prefectural Governor come on behalf of the Transportation Office to discuss peacemaking?” Shi Changfeng suddenly stood beside Yan Liqiang and asked when he saw Yan Liqiang turn around.

Yan Liqiang smiled and nodded. He knew that with Shi Changfeng’s intelligence, Shi Changfeng would be able to guess this without him saying anything. “Jiang Tianhua went to the Zhong Clan in Gan Province. The Zhong Clan then went to Provincial Governor. The Provincial Governor requested for Wang Jianbei to come and check on me. Jiang Tianhua is finally afraid!”

“Well of course, a thousand cavalrymen were killed without even batting an eyelid. Jiang Tianhua understands that no matter how high his ranking is and how precious his life is, it wouldn’t be more important than the lives of one thousand cavalryman. Two days ago, I heard that the security of the Transportation Office in Yin Province had become a lot stricter. Jiang Tianhua even ordered a custom-made four-wheeled carriage from the weaponsmith quarter in Yin Province. The four-wheeled carriage seemed to be made of wood but it was layered with steel plates so that arrows would not be able to pierce through. He’s very cautious when he goes out these few days as if he’s afraid that he will be killed anytime by an arrow!” Shi Changfeng smiled mockingly and shook his head, “He’s been scared to such an extent, that it is inevitable for him to admit defeat. But what’s your next plan?”

“Those who ought to be killed were killed, and those who deserved to die had died. What’s left are a few insignificant crippled bandits. They are of no use to me – keeping them will only waste my food. I am not fond of killing people, so we should release them!”

“That’s really it!” Shi Changfeng nodded.

“Haha, the Prefectural Governor saw that I honored him, and he was in such delight that in return, he gave my father the post of militia commissioner at Qinghe Country!”

“Gan Province is a border province. In order to stabilize the border, the local officials have the right to let the locals set up a local militia in order to protect their land and maintain peace. During necessary times, the militia can also be used as a reserve power to jointly defend the border with the Military Governor’s Office. The title of militia training commissioner would bring a lot of convenience to you and you will not be tagged with an unfair label again. This is indeed good news!” Shi Changfeng also smiled.

“Indeed. Let’s go back!”

Yan Liqiang and Shi Changfeng once again walked to the front gate of the archery academy. When they were at the gate, they looked at the students of the archery academy who were keeping watch. Yan Liqiang suddenly stopped and asked the person with the red captain armband, “What’s your name?”

“Reporting to headmaster, my name is Xue Cao!” answered the young man who had spoken to Yan Liqiang before. He stood straight with his head high and chest out. Judging by the age, that person was actually slightly older than Yan Liqiang. Yet in this archery academy, Yan Liqiang’s age was already automatically overlooked by everyone.

“Where are you from?”

“Tieguo Village of Huanglong County!”

Yan Liqiang smiled and nodded. He swept his eyes across the faces of all the students who was on duty, “All of you have done well today. You stuck to your post and strictly executed the commands and rules of the archery academy. You managed to stop the Prefectural Governor here, which meant that you did not stay in the archery academy for nothing. Today, all of you will be awarded with third class merits!”

The archery academy followed a set of honors, rewards, and penalties system. When the young man who guarded the gate heard that Yan Liqiang awarded third-class merits to them, they were instantly excited and their blood raced. Everyone once again saluted by hammering their left chest with their right hand...

This was the first third-class merit that was awarded since the establishment of the archery academy...

“You all deserve it!” Yan Liqiang nodded and gave a pat on the shoulders of those young students. After encouraging those young men, he went inside the archery academy with Shi Changfeng.

“It seems like this news should be announced at tomorrow’s morning exercise so that everyone is aware of it!” Shi Changfeng said with a smile.

“Absolutely. This is your responsibility, Chief Shi!”

Shi Changfeng shook his head and smiled when he saw Yan Liqiang walking toward another direction as he said, “Are you slacking off again? You’re not going to the training field?”

“Shi Zhiyao and Qu Mingcheng are both from the Soaring Heaven Sect in Yun Province. The Soaring Heaven Sect Lord was at least already at the peak of Martial Devil realm now. Jiang Tianhua doesn’t have the nerve to come look for trouble with me anymore but it’s hard to say for the Soaring Heaven Sect. I must put in more effort in my cultivation to guard my little life!” Yan Liqiang waved to Shi Changfeng, then walked toward his courtyard before even waiting for Shi Changfeng whose expression had changed to say something. Beneath his courtyard was an underground hidden chamber which was the most suitable place for cultivation.

Although Yan Liqiang had reacted calmly to Wang Jianbei’s words just now, as someone who died ‘twice’ in the Heavenly Realm, he clearly understood the horror of an expert assassin. He certainly didn’t want to repeat the last tragedy and would love to avoid the scenario of having the Soaring Heaven’s Sect Lord Guo Yifei to come knocking on his door.

Yan Liqiang went into his study first when he returned to his courtyard. He took out the Soul Mountain Sect’s honorary visitant token that he received from Zhang Yourong and thumbed the polished the golden token for a while before retrieving some papers to write a letter to Zhang Yourong.

In the letter, Yan Liqiang first asked Zhang Yourong about the progress of his research on the ‘steam engine’. Next, he probed Zhang Yourong on the principle of the lever and pulley and made a simple sketch of a set of pulleys. Lastly, he talked about his conflict with Yun Province’s Soaring Heaven Sect.

Yan Liqiang did not ask for help in his letter, but he knew that if the Soul Mountain Sect was really sincere and valued his honorary visitant token, they would certainly take action after reading his letter. The Soaring Heaven Sect might not put the nominal Qiyun Protectorate in their eyes now and Guo Yifei might have the guts to ignore Yan Liqiang’s background in the officialdom, but as one of the four major sects, the Soul Mountain Sect was definitely good enough to act as a deterrence to the Soaring Heaven Sect.

Everything had a weakness – Jiang Tianhua had Lin Qingtian in the imperial court, and Yan Liqiang had the Emperor in the imperial court. Jiang Tianhua had his troops; he also had his own troops. Jiang Tianhua had the Soaring Heaven Sect; he also had the Soul Mountain Sect. Now, it was time to see who could suppress the other.

After he finished writing the letter, he placed it inside an envelope which was inserted into a bamboo tube and sealed with wax. Yan Liqiang opened the study’s window facing the east, then hung a silk waistband in front of the window. Soon after that, the sound of flapping wings was heard and a silver falcon landed on the window sill in just the blink of an eye.

Yan Liqiang fastened the bamboo tube with the letter on that silver falcon’s leg, then patted the falcon’s head and told it to go. The silver falcon immediately flew up and disappeared into the blue sky.

This silver falcon was one of the latest ‘mailmen’ that Yan Liqiang had summoned from the toy capsule machine. It was responsible for the communication between Yan Liqiang and Fang Beidou from the Imperial Capital. Yan Liqiang let the silver falcon deliver the letter to Fang Beidou first. Once Fang Beidou received the letter, he would definitely pass it to the Soul Mountain Sect’s Imperial Capital Branch, and eventually the Soul Mountain Sect’s Imperial Capital Branch would deliver the letter back to the Soul Mountain Sect.

Although the process required a lot of detours, this was the fastest communication method in this era. At this moment, Yan Liqiang had not established a direct communication channel with Zhang Yourong so he could only use this as a temporary method. The next time he met Zhang Yourong, he would definitely give him a silver falcon.

Yan Liqiang only felt relieved after delivering the letter. Even so, he did not slack off. Instead, he cultivated Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing. The only way to weather through all the crisis was to make himself more powerful.

Yan Liqiang wasn’t sure if Wang Jianbei had accepted his suggestion on dealing with the Shatu people. However, he wasn’t too anxious about this matter. After all, Wang Jianbei was responsible for Pingxi City so he should be the one to decide for the city.

.....

During the morning assembly the next day, when Shi Changfeng announced that Xue Cao and the rest who were on duty yesterday were the first in the archery academy to receive third-class merits, all students in the archery academy erupted as expected.

Meanwhile, Yan Liqiang was still focused on cultivating. He had been practicing Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing every day to strengthen himself. While he didn’t expect that there wouldn’t be any possibility for him to breakthrough his realm for the time being, Shen Teng progressed into a Martial Warrior three days later. In another two days, Shi Dafeng also progressed into a Martial Warrior.

Chapter 497: The Power of the Five Animal Frolics Technique

“Look at this...!” Shi Dafeng shouted and swung his fist toward Shen Teng. The power of the Full Arm Boxing technique rippled through his entire body as his fist broke through the air, producing a loud exploding noise. Its powerful momentum was so much more formidable compared to when he was still at the martial arts academy.

On the other hand, Shen Teng grew more graceful. When Shi Dafeng swung his fist at him, Shen Teng spread his palms in front of himself. His moving palms moved so fast that they blurred and became a wall made of flesh. His body recoiled as he absorbed the impact from Shi Dafeng’s Full Arm Boxing technique. With just his palms, he was able to counter Shi Dafeng’s every move.

Shen Teng, who had progressed into a Martial Warrior, was much more agile and vigorous than before.

The two were a good match for each other – they fought vigorously for around twenty minutes in Yan Liqiang’s courtyard and they were having a blast.

Yan Liqiang and Shi Changfeng were watching the battle from the side. Yan Liqiang was shocked beyond words while Shi Changfeng’s eyes were filled with extraordinary splendor.

Of course with Yan Liqiang’s capability now, he was able to pinpoint many mistakes and openings in the battle between the two Martial Warriors. However, what surprised Yan Liqiang was not the battle between Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng, but how quickly the Five Animal Frolics technique allowed them to progress into Martial Warriors.

Previously, Yan Liqiang had a feeling that the Five Animal Frolics would offer great help to ordinary people in progressing to Martial Warriors. That was his reason for imparting the Five Animal Frolics technique to Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng. He initially thought that with the aid of the Five Animal Frolics and their capabilities, it would be possible for the both of them to progress into Martial Warriors next year. Yet he had not expected that by cultivating the Five Animal Frolics technique for less than half a year, both Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng would pass the Stretching Tendon and Extending Bone stage, as well as the Establishing Dantian stage, and directly progress into Martial Warriors.

Ever since Shi Dafeng cultivated the Five Animal Frolics technique, he could only describe his feelings with one word – great! It was especially so when he was trying to pass the Stretching Tendon and Extending Bone stage. By repeating the Five Animal Frolics technique a few times a day, basically all the joints and tendons would be stretched. With an excellent workout in addition to the corresponding basic cultivation technique, it was as if one had God’s help. Compared to before, it was like heaven and earth. Everything was going very well. Even they couldn’t believe that they would progress into Martial Warriors within this year. All this was thanks to the Five Animal Frolics technique which Yan Liqiang had imparted to them.

Shen Teng also mentioned that ever since he cultivated the Five Animal Frolics technique, he noticed something unique in every frolic. The Tiger Frolic raised his explosive power, while the Crane Frolic improved his pace, thus raising his agility. The Bear Frolic increased his stamina, the Deer Frolic sharpened his vision and hearing, while the Monkey Frolic filled him with blood and qi, thus making him feel more energetic. After he started cultivating the Five Animal Frolics technique, he felt the tremendous improvement in his physical condition. Hence, there were no challenges in passing the Stretching Tendon and Extending Bone stage, and he even found it unbelievable too.

Twenty minutes into the fight, Shi Dafeng’s face was flushed as he forced Shen Teng backward with another move. After receiving another kick from Shen Teng, he stopped and laughed heartily, “Haha, I feel great! I’ve never had such an enjoyable fight in my life...!”

Seeing that Shi Dafeng had stopped, Shen Teng naturally stopped too. Even Shen Teng who was always reserved couldn’t help but express excitement on his face. He looked at his hands and smiled, “After progressing into a Martial Warrior, my hands indeed move differently now. This really feels very rewarding. The things that I’ve always felt impossible to do before have become very easy now!”

“Of course. Otherwise, why would progressing into a Martial Warrior be such a big deal?” Shi Dafeng winked to Shen Teng.

“Liqiang, is this the effect of the Five Animal Frolics technique that you’ve been talking about?” Shi Changfeng turned around and looked at Yan Liqiang, “I think both of them have only cultivated the technique for less than half a year. I initially determined that it would take them two years to progress into Martial Warriors, which they would be leaving the martial arts academy by that time!”

“Well, I didn’t expect for the Five Animal Frolics technique to work so well on them!” Yan Liqiang rubbed his face and was a little reserved with his words. “Both of them are among the top three participants of the Qinghe’s Martial Arts County Trial, so their capability is above average. With the extra effort they put in at the martial arts academy, it is almost certain that they will progress into Martial Warriors. Perhaps it’s just a coincidence that they progressed into Martial Warriors a few days earlier!”

“How do you both find the Five Animal Frolics technique?” Shi Changfeng asked Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng.

Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng exchanged glances with each other. Shen Teng drew in a deep breath, then spoke with a serious expression, “I feel like this Five Animal Frolics technique helps a lot in progressing into a Martial Warrior. Previously, I wouldn’t have thought that I could progress into a Martial Warrior so quickly. To be honest, my family searched for a bunch of ways and means for me to progress into a Martial Warrior, and we spent a lot of money. I’ve learned a few methods and I even ate a lot of medicinal pills, but none of them were as effective as the Five Animal Frolics technique. In just less than six months of cultivating the technique, the effect is almost instant – you can immediately feel it in your body! The Five Animal Frolics technique is indeed the ultimate secret method to those who have not progressed into Martial Warriors yet. It is a precious method that’s worth a million gold!”

“That’s right, that’s exactly how it is!” Shi Dafeng also nodded. “Ever since I started cultivating the Five Animal Frolics technique, I felt that whatever I cultivated before became smoother and easier. My father tossed me a lot of methods previously, and we even went abroad to visit some famous master, but none of them could compare to the Five Animal Frolics technique that Liqiang taught us. My feeling is the same as Shen Teng’s, I feel as though the Five Animal Frolics is there for those who have not progressed into Martial Warriors; the effect is extremely powerful. Hehe, Liqiang told us not to question the source of this technique and I think this technique is also not known in the Great Han Empire. Shen Teng and I are guessing that this technique might be taught by the deities through Liqiang’s dream. Otherwise, how else could it be so powerful?”

After hearing the both of them, Shi Changfeng turned around to stare with a very serious expression that Yan Liqiang had never seen before, “Besides Dafeng and Shen Teng, who else did you teach the Five Animal Frolics technique to?”

“Just Hu Haihe!”

“Hu Haihe’s capability is just slightly above average. If the Five Animal Frolics technique is also effective on Hu Haihe, then this is absolutely remarkable!”

“The realm that the Five Animal Frolics technique can help reach is not considered high. This technique cannot be considered a very powerful technique, right?”

“Liqiang, do you know how valuable is a technique that can allow an ordinary person to progress into a Martial Warrior? I have never heard of anyone with such a technique in the entire Great Han Empire, not even among the four major sects. If this technique is really effective to the regular person with average capabilities, then it is definitely priceless. Do you know what it means to have a technique that can let a person progress into a Martial Warrior?” Shi Chanfeng firmly placed his hands on Yan Liqiang’s shoulders and Yan Liqiang could feel his hands were slightly trembling due to excitement. “This means everything, do you understand? Ultimate techniques may create top-notch experts, but a country’s strength is determined by the number of Martial Warriors!”

Yan Liqiang wanted to say something, but was interrupted by a red light coming from a barrack nearby.

Yan Liqiang was all too familiar with that flash of red light – that was the Dharmic projection after passing the Horse Stance stage. Sure enough, the silhouette of a majestic horse could be seen amidst the red light and a loud clamor was heard outside.

A few minutes later, there was news about Hu Haihe passing the Horse Stance stage...

Everyone in the courtyard was stunned by the news. Shi Changfeng and the others gulped, then looked at Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang was also in shock as he did not expect Hu Haihe to so coincidentally pass the Horse Stance stage just when they were talking about the Five Animal Frolics technique here...

Shi Changfeng immediately turned to Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng. “From this moment on, Dafeng and Shen Teng, both of you must keep the secret of the Five Animal Frolics technique. Do not show it to anyone. Don’t let your family know that you have progressed into a Martial Warrior for now!”

Chapter 498: Trouble Comes Knocking

It was daytime when Hu Haihe passed the Horse Stance stage. Since he was in the archery academy’s living quarters, many people saw the Dharmic Projection that appeared when he advanced. It caused a small commotion in the archery academy since the majority of the students had yet to pass the stage and they were all envious at the sight of someone passing the stage.

For people who hadn’t progressed into a Martial Warrior yet, the Horse Stance stage was the first checkpoint in their cultivation journey. As soon as they passed this stage, they would immediately widen the gap between them and their peers in terms of stamina, speed and endurance, and rise above them. Subsequently, progressing into a Martial Warrior would no longer be a far-fetched dream.

For the next two days, morale was high in the archery academy. Students were seen practicing the Horse Stance everywhere in between their trainings or during breaks – on the training field, living quarters, or archery forest...

Of course, the Five Animal Frolics technique had to be kept secret from outsiders. Yan Liqiang didn’t want too many people to notice this secret technique for now and draw unwanted attention. Internally, after Hu Haihe verified the power of the Five Animal Frolics technique, Yan Liqiang secretly choose another two hundred people to pass the technique down to.

The two hundred people included Zhou Yong, Chang Kuan, and the others who participated in ambushing the Transportation Office’s cavalry. A few dozen archery academy students were also included as they had outstanding performances, proving themselves to be loyal and reliable.

It went without saying that there was no reason to doubt the loyalty of Zhou Yong, Chang Kuan, and the others. These people were comrades who had experienced deadly battles with Yan Liqiang. Most of them were disciples from the Hui Clan Gathering. As the descendants of the Qiyun Protectorate, these people were Yan Liqiang’s die-hard fans.

In addition to the Psychic Serpent in Yan Liqiang’s head, he could completely grasp a person’s loyalty and character by just summoning them over for a little conversation and some questions.

The real bond formed between a master and apprentice after imparting the Five Animal Frolics technique made Yan Liqiang and these people grow closer to each other. The team cohesion in archery academy was once again strengthened.

In just the blink of an eye, the tenth lunar month was over. When the eleventh lunar month arrived, the first batch of students finally completed the three-month formation training. With renewed vigor and enthusiasm, they looked forward to their next lesson...

Archery was, of course, part of the lessons in an archery academy. Yan Liqiang would personally be in charge of teaching this.

Apart from archery, the second lesson everyone needed to learn was horsemanship, which included charioteering. Yan Liqiang found a few veterans from the Gan Province army to be in charge of this lesson.

Aside from archery and horsemanship, there were two other types of lessons. One was cultural, with Shi Changfeng in charge. The contents of the lesson included reading, writing, literature, history, the art of war, and case studies on wars. These were all Shi Changfeng’s forte.

The second was practical class. The practical lessons were more comprehensive and they were conducted through more interesting methods. This class was Yan Liqiang’s innovation which emphasized hands-on experiences, as well as expanding knowledge and student’s abilities. The main concept behind the lessons was that the classes were not just limited to the teachers in the archery academy – instead, any professionals in the various industries could lead the lessons.

The practical class was basically a combination of basic general education and hands-on lessons. This was offered because Yan Liqiang realized the Great Han Empire or even the Silver Continent seemed to lack general education. To most people, they only seemed to have a choice between two careers. One was to become a martial practitioner. Anyone who succeeded on this path would naturally be considered a winner in life as they would have more options in life. 99 percent of those who failed on this path would choose to learn a craft and live out their lives. Most of these people had extremely limited skills and knowledge. Even a prefectural governor like Wang Jianbei didn’t know what general education meant.

The archery academy was a place Yan Liqiang used to nurture and discover talents. To Yan Liqiang, the so-called talents were not limited to only fighting capabilities. Not only could the practical class enrich the students’ knowledge, but it could also cultivate their interest and bring out different strengths. After all, general education was also the basic foundation of an outstanding talented individual.

Yan Liqiang had picked Liuhe Town to conduct the archery academy’s first practical class. Under Yan Liqiang’s orders, the one thousand among the three thousand students in the archery academy would be sent to Liuhe Town’s big construction site every day to assist in building the defense wall and buildings, leveling the land, chiseling stones, and digging ditches.

Yan Liqiang also requested all students in archery academy to be apprenticed to the artisans in Liuhe Town, so they could pick up some house-building and defense wall-building techniques as they toiled away. For the sake of making the students take the practical classes more seriously, Yan Liqiang set an example on the first day. He personally brought the students to Liuhe Town, picked up a hammer and shovel, then jumped right into a ditch full of mud and started shoveling in the ditch even though he had to make himself look like a muddy monkey in the process...

His actions stunned everyone. Following his lead, the archery academy’s students put their hearts into the new practical class with great enthusiasm.

With help from the archery academy’s students, the construction in Liuhe Town immediately sped up.

Every afternoon, when the students lined up and sang in their neat uniforms lined up while jogging and appeared in Liuhe Town, the residents would gather on both sides of town. They’d look at those energetic young men with admiration while singing praises at them. The children about seven or eight years old in town in particular watched those students with great admiration. Every single one of them was shouting about wanting to join the big brothers...

Among the groups that would come to Liuhe Town every day, many were from Liuhe Town. These people never expected they would appear in front of their fellow villagers like this.

“Do you see that? That’s my kid! I didn’t expect him to change this much after a few months in the archery academy. He’s so tan and strong now. As his father, I almost couldn’t recognize him...!”

“Look at that big boy! Isn’t he the son of Tofu Liu from Hekou Town? I didn’t expect him to join the archery academy too...”

“They’ve grown, they’ve really grown! You can tell the spirit of the team is unusual just by looking...!”

“Of course! The future of our Liuhe Town will depend on these young men...!”

“Big brother, big brother, you look so cool...!”

Listening to the praises from the local folks on both sides of the road while looking at those proud smiles on familiar and friendly faces, a strange warmth filled the hearts of those young men.

What they didn’t know was that this was Yan Liqiang’s real training for them.

...

In the afternoon on the 16th day of the eleventh lunar month, two unfamiliar men with longswords hanging on their waists appeared in Liuhe Town. Among the crowds along the streets, they crossed their arms while they watched the groups of students from the archery academy energetically jog into town. They then quickly went over to a few construction sites and deftly got to work without any orders...

The Yan Blades were well-known in town, so strangers often visited Liuhe Town to purchase weapons from the Yan Clan’s store. Therefore, the arrival of those two men didn’t really bother the residents of Liuhe Town.

“Damn, the commotion they made while running over here startled me just now! I thought they were the elite troops stationed in the Gan Province army since their footsteps were so synchronized and the ground was shaking. Turned out to be just a bunch of brats going to do some dirty job!” The shorter of the two unfamiliar men sneered, then lifted his hand with a disdainful smile on his face. “Establishing an archery academy to trick these brats into working in a ditch... I see that Yan Liqiang is nothing but an unscrupulous man!”

“He is probably a man of a certain caliber. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to make a name for himself!” The slightly taller of the two, sporting a mustache above his lips, nodded slightly while squinting at a group of students swinging their hammers on a construction site nearby.

“It only takes some luck, some cunningness, and some petty tricks to please others. A monkey will proclaim itself a king if there are no tigers in the woods. Gan Province doesn’t even have one decent sect – how is it possible that there’ll be anyone impressive from there? Yan Liqiang only started making his mark after meeting Sun Bingchen. He had his backing and lucked out. This time, we’re going to skin him and use his skin as our socks. We’ll show these country bumpkins in Gan Province...!”

“Let’s find something to eat first, then we’ll go to the Yan Residence!”

“Alright, we might as well since we’re here. I heard the Yan Clan’s blacksmith store is very easy to find. We’ll have lunch first, then we’ll head over there. It’s not like he can run anywhere...”

After the two men with swords walked away, a chubby lady behind them took a good look at their silhouettes before she hurriedly ran off in another direction...

Chapter 499: Uninvited Guests

The two unexpected guests didn’t walk too far. After traveling for only two minutes along the main road in town, they soon spotted a four-story restaurant named Supreme Cuisine. It looked pretty grand and seemed to be the best restaurant in town. A waiter was welcoming the patrons at the entrance with all smiles. Both men exchanged looks.

“Let’s go in!” The taller man spoke up.

The shorter man swept his glance across the restaurant in a picky manner, then nodded. “Alright, let’s go in! Supreme Cuisine... Didn’t expect the restaurants to have such impressive names in a small place like this!”

“This way inside, dear patrons!” The waiter eagerly and politely welcomed the two men at the entrance. “Would you prefer an open seat, or a quiet private room?”

“Private room it is!”

“One private room on the second floor for two patrons...!” The waiter announced loudly as though he was singing. Another waiter immediately came out to lead both men into a private room by the window on the second floor.

Since it was slightly past lunch hour, there weren’t many other patrons in the restaurant. Only two tables on the spacious second floor were occupied and they were about done with their meals.

“What would you like to order? The Ten-Fresh-Ingredients Roasted Lamb and Saucy Beef Feast are our signatures. We serve fine wine here too, like a decade old wine aged by the Shi Clan of Pingxi Prefecture. It’s pure, without even a drop of water mixed in. Regular patrons will be able to tell with just a taste!”

“Just serve us whatever you have. A restaurant in a small place like this can barely fill a tummy. There’s nothing to expect other than hygienic food. I’ve traveled extensively and eaten many cuisines. You have probably never seen those types of food yourself, let alone having the chefs in your tiny restaurant serve them!” The shorter man rolled his eyes and continued speaking arrogantly, “Skip the wine. Serve the food quickly. I’m in a hurry.”

The waiter in the restaurant seemed like he was used to seeing all kinds of patrons, and didn’t bicker over it. Despite the man’s words, he maintained the smile on his face. “Alright, please wait for a moment. I shall inform the kitchen to serve a few nice dishes for you both!”

“Excuse me, how do we get to the Yan Residence?” The slightly taller man spoke up.

“Huh? Are you interested in buying weapons? The Yan Blades are sold right in front of this street. They are of good quality at affordable prices!”

“We wish to have some business discussions with the Yan Clan!”

“Ah, I see. When you are done with your meal, you may travel eastward along the road outside this restaurant until you reach a crossroad. From there, you will be able to spot a tall chimney. The Yan Clan’s blacksmith workshop is right next to that chimney!” The waiter explained passionately.

“Good. Oh right, this restaurant has a decent name. Is the owner from this town as well?”

“Haha, you have a good taste, dear patron. This restaurant was established by the Yan Clan. The owners are Old Master Yan and Young Lord Yan. It was also named by Lord Yan, so of course it’s a good name. The Yan Clan owns not only this restaurant but half of the stores in Liuhe Town!” The waiter said proudly.

The two uninvited guests looked at each other and exchanged glances.

“Alright, quickly serve us our meals...” The taller man ordered.

“Yes...”

After seeing the waiter go downstairs, the taller man whispered, “Martial Senior Brother, the Yan Clan seems to own nearly the entire Liuhe Town. They have a decent influence in Pingxi Prefecture and fits the description of a local tyrant. We should be careful to avoid failing this miserably simple task!”

“Ah, yes. We can’t make a fool out of ourselves in front of that brat after coming all the way here...”

The six sumptuous dishes and a soup were very quickly served. The waiter left after serving the dishes. The two uninvited guests exchanged looks with each other, then quickly retrieved a silver needle from their sleeves. They didn’t eat until all the dishes were tested for poison.

When both men were still eating, the other patrons were already done and left after paying their bills. In the end, only two of them were left on the second floor. When they were halfway through their meal...

Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump! A series of footsteps came from the stairs. A bearded law enforcer with a saber hanging from his waist came upstairs with his seven other subordinates dressed in black, holding chains, iron rulers, and batons. The bearded law enforcer scanned around, then walked to the two uninvited guests. By the time he reached the two men, his subordinates had formed semicircle around them to block any escape routes.

“You two. What are your names? Where did you come from? What is your purpose in coming to Liuhe Town?” The law enforcer shot three consecutive questions at them as soon as he opened his mouth.

The two men seated at the table looked at each other.

“We traveled to Pingxi City for a visit. Is that wrong?” The taller man calmly spoke up.

“Wrong or not, we’ll take this to the law enforcement office. Not long ago, a house in Liuhe Town was broken into. Someone saw two thieves. One tall and one short, and they happen to look like the two of you. Come along with us for verification!” The law enforcer spoke and took a step closer. The other bailiffs took a step forward too.

CRASH...! The shorter man moved first and sent the table in front of him flying at the law enforcer, along with the plates and bowls on it.

“How dare you...!” The law enforcer unsheathed his saber furiously, and split the table that was flying toward him cleanly into two. His other subordinates also brandished their weapons at the two men.

A sword gleam flashed, and the bailiffs felt an impact to the web between their thumbs and index fingers. Their weapons were instantly knocked out of their grasp while they involuntarily fell backward. The bearded law enforcer crashed noisily into a table on the side loudly, instantly smashing it into pieces...

The two uninvited guests directly jumped out of the window on the second floor wordlessly.

However, a few bailiffs were lying in ambush outside the restaurant. When both men were still in mid-air, the few hidden bailiffs outside threw a large net toward them.

Any average person, or even a Martial Warrior or Supreme Warrior, would probably fall right into an ambush like this...

The bailiffs lying in wait outside had clearly underestimated the cultivation of the two men that jumped down from upstairs.

The shorter man snorted when he saw the large net being thrown at them. He picked the roof tile with his sword, then hit them hard. The tiles instantly shattered into many pieces and the fragments flew toward the large net and the bailiffs who cast it.

The bailiffs fell onto the ground in pain. The net was carried away by the tile fragments.

As soon as both men landed on the ground, they bounced up like rubber balls and then landed on the roof of another house at the side...

“Thieves, thieves! Someone, catch the thieves! They got onto the roof...!” The waiter who was greeting the patrons at the entrance earlier shouted, and the whole street immediately erupted.

“Where are the thieves? Where are the thieves...?!”

The chef in the restaurant immediately came rushing out with a knife. The butchers along the street rushed out with their cleavers too. The children on the street picked up stones and started hurling them. The vegetable sellers down the road also started throwing vegetable stalks at them. Even the old men playing chess along the street rushed at the two men with their canes.

The countenance of the two uninvited guests immediately contorted at the sight. Both of them ran across the roofs and quickly made their way out of Liuhe Town without delay. Countless people were chasing after them down the street as they hurled whatever they had in their hands at them...

Chapter 500: The Soaring Heaven Sect Appears

“Make sure your arms and shoulders are in a straight line. Your waist, arms, and legs are bows so you need to unite the three bows of your body. Only with the power coming from your legs, waist, and arms, will you be able to draw your bow with enough power to send arrows flying over long distances with high accuracy. These are the basics of archery...”

At the archery range, Yan Liqiang was holding a white ashwood stick like he was the reincarnation of a devil coach. He was speaking loudly while guiding the students who were persevering with their cultivation. He walked around the rows of students and tapped whoever had a problem with the stick.

Currently, there were nearly a thousand students in the archery range. Half of them were standing with two lumps of iron in both hands and two bricks on their shoulders. They were sweating profusely, trying to maintain the stance of drawing a bow as they were not allowed to set the iron in their hands down or let the bricks on their shoulders fall.

The students in the archery academy had to train like this for at least an hour daily. During such training, if their body failed to hold the position or if their hands shook, the bricks would fall off their shoulders. In order to keep the bricks on their shoulders, everyone clenched their jaw and persisted. Most people had swollen arms after a day of training, especially when they were just getting started. By the next day, many were whining because they couldn’t even lift their arms.

Half a month into the training, the complaints gradually decreased. Everyone started training as hard as they could because there was a ‘reward’ waiting for them at the end. Those who could keep at it for an hour without letting the bricks fall off their shoulders would be allowed to practice shooting three arrows with a real bow at the archery range every day. For every additional fifteen minutes they could persist, they would be allowed to shoot three more arrows. This meant if they could persist for another half-hour, they would be allowed to shoot six more arrows.

Those who couldn’t make it past this level didn’t have the rights to even touch a bow. The stronger ones who made it past this level would be given more opportunities to train. When the students were doing formation training, the difference in strength wasn’t too obvious. Everyone in their group seemed the same. However, at this point in time, students with greater strength and stamina could complete an hour of such training every day without breaking a sweat. They then received Yan Liqiang’s guidance when they practiced shooting more than ten rounds in the archery range.

Those who didn’t make it past the level were still lifting the iron at the rear as they continued their basic training. Those who passed the level would ceremoniously walk out of their group the next morning and loudly announce yesterday’s results under everyone’s envious gazes in the archery range. They would then get to indulge in the joy of drawing a bow based on their results from the previous day.

By now, the strength of every student in the archery academy would be revealed by just looking at how many rounds they could fire every morning. There were about a hundred out of three thousand students who could persist in the training for more than two hours, and ten could persist for more than four hours. There were also two hundred that could make it past the basic stage. These figures would increase every day.

Each young man was eager and self-motivated, especially after watching the people around them begin to reveal their talents and exhibit their strength in front of a few thousand people. Those who had yet to pass the level would naturally train with all their might. Even those who met the basic requirements by holding the posture for an hour wanted to catch up with those who were stronger than them and hence could fire more arrows than them every day.

Yan Liqiang walked among the groups of students and swept his glance across their sweaty faces. In the eleventh lunar month, it was already winter in Gan Province. The temperature had plunged and cold winds were howling across the archery range. Even so, the student’s clothes were drenched by their own sweat. Beads of sweat rolled down their foreheads, and some even got into their eyes – making them red and irritating them. However, no one tried to rub their eyes. Everyone persisted as any movement would cause the bricks on their shoulders to fall.

Yan Liqiang remembered the name behind every face. He had even familiarized himself with most of the faces. He also secretly took note of those that excelled over these past few months. Not only did Yan Liqiang remember their names, but he was also well informed of their strengths, capabilities, family backgrounds, and friends. It was said that Confucius had three thousand disciples, seventy-two out of which were excellent. Likewise, there was also a great number of talents among the first batch of three thousand students in the archery academy, and quite a few of them had started showing what they were capable of.

“Remember, the hardship and exhaustion you endured and the sweat you shed every day are the investments of your amazing and glorious future. They are the capital that you’ll need to gain a foothold in this world. Whether or not you can establish yourself in this world will depend on how much hardship and exhaustion you can endure today!” Yan Liqiang’s voice reverberated throughout the archery range. His inspirational words trickled into the youngsters’ hearts like warm chicken soup for the soul. It shook the young men who rarely had the opportunity to hear such inspirational words to their very core.

“Do not lament that God is unfair. After all, ‘Heaven rewards the diligent.’ Your sweat and perseverance will make up the gap between you and the nobles of those aristocratic clans...”

As soon as Yan Liqiang finished speaking, a student on guard duty hurried to the archery range with one of the stewards from Yan Residence. He pointed in Yan Liqiang direction, and the steward jogged swiftly toward Yan Liqiang.

When a steward from Yan Residence came to the archery academy, it was usually when something had happened at home. Hence, Yan Liqiang’s heart raced at his arrival. He also quickly make his way through the training students and toward the steward.

“Did something happen back at home?”

The steward quickly explained about what happened in Liuhe Town. “The Old Master knows about this already and specially ordered me to inform you, Young Lord!”

“Oh?” Yan Liqiang thought for a moment. “Do you know who those two people are?”

The steward shook his head. “No one has seen either of them before. They have very high cultivation realms. Judging from their accents, they don’t seem like they are from Gan Province either. The people in town didn’t manage to stop them and they’ve escaped from here!”

“Any casualties among the law enforcement officers or people in town?”

“Only a few bailiffs sustained some minor flesh wounds!”

Yan Liqiang instantly heaved a sigh of relief. “Alright. Noted, you are dismissed. Make sure the guards at home will be more attentive for the next two days. I will look out for myself!”

“Yes!” The steward bowed to Yan Liqiang, then left.

As soon as the steward left, Shi Changfeng came to Yan Liqiang’s side. “The two men didn’t kill anyone under such circumstances, but chose to escape instead. Therefore, we can conclude that they’re definitely not serial killers like King Cobra. They are probably people with certain statuses in the country. If they killed someone and the bureaucracy issued an arrest order, it would cause a great trouble. People of certain status in the world would avoid killing anyone or get into a conflict with officials and the masses unless it was a last resort!”

“So, Master Shi knows about this too!”

“I also just received the news from a student in Liuhe Town and was going to inform you about it! Those two men were probably here for you, but it didn’t seem like they were here to get revenge...”

Yan Liqiang looked at the sky. A smile appeared on his face as he spoke indifferently, “Well, if those two men are alright, then I guess I’ll be seeing them again soon!”

“What about the archery academy...?”

“Those two are probably experts. The students won’t be able to stop them, so there’s no point in stepping up the defense here. Just carry on as usual!”

Shi Changfeng nodded.

...

...

An hour before midnight in Yan Liqiang’s small courtyard...

The study room had been brightly lit. Yan Liqiang was seated at a study desk, immersed in writing something. All of a sudden, his ears twitched. With a small smile, he gently set his brush down, got up, and left the room. Standing at the entrance of his study, he looked at the swaying bamboo shadows outside and mumbled to himself. “The wind is cold outside. Why not show yourselves since both of you are here already?”

“I see, you are quite skilled!” A cold snort was heard before the shadows outside moved. The two uninvited guests who appeared in Liuhe Town during the day revealed themselves in the garden outside Yan Liqiang’s study room. They were both looking at Yan Liqiang coldly.

“How should I address both of you?”

“Zong Yi and He Tianhong from the Soaring Heaven Sect!” The shorter man replied coldly...

Chapter 501: Battle Invitation

Members of the Soaring Heaven Sect? Yan Liqiang knew some things were inevitable. Although the incident where he killed Shi Zhiyao wasn’t publicly known, it wasn’t all that strange for Shi Zhiyao’s sect to find out something had happened to him, given the fact that Yan Liqiang actually released the remaining cockroaches from the Transportation Office. Hence, it wasn’t surprising for the Soaring Heaven Sect to finally come knocking on his door.

“Ah, people from the Soaring Heaven Sect. It’s an honor to meet both of you at last!” Shi Changfeng’s voice came from the garden outside Yan Liqiang’s study room. Dressed in white garments with a sword hanging on his waist, he came out from the shadows through the garden’s side door. “What business do you have here in my archery academy?”

Chapter 502: Nowhere to Flee

“Um... can you not go to that duel?” Yan Dechang finally blurted out the question that he’d been holding back all day on the dining table. He looked at Yan Liqiang worriedly. No father in this world would be happy to hear that his son was going to duel with a seasoned expert.

It had been three days since Yan Liqiang received the battle invitation from the Soaring Heaven Sect. Even if Yan Liqiang didn’t tell Yan Dechang about this, his father still managed to find out. Not only did Yan Dechang find out about it, but the entire Liuhe Town did too. When Yan Liqiang came back today, he had already heard people talking about it in town. In an era that lacked entertainment, gossip and news spread as fast as the speed of light. Yan Liqiang guessed that everyone in the northwestern region probably knew about it by now.

Chapter 503: The Decisive Battle

The Heavenly Lake was located on Mount Azure Dragon in Lan Province. The mountain was a special place in the northwestern region of the Great Han Empire, a place with many legends. One of the most popular legends was about a grandmaster, Hai Cangyue, who trained in seclusion on Mount Azure Dragon to progress into a Martial Emperor seven hundred years ago.

Ever since Hai Cangyue shook the world by progressing into a Martial Emperor, Mount Azure Dragon became the training grounds for countless experts and hermits. After gaining its fame, the Heavenly Lake on the mountain also gradually became well-known due to the frequent duels between the experts.

In the eleventh lunar month in the 14th year of the Yuanping reign, Elder Cai Yingwu from the Soaring Heaven Sect, also known as the best archer in Yun Province, challenged Yan Liqiang to a duel at Lan Province’s Heavenly Lake on the first day of the first lunar month in the 15th year of the Yuanping reign. News about the archery duel spread like wildfire through the northwestern region. One was a seasoned expert from Yun Province, while the other was a prodigy who had risen to prominence in the Imperial Capital. The moment word about this duel got out, it immediately caused a huge stir.

The reason for this duel, as explained by the Soaring Heaven Sect, was that their disciple was killed by Yan Liqiang. Therefore, the sect wished to seek retribution. Since Yan Liqiang never offered up any retorts in regards to this, the public took the explanation provided by the Soaring Heaven Sect as a fact. As for the cause of hostility between the two parties, they only knew from rumors that it had something to do with the Northwestern Transportation Office and Yan Liqiang’s manufacturing bureau, but not the details.

For contests like this, the reason wasn’t really that important as the main attraction was still the contest itself.

There was nothing much to say about Cai Yingwu. He was an elder in the Soaring Heaven Sect who was reputed for his archery skills in the northwestern region and idolized by many. Although Cai Yingwu never proclaimed himself to be the best archer in the northwestern region, he was recognized as one by many people in the Soaring Heaven Sect and Yun Province.

Yan Liqiang wasn’t a weak character either. His identity as a mysterious young man who could communicate with deities through his dreams spread rapidly throughout the northwestern region. ‘The Great Han Times’ that he founded in the Imperial Capital took the Great Han Empire by storm and became a trend. His skills in the path of mechanics and the investigation of things were also recognized. These were all rumored to be knowledge imparted to Yan Liqiang by the deities in his dreams.

Although not many had seen his skills in archery, it was undoubtedly excellent for the Emperor to regard it so highly as to consider hiring him as the Crown Prince’s mentor in archery. Furthermore, Yan Liqiang established an archery academy in Gan Province and apprenticed three thousand disciples. This individual was definitely in his prime.

In a world where martial prowess was venerated, a duel between two powerful archers was the same as having two superstars issuing a challenge to each other on the Internet in Yan Liqiang’s previous life. It would inevitably attract a lot of attention. One month after the news got out, people started to gather at the edges of the Heavenly Lake on Lan Province’s Mount Azure Dragon in late lunar twelfth month, looking for good spots to watch the duel. Many even regarded this as a showdown between the best archers in the northwestern regions. Gambling joints were set up in many places so that people could bet on the outcome of the duel.

On the first day of the 15th year of the Yuanping reign, it was snowing heavily in Lan Province. Snow covered every part of the landscape and it was no different on Mount Azure Dragon. A thick layer of ice had formed on top of the Heavenly Lake which was seven or eight square kilometers in surface area.

Tens of thousands of people had gathered on the hills around the once quiet lake. Every spot was taken up by people who traveled all the way here from different prefectures in the northwestern region. All sorts of figures from influential clans, or even from the Gan and Yun Provinces’ Provincial Governor’s Offices, dressed plainly to blend into the crowds. This duel was definitely the biggest one in the recent fifty years.

It was scheduled to specifically take place at quarter to one o’clock in the afternoon, as this was when the Yang energy was at its peak. This was also the reason behind criminal executions taking place at the same time. Legend had it that if someone died at this hour, they wouldn’t turn into an evil spirit due to the intense Yang energy. Although no one said that this was a death duel, people who knew better understood that only one party could be left standing alive just by looking at the time the Soaring Heaven Sect had picked.

It was only a quarter past twelve o’clock when a figure appeared on the hill where the Soaring Heaven Sect was. Under countless gazes, the figure moved conspicuously like a bolt of lighting across the white icy surface. In just a flash, the person reached the center of Heavenly Lake. He stood solemnly against the chilly wind in silence, staring into the distance through his narrowed eyes.

It was a man in his fifties, with eyes as sharp as an eagle on his tanned face, carrying a crimson Horned Python Bow on his back. He was only standing in the middle of the Heavenly Lake, but his imposing aura was surging out.

“Yun Province’s best archer...! He’s Yun Province’s best archer, Cai Yingwu...!”

At that man’s arrival, countless people in the crowds around the Heavenly Lake immediately recognized him and started shouting. The noises around the lake immediately increased in volume and everyone was anxiously watching the center of the lake. Cai Yingwu had arrived, and that meant the duel was about to commence!

Cai Yingwu stood solemnly at the center of the lake. He waited in silence for seven minutes, but Yan Liqiang never appeared. The crowds gathered around the Heavenly Lake started becoming agitated.

Transport Commissioner Jiang Tianhua was standing in the crowd from the Soaring Heaven Sect. He was dressed in plain clothes and he was even wearing a human face mask. Seeing Cai Yingwu standing out there for a while with Yan Liqiang nowhere in sight, he couldn’t help but get anxious. He turned his head to ask the person beside him, “Where’s Yan Liqiang? Don’t tell me he’s not coming!”

Jiang Tianhua came just for the sake of watching Yan Liqiang, the person who upset him, die before his eyes. He had offered a hefty price of five hundred thousand taels of silver to make this duel possible, just to see the Soaring Heaven Sect end Yan Liqiang’s life. As long as Yan Liqiang was alive, he was a thorn in Jiang Tianhua’s side.

The person beside Jiang Tianhua had silvery hair, a big nose, a pair of small eyes, and he was wearing a violet gold ancestor crown. His face would leave a deep impression on anyone who laid eyes on him. The man stood with his hands clasped behind his back, dressed in gorgeous azure silk robes. He was surrounded by a group of people from the Soaring Heaven Sect, including Zong Yi and He Tianhong who delivered the battle invitation to Yan Liqiang more than a month ago. This man was none other than the Soaring Heaven’s Sect Lord, Guo Yifei.

“Rest assured, Transport Commissioner. If Yan Liqiang dares to not show up, then he’s courting death!” An icy smile appeared on Guo Yifei’s face. “I only stood back this time out of respect for the Zhong Clan and Lei Sitong. If he doesn’t appreciate that and chooses to escape, then I’ll have no choice but to take matters into my own hands. The disciples of our sect will not die in vain. Since he dared to lay a finger on our disciples, then he should be ready to pay for the consequences with his own life!”

Jiang Tianhua’s mask kept his expression hidden, but his eyes flickered when he heard Guo Yifei’s words. He leaned his head closer and whispered, “Sect Lord, you should know Yan Liqiang offended the Grand Chancellor and made him extremely upset when he was in the Imperial Capital. The Grand Chancellor arranged a blindfolded contest for him back then and planned to take his life, but he didn’t expect Yan Liqiang to manage to escape from it. Although the Grand Chancellor is in the Imperial Capital now, he’s keeping a close eye on this duel. If the Soaring Heaven Sect can carry this out flawlessly and get the Grand Chancellor’s attention, then the sect will have boundless prospects...”

Guo Yifei’s eyes lit up for a moment, then he nodded. “Rest assured, Transport Commissioner. Even if Yan Liqiang manages to escape today, he won’t be able to escape tomorrow!”

“Glad to hear that!”

As time passed, the atmosphere around the Heavenly Lake grew more and more restless and the crowds started getting noisy.

“Why is Yan Liqiang not here yet? Don’t tell me he’s a coward!”

“Maybe! I heard Yan Liqiang is only a young boy. Can’t blame him for chickening out when his opponent is someone like Cai Yingwu!”

“Damn, that really wasted our trip here! I even bet a hundred taels of silver that Cai Yingwu would be able to win this within three shots...!”

“Did something happen to Yan Liqiang?”

When it was only seven minutes away from quarter to one o’clock, most people thought Yan Liqiang wasn’t going to show up. Disappointment filled their hearts and they were about to start raining curses. Just then, the sounds of iron hooves were heard coming from the mountain pass south of the Heavenly Lake. Yan Liqiang appeared, riding swiftly on Snowstorm Cloud and leading another five hundred students from the archery academy...

The youths rode behind Yan Liqiang in high spirits, carrying a war bow on their backs. As they approached, their majestic singing voices also traveled into the ears of those gathered around the Heavenly Lake.

“When the fiery smoke rises I look at the vast land towards the north,

the roaring of the dragons and neighing of the horses are echoed by the chilling sword,

my heart is as boundless as the water of the yellow river,

who could challenge the power in the past twenty years?

Hatred is driving me toward madness.

Where my wide sword points,

countless brothers with loyal souls buried their bones in unfamiliar lands,

all would die a hundred times to protect the country and the land,

I sigh with the deepest regret, yet I could not find a word to say, only blood and tears fill my eyes.

The horses run toward the south, but the people look toward the north.

Toward the north, the grass are just dry and yellow, with dust flying high.

I am willing to station here and reclaim my land.

The mighty Great Han should be paid tributes and respect...”

Just hearing the song alone stirred the emotions of countless people...

Chapter 504: Reaction

NEIGH...! Reaching the edge of the Heavenly Lake, Snowstorm Cloud reared up and let out a neigh. Before it brought its front hooves down on the ground, Yan Liqiang had soared into the sky off its back. Under everyone’s gaze, he strode in midair like a dragon and leapt more than ten zhang each time. When he landed on the icy surface of the Heavenly Lake, he immediately sprinted toward Cai Yingwu who was standing at the center.

“How skillful...!” The surrounding onlookers immediately cheered. When an expert displayed his skills, his ability was instantly clear. The moment Yan Liqiang arrived, he had stunned many people around the Heavenly Lake with his lightness skill technique. To martial practitioners, anything could be feigned except for cultivation. Putting everything else aside, Yan Liqiang’s lightness skill technique alone was enough to humble the entire northwestern region.

Chapter 505: A Chance

“I guess you came on time. It’ll be a quarter to one o’clock in seven minutes.” Cai Yingwu glanced at Yan Liqiang with his eyes that were devoid of any emotion. The chilly wind carried his icy voice. “I almost thought you chickened out. Had that been the case, I would’ve been extremely disappointed!”

Yan Liqiang’s gaze fell on Cai Yingwu’s tanned face and swept past the crimson Horned Python Bow he carried on his back. He lifted his head up and looked at the sky above as he mumbled to himself. “In another two years and nine months, it’ll be the ninth lunar month in the 17th year of the Yuanping reign. Time really flies...”

Yan Liqiang was very calm right now. Before the duel, all he had been thinking about was the Heavenly Tribulation that would occur in two years and nine months. Although he’d been working hard and making rapid progress, time was still ticking away. It had been a year and seven months since he came to possess knowledge of the Heavenly Tribulation. Looking back at the past year, he seemed to have done many things, yet it also felt like he had achieved nothing.

The fateful day was still approaching, leaving him with less and less time to prepare. For now at least, Yan Liqiang felt that his preparation wasn’t enough yet. There was not a minute to lose, so he had to cut down anyone who stood in his way – and Cai Yingwu was one of them.

“What was that...?” Cai Yingwu frowned slightly because he wasn’t able to clearly hear Yan Liqiang’s mumbling due to the distance between them.

“Nothing!” Yan Liqiang shifted his gaze to Cai Yingwui’s face again. Then, with a very serious expression, he spoke earnestly, “I was saying... it’s not too late for you to surrender. We hold no grudges against each other. Outsiders may not understand the reason for the conflict between the Transportation Office and the manufacturing bureau, but I’m sure you do. Under those circumstances, I had no other choice but to kill Shi Zhiyao. It wasn’t personal – it was more like a war. He risked his life to take my properties away for Jiang Tianhua. Therefore, only one person could be left standing. It hasn’t been easy for both of us to get to where we are today, and I think we should use our skills for better things!”

“HAHAHA...!” Cai Yingwu laughed madly, then threw Yan Liqiang a disdainful look. “Brat, you are only lucky enough to be given the chance to battle me here today. Did you try to talk your way out so you can walk away from this alive? How funny. I’m only here today to seek retribution for my fellow disciple in the Soaring Heaven Sect. Since you took his life away, you’ll have to make it even by leaving yours here today.”

Yan Liqiang looked at Cai Yingwu, then shook his head and smiled. There was pity in his eyes and smile...

“What are you smiling about?” Cai Yingwu asked coldly. He could no longer conceal the murderous intention in his voice.

“In the recent years, you hit a wall in your archery cultivation. Despite trying every possible method, you are still stuck in the Sixth Heavenly Layer. Am I right?” Yan Liqiang asked calmly.

Just a simple question was enough to immediately change Cai Yingwu’s expression. He was now looking at Yan Liqiang savagely...

“You don’t need to wonder how I know about it. I found out when I received the battle invitation from your sect. Although you have attained the Fifth Heavenly Layer long ago, your current cultivation in archery is only at the Sixth Heavenly Layer at most. There’s no way you can progress further!” Yan Liqiang was still looking at the elder from the Soaring Heaven Sect pitifully.

“A real man should pursue fortune and fame through proper ways and not unethical ways. Given your archery cultivation, the battlefield is the best place to earn fortune and fame. Yet you commit yourself to the Soaring Heaven Sect. Although you are known as the best archer of Yun Province, you do not defend your nation and protect its subjects. Therefore, your cultivation is superfluous. The Heavenly Law reduces a surplus to make up for the scarcity. So what’s the point of your skills? This is why there’s no way for you to attain the Seventh Heavenly Layer. If you did, then the Heavenly Law is unjust.

“In the end, every cultivation is all about cultivating your disposition. This is especially true for the art of archery. Arrows naturally travel straight forward after being launched – they will never come back after being shot. You had to arrange a duel like this just for some benefits Jiang Tianhua offered you. You are only being a b*tch, but you don’t want to admit that you are one. With a disposition as twisted as yours, it’s impossible for you to progress further in the art of archery. The Sixth Heavenly Layer is already the limit for you! Although you are an elder from the Soaring Heaven Sect and are recognized as the best archer in Yun Province, you are nothing but a pitiful bug that is lucky enough to make it big in archery...!”

The expression on Cai Yingwu’s face turned completely savage. He glared at Yan Liqiang with his reddened eyes and took out his Horned Python Bow while smiling through his gritted teeth. “Cut the nonsense, young one. Don’t think you can sway me with some false rumors you heard elsewhere. I must kill you here today on the Heavenly Lake. Whatever you say won’t work. Let’s see how many arrows you can withstand from my bow today. Wield your bow, everyone is watching now. I don’t want people accusing me for bullying the weak in case I kill you with just a single arrow before you even take your bow out...”

Yan Liqiang smiled, then reached behind him to take the huge bow bag in his hands. It was much bigger than the ones Yan Liqiang had used before. The top of the bag was nearly two feet above Yan Liqiang’s head, and the bottom of the bag reached below his waist.

Yan Liqiang shook the huge bow bag and retrieved his Horned Python Bow.

It was a huge, black Horned Python Bow. The black spiral bow frame was sleek, giving off a mysterious yet simple aura. There were also golden spiral patterns on the bow frame. Compared to the one Cai Yingwu was holding, the bow frame of Yan Liqiang’s Horned Python bow was a size bigger.

“IMPOSSIBLE...!” The moment Yan Liqiang took out his Horned Python Bow, Cai Yingwu screeched as his facial expression contorted. As an archery expert, he had an extraordinary ability to distinguish Horned Python Bows. The power of a Horned Python Bow could be determined by just looking at the pattern on the bow frame. As soon as Cai Yingwu laid eyes on Yan Liqiang’s bow, he immediately arrived at a conclusion that seemed outrageous to him. The bow his opponent held was actually a 100-picul powerful bow, and he had never seen anyone who could draw a 100-picul powerful bow in his entire life before. Since this was a rare 100-picul powerful bow, Cai Yingwu couldn’t help but screech at the sight of it.

Yan Liqiang looked at Cai Yingwu, then spoke calmly. “I’m giving you a final chance. Surrender now and announce to everyone that you’ll be leaving the Soaring Heaven Sect! I’m sparing you because I know it hasn’t been easy for you to attain your current archery cultivation!”

“Impossible, Impossible! There’s no way you can draw a 100-picul bow...!” Cai Yingwu stared at the Horned Python Bow in disbelief for a moment, then looked into Yan Liqiang’s eyes. “You must be trying to trick me! Although powerful bows are rare, it’s not like they are non-existent! You must have requested His Majesty to send one to you so that you could intimidate and con me, isn’t that right...?!”

“Why don’t you try...?” Yan Liqiang laughed. “As an archery expert, you should know what the 100-picul bow in my hands means. You have a chance to draw your bow. You can see for yourself if I’m just intimidating you and you’ll be able to kill me with one shot, or you will be the one who will be killed by me...”

To archery experts, the scary thing about a 100-picul powerful bow was the force it could unleash. If a person could fully draw a 100-picul bow and aim accurately at his target, he would be able to unleash a terrifying amount of power with it, even if he had only attained the First Heavenly Layer in the art of archery. The powerful bow had a certain firing power and could release arrows at a certain speed. It was enough to ignore the differences between cultivation realms. Every living being was as fragile as a sheet of paper before such power and speed.

Looking at Yan Liqiang’s calm face and the Horned Python Bow he was holding, cold sweat unknowingly broke out on Cai Yingwu’s back...

...

“What the heck? Why aren’t they fighting yet? What are they talking about...?” The audience around the lake anticipating the duel naturally couldn’t hear the conversation between the two due to the distance. All they saw was both parties standing still after taking out their bows. No one knew what they were doing and they were all baffled...

Chapter 506: Steadfast Execution

Cai Yingwu’s body had already become tight to the point where he could be an iron plate. His eyes were following Yan Liqiang’s movements while countless thoughts took form inside his head. At first, he was quite certain that he would win this duel. But now, he didn’t expect Yan Liqiang’s performance to exceed his expectations right from the beginning...

That was a 100-picul bow that no one throughout the entire northwest region could even draw. He was just a young man, so it would be impossible for him to pull the string of such a mighty bow! Regardless of whether it was in the Imperial Capital or Gan Province, Cai Yingwu had never heard that Yan Liqiang was capable of using such a strong bow before. If Yan Liqiang did have this sort of capability, he wouldn’t have had to hastily escape to Gan Province from the Imperial Capital from the start...

Chapter 507: The Strong Looms

The proceedings for the match had gone too quick. If it were to be measured from the first arrow that Cai Yingwu launched, then it would only take ten seconds to determine the final outcome of the entire fight. It took less than a second for Yan Liqiang to draw his bow and begin his shot, which evidently showed how terrifying this archery duel could be. This type of high-level fight was like two snipers facing against each other in a duel. The so-called moment of ‘winning and losing’ could only be decided from the point when both parties pulled the trigger.

Aside from Yan Liqiang, almost no one from the spectating crowd in the distance could see the entire process of Yan Liqiang’s display of skills. Even those with the sharpest eyesight could only see that both Yan Liqiang and Cai Yingwu had pulled their bows roughly at the same time. Amidst the loud explosion, Cai Yingwu’s upper body burst into blood splatters and splashed everywhere.

Chapter 508: Rich and Spontaneous

Guo Yifei’s voice rumbled through the air as soon as he opened his mouth, causing the crowd of thousand spectators gathered around the Heavenly Lake to go wild within a moment.

So what? Now that the Elder has been killed, is the Sect Lord going to fight him in person? That’s too shameless. The duel between Yan Liqiang and Cai Yingwu was fair. What is the point of you going for him? To create a gang fight? This is really shameless.

Aside from the muted crowd from the Soaring Heaven Sect, Guo Yifei could hear the hisses and outraged curses from the people surrounding him. He was given countless funny looks, yet despite this, Guo Yifei remained indifferent. Before he decided to speak, he did consider the matter at hand. In the end, however, Guo Yifei realized that if he were to allow Yan Liqiang to leave unharmed, the chances of eliminating him would gradually diminish by the day. The youth excels at fists, and with a person of boundless potential such as Yan Liqiang, it would certainly be daunting as Yan Liqiang could restrain him at any given moment. Since he already had his revenge, he could take this opportunity to eliminate his opponent at the Heavenly Lake while he was still able to, thus removing a great deal of trouble forever.

A sneer of murderous intent appeared on Gui Yifei’s face as he completely ignored the surrounding uproar and censure. These condemnations were nothing. Only those who live will be the powerful ones while those who die will quickly be forgotten regardless of how famous they were or what sort of things they did in the past. Only those who survive would be able to attain the world.

The expression on the bustling crowd from the archery academy changed when they heard the words coming from Guo Yifei’s mouth.

“Everyone, mount your steeds and protect the headmaster...” Under Shi Changfeng’s command, five hundred men quickly shifted and mounted their rhinodrake steeds.

“F*ck! These pieces of trash from the Soaring Heaven Sect are too shameless. If they want to fight, we will give it to them. We are not afraid...” Zhou Yong climbed up his rhinodrake steed and equipped the bow he carried on his back.

“Shoot down that old bastard...” Shi Dafeng screamed as well.

Hundreds of men gripped their bows, their hearts filled with righteous indignation. After they were mounted, they looked toward Shi Changfeng while awaiting his next signal.

Meanwhile, Shi Changfeng’s eyes were locked where the Soaring Heaven Sect was. If Guo Yifei were to make a move, his side would move as well.

The atmosphere around the Heavenly Lake instantaneously became tense.

Even from a distance of thousands of meters, Yan Liqiang could clearly see every line on Guo Yifei’s face as he stood in the middle of the lake due to his extraordinary eyesight. He could sense the murderous intent from the Soaring Heaven Sect’s Sect Lord too. Naturally, he could also sense the reaction from the archery academy side. Yan Liqiang was not surprised at all by this situation. If he decided to come today, that would mean he was already prepared for this. Should Guo Yifei desire to stake his life in this place, then he would kill Guo Yifei on the spot, even at the risk of exposing his ace up his sleeve.

Nevertheless, he was already aware that Guo Yifei was a strong person. However, no matter how strong this person became, there would be limits to his body endurance and reflexes. He would encounter unexpected things that could hurt or kill him as well. In fact, the thing that could kill him might not necessarily be associated with martial cultivation base. If Guo Yifei dared to rush to him into making a move today, or even dared to approach him within the range of ten meters, Yan Liqiang would force him to follow Cai Yingwu’s footsteps.

Of course, this wasn’t the best plan he had. Other than that, Yan Liqiang had another insurance at hand.

“What’s the matter? Does Sect Lord Guo wish to come forward and compete with me in the art of archery?” Yan Liqiang’s calm voice reverberated.

“Elder Cai had a fair fight with you. Regardless of whether he is dead or alive, the Soaring Heaven Sect will accept the result of this duel!” Guo Yifei’s voice roared tacitly and with passion. He continued, “However, you should have known the cause behind the duel between you and Elder Cai. As the Sect Lord of the Soaring Heaven Sect, the death of our disciple Shi Zhiyao cannot be erased with Elder Cai’s death. We will not draw back despite Elder Cai’s death. I will be your next opponent. Even if I die here, I will seek justice for the disciples of the Soaring Heaven Sect!”

“Hahaha...” Yan Liqiang laughed as he gazed fearlessly at the Soaring Heaven Sect, “It is impressive for Sect Lord Guo to disclose such a shameless thing with confidence and solemnity. Indeed, the Soaring Heaven Sect is the best in the northwest when it comes to matters of impudence. Didn’t you accept Jiang Tianhua’s money to stand up against me? Why demand a monument for charity after benefiting from being a whore? It’s disgusting. Did you take everyone for a fool? I will stand right here. If you have what it takes, then come and kill me. We will see whether I die here today or if the name of the Soaring Heaven Sect will be banished from the northwest forever...”

“Do you really think you’re capable of expelling us from the northwest? What a joke...” Guo Yifei sneered.

Yan Liqiang retained his smile as he delivered his piece that would cut through their hearts like a cold wind, “I forgot to tell you. Sect Lord Guo, I know you are currently rich and in abundant wealth. If I were poor, I wouldn’t want some evil people to remember me either. The annual income of my manufacturing bureau is innumerable. I have so much money that I have no idea what to spend it on. Before I came here, I have been ruminating and realized that it would be too pitiful to die before I could even spend all my money, which is why I have already made a will. I will deposit a million taels of silver to the monetary house as a reward. As long as anyone or any sect – good or bad, can destroy the Soaring Heaven Sect when I die, they will be able to retrieve the reward and one hundred thousand taels of silver dividend from the manufacturing bureau. What do you think? Not a bad idea, right? You should be happy that I’m still alive from the fight with Elder Cai, because if I died, everyone in the Soaring Heaven Sect will die to an unknown cause. I will drag everyone to my grave!”

Speechless. Aside from the spectators, the members of the Soaring Heaven Sect did not expect Yan Liqiang to make such an arrangement. The spectating crowd was outraged with Guo Yifei for being shameless just now. After hearing Yan Liqiang’s words, they began to applaud him for his idea. Some even let out a sigh on behalf of the Soaring Heaven Sect too. One million taels of silver was considered an astronomical figure of wealth, and on top of that, they would be able to receive one hundred thousand taels of silver as a bonus. If Yan Liqiang were to die today, organizations of good and bad in the entire Great Han Empire including the government officials would line up for a chance to kill the Soaring Heaven Sect. The whole sect was definitely not worth this much money, so this would be a handsome award to grab.

Guo Yifei, who was filled with killing intent moments ago, was now practically speechless upon hearing Yan Liqiang’s words. His aging face turned red, which then turned black. His body began to shiver as he pointed at Yan Liqiang with his finger and said, “You... you... you... how could you... how could... how could you be so insolent...”

Guo Yifei could not find any suitable words to say. He could only fume from embarrassment...

“Well, I don’t steal or rob from people. I was unfortunate enough to earn your attention by making earnings through a little bit of talent, along with the path of mechanics and the investigation of things. You will find various reasons to take my inheritance and my life. All I can do is admit my bad luck and wait for the day I die!” Yan Liqiang guffawed. He pointed at the Soaring Heaven Sect in a domineering manner and continued, “I will have you shameless pieces of trash know that you can kill people with a lot of money. Not only people, but mountains and rivers as well. Since my life can be used to make you lot attack me, then what does that make you, Sect Lord Guo Yifei of the Soaring Heaven Sect? So what if you have already advanced to Martial Ancestor? I can buy your life and the others in the sect with money as well. Did you really want to compare your wealth with mine? How greedy can Jiang Tianhua be? The money I earn is ten times more than what he could earn. From now on, you, your sect, and Jiang Tianhua better pray that I don’t get into any accidents or mishaps. Because if I do, your sect and that bastard Transport Commissioner will be my scapegoats, and none will escape from that fate. If you don’t believe me, you can try. I have money and I am spontaneous. What can you do about it...?” With that said, Yan Liqiang promptly pulled the string of his 100-picul bow and shot an arrow toward the direction of the Soaring Heaven Sect...

The hundred-meter-long shadow of the Horned Python reappeared as if light penetrated through the sky, and bombarded the tall-standing flag situated several thousand meters away from the Soaring Heaven Sect. The flag was shot down quickly by Yan Liqiang’s arrow. The mountain behind the flag was also penetrated by the arrow, causing a large hole to appear. With the fallen flag and debris flying about, the disciples of the Soaring Heaven Sect were startled and descended into turmoil...

“OUCH...” The masked Jiang Tianhua was bleeding all over his face when he was hit by a swerving rock. He clutched his forehead and screamed in pain.

It wasn’t until the fall of the Soaring Heaven’s Sect’s flag that the screeching sound of the arrow piercing through the air was audible. Hearing that, the expression on the disciples’ and elders’ faces went pale...

Guo Yifei was shivering all over as he glared at Yan Liqiang who had shot an arrow toward him. The meridians in his body were crackling. On the other hand, the fearless Yan Liqiang glared coldly at Guo Yifei’s direction after releasing his arrow.

However, before Jiang Tianhua could utter a single word, a rumbling voice could he heard from the mountains in the distance. The voice was filled with dignity and anger as it said, “Young Master Yan is a symbol of worship for our Soul Mountain Sect, and he is also a highly-respected man. Does the Soaring Heaven Sect wish to become an enemy of my Soul Mountain Sect...?” Following that, a group of people riding on rhinodrake steeds braving the snow appeared with thunderous steps as they rushed toward the Heavenly Lake...

Upon hearing this voice, Yan Liqiang was slightly stunned before a smile quickly crept across his mouth. The members of the Soul Mountain Sect had finally arrived. Although they were a bit late, they were considered quick to manage to reach this place from miles away to the northeast after receiving his letter...

Yan Liqiang rubbed his face and thought to himself, ‘When did I become a symbol of worship for the Soul Mountain Sect?’

Chapter 509: Great Support From Soul Mountain

To many onlookers, the battle today could be described as a shocking one with many twists and turns. No one expected Yan Liqiang to be this powerful with a bow. He was actually able to kill Cai Yingwu, the best archer in Yun Province, with just a single arrow. A powerful figure hidden within Mount Azure Dragon showed up to say something, then left. The mystery caused everyone’s imagination to run wild. After that, Guo Yifei from the Soaring Heaven Sect actually wanted to take matters into his own hands. It was a surprise that Yan Liqiang came well-prepared and took out a million taels of silver to bind his life and the lives in the Soaring Heaven Sect together, making sure that they would share the same fate. Then, the most surprising thing was a cavalry rushing into the area with the Soul Mountain Sect’s ensigns...

Even one of the four major sects in the Great Han Empire was going to intervene in the showdown between Yan Liqiang and the Soaring Heaven Sect? Things were starting to get very interesting...

Chapter 510: Only The Beginning

“Oh right. Since the duel is over, should we get going?” Wen Zhaolun looked around. “There’s really no reason to stay here any longer!”

Wen Zhaolun’s voice immediately pulled Yan Liqiang’s thoughts back to the frosty Heavenly Lake. Yan Liqiang looked at the blood traces in the distance and the Soaring Heaven Sect beyond it. A smile appeared on his face. “I do want to leave, but I think the Soaring Heaven’s Sect Lord, Guo Yifei, is reluctant to let me leave just like this. We were actually about to fight right before you arrived.”

“What does the Soaring Heaven Sect still want with you?” Wen Zhaolun frowned as anger flashed across his face. “The duel is over already. Are they sore losers?!”

“Guo Yifei still wants to avenge his disciples from the sect though!”

“Well, where are those damned wretches?”

“Just over there...?” Yan Liqiang pointed toward the group of disciples from the Soaring Heaven Sect.

“Wait here for a while!” After Wen Zhaolun finished speaking, he immediately rushed in the direction where Yan Liqiang pointed. In just a flash, he was just ten meters away from the group of people from the Soaring Heaven Sect. He scanned the crowd before his gaze fell on Guo Yifei’s face. As the Sect Lord, he was naturally standing at the center and was surrounded by his people. Not only that, but even his cultivation realm and temperament were different from ordinary people.

“So, you are the Soaring Heaven’s Sect Lord, Guo Yifei?” Wen Zhaolun asked loudly.

Guo Yifei nodded with his face as black as coal. As soon as Wen Zhaolun walked toward him, Guo Yifei sensed that his cultivation was definitely not inferior to his. “Who are you?”

“I am Vice Hall Master Wen Zhaolun from the Soul Mountain Sect’s Thousand Engineering Hall!” Wen Zhaolun’s voice reverberated from afar. Apart from the Soaring Heaven Sect, everyone within a radius of several thousand meters from him could also hear him clearly.

“Lord Yan is a special guest of the Soul Mountain Sect’s Thousand Engineering Hall! Therefore, his affairs are my sect’s affairs. The duel is over. The Soul Mountain Sect will bear any grudges the Soaring Heaven Sect has against Lord Yan! If you have anything else you want to do, feel free to do it now. I shall handle it from here!”

The Soaring Heaven Sect was a mere sect in the northwestern region after all. As one of the four major sects in the Great Han Empire, the Soul Mountain Sect was on a totally different level than them in terms of both influence and power. Even their vice hall master’s cultivation was on par with Guo Yifei’s. How were they going to compete with them?

Guo Yifei’s arrogance wilted completely before a powerful existence like the Soul Mountain Sect. He didn’t even have anything to flaunt. Sects like the Soul Mountain Sect were considered to be on the ancestral level. If they were to play things the way people did in the pugilistic world, then surely the Soul Mountain Sect could play it harder than them. The Soul Mountain Sect might give some respect to the bureaucracy, but to ‘minor sects’ like Soaring Heaven Sect, they would surely crush them without a second thought.

Guo Yifei’s hands and heart were trembling. He knew that the Soaring Heaven Sect was really in hot water this time. Both Yan Liqiang’s capabilities and the Soul Mountain Sect’s sudden arrival were completely beyond his expectations.

“After this duel... any grudges between the Soaring Heaven Sect and Yan Liqiang... are dissolved...” Although the words were hard for Guo Yifei to say, he had no choice but to lower his head under such circumstances. With great difficulty, he forced the words out of his mouth and took back his statements. He was well aware that if he didn’t submit this time and a fight were to break out between them and the Soul Mountain Sect, the Soaring Heaven Sect would ultimately become a thing of the past very soon regardless if he could defeat Wen Zhaolun or not. After all, the prestigious reputation of being one of the four major sects was built upon the deaths of countless challengers.

“Fine then!” A smile appeared on Wen Zhaolun’s face. He swept his glance across Guo Yifei and the group of trembling Soaring Heaven Sect’s members before turning around and sprinting back to Yan Liqiang.

Watching Wen Zhaolun’s figure leave and the gaze of the other onlookers in the surroundings on him, Guo Yifei instantly felt his blood boiling. His heart was thumping loudly like thunder. He grabbed his chest as he struggled to breathe. Just when he was about to speak, he coughed up a mouthful of blood, then fell backward.

“SECT LORD...! SECT LORD...!” The people from the Soaring Heaven Sect were in full panic and they immediately flocked toward Guo Yifei.

Wen Zhaolun returned to Yan Liqiang’s side in just a flash and grinned at him. “I’ve already settled the matter with the Soaring Heaven Sect. They won’t dare to find any more trouble with you from now on. We can go back now, right?”

“Thank you for your help, Vice Hall Master Wen!”

“Hahaha, not a problem! How can we still call ourselves one of the major sects if our Thousand Engineering Hall’s symbol of worship is so easily bullied by someone else!”

“That’s true. Let’s go then!” Yan Liqiang let out a sincere smile, then made for the shore with Wen Zhaolun under everyone’s gaze.

Shortly after, the troops from the archery academy and the Soul Mountain Sect converged. They left the Heavenly Lake and rode toward the mountain pass amidst the sound of thundering hooves. Only with that did the archery duel that shook the entire northwestern region truly come to an end.

As soon as Yan Liqiang left, several tens of thousands of onlookers around the Heavenly Lake immediately cheered in excitement. The show today was simply too exciting.

Everyone was still replaying the scene where Yan Liqiang killed Cai Yingwu with that shocking attack. After this battle, Yan Liqiang from Gan Province’s Pingxi Prefecture was undoubtedly crowned as the best archer of the northwestern region. Everyone had personally witnessed the rise of a prodigy in the battle at the Heavenly Lake on Mount Azure Dragon today.

...

“Such achievements at such a young age...” On a hill at the edge of the Heavenly Lake, ‘Second Uncle’ sighed in amazement while shaking his head.

“He has the Emperor backing him up in the imperial court, and the Soul Mountain Sect is his shield in the pugilistic world. He calls Lei Sitong of Gan Province his uncle. He can fight the Transportation Office and suppress the Soaring Heaven Sect. This Yan Liqiang indeed has boundless prospects ahead of him! We must report the outcome of this duel to our clan head in great detail. Our clan should not take him lightly!”

“Second Uncle, could the rumors about Yan Liqiang being able to communicate with deities in his dreams... be true after all? It’s certainly not easy for an ordinary person to be proficient in either martial cultivation or the path of mechanics and the investigation of things. Yet Yan Liqiang seems to excel in both. How can a person like him possibly exist in this world...?” The handsome young man named Jia Cheng asked in bewilderment.

Even the ‘Second Uncle’ was stunned by the question, because he knew that his nephew had always been proud and arrogant. He would never submit to anyone, let alone believing in supernatural things. He didn’t expect Yan Liqiang’s duel today to sway his nephew’s beliefs. It would seem like Yan Liqiang had made a great impression on him.

“The clan head once said that anything is possible in this vast world. What we’ve seen may only be a drop in the ocean...”‘Second Uncle’ also sighed. “Stop thinking about it and let’s just go. Even if Yan Liqiang can communicate with deities in his dreams, it’s his luck. Everyone has their own luck and fate. Things like this are beyond our control...”

...

On a distant hill, two men dressed in black were watching the event at the Heavenly Lake on their rhinodrake steeds as the bone-chilling wind blew against their faces.

One of them appeared to be in his fifties or sixties and was clad in a bear fur coat. He had a pair of sharp eyes and a sharp nose on his aged face. The man’s eyes never left Yan Liqiang from beginning to end. He had his eyes glued on Yan Liqiang’s back until he left with Wen Zhaolun.

“This Yan Liqiang is the young lord you’ve been talking about?” The man only turned his head to look at Fu Changde with his shining eyes when Yan Liqiang’s figure had completely vanished from his sight. “Did you truly see the Shuiyun Token reacting to his blood?”

“Hmph, take it or leave it, Situ Feixing. The young lord might not even think much of your small troop. He didn’t even want me to seek assistance from you when he was going through his most difficult time, let alone now!” Fu Changde spat and threw a disdainful glance at the man beside him.

“I’m only informing you out of courtesy, seeing that we used to be comrades. Many from the Hui Clan Gathering, including my own son, have joined him. If you wish to continue living your life as a bandit, then continue being the coward you are. No one will stop you. However, if you wish to avenge for our brothers and the Protectorate General and live like a real man, then you know what to do!”

Without waiting for Situ Feixing to say anything, Fu Changde turned his steed around. He gave his steed’s abdomen a squeeze and left immediately, leaving behind the other man sitting on the back of his steed. There, the man stayed as still as a stone statue for a very long time as he gazed into the distance from the hill.

Several dozen tough-looking men who carried a bow and a saber with them approached him from behind on their black rhinodrake steeds. Some of the rhinodrake steeds were snorting while some were crushing the rock fragments and snowflakes beneath their hooves. It was only then that the man turned his steed around and shouted, “Let’s go...!”

Chapter 511: Ascertaining Relationship

The hooves of more than five hundred rhinodrake steeds from the archery academy and the Soul Mountain Sect thundered on the snowy ground. As soon as they went through a mountain pass out of the Heavenly Lake and was about to exit Mount Azure Dragon, he suddenly heard the yells of another group of people coming from far behind him. “Liqiang, Liqiang...!”

‘NEEEEIGHHH...!’ Yan Liqiang pulled Snowstorm Cloud’s reins and the steed came to an abrupt halt. He turned around and looked toward the mountain pass behind him, only to discover a group of more than ten people chasing after him across the snowy plains. The leader of the group was a rather fat man wearing a thick leather hat, riding on a majestic-looking gray rhinodrake steed. Since he was too fat, it seemed like he was having a rather hard time because the fat on his body jiggled as his steed galloped powerfully. This man was none other than Lu Peien.

Chapter 512: Aquapyro Engine

“It’s moving! It’s really moving! This lump of metal is really moving...!”

“Ready the coal, pay attention and don’t let the fire burn out...!”

“Excuse me, don’t get too close. This boiler will scald you...!”

It was the first sunny day in the middle of the first lunar month after a snowfall. It was getting warmer, but the snow on the ground had yet to thaw completely. Even so, it was already blazingly hot in the Yan Residence’s blacksmith workshop. It was noisy and extremely crowded. Everyone had their eyes wide open as they stared at the ‘lump of metal’ that was slowly coming to life in the courtyard.

Yan Dechang, Zhou Tiezhu, several dozen blacksmith apprentices, stewards from the Yan Residence, Yan Liqiang, Shi Changfeng, Shi Dafeng, Shen Teng, Lu Peien, Qian Su, as well as a few of his old weaponsmiths and chief weaponsmiths who had rushed here from the manufacturing bureau in Huanglong County, and lastly, Wen Zhaolun and a group of disciples from the Soul Mountain Sect were all in the courtyard. They were watching the ‘lump of metal’ that the Soul Mountain Sect had delivered here slowly come to life after it was heated and given water.

Apart from Yan Liqiang, Wen Zhaolun and several other people, the moving ‘lump of metal’ had everyone in an instant uproar. Zhou Tiezhu was shouting excitedly with his trembling voice.

Yan Dechang, who had spent his entire life tempering steel, watched the flywheel spin quicker and quicker in fascination and mumbled to himself, “I’ve spent my entire life working with metal. Yet, I never thought that fire and water could make a lump of metal come alive...!”

Qian Su as well as his old weaponsmiths and chief weaponsmiths who came all the way from the manufacturing bureau were also staring at the spinning flywheel. It seemed like they all had seen something incredible and were rendered speechless. As for Shi Changfeng and the others, they basically had the same expressions on their faces too.

Yan Liqiang stood next to the steam engine that had just been assembled and started up, as he watched the rapidly spinning flywheel. He swept his gaze across every component of the steam engine and his eyes widened in surprise. At first glance, this steam engine resembled a meter-tall stove.

Beneath the steam engine was a metallic base and frame. On the left side of the frame, there was a boiler that looked like a burning stove. The boiler was made of metal and a bright yellow cylindrical water tank made out of brass was on top of it. The water tank was about a meter long with the diameter of a standard bucket.

On top of the water tank, there were a few brass pipes. Some were used as inlets for water, while some were used as vents. In between the vents was a manual valve that could be used to control the steam. The air inlet pipe was connected to the most important air tank in the steam engine. On top of the air tank was a piston, crank, and a connecting rod. As the piston started moving, the flywheel with a diameter of about fifty centimeters on the other end of the connecting rod also started spinning rapidly.

However, the thing that truly amazed Yan Liqiang were not these, but the chamber that cooled the steam in the cylinder. It was worth noting that in Yan Liqiang’s previous life, James Watt only came up with this condenser a long time after the steam engine had been invented. The first steam engine had two glaring flaws – firstly, the piston’s movements were slow and discontinuous. Secondly, the steam engine was inefficient and wasted resources.

The root cause of these problems stemmed from steam being cooled in the cylinder. Watt’s greatest contribution to the steam engine was creating a separate condenser to cool the steam outside the cylinder. It was with this modification that the basic structure of a steam engine was established and the invention started to gain popularity.

Yan Liqiang thought Zhang Youroung wouldn’t think of a separate condenser when he created his first steam engine. Little did he expect the steam engine from the Soul Mountain Sect to have already adopted this concept. As a result, the reliability and stability of the steam engine were greatly improved. Not only that, but it definitely satisfied the practical standards as well.

Yan Liqiang was secretly impressed by Zhang Yourong. Yan Liqiang had only given him a little hint and Zhang Yourong managed to create a functioning steam engine in just a year. The structure of the steam engine constructed by the Thousand Engineering Hall was extremely close to the single-cylinder steam engine that Yan Liqiang had in mind.

Although some parts were still unrefined at first glance, the basic structure and functions of the engine were pretty complete.

The steam engine was operated by two disciples from the Soul Mountain Sect. Wen Zhaolun stood beside them, looking rather proud at the lump of metal that his sect had constructed. When Zhang Yourong had just returned to the Thousand Engineering Hall back then, he thought very highly of Yan Liqiang. He even mentioned to Wen Zhaolun that Yan Liqiang’s knowledge in the path of mechanics and the investigation of things was unfathomably deep, and that Yan Liqiang’s understanding on the subject might surpass his. Although Wen Zhaolun had always been extremely impressed by Zhang Yourong’s capability, he was still rather skeptical of his praises for Yan Liqiang.

Before Wen Zhaolun came to Gan Province, he simply refused to believe that the knowledge of a fifteen-year-old brat in the path of mechanics and the investigation of things could possibly be compared to Zhang Yourong, the best engineer in the Great Han Empire. Now that he was in Gan Province and had witnessed Yan Liqiang’s archery skills at Mount Azure Dragon’s Heavenly Lake, Wen Zhaolun definitely looked at Yan Liqiang in a new light. Even so, he was still unconvinced that Yan Liqiang was better than Zhang Yourong in the path of mechanics and the investigation of things.

Zhang Yourong claimed Yan Liqiang was the person who came up with the concept of this ‘lump of metal’ in front of him. Even after meeting Yan Liqiang in person, Wen Zhaolun still felt that it was a total fluke for him to suddenly be hit with this idea. The real impressive person was still their Hall Master Zhang of the Thousand Engineering Hall.

Vice Hall Master Wen Zhaolun of the Thousand Engineering Hall was extremely satisfied by the shocked expression on everyone’s faces. He remembered everyone else also had similar expressions when Zhang Yourong first created this object. In his eyes, the stunned look on their faces was their wordless praise toward the Soul Mountain Sect and the Thousand Engineering Hall. It brought great satisfaction to him. However, when the Vice Hall Master’s gaze fell on Yan Liqiang’s face, he was taken aback because Yan Liqiang didn’t look shocked at all. He merely examined the ‘unprecedented’ machine that the Soul Mountain Sect’s Thousand Engineering Hall had created with interest.

While looking at something that no one else could possibly construct, shouldn’t one be shocked or impressed? Yet why he was examining it? Why was he doing that?

Wen Zhaolun secretly felt unpleasant. “Ahem, ahem... Lord Yan, what do you think of this Aquapyro Engine that our Soul Mountain Sect’s Thousand Engineering Hall has constructed?”

The strange-sounding name was the name that the Soul Mountain Sect had given to their steam engine. Simply put, it was an engine that could be powered by fire and water.

“As expected of Brother Zhang, he is indeed the best engineer in the Great Han Empire! This A-Aquapyro... Engine created by the Thousand Engineering Hall is definitely the newest invention on the Silver Continent. Impressive! Simply impressive!” Yan Liqiang smiled and praised.

A smile finally appeared on Wen Zhaolun’s face when he heard Yan Liqiang’s praises and felt his modesty.

“Liqiang, how do we slow down the flywheel’s rotation...?” Yan Dechang couldn’t help but ask after staring at the steam engine for a good while.

“Oh, it’s actually very easy to slow this flywheel. Look, this is the valve that controls its speed, Father. If we slide the valve this way, the flywheel will turn slower. If we slide it the other way, the flywheel will turn faster...” Yan Liqiang went over to the steam engine while speaking, then personally demonstrated by sliding the slide valve on the boiler’s pipe.

Wen Zhaolun and the other disciples from the Soul Mountain Sect were taken aback when they saw Yan Liqiang’s demonstration. How did Yan Liqiang find out just by looking at it, when none of them had even explained how to control the Aquapyro Engine?

“How can this valve control the speed of the flywheel?” Zhou Tiezhu asked in puzzlement.

“That’s because when the water in the brass tank heats up, the steam will enter the steam reservoir via this brass pipe. This slide valve is used to control the amount of steam in the pipe. If there’s only a little steam, then the flywheel will move slower. If there’s a lot of steam, then the flywheel will move faster!” Yan Liqiang explained while pointing to the steam engine.

“This engine should be used with caution. If the boiler underneath the water tank is still running, then this slide valve shouldn’t be completely shut. If you shut the slide valve, this exhaust valve here must be opened. If the water is being boiled while all the valves are shut, the water tank will explode. It’ll be extremely dangerous as it might severely injure or kill the people who happen to be around it...”

“Oh?! This thing can explode?!” Zhou Tiezhu asked in surprise.

“Of course!”

Wen Zhaolun was stunned. When the Thousand Engineering Hall first started researching and developing this object, the same accident that Yan Liqiang described had indeed happened. Fortunately, no one got hurt as there was no one around when the boiler exploded. However, it did make a mess in the workshop. It was only after that incident did Zhang Yourong think of installing a vent for this boiler.

“I heard from the Hall Master that Lord Yan is gifted in the path of mechanics and the investigation of things. Can you guess which part of this Aquapyro Engine our hall master spent most of his effort in?” Wen Zhaolun asked another question, still unwilling to believe that Yan Liqiang was this talented.

Yan Liqiang smiled, then pointed to the inconspicuous condenser located beneath the steam cylinder. “I’m guessing that the earliest versions of the Aquapyro Engine in your Thousand Engineering Hall didn’t come with this thing. It must have been invented by Brother Zhang at a later stage, after spending a lot of time and effort in conducting countless experiments. Am I right?”

“Ah...!” Wen Zhaolun looked at Yan Liqiang in shock. The other disciples from the Soul Mountain Sect also looked at Yan Liqiang as though they had just seen a ghost. As the saying goes, ‘One would know an expert as soon as he speaks.’ Yan Liqiang’s simple answer instantly left Wen Zhaolun and the other disciples totally flabbergasted.

Yan Liqiang turned his head around and asked Qian Su, “Uncle Qian, do you think the manufacturing bureau can construct this thing?”

Chapter 513: Replicate

“It might be a bit difficult to replicate this object, but I suppose we can make one if we give it a try...!” Qian Su swept his gaze all over the single-cylinder steam engine, then spoke in a very professional tone, “The most difficult components to make are this steam cylinder and these cranks that connect the parts. The blacksmiths won’t be able to hammer this out, so we’ll need to create a mold and use the casting technique. Once casted, we’ll polish it. There has always been a foundry in the manufacturing bureau. If we’re going to make this, we’ll just need to start the furnace in the foundry workshop and prepare some tools...”

“Right, that’s what I think so too. We’ll have to prepare a mold to cast these vital parts in the Aquapyro Engine, then polish them afterward. It seems like they will require higher precision and extra special care. We’ll need to pay particular attention to the cylinder and the few circular metal pieces that move inside. If the pieces are too big, they won’t fit. If they’re too small, there’ll be leakage. The circular metal pieces and connecting rods shouldn’t be made with cast iron, but steel. As for the rest of the pieces, we can use brass!” As a blacksmith, Yan Dechang had his own opinions when he looked at the Aquapyro Engine which he had never seen before. “We should be able to produce this too if we make some modifications to our blacksmith workshop!”

“Father, if you want to produce this steam... Aquapyro Engine, then you can bring Brother Tiezhu to the manufacturing bureau and work with Uncle Qian and the rest. It’s more spacious at the manufacturing bureau and they already have a foundry workshop there. It’ll be more convenient!” Yan Liqiang spoke too quickly and nearly called the engine a steam engine. The people gathered in the courtyard were all acquaintances, so there was no need to keep anything a secret. On the contrary, Yan Liqiang wished more people would know about it and hence, this was discussed openly.

Chapter 514: Late Coming of Spring

It was the 11th day of the second lunar month in the 15th year of the Yuanping Reign in the Great Han Empire. The first sign of spring was here. The temperature was turning warm but it was still pretty chilly. A few days after the snow had melted, a sudden light snowfall came in the morning, blanketing Pingxi Prefecture white.

Riding in a four-wheeled carriage, Yan Liqiang was inspired when he saw the snow fluttering past the green buds of the willow trees and couldn’t help but recite a poem. “The new year’s come, but still the plants don’t grow. First in the second lunar month, I’m startled by grass shoots. The white snow is vexed by the late coming of spring’s colors, so through the pavilion and trees it flies like a blossom.”

Although he didn’t really feel anything when he recited the poem, the other person in the carriage immediately turned his head to Yan Liqiang and gave him a strange look.

Chapter 515: Accepting The Lu Clan

As soon as Yan Liqiang and his group arrived at the entrance of the Lu Residence, he saw the head steward and two rows of guards were already there, expecting their arrival. At the sight of Yan Liqiang’s carriage, the head steward personally welcomed them and led the carriage inside...

Although it was snowing, the path that led to the manor was spotless. The limestone path was visible and the guards from the Lu Clan were standing straight, several meters apart from each other, on both sides of the path. A scene like this could be considered a very grand welcome.

“Who is that man?” Yan Dechang pointed at the head steward from the Lu Clan who was leading the way in front, and asked Yan Liqiang in the carriage.

“That’s the head steward of the Lu Clan, Lu Qi. He’s a very capable old man in the Lu Clan and Old Master Lu wholeheartedly trusts him. Lu Wenbin and several other stewards in Liuhe Town all work under Head Steward Lu!” Yan Liqiang explained. “Old Master Lu must have arranged this grand welcome because he knew you were coming, Father!”

Yan Dechang shook his head. “I am a blacksmith, hardly anyone worthy for the Lu Clan to do something like this. They have only arranged this grand welcome for you!”

“Regardless, I’m still your son!”

Yan Dechang laughed.

The carriage stopped at the entrance of the Lu Residence’s manor. Yan Liqiang and Yan Dechang alighted the carriage. Although it was snowing, important figures from Lu Clan, including Lu Peien, a few of Old Master Lu’s sons, and his grandson were all waiting there.

When they spotted the two living deer that followed Yan Liqiang here on the carriage, they exchanged looks with each other before their faces broke into happy smiles. According to the local traditions observed in Gan Province and other places in the northwestern region, a pair of living deer wasn’t a common gift. Only men who visited a lady’s family for the very first time to ask for her hand would bring a pair of living deer as a gift.

Of course, this was only done by influential clans as ordinary families wouldn’t be able to afford a pair of living deer. Instead, they would bring a pair of living fish as an auspicious gift. Since the Yan Clan had brought a pair of living deer among their gifts on their visit to the Lu Residence this time, that meant a marriage would be set in place. Naturally, everyone in the Lu Clan was happy, especially for Old Master Lu, who pretty much had one of his long time wishes fulfilled.

“Master Yan, it’s an honor to meet you at last!” As soon as Yan Dechang alighted the carriage, Old Master Lu came over with all smiles and passionately grabbed Yan Dechang hands. “I have been waiting to meet you for so long. You certainly have a fine son, Master Yan! Hahahaha...!”

“You are too courteous, Old Master! I have to thank you for the wonderful cure you sent us when I was injured last time!” Yan Dechang became less reserved at Old Master Lu’s enthusiasm.

“I am only a blacksmith and a boorish man. There’s no need for you to be so courteous with me, Old Master. No one has ever `addressed me as ‘Master Yan’, so I feel a little awkward when Old Master addresses me that way!”

Old Master Lu smiled. “Haha, alright then. I might as well just call you the father of my son-in-law! You shouldn’t be calling me Old Master then, I am only a few years older than you. If you don’t mind, you can just call me Brother Lu!”

“Alright, I shall address you as Brother Lu from now on. We’ll be family soon, being so courteous makes it feels like we are estranged from each other!”

“You are right, being courteous with your own family indeed makes it feels like we are estranged from each other!” Old Master Lu smiled. He pointed to Lu Peien, then the other men beside him, and introduced them to Yan Dechang.

“This is my eldest son, Shunen. My fifth son, Zhongen. My sixth son, Peien, whom you should have met before. My seventh son, Xuen. I have only nine children. Apart from Beixin, the other daughters have gotten married. The furthest is in Gan Provincial City, I only meet her once every year or half a year. As for my sons, only Shunen stays here. The others are usually working away from home all year round, taking care of the clan’s businesses. Zhongen manages the lotus root briquette business and our restaurant. Xuen overlooks two mines and pastureland, so he rarely comes home too.”

As Old Master Lu introduced his sons, they also respectfully greeted Yan Dechang. Apart from Lu Xuen, Yan Liqiang had pretty much met Lu Peien’s other siblings. In fact, this was his first time meeting Lu Xuen who appeared to be quite young, only around his twenties. His facial features resembled Lu Beixin’s. He was a handsome man with a nice physique, and his smile made him seem like he was a good-natured person.

Yan Liqiang was a little surprised when he saw Lu Xuen, because he could feel Lu Xuen’s energy. It was a little mysterious, but he was sure that the man had already progressed into a Supreme Martial Warrior. Qi had channeled deep into his bones, and it would appear that he was going to progress into a Martial Master soon.

“This is my eldest grandson, Shaolin. He is the child you saved back then, Liqiang!” Old Master Lu patted his grandson’s head affectionately.

Lu Shaolin stepped forward with a serious face, then bowed deeply to Yan Dechang and Yan Liqiang. “Greetings from Lu Shaolin, Grandfather Yan and Uncle Liqiang!” It had only been a few years since Yan Liqiang saw the child whom he saved back then, but the child had certainly grown up a lot.

“Old Master, it’s still snowing here. Let’s continue our conversation inside!” Yan Liqiang looked around, then chuckled. “I brought two Aquapyro Engines that the manufacturing bureau just built to the Lu Clan. One can be used for sawing wood while the other can be used for milling grains. I shall have people unload it later and show you how to use them...”

“Alright, alright. Let’s continue inside. I’ve heard about the wondrous Aquapyro Engine from Lu Peien, but I didn’t expect the manufacturing bureau to be able to produce them now. Good timing, you can enlighten me and the people in the Lu Residence...”

While Old Master Lu was speaking, the group of people from the Lu Clan led Yan Liqiang and his father into their manor. The other guards from the Yan Clan stayed behind to unload Yan Liqiang’s gifts from the carriages. The two steam engines were quite heavy, but they were able to easily unload them with help from other curious guards in the Lu Residence.

The people from the Lu Clan brought Yan Liqiang and his father to the drawing room. There, they reminisced the old days over some tea. With Yan Liqiang and Lu Peien around, there was plenty to talk about. From the lotus root briquettes to the Aquapyro Engine, and from the times when Yan Liqiang stayed in the Imperial Capital, there were plenty of stories between him and the Lu Clan. They had a joyous time together without a moment of awkward silence. Although Yan Dechang was a frank person and Old Master Lu was a wise person, both of them still got along very well when they started conversing with each other.

They had only been in the drawing room for less than half an hour when the head steward of the Lu Clan came in to inform that the Aquapyro Engine had been set up in the courtyard. Everyone from the Lu Clan went out together in excitement to have a look at the invention.

The Lu Residence’s courtyard was crowded by people – even the flying snow couldn’t dampen the excitement burning in their heart.

The running steam engine generated heat while spinning the circular saw blade at a rapid speed. A few guards from the Lu Clan found a log that was thick enough for a man to wrap his arms around it. When the log was pushed on the saw table, a sharp noise was heard and wood shavings started flying everywhere. In just the blink of an eye, the log was cleanly split into two. It was a hundred times faster than sawing manually with hands.

Upon seeing something like this for the very first time, the guards and servants from the Lu Clan cheered loudly. Old Master Lu, Lu Peien, and the rest had a look of surprise on their faces too. Although Lu Peien had seen a running Aquapyro Engine, it was his first time seeing the engine being used with a saw blade to cut a log.

“If I hook a rope to this spinning wheel, can it be used to pull the mined ores out of the mine?” Lu Peien suddenly asked.

“It should be possible with some modifications...” Yan Liqiang replied.

Old Master Lu observed the invention for a moment before excitedly giving his comment. “Impressive...! The speed that this thing can saw a log is faster than having several people doing the job! With this, we can open up a sawmill to make money...!”

Chapter 516: Arrangements

Everyone in the Lu Clan was extremely hospitable toward Yan Liqiang and his father during their stay. With Yan Liqiang and Lu Beixin’s relationship ascertained, everyone from Old Master Lu to the guards and the stewards looked at Yan Liqiang differently now. If the way the Lu Clan members used to look at Yan Liqiang was described as “friendly”, then they were totally looking at him as part of their family now.

Connections through marriages were very useful between nations, and even more so between influential clans from the same prefecture. The Lu Clan could be considered a very deep-rooted clan in Pingxi Prefecture, while the Yan Clan rose to prominence the quickest in Pingxi Prefecture. With Yan Liqiang securing his title as the best archer in the northwestern region, the Yan Clan’s reputation also skyrocketed. Foreigners who came to Pingxi Prefecture might not know who the prefectural governor was, but they would definitely know that Yan Liqiang, the best archer in the northwestern region, was here.

Chapter 517: Responsibility

Yan Liqiang was escorted out from the Prefectural Governor’s Office by the other officials when it was almost a quarter to eight o’clock. By then, the lanterns had been hung at the entrance of the Prefectural Governor’s Office and the sky had turned completely dark.

“Young Lord...” Hu Haihe and the other two bodyguards immediately stepped forward. “The carriage is ready. Are we heading back to the manufacturing bureau?”

A black four-wheeled carriage was parked at the main entrance of the Prefectural Governor’s Office. Yan Liqiang cast a glance at Hu Haihe, then waved. “Go ahead and wait for me at the city gates. It’s been a long while since I last visited Pingxi City. I wish to stroll around the city first!”

Hu Haihe exchanged looks with the other two bodyguards before hesitantly asking, “Um... just you alone, Young Lord? Do you need to take a bodyguard with you?”

“No need. This is Pingxi City, not some tiger’s den. Pingxi City used to be so chaotic and I lived here alone for a long time. Now that the situation has turned for the better and I’m of a different status, why would I not dare to stroll around the city alone now?” Yan Liqiang laughed and waved his hands. “Don’t worry, I will come before the city gates close!”

Hu Haihe and the others knew that even though Yan Liqiang was usually an affable person, he was very firm in his decisions and wasn’t easily swayed once he made up his mind. Hence, the others could only nod at Yan Liqiang. “Alright, we shall wait for you at the city gates. Take care, Young Lord!”

“Don’t mind me. Go now!” Yan Liqiang waved as he watched Hu Haihe and the others leave with their rhinodrake steeds and carriage. He took a deep breath, found his bearings, then walked on the street to the left of the Prefectural Governor’s Office.

This was Pingxi City’s Prefectural Governor’s Office, not any ordinary place. No one would usually dare to loiter around the entrance of the Prefectural Governor’s Office. Criminals would usually steer clear of the nearby streets and ordinary people wouldn’t linger around without a good reason either. Since the sky had turned dark, the entrance of the Prefectural Governor’s Office was even more deserted. When Yan Liqiang came out, he wasn’t noticed by anyone.

Yan Liqiang quietly walked along the familiar streets of Pingxi City, yet he wasn’t calm. The conversation he had with Wang Jianbei showed that the latter was still fearful of the Shatu people that dwelled within the city. He was worried that Yan Liqiang’s method would aggravate them and make things more difficult, so he just couldn’t bring himself to make a decision.

By now, the Shatu people in Pingxi Prefecture were no longer the same compared to two years ago. With the fall of the Ye Clan as their supporter, the continuous pressure on them after the attempted assassination on Lei Sitong and the chaotic situation at the Gulang Plains had caused the Shatu people here to be so much more well-behaved. In fact, it had been a very long time since anyone heard of the Shatu people causing trouble in Pingxi City.

Although Wang Jianbei also wished to clear out the Shatu people in Pingxi City, it wasn’t something that could be done in just a day. Likewise, the Shatu people in the city didn’t rise to power in just a single day either. No matter how well-behaved they were, there were still about seventy to eighty thousand of them in the city. Not to mention, many of them were strong. Wang Jianbei was worried that employing such an aggressive tactic would bring more chaos to Pingxi City and stir up some controversies. Those were the outcomes that he didn’t want to see. Therefore, the advice that Yan Liqiang had given before was useless.

Yan Liqiang knew that Wang Jianbei, as the Pingxi Prefectural Governor and an official of the imperial court, wouldn’t want chaos in the city under his administration or make himself Lin Qingtian’s target. Yan Liqiang understood all that, but he was running out of time...

Walking down the street, Yan Liqiang lifted his head to look at the sky full of stars and murmured, “Only about two years left...”

In the end, Wang Jianbei still didn’t believe that the tragedy in Yan Liqiang’s dream would come true. He still wanted to take things slowly with the Shatu people in the city. However, Yan Liqiang knew that his dream wasn’t a dream; it was an event that would take place in the future. He returned to Gan Province this time and did so many things just to prevent this tragic future from unfolding.

His presence had caused some changes in the situation at Pingxi City and the Gulang Plains. This might lead to a different future for Pingxi City, but Yan Liqiang couldn’t be sure to what extent. More importantly, even if the tragedy in Pingxi City could be averted, the true chaos would begin in two years. Even if he was able to evacuate and rescue the people from the Heavenly Tribulation at the Imperial Capital, would the White Lotus Society, the Chaman and Shatu people sit idly by while watching these great changes occurring within the Great Han Empire?

Then, there was Lin Qingtian too. The day Lin Qingtian assumed full power was the day Yan Liqiang would die a tragic death. So in any case, the great changes in the Great Han Empire were bound to happen and chaos would descend after two years. Everything he had done up until now was so that he would have more bargaining chips and trump cards in his hand when the time came.

With his efforts, the tragedy in Pingxi Prefecture might be averted but the catastrophe two years later would still inevitably take away countless lives. Places that were once as peaceful as the cities in Pingxi Prefecture and other serene villages like Liuhe Town would be reduced to ruins by the flames and massacres taking place there. Yan Liqiang had seen it all in the Heavenly Realm. These were merely the beginning of the chaos; no one knew how things would turn out later. From the situation in the Heavenly Realm, it seemed like it would only get worse from there...

Although others felt that Yan Liqiang was at the peak of his life and had boundless prospects ahead of him, only Yan Liqiang knew that this situation was as fleeting as the reflection of the moon in water. Jiang Tianhua and the others might think that he was ruthless and merciless with his ways, but no one knew that he was actually treading on thin ice. Lei Sitong and the others thought that he was very successful for his young age, but only Yan Liqiang knew that he had very limited time. Two years would pass by in just the blink of an eye. The more bargaining chips he could accumulate in his hand, the more survivors there’d be in the future. He wouldn’t mind doing anything, and that included marrying Lu Beixin for a connection to the Lu Clan.

Yan Liqiang smiled wryly as he walked down the street alone. Sometimes, he just wished that everything in the Heavenly Realm was nothing but a dream. If he didn’t know anything, then he could continue living his life in ignorance. Most of the time, knowledge came with responsibility, and this responsibility weighed like a mountain. The burden was simply too heavy on Yan Liqiang’s shoulders...

The sound of carriage wheels running along the road came from behind Yan Liqiang, then stopped beside him. The coachman looked at Yan Liqiang and gave him a warm smile. “Where are you going, Young Lord? This is a very comfortable four-wheeled carriage and I am offering rides at an affordable price! I am about to call it a day but I can still fit in one more trip!”

Yan Liqiang took a look at the carriage and found out that it was indeed a four-wheeled carriage that looked very similar to the ones produced by the manufacturing bureau. The coachman sat on his high seat in front of the carriage, with a lamp hanging at the side. The paint job of the carriage’s exterior was very coarse, causing it to look very cheap. It was also fitted with a side door to stay trendy. There was a steering mechanism in between the four wheels, but the coil spring beneath the carriage was definitely missing. It was almost the same as the four-wheeled carriages that the manufacturing bureau produced for transporting goods, except that it had a passenger compartment. There were windows on both sides of the compartment, but they were covered by fabric rather than stained glass.

“Well then, take me to the Nine Dragons Bridge!”

“It’ll be twenty copper coins to the Nine Dragons Bridge!” the coachmen replied.

“Don’t worry, I’ll pay you in full!” Yan Liqiang gave him a small smile, then opened the carriage door and directly went in. The coachman let out a cry and the carriage started moving toward the Nine Dragons Bridge with a speed that was neither fast nor slow.

Inside the passenger compartment was a long bench that was wrapped in silk fabric. Every bump along the city roads paved with flagstones was transmitted into the passenger compartment through the carriage wheels. Compared to the four-wheeled produced by the manufacturing bureau, the difference was like comparing a Maybach car and a Santana car. Even so, it was still significantly more comfortable than a traditional two-wheeled carriage. At least the floor of the compartment was flat and wouldn’t tilt. Yan Liqiang rode inside the four-wheeled carriage that could bring convenience for the common folks on their travels for the very first time with relish.

While he was thinking about things inside the passenger compartment, they arrived at the Nine Dragons Bridge in just a flash.

The coachman climbed down from his seat to personally open the carriage door for Yan Liqiang while conveniently collecting his fare.

“Alright, keep the change...” Yan Liqiang casually fished out a small silver fragment from his pocket and put it in the coachman’s hands. While the coachmen expressed his gratitude profusely, Yan Liqiang went off toward a four-story restaurant closest to the Nine Dragons Bridge. It was the same restaurant he once visited with Shi Dafeng and the others.

The Nine Dragons Bridge was much more lively at night compared to before. However, the Shatu people were nearly non-existent on the streets. Even those who used to set up vendor stalls in front of other people’s shops had vanished.

Yan Liqiang went into the restaurant and was led to the fourth floor by the waiter. He took a seat at a table by the window, then ordered some food to accompany his wine. He turned his head to the side and observed the situation outside. This was the only place that could allow him to clearly see the entire area where the Shatu people converged in Pingxi City. Although the sky had just turned dark, there were fewer lights around the areas where they gathered. These areas were somewhat desolate now compared to two years ago.

In just a short moment, the dishes and wine were served. While Yan Liqiang was drinking alone, footsteps rang out beside him. A man came and took the seat right across from Yan Liqiang. His eyes met Yan Liqiang’s with the aggressiveness of stray wolf that had locked on to its prey. He then spoke with his deep voice, “Are you bored drinking alone here, Young Lord...?”

Chapter 518: Solo Cloud

Hearing the voice coming from across him, Yan Liqiang shifted his gaze from outside the window to the man sitting in front of him.

Judging from the man’s appearance, he seemed to have the standard features of a northwestern man who had a strong build. Sitting across from Yan Liqiang, he occupied almost half of the table. Signs of aging were present on his tanned face, yet he didn’t look like a boor. In fact, he had a pair of sharp eyes and a sharp nose. His eyes were shining brilliantly and he was subtly exuding a dangerous aura.

Of course, the man didn’t carry a weapon with him. He only sat across from Yan Liqiang while sizing the latter up with his slightly intrusive gaze. From Yan Liqiang’s hair to his nails, the man left nothing unchecked.

Any ordinary person would definitely be shocked to find a man suddenly seating himself at their table and 99% of them would probably inquire about his name or background, but not Yan Liqiang. The Psychic Serpent in his head already revealed all the brain activity in the man’s head when Yan Liqiang laid his eyes on him for the very first time.

Only two seconds after looking at the man in front of him, Yan Liqiang already knew everything he needed to know before the man even spoke.

The man in front of Yan Liqiang was none other than Situ Feixing, the leader of Solo Cloud, the biggest band of brigands in the northwestern region, whom Fu Changde had mentioned before. He was also a former member of the Qiyun Protectorate.

“It’s been a long time since I last drank alone. Rather than feeling bored, I feel very relaxed!” Yan Liqiang smiled at Situ Feixing. “I didn’t know you were here either. I just left the Prefectural Governor’s Office and came to the Nine Dragons Bridge to get some fresh air. I’ve been to this restaurant before with friends, and had an eventful night running into a Shatu man who wanted to forcefully take over a medicine shop at the roadside the time. I didn’t expect this restaurant to be your meeting place in Pingxi City.”

How shocking! There was nothing but shock!

Situ Feixing had come to Pingxi Prefecture this time to meet Yan Liqiang. He didn’t expect to see Yan Liqiang entering the restaurant first the moment he reached the street near his meeting place. Situ Feixing was bewildered for a long time as there was no way his elusive movements could have been leaked. This restaurant was the Solo Cloud’s secret stronghold. There was no way Yan Liqiang could have predicted he was coming today either. When he later realized Yan Liqiang was dining in the restaurant alone without any appointments, he took the initiative to approach and meet him. He only wanted to test Yan Liqiang’s capability to see if he was qualified for his men to pledge their loyalties to.

The moment Yan Liqiang spoke, he stunned Situ Feixing into silence for a good moment. The latter then looked at him strangely. “We’ve never met each other before. How did you figure out who I am?”

In an era where cameras didn’t exist, Situ Feixing refused believe that Yan Liqiang would be able to recognize him at first glance even if Fu Changde had described his face to him before. There were no obvious flaws or distinctive features on Situ Feixing’s face and body. Not only that, he even disguised himself when he came to Pingxi City this time. With such drastic changes, he just couldn’t believe Yan Liqiang would recognize him by only relying on the verbal descriptions given to him by someone else.

“Did I say who you are?” Yan Liqiang blinked. “It’s as you say – we have not met each other before. Since we are brought here together by fate, we should grab a drink together as brothers. Waiter, bring this uncle a wine cup and another set of bowl and chopsticks!”

Situ Feixing suddenly felt that Yan Liqiang was an enigmatic and extremely sophisticated individual. His behavior wasn’t something expected of people his age.

No one else came up to the fourth floor after Situ Feixing. At Yan Liqiang’s order, the chubby restaurant manager personally came upstairs and brought Situ Feixing a wine cup as well as a set of bowl and chopsticks. He cast a careful glance at Situ Feixing and then quietly retreated after receiving an eye signal from Situ Feixing.

Yan Liqiang picked up the wine jar, then filled up Situ Feixing’s cup and his own. He then raised his wine cup with a sigh. “The first cup of wine. Let’s toast to our meeting here today! We are both drifting on the face of the Silver Continent, no matter if we were strangers before this encounter!”

“We are both drifting on the face of the Silver Continent, no matter if we were strangers before this encounter! Good one!” Situ Feixing cast a glance at Yan Liqiang, then raised his wine cup too and downed its contents along with Yan Liqiang.

“I didn’t ask Fu Changde to look for you. Since you came to Pingxi Prefecture, I presume that he has found you and told you about me. He looked for you but didn’t come with you today, so that means he doesn’t know about you coming here? We’ve never met before, yet you recognized me when I came into this restaurant. I’m guessing that you have seen me before from a distance on the first day of the first lunar month at the Heavenly Lake. Fu Changde must have been with you during that time. Am I right?” Yan Liqiang asked with a smile.

Situ Feixing was silent for a moment. “Then can you guess how many men I’ve brought with me to Pingxi City this time?”

“Why do I need to guess? You came here alone this time!” Yan Liqiang continued filling the two cups with wine. “The others may not have the guts, but you definitely do. For you, the less people you bring, the less likely you’ll expose yourself. I also know the reason why you have come. You’re a little hesitant and uncertain, so you came to meet me and see for yourself just what kind of person I am so that you can make your decision. After all, an inexperienced brat who is only good at martial arts isn’t worthy of the Qiyun Protectorate General title!”

Despite his earlier composure, Situ Feixing was starting to feel rather restless. Yan Liqiang had been calm, yet Situ Feixing felt naked in front of this young man. It was like Yan Liqiang could read him like an open book. This was his first time meeting someone like this. Even the previous Qiyun Protectorate General couldn’t make him feel so ill at ease.

“The second cup of wine. Let’s toast to the righteousness between heaven and earth. Heaven and earth may merge, the river may run dry, the mountain may crumble, snow may fall in the summer, thunder may rumble during winter, but righteousness should never cease to exist! The Gu Clan of the Qiyun Protectorate was ephemeral. Your appearance today proves that righteousness still exists in your heart. Just the thoughts alone are enough for me. I shall respect whatever decision you make in the end. I wish you the best in your future endeavors. May you be blessed with boundless glory and live a life without regrets!” Yan Liqiang raised his wine cup with a solemn face, then once again downed its contents.

Situ Feixing’s eyes instantly reddened and were filled with an ominous glint. He started panting as well. When he saw Yan Liqiang drain his second cup of wine, he did the same too and then slammed the wine cup down on the table, causing the bowls and plates to clatter.

Yan Liqiang continued filling the two cups for the third time, then raised his cup. “I’ve been the one talking for the first two rounds. For the third round, you may ask me a question. I shall answer it truthfully!”

Situ Feixing raised his third cup of wine, then stared right into Yan Liqiang’s eyes before uttering every word clearly. “I have only one question for you. If I ask all of my men in Solo Cloud to pledge their loyalty to you, would you avenge the Protectorate General and our dead brothers?”

“If you and your men pledge your loyalty to me and only listen to my orders from now on without questioning me, then you will obey my decision in avenging them when the time, place, and conditions are right. If hatred were to blind you and you would dare to defy me and foil my plans, then I would have to cut you down without any mercy.” Yan Liqiang downed his third cup of wine as soon as he finished speaking.

Situ Feixing immediately got up from his seat and stared at Yan Liqiang with his reddened eyes, looking as though he was going to devour someone. Yan Liqiang, who just finished his third cup of wine, remained seated as he calmly looked back at Situ Feixing. The staring contest between both parties lasted for about half a minute before Situ Feixing picked up his cup, gulped down the wine in one go, and then smashed the wine cup hard on the floor, shattering it into countless pieces. He fell to one knee and lifted his head. Tears were cascading down his face as he paid his homage to Yan Liqiang. “Administrator Situ Feixing from the Qiyun Protectorate pays his respect to the lord...!”

Chapter 519: Intricate Thoughts

“Please get up, please get up...” Yan Liqiang quickly stepped forward and pulled Situ Feixing up by his arm before returning to his seat again.

Situ Feixing cupped his fist at Yan Liqiang and looked at him with his unwavering gaze. “From now on, my men and I shall obey only you, my lord!”

“Fu Changde mentioned you before, but he wasn’t really informed of your current circumstances.”

“You can ask me anything you want, my lord! I shall tell you everything I can!” Situ Feixing spoke without hesitation. When he saw Yan Liqiang throw a glance at the stairs, he continued assuring him, “Don’t worry, my lord. When I came up just now, I already informed the manager to temporarily seal off this floor. There are people guarding downstairs, so the people dining downstairs will not come up here!”

“Alright, then allow me ask you a few questions. How many men do you have now?”

“People claim that I have more than ten thousand men under my command, but there are only about eight thousand of them!”

“Eight thousand men isn’t that small of a number. That’s enough to make three battalions!” Yan Liqiang nodded in approval. “How’s the battle prowess? How many of them are cavalrymen?”

Situ Feixing replied confidently, “Among the eight thousand, a little more than five thousand are cavalry while the remaining three thousand are infantry. They are not inferior to the Gan Provincial army in terms of battle prowess. Nearly everyone from the infantry knows how to ride a horse and is capable of fighting on horseback!”

“A five-thousand-strong calvary, good!” Yan Liqiang was secretly surprised by Solo Cloud’s battle prowess when he heard that Situ Feixing had five thousand cavalrymen. “How do you manage to feed so many of them?”

“I gradually gathered them over the time. My men and I stay around Mount Wumeng where the Feng and Gan Provinces meet the Dark Ram Tribe’s territory. It is an unregulated area that is part of Mount Qiyun. The Gan and Feng Provinces don’t bother to care about it and the Dark Ram Tribe can’t do anything there. There are a few vast plains at the foot of Mount Wumeng – that’s where we collect tolls from caravans and escort agencies. We are also breeding horses there.

“From time to time, I lead my men over Mount Wumeng and fight on the Dark Ram Tribe’s territory. If they invade the Great Han Empire’s plains, then we shall do the same to their plains. At the same time, we also keep an eye out for Shatu caravans. We also control a huge copper mine and a small silver mine in Mount Wumeng. Just like that, we manage to earn about ten thousand taels of silver a year. With this money, I gathered a troop of soldiers and built up a five thousand men cavalry. All this just for the hope of recovering the Gulang Plains one day and exterminating all those dogs from the Shatu Seven Tribes to avenge my dead brothers!” Situ Feixing spoke murderously.

Situ Feixing was quite determined, and he was indeed a rare individual. While Yan Liqiang was secretly impressed, he continued to ask, “What’s the background of your men? Are they completely reliable?”

“Most of my men are descendants of the Qiyun Protectorate’s former members that were driven out from the Gulang Plains by the Shatu people. These people are extremely loyal to me and they are always waiting to go back to the Gulang Plains. Some are part of the brigands and bandits which I’ve taken in while some are people who aren’t satisfied with leading a mediocre life so they requested to join Solo Cloud due to its reputation. But there aren’t many of them, only about two thousand in total. They are scattered across the northwestern regions, but are still under my control. Although some of them are bandits, they are quite loyal. They will not dare to try anything funny unless they are under extreme circumstances. Apart from that, I have several hundred from the Dark Bandits, but they obey my commands!”

“The Dark Bandits?” Yan Liqiang asked in astonishment.

“The Dark Bandits are people who escaped from the Dark Ram Tribe. Their territories haven’t been that peaceful as there are always conflicts between the tribes. The situation is grim and the strong prey on the weak. The Dark Bandits are made up of the survivors from the losing tribes of the internal strife among the Dark Ram people, wanted criminals, or the people who are being hunted. They couldn’t continue living in the territories of the Dark Ram Tribe so they took the risk of crossing Mount Qiyun to escape.”

“I see, I didn’t expect people from the Dark Ram Tribe to be among your followers, I guess that’s... erm... rather unusual!” Yan Liqiang nearly said ‘quite international’, but managed to quickly correct himself in time.

“If my lord wishes to recover the Gulang Plains and rebuild the Qiyun Protectorate’s Office, just give us your command! My men and I shall definitely see things through!”

“With your men and everyone from my archery academy, or if we even double up that number, do you think we are capable of fighting the Shatu Seven Tribes and restoring control over the Gulang Plains to the Qiyun Protectorate?” Yan Liqiang asked calmly.

Situ Feixing was silent for a moment before he shook his head and answered bitterly, “The Shatu Seven Tribes have settled down in the Gulang Plains for several decades with a population of several million. With so little men on our side, we would struggle with fighting against the weakest group among the Shatu Seven Tribes, let alone the entire Shatu Seven Tribes!”

“Exactly. We don’t have enough men to fight against the Shatu Seven Tribes now to recover the Gulang Plains and rebuild the Qiyun Protectorate’s Office. There’s no way we can take the Gulang Plains back from the Shatu people even if we are all sacrificed in the battle, much less exact any revenge,” Yan Liqiang spoke with composure.

“Have you never thought of recovering the Gulang Plains and rebuilding the Qiyun Protectorate’s Office, my lord?” Situ Feixing asked.

“Of course I did!”

“Then, when do you think is the right time? I heard that your manufacturing bureau has been raking in fortune – even an annual profit of several hundred thousand taels of silver isn’t a problem. You have a soaring reputation in the northwestern region, my lord. Could it be that you are thinking of slowing assembling a troop in Gan Province with the manufacturing bureau?”

“Haha. While I wish to assemble a troop, this isn’t doable even with money. Timing and environment are both crucial factors. It’s impossible to fight against the Shatu Seven Tribes without an army of twenty or thirty thousand men. Do you think the imperial court and the Gan Provincial Governor would allow me to assemble such a big troop in Gan Province to fight the Shatu Seven Tribes?” Yan Liqiang shook his head. “The number of people I have gathered through the archery academy is nearing the limit of men I am allowed to have!”

“The Shatu Seven Tribes are now in turmoil – two tribes have started warring against each other. The Gulang Plains is in chaos. This is the best opportunity we have. If we miss this chance, I’m afraid it’ll be more difficult in the future!” Situ Feixing sighed. There was disappointment in his sadness. “If we don’t do this now, then that means we’ll never have the chance to recover the Gulang Plains again.”

“Not really!” Yan Liqiang shook his head and smiled.

Situ Feixing immediately lifted his head and looked at Yan Liqiang with his burning gaze. “Could it be that you have some other way, my lord?”

“Of course I do!” Yan Liqiang’s gaze turned mysterious. “However, it’s impossible for us to immediately recover the Gulang Plains by just relying on our combined strengths. We’ll need to involve more parties and power. We’ll only stand a chance by instigating someone else to recover the Gulang Plains!”

“Ah!” Situ Feixing gaped at Yan Liqiang. Although he considered himself to be a resourceful man, he felt that his intelligence was inadequate in Yan Liqiang’s presence. “Warring against the Shatu Seven Tribes is an extremely dangerous matter that requires huge investments. How are you planning to make someone else lead the recovery of the Gulang Plains for us, my lord?”

“It’s the pursuit of self-interest that draws people in, but it is also what wedges them apart. As long as we make it known that recovering the Gulang Plains by driving out the Shatu people is a highly profitable matter, countless will come offer me money, soldiers and food, and try to assist in recovering the area to rebuild the Qiyun Protectorate’s Office!”

Fortunately, those words came out from Yan Liqiang’s mouth. Had it been someone else from Solo Cloud, Situ Feixing would have slapped the living daylights out of him and made the person who dared to speak to him without using his brain to look for his teeth all over the floor.

“The thing that kills most people in the world isn’t some powerful martial arts or weapons. It’s money and people’s will!” Yan Liqiang looked at Situ Feixing’s unfathomable expression, then continued speaking calmly. “As long as there’s self-interest to pursue, even a blade of grass or a tree is enough to destroy an entire city or nation. I can tell you today that the Shatu Seven Tribes will be destroyed by none other than the vast green fields of the Gulang Plains. They thought they would be able to settle and grow in numbers just by occupying the plains, so they acted unscrupulously. But I’ll let them know very soon that I can turn the Gulang Plains into a weapon against them. They will become the targets of many parties...”

Chapter 520: The Fortress’ Completion

By the time Situ Feixing left, Yan Liqiang still hadn’t finished the bottle of wine on his table. The restaurant manager came over and stood shakily by his table while smiling, “The side dishes have gone cold. Would you like a new set to be served for you, Young Lord Yan?”

“Manager Chu, was it?”

“Yes, yes, yes...” The chubby restaurant manager nodded with a broad smile on his face. “Our superior informed us to follow your orders from now on in Pingxi City before he left. Whatever Young Lord Yan says is an order from our superior. If you need anything, just let us know!”

“Since your superior has spoken, then I don’t need to explain anything!” Yan Liqiang rubbed his flat stomach, then looked at the dishes that had gone cold on his table with a wry smile. He just couldn’t catch a peaceful meal today. After all the talks and discussions, he realized that he was really hungry now. He could even feel his intestines squirming at a fast pace and his tummy was about to rumble, so he asked Manager Chu a very direct question. “Do you have steamed buns?”

“Ah, Young Lord, you eat steamed buns too...?” Manager Chu was taken aback for a moment, but quickly recovered when he saw the way Yan Liqiang was looking at him. “Yes, we do...!”

“Then give me six of them to fill my stomach. That’s all I need!”

“Alright, please wait for a moment. I’ll have them served to you right away!” Manager Chu nodded, then went downstairs to personally take care of it. In just a flash, he came up again with a tray of hot steamed buns and a bowl of warm snow ginseng chicken soup. Yan Liqiang immediately wolfed down the six steamed buns and soup without saying anything, then rubbed his stomach and stood up.

“How much?”

“Erm, how can we bring ourselves to receive money from you, Young Lord?” Manager Chu said uncomfortably.

Yan Liqiang smiled. “We are unrelated and I am only a patron in the restaurant. What’s wrong with paying for my food? The food here is quite decent, I may frequently drop by in the future. Are you going to let your business make losses whenever you see me, Manager Chu?”

Only then did Manager Chu suddenly realize that and slapped his forehead. “Oh, how silly of me. That’ll be seven maces and six candareens of silver, Young Lord Yan. Never mind about the six candareens, just seven maces of silver will do!”

“Hahaha, seems like you are good at doing business. Keep the change!” Yan Liqiang immediately fished out a piece of silver and placed it on the table. He then turned around and went downstairs, escorted by Manager Chu.

At this hour, there were significantly less people but more patrolling soldiers on the main street near the Nine Dragons Bridge. Yan Liqiang took another glance at the dull scenery of the Shatu community area before heading toward the other side of the bridge while thinking about something.

Meeting Situ Feixing today in Pingxi City was definitely out of Yan Liqiang’s expectations. Even so, gaining another huge helping hand was still something worth celebrating. Although Situ Feixing and Solo Cloud were useful, it was not the time to use them yet. The size of their troops was still too small to intervene with the chaotic situation in the Gulang Plains. Therefore, Yan Liqiang was still going to proceed with his original plans. The task he had given to Situ Feixing and Solo Cloud was to continue expanding themselves and double the size of their current troops. At the same time, they were to closely monitor the activities on the Gulang Plains and the situations of the Dark Ram Tribe. Yan Liqiang would personally support Situ Feixing for this purpose. From now on, the restaurant here at the Nine Dragons Bridge would become the stronghold for Yan Liqiang to contact Situ Fexing and Solo Cloud, and Manager Chu would also be receiving orders from Yan Liqiang.

He could only leave things as they were for now since things like these couldn’t be rushed. However, he should be able to carry out his next plan now. The Transportation Office and Soaring Heaven Sect had lowered their heads now. It seemed like being the best archer in the northwestern region was useful. For the time being, no one in Gan Province would dare to find trouble with him. Yan Liqiang walked while thinking, then a cold smile slowly appeared on his face. The Shatu Seven Tribes should prepare themselves to receive a huge gift from me...

About half an hour later, Yan Liqiang exited the city right before the city gates were closing. As soon as he did, he saw Hu Haihe and two guards waiting at the entrance so he went over to them.

“Young Lord...!” Hu Haihe immediately came down from the carriage to open the carriage door for him.

“Well then, let’s return to the manufacturing bureau!” Yan Liqiang announced that and climbed into the carriage.

...

...

Two days later, the weather completely cleared up at noon, so Yan Liqiang returned to Liuhe Town.

However, his carriage was stopped at the Liuhe Town entrance this time.

As soon as Yan Liqiang alighted the four-wheeled carriage, he saw Lu Wenbin jog up to him and then greet him. “Greetings, Young Lord!”

By now, Yan Liqiang was pretty much considered to be the Lu Clan’s son-in-law. As the Lu Clan’s steward, Lu Wenbin’s respect for Yan Liqiang came from the bottom of his heart. At the same time, his voice was much friendlier than before since Yan Liqiang was now considered to be his ‘relative’.

“Oh, the doors are being installed?” Yan Liqiang’s gaze swept across the fortress wall of Liuhe Town in the distance. There was a big group of workers busy working at the entrance which was once open. They were currently trying to install the two main doors at the southern entrance of Liuhe Town, so the road that led to the town entrance was temporarily sealed off for this reason.

Yan Liqiang didn’t really pay much attention to the construction until now. It was only now that he lifted his head to look at the lofty and sturdy wall in front of him. After more than a year’s worth of work, the construction of Liuhe Town’s fortress had come to an end. The battlements and arrow towers on top of the fortress wall had been completed. Liuhe Town was now surrounded by a tall and sturdy protective wall, just like the Lu Residence. It was certainly a sight to behold. The wall was even taller compared to the Lu Residence, and completely made out of limestone bricks. It was nearly impossible for martial practitioners below the Martial Master realm to scale over the wall. From afar, Liuhe Town’s fortress wall exuded impressive grandeur.

In the northwestern region and Gan Province, a fortress wall with a strong defense was a standard symbol of the local influential clan’s power and influence over the area. In the Great Han Empire, the emperor’s rule didn’t extend to the counties. The reason was because only clans held the authority to build fortresses like these. As long as the clan had nothing to do with treason or cause a great shift in the political situation, building a fortress like this could almost guarantee the clan’s power and influence for another two centuries.

For some reason, Yan Liqiang instantly felt a lot more at ease when he saw the fortress in front of him. He let out a sigh of relief, feeling the pressure he had for the future being significantly eliminated by the sturdy walls.

“Please wait for a moment, Young Lord. I didn’t expect you to return this morning. One of the doors has been installed. We’ll need another hour to get the other one installed before the roads will be made accessible!”

“Not a problem!” Yan Liqiang waved his hand with a smile in a great mood. “Come, let’s go have a look there...” Yan Liqiang ignored the dust and mud beneath his feet as he walked toward the fortress of Liuhe Town while speaking...

Chapter 521: Arrangements

“Lord Yan is here...!” There was a commotion among the artisans who were installing the fortress’ main door at the entrance. Many stopped in the middle of their work and glanced in Yan Liqiang’s direction. To these artisans, Yan Liqiang was something akin to the celebrities from his previous world due to his reputation.

“Good work, everyone! Once the main doors have been installed, I’ll treat everyone to a large sumptuous meal tonight...!” Yan Liqiang smiled and cupped his fist to the artisans. His words caused the artisans to cheer immediately.

“Young Lord Yan, this metal calabash you invented is really useful! It really saved a lot of our efforts. Objects that not even seven or eight people can lift together back then can now easily be lifted by just one person...” The chief artisan that was overlooking the work of the artisans at the entrance gave Yan Liqiang a thumbs-up. “Back then, I never believed it when people said that Young Lord Yan is skilled in both literary talents and martial arts, and is apprenticed to a deity. But now, I really believe them...!”

The so-called ‘metal calabash’ was none other than the pulley that Yan Liqiang had invented. When it was sent to the construction site, the workers thought it looked like a calabash. Hence, no one used its awkward-sounding name. Instead, they just called it a ‘metal calabash’, as this name was much more catchy and easier to remember.

“Hahaha, glad to hear that. The path of mechanics and the investigation of things is all about bringing convenience to people. If this metal calabash can save some efforts for everyone and make things easier, then it has served its purpose...” Yan Liqiang spoke, then walked to the fortress wall’s archway and touched the thick metal door which had been installed. He reached out to pat on the door that was about a foot thick. The door didn’t budge an inch, but a dull noise rang out instead. Yan Liqiang looked at it and nodded in approval. “Not bad! The inside should be wood, right? Feels pretty sturdy!”

“The inside of the door is black steel wood which has been soaked in tung oil for over six months. It is as hard as metal but not as heavy, making it the best material to be used inside the metal door. The metal coating is about an inch thick, rendering axes and swords ineffective on a door like this!” Lu Wenbin explained, then pointed to the base of the doors.

“The dressed stones at the base are more than six feet, each weighing several thousand jin. Behind these metal doors are metal gates that can be pulled up or down when needed with a winch. With this additional layer of protection, not even a battering ram can break open the doors so easily. The only way to storm this place is by climbing over the city walls.”

Yan Liqiang looked at Lu Wenbin’s tanned face that had slimmed down a lot and felt a little emotional. “You’ve worked hard for the past year!”

“Not at all. It’s an honor to serve you, Young Lord. I have learned a lot from working in Liuhe Town for the past year!”

Yan Liqiang nodded. He briefly examined the base of the doors, then came back. “Oh yes, what about the thing we discussed last time?”

Naturally, Lu Wenbin knew what Yan Liqiang was referring to. “I have found the brick factory as requested, Young Lord. There’s a big factory on the White Sheep Hill at Qinghe County that produces nice bricks. The manager was planning on disposing of it, so I bought it with only about three thousand taels of silver, along with the workers there. Most of the bricks used to build this fortress were produced there. As for the construction company, I have recruited a few chief artisans and had them handpick a group of capable workers. When they heard that you were the owner, everyone was very willing to join!”

“Good. Lead them in completing the fortress and the houses in Liuhe Town first. Once done, find a time to officially set up the construction company. A few days ago, I told the Old Master about you, and he was supportive of it. By the time the construction company is established, the Yan Clan will invest in it. You will manage it while the Yan Clan will own five shares, the Lu Clan will own a share, and you will own four shares. The Lu Clan and I are merely shareholders – we won’t interfere with the construction company’s affairs. You’ll assume full control in the daily operations. I’ll have more things for you all to work on later!”

Lu Wenbin couldn’t conceal his excitement as a smile broke into his face. “As you wish, Young Lord!”

“Oh right, what has my father been doing for the past two days? Based on my understanding, he’s definitely not going to stay idle now that the Aquapyro Engine has been constructed!” Yan Liqiang changed the subject.

“The Old Master is setting up a mill powered by the Aquapyro Engine in town. He’s been in there for the past two days, making adjustments to the engine...”

“Haha, that’s pretty much within my expectation!”

“The Aquapyro Engine-powered mill will officially open today in the town’s new street. Half of the townsfolk have gone there to watch!”

Yan Liqiang smiled. He could imagine how Yan Dechang looked like now even without seeing him. The Aquapyro Engine was like a huge toy to the old blacksmith. It stimulated his curiosity and passion. Yan Liqiang had noticed his father’s special interest in the Engine when they were in the manufacturing bureau. Yan Dechang was so immersed in trying to figure out some principles and manufacturing processes for certain parts that he’d even forgotten to eat or sleep. Well, it didn’t really matter as long as his father was having fun.

“What has been going on in Liuhe Town for the past few days?”

“Oh, nothing much. After you returned from the Heavenly Lake, there have been many visitors in Liuhe Town who came from afar, hoping to be apprenticed to you, Young Lord!” Lu Wenbin chuckled. “However, they were all sent away after making their way to the Yan Residence. Old Master Yan told them to go to the archery academy if they wished to learn from you. Then, the archery academy told them to go back and wait until the new intake this year...”

Yan Liqiang chuckled too.

...

About half an hour later, the other side of the door was finally installed in the fortress’ archway and worked fine when tested. The archway was then cleared out and Yan Liqiang entered Liuhe Town along with the rest.

More than half of the townsfolk had gone to the newly-opened mill, just as Lu Wenbin mentioned earlier. When the Soul Mountain Sect delivered the Aquapyro Engine to the Yan Residence, not many people got to see it. Now that Yan Dechang was setting up a mill with the Aquapyro Engine which was open to the public, it caused quite a stir...

Before Yan Liqiang even reached the new street in town, he had already spotted a huge crowd in the distance. They surrounded a building on the street and were making noises. Countless people were gasping in amazement.

“It’s moving, it’s moving...!”

“The noodles really came out, the noodles really came out...!”

...

Yan Liqiang didn’t join the crowd. Instead, he directly returned to the Yan Residence. As soon as he did, he sent someone to call Steward Zhou over.

Steward Zhou hurriedly ran to the parlor.

“I remember there are quite a few places in Qinghe County that rear sheep, yes?” Yan Liqiang immediately asked.

Steward Zhou was slightly taken aback. He didn’t expect Yan Liqiang to take an interest in something so trivial. Since he asked, Steward Zhou had to answer. “Yes, you are right Young Lord. There are certainly many places rearing sheep in Qinghe County. In fact, many villagers are earning a living through that. We are doing it too!”

“Oh, we rear sheep too?” Yan Liqiang was totally unaware that they had started rearing sheep. It was true that he no longer kept track of these matters after his clan’s business expanded.

“Yes, we currently rear more than a hundred sheep at home. The Old Master took pity on two old and childless tenant farmers in town who couldn’t do any heavy work and had no income. He always has me send them some food. The two old men were too shy to always be accepting the Old Master’s grace. They said they knew how to tend to sheep and offered their services, so I bought some lambs for them to care for every day!”

“Oh, are we rearing sheep or goats?”

“Sheep, of course. Goats will uproot the grass while they graze. If there are many of them, all the grass on the hillside, meadows, or roadside will be gone. Then, we’d have to go through the trouble of looking for new grazing lands for them. On the other hand, sheep don’t uproot the grass while they graze. The grass will grow back again in two days’ time, so it makes things easier. Most of the people in Qinghe County rear sheep too!”

Yan Liqiang rubbed his chin. “Hm, I have a task for you. Find a capable steward from our residence and have him buy all the wool from villages or wealthy clans that keep a large number of sheep.”

“Excuse me?” Steward Zhou thought he misheard Yan Liqiang. “Do you mean buying sheepskin instead, Young Lord?”

“Not sheepskin, buy the wool!”

Steward Zhou only knew that he didn’t mishear Yan Liqiang when he repeated that. He gulped with an inconceivable expression on his face. “Young Lord, wool is useless. Sheep are killed for sheepskin and mutton. The wool will usually be discarded because no one wants it. What do you plan on using it for after buying it, Young Lord?”

If Lu Wenbin was here, he wouldn’t be asking what Yan Liqiang planned to do with the wool. That wasn’t a question that an intelligent servant would ask. However, this steward was very honest for speaking everything on his mind, so Yan Liqiang didn’t mind either. He only very patiently explained, “You’ll know when the time comes. Go get it done first. Find a specialist to take care of it and don’t be sloppy about it. The more wool we can collect, the better. We have built a new warehouse by the river right? Keep the wool in sacks and store them in there. Have someone guard the new warehouse and make sure no fires break out there. Have the steward in charge of collecting the wool check for a suitable place for rearing sheep in Pingxi Prefecture too. I’m going to invest in a few suitable pieces of land for rearing sheep in the near future!”

“Alright. Rest assured, Young Lord. I’ll make the arrangements!” Although Steward Zhou didn’t understand, he gave Yan Liqiang a serious nod without saying anything else. “Is there anything else?”

“No, that’s all. You are dismissed!”

“Alright,” Steward Zhou bowed, then turned around and left the parlor...

Chapter 522: A Visit From The Zhong Clan

Yan Liqiang sat in one of the chairs at the parlor, watching Steward Zhou’s disappearing silhouette while planning his next course of action. Some things just couldn’t be stopped once started.

Yan Liqiang didn’t send people to collect wool just for fun, but for use.

Ever since Yan Liqiang arrived in this world, he found it strange when he realized that wool spinning and weaving techniques didn’t exist here. Nothing in the Great Han Empire was made of cotton wool fabric. People were wearing materials like coarse fabric, linen, satin, silk, all sorts of yarns, brocade, and even animal leather. There were all kinds of clothing made out of brocade, linens, and silk to meet the needs of people with different social statuses. Yet, the supposedly most common type of clothing made out of cotton wool fabric was never seen.

Chapter 523: Visitors

It was the fourth lunar month, late spring. Summer was just around the corner. Flowers were in full bloom and the trees were lush in Pingxi Prefecture at this time of year.

On the sixth day of the fourth lunar month, the evening sky was clear and the cool breeze was blowing. Two handsome black rhinodrake steeds appeared at the eastern gates of Pingxi City, pulling along a black luxurious four-wheeled carriage behind them.

The passenger compartment of the black carriage had a calming atmosphere. The stained glass pane on the door was framed by pure silver, which added a sophisticated and elegant touch to it. On the carriage, there was a copper dragon and tiger seal near the coachman’s seat. These were the few features that allowed people with discerning eyes to immediately identify the carriage as a product of the manufacturing bureau. It was rumored that the manufacturing bureau had a long waiting list of thirty years just for placing an order for a four-wheeled carriage as the item was in short supply. Therefore, whoever rode in this kind of carriage would naturally be extremely wealthy and prestigious.

The carriage was escorted by eight warriors who carried bows and swords with them. They were either riding on their rhinodrake steeds in front or behind the carriage. Since there was no way someone who could travel in such style would be up to any funny business, the soldiers guarding the gates only scanned them with their eyes before allowing the carriage and its escorts into the city.

When the carriage was only less than a hundred meters past the entrance, there was already a crowd in the alley at the side of the road. Many people lined the alley. The queue extended into the main street. People were lining up with a pouch or a can in their hands while excitedly discussing something with each other. At the same time, more people were seen joining the line with a bag or a can.

If this was some other carriage, it probably would have ignored these people and gone past them. However, the black carriage pulled up to the side of the street when it noticed people lining up. A man’s voice rang out from the carriage’s window, “Rengui, go see what’s going on!”

“Yes, Second Master!” One of the young guards at the side immediately jumped off his rhinodrake steed when he heard the voice coming from inside the carriage, then went into the crowd. After conversing with an elderly man who was in the queue, he came back to the carriage’s window and respectfully replied, “Second Master, a mill which is powered by an Aquapyro Engine has just opened up in this alley today. As the first day of business, the owner of the mill is offering to grind up to two sheng [1] of grains or noodles for the townsfolk for free. When everyone heard the news, they all came here to line up...”

“Alright, understood. Let’s go!” the voice said, then the exquisite stained glass window of the carriage was shut again. The ‘Second Master’ in the carriage turned his head to the side to look at the girl sitting beside him. With a rueful voice, he said, “We just sent someone to buy two Aquapyro Engines from the manufacturing bureau last month. They were handed over to your Sixth Uncle and he is in the midst of dismantling and studying the engine with the artisans back at home. I heard they have only started making progress and managed to conclude that it’s not too difficult to replicate this invention. Little did I expect a mill powered by an Aquapyro Engine to be set up in Pingxi City so soon... That’s really too fast...”

This ‘Second Master’ was none other than the ‘Second Uncle’ who watched the duel between Yan Liqiang and Cai Yingwu of the Soaring Heaven Sect from the hill at the Heavenly Lake on the first day of the first lunar month. His name was Zhong Hongzhang, the second brother to the head of Lan Province’s Zhong Clan, Zhong Hongyan.

Sitting next to Zhong Hongzhang was a beautiful lady dressed in white. After hearing his words, she smiled. “A four-wheeled carriage from the manufacturing bureau is at least five thousand taels of silver. Not only that, the price is non-negotiable. It is undoubtedly the most profitable business in the Great Han Empire. Yet, this Aquapyro Engine they made is only sold at eight hundred taels of silver each. That’s less than one-sixth of a four-wheeled carriage. However, I can tell that the process of constructing the Aquapyro Engine isn’t any simpler than the four-wheeled carriage. It might just be even more complicated and require much more effort. The cost isn’t really much cheaper either. Instead of using his resources in the manufacturing bureau to make more four-wheeled carriages to make more money, he is spending them on making the less profitable Aquapyro Engines. What do you think that Yan Liqiang is trying to do, Second Uncle...?”

“Hmm...” Zhong Hongzhang frowned slightly under the lady’s gaze while stroking his beard. He thought for a moment before speaking, “I heard that the Aquapyro Engine was invented by Yan Liqiang and Zhang Yourong, the best engineer in the world. The Soul Mountain Sect’s Thousand Engineering Hall admitted to this. Due to this, many people are starting to compare Yan Liqiang’s knowledge in the path of mechanics and the investigation of things to Zhang Yourong. They think that Yan Liqiang might not be inferior to Zhang Yourong. If Yan Liqiang isn’t after money for making the manufacturing bureau produce the Aquapyro Engine, then he’s after the fame. His reputation will go wherever the Aquapyro Engine goes. A good reputation will naturally bring numerous benefits. Even now, people are referring to them as ‘Zhang of the East and Yan of the West!”

“You are certainly right, Second Uncle. Yet, I still have a feeling that Yan Liqiang perhaps has other motives for making the manufacturing bureau spend so much effort in making the Aquapyro Engine!”

“Oh, what do you think Yan Liqiang is after then, if not for money or fame, Ruolan?”

Zhong Roulan knitted her eyebrows together. “Maybe he just wants to popularize the use of Aquapyro Engines. He might not even mind if someone else purchases one to replicate and make it into a business that rivals the manufacturing bureau!”

“Out of all the things I’ve seen throughout my entire life, people always do things for a reason. If Yan Liqiang wasn’t after the money or the fame, then he must have a bigger ulterior motive. If someone buys the Aquapyro Engine and replicates it, it’s none of his business on how it will be used. He can’t even stop the Grand Chancellor and Northwestern Transport Commissioner from finding someone to replicate them if they wanted to. So why did he bother to waste his effort on such a thing?”

Zhong Ruolan let out a soft sigh. “That’s why I am puzzled and fail to wrap my head around it. I just can’t figure out his intention in doing this. It’s really difficult to understand him...”

“It’s alright. If you can’t figure it out, then you can take your time to observe. Our purpose in coming to Pingxi Prefecture this time is him. There are many talented ones among the younger generation of the Zhong Clan, yet the head clan still thinks that you are the best out of them, regardless of age, capability, appearance, and other criteria. He reckons that you are the best candidate to take on this responsibility and are most suitable to take a trip to Pingxi Prefecture with me!” Zhong Hongzhang cast a meaningful glance at his niece. “I’ll leave this important task in your hands.”

Zhong Ruolan’s eyes turned moist when he heard Zhong Hongzhang’s words. Her face turned into a lovely shade of red, but her expression remained calm. She spoke with determination and haughtiness, “Don’t worry, Second Uncle. The Clan Head spoke to me before I came here. He said that the Zhong Clan doesn’t belong to one person but everyone in the family. I am also part of the Zhong Clan. I know what I should do...”

“Good to hear that. The northwestern provinces are filled with talented and good-looking young men, yet none of them can compare to Yan Liqiang. I’ve seen Yan Liqiang once at the Heavenly Lake before. From afar, he indeed looks like a tall and handsome young man!”

“Second Uncle...!” Zhong Ruolan’s face went a shade redder as she pouted.

“Hahaha, alright, I’ll stop. You’ll know your Second Uncle isn’t lying as soon as you meet Yan Liqiang...!” Zhong Hongzhang laughed, then let out another rueful sigh. “The Lu Clan of Pingxi Prefecture is indeed fortunate!”

The black carriage traveled in Pingxi City at an unhurried pace. In just a flash, it arrived on another main street in the city. By now, it was almost time for dinner. On the street, there were many beggars, young and old lining up at the entrance of the newly opened ‘Yan Benevolence Hall’ with bowls and chopsticks in their hands. After receiving some vegetarian porridge and steamed buns at the entrance of the Benevolence Hall, they crouched at the roadside and ate their food with relish...

When the black carriage passed by the Yan Benevolence Hall, the window was opened again. The people inside the carriage swept their gazes across the signboard but the carriage carried on without stopping.

In just less than fifteen minutes, the black carriage and its escorts arrived at a secluded lavish manor in the more affluent part of Pingxi City. An old man dressed in steward clothes was waiting respectfully at the entrance with more than ten other people. As soon as the passengers alighted the carriage, they were led into the manor...

Chapter 524: Changes

The manor occupied an area of seven or eight mu in the affluent part of Pingxi City. There were many courtyards inside the manor. It was a serene place filled with many trees, flowers and other plants. Only the servants, guards, and stewards stayed here usually. Even the most of neighbors didn’t know this manor belonged to the renowned Zhong Clan of Lan Province. Coincidentally, this manor was only half a street away from the manor where Yan Liqiang discovered Ye Xiao’s incident before.

The head steward led Zhong Hongzhang and Zhong Ruolan directly into the drawing room, where they washed their faces and hands. After serving up some tea, he stood solemnly at the side. Zhong Hongzhang and Zhong Ruolan sat down in the seats on either side of the clan head’s seat in the drawing room.

Chapter 525: Paying A Visit

“So, this is the Yan Fortress?”

The next afternoon, the Zhong Clan’s black four-wheeled carriage appeared at the entrance of the former Liuhe Town. Zhong Hongzhang opened the carriage window and gazed at the brand new fortress.

–The green fortress wall stood more than 12 meters tall, which was pretty extravagant for a mere town. The high fortress wall was made of huge green stone blocks at the bottom and green bricks layered on top, tightly stacked against each other. The tall fortress wall looked extremely sturdy with many arrow battlements and crenels after every hundred meters. There was also an intimidating watchtower. During the daytime, uniformed guards could be seen patrolling on top of the fortress wall. Above the archway was a stone tablet with two big golden words inscribed on it –’Yan Fortress’!

Chapter 526: First Gift

The Zhong Clan had an unusual position in the northwestern region, so Yan Liqiang wasn’t arrogant about it either. After receiving the news from home, he immediately left the archery academy and returned to the Yan Fortress. As soon as Steward Zhou saw Yan Liqiang was back, he directly led him into the drawing room.

When the maidservants saw Yan Liqiang, all of them stood at the side and bowed to him. Yan Liqiang nodded to them, then talked to Steward Zhou while walking through the corridors of his residence. “Oh right, where is my father? Is he entertaining the guests from the Zhong Clan?”

“Yes, the Old Master is entertaining the guests in the drawing room. He is well-aware of the Zhong Clan’s prestige and is mindful of his manners. In fact, the Old Master was still working in the blacksmith workshop just now. After the Zhong Clan sent their greeting card, he changed into a fresh set of clothes before going to meet them. He instructed me to wait for you here, and bring you to the drawing room as soon as you are back!” Steward Zhou had to speed up to almost a jog to barely keep up with Yan Liqiang’s pace.

Yan Liqiang chuckled, for he knew that his father wasn’t good at conversations and rarely entertained guests. Yan Dechang might be able to chat with his acquaintances, but he was most likely struggling with the people from the Zhong Clan now. At this very moment, he was probably wishing very badly for his son to be back as quick as possible.

When Yan Liqiang arrived outside the drawing room, he heard a man’s hearty laughter coming from the inside. “Old Master Yan, you’re too modest! Throughout Gan Province, who hasn’t heard of your blacksmithing skills? I even have two kukri knives among the exquisite products made by the Yan Blades in my collections at Pingxi City...”

Just by listening, Yan Liqiang could tell that the man was enlivening the atmosphere. Since his father was a blacksmith, the man was probably trying to engage him in a conversation through topics about blacksmithing to avoid an awkward silence.

As soon as the man’s voice ceased, Yan Liqiang had gone past a flower vase and stepped into the drawing room.

Four people were sitting in the room. Yan Dechang was in the main seat. Without any introduction, Yan Liqiang immediately recognized the person sitting beside his father was the second-in-command of the Zhong Clan, Zhong Hongzhang. Beside him was a beautiful lady who looked like she had come straight out of a painting, and in the next seat was a chubby, smiling man. He was probably the one who was making the conversation earlier.

Yan Liqiang felt that the lady’s face was oddly familiar at first glance. Upon a closer look, he suddenly remembered that she was the one whom he saw in the carriage back at Pingxi City’s wharf. On that day, he caught a thief called Yang Si the Water Snake, who stole something from her carriage. That was how he met the lady.

Zhong Ruolan apparently recognized Yan Liqiang too. A strange glow flashed across her eyes. She didn’t expect the young man she met at Pingxi City’s wharf to be Yan Liqiang.

Their gazes briefly met before they pretended as though nothing had happened.

As soon as Yan Liqiang entered, the four people in the drawing room stood up almost at the same time.

Yan Dechang seemed extremely relieved at the sight of Yan Liqiang, and introduced the people around him to his son. “Great timing, Liqiang. We have guests from the Zhong Clan today! This is Zhong Clan’s second-in-command, Zhong Hongzhang, and his niece Zhong Ruolan. This is Manager He from Pingxi Prefecture’s Datong Monetary House...”

“It’s an honor to meet all of you...” Yan Liqiang smiled as he cupped his fist at the three guests. “We didn’t expect to be graced by your presence today, so please forgive us if we are ill-prepared for this reception!”

“Haha, you’re too courteous, Young Lord Yan. We should be the ones who are honored to meet you. Please excuse us for our sudden visit!” Zhong Hongzhang smiled in response and cupped his fist at Yan Liqiang.

“Ahem, since Liqiang is here, I’ll excuse myself now. Keep Lord Zhong entertained as I... I... need to check on the workshop...!” Yan Dechang looked as though a heavy burden was lifted from his shoulders when he saw Yan Liqiang greeting the three guests from the Zhong Clan. He immediately found an opportunity to escape.

After Yan Dechang took his leave, Yan Liqiang and his three guests looked at each other and smiled before returning to their respective seats.

After they exchanged some pleasantries and before Zhong Hongzhang could even delve into the main agenda, Yan Liqiang already knew the thoughts that were running through the latter’s mind through the Psychic Serpent effortlessly, and had completely figured out the intention of Zhong Clan’s visit.

Yan Liqiang was extremely surprised by the fact that the Zhong Clan would place their bets on him just after witnessing his duel at the Heavenly Lake. The ultimate goal of their visit this time was none other than forming an alliance through marriage, and the bride would be the lady named Zhong Ruolan. It went without saying that forming a connection through marriage was a matter that required skill and strategy. For an influential clan like the Zhong Clan, they couldn’t possibly force their women on someone. Therefore, they had come with the purpose of discussing business with Yan Liqiang this time. Zhong Ruolan would stay behind in Pingxi City as the focal person of this matter. She would look for opportunities to spend time with Yan Liqiang and eventually achieve their purpose.

For the sake of looking for a worthy bride, the Zhong Clan had assessed every unmarried girl of suitable age back home over the past few months. The Zhong Clan owned many properties, businesses and had many members, so they had a more complex structure. Zhong Ruolan was from the branch house of the Zhong Clan rather than the main house, yet she was sort of related to the clan head, so she was in a slightly special position...

After speaking a little bit more with Yan Liqiang or more like, showering praises at each other, Zhong Hongzhang reached into his robes and took out a box. He placed it in front of Yan Liqiang, then spoke with a serious face.

“On behalf of the Zhong Clan, we would like to extend our gratitude to Young Lord Yan for giving us some face over the incident with the Transportation Office. Truth be told, the Zhong Clan wasn’t informed of Jiang Tianhua and the Transportation Office’s actions beforehand. After knowing about it, we didn’t approve of their actions either and agreed that Jiang Tianhua had indeed overstepped his boundaries. However, the Zhong Clan runs many businesses and we rely on the support from the imperial court and local bureaucracies on many things. We had no choice but to smooth things over due to the dealings we have with the Transportation Office. Let’s hope we can make peace and forget about this incident. Please accept this as a token of appreciation from the Zhong Clan to you, Young Lord Yan...”

Yan Liqiang already knew the content of the box, but he pretended to be surprised and curious. “Lord Zhong, what is inside this box?”

A smile broke across Zhong Hongzhang’s face as he stroked his beard. “This is a contract for the Mount Kang Iron Mine of Gan Province’s Kangcheng Prefecture. It is a huge mine that is rich in minerals and can produce more than ten million jin of iron every year. The crude iron that your workshop at home and the manufacturing bureau purchase are mostly produced by the Kangcheng Iron Mine. Since Young Lord Yan has talent in the path of mechanics and the investigation of things, this iron mine would be a fitting gift for you. Please do not refuse our goodwill...”

Damn, as expected of the most influential clan in the northwestern region. They were really generous enough to throw away a huge iron mine as the first gift.

Yan Liqiang licked his lips as he stared at the box on the table, secretly impressed by the Zhong Clan’s boldness...

Chapter 527: Partnership

Ten million jin of crude iron a year meant five thousand tonnes of crude iron a year. Although this might be the daily production of a small steel mill back in Yan Liqiang’s previous world, this amount was still considered a very large scale iron ore production in the Great Han Empire. To Gan Province or the entire Great Han Empire, this iron mine at Mount Kang was certainly of an impressive scale. Taking out the production cost, it was estimated to generate an annual profit of more than seventy or eighty thousand taels of silver.

The manufacturing bureau and the Yan Clan’s blacksmith workshop was a large consumer of crude irons and iron ores, especially after the invention of the Aquapyro Engine. Yan Liqiang already had plans to buy a suitable iron mine since long ago to sustain the manufacturing bureau’s operations as well as to prepare for the impending chaos. However, there were only a few small iron mines in Pingxi Prefecture and none of them made the cut, so Yan Liqiang had to temporarily put his idea on hold. Yan Liqiang certainly didn’t expect the Zhong Clan to be so generous to give him exactly what he really needed. It would seem like they had really put a lot of thought into their gift for the sake of forming a closer relationship with him.

“Hahaha, you’re being too courteous, Lord Zhong. Truth be told, the iron mine at Mount Kang would indeed be of great use to me. My manufacturing bureau and home business are inseparable from crude iron, so I’ve been planning to buy one or two large mines for myself. Since this is a gift of goodwill from the Zhong Clan, it would be disrespectful of me to refuse!” Yan Liqiang laughed heartily, then reached out to pull the box that Zhong Hongzhang had placed on the tea table toward himself without any hesitation.

Zhong Hongzhang was still smiling. “There are more than a thousand workers at this iron mine. It is still producing iron, so Lord Yan only has to assign someone to take over. The manager and supervisors from the Zhong Clan will cooperate in this matter. After the handover, everything will be in your hands!”

“There’s no need for any handover.” Yan Liqiang smiled generously. “Since the Zhong Clan’s men have done a good job in running this iron mine, there’s no need for me to intervene. The manager and supervisors may carry on as usual. Although Lord Zhong has given me the iron mine as a gift, I’ll only ask for sixty percent of the share – the remaining forty percent will go to the workers at the iron mine. Consider this a joint venture between me and the Zhong Clan. The demand for crude iron in Pingxi Prefecture may increase in the future. It’ll be fine as long as the mine prioritizes in meeting the demands in Pingxi Prefecture. Since the mine will operate independently, the crude iron is to be supplied to Pingxi Prefecture at the standard market price. There’s no need to give any special discounts!”

Yan Liqiang’s remarks instantly caused the three people from the Zhong Clan to see him in a new light. The Zhong Clan had indeed made their offer generously, but Yan Liqiang wasn’t vague about it either. Not only did he return a forty percent profit from the mine to the Zhong Clan, but he also made no changes in the workers employed there. Just by allowing the Zhong Clan to continue managing the mine was a sign of trust he had given to them. This made Zhong Hongzhang feel really good – he secretly praised Yan Liqiang for his wisdom.

To Yan Liqiang, the iron mine might be important, but it wasn’t his top priority right now. Since the ownership was going to be given to him, then whoever was managing it didn’t matter. There was no reason for him to micromanage it. If there was no problem with the iron mine, then it should be allowed to function as usual. Even if there was a problem, Kangcheng Prefecture was adjacent to Pingxi Prefecture so Yan Liqiang would be able to travel there within less than two days. No one would be able to stir up any trouble there. Since it was also impossible for someone to move the entire mine away, Yan Liqiang had nothing to worry about.

“Hahaha, I didn’t expect Lord Yan to be such a straightforward person...” Zhong Hongzhang laughed, as his mood was lifted. To the Zhong Clan, giving away the iron mine at Mount Kang was painful even if it was for the sake of forming a closer relationship with Yan Liqiang. In fact, the elders back home even appeared to be slightly reluctant to give away the mine during the clan discussion. In the end, it was the clan head who held his ground and insisted on giving the mine away. Now that Yan Liqiang had decided to make the mine a joint venture with them, the Zhong Clan would still be getting profits from the mine. This was indeed the best possible outcome which was beyond the Zhong Clan’s expectation.

With the iron mine as a conversation starter, the atmosphere in the drawing room immediately turned lively.

“I’m a very simple man. I rarely intervene in the specific details when it comes to business. What matters to me is the person handling it. Everything will be fine as long as it’s the right person. If it’s the wrong person, then there’s no use worrying about it. After all, people are the source of every problem in the world!”

“Wise words. My brother at home often said that one must learn how to be a man of integrity before anything else!”

“Haha. If time allows in the future, I would love to personally visit the Zhong Clan’s head in Lan Province to seek advice and learn from him!”

“The Zhong Clan will welcome you anytime with open arms. Our humble clan would be honored by your presence, Lord Yan!” Zhong Hongzhang smiled. “Oh yes, if there’s any problem at the iron mine, just look for my niece, Ruolan! The Zhong Clan is planning to start a trading business this year in Pingxi City. Ruolan will be staying for a while as she will be the person-in-charge and the decisionmaker for our businesses in Pingxi Prefecture.”

“How capable for Lady Ruolan to be able to work independently in Pingxi Prefecture for the Zhong Clan! Impressive, impressive!” Yan Liqiang exclaimed while looking at the beautiful lady.

Zhong Ruolan’s eyes glowed as a gentle smile appeared on her face. “I am only a frail girl in the foreign land of Pingxi Prefecture. I have much to learn from you in the future, Lord Yan. I hope I won’t be a bother!”

“Just let me know if you need any assistance, Lady Ruolan. I’ll definitely help to the best of my ability!” Yan Liqiang sipped on his tea, then asked with a smile, “Have you all taken a tour around the town today?”

“Of course we did. Our tour around Yan Fortress was quite an eye-opener. I can tell that a lot of effort has been poured into this place. It’s even more flourished than Qinghe County Town!” Ruolan continued the conversation with a smile. Her beautiful eyes had a strange glow in them. “However, I saw many carriages transporting wool in town and heard that you’ve been collecting useless wool from everywhere. That’s really a head-scratcher!”

Thoughts flashed through Yan Liqiang’s mind before he acted decisively. He was going to rope the Zhong Clan into the wool business. He smiled at the three guests from the Zhong Clan, “Naturally, I have a use for the wool I am collecting and it will bring in a huge fortune. I wonder if the Zhong Clan would like to give it a try...?”

A glint flashed across Zhong Hongzhang’s eyes. With a smile, he asked, “I’m sure it’s going to be a huge business if Lord Yan calls it a ‘huge fortune’, but how huge is huge?”

“If executed properly, this can be on par with the salt business. It’s estimated to easily bring ten million taels of silver a year!” Yan Liqiang replied casually.

A business that could earn ten million taels of silver a year?! Even as the second-in-command of the Zhong Clan, Zhong Hongzhang was shocked by Yan Liqiang’s statement. Although the Zhong Clan was known as the most influential clan in the northwestern region, all the businesses they managed only generated a total of twenty million taels of silver at most. What kind of business could possibly generate half of the Zhong Clan’s total income in just a year?

Chapter 528: A New World

“What kind of business can earn ten million taels of silver?” Zhong Hongzhang curiously asked. Zhong Ruolan and Manager He were also staring at Yan Liqiang, fearing they would miss out on any of his words.

“A business that can turn waste into treasure, of course!” Yan Liqiang had a calm smile on his face. “If the Zhong Clan will place their faith in me, then please have them collect as much wool as they can and buy farms that will be used for rearing sheep when you return, Lord Zhong. In a few years time, that useless wool will become a high-demand resource in the northwestern region because they will be transformed into expensive, fine fabrics. By then, it won’t be impossible to earn ten million taels of silver a year!”

Chapter 529: Epoch (1)

Although there was no grand publicity and Yan Liqiang did not purposely make a big scene, the official grand opening of the Great Han Empire’s first woolen mill still created a huge stir in Pingxi Prefecture. Perhaps it shouldn’t be referred to as a stir but a spark or an eruption instead.

On the eighth day of the fourth lunar month, around sixty-four wheeled cargo carriages manufactured by the manufacturing bureau in Huanglong County arrived at the Yan Fortress like a long snake. They were transporting the first batch of spinning frames, looms, and tools for cleaning sheep wool. Since then, more spinning frames, looms, and the like were delivered to the Yan Fortress from the manufacturing bureau over the next two days and stored inside the workshops.

Chapter 530: Epoch (2)

In just two days, the Yan Clan managed to recruit 680 female workers. About half of them were from town, while the other half were from other villages around the Yan Fortress. Since those villages were nearby, it was quite convenient for those workers to come work at the Yan Fortress. All the women were skillful spinners and weavers at home.

All the female workers officially started working on the 12th day of the fourth lunar month. They walked through the main entrance of the Yan Fortress’ woolen mill and started familiarizing themselves with the newly-designed spinning frames and looms, as well as the process of scouring wool. It could be said that they were undertaking a pre-job training, conducted by the couples that Yan Liqiang hired before.

Scouring wool wasn’t much harder than washing cotton. In fact, the processes had a lot of similarities. The concepts of spinning and weaving were pretty much the same too. The only difference operation-wise was that the spinning frames and looms in the woolen mill were new, so the workers would need to familiarize themselves with the devices.

When the chattering 680 female workers walked into the spacious and brightly-lit workroom for the very first time, everyone was stunned by the sight of the brand-new spinning frames and looms in the room. Those devices were a little different than the ones they had at home, especially the weaving shuttles on the loom. They were smooth, sharp on both ends, and seemed to have some sort of pulleys underneath them. The women had never seen such a huge spinning frame that could accommodate sixteen spindles either. Such weaving tools were simply beyond their imagination.

“Lord Yan invented the new spinning frames and looms. All of you will be working with these devices in the future, so I will be teaching you how to operate them over these two days. Once you have mastered how to operate these, consider raising enough money to purchase a similar spinning frame and loom like these ones even if you no longer work here. With these, even one person would be able to weave more than the amount of textile that ten people could in the past. You will be able to feed your entire family alone and live a good life!”

A neatly-dressed old woman with graying hair caressed the well-polished and painted spinning frame beside her as she continued her emotional speech to the other women. “Lord Yan said that he invented these to allow women to earn a living through their crafts at home and also enable them to earn more money than men. As long as a woman can operate these, they can earn money as well as respect from their in-laws and husband. Having certain position at home means we won’t be mistreated. Hence, these objects are actually treasures that support women and help us grow a backbone. We must study well and not let Lord Yan’s goodwill go to waste! All the 680 women here shall become the role models of all women in the nation...!”

The old woman’s words seemed to resonate with all the women gathered here. They were all worked up. Some women were moved to tears as they recalled the treatment that they received at home.

Needless to say, all of them were very focused on their studies afterwards.

When the women returned home at night, they shared their experiences with their family. Although it was no longer possible to make several hundred women keep a secret, Yan Liqiang didn’t expect things to remain a secret either.

By the next day, almost everyone in Pingxi Prefecture knew the Yan Residence owned brand new spinning frames and looms that could improve weaving efficiency by ten or twentyfold and at the same time, they also mastered the spinning and weaving techniques for degreased wool. According to the women who had seen the wool products, the workshop at the Yan Residence had weaved different types of textiles that incorporated small amounts of wool. The material of these fabrics were soft, elastic, and smooth. They also had a delicate texture that was very warm to the hands and pleasant to touch.

It was only then that everyone finally understood why the Yan Clan had been buying wool like crazy over the past few months and building sheep enclosures. It turned out that the Yan Clan could actually turn the useless wool into valuable objects by spinning and weaving them. Aside from salt, textile was another extremely profitable business within the Great Han Empire. Many influential clans prospered through this industry. If the Yan Clan managed this business well, they would surely thrive.

The entire Pingxi Prefecture erupted as news about this spread like wildfire in all directions.

Many shrewd businessmen and influential clans in Pingxi Prefecture reacted quickly and tried to purchase wool. However, the trend followers soon realized that there wasn’t much wool left in Pingxi Prefecture as they had all been bought by the Yan and Lu Clans. Not only the wool, but there weren’t even many sheep left to buy. Aside from buying a few big ranches in Pingxi Prefecture, the Yan Clan also bought many lands in the neighboring prefectures to set up their own ranches.

For now, things were lively again in the Yan Fortress and the manufacturing bureau. The cloth merchants who heard the news immediately flocked to the Yan Fortress, causing the local inns to be fully packed. Those who wished to set foot in this line of business rushed to the manufacturing bureau because they heard that the spinning frames and looms that could raise work efficiency by more than tenfold were manufactured there. If Yan Liqiang’s manufacturing bureau was really producing these spinning frames and looms, then they had to their hands on a few of them.

Upon reaching the manufacturing bureau, they found out that the place was indeed producing and selling the items at an affordable price. The prices were not as crazy as the four-wheeled carriages. They were only slightly more expensive than the ordinary spinning frames and looms. Those who wished to place orders were requested to pay the deposit and wait their turn.

Over the next few days, the other cloth merchants and influential clans outside of Pingxi Prefecture also flocked to the Yan Fortress after hearing the news. Not only was the manufacturing bureau crowded, but the entire fortress was bustling with people. Countless greeting cards were sent to the Yan Residence, requesting for a business meeting with the Yan Clan.

After a week of training, the woolen mill in the Yan Fortress officially began work on the 19th day of the fourth lunar month. The cloth merchants in Gan Province also rushed to the Yan Fortress, further crowding the town...

Chapter 531: Arrangement

“I heard that there are many visitors at the Yan Fortress today and the cloth merchants in Gan Province are here. Look, the road is filled with carriages. Not even Qinghe County Town is this lively...!” Wang Jianbei sat on the carriage as he sighed in amazement while looking at the crowd on the road. He then turned his head to look at Yan Liqiang, “I can tell that this public road connected to the Yan Fortress is newly-repaired too. It’s really wide!”

“Indeed, it is. The original road existed for a few decades. It was quite narrow and became very muddy when it rained. I took the opportunity to repair it during the construction of the Yan Fortress!” Yan Liqiang replied.

Today was the grand opening of the woolen mill and there would be an opening ceremony. Wang Jianbei heard that the Yan Clan could turn useless wool into fabric since a few days ago and naturally showed his interest too. He had sent people to inform Yan Liqiang that he would visit today beforehand. Of course, Yan Liqiang was more than happy to see that the Prefectural Governor was interested so he personally went to Qinghe’s wharf early in the morning to fetch Wang Jianbei from the Yan Fortress on carriage.

The Qinghe County Magistrate and a few local bureaucrats also welcomed Wang Jianbei. Although the County Magistrate governed a county, he still didn’t have the rights to share the same carriage as Wang Jianbei, so he could only ride on the carriage behind his.

“That is a good thing and expected of a local influential clan! Repairing this road not only brings convenience to people of Yan Fortress, but also the people from nearby villages!”

“Have you heard of this saying? If you want to get rich, build a road first?” Yan Liqiang responded with a smile as he shared a slogan that he had seen in a village from his previous world. “Better roads bring convenience to transportation and trading. If goods can come in and go out easily, money will flow well too. This in turn means the locals can slowly experience better quality of life!”

“Not bad, that makes sense. The Great Han Empire is able to become the most wealthy place on the Silver Continent thanks to its great investments on public roads. Two centuries ago, the famous Grand Chancellor Zhu Zichang once came up with an ambitious proposal. He wished to upgrade all the public roads into direct roads that would connect all provinces and prefectures in the Great Han Empire within forty years. Unfortunately, this plan required a large amount of resources, so many objected to the proposal. In the end, only some of the public roads in the capital regions were rebuilt. After his passing, the plan was abandoned. Although Zhu Zichang’s plan was never completed, the fact that the Great Han Empire is still dominant on the Silver Continent with its immeasurable wealth is still thanks to the public roads that provide access to various provinces!”

This was Yan Liqiang’s first time hearing about the plans of a Grand Chancellor from two hundred years ago. The direct road was basically an upgrade from the public roads which would be used as the base. From the name alone, it reminded Yan Liqiang of a highway. He was extremely impressed to hear that a person from this era had such a vision.

“The construction of direct roads was indeed a huge project that required a large amount of resources. If one day the path of mechanics and the investigation of things advances to the next level, Zhu Zichang’s wish might just become a reality!” Yan Liqiang commented neutrally. The steam engine had been invented, but it wasn’t widespread yet. When it did, the rate of production would be increased. If the production of steel and metal was improved, then creating transportation methods like trains or cars would no longer be a challenge. If trains were invented, the impact it would bring would surely be larger than direct roads.

“True. There are already two Aquapyro Engine-powered mills in Pingxi City. I have seen them and they are no doubt great inventions that can save time and effort!” Wang Jianbei nodded lightly. He looked out the window and at the green farmlands that were filled with wheats by the road. It was already the fourth lunar month, time for the wheats to flower. The wheats rolled in the gentle breeze. Even in the carriage, one could almost smell the intoxicating scent that was unique to the flowering wheats. The scent reminded Pingxi Prefectural Governor of something as his gaze deepened. “The dream you mentioned about the Shatu people... was it real?”

After his previous visit to the Prefectural Governor’s Office, Yan Liqiang thought Wang Jianbei was no longer interested in the topic so he didn’t expect the latter to suddenly bring it up again. “If I don’t do anything, it might turn out to be real. To me, it doesn’t matter if the dream was real or not. All I want is to have a clear conscience. Why did you suddenly bring this up, Lord Wang?”

“I’ve been thinking about what you said to me these days. As they say, judge a person not by his words but by his actions. I realized that the fact you have been preparing funds shows how badly you think of the future. How can I bring myself to turn a blind eye to that?” Wang Jianbei sighed as he spoke.

News of Yan Liqiang turning wool into fabric had caught the attention of Pingxi Prefecture and Gan Province. Countless people even tried to follow in his footsteps – they started buying wool and making enclosures as preparations to earn their fortune like Yan Liqiang. However, as the Pingxi Prefectural Governor, Wang Jianbei knew Yan Liqiang had shifted his focus to food now. Tairuifeng Grain Retailer, the biggest grain business in Pingxi Prefecture, had quietly started buying food from all places in Gan Province and building warehouses to store them. In Pingxi Prefecture, the Lu Residence and Yan Fortress kept the biggest stock.

As the Prefectural Governor, it was only natural for Wang Jianbei to be particularly concerned about the flow of vital resources like food. Tairuifeng had been extremely careful with their business in Pingxi Prefecture; they almost never caused any huge fluctuations in grain prices. Wang Jianbei only noticed their unusual activities because of some news he received from the Provincial Governor’s Office. The other Prefectural Governor’s Office was alerted because Tairuifeng bought more grains from other prefectures in Gan Province compared to previous years, so the Pingxi Prefectural Governor’s Office was informed of this. Upon an investigation ordered by Wang Jianbei, they discovered that the Lu Clan in Huanglong County was related to Tairuifeng’s owner by marriage. One of Old Master Lu’s daughters was indeed married off to the clan who owned Tairuifeng. Yan Liqiang was able to cooperate with Tairuifeng to start stocking up grains through his connection to the Lu Clan and by offering large amounts of money behind the scenes.

Wang Jianbei wouldn’t be bothered if someone else was stocking up grain. However, this was Yan Liqiang. Wang Jianbei couldn’t help but feel nervous, especially because of the terrifying dream which Yan Liqiang mentioned to him before. Apart from a few places that suffered from natural disasters, food wasn’t really scarce in times of peace, so there was no need to hoard them. People would only start stocking up during troubling times because it only then would the importance of food be prevalent. In peaceful times, a tael of gold was enough to buy a few carriages of grains, but during harsh times, that amount of money was only enough to afford a few buns.

Yan Liqiang didn’t have any signs of panic on his face. He looked calm as he held Wang Jianbei’s gaze, “To you, Pingxi Prefecture is only a working place and a point in your career. You can be a prefectural governor anywhere outside of Pingxi Prefecture. In fact, you may even hold a higher position out there. But to me, Pingxi Prefecture is where I was born. The mountains, the water, and the people here are all an important part of me. I will never allow anyone to reduce this place into dead land. Since I have the capability right now, I must prepare for the worst outcome regardless of whether the dream I told you about before happens or not. After the autumn harvest, Tairuifeng Grain Retailer will stock up grains even more aggressively until next year and the year after that. Even if the entire investment turns out to be a waste, I don’t mind because I can afford it...”

“Even if I disagree, you are still going to deal with the Shatu people, right?” Wang Jianbei asked as he held Yan Liqiang’s gaze.

“Your words count for the Shatu people inside Pingxi City, but anything that happens to those who leave Pingxi City is none of your concern, Lord Wang!”

Wang Jianbei suddenly asked, “If I am willing to chase away the Shatu people inside Pingxi City for you, how are we going to clean up the mess that they will leave behind in their community area? The Pingxi Prefectural Governor’s Office doesn’t have much left from the collected annual taxes after expenses. We don’t have much money left to clean up the mess!”

“If Lord Wang can get rid of the Shatu people in Pingxi City, then I am willing to offer two million taels of silver to buy the Shatu community area in the city!” Yan Liqiang bluntly replied.

“Two million taels?” Wang Jianbei quickly repeated the figure.

“Yes, two million taels!” Yan Liqiang nodded.

“It’s a deal then! I shall handover the mess left behind by those Shatu people in the city to you!” A smile suddenly appeared on Wang Jianbei’s face as he considerately offered, “It’s alright if you don’t have that much money right now. I can help you convince the Provincial Governor to put the future earnings of the salt pans as collateral!”

“Lord Wang, can I go back on my words?” Yan Liqiang rubbed his nose, then looked at his palms with a strange expression. “Why do I feel like those Shatu people in the city have been deceived by you already? It’s like you’re packing them up and selling them to me at several tens of taels of silver each... wait... is this the Provincial Governor’s idea...?”

“Ahem, ahem... Well... the Shatu people are indeed scourges in our empire!” Wang Jianbei’s aged face turned slightly red as he continued, “I barely mentioned your idea to the Provincial Governor...”

Yan Liqiang stared at Wang Jianbei for a good while before he suddenly spoke up. “I heard that the Qinghe County Magistrate will be retiring due to old age in a few months. Why don’t I nominate a new one for you?”

Wang Jianbei was slightly taken aback. “Just one?”

“Two in fact. The Qinghe County Magistrate and a county officer for Huanglong County’s Law Enforcement Office!”

Both men in the four-wheeled carriage stared at each other for a few seconds before they high-fived.

“DEAL!”

“So, who would you like to elect as the Qinghe County Magistrate?” Wang Jianbei didn’t bother to ask about the county officer for Huanglong County because he knew it would be someone from the Lu Clan. He was only curious about the candidate Yan Liqiang would nominate as the Qinghe County Magistrate. Truth be told, Wang Jianbei wouldn’t even be surprised if Yan Liqiang nominated his own father.

To be honest, Wang Jianbei might hesitate if Yan Liqiang wanted the positions of two county magistrates. However, if it was a county magistrate and a county officer, then he could accept that. He was just going to treat it as a free gift and consolation to Yan Liqiang.

“Rest assured, Lord Wang. That person’s qualifications will not disappoint you!”

Wang Jianbei nodded.

The carriage had arrived at the Yan Fortress, but the entrance was so crowded that not even a drop of water could trickle through...

Chapter 532: Liveliness

The Yan Clan’s woolen mill was built in an open space that spanned an area of more than thirty mu in the Yan Fortress. Inside, there were large uniform-looking buildings with white walls and green roofs. Obscured by the lush trees, they gave off an unusual aura.

At the woolen mill’s entrance, there was a spacious plaza paved with limestone. Currently, the open space at the entrance was very crowded. Since today was the woolen mill’s first official working day, there would be a ceremony. The female workers stood at the entrance as they curiously waited in excitement. The curious and envious gazes around them made them nervous, but they were still mostly excited. After all, big scenes like these were very rare, even in Pingxi Prefecture. It was incomparable to the time when they had to perform at the temple.

Most of the people gathered around the woolen mill were only here to watch. The townspeople from the Yan Fortress, the cloth merchants, and other people from Pingxi Prefecture who rushed here surrounded the place. From afar, one could only see a dense crowd of moving heads. If it wasn’t for the archery academy students maintaining order, the traffic on the streets around the woolen mill would have been jammed.

Chapter 533: The Imperial Edict

The opening ceremony of the woolen mill was full of this era’s unique style. The offerings were first brought to the main entrance of the mill, and then everyone worshipped the gods and spirits. After that, Sixth Grandfather, the most senior figure in the Yan Fortress, came out. On behalf of the townspeople, he showered the Yan Clan with compliments and flattery like saying how the Yan Clan was their pride, as well as some congratulatory speech for the woolen mill’s grand opening. Yan Liqiang was initially thinking of asking his father to give a speech and show his face, but Yan Dechang was too shy. Thus, that segment was skipped altogether. After Sixth Grandfather’s speech, it was the Prefectural Governor’s turn to go on stage. He stepped forward with great grandeur and began to speak...

“When I first heard of the Aquapyro Engine a few months ago, I was marveled by the strange invention that took the world by storm. Those who managed to obtain this item couldn’t help but replicate it, opening up mills or sawing mills to put it into good use. The objects that have yet been discovered by the predecessors in the path of mechanics and the investigation of things are indeed amazing. Little did I expect such a grand occasion to take place in my Pingxi Prefecture a few months ago. The Aquapyro Engine makes mining for gold and metal ores so much easier, but gold and metal ores have always been useful things, so profits are increased by making use of the engines. However, this woolen mill is turning waste into treasure through the path of mechanics and the investigation of things, thus benefiting everyone in this world. Aside from the Aquapyro Engine, there are also newly-designed spinning frames and looms in this woolen mill that can ease the women’s workload. Although the woolen mill in the Yan Fortress is only a factory, it serves as the first role model to the world. As the Pingxi Prefectural Governor, I am extremely proud and thrilled for such an innovation to be born in my prefecture...”

Chapter 534: The Greatest Mill

The Imperial Manufactories was a department within the imperial household that cared for royal apparel, treasures, meals, parks, medicines, metalworks, craftsmen, and other things. The ‘Master Craftsmith’ title was given to the most outstanding individual within the Imperial Manufactories, while the ‘Heavenly Master Craftsmith’ was the highest recognition and position that the Great Han Empire could give to a craftsman. Being conferred the honorary title as the leader of craftsmen by the royals was an extremely rare occasion, as no one from the Great Han Empire had been conferred this title in the last two centuries.

Master Craftsmiths were quite common, but a Heavenly Master Craftsmith was rare. They were like expert craftsmen bestowed by the heavens who possessed uncanny craftsmanship. People used to think that Zhang Yourong, the best engineer in the Great Han Empire, would be the most fitting candidate to be conferred this title. Little did anyone expect that the title would be conferred on Yan Liqiang in the end.

The Heavenly Master Craftsmith was not an official title, but an honorary title. With this title, one would be excused from any formalities with the officials and be able to enter the palace freely. He could also supervise the other workers in the Imperial Manufactories and inspect any army camp. It was indeed an extremely impressive title.

Chapter 535: Partnership

Those who had never been here, including Pingxi Prefectural Governor Wang Jianbei, were extremely curious about everything inside the woolen mill.

There wasn’t much to say about the tour. Instead of keeping the production process a secret, Yan Liqiang wanted more people to know about it instead. Hence, the entire woolen mill and all processes were open to visitors. When the group of people entered the mill, they were overwhelmed by the new surroundings. The process of spinning wool, as well as the new spinning frames and looms were eye-openers for everyone.

Yan Liqiang made himself the tour guide and personally explained the production process to Wang Jianbei and Eunuch Ou, especially on the process of extracting sodium carbonate from the plant ashes. When they arrived in the said workshop, Yan Liqiang even personally demonstrated the process to them. He first added water to the plant ashes and stirred, then strained the mixture to get rid of the impurities. The filtered out clear liquid was alkaline sodium carbonate that could be used to cleanse and degrease wool.

Chapter 536: The Storm Army

After Eunuch Ou rested a night in the Yan Residence, he had recovered from the weariness of his long travel. By the next day, he was energetically requesting for a visit to Yan Liqiang’s archery academy.

Yan Liqiang accompanied Eunuch Ou to the archery academy and instructed the students to do a march past the training field. Eunuch Ou bragged about how much he’d seen in the Imperial Capital, but his facial expression immediately changed as soon as he saw the students. He was shocked by the impressive aura of the square-shaped formations.

After nearly a year of study, many students had experienced life and death situations with Yan Liqiang. They had seen blood and killed enemies during this period of time. Many of them improved by leaps and bounds with Yan Liqiang’s guidance and the might of the Five Animal Frolics technique. Not only that, but they also persisted in their formation training every morning for half an hour. By now, the three thousand students’ formation training was good enough to remind Yan Liqiang of the National Day Parade.

“GREETINGS, EUNUCH OU...!”

When the square formations passed the platform and shouted the greeting, Eunuch Ou was slightly surprised for a moment before his face broke into a broad smile and he gave his praise by saying ‘good’ several times in a row. He then turned to Yan Liqiang beside him. “Ah, Liqiang. Your archery academy is indeed an eye-opener to me. Look at the formation – they’re in a straight line no matter how you look at it! Tsk, the Imperial Cavalry Unit isn’t even this neat in their formations when they practice!”

“Hahaha, I’m glad you like it, Eunuch Ou. This formation is something I blindly figured out too. I just feel that it’s pleasing to look at!” Yan Liqiang smiled as he spoke casually.

A eunuch had an incomplete body and different mentality from that of ordinary people. Some said eunuchs loved money, and some said they loved authority. These people weren’t really wrong, but they weren’t totally correct either. Eunuchs loved face. They loved to be surrounded by respect and enjoyed the satisfaction of being at the center of attention. Only such pleasure and sense of authority could make up for the emptiness in their hearts due to their physical defects. It not only made them feel the same as ordinary people, but even superior to them. This was what they loved the most.

When Yan Liqiang came to possess the Psychic Serpent back then, he had already dived deep into Eunuch Liu’s thoughts. Hence, he made some special arrangements when he came to the archery academy today, and as expected, it was able to make Eunuch Ou happy.

Shi Changfeng had holed himself up over the past few days to break through to the Martial Grandmaster realm. He would need at least three months to do so, which explained why he was rarely seen lately. He didn’t even come out yesterday or today.

After watching the practice for a while, Eunuch Ou gave Yan Liqiang a meaningful glance. Yan Liqiang knew Eunuch Ou had something to tell him, so he accompanied him off the platform and they went for a stroll along a small path in the shade of the trees.

In a situation like this, Eunuch Ou’s personal guards should be conscious of keeping a certain distance from them. However, Yan Liqiang didn’t expect the ordinary-looking guard to follow closely behind Eunuch Ou.

Yan Liqiang cast a glance at the guard and the guard returned his gaze. His eyes were deep but bright, and he remained silent.

The Psychic Serpent was activated...

Damn...

I didn’t expect this guard to have such a status...

Yan Liqiang was rather flustered, but he maintained his calm facade on the surface and feigned ignorance.

“During my trip to Gan Province this time, His Majesty specifically told me to check up on your situation here. From the past two days, I see that you are doing extremely well here. It’s really a surprise!” Eunuch Ou spoke up first while they strolled.

“The name of your manufacturing bureau especially has spread to all corners of the world. Those wealthy influential clans and even influential officials in the Great Han Empire that want the best four-wheeled carriage can only buy from you. Even Lin Qingtian’s four-wheeled carriage was a gift from someone who bought it from the manufacturing bureau. Even if I am staying in the Imperial Capital, I am told that your manufacturing bureau is making better money than those huge merchant groups, and has boundless prospects!”

“Oh no, this is all thanks to His Majesty’s great blessing. I am only a little lucky to be able to make a name in Gan Province!” Yan Liqiang replied modestly. “Without His Majesty’s support, I wouldn’t have all this in Gan Province today!”

“Hahaha, no need to be humble, Liqiang. Both His Majesty and Eunuch Liu feel that you are a capable individual and they are not mistaken. Although I have been serving the Emperor in the palace and never get involved with outsiders much, my eyes are not clouded. It’s extremely rare for someone to become the Heavenly Master Craftsmith at your age, so rare that not even one can be found in the Great Han Empire over the past few centuries. Eunuch Liu and His Majesty indeed have keen eyes. I am beyond impressed!” Eunuch Ou chuckled. Although his voice was quite high-pitched, he spoke with a very sincere tone.

“Apart from the imperial edict, His Majesty has something else to convey to you. It is quite a confidential matter so I can only find an opportunity to inform you today in private!”

Yan Liqiang cast another glance at the guard following them on purpose, then told Eunuch Ou, “Please tell me the orders from His Majesty, Eunuch Ou!”

Eunuch Ou noticed the way Yan Liqiang looked at the guard, then smiled. “Lord Long, since Liqiang is here, you may inform him of your identity and intention to save me the trouble from going over it!”

The guard smiled and checked to ensure that no one else was around. He then tore off the human skin mask, revealing a tough-looking face. He cupped his fist to Yan Liqiang, then spoke with a deep voice. “I am Long Tiezhou, the current Administrative Supervisor of the Great Han Empire’s Storm Army, and the son of Storm Army Commander Long Feicheng. Your reputation precedes you, Lord Yan. As expected, knowing a person by his reputation is not as good as seeing him in the flesh. It’s really an honor to meet you!”

Yan Liqiang was ‘stunned’ and ‘baffled’ by the sight of Long Tiezhou’s new face and looked at Eunuch Ou. “Eunuch Ou, this is...”

Eunuch Ou sighed with a frown. “The Storm Army and General Long are the pillars of the northern Great Han Empire. We are only able to withstand the invasion of the Chaman people in the north thanks to the Storm Army that defends our northern territories. The descendants of the Long Clan have been devoted, loyal generals to His Majesty and the Great Han Empire. This is the exact reason the Long Clan is seen as a thorn in that despicable Grand Chancellor Lin Qingtian’s eyes. The Ministry of War and Anbei General’s Office are now filled with Lin Qingtian’s lackeys, especially Anbei General Shi Tao who has been assigned to the Storm Army. With the Ministry of War and Anbei General Shi Tao colluding together, the Storm Army’s life gets tougher every year and they are receiving less military ranks, wages, and logistics as the year goes by. As frontliners, the soldiers of the Storm Army continue to fight against the Chaman people in extremely harsh conditions!”

“Ah, how outrageous!” Yan Liqiang was ‘infuriated’. “The Grand Chancellor is guilty of making the nation suffer and he deserves to die ten thousand deaths!”

Eunuch Ou nodded. “A few days ago, Lord Long went to the Imperial Capital to seek aid from His Majesty in secret. Surely, Liqiang understands that His Majesty is also in a difficult position in the Imperial Capital. The funds within the imperial court are all handled by the Ministry of Revenue. The annual land tax and money collected by the Ministry of Revenue are not enough to go around and the distribution is a matter that involves too many parties. This isn’t something His Majesty can settle with just a word. If His Majesty were to insist on adjusting the funds for the Ministries of Revenue and War, Lin Qingtian and his men would no doubt create an opportunity to stir up a big problem and push the blame onto His Majesty and put him in a difficult position.

“His Majesty can still provide some funds or even take from the royal treasury this time, but this is not feasible in the long term. It just so happens that His Majesty received the wool blankets and woolen fabric you sent to the Imperial Capital. He mentioned that if Liqiang can turn worthless wool into treasure, then you should be able to create inexhaustible gold and silver mines. Hence, he sent Lord Long along with me to Gan Province...”

Eunuch Ou hadn’t finished speaking, but his intention had already been clearly conveyed.

“His Majesty thinks too highly of me!” Yan Liqiang didn’t know if he should laugh or cry.

“Don’t be modest, Liqiang. Even if His Majesty is in the Imperial Capital, he knows you have established a manufacturing bureau and also a salt pan with Lei Sitong when you returned to Gan Province. Putting aside the four-wheeled carriage from the manufacturing bureau, Pingxi Prefecture only had earth salt all this while. However, it was suddenly able to produce top-quality snow salt after your return. His Majesty says that you are the only person who is capable of turning rock into gold. Therefore, you are the only person in this world who can solve the Storm Army’s predicament. He wishes that you can help the Storm Army weather through their crisis at everyone’s best interest!”

Wang Jianbei was right. Everytime His Majesty raised the stakes on him, the more he’d naturally expect in return. Although the imperial edict brought him honor and benefits, it came with a price too...

Chapter 537: Perhaps The Will Of Heavens

Yan Liqiang suddenly laughed after hearing Eunuch Ou’s words. He looked at Long Tiezhou and said, “In the Great Han Empire, there are two regions with the most grasslands. One is the western region and the other is the northern region. It will be easy for the Storm Army to access the grasslands on the territories they control. With grasslands, they can rear sheep and get wool. With wool, they will be able to make woolen fabric. With woolen fabrics, they will no longer have to worry about having their throat squeezed for the sake of money. In fact, the Storm Army won’t even have to sell woolen fabric for long. As long as they have wool, countless people will come to begging for them. By then, exchanging wool for money, weapons, and food will not be a problem...”

A small smile also appeared on Long Tiezhou’s face, “Indeed, there are also many vast grasslands in the territories controlled by the Storm Army in the Jin, You, and Shuo Provinces. They are most ideal for raising animals and in fact, the Storm Army’s ranch is also there. We’ve never seen the value of those places as they are filled with nothing but grass and rocks. After my visit to Gan Province this time, I realized we can start a big business just by rearing sheep on those grasslands!”

“The Storm Army is known to be an army of a million strong. What other businesses did it run in the past aside from disbursing the funds from the imperial court?”

Chapter 538: The Meeting

When Yan Liqiang alighted the carriage, he looked at the high-walled mansion and the surrounding streets with a slightly strange expression on his face. He didn’t expect Zhong Ruolan to live here, because the incident between him and the Ye Clan took place just around the corner. That place was one of his turning points in his life.

“Lord Yan, this way please!” The steward of the mansion was already waiting respectfully by the door. As soon as Yan Liqiang got off his carriage, he was welcomed inside.

This time, Yan Liqiang didn’t bring anyone with him. Even the carriage he rode here was a new four-wheeled carriage produced by the manufacturing bureau and sent by the Zhong Clan to the Yan Fortress. For an influential clan like the Zhong Clan, they definitely paid attention to the finer details.

His trip to Pingxi City this time was free of worries. He was in another frame of mind, and it felt almost as though he was on a vacation. The steam engine, woolen goods, archery academy, newer design of the spinning frames and looms were all checked on his checklist. He had basically laid the groundwork, and the remaining things were not that important. All he needed to do now was to wait for the bullet to continue flying a little longer.

Yan Liqiang was led through corridors and courtyards in the lavish mansion by the steward, until he finally arrived outside a courtyard filled with lush plants and blooming flowers. There were three words on the round door to the courtyard –’Secret Fragrance Garden’.

“Our lady is waiting for you at the water pavilion in the garden. Please go on inside, Lord Yan!”

“Thank you!” Yan Liqiang nodded to the steward, then entered the courtyard. In the Great Han Empire, this was Yan Liqiang’s first time seeing such an exquisite courtyard with the charm of the water village at the southern river, especially in the northwestern region.

There was a pond filled with budding lotuses in the garden, and the carps were frolicking in the crystal clear water. A group of little birds were chirping melodiously on the willow tree next to the pond. A few artificial rocks partitioned the gardens into a few sections like screens.

The sound of running water from a man-made stream hitting the pebbles could be heard. Beside the streams were fully-bloomed white roses that attracted a swarm of busy bees. The manor didn’t seem so big from outside, but it was rather spacious inside. Yan Liqiang had to walk a distance before arriving at a pavilion by the pond. The gentle breeze carried an intoxicating melody of ae zither from the pavilion...

It blew the snowy white sheer curtains in the water pavilion up every now and then, and Yan Liqiang caught a glimpse of Zhong Ruolan playing her zither amidst the fluttering sheer curtains.

It was a great pleasure to watch a beauty like Zhong Ruolan playing a zither. Even if Yan Liqiang didn’t know music that much, he could hear that Zhong Ruolan possessed a very high level of mastery in the zither. In fact, she might just be the most-skilled zither player among the people Yan Liqiang knew...

Yan Liqiang didn’t say anything when he arrived at the pavilion. He just quietly took off his shoes, then sat across from Zhong Ruolan in silence and closed his eyes to enjoy the rare moment of leisure.

Yan Liqiang didn’t know how long he waited until the melody ceased, but it was at least ten minutes. He opened his eyes, then clapped his hands with a smile. “Lady Ruolan indeed possesses amazing skills in playing a zither. Although I am not that knowledgeable in music, I can tell that you have perfected your skill! Impressive, impressive!”

Zhong Ruolan’s huge watery eyes looked toward Yan Liqiang. “When Lord Yan closed his eyes, Ruolan thought she was too unsightly to be seen by your discerning eyes.”

“You must be joking, Lady Ruolan. If someone like you is considered unsightly, then no one in this world is beautiful!” Yan Liqiang chuckled. “I only heard that the sound of your zither seems to be conveying a deep message, so I closed my eyes to focus on my hearing. Please forgive me if I was being disrespectful, Lady Ruolan!”

Zhong Ruolan’s eyes lit up for a moment as her smile broadened. “Oh, I wonder what Lord Yan heard from the sounds of Ruolan’s zither?”

“The melody from Lady Ruolan’s zither appeared light and happy, but it was solemn and full of worry beneath the surface. It was like a lone orchid that had lived its life in a desolate valley, where its fragrance went unnoticed. Even if it was picked and brought to the world outside of the valley, it could be nothing more than a decoration in a vast room that vied for attention among all the other flowers and leafy greens. Surrounded by strangers, it couldn’t help but feel dejected. Even so, it didn’t grieve for it knew that someone would eventually find its fragrance. Am I right, Lady Ruolan?”

Zhong Ruolan was stunned as she stared at Yan Liqiang blankly for a long time. Her eyes reddened before she let out a faint sigh. “Soulmates are very rare to come by. Ruolan truly didn’t expect to be so fortunate to be able to meet Lord Yan in Pingxi City. If you can decipher these from the sounds of my zither, then you are probably already well aware of the Zhong Clan’s intention in sending me to Pingxi Prefecture even though you chose to not expose us. I am ashamed. Believe me, it was never my intention to deceive you. I am definitely not a fickle person. Please forgive me!” Ruolan stood up after speaking, then bowed deeply to Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang quickly helped Zhong Ruolan up and spoke with sincerity, “Don’t mind it, Lady Ruolan. Nothing in life will always go well and perfectly. As a descendant chosen by the Zhong Clan, it is only natural that you have your obligations to fulfill toward your clan. I will never belittle your efforts!”

“If Lord Yan doesn’t mind, please call me Ruolan from now on!”

“Fine, I shall call you Ruolan!” Yan Liqiang spoke with composure. Both of them looked at each other and smiled as though they were getting to know each other for the very first time all over again. The atmosphere between them instantly turned a lot more intimate.

“As expected of a person of outstanding talent. Ruolan is indeed fortunate to meet Lord Yan!” Zhong Ruolan looked at Yan Liqiang with her sparkling eyes. “Before this, I never believed that someone like you existed in this world. After meeting you, I finally believe that people like you who can easily trick the world indeed exist!”

Yan Liqiang was somewhat taken aback as he quickly shook his head. “Ahem, you must be joking, Ruolan. I’m lucky to be able to make a small name for myself. It’s nothing as impressive as the way you put it!”

“Only you and I are here right now. Why are you still denying it?” Zhong Ruolan shook her head while still smiling. “You have made fabric out of wool, and the fabric has already been made into a noose tied around the neck of the Shatu Seven Tribes at the Gulang Plains since long ago. Yet, they have yet to realize that. Everyone only sees the mountain of riches that the woolen fabric can bring. By the time the Shatu Seven Tribes realizes what’s going on, the Gulang Plains will ultimately fall into your hands. That’s how you can live up to your reputation as the Qiyun Protectorate General and recover the Gulang Plains for Great Han Empire without expending even a soldier! There have been no emperors, generals, or grand chancellors in history who can make such achievement through such means. Surely, my lord, you are as impressive as I claim!”

Yan Liqiang was startled as he blankly stared at Zhong Ruolan for half a minute before finally letting out a sigh. He rubbed his chin and pouted as he spoke with slight embarrassment. “Ruolan... I guess... I have no choice but to admit it in this situation?”

Zhong Ruolan covered her mouth as she giggled, and her beautiful eyes were glowing. “What do you think?”

“Fine then, tell me what you want to keep your lips sealed. I’ll have to warn you first to not ask for too much. Otherwise, I can’t give it to you!” Yan Liqiang laughed as he spoke in a joking tone.

Zhong Ruolan had a calm look on her face instead. “You don’t need to give me anything to keep my lips sealed. I’ll try my best to help you too. On the day you truly become the Qiyun Protectorate General, please promise me one thing!”

“What’s that?”

“Help me kill someone!”

“Who?”

“An... bei... General... Shi... Tao!” Zhong Ruolan hissed every word through her teeth as she locked eyes with Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang only considered it for less than two seconds before he nodded and quickly agreed. “Sure, that’s a promise. I shall kill Shi Tao the day I truly become the Qiyun Protectorate General. Before that, I wish to ask how you plan to help me?”

When Zhong Ruolan heard the question, her face was immediately tinted with a small blush. She took a deep breath as she tried her best to keep the expression on her face calm. “If you really want me to help you, then you must marry me first and become the Zhong Clan’s son-in-law...!”

“This...” Yan Liqiang scratched his head.

“Marrying someone from the Lu Clan allows you to secure a foothold in Pingxi Prefecture. If you marry someone from the Zhong Clan, the entire northwestern region will be in your hands, given the Zhong Clan’s influence...”

Zhong Ruolan cast a glance at Yan Liqiang, then suddenly mumbled, “Maybe you think I’m not as beautiful and considerate as the lady from the Lu Clan?”

“Of course not!” Yan Liqiang had a strange-looking expression on his face. “However, I just feel like I should be the one to take initiative for things like this. It makes me feel weird when you are the one to say it!”

Zhong Ruolan suddenly got up, then walked past the table between them and came in front of Yan Liqiang. She knelt down with a smile, then planted a gentle kiss on Yan Liqiang’s cheek. “Do you still feel weird now?”

“Umm, kind of. Everything is happening too quick – I can’t even react to it!” Yan Liqiang gulped as he glanced at the fluttery long dress Zhong Ruolan was wearing.

Zhong Ruolan gently kissed Yan Liqiang’s lips this time, only pulling away after a few seconds. “What about now?”

“I still feel weird!” Yan Liqiang shook his head, then said with a deadpan voice, “I think it lacks heat and intensity!”

“How to make it enough for you?” Zhong Ruolan shot an amused glare at Yan Liqiang.

“Like this...” Yan Liqiang pulled Zhong Ruolan into his arms, causing her to gasp. He then smashed his lips against Zhong Ruolan’s soft lips...

Chapter 539: Money Or Life?

“...The affairs inside an influential clan like the Zhong Clan with several hundred members are definitely a lot more complicated than what most would imagine. Internal strife and schemes must be common. The Zhong Clan’s seat of power is currently occupied by Zhong Hong’an and his family line. His ancestors have been the head of the Zhong Clan for generations, and they have come to be known as the ‘main house’. It is extremely difficult for anyone from the branch houses of the Zhong Clan to rise above all else. Even outsiders are only able to become supervisors or managers in the Zhong Clan at most. If they are lucky, they will be appointed as the supervisor of the Datong Monetary House and be allowed outside. Only a select few can be included as an elder in the clan in the end. Can you guess why the Zhong Clan sent me here to Pingxi Prefecture?”

Zhong Ruolan laid her flushed face right against Yan Liqiang’s bare and muscular chest. She gently slid her delicate finger across his abs with her eyes glazed all over...

“An influential clan like the Zhong Clan will never place all their eggs in the same basket. The Zhong Clan knew of the relationship between Lin Qingtian and me. One of the reasons they sent you here is to win me over through marriage so they can use me as a connection to the Emperor. The other reason is in case I lose my power in the future or if I get exposed by Lin Qingtian, they can still easily cut ties with you as you are from the Zhong Clan’s branch house. Whatever happens to you doesn’t really impact them. Am I right?” Yan Liqiang gently stroked Ruolan’s back. Her skin was fair, radiant, and soft like velvety cream. It was hard for Yan Liqiang to stop touching her.

Chapter 540: Ambush

Shatu caravans traveled slowly through the desolate wilderness in the summer heat.

The rock and sand on the ground were scorched by the sun. From afar, the heat rising from the ground appeared to be wavy.

The strife within the Shatu Seven Tribes at the Gulang Plains continued to intensify. The Dark Razor and Dark Wood tribes were like fire and water, while the other tribes were more or less implicated. Due to this, the Shatu caravans were impacted, and the smaller ones were frequently harassed. The soldiers from the Dark Razor and Dark Wood tribes regarded their opponents’ caravans as targets. When the Dark Razor Tribe ran into caravans from Dark Wood Tribe, they would steal from them and kill everyone. Likewise, the Dark Wood Tribe was doing the same to the caravans from the Dark Razor Tribe.

Under such circumstances, the other caravans from the other tribes were like fish in the same pond. They were also harassed, plundered, or killed by the bloodthirsty soldiers from the Dark Razor and Dark Wood tribes.

The scimitars in those Shatu men’s hands were not only ruthless to outsiders, but they were also more ruthless and violent to their own people during the internal strife. If the Shatu Seven Tribes weren’t offered protection by the Great Han Empire back then, only death would await the tribes that lost during the last internal strife.

When chaos started to set in the plains, the Shatu caravans of less than a hundred people in size were already in danger. Only the bigger caravans could somewhat ensure their own safety during their travels. With more people, they could stand a better chance against the smaller group of soldiers from the Dark Wood or Dark Razor tribes. The Shatu caravans now traveled under the banner of other tribes. Even those from the Dark Wood Tribe or Dark Razor Tribe would also travel under the banner of other tribes after leaving their own territories.

The Shatu caravans in front of them were traveling under the banner of the Earthen Desert Tribe, the Coyote Tribe, and the Stormy River Tribe. At one glance, people would think that these caravans from the three tribes had banded together and were traveling as one. There were about four or five hundred people traveling together with seven or eight hundred rhinodrake steeds and camels which were fully loaded with goods, especially the camels which were carrying goods that were piled up like little mountains. The caravan stretched a few hundred meters long. From a distance, it resembled a long snake slithering across the desolate wilderness.

In reality, this caravan and the people in it were all from the Dark Razor Tribe.

The caravans played more prominent roles as the situation at the Gulang Plains intensified. The salt, tea, silk, and weapons they were transporting were items that the important people at the plains needed most urgently.

Adebei looked at the mountain ridge at the horizon ahead of them on his rhinodrake steed and couldn’t help but curse, “Damn those bastards on Mount Jade Dragon...! Damn those Han Chinese too!”

After passing the hill ahead of them, they would be crossing the borders of Yingwei County in Pingxi Prefecture.

Adebei, the man in his fifties, was the leader of this caravan. Before this, Yingwei County meant nothing to him as it was merely a small impoverished area in Pingxi Prefecture. Yet, ever since Yingwei County’s frontier was established late last year, it became a thorn in his side.

At the border trading post were smaller tribes like the Great Moon, Wusu, and Piyue tribes which would never bow down to the Shatu. Those stray tribes cleared up a path that connected Mount Jade Dragon to Yingwei County to transport things like leather, medicinal ingredients, gems, rare beast core crystals, and valuable timbers from the mountain. The items they supplied to the Han Chinese merchants became best sellers.

The Shatu caravans used to monopolize the trade of these items. Now that there were people openly robbing them of their business, it was only natural for Adebei to be upset. To make it worse for the Shatu people, the border trading post at Yingwei County didn’t want to do business with them so they couldn’t intervene. Not only that, but the items sold there were cheaper than their prices. The Han Chinese merchants who used to trade with them before were now either taking their supplies from the Yingwei County border trading post, or trying to bargain with them by making a price comparison to the border trading post. This really put a damper on the Shatu caravans.

The caravans were now working harder but earning less than before. Adebei started to reminisce about the old days as he rode on his rhinodrake steed. Back then, the Shatu caravans didn’t even need to pay any tolls when they entered Pingxi City. Not only that, but they could even enter the city on their steeds. The Han Chinese and low-ranking officers feared them and no one dared to look them in the eye. If any Han Chinese person annoyed them, they could just easily whip them on their rhinodrake steed or hack them with their weapons. They had nothing to worry about even if they killed someone since the bureaucracy would never dare to pursue the matter. At most, they would only lose a bit of money or goods. If they saw anything they liked, they could snatch, seize, or trick the Han Chinese who were as weak as little sheep to them.

Adebei and many other Shatu people simply couldn’t understand why these weak Han Chinese people could occupy such a big piece of land and wonderful mountains. They could live in the cities where their lavish mansions were, while valiant Shatu people like them only had their tents in the plains outside the city gates to shield them from the harsh wind, snow, and rain. Life was really unfair!

Of course, Adebei never thought of the Gulang Plains as a shelter provided to them by the Han Chinese. They always regarded it as something they won over with their own efforts and had nothing to do with the Han Chinese.

The anger in Adebei’s heart made him felt even hotter. His throat felt hot after he cursed, so he picked up the water canteen hanging from his saddle and took a few swigs. The sweet water that flowed into his itchy throat instantly refreshed him. The water droplets that clung to his bushy beard glistened in the sun.

“Ahh...!” Adebei wiped his mouth with the back of his hand in satisfaction. He put the water canteen away, then heard the sounds of iron hooves approaching him. A slender, younger man with a mustache on his long oval face rode to his side on his rhinodrake steed.

“Are we not going to Yingwei County?” The man spoke arrogantly with his hoarse voice.

Adebei didn’t dare to show negligence toward this man because he was a steward sent by a noble who supported Adebei. His position in the Dark Razor Tribe was even higher than Adebei’s, and he had joined his caravan this time for another separate important task. Before coming, the noble had ordered Adebei to follow this person’s instructions.

Adebei pointed to the mountain ridge ahead of them, then replied respectfully, “Yingwei County is just past that mountain ridge ahead of us. We should be passing through Yingwei County today and we can camp for the night at the Ganzi River. After another day of travel tomorrow, we should reach Pingxi City at night!”

“Can’t we buy the new spinning frames, looms, and Aquapyro Engines that the Han Chinese have made from Yingwei County? If we can buy them from Yingwei County, then there’s no need for us to run all the way to Pingxi City. I can also return earlier with the goods and report back to Lord Hake!”

“Yingwei County probably don’t have those for sale. Besides, we might get into a lot of trouble if we were to go there!” Adebei licked his lips. “There are many people from the Great Moon, Wusu, and Piyue tribes from Mount Jade Dragon gathered in Yingwei County. There may not be as many last year, but there are about five or six thousand of them this year. Those people are making a living at the border trading post by doing business, opening up workshops, running restaurants and inns. By now, they have gained considerable power. If they see us, something will definitely happen. Last time, a caravan of about a hundred people from the Stormy River Tribe that wanted to take a look at the border trading post in Yingwei County ended up returning with only seven people. The rest got killed somewhere near the border trading post by those bastards from Mount Jade Dragon...!”

“The Han Chinese don’t care about the border trading post?”

“The Han Chinese garrison merely observed at the side but didn’t intervene. We later went to the Pingxi Military Governor’s Office but were told that the tribes living on Mount Jade Dragon are not under their jurisdiction, so whatever happens between the Shatu people and the other tribes should be resolved ourselves. We are to personally look for whoever killed our own people...”

“Damn bastards. We’ll behead all of them someday!” The noble’s steward cursed fiercely. “Let’s go to Pingxi City then!”

“Alright!”

“Apart from those items, Lord Hake also ordered for you to bring back two Han Chinese who know how to operate them. No one in our tribe currently knows anything about it, especially on how to deal with the wool. Lord Hake wishes to see it for himself...”

“Well...” A frown immediately creased Adebei’s forehead.

“Why? Since when have you become a coward, Adebei? You can’t even manage a simple task?!” The noble’s steward shot Adebei a disdainful look. “It’s just a few Han Chinese people. How difficult can it be? Didn’t you bring back quite a few Han Chinese women for Lord Hake before?”

Thinking about the severed heads of the Shatu people hanging from Pingxi City’s walls, Adebei gulped audibly. “Ever since the collapse of the Ye Clan, Pingxi Prefecture is not the same as it was before. If we get caught by the Han Chinese, then...”

“Just tell me if you can or cannot do it.” The steward interrupted Adebei.

Adebei clenched his teeth in the end and nodded heavily. “It’d be best for us to split into two groups and move separately after arriving in Pingxi City. I’ll obtain the items that Lord Hake wants and you’ll bring the items back first while I go scout for the people. Things have been tense between us and the people from the Dark Wood Tribe in Pingxi City. Do not reveal your identity at all costs...”

“Bear in mind that this is an important matter to Lord Hake. The other important guests that have come to the tribe are also looking forward to seeing these items. If you screw this up, you will bring your own head and provide an explanation to them!”

“Understood!”

While the Shatu caravan traveled through the wilderness, Yan Liqiang was squinting in their direction from a hill among the ridge that Adebei was pointing at earlier.

“The Shatu people are here...” Shi Dafeng licked his lips and quietly cheered in excitement. The rhinodrake steed beneath him also stirred restlessly as it pounded its front hooves against the ground...

Shen Teng, Shi Dafeng, Zhou Yong and the rest were riding beside Yan Liqiang on their rhinodrake steeds. At the bottom of the hill was a big group of students from the archery academy on their rhinodrake steeds.

Chapter 541: Cutting Edge Blood Whetstone

“Only around five hundred or so people, we can eat it!” Yan Liqiang took his gaze back from afar and spoke to Shi Changfeng on the side.

Shi Changfeng just nodded and the hood of his black veil over his face, only leaving a visible pair of eyes. Then, he took the bow from the horse reins. His rhinodrake steed was ready to jump.

Shi Changfeng had failed his long solitary cultivation and didn’t reach the stage of Martial Grandmaster. Many things that were normal to Yan Liqiang became dangerous cultivation barriers for other cultivators. They were like a steep cliff that led into the deep abyss. It wasn’t something one could easily pass. After channeling Qi into the bones and becoming a Martial Master, one had to set up a powerful energy circulation in one’s body to become a Martial Grandmaster. One must fuse vital Qi, bone Qi, and blood Qi together using the vital Qi to nourish the bone Qi, then use the bone Qi to strengthen the blood Qi to finally use blood Qi to circulate vital Qi. Yan Liqiang completely bulldozed through this stage like it was a plain field but Shi Changfeng was stuck on circulating blood Qi with vital Qi. In his solitary cultivation, he didn’t break through to the Martial Grandmaster stage and ended this solitary cultivation early.

Chapter 542: A Test of Strength

In this sort of combat, the searing sounds of the arrows were like the howls of death!

The students under Yan Liqiang’s lead were like a pack of wild wolves. They surrounded the Shatu people and encircled them. Arrows kept shooting towards the Shatu people and the guards of the merchant convoy. The students of the archery academy always kept a certain distance with the merchant convoy guards and strictly followed the war rules that Yan Liqiang had set for them. The instructions were to never get in close range to fight with the enemy unless there was no space to maneuver and to never use their sword if they could use their bow.

The difference in numbers wasn’t too great, but the difference in weapons and tactics soon decided the eventual outcome.

My attacks can reach you, but your attacks can’t reach me. The two separate groups of people were like pincers that attacked the Shatu guards in unison. Such a battle was destined to be a slaughter.

One must admit that the Shatu guards were very brave. During the battle, the guards kept their swords raised and roared furiously as they charged towards the archery academy students with their lives, wanting to hack the students down from their steeds. However, in such a battle, the bravery of an individual couldn’t draw the distance between the two parties closer. Both sides were riding rhinodrake steeds but the students were well prepared. Their steeds were also stronger than the Shatu people’s steeds. When the Shatu people charged over, the students maneuvered their steeds to always keep a 50 to 100-meter distance. This distance was like an uncrossable ravine of death for the Shatu people.

The last remaining Shatu person on the battlefield was very powerful. He smashed many waves of arrows with his scimitar. As he saw his companions falling one by one until he was the only one left, that Shatu man suddenly roared and pierced his scimitar into the rhinodrake steed’s bum. The painful steed was infuriated and whined before its hooves traversed with unprecedented speed towards Yan Liqiang and them. However, that Shatu person suddenly turned and hid underneath the belly of the steed, using it as a shield to keep charging...

That steed actually broke through to a 30-meter distance before it fell to the arrows.

The instant that the steed fell, the Shatu person roared in fury. A red light flashed from his body as he sprung up from the ground and sped over like a horse with his sword.

Yan Liqiang just looked calmly at this Shatu person and didn’t draw his bow.

“Woosh...”

A heavy sound breezed past Yan Liqiang. When that Shatu broke the ten-meter radius, more than a hundred shining flying axes tore through the air like a dense net towards that man.

He waved his sword and hacked down more than ten axes, but more flying axes cut into his thigh and slashed across his shoulder. When that Shatu person paused for a brief moment, there was the sound of bowstrings being released and more than 100 arrows pierced that Shatu’s body, turning him into an echidna.

Even the most powerful master would eventually die in this situation unless his body couldn’t be penetrated by weapons.

That Shatu’s eyes opened in fury before he fell to the ground heavily and bounced up the dust from the ground...

Finally, not a single Shatu was left standing – only ownerless rhinodrake steeds wandered around.

During the battle, the students were just fighting habitually in accordance with the training they received in the archery academy. But now when they saw that not a single enemy stood before them, they thought to themselves, ‘Where was the enemy?’

‘There was no enemy, we won...’

The battle from start to finish only lasted a few minutes. The Shatu people were completely annihilated while only a few were injured on Yan Liqiang’s side. The death ratio was 500 to 0. Those few archers in the Shatu guards were locked on by the students whose archery cultivation had reached the first two levels in the first round of firing. They could only shoot one arrow each and yet the Shatu were completely annihilated. The remaining Shatu people never even reached the students.

Other than Yan Liqiang, everyone was dazed, including Shi Changfeng. They didn’t dare to believe such an outcome. They didn’t dare to believe they were this strong. This was a living miracle!

“Ten minutes to clean up the battlefield...” Yan Liqiang’s voice woke everyone up from the shock. Then, the students started to hustle and cleaned up the battlefield.

Other people might not understand ten minutes, but the archery academy students were used to this time unit because of Yan Liqiang. There were twelve earthly branches in a day, each earthly branch was two hours. Every hour had sixty minutes. This one minute of time was equivalent to most students’ hearts beating fifty to sixty times...

Yan Liqiang called over Xiong Gungun, the captain of his guards, and pointed at the location of the merchant convoy. “I shot someone off his horse over there. He’s lost mobility but he’s probably not dead. Bring him over!”

“Yes!” The tall, robust Xiong Gungun answered and brought two people to ride over into the distance.

Shi Changfeng rode his steed over to Yan Liqiang and stared closely at him. After hesitating for two seconds, he asked in disbelief, “You... long knew this would be the outcome?”

During the battle, Shi Changfeng found that Yan Liqiang only led the team. Yan Liqiang only shot a few arrows at the start of the battle. During the chase, Yan Liqiang didn’t touch his bow at all and he was very calm about the outcome of the battle.

Yan Liqiang smiled to Shi Changfeng, “There’s nothing to be bewildered of. It would be strange if this wasn’t the outcome. All the training they did in the archery academy, all the hardship, every detail, everything was in preparation for today...” Speaking of this, Yan Liqiang pointed at the organized students who were rapidly cleaning up the battlefield and said with an adamant tone, “Look. Soon they will be the ones to dominate this era. They will crush all enemies ahead of them into dust...”

In Yan Liqiang’s previous life, the secret to the Mongolian Iron Calvary sweeping across the entire world was the appearance of mounted archers. The concentrated use of mounted archers was a revolutionary change in the military. It was a huge leap in military ideals and tactics. A few hundred years after the Mongolian empire perished, a german called Heinz Guderian picked up the essence of the Mongolian military idea. He grouped the previously scattered tanks and armored vehicles. Then he created the blitzkrieg and swept across Europe. He just changed mounted archers into tanks and armored vehicles.

Regardless of whether it was cold steel weapons or firearms, all physical instruments of war focused on two aspects in the end. One was the mobility and stealth brought by speed. The second was the damage output of ranged attacks. Whoever could move faster and shoot further could dominate the battlefield and become king. Simply put, if I hit you but you can’t hit me on the battlefield, the final victor would definitely be me. Those jets, tanks, cannons, submarines, and carrier ships might seem sophisticated, but they ultimately just throw bombs from a long distance.

Speed and ranged offensive capability were the direction tools of war developed in history.

In addition, mounted archers were the combination of speed and ranged offensive capability in this world. Those things were world’s tanks and armored vehicles.

The production cost of bows and cavalry limited people’s understanding of war in this world. It limited the large scale use of mounted archers. But these three problems weren’t problems to Yan LIqiang. The traditional method of bow production was costly and timely, yet Yan Liqiang knew how to streamline that process as well as the art of producing the spring. It greatly lowered the cost of large scale production of bows.

The Gulang Plains would produce an abundance of wool in the future and at the same time, it was also the largest natural farm of Great Han Empire’s western region.

Every student in the archery academy was like a seed and speck of fire. If spread across Pingxi Prefecture, Gan Province, or even the entire northwestern region, it would ignite the plains.

Yan Liqiang didn’t need to speak of his great vision.

Today was the first formal battle and it was only a test of these young archers. Yet, the demons had already invaded the territory.

In a short while, Xiong Gungun pushed someone on the steed and charged in front of Yan Liqiang. He threw the person below Yan Liqiang’s feet.

“Lord, this guy really didn’t die!”

Yan Liqiang’s arrow blew apart the Shatu person’s feet, but he was only injured.

With his face covered in blood, the Shatu said, “Who are you guys? The Shatu Seven Tribes won’t let you go!”

Chapter 543: Game Changer

“Bastard, you still talk tough even now...” Seeing that Shatu still dared to yell at Yan Liqiang, Xiong Gungun kicked the Shatu into the ground.

Xiong Gungun was already very big and a few days ago, his cultivation of the Five Animal Frolics reached Horse Stance Stage. The power of his foot was very huge. With that step, it made the Shatu spit blood and writhe on the ground.

“Don’t be in a rush to take his life!” Yan Liqiang smiled and stared at this person. He told Xiong Gungun to lift his feet, “Tell me, what’s your name? Which tribes from the Shatu Seven Tribes are you from? I’ll ask you a few questions, and if you answer them quickly, I’ll give you a quick one too!”

That person clenched his teeth and glared at Yan Liqiang with animosity but said nothing.

“Haha, his mouth is quite hard to crack. Then let me guess, your merchant convoy has the flags of the Earthen Desert Tribe, the Coyote Tribe, and the Stormy River tribe. But when the guards of the merchant convoy charge over, it was as one, not three. You guys are well experienced in working with each other, meaning that you weren’t a team assembled on the spot. You guys were already a squad. Currently, on the Gulang Plains, those who need to cover their tracks fearful of their merchant convoy getting attacked by their enemies would either be Dark Razor Tribe or Dark Wood Tribe!” Yan Liqiang said with a smile, “So I’m guessing you’re probably from the Dark Razor Tribe because when I mentioned Dark Wood Tribe, your face flashed with a sliver of disdain and enmity. You must be from the Dark Razor Tribe!”

The Shatu said nothing but his eyes moved a little.

“When I shot out the first arrow, everyone charged over towards me but you didn’t. You turned to run instead which means that you are smarter than the others. You knew the power of my arrow and was scared of dying by my hands so you tried to leave the battlefield first. The Shatu people usually kill the fleeing people immediately but they didn’t touch you. This means that your status is quite extraordinary in the merchant convoy. You guys came from Dark Razor Tribe so you’re probably no ordinary person in the tribe!”

The Shatu person still glared at Yan Liqiang with animosity but his face showed some shock. He didn’t expect Yan Liqiang to be able to determine that many things from those small clues. “So what if I am from the Dark Razor Tribe? Don’t even think about trying to get anything out of my mouth.”

“Really? Then what’s the thing you don’t want me to know the most right now?” Yan Liqiang asked.

The Shatu suddenly shut his mouth tightly and just looked at Yan Liqiang with disdain and enmity as though he was saying so what if Yan Liqiang killed him.

But even if he didn’t speak of this, Yan Liqiang already knew. Yan Liqiang didn’t need the Shatu person to speak – he just needed that question to kickstart some mental activity.

“I didn’t expect you to be a tough guy. Very well. I love tough guys, so I’ll give you a quick one!” Yan Liqiang said and then waved to Xiong Gungun who pulled out his scimitar and struck down. The Shatu was decapitated and his head rolled on the ground.

Yan Liqiang looked into the sky. In the blink of an eye, vultures started swirling up in the air glaring at the body.

In a short while, the battlefield was cleaned up. The bodies were checked to be dead and the loots were taken. Yan Liqiang led the archery academy students on their steeds and disappeared behind the valley like the wind, only leaving behind the ground littered in bodies as well as the cargo of the merchant convoy...

As soon as Yan Liqiang and the group left, another mass of five hundred people came over. They said nothing and collected all the remaining things. The Shatu merchant convoy wealth, horses, camels, and even the swords and arrows were all collected. Then, they headed towards Yingwei County...

Moments later, large crowds of vultures flew over from all directions and landed on the ground. After making sure the bodies couldn’t move at all, they started feasting. Before their feasts ended, large packs of wild dogs also joined the feast.

...

After dark, Yan Liqiang and the students who had changed into ordinary clothes rode their rhinodrake steeds and returned to the archery academy.

They all didn’t rest immediately. Instead, they started their little summary meetings in teams.

After every battle, all participants had to have a summary meeting. This was Yan Liqiang’s order to go over what went well and what went poorly. Everyone also had to speak. The good habits must persist while the bad habits must be changed and not be made again.

This simple summary meeting was the key to increasing battle power and team spirit!

...

When he got back to his place after the summary meeting, it was already late into the night. In his secret training room, he finished performing the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing three times before practicing his punches. Yan Liqiang felt like he was renewed again. His body was filled with vigorous power. Based on his senses, Yan Liqiang felt his blood Qi, vital Qi, and bone marrow Qi about to reach their full state. the doors to becoming a Martial Lord were open to him. It had only been a year since he had become a Martial Grandmaster.

After leaving the secret training room, he went to the yard outside. The aromatic scent of flowers surged around while the bright moon hung high in the air. The stars were spectacular too. Yan Liqiang stood with his hands behind his back and peacefully enjoyed the night sky. Meanwhile, he was thinking about the piece of information he got from the Shatu people. The Shatu Alliance had sent an envoy to the Gulang Plains and was in Dark Razor Tribe. The envoy’s mission was to resolve the conflict between Dark Razor Tribe and Dark Wood Tribe. Under the envoy’s persuasion, the two tribe leaders had agreed to meet on the 15thof next month to negotiate. The location was at the Gulang Plains, White Grass Lake.

For the Shatu, it was good if Dark Razor Tribe and Dark Wood Tribe stopped their conflict, but to Yan Liqiang, this wasn’t good. The more chaotic the Shatu were, the better it was for him.

Looking at the bright moon above his head, Yan Liqiang’s face looked adamant...

Just when Yan Liqiang was about to go back, he suddenly had a thought and raised his head. The sound of the bird flapping wings came from above him. A grey messenger bird fell onto Yan Liqiang’s arm. Yan Liqiang took out the small tube from its leg and rolled open the paper. Yan Liqiang’s eyebrows immediately raised and light flashed in his eyes. Wang Jianbei was indeed about to attack the Shatu people in Pingxi City...

Chapter 544: The Change at Pingxi

Upon his return to Pingxi City, Yan Liqiang found out that the city gates had much stricter security measures than a few days ago.

The soldiers at the city gates were all armed with swords and spears. The numbers were also greater than before and they checked everyone strictly, especially the Shatu people.

Yan Liqiang knew what this was of course. Just two days ago, Wang Jianbei lit up the fire barrels in the areas where the Shatu people gathered.

The black four-wheeled carriage went into the city without obstruction. On the city streets, it wasn’t the police patrolling the streets anymore, but the soldiers. People who normally loitered around didn’t roam the streets anymore, and most people walked past quickly.

The black four-wheeled carriage rode straight to the Prefectural Governor’s Office. Yan Liqiang got off the carriage and was welcomed into the back garden of the Prefectural Governor’s Office by the attendant. Prefectural Governor Wang Jianbei had already set up a feast in the garden as though he had just been waiting for Yan Liqiang to come.

“Hahaha, Liqiang, you came just at the right time!” Wang Jianbei laughed and held Yan Liqiang’s arm as he pulled Yan Liqiang hospitably into the balcony. “I knew you would come around this time. The wine and food were just brought up, waiting for you!”

“Prefectural Governor, you seem to be in a good mood!” Yan Liqiang smiled. If it was his other life, Yan Liqiang definitely would not have come when one man kept inviting another man to have dinner in a garden, but Wang Jianbei seemed to love this atmosphere. Of course, he didn’t have other intentions.

“The night sky is beautiful today. Here, I can invite you to watch a great show, hahaha...” Wang Jianbei said and poured Yan Liqiang a cup of wine.

“You’ve chosen it to be tonight?” Yan Liqiang asked.

“Mhm. Two days ago, I pulled out the soldiers that maintained order in the east city. We’ll let the dogs fight each other. The east city has been quite boisterous these two days. Tension has been building up between the two sides. Tonight will probably be a wild night!” Wang Jianbei smiled and poured himself a cup.

“Haha, then let this first cup of wine be cheers to the future prosperity of our Pingxi Prefecture!” Yan Liqiang raised his cup and smiled. The two touched cups and drank.

“This decision wasn’t easy to make!” Wang Jianbei sighed. “Without the support of the Provincial Governor and you, I’d be hesitant to create such a commotion in Pingxi City...”

“Those people are the tumor of Pingxi City. They always create ruckus and chaos. One slight unhappiness and they create a huge commotion to rebel against the bureaucracy. If there’s a change in the situation, these people are a huge threat to the city. The heavens sees the law of karma. In these few decades, these people used forceful and shameless means to rob places. The citizens have endured many hardships and have nowhere to ask for help. That area is now a place for hiding all the darkness and filth. Even though the Prefectural Governor used some means to remove this threat from Pingxi City, it’s like scraping the bones to remove the poison. It’ll be a huge merit. Liqiang will salute a cup to Prefectural Governor!” Yan Liqiang poured wine for them both and then the two downed it all again.

“The aftermath will be left to you, Liqiang. You must not let people hit my backbone!”

“Hahaha, rest assured Prefectural Governor. Leave that area to me. I promise it will be ten times more prosperous than when the Shatu were there!”

“That’s great, that’s great!” Wang Jianbei smiled and nodded.

“The Shatu have nefarious intent and are used to being domineering in the city. If we attack tonight, the Prefectural Governor needs to be wary of forcing them into a last stand based on their numbers!”

“Liqiang, don’t worry, I have made the arrangements. Your idea from last time is very good. Life has been getting harder for those Shatu people in the city this year. Quite a few of them have already left the city. There are much fewer Shatu people here compared to a few years ago!”

Drinking and talking about the future plans for that area of the city with the Prefectural Governor, Yan Liqiang had the feeling that he was a greedy real estate developer conspiring with officials to forcefully mow down a piece of land.

Of course, to the Shatu people in the city, Yan Liqiang’s heart was quite dark indeed, but this was a compliment to Yan Liqiang because being evil to bad people was an act of kindness itself. Only after kicking away those Shatu people would Pingxi City finally be removed from a big threat. Yan Liqiang would be able to sleep peacefully. Otherwise, those Shatu people were like a ticking time bomb. If some situation arose, those Shatu people would be able to conspire with the Shatu people from the outside. The damage they would be able to do would be immeasurable. This possibility made Yan Liqiang restless. Kicking away the Shatu people in the city was his target after coming back home this time.

If the Dark Razor Tribe and Dark Wood Tribe didn’t have a conflict, it wouldn’t be easy to kick out those Shatu people in the city. The way Yan Liqiang thought of before was to slowly cook the frog, slowly exhausting their power. But in this conflict, there was a better way to take care of them.

This was because out of the Shatu people gathered in the city, the most numerous were the Dark Razor and Dark Wood Tribe people. The two combined accounted for more than 70% of the Shatu population in the city. The Dark Razor Tribe and Dark Wood Tribe had about the same number of people, and these two tribes lived separately. Dark Razor Tribe was slightly stronger in power and was the leader and manager of the Shatu people in the city. If something happened, the Dark Razor Tribe could gather all the Shatu in the city and mobilize them.

But now, as the conflict between the Dark Razor and Dark Wood Tribes grew, the atmosphere had changed. The Dark Razor and Dark Wood people’s relations in the city grew tense. There would often be small conflicts. Before, Wang Jianbei sent soldiers into their area for patrol to maintain peace. They segregated the area that the Dark Razor and Dark Wood Tribes lived in from the nearby streets. He set up a firewall between the two tribes, but now Wang Jianbei had taken that wall away. His excuse was that the situation at the Gulang Plains was unstable. He needed to assist defending White Stone Pass.

Wang Jianbei not only took away the firewall, but he also added fire to oil. These two days, people from the Dark Razor Tribe and Dark Wood Tribe mysteriously disappeared. This caused tension to escalate to unprecedented levels.

...

In less than two hours, the wine wasn’t finished but the sky was completely dark. Not long after that, a fiery inferno rose up from the direction of the Pingxi City’s Nine Dragons Bridge, illuminating the sky red...

Chapter 545: Night of Blood and Fire

The fire started so quick and fierce that Yan Liqiang didn’t even notice it in the beginning. But at the turn of an eye, the fire grew rapidly. On such a night, the fiery flames were very outstanding.

Yan Liqiang narrowed his eyes and looked for a while before looking at Wang Jianbei, “What place is burning?”

“It’s a big market where the Dark Wood Tribe gathers!” Wang Jianbei glanced afar and it seemed like he knew that this would happen. His face showed a smile, “That big market place is the lifeline for those Dark Razor Tribe members. Other than all sorts of cargo brought in by their merchant squads, it is mostly used to store Dark Razor Tribe’s food. With this fire, the Dark Wood people would turn into mad dogs!”

“Hahaha, this feels great!” Yan Liqiang laughed, “Is the Military Governor managing the scene there?”

“That’s right, Yucheng is keeping watch over there. Come, come, come, let’s keep drinking!” Wang Jianbei waved his hand and a servant brought another kettle of wine...

As the fire rose, the entire Shatu district sank into chaos.

Rows of Dark Wood Tribe homes were connected to the big marketplace. Those homes were all made of wood. The fire spread all over the place with extremely rapid speed, making the people charge out of their houses in a panic to fight the fire!

The market was guarded by people at night and there was more than one person, but when the Dark Wood Tribe people got there, they found that all the guards had been killed.

Other than the guards’ bodies, there were actually a few Dark Razor bodies.

Those bodies seemed as though they were killed by Dark Wood people. Some killed each other. Most importantly, there were fire starters and pine oil found on a few of the Dark Razor Tribe people...

But at this moment, fighting the fire was more urgent and when those Dark Wood people took out all sorts of tools and charged to the nearby well, they found that the well had been sealed shut with boulders inside. It was impossible to remove all the boulders without half a day’s worth of work.

So, all the Dark Wood Tribe Shatu people could only watch with pale faces as their homes were ravaged by the flames.

There had already been some small conflicts between the Dark Razor Tribe and Dark Wood Tribe people these days. Both sides incurred deaths and injuries. They were like a keg filled with gun powder.

“Kill those Dark Razor Tribe bastards...” Those Dark Wood Tribe people roared in fury with red eyes. They cast away their water buckets and picked up their weapons instead.

Faced with this situation, the Dark Wood people completely exploded. All those who could pick up swords picked up their swords and roared in fury as they charged towards the Dark Razor Tribe district.

At the head of the Nine Dragons Bridge, a fully-armed Pingxi Military Governor Liu Yucheng sat on a rhinodrake steed. He looked coldly at the chaos and the flames in the Shatu area. Under the illumination of the fiery light, Liu Yucheng’s face was cold and sharp like metal.

Next to Liu Yucheng was a forest of erected spears. The soldiers were already there waiting for orders. On the bridge, three rows of iron shields as tall as humans were erected, sealing all the exit paths shut for the Shatu people. A large number of archers lined the roofs of the buildings on the two sides of the bridge.

The firelight was the signal!

Rumbling sounds came from the streets – the soldiers in the barracks quickly made their way over. Everything went according to plan.

In the riverside not far ahead, there was a ruckus. Some black-clothed people suddenly emerged from the water and quickly came to Liu Yucheng to report in!

“Lord, the mission is complete!” The team was led by a commandant of Pingxi City and it was made up of masters from the military.

Looking at the firelight in the distance, Liu Yucheng nodded in satisfaction. “You guys did very well. I’ll mark down your work, go change clothes first!”

“Yes!” The team of people in black robes left quickly.

Liu Yucheng still watched the Shatu district intently. Just moments later, the chaos in the Shatu area suddenly grew even greater. There were sounds of fighting and hacking, making it even more and more intense. Liu Yucheng knew that the second team he sent had successfully finished their mission, but their retreat path wasn’t from here. It was from the eastern gate of the city...

In the Shatu district, the Dark Razor Tribe and Dark Wood Tribe were in complete chaos. In the firelight, the two parties were gathered on the streets in carnage.

Many Dark Wood people still had fire torches and pine oil. They charged into the Dark Razor Tribe area and threw the fire torches onto the Dark Razor Tribe houses and then poured out the pine oil. The entire area erupted into flames and smoke rolled everywhere.

The Dark Razor Tribe guards rushed over to their leader’s home, but by that time, their leader’s family was dead silent. Not a single person was alive.

Both sides had sunk into slaughter. Dark Razor Tribe had lost their heads. Without an organized chain of command, the Dark Razor tribe people could only pick up their swords and resist if they didn’t want to die.

The Shatu district was flying with blood and flesh. Bodies were littered on the ground while the two sides of the streets had buildings that were lit up. No one went to fight the fire because those who took the tools to fight the fire would probably get hacked down without even getting very far.

Pingxi City had a fire fighting team. During this era, most of the buildings were made out of wood and were in close proximity. If one building went on fire, the consequence would be disastrous so each city had their own firefighting squads.

Seeing the fire in the Shatu district, the city’s fire fighting team pulled their water carriages. But when they came over, they were dumbfounded. Nine Dragons Bridge had been completely shut off. Realizing that the military governor was here, the fire fighting team captain quickly went to greet Liu Yucheng.

Liu Yucheng’s face was serious as he looked at the captain, “There has been a riot at the Shatu district. The Dark Razor Tribe and Dark Wood Tribe are killing each other. It’s too chaotic in there – it’ll be suicide if you go in now. Stay here just in case. You can go in when the riot calms down. If something happens to you guys, how am I going to report to the Prefectural Governor?!”

Hearing the hacking sounds from the Shatu district, the captain shivered his neck and nodded as he retreated...

Not long after that, a few hundred Shatu people carrying swords, fire torches, and pine oil charged to the bridge. Seeing Liu Yucheng and the well-armed soldiers waiting here, they were dazed.

Liu Yucheng looked coldly at these people with killing intent seeping out of his eyes, “Just as the Prefectural Governor said, you Shatu vermins still want to cause chaos in Pingxi City at such a time...”

Liu Yucheng waved his hand and countless arrows shot out like raindrops towards those Shatu people. These Shatu people all flipped over in cries.

After two rounds of arrows, the side of the bridge was filled with Shatu bodies.

Chapter 546: Clearing The Area

The night passed by uneventfully in Pingxi City!

The sky above the eastern part of the city was lit up by the flames. The frequent sounds of footsteps and iron hooves of troops mobilizing on the street outside caused the citizens of Pingxi City to spend the entire night in fear.

Those who lived near the Shatu community area could faintly hear the chaos outside even in their sleep.

Yan Liqiang spent the night in the Prefectural Governor’s Office. After a talk over a small drink and two games of chess with Wang Jianbei, it was already late at night. So he stayed the night in a guest courtyard there.

The eastern side of the city was under Wang Jianbei’s control.

Yan Liqiang initially expected a few powerful Shatu experts to emerge and stir up some trouble so he could warm up his body and gather some ingredients for the ‘toy capsule machine’. Yet, the final outcome proved to him that his expectation was too high. After all, experts were not as common as cabbages in the field. There might be a few slightly competent individuals among the Shatu people in Pingxi City, but they still hardly amounted to anything to Pingxi Military Governor Liu Yucheng and his subordinates. There was a huge disturbance in the eastern part of the city for the whole night, but it was serene in the Prefectural Governor’s Office and hardly any messengers came.

Early next morning after Yan Liqiang finished washing up and ate his breakfast in the Prefectural Governor’s Office, he accepted Wang Jianbei’s invitation to patrol the eastern part of the city.

There were even more patrols on the streets compared to yesterday. Even in a four-wheeled carriage, Yan Liqiang could sense the citizens outside on the street talking about something. By the time the four-wheeled carriage approached the Nine Dragons Bridge, the area had been sealed off and was filled with heavily armed soldiers.

Yan Liqiang waited for the carriage to stop before he got off. It was then that he noticed Pingxi Military Governor Liu Yucheng, who looked sharp in his armor, walking toward him and Wang Jianbei.

Liu Yucheng’s armor clanked as he walked and Yan Liqiang noticed there were quite a bit of bloodstains on it. None of the commandants who followed behind Liu Yucheng had clean armor, and one of them even had a trail of blood on his face. It was as though they had just walked out of a battlefield and it seemed like everyone had a busy night yesterday.

“Greetings, Prefectural Governor and Lord Yan!” Liu Yucheng and the other commandants came over and greeted Wang Jianbei and Yan Liqiang first. In the past, Yan Liqiang’s Qiyun Protectorate General position was just an empty title. However, apart from Qiyun Protectorate General, Yan Liqiang was also conferred a series of titles by the Emperor, including the Great Han Empire’s Heavenly Master Craftsmith, Baron of the First Rank and Northwestern Reiver. Just Heavenly Master Craftsmith and Baron alone were lofty statuses, hence Liu Yucheng and his commandants didn’t dare to be negligent around him.

“Yucheng, how’s the situation here?” Wang Jianbei nodded and directly asked the question.

“Everything is under control!” Liu Yucheng licked his slightly chapped lips. “Those Shatu bastards are not only ruthless to outsiders, but even more ruthless to their own people. The massacre yesterday lasted for nearly an entire night in their community area. All the people from Dark Razor and Dark Wood Tribes were involved. People were killed and the place suffered a rash of arson attacks. Hehehe, there should still be some sporadic fighting going on inside...”

“Have the citizens in the surroundings been affected by this disturbance?”

“It was just as you predicted, my lord! After those Shatu bastards started fighting amongst themselves, many of them indeed tried to get all of Pingxi City involved. Fortunately, they didn’t succeed as we killed all those who rushed over to this side of the bridge! Some of them shot fire arrows toward the eastern gate and set two houses on fire, but we managed to extinguish the fire without any casualties!”

“How many Shatu people are left in this area?”

“It was chaotic last night. Those who didn’t rush out here were hacked to death, and many of those who stayed in their houses were burnt to death. I took a look around the Nine Dragons Bridge just now and the streets were filled with Shatu corpses. I reckon that only a quarter of the people here are still alive...”

“Very good!” Wang Jianbei’s eyes lit up. He scanned around before he spoke with a deepened voice, “Soldiers, listen up!”

“Yes!”

“The Shatu broke into riots last night in Pingxi City. The Dark Wood and Dark Razor Tribes are killing each other and they have suffered heavy casualties. The unlawful ones among them even tried to murder my people or start arson attacks in my city in the midst of chaos. Such crimes cannot be overlooked. The eastern part of Pingxi City has been damaged and littered by corpses. Given the hot weather now, those corpses pose a major health risk. For the safety of our people in Pingxi Prefecture, I hereby order our men in the city to march into the eastern part of the city to clear the aftermath of this chaos. Capture the unlawful criminals who attempted arson in the city last night and drive the remaining Shatu people out of this city! Any found outside the city are to be captured on the spot! Kill those who resist!”

Liu Yucheng exchanged looks with his other commandants, then felt a burst of energy as they cupped their fist with vigor. “YES, MY LORD!”

After receiving their orders, Liu Yucheng immediately left with his other commandants and then shouted, “BLOW THE HORN!”

The cow horns at the Nine Dragons Bridge were blown, and the sound traveled in all directions. About ten seconds later, the same sounds came from a few other places in the distance – this was a clarion call for action. Soldiers in the surroundings immediately moved into the Shatu community area upon hearing the clarion call, and started clearing up the area.

Liu Yucheng raised the longsword in his hand and roared on the head of the Nine Dragons Bridge, “Shields in front, followed by infantry! Archers bring up the rear! Everyone, follow me! Today, we shall drive out all the Shatu bastards away from Pingxi City!”

All the soldiers were bursting with energy as they roared back in unison. Amidst the clanking of armor, the troops gathered here at Nine Dragons Bridge marched powerfully into the Shatu community area under Liu Yucheng’s lead.

It had been so long since Yan Liqiang felt this excited. He felt a pang of emotion as he watched the troops crossing the Nine Dragons Bridge. He turned his head around to look at the familiar restaurant and medicine shop on the street nearby. He recalled the first time he came here, the Shatu people were bullying and swindling their peers. Back then, Yan Liqiang secretly made the decision that he would one day definitely drive these Shatu people, who were riding roughshod over the Han Chinese, out of the city. Today, that ‘little target’ of his finally came true...

Initially, there were two sets of plans. If the damage was minimal during the conflict between Dark Wood and Dark Razor Tribes last night, then Wang Jianbei would order to seal off the community area, as well as restrict the trade between the Shatu people and townspeople.

In desperate situations where the surviving Shatu people were unable to obtain any supplies from the outside, they wouldn’t last many days here. Then the troops in Pingxi City would come to clear the area. Yet now, the Shatu people had suffered heavy losses last night. There was no need to wait any longer so the Prefectural Governor immediately issued his command...

Chapter 546: Clearing The Area

The night passed by uneventfully in Pingxi City!

The sky above the eastern part of the city was lit up by the flames. The frequent sounds of footsteps and iron hooves of troops mobilizing on the street outside caused the citizens of Pingxi City to spend the entire night in fear.

Those who lived near the Shatu community area could faintly hear the chaos outside even in their sleep.

Yan Liqiang spent the night in the Prefectural Governor’s Office. After a talk over a small drink and two games of chess with Wang Jianbei, it was already late at night. So he stayed the night in a guest courtyard there.

The eastern side of the city was under Wang Jianbei’s control.

Yan Liqiang initially expected a few powerful Shatu experts to emerge and stir up some trouble so he could warm up his body and gather some ingredients for the ‘toy capsule machine’. Yet, the final outcome proved to him that his expectation was too high. After all, experts were not as common as cabbages in the field. There might be a few slightly competent individuals among the Shatu people in Pingxi City, but they still hardly amounted to anything to Pingxi Military Governor Liu Yucheng and his subordinates. There was a huge disturbance in the eastern part of the city for the whole night, but it was serene in the Prefectural Governor’s Office and hardly any messengers came.

Early next morning after Yan Liqiang finished washing up and ate his breakfast in the Prefectural Governor’s Office, he accepted Wang Jianbei’s invitation to patrol the eastern part of the city.

There were even more patrols on the streets compared to yesterday. Even in a four-wheeled carriage, Yan Liqiang could sense the citizens outside on the street talking about something. By the time the four-wheeled carriage approached the Nine Dragons Bridge, the area had been sealed off and was filled with heavily armed soldiers.

Yan Liqiang waited for the carriage to stop before he got off. It was then that he noticed Pingxi Military Governor Liu Yucheng, who looked sharp in his armor, walking toward him and Wang Jianbei.

Liu Yucheng’s armor clanked as he walked and Yan Liqiang noticed there were quite a bit of bloodstains on it. None of the commandants who followed behind Liu Yucheng had clean armor, and one of them even had a trail of blood on his face. It was as though they had just walked out of a battlefield and it seemed like everyone had a busy night yesterday.

“Greetings, Prefectural Governor and Lord Yan!” Liu Yucheng and the other commandants came over and greeted Wang Jianbei and Yan Liqiang first. In the past, Yan Liqiang’s Qiyun Protectorate General position was just an empty title. However, apart from Qiyun Protectorate General, Yan Liqiang was also conferred a series of titles by the Emperor, including the Great Han Empire’s Heavenly Master Craftsmith, Baron of the First Rank and Northwestern Reiver. Just Heavenly Master Craftsmith and Baron alone were lofty statuses, hence Liu Yucheng and his commandants didn’t dare to be negligent around him.

“Yucheng, how’s the situation here?” Wang Jianbei nodded and directly asked the question.

“Everything is under control!” Liu Yucheng licked his slightly chapped lips. “Those Shatu bastards are not only ruthless to outsiders, but even more ruthless to their own people. The massacre yesterday lasted for nearly an entire night in their community area. All the people from Dark Razor and Dark Wood Tribes were involved. People were killed and the place suffered a rash of arson attacks. Hehehe, there should still be some sporadic fighting going on inside...”

“Have the citizens in the surroundings been affected by this disturbance?”

“It was just as you predicted, my lord! After those Shatu bastards started fighting amongst themselves, many of them indeed tried to get all of Pingxi City involved. Fortunately, they didn’t succeed as we killed all those who rushed over to this side of the bridge! Some of them shot fire arrows toward the eastern gate and set two houses on fire, but we managed to extinguish the fire without any casualties!”

“How many Shatu people are left in this area?”

“It was chaotic last night. Those who didn’t rush out here were hacked to death, and many of those who stayed in their houses were burnt to death. I took a look around the Nine Dragons Bridge just now and the streets were filled with Shatu corpses. I reckon that only a quarter of the people here are still alive...”

“Very good!” Wang Jianbei’s eyes lit up. He scanned around before he spoke with a deepened voice, “Soldiers, listen up!”

“Yes!”

“The Shatu broke into riots last night in Pingxi City. The Dark Wood and Dark Razor Tribes are killing each other and they have suffered heavy casualties. The unlawful ones among them even tried to murder my people or start arson attacks in my city in the midst of chaos. Such crimes cannot be overlooked. The eastern part of Pingxi City has been damaged and littered by corpses. Given the hot weather now, those corpses pose a major health risk. For the safety of our people in Pingxi Prefecture, I hereby order our men in the city to march into the eastern part of the city to clear the aftermath of this chaos. Capture the unlawful criminals who attempted arson in the city last night and drive the remaining Shatu people out of this city! Any found outside the city are to be captured on the spot! Kill those who resist!”

Liu Yucheng exchanged looks with his other commandants, then felt a burst of energy as they cupped their fist with vigor. “YES, MY LORD!”

After receiving their orders, Liu Yucheng immediately left with his other commandants and then shouted, “BLOW THE HORN!”

The cow horns at the Nine Dragons Bridge were blown, and the sound traveled in all directions. About ten seconds later, the same sounds came from a few other places in the distance – this was a clarion call for action. Soldiers in the surroundings immediately moved into the Shatu community area upon hearing the clarion call, and started clearing up the area.

Liu Yucheng raised the longsword in his hand and roared on the head of the Nine Dragons Bridge, “Shields in front, followed by infantry! Archers bring up the rear! Everyone, follow me! Today, we shall drive out all the Shatu bastards away from Pingxi City!”

All the soldiers were bursting with energy as they roared back in unison. Amidst the clanking of armor, the troops gathered here at Nine Dragons Bridge marched powerfully into the Shatu community area under Liu Yucheng’s lead.

It had been so long since Yan Liqiang felt this excited. He felt a pang of emotion as he watched the troops crossing the Nine Dragons Bridge. He turned his head around to look at the familiar restaurant and medicine shop on the street nearby. He recalled the first time he came here, the Shatu people were bullying and swindling their peers. Back then, Yan Liqiang secretly made the decision that he would one day definitely drive these Shatu people, who were riding roughshod over the Han Chinese, out of the city. Today, that ‘little target’ of his finally came true...

Initially, there were two sets of plans. If the damage was minimal during the conflict between Dark Wood and Dark Razor Tribes last night, then Wang Jianbei would order to seal off the community area, as well as restrict the trade between the Shatu people and townspeople.

In desperate situations where the surviving Shatu people were unable to obtain any supplies from the outside, they wouldn’t last many days here. Then the troops in Pingxi City would come to clear the area. Yet now, the Shatu people had suffered heavy losses last night. There was no need to wait any longer so the Prefectural Governor immediately issued his command...

Chapter 547: Advancing

The ground tiled by limestones to the east of the Nine Dragons Bridge was now covered by dried bloodstains, blood puddles, and Shatu corpses that had arrows lodged in them. The pungent stench of blood was mixed with the scent of pine oil, which was splashed on the Shatu corpses or around them.

Wang Jianbei and Yan Liqiang crossed the bridge with the big troop. Wang Jianbei threw a cold glance at the Shatu corpses, then said, “These Shatu people are indeed vile bastards that deserve to die. They really planned to bring disaster to the city and set our homes ablaze. Just this alone is a good reason to condemn them!”

“It seems like those who wanted to rush over to this side were probably the Shatu people in this city who weren’t associated with the Dark Razor and Dark Wood Tribes!”

“Yes. Most of the Shatu people here are from several other tribes. The Dark Razor and Dark Wood Tribes were slaugthering each other last night. The Shatu people from the other tribes who didn’t want to get caught up between two took the opportunity to bring chaos to our side!”

“Haha. Still, we have to thank them. Without them, we wouldn’t have an excuse to clear the area with our troops!” Yan Liqiang scanned the corpses on the ground, then gave Wang Jianbei a suggestion. “At this point in time, the townspeople are probably still in the dark. You should have the Law Enforcement Office gather up a group of them and bring them to the Nine Dragons Bridge so they know the Shatu people tried to do last night. With a common enemy, no one will sympathize with the Shatu people regardless of what you will be doing to them from now on. This will basically secure the situation within Pingxi City.

“Apart from this, I heard Gan Provincial City has also set up a newspaper publisher. Have them write up some articles to inform everyone about the conflict between the Shatu people in the city last night and its aftermath to expose these vile bastards. Other than Gan Province, I still have some connections with ‘The Great Han Times’ in the Imperial Capital. I’ll have them write up an article as the final nail in the coffin for those Shatu people. With the truth laid bare to the public, no one in the imperial court will be able to take this incident to stir anything up again!”

In Yan Liqiang’s previous life, this was the most common method to guide public opinion. It was nothing special, but Yan Liqiang’s suggestion seemed to have stirred up something in Wang Jianbei. He was slightly taken aback before nodding heavily. “Right, that’s what should be done. That’s very thoughtful of you, Liqiang. With this line of thinking, you’d make a great Prefectural Governor!” While speaking, Wang Jianbei beckoned forth an attendant. After whispering something to him, the attendant immediately left to make the arrangements.

“You must be joking, my lord. In Pingxi Prefecture, I am still counting on your support!” Yan Liqiang quickly waved his hands.

Wang Jianbei cast a meaningful glance at Yan Liqiang, then smiled and said nothing else. However, his evaluation of Yan Liqiang rose to another level. Even Wang Jianbei himself felt that he couldn’t read Yan Liqiang. At times, Yan Liqiang was like a boy next door to him who was pleasant, witty, and refreshing to speak with. However, Yan Liqiang had experience and slyness which were unexpected of someone his age. He seemed more like a seasoned individual who had been in the business for several decades.

As long as one stayed on Yan Liqiang’s good side, everything would be great. If one crossed the line with him, he would be very firm and ruthless in his methods. The Northwestern Transportation Office was a good example. Yan Liqiang even dared to kill their officers, let alone the rest. The Provincial Governor was right – Yan Liqiang would be a great friend but the worst enemy, because you would never know what card he had up his sleeve.

Liu Yucheng led his big troop over the Shatu corpses and marched along the street.

The first few rows in front were soldiers with shields, followed by those with spears, and archers at the rear. There were two groups of cavalrymen, and everyone was high on alert as they cautiously combed through the streets.

Liu Yucheng would have the people shout outside intact buildings to make the Shatu people come out. If there was no response, the cavalrymen at the back would throw flying claws onto the eaves. The pulling force of more than ten rhinodrake steeds was enough to tear down the houses.

The buildings in the Shatu community area were quite old and most of them were wooden houses. When the Shatu people took over the houses, they never renovated or repaired them since they didn’t know how to build houses. Hence, it was very easy to tear them down.

The commotion at the Nine Dragons Bridge last night was huge. The Shatu people living around the area had either escaped or gotten involved in the chaos. No one knew where they were right now. As Liu Yucheng and his men continued tearing down more than twenty houses, no surviving Shatu people were sighted.

Once they reached a hundred meters east of the Nine Dragons Bridge, the scenery of the street started to change. There were basically no intact houses left on both sides of the streets as they were all reduced into black ruins. Pillars collapsed beside the street like charcoals that were still billowing smoke. Charred corpses that hardly resembled human bodies were seen among the ruins. On the streets, dead Shatu people were seen lying on the ground holding their weapons.

The front rows of the troop cleared away the ruins that were blocking the way as they marched on. When the road branched off, they stopped and split into smaller groups to clear out every street, alley, and house. Any surviving Shatu people were chased away. Those who dared to resist were instantly greeted by countless spears.

The soldiers in the city had long been holding back their anger toward the Shatu people. With the Prefectural Governor’s orders, no one was going to be polite with these Shatu people any longer.

They cleared out two streets before Liu Yucheng led the big group around a corner, and spotted several thousand Shatu people. They were all armed with weapons as they walked toward their direction menacingly.

Liu Yucheng raised his hand and the troop immediately stopped. The soldiers in the front rows immediately inserted their iron shields into the ground.

An old man with graying hair and beard, dressed in a black Shatu long robe, came out and stood in front of the Shatu group. When he noticed the troop didn’t move, he raised his hand and the Shatu people across from them stopped too.

“What are you all doing? This is the Shatu community; it is our territory. Do you dare to violate the ‘Writ of Grace’ that your imperial court holds? Leave now, Han Chinese soldiers! Should anything happen here, all of you shall bear the consequences!” The old Shatu man roared at the other party. As he did, the other Shatu people behind him raised their weapons and started to get noisy.

1

Chapter 548: Hidden Arrow

“Pingxi City belongs to the citizens of Pingxi City! It isn’t anyone’s territory! The ‘Writ of Grace’ isn’t for all of you to use as a shield from the laws and an excuse to run amok. The riot last night caused countless casualties and a great disturbance. People are committing murder and arson. I am responsible for anything that happens in Pingxi City, so I have brought my men here into the eastern city to apprehend criminals and restore order. Lay down your weapons right now and exit the city for interrogation. We will kill anyone who resists!”

During the confrontation, Pingxi Prefectural Governor Wang Jianbei came forward to look at the several thousand Shatu people who were blocking the way and spoke loudly.

Of course, the old Shatu man knew the person who stepped forward. He looked at Wang Jianbei, then pointed to the soldiers behind him and maintained his arrogant attitude. “Aren’t you worried that the Grand Chancellor will condemn you for your actions, Prefectural Governor? You dare to order the soldiers in this city to slaughter our people on Shatu territory? This crime is enough to subject you to a violent death and clan extermination! The Shatu Seven Tribes will surely remember you and fight you to the end if you dare to offend us today!”

Chapter 549: Intense Battle

In that instant, tens of arrows were shot at Yan Liqiang from the big Shatu squad.

When the arrows were about to fly over, Yan Liqiang waved his hand in the air and the long cloak was twirled into his hands. He shook it once and the cloak became like a shield and danced around Yan Liqiang, sweeping away all the arrows. As he moved, Yan Liqiang had dashed out about a hundred meters. He crossed a not yet fallen house and left the archers’ line of sight.

Meanwhile, those Shatu archers couldn’t shoot the second wave of arrows that the Pingxi Prefecture Military Governor ordered to fire. The archers’ arrows landed amongst the Shatu army like locusts.

In that instant, a few hundred Shatu people fell to the ground, howling in pain.

At this moment, the number of Shatu people that filled the street was so dense that even if one shut their eye, they would be able to shoot someone. The Shatu side also had some powerful bows, but compared to this side, the number difference was huge.

The real battle started from there and instantly exploded...

Before they clashed in melee combat, the two sides shot arrows at each other from about 100 meters apart.

When the Shatu arrows flew over, they raised their shields and after a wave of clanks, most of the arrows were blocked by the shields. Even if some arrows pierced the soldiers at the back, those soldiers wore armor and helmets. Those arrows could only do a very limited amount of damage. Some soldiers fell but most soldiers stood firm and quickly advanced towards the Shatu people.

The archers drew their bow the second time. In a wave of excruciating cries, the Shatu charging over fell down like wheat under a harvesting machine. The area from where the Shatu shot their arrows were given special treatment by the archers on this side. By the third volley of arrows, there was less than half the number of arrows...

In the blink of an eye, the two sides clashed together on the streets.

The Shatu charging over had gruesome faces and cried scary war cries with scimitars in their hands...

Meanwhile, the army on this side was uniformly assembled. The shield-holding soldiers planted their metal shields into the ground and knelt down, using their entire bodies to hold the shield in place. The spear soldiers pierced their spears through the crevices and roared, “Kill...”

Looking from afar, it seemed that large patches of thorns grew out from the shields.

Those Shatu people didn’t face a single spear but a volley of spears and couldn’t do anything to block or evade them. Even if they could block one or two spears with their scimitar, what could they do to a cascade of spears? At this moment, even martial warriors or supreme martial warriors wouldn’t be able to do much!

In that instant, flowers of blood blossomed from the iron thorns spraying all over the streets.

Under the protection of the shields, the cascade of spears pierced and retracted, pierced and retracted...

The close combat brawls became a simple and mechanical action in the wake of a real army. Those dark and cold spearheads turned red in the blink of an eye.

The archers behind weren’t doing nothing. Two more waves of arrows flew and more than half of the Shatu people were washed away by the hail of arrows.

The army in front of them wasn’t like the citizens that didn’t dare to speak up. They weren’t like the patrols that didn’t dare to come over when they gathered in large numbers and had to smile carefully. This was the city’s real fighting power.

There were howls of pain mixed with flying of blood and flesh. Watching the people next to them fall down one by one, quite a lot of the Shatu people suddenly felt the terror.

Liu Yucheng dashed over the crossfire like a huge bird and landed behind the Shatu people. He waved his sword and three Shatu people turned into six halves. He waved another time and a few other Shatu people lost their arms and swords.

Liu Yucheng hacked his sword with every step and opened up a bloody path amongst the densely-clustered Shatu people and dashed to the Shatu who spoke to Wang Jianbei then. In the fearful eyes of that old Shatu, he hacked his sword and sliced his head off.

“Pfft, an old dog like you don’t deserve to negotiate with us...” Liu Yucheng kicked the Shatu head away and sneered.

Moments later, the courage and morale of the Shatu melted like snow. The Shatu at the very back started to flee.

The Shatu realized. This time, the Han people were serious. Gathering up, causing a commotion and threatening them were no longer useful. If you dared to charge up with swords, it was suicide...

On the other side of the street, Yan Liqiang locked onto the escaped Shatu. How could Yan Liqiang let him get away in broad daylight?

Yan Liqiang chased that person. In the blink of an eye, they passed many streets. At the start, that person was 200 meters from Yan Liqiang but he was soon only 20 meters away.

“Do you still want to run?” As Yan Liqiang’s voice resounded, Yan Liqiang stopped at a half-fallen house. Yan Liqiang kicked and that broken wall exploded like a dynamite into thousands of pieces. They crossed the air with a piercing howl and loomed over the back of that running figure sealing all the space around him.

That Shatu person suddenly spun in the air. His warbow was fully drawn and then an arrow shot toward Yan Liqiang.

As an expert archer, Yan Liqiang was long ready for that person’s last stand. The moment before the Shatu shot out the arrow, Yan Liqiang’s figure suddenly changed. His figure almost stuck to the ground like a snake as he dashed over.

The black arrows shooting over were soundless, sharp, and powerful and instantly pulverized all the stone pieces

In the combat between experts, one slight difference would create a huge difference in results. That arrow missing meant that it would be the last arrow he ever shot.

The bowstring shook and Yan Liqiang’s figure was already next to that person. He used the extremely domineering Five Mountain Heaven Smashing Pyke of the Eight Extremities Fist technique.

In a violent fit of coughing blood, that person’s body was smashed out like a cannon by Yan Liqiang. It smashed down two walls before falling to the ground like mud...

Chapter 550: Recover The East City

Yan Liqiang slowly walked to that fallen Shatu and studied that person.

This Shatu man was in his forties. His eye sockets were sunken and he kept a brownish-grey beard. His face looked ferocious but his mouth was spitting mouthfuls of blood. Seeing Yan Liqiang walk over, the Shatu glared at Yan Liqiang while his body spasmed. He tried to get up but he couldn’t.

That Shatu person didn’t die immediately but all his bones and organs had pretty much been shattered by Yan Liqiang. The man could only breathe his final breath.

Yan Liqiang said nothing but went up to that Shatu person and squatted down. He stared into that person’s eyes, “I know you can understand me. Who sent you here, and what is your purpose in Pingxi City?”

Blood bubbles rolled in that Shatu person’s throat and seeped out from his mouth. He said nothing but just glared hatefully at Yan Liqiang. Half a minute later, he opened his eyes wide and stopped breathing but Yan Liqiang got the answer he wanted.

The Shatu also carried a small arrow sack. Yan Liqiang opened it and there were still two black metal arrows inside.

This wasn’t an ordinary arrow. The strange runes on the arrow told Yan Liqiang that such an arrow was the work of a talisman master.

This talisman arrow was interesting. Ye Mo scanned the runes with the eyes of a professional. This was the second time he’d seen a talisman from the Shatu. The tail of the arrow was special. What powered the talisman wasn’t an entire beast core, but beast core powder. The person who created this arrow was more precisely an apprentice. He just fused the powder into the tail of the arrow.

To ordinary people, talisman equipment was rare. They were high-quality stuff, but to Yan Liqiang, the craftsmanship of this arrow was from a low-level talisman master. There were many places that could use improvement.

Just when Yan Liqiang was studying the arrow, footsteps rustled behind Yan Liqiang. He put away the arrow and turned around.

Eight armed Shatu people suddenly dashed out from the rubble. They looked at the Shatu person on the ground and then glared at Yan Liqiang with ferocious gazes. They glanced at each other and then slowly surrounded Yan Liqiang.

Half a minute later, Yan Liqiang waved his sleeve as he looked at the eight bodies on the ground. Then, he began walking out from the rubble. A few steps later, he saw the black Horned Python bow on the ground. He picked it up and then disappeared.

When Yan Liqiang returned to the street, the few thousand Shatu people had been crippled. The road was filled with bodies and the remaining Shatu were completely and utterly defeated. They ran over the bodies like rabbits trying to run. The slower ones would immediately be impaled by the soldiers’ spears or arrows.

Yan Liqiang knew that the days of Shatu acting domineering in Pingxi City were over.

“Prefectural Governor...” Yan Liqiang went to Wang Jianbei and took out a black arrow before passing it to Wang Jianbei. “I finished that person off, but the thing he left behind is quite interesting!”

Wang Jianbei took the black arrow. Seeing the runes on it, he frowned. “This is an arrow made by a talisman master?”

“That’s right!” Yan Liqiang nodded.

“The Shatu Seven Tribes doesn’t have a talisman master!”

“Yes, so this thing probably comes from the Shatu Alliance. The Shatu Seven Tribes probably long had an affiliation with the Shatu Alliance. This thing was probably prepared for you and me. in the Pingxi Prefecture, we’re a huge obstacle to the Shatu. If nothing happened today, then this killer would’ve probably gone out to find us some time!”

“The Shatu Seven Tribes are indeed conspiring something. Luckily you did something just then!”

“Governor, you’re too polite. A small assassin can’t do much but the Shatu Alliance intervening on the Gulang Plains might require you to report to the Provincial Governor so we can make early preparations!”

“Liqiang, don’t worry. I will report this to the Provincial Governor!”

......

The Shatu people all suffered huge losses after the internal conflict last night. They no longer had the power to organize large riots.

This assassination towards Wang Jianbei also became evidence for the malicious schemes the Shatu people had done.

The battle on the street was the final struggle for the Shatu. The Pingxi troops were pushing in and clearing every area of the Shatu district, kicking the Shatu people towards the outside. There were no more large scale resistances but there were still small numbers of Shatu that started small battles. If they dared to fight, they would soon turn to the bodies on the ground.

Wang Jianbei’s iron fist cleaning of the Shatu district in the east erupted the entire city. Everyone rejoiced. When the citizens knew that the Shatu wanted to spread the riot to the entire city, they were more furious. Quite some youth of the city volunteered to help with the clearing of the city...

At midday, large numbers of Shatu were kicked out of the city under the enforcement of the soldiers. The east gate was filled with people, and the citizens gathered to watch.

There were men and women, old and young Shatu, but all their heads hung low in dejection. Meanwhile, the onlooking citizens were cheerful and bliss.

“The Prefectural Governor is indeed a parent-like governor. These Shatu people should have long been kicked out...”

“Yes, these Shatu never did a good thing in the city. All they do is abuse and rob people. They oppress the kind-hearted. We citizens have suffered greatly in their hands...”

“Heaven has opened its eyes. Pingxi City is finally back in the hands of us Han people...” One old man cried, “My shop was also in the east city but it was robbed by these Shatu bastards. In the beginning they said they would rent, but later on, they just stayed there and forcefully bought my shop at a low price...”

“Pfft, these Shatu dogs face such fates too....”

“I heard last night they wanted to come out from their district and light up fires everywhere. Today, there was a Shatu dog who wanted to assassinate the Prefectural Governor...”

“Beat them to death!”

“Beat them to death!”

Quite a few citizens roared in anger while others discussed amongst themselves. Some kids even started picking up rocks and dirt and threw them toward those Shatu people...

Chapter 551: Insurance

When the Shatu were kicked out of the east gate, Yan Liqiang was in a gentle warm bath indulging in softness...

In the steamy bath, Yan Liqiang laid on the smooth stone chair and enjoyed the hot water as well as the service of the beautiful woman next to him.

Zhong Ruolan, who wore a thin silky layer, knelt behind Yan Liqiang. Her hands softly massaged Yan Liqiang’s shoulders. Her actions were soft and light. Yan Liqiang closed his eyes in comfort.

“Since you and the Prefectural Governor decided to kick the Shatu people out from Pingxi Prefecture, where should they settle? You’re not going to kill them all are you?”

Yan Liqiang didn’t open his eyes and said casually, “There’s no need to kill them all. If we really do that then it would cause a huge outburst. We’ll be on the passive side. We killed all those who deserve to be killed in the city. As for the remaining ones, the Prefectural Governor gave them five days of food. The majority of them will be escorted out of White Stone Pass by the army; they’ll make them go back to where they came from. When they leave White Stone Pass, whether they live or die has nothing to do with us. There won’t be any domineering Shatu people in Pingxi City anymore!”

“The majority? So that means the minority will be staying?” Zhong Ruolan immediately caught on.

“Mhm, that’s right!”

“How will that minority be arranged?” Zhong Ruolan’s hands had moved onto Yan Liqiang’s head. Her soft long fingers lightly rubbed Yan Liqiang’s temples.

“You’re very smart – you can guess!” Yan Liqiang smiled. Zhong Ruolan’s hands made him feel as though he was in the clouds. He was completely relaxed; this bathroom was too comfortable. He never expected the Zhong family to have such a place for leisure. Normally, places with hot water baths were hot springs, but the Zhong family showed Yan Liqiang what was elite enjoyment. The bath tiles were made with quartz, and the hot water was drawn in from outside. There was no hot spring here. The hot water was heated up in a room outside and then inserted with copper pipes. While enjoying the bath here, there would be quite some people working on the other side. This place could even control the temperature of the water. You could even let people pour in some nourishing herbs into the water. If you wanted to change the water temperature or add herbs, there were a few ropes on the side. You just needed to pull it and the people responsible would know what to do. The elite really knew how to enjoy themselves; this was so lavish.

Zhong Ruolan’s hands didn’t stop – she slowed down as though in thought, but moments later, her voice sounded again. “If I were the Pingxi Prefectural Governor, I would send all the remaining Shatu people to Yingwei County. In the future, commercial trade between the Shatu and Pingxi Prefecture would be in Yingwei County!”

“Oh, tell me your reasoning!”

“It’s simple. We already have a border trading post at Yingwei County. Our trade with the Shatu people is most suited to be conducted at the border trading post. But in the recent decades, the empire has been too lenient on the Shatu Seven Tribes. This allowed them to enter the northwest prefectures as if no one was there. Quite a few have taken parts of cities with force and settled there, causing some problems. Now that you and the Prefectural Governor made a move and cleared those people out of Pingxi City, the rest would be easy to deal with. Yingwei County already has a border trading post that deals with the races and Mount Jade Dragon people. The trades are growing bigger and bigger. Thus, if we set up another border trading post at Yingwei County, we can deal with those Shatu people. There are three benefits to doing this: one is to lower the negative influence of kicking the Shatu people away out of Pingxi City so that people can’t point their fingers at this incident. Second, we can control the number of Shatu at the trading post and not completely cut connections with the Shatu people. We can still do business with them. I believe the merchants with connections to Shatu wouldn’t object to this. Third, we’d make Shatu people and the Mount Jade Dragon people balance each other out!”

“Smart!” Yan Liqiang finally opened his eyes and looked at Zhong Ruolan, “The Zhong family really chose the right person to come to Pingxi Prefecture!”

“No matter how smart I am I can’t guess why you are willing to pay such a price: two million taels of silver to take over the mess the Shatu left behind. Even if you wanted to buy the land, I think it was worth at most one million or so!” Zhong Ruolan rolled her eyes in a cute manner at Yan Liqiang. “Other merchants conspire with officials to get wealth and benefits, but you conspire to lose money. The east city has pretty much been burnt to the ground. It would cost more to clean up that. It’s not worth it to spend a few million taels of silver to buy half a Yan City!”

Yan Liqiang smiled “You can’t finish earning all the money in this world. Sometimes, it’s not completely about money, but more about making yourself happy. If I don’t spend this money, Wang Jianbei and Lei Sitong might not be willing to make the decision to kick away these Shatu people. I feel very uncomfortable looking at those Shatu people. Now that they’ve been kicked away, I feel much more satisfied. It’s like a burden has been lifted off me. Some things women just don’t understand!”

“If you tell me, I will understand!”

“Haha, you’re thinking about how to do business and earn money. Then I’ll tell you something about that. I have a deal here. It’s best that you do this in the city. If you want to surpass the Zhong family then it’ll depend on if you handle this deal well!”

Zhong Ruolan’s eyes lit up immediately “What deal is it? Salt?”

“Not salt, it’s insurance!”

“Insurance?” Zhong Ruolan’s eyes frowned. She thought for a while but she realized she had never heard of such a thing. She laughed in embarrassment, “Ruolan is uneducated. What do you mean by insurance?”

“It’s no wonder you don’t know because there probably is no insurance in this world. We’ll be the first to do it. If you do insurance well, you only need a few years to surpass the Zhong family!” Yan Liqiang said with confidence.

“Oh, what deal is it? It’s that powerful?”

“I’ll give you an example. Last night, the Shatu district was on fire. It burned away quite a lot of Shatu merchant cargos. If a Shatu person had a storage unit that had 10,000 taels of silver, then before the fire went up and the cargo were put in storage, he only needed to give me 300 taels of silver and I would sign a contract with him. if his cargo was burned away due to an accident within a year, then I will compensate the 10,000 taels of silver. This is insurance. Take money and insure other people’s things!”

“But you only take a few hundred taels of silver that way and need to compensate for 10,000 taels of silver. How do you make a profit?”

“Are you only doing one person’s business? If there are a thousand storages like this and you do a thousand of these deals, then each year you take 300,000 taels of silver. Even if two or three burn in fire, you only pay 20,000 or 30,000 taels of silver. How much do you have left? For those merchants, they’re scared of accidents. Spending a few hundred each year isn’t much, but if an accident occurs, they can use this money to get back on their feet and avoid most of the loss. Merchants care about stability. If you do this business, how many people would be willing to pay insurance? Of course, cargo is just a small part. We can do life insurance. For example, a guard can pay us insurance. If some accident occurs to him we can compensate his family with some silver...”

Zhong Ruolan was dumbfounded. She couldn’t help but stop her hands. Yan Liqiang’s words seemed to have opened the doors of a new world to her...

Chapter 552: Head and Tail

When it just became bright on the second day, Yan Liqiang took the four-wheeled carriage back to the Pingxi City gates. He was ready to leave and return to Yan Fortress...

Now, it was only just daylight but the city gates weren’t empty.

These few days were getting hotter. The Shatu bodies had to be cleared, so on the night while Yan Liqiang was enjoying a hot bath, the government personnel, as well as the city guards and high salaried- farmers were busy clearing bodies in the east city.

Those Shatu bodies were thrown on carts and covered with cloth and then shipped out of the city into the wilderness for burial. Almost all the lime was bought out.

Carts of bodies were pulled out while carts of lime were pulled in.

The streets lacked people, forming a stark contrast to the busy onlookers from yesterday. Only a few hoodlums and young people looked at the carts with curiosity. Most people avoided it. After all, dead people weren’t good to look at for these citizens.

Most of the Shatu people didn’t die in the city massacre. Most of them killed each other. Those disassembled and charred bodies were enough to give people nightmares. When the carts passed the streets, the putrid smell was enough to scare people away. The shops closed their doors tightly.

One body shipping cart was shaking about right in front of Yan Liqiang’s carriage. He could still see the wobbling pairs of feet under the black cloth...

Yan Liqiang sighed. If they knew about the results, why do it in the first place! Ge wasn’t a murderous person, but in the grand scheme of things, there was no room for compromise. The Shatu people were ambitious and they had become a tumor in Pingxi City. If he didn’t kick these Shatu people away, perhaps a few years later it would be the Han citizens wobbling bodies in the body carts. He wasn’t willing to see that no matter what.

This time, Pingxi City unintentionally created the record for casting away the most number of the Shatu people in one go!

The shockwave of the event yesterday wouldn’t just be in the city. Since Wang Jianbei and Lei Sitong took his two million taels of silver, they could do the rest. What was done was done and this time Wan Jianbei had quite a bit of evidence regarding the Shatu’s schemes. Plus, the huge chaos began as an internal conflict. They killed each other the most so this probably wouldn’t even cause much trouble in the Imperial City.

The carts turned to another path of 100 meters after leaving the city and separated from Yan Liqiang’s carriage. Looking at the diverging paths, Hu Haihe who was manning the ride turned around and knocked on the carriage door, “Young master, should we go to Manufacturing Bureau or Yan Fortress?”

“Yan Fortress!”

“Alright!”

With a few whips, the carriage sped up on the road.

In the carriage, Yan Liqiang took out that black talisman arrow and studied it again and again. His eyes also grew deeper and deeper....

In the afternoon, Yan Liqiang’s carriage finally reached Yan Fortress.

At this moment, Yan Fortress had the title of the number one factory in the world. It was very popular and the streets were littered with people. The restaurant hotels on the big streets were very full. This was especially so at the door to the woolen mill where there would be large numbers of people coming every day. Of course, the golden banner that the emperor awarded was taken back by the Yan Clan that night. One could imagine the value of such a thing. No one would hang it outside to let it get rained on. Even without the banner, people came here incessantly.

The news of Pingxi City probably just reached Yan Fortress now, but this was just news to them and didn’t have any other effects. Everyone still did what they did.

Yan Liqiang went to the ironsmith workshop first and saw Yan Dechang. He greeted him before telling him what happened in Pingxi City. Then he left the place and went back to his home.

“Young master, you’re back!” The little girl named Yu Qing was helping organize Yan Liqiang’s office. The sun was very high today, so the girl took out the books and let the sun shine on them.

“You’re putting the books out in the sun again?”

“Mhm, shining them in the sun will stop bookworms from growing and prevent corrosion!” The little girl said and tiptoed to bring the book to Yan Liqiang’s nose. “Young master, have a smell. There’s an ink aroma after shining it in the sun!”

Yu Qing’s gradually developing busty chest was almost pressing against Yan Liqiang. Other than the ink from the book, there was the aroma of a young girl. Looking at her watery eyes, Yan Liqiang thought, how did this girl develop her body that fast? With her current level, it was almost as good as when he saw her in the Heavenly Realm. Was life and nutrition too good here...

“Cough cough...” Yan Liqiang slightly retreated half a step to avoid the awkwardness, “You can let the other maids do this. Spend more time practicing the martial arts I taught you!”

“Alright!” Yu Qin nodded seriously “I have been practicing what Young Master taught me every day. Other than that, organizing Young Master’s things is like a break for me...” Then, Yu Qin’s eyebrows moved. She sniffed Yan Liqiang’s chest like a puppy and raised a brow, “Young Master... you... why do you have the aroma of another woman on you... this aroma... it smells different from the young mistress of the Lu family...”

Yan Liqiang lowered his head and smelled. Fuck, he really had a sliver of Zhong Ruolan’s smell on his chest. Of course, Yan Liqiang was never going to admit this and still said seriously, “Cough cough, there is no aroma, you probably got it wrong. Okay, after you finish sunning the books, go practice martial arts. Don’t waste time. You don’t need to wait for me for dinner. I’m going to the secret room for two days of solitary cultivation!”

Then, Yan Liqiang quickly fled, leaving Yu Qin behind with pouted lips...

After entering the bedroom and shutting the door, he moved a cupboard and opened the passage to the secret underground room. Yan Liqiang went in. As he walked, he sniffed his clothes and touched his nose, murmuring to himself, “Why is her nose so good? It seems I need to be careful next time!”

The walls of the secret lair consisted of thick granite layers. Long-lasting lamps were hung on the walls. They were made with whale oil, and each lamp filling would last ten years. The lamp snot only lit up the room but also reminded people if air was flowing in the space.

There was a soft cushion in the room for meditation and a few metal humanoid posts for practicing moves.

Yan Liqiang didn’t sit on the soft mattress. Instead, he felt the wall and used his finger to draw a few lines quickly. The entire stone surface lit up and then the entire stone sunk in like a door, revealing a passage.

The tunnel led to another secret room. This room was lit up with an array of different colors: red, blue, yellow, green and so forth. These lights came from the various beast cores and metals, all on a huge metal rack. The room wall was also metal and had small circle runes.

If anyone who had knowledge came in here, they would be shocked. This was because this type of room was where a talisman master made talismans!

Coming in here, Yan Liqiang waved his hand and the door closed. Then, the runes on the walls lit up...

Yan Liqiang went to the metal rack and took out his black arrow. He played with it and said to himself, “Black Cloud Iron plus Yi Snake beast core dust. Quite a nice idea but these primary level runes are quite coarse...”

Chapter 553: Talisman master

The talisman master heritage from the Taiyi Talisman Manual was too shocking and if he revealed it, it would be a huge problem. So since the beginning, Yan Liqiang never showed anyone this side regarding his capabilities. Even he built this secret room by himself after he came back. No one knew about it. Even if someone came down, they wouldn’t be able to find it. Even if they did, they wouldn’t be able to go in. If someone tried to forcefully open the stone room, then everything in this room would self destruct the moment the stone door was broken. Nothing useful would be left behind. These were the self-protection means of talisman masters.

The metal rack from before was the work station for talisman masters. It was also the core equipment of this secret room. In the talisman master industry, this metal rack had a special name called talisman stand. The structure of the stand was symbolic of a talisman master’s capabilities because the entire stand was a huge spirit qi talisman equipment. In normal standards, only those who could build a talisman stand could be considered a talisman master. Many apprentices could use talisman stand but they didn’t have the individual capability of building one. Yan Liqiang guessed that counting the Great Han Empire and the nearby countries, talisman masters who could build their talisman stand could be counted with two hands and he was one of them.

The use of the talisman stand was similar. One was to create metal, the second was to structure runes, the third was to mold crystals and the fourth was to form artifacts. These four processes made up the procedure that a talisman master used to create talismans. Every talisman master’s stand had a similar use, but each stand had the distinct characteristics of each talisman master. Yan Liqiang’s talisman stand’s metallic structure looked like the watermelon leaves. The leaves were huge and there were a few fruits borne on them. This was a pocket dimension for storing things and creating metal. Yan Liqiang felt great interest in using this stand.

Although he had quietly become a talisman master, Yan Liqiang still felt ecstatic everyone time he stood before this stand and tried to forge something. It was like using magic. This world was very magical and the most magical thing wasn’t the martial arts and cultivation but the mysterious spirit Qi in this world, rare beast cores, and the unimaginable power system of talisman masters.

He could still manage to understand the theory behind the things of the ironsmith workshop and the manufacturing bureau as the scientific knowledge he knew from his past life was still useful here. He could still act knowledgeable in front of those workers. But everything related to a talisman master was far beyond Yan Liqiang’s understanding of how this world worked.

Up until now, Ye Mo could only barely understand the things talisman masters did. The rare beast cores were sometimes used as batteries and those runes were like the circuits on electric boards. Different circuits had different uses. When the electricity runs through a certain circuit with a functional part, it would create all sorts of magnificent effects. From this perspective, a talisman master was a bit like an electrical engineer.

However, it didn’t matter if he didn’t understand – he just needed to know how to use it, just like how those eating rice didn’t need to know how to farm. Those who drove didn’t need to know how to make a car.

Yan Liqiang focused his mind and took a deep breath before starting.

In the storage area on the stand, there were raw metal pieces. This was the most basic material for low-level talisman masters. Yan Liqiang took two blocks of raw metal equal in weight and placed them in them in the crescent metal container. Then, Yan Liqiang took out two equally-weighted black cloud rocks and placed them in the metal container too. Then, Yan Liqiang took out a fire lizard beast core from the pile and stuck it to the bottom of the container before using his spirit eye and that mysterious energy in his sea of consciousness. He touched the rune on the container and a mysterious but powerful natural spirit Qi and energy rustled about in the room towards the container.

The metal block and the black cloud rock started to float. A palm-sized red fire lizard made completely of energy crawled out from the bottom of the container and spun around the floating items. Then, the lizard suddenly expanded and opened its mouth before eating the floating objects. Afterwards, the lizard grew hotter and lit up in fire. Its color slowly went from red to reddish white...

The temperature in the container seemed very high but all the heat energy was trapped inside the container. Yan Liqiang was standing right next to it but couldn’t feel any heat at all – he just quietly waited on the side.

After about ten minutes or so, the flames on the lizard grew smaller. The lizard’s color returned to red. The lizard opened its mouth and spat out the things in its stomach.

The metal and black cloud rock was gone. What came out was red liquid iron...

Then, the lizard turned back to its original form but the red color on him dimmed down. It went back to the bottom of the container and disappeared. Meanwhile, the liquid iron still floated in the container.

Yan Liqiang’s eyes stared intently at the red liquid and used that energy in his sea of consciousness again. He pointed and the liquid split into four portions. Each portion seemed to be crushed by an invisible hand. It was being pulled and shaped. Eventually, it turned into four arrows.

Another half an hour later, the spirit Qi and energy dissipated while the four arrows cooled down. Then, they fell to the bottom of the container.

The arrow was completely black and was exactly the same size and appearance as the arrow he got from the Shatu person. However, there were just no runes on the arrow.

Yan Liqiang wiped the sweat from his forehead and pulled out the four arrows. He looked at each of them carefully before pulling a smile.

“The first step is done. The rest will only take some time. But with my skills, it’s quite hard to make these arrows into that low quality, haha...”

Chapter 554: Dark Wood Tribe

Fifth lunar month. It was just summer and this was when the grass on the Gulang Plains was most luscious.

Midday of the 14th day of the fifth lunar month, a huge battalion was crossing the plain. There were about 20,000 people in this group and unlike the nomads of the plain, this army was completely made up of young cavalry. They marched forward on the strong rhinodrake steeds.

The pass was filled with water grass that was as half as tall as a human. The scattered lakes decorated the boundless green sea like gems. Around the lakes were vibrant wild lilies and all sorts of purple and red flowers.

Large groups of wild rhinodrake steeds were playing around the water. When a light breeze passed by and the grass flowed in waves, wild goats and bison could be seen everywhere. Amongst the grass were all sorts of herbs, sweet grass, Milkvetch, skullcap, scarlet peonies, Ephedra, Siler, Anemarrhena , ginseng, Gentian, thorowax...

These herbs that could be sold for money in the Han Empire were just ordinary things that could be seen everywhere.

The Gulang Plains were like a natural treasure cove, unimaginably wealthy.

This team wasn’t surprised by what they saw on the way anymore. The army didn’t seem to enjoy the beautiful scenery on the plains. Instead, many people pressed forward with serious and careful faces. Along the path, they had sent out more than ten cavalry squads and scouts, fearing that they would be ambushed. Not only that, but there were also two eagles circling around in the air watching their every move.

This army belonged to the Dark Wood Tribe. The leader of this army was the head of the Dark Wood Tribe, Wugusa.

Wugusa rode a tall and strong black rhinodrake steed. He was in the middle of the army.

During this year or so, Wugusa seemed a lot older. The loss of his son plus this year’s battle with the Dark Razor Tribe added more wrinkles to his forehead. His originally dense dark beard also had a few slivers of silver-white hair.

Wugusa bit his lips and had a deep frown. His eyes were bleak and mysterious. He stared at the horizon as though he were lost in his thoughts. Occasionally, there would be a sliver of ferocity in his eyes. Ever since this army passed the Ximu River in the morning, Wugusa didn’t say a thing.

Because of this, the few important figures of the Dark Wood Tribe next to Wugusa fell silent too. In this silence, only those few sons who were most favored by Wugusa stayed lively. They ran around the army. Ever since Morbeto died, Wugusa took his other sons more seriously and they seemed to like to show off themselves more in front of Wugusa.

Morbeto’s death was a huge blow to Wugusa. Everyone in the tribe knew that Wugusa was preparing Morbeto to be his successor.

The Dark Wood Tribe conquering those small tribes in the Mount Jade Dragon was part of their great plan. Wugusa let Morbeto enact this great plan. Originally, Wugusa wanted Morbeto to make huge accomplishments on Mount Jade Dragon so that it would set the foundation for him as a successor, gaining the recognition of his brothers and shutting the mouths of the Dark Wood Tribe elders and royals. However, no one expected Mount Jade Dragon to be Morbeto’s burial ground. The intervention of the Dark Razor Tribe instantly shattered the Dark Wood Tribe’s plan and also made them lose a few thousand warriors for no reason. Wugusa lost his most favored son.

This was an unresolvable enmity!

If the Shatu Alliance hadn’t suddenly sent people, the war between Dark Wood Tribe and Dark Razor Tribe would’ve still not known when it would end. But this time, the Shatu Alliance suddenly sent people wanting to resolve the conflict between the two tribes. Wugusa could show no respect to anyone on the Gulang Plains but he had to show his respect towards the special ambassador of the Shatu Alliance. During this recent month, he stopped the mobilization of the Dark Wood Tribe soldiers gradually and agreed to meet up with the Dark Razor Tribe people for negotiations.

Of course, Wugusa agreed to the negotiation but no one in the entire Dark Wood Tribe knew what he was thinking.

“Is Father worried about the negotiations with the Dark Razor Tribe tomorrow, fearing that they might play some tricks?” Wugusa’s youngest son Gedan asked. Although he was the youngest, Gedan was already in his 20’s. Since he looked like Wugusa and seemed robust on the outside while smart on the inside, he was greatly favored by his father.

“Gedan, remember, unless one day all the wolves on the plain use two legs to walk, no enemy’s promise is trustworthy!” Wugusa shook his head as he glanced at his son.

“But the two ambassadors from Shatu Alliance are both with us. One is in our army and one is in the Dark Wood Tribe. These two are our hostages and Father’s security measure in attending this meeting. If the Dark Razor Tribe dares to play any tricks, they wouldn’t be able to face Shatu Alliance.”

Wugusa narrowed his eyes and looked ahead. Just a few hundred meters away, one Shatu Alliance ambassador was riding the rhinodrake steed amongst the heralds. Looking from here, that ambassador seemed to be chatting with a general of his. He was acting composed and was also making connections.

“All those years ago, if the Shatu Seven Tribes didn’t run, we would’ve long been killed by the Shatu Alliance. Ever since the ancient times, the Shatu have died to other Shatu tens times more than other races. Do you think the Shatu Alliance ambassadors would be worth more than all the heads of the Dark Wood Tribe?”

Gedan’s eyes spun, “Then why did Father agree to this resolution of conflict and come to negotiate with the Dark Razor Tribe?”

“You don’t understand?”

“A bit... I don’t understand!”

“In the eyes of the shepherd, wolves and leopards are the same! The Han inside White Stone Pass are the shepherds, understand?”

“I... understand a bit!”

“After I see Sultan this time, whether it’s war or peace with the Dark Razor Tribe, you need to prepare to follow the merchant convoy. I’m going to send you to the Han area for two years. Have a good look at what these Han people are doing and learn what you can!”

Gedan dazed for a long while before reacting. He asked with a sliver of contempt and confusion, “Why am I going to the Han people’s area?”

Wugusa’s wrinkles immediately became a deep ravine. He glanced east and said, “During this year, a lot of new changes occurred with the northwestern Han people. A lot of new things came out. We’re going to be in contact with Han, so it’s best to understand what they think. You’re young and the Han have never seen you before, so you’re the most suitable for this. In the future of the Dark Wood Tribe, there must be someone who knows a lot about the Han!”

“Okay, since Father has given the order, then I will go!”

“Mhm!” Wugusa nodded silently but the wrinkles on his forehead didn’t ease. He didn’t tell his youngest son that this half year, he had a fright every time he heard about news from the northwest, especially when he heard that the Han could use wool to create exquisite wools. The royals and elders in the tribe felt this was good news and their eyes shined golden as they imagined doing woolen business with the Han people or selling the most exquisite woollen cloth to the Han. Only Wugusa felt uneasiness when he heard this. He even had a nightmare that night. He dreamt of the ancestors of the Dark Wood Tribe all appearing in his dream and crying. They said nothing and just looked at him. No matter how he yelled, those ancestors said nothing and just kept tearing. Eventually, the faces of his ancestor crippled in the tears and faded into the darkness.

Wugusa was covered in cold sweat after waking up from that dream...

Chapter 555: Interception

The army marched on the plains like a long snake!

Wugusa was immersed in worry about the impending negotiation with Dark Razor Tribe. Just forty or so kilometers from this army, Yan Liqiang was speeding towards this Dark Wood Tribe army.

Yan Liqiang didn’t ride any horse; he was running in the grass. In the sky above Yan Liqiang, Fiery-Eyed Golden Falcon was spinning around like a satellite pointing directions for Yan Liqiang allowing him to evade the scouts of the Dark Wood Tribe.

Just then, a squad of twenty or so scouts rode past 100 meters from Yan Liqiang. When they rode past, Yan Liqiang just laid in the tall grass and didn’t move. After they left, he rose up and charged forward.

Those scouts were defending against the army of Dark Razor Tribe. They would never expect that there would be a person to dare to look for trouble with their army alone.

From a birds-eye view, Yan Liqiang’s path was like a sharp arrow pointing straight towards the front of the Dark Wood tribe.

Yan Liqiang had a dark cloth covering his face at this moment. He held a hundred-picul Horned Python Bow. Carrying the bow on his back would make the bow higher than his head. Thus, he held the bow on his hands. The bow was wrapped in dark cloth. Even those who had seen him at the Heavenly Lake wouldn’t be able to recognize his hundred-picul bow.

Yan Liqiang’s figure was fast like an arrow and traversed the grass quickly. There were only the sounds of the wind passing by his ear as well as his clothes brushing past the grass.

Half an hour later, Yan Liqiang stopped at a small hill that was tens of meters above the ground.

There were wild lilies all over the hill, and the dense grass was waist height. Two hundred meters from the hill was a boundless lake. This lake was the biggest lake on the Gulang Plains, the White Grass Lake. The entire lake had an area of 3,000 square kilometers. The negotiations tomorrow were to be conducted on the other side of the lake.

After running for tens of kilometers, Yan Liqiang half knelt in the grass and slowly calmed down his breathing before taking out a black-runed arrow and waited patiently.

If he didn’t know about the negotiations, then it was fine. But since he did, how could Yan Liqiang allow both sides to continue the negotiations? The more chaotic the Shatu people were, the better it was for him...

“Chief, there’s a situation in the air...” The old priest of Dark Wood Tribe rode over to Wugusa and pointed at the sky.

“What’s the situation?” Wugusa raised his head and glanced at the sky. Their two eagles were still soaring in the air but seemed to have left the path that the army had set. They flew to the sides and didn’t dare to go ahead.

“There seems to be a ferocious bird in the air scaring off the eyes we put in the sky...” The old priest narrowed his eyes. He pointed at a region of the sky where the eyes couldn’t even see clearly, “There’s a Fiery-Eyed Golden Falcon over there. The two eyes I placed there have been scared away...”

Wugusa looked up too at the direction the old priest pointed to. However, with his eyes, he pretty much couldn’t see anything at that distance, but he believed the old priest. This was because the two eyes in the sky were the old priest’s eyes. If he couldn’t see it, that meant that the two eyes in the sky couldn’t see it either. “Can the Dark Razor Tribe people tame Fiery-Eyed Golden Falcon?”

The old priest hesitated before shaking his head, “They can’t. The Fiery-Eyed Golden Falcon is a rare beast. The priest of Dark Razor Tribe doesn’t have the power to be able to tame it. I’ve never heard of anyone who’s been able to tame it!”

“Since the Dark Razor Tribe can’t tame it, then what are we worried about!” Wugusa looked around. The scouts didn’t send back alarms so he waved his hand, “It’s alright, continue marching. We’ll see the White Grass Lake in a while...”

The Dark Wood Tribe soldiers continued marching forward.

Looking at the army that had come near a thousand meters of him, Yan Liqiang’s sharp eyes scanned across that army.

He hadn’t seen Wugusa, but Morbeto had seen Wugusa so it wasn’t very hard for Yan Liqiang to find Wugusa. Soon, Yan Liqiang’s eyes focused and locked onto Wugusa’s position in the squad.

Wugusa was on the rhinodrake steed chatting with a young person next to him.

Yan Liqiang took a deep breath and slowly drew his hundred-picul Horned Python Bow three quarters of the way.

With the power of the hundred-picul Horned Python Bow, three quarters was more than enough.

The dark runed arrow carried a sliver of cold ray and locked onto Wugusa.

There was no lightning or some shocking commotion. The light breath blew across the plains and the White Grass Lake emitted a harmonic light. There were a few happy bees buzzing on the wild lilies next to Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang let go of the bowstring and the black runed arrow instantly flew towards Wugusa silently like the smile of death...

“Tonight, we’ll set camp next to White Grass Lake and rest up...” Wugusa was speaking to Gedan and suddenly he felt uneasy. Before he could react...

Thud...! The Dark Wood Tribe Chief, Wugusa’s head suddenly exploded. The guards behind him that were in a straight line also fell from their horses.

Gedan didn’t even know what happened. That instant, he just felt a breath of wind blow past him and then Wugusa and a few guards next to him fell from their horses. The frightened rhinodrake steeds’ whimpers created chaos in the nearby vicinity.

The ground was covered in blood and Wugusa’s body only had half a bloody head. Even the gods couldn’t save him now.

“Assassin...” Gedan roared furiously. The entire army was startled into chaos...

“Over there...” Someone saw Yan Liqiang got up from a small hill and ran towards White Grass Lake.

Countless Dark Wood Tribe cavalry roared in fury as they charged over at Yan Liqiang with reddened eyes...

Chapter 556: Changes

Yan Liqiang was running toward White Grass Lake. In the eyes of his pursuers, Yan Liqiang was sprinting with all his might. However, in reality, Yan Liqiang was only using one-third of his speed.

The army from the Dark Wood Tribe in the distance was in disarray, and the sounds of iron hooves thundered behind him. Two groups of cavalrymen, each with more than a thousand men strong, instantly charged out of the frontlines to outflank Yan Liqiang. Even if they were several meters apart, Yan Liqiang could feel the intensity of their gazes on him. If gazes and murderous intent emitted heat, Yan Liqiang would’ve probably been burnt to crisp by now.

In all fairness, the Dark Wood Tribe’s cavalry’s reaction time was quite fast. However, in Yan Liqiang’s eyes, the pursuing cavalry was nothing more than a final prop in his ‘performance’...

After Yan Liqiang ran about two hundred meters, he spun around to draw his bow again. He nocked a black runed arrow, and then released it at the cavalry pursuing him.

As soon as the arrow left the bowstring, about four or five soldiers riding at the frontlines collapsed, causing the rest to be in disarray. The remaining cavalry persevered and continued the relentless chase.

Yan Liqiang spun around to release another two arrows before he turned back and continued running. After running a few hundred meters, an arrow whooshed by, nearly grazing Yan Liqiang’s ear when he tilted his head.

The general of the Dark Wood Tribe cavalry was also an expert in archery. The arrow he shot from a thousand meters away carried tremendous force. Any ordinary person would definitely be wounded by it.

Having evaded an arrow, Yan Liqiang turned around to make another shot. His arrow went right through the chest of that Dark Wood Tribe general who tried to shoot him earlier, and nearly knocked him off his steed.

By the time the Dark Wood Tribe cavalry was five hundred meters behind Yan Liqiang and more arrows could reach him, Yan Liqiang had reached the edge of White Grass Lake and he plunged right into it.

When the torrent of arrows fell into the water, their force was reduced to nothing by water resistance.

By the time the Dark Wood Tribe cavalry reached the edge of White Grass Lake, Yan Liqiang could no longer be seen in the rippling water.

Many soldiers from the Dark Wood Tribe roared in anger and dismounted from their steeds. Their eyes reddened as they stripped off their armor, then they bit their scimitars and jumped into the lake with a splash like a group of ducks. In the blink of an eye, several hundred of them had dived into the White Grass Lake to search for Yan Liqiang.

Around twenty minutes later, many of those who jumped into the water resurfaced again begrudgingly. It went without saying that they weren’t able to locate Yan Liqiang. However, a headcount revealed that they were missing eighty people. Those people never came back after they went underwater...

The Dark Razor Tribe... It must have been the Dark Razor Tribe!

All the Dark Wood Tribe soldiers flew into a rage...

...

“Why?! Why didn’t my father’s arrow resisting spirit talisman work?! Why?!” Gedan lashed out at the people around him with a spirit talisman in his hand. His eyes were red and he looked as though he was about to devour someone.

The spirit talisman in his hand was about the size of a palm, shiny and bronze like a bronze mirror. It looked exactly the same as the one that the Sacred Flame priest whom Yan Liqiang killed last time had. The only difference was that the rare beast core crystal embedded in the center of this spirit talisman was still perfectly intact and glowing.

Wugusa’s body was lying on the ground, covered by two sheets of Dark Wood Tribe’s flags. The nobles and generals from the tribe grieved as they gathered around the corpse with inconsolable anger. Many also had an alarmed expression on their faces.

“That’s because the arrow which took the chief’s life wasn’t an ordinary arrow. It was also something made by a talisman master...” An old priest from the Dark Wood Tribe pushed his way through the crowd and came before Gedan with a pained look on his face. He passed the half remains of the black arrow to Gedan. “This is what I found just now!”

“This... What is this?”

“This is a talisman arrow. When this kind of arrow hits its target, it will shatter after the talisman power on it dissipates. The chief was assassinated by this type of arrow just now. The spirit talisman that he carried can only guard against normal arrows, but not the talisman arrows made by talisman masters!” The old priest from Dark Wood Tribe said somberly.

Gedan clutched the arrow tightly in his hand, then asked murderously, “Do you know who made this?”

“These arrows are called Black Feather Arrows. They’re...” The old priest from Dark Wood Tribe hesitated for a moment, but continued speaking under the intense gazes around him. “Black Feather Arrows can only be used by very few influential tribes among the Shatu Alliance!”

Gedan was stunned for a good while, before his face contorted. He gnashed his teeth, “I get it. I get it now. So it seems like the Shatu Alliance have been colluding with the Dark Razor Tribe. They invited my father to a peace talk but plotted to have him assassinated when he was on his way. This spirit talisman is a gift from the Shatu Alliance to my father. They knew my father would carry this on him, so they used a Black Feather Arrow to assassinate him today...”

The Dark Razor and Dark Wood Tribes had been enemies, and were like water and fire on the Gulang Plains. For something like this to happen when the Wugusa of the Dark Wood Tribe was on the way to attend a peace talk, anyone with a brain would arrive at the conclusion that this was plotted by the Shatu Alliance and the Dark Razor Tribe after seeing the evidence. The so-called peace talk was nothing more than a scheme and conspiracy.

“AVENGE THE CHIEF! AVENGE THE CHIEF...!” The nobles and generals started roaring in anger. For the chief of Dark Wood Tribe to die by a trap set by the Dark Razor Tribe and Shatu Alliance, this was no longer a simple vendetta, but blatant humiliation and contempt to the Dark Wood Tribe. Any man from the Dark Wood Tribe wouldn’t just stand there and endure it.

“Of course we will avenge him! From today onward, the Dark Wood Tribe shall fight the Dark Razor Tribe until the bitter end!” Gedan bellowed in anger. “BRING ME THE LIMBS OF THOSE FROM THE SHATU ALLIANCE...!”

The ambassador from the Shatu Alliance was already captured and tied up by the Dark Wood Tribe soldiers when Wugusa was assassinated. He was traveling with the Dark Wood Tribe as a hostage and assurance for the Dark Wood Tribe to attend the peace talk. Therefore, as long as something happened to Wugusa, he would be the first to get it.

“Impossible... That’s impossible...! There’s no way the Shatu Alliance and Dark Razor Tribe would attempt an assassination...!” The face of the Shatu Alliance’s ambassador was already swollen. He struggled and yelled as he was brought before Gedan by a few Dark Wood Tribe soldiers, and brought to his knees by a hard kick. “Gedan, Sire, this must be a misunderstanding...! Please let me return, I will definitely get to the bottom of it...!’

Gedan didn’t say anything else. He stabbed the ambassador’s eye with the half remains of the black arrow in his hands so hard that it crushed his eyeball. While the ambassador from the Shatu Alliance screamed in misery, Gedan uttered two words: “Kill him.”

The others around him had long been impatient. As soon as Gedan’s voice ceased, a few dozen blades sunk into the ambassador’s body, reducing him into a pile of mangled flesh. Even so, that didn’t get rid of their resentment and anger...

The old priest from the Dark Wood Tribe spoke up, “Since the Dark Razor Tribe and Shatu Alliance have assassinated the chief here, there are definitely traps waiting for us up ahead. Therefore, our top priorities should be to bring our men back first, settle the chief’s funeral, and avoid falling into their traps!”

Gedan, the generals, and the nobles in the army exchanged glances with each other. All of them felt that the old priest had made a good point. With anger and grief in their hearts, as well as the resentment toward Dark Razor Tribe and Shatu Alliance ingrained into their bones, the troop turned their steeds around at the edge of White Grass Lake and returned to the Dark Wood Tribe with Wugusa’s corpse...

This was how the meeting between the Dark Razor and Dark Wood tribes became nothing more than a mirage...

Chapter 557: Monster In The Lake

In Yan Liqiang’s previous life, he wasn’t a great swimmer, but he knew how to swim well enough like an average person. At the start of this life, he was also an average swimmer. What really shaped him into an excellent swimmer was the time he spent practicing spear shaking underwater during his time in Deer Villa at the Imperial Capital.

In order to perform spear shaking underwater without drowning, he first had to learn how to hold his breath. At first, Yan Liqiang wasn’t able to hold his breath for a long time. After staying underwater for a long time, he gradually learned to hold his breath and eventually for a longer period of time.

To perform spear shaking under a violent waterfall while being hit by the changing water current due to spear motions, he also learned how to hold his breath while maintaining his balance in water by perceiving the changes in the water current.

As a result, Yan Liqiang was pretty much practicing his swimming ability while he was shaking his spear underwater. Therefore, the day he perfected the true spear technique, his swimming ability had unknowingly improved to a terrifying extent. Putting aside the rest, Yan Liqiang could move freely underwater for more than an hour with just a single breath.

The moment he plunged into White Grass Lake, the people from Dark Wood Tribe were bound to fail in catching him underwater.

White Grass Lake seemed clear and green from afar. It was only when Yan Liqiang went about twenty meters into the lake did he realize that the waters were quite deep. The bottom of the lake was shaped like a bowl that was at least a meter deep. There were many colorful water plants in the lake. When the sunlight shone into the lake, the swaying water plants looked like colorful flags fluttering in the wind. They were certainly a gorgeous sight to behold.

Apart from water plants, there were quite a few rocks at the bottom of the lake. A lot of fish were also swimming freely in the lake.

With the Horned Python Bow on Yan Liqiang’s back, his free hands and legs allowed him to move easily underwater. It was alright for the Horned Python Bow to be in water due to the special material used for its frame and bowstring. It would be fine as long as it wasn’t soaked in water for more than a year. Thus, Yan Liqiang had nothing to worry about.

He gently paddled through the water. The strength and agility of his tough body allowed him the flexibility of a loach in water. In just a flash, he reached the lake bottom and swam more than two thousand meters, thus completely shaking off his pursuers.

Yan Liqiang didn’t even bother to look at his pursuers because he knew none of them could catch up with him even if they followed him into the water. All he had to do was continue swimming forward.

After an hour passed, only then did he resurface to take a deep breath.

He was currently at the depths of White Grass Lake, more than ten thousand meters away from the edge. There were strong ripples in the crystal clear water, but Yan Liqiang didn’t see anyone else on the lake’s surface. The Fiery-Eyed Golden Falcon was still hovering in the sky above, but the information from it indicated that the Dark Wood Tribe army had left and returned.

“Hahaha! As expected, this really worked! I’m looking forward to seeing how the story will continue to unfold for the Shatu Seven Tribes on the Gulang Plains...!” Yan Liqiang started laughing. He knew that he had succeeded this time. The Dark Wood Tribe would definitely pin the assassination of Wugusa on the Dark Razor Tribe and the Shatu Alliance, thus destroying any possibility of reconciliation between both parties.Read more chapters at Listnovel.com

The Dark Wood Tribe might also experience internal struggle as Wugusa’s sons would be fighting to succeed as the chief. Regardless of who became the next chief, if that person failed to avenge his father, he wouldn’t be able to establish his status in the tribe and thus wouldn’t be able to keep his position as the chief for long.

Whoever succeeded as the next Dark Wood Tribe’s chief was none of Yan Liqiang’s concern. He didn’t care if the Dark Wood Tribe ultimately fought the Dark Razor Tribe or got exterminated either. His objectives were achieved as long as he managed to keep the chaos burning on the Gulang Plains and keep the Shatu Seven Tribes busy for a period of time.

The sky wasn’t dark yet. The Dark Razor Tribe army and many experts that were supposed to attend the peace talk should be gathered around White Grass Lake by now. Not only that, but there were also many eyes in the sky. Although the Fiery-Eyed Golden Falcon was impressive, there was no way it could handle everything. If Yan Liqiang were to resurface now and get discovered by the experts or get surrounded by the army on the plains, things would be bad even if he was powerful. Therefore, it was best if he waited for a few more hours in water and only resurfaced at nightfall to make a quick escape from White Grass Lake. That way, the chance of him being discovered would be slimmer. Even if he was discovered, he would have a better chance of escaping and avoid being surrounded by the army. This was the evacuation plan that Yan Liqiang had decided on.

Yan Liqiang floated on the water for a while to take in a few breaths. Just when he was about to submerge into the water and stay there for another hour, he noticed many fish jumping on the lake’s surface in the distance.

The jumping fish were a type of palm-sized small silver flying fish in the lake with huge pectoral and ventral fins. After jumping out of the water surface, they could fly for another seven or eight meters with the help of their pectoral and ventral fins before falling back into the water.

The jumping little fish glittered under the sunlight. Rainbow appeared above the countless splashes they made when they fell back into the water. The little fish came flying up one after another before falling back into the water, putting on a beautiful show of silvery and iridescent glittering lights.

Yan Liqiang immediately stopped to admire the wondrous scene above the lake and didn’t return into the water. He mumbled to himself, “I didn’t expect to see such spectacular scenery here at White Grass Lake...”

After watching for two seconds, Yan Liqiang frowned because he realized that the big groups of flying fish seemed to be flying in his direction. The little fish in a straight line within about a hundred meters from him flew up and toward him...

“Something’s not right...!” Yan Liqiang’s expression changed immediately. The flying fish weren’t jumping to put on a show. They were moving on instinct and jumped out of the water surface because they realized something dangerous was approaching.

Thinking up to this point, Yan Liqiang immediately straightened his body and slammed his palms heavily on the water surface, making splash column of more than ten meters tall. The opposite force instantly launched Yan Liqiang about seven or eight meters high into the air.

From above, Yan Liqiang finally saw a gigantic black shadow about twenty meters long underwater in the distance, beneath the lake surface where the flying fish were flying out of. It was charging toward Yan Liqiang at high speed like an arrow, leaving behind a trail of startled flying fish.

Goddamn, what the hell is that?!

The black shadow was moving too fast underwater. If they were on land, Yan Liqiang could definitely outrun it. However, they were underwater. Even if Yan Liqiang was the White Stripe in the Waves [1], there was no way he could match the speed of that black shadow.

Since Yan Liqiang had no wings, his body free-fell into the water with a plop after he leaped out of the water surface to get a good look at that black shadow.

In just the blink of an eye, the black shadow was only a hundred meters away from Yan Liqiang and he was able to finally identify the black shadow.

It was a leech, nearly twenty meters long and two meters wide. It was a black leech that was huge beyond imagination. Yan Liqiang could even clearly see the deep stripes on its body, and its mouth that resembled a huge suction pad.

The gigantic leech moved back and forth in the water as it charged menacingly toward Yan Liqiang.

At this very moment, Yan Liqiang’s brain was numb. Even without looking in the mirror, he knew his face was definitely pale.

Just how many years did this leech grow from the size of a finger to this?! Without a doubt, it was definitely a rare water beast that had been dwelling in White Grass Lake. Despite being in this world for many years, Yan Liqiang had never heard about leeches growing into such a terrifying size.

Yan Liqiang had thought of everything for this operation and ambush – the time, location, method, arrow for ambush and escape route. The only thing he didn’t expect was to encounter such a monster in the lake.

The bone-chilling way the leech was speeding toward Yan Liqiang didn’t seem like it was here to say hello to him.

There wasn’t much time for Yan Liqiang to think because the leech had rushed in front of Yan Liqiang along with the surging waters.

Yan Liqiang didn’t even hesitate. By the time the leech was in front of him, he once again slammed his palms on the water surface and propelled himself into midair. While he was in the air, he quickly retrieved the Horned Python Bow on his back, nocked the last black runed arrow he had with him, and fully drew his bow.

Waves surged as the gigantic leech rushed out of the water. Its terrifying, twenty-meter-long body swept toward Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang released the black runed arrow. It went into the leech from its suction pad-like mouth, then exited from the other end of its body before penetrating the water.

The leech’s gigantic body trembled for a bit before it fell into the water.

Yan Liqiang, who fired an arrow in midair, also fell into the water.

As soon as he fell into the water, Yan Liqiang felt an overwhelming force coming toward him. The leech’s tail swept toward him like a mountain of flesh. There was no escaping...!

With a thud, the hundred-picul Horned Python Bow was forcibly knocked out of his grasp as Yan Liqiang was sent tumbling over twenty meters in the water by that tremendous water force...

Chapter 558: Water Fight

If it wasn’t for Yan Liqiang’s tough body and his Golden Bell Divine Protection Technique which had been cultivated to a decent realm, that attack just now would have broken many bones in his body and knocked him out in the water.

Although the terrifying leech had an enormous body, it wasn’t sluggish and was abnormally nimble in water.

After it sent Yan Liqiang flying with its tail, it wiggled up and down and made a beeline for Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang looked at his Horned Python Bow that was slowly falling in the water, but didn’t rush over to pick it up since bow and arrows were ineffective in an underwater fight. Besides, he had also run out of black arrows.

Damn, looking at the terrifying leech charging toward him, Yan Liqiang realized that the arrow he shot just now didn’t seem to cause any harm to it. The wound he made on its body closed up in just the blink of an eye, leaving no trace behind. The arrow he fired just now was like a needle piercing through a watermelon. Once taken out, not even the pinhole was visible...

At a time like this when there was no use begging, asking for help, or even running, Yan Liqiang was left with no choice but to put up a desperate fight!

He clenched his teeth and immediately pulled out his Black Scale shortsword, then slashed toward the terrifying leech that was rushing toward him.

When the sharp Black Scale Sword came in contact with the leech’s body, it felt like it was met with a piece of thick and extremely elastic rubber. Even with Yan Liqiang’s strength, the Black Scale Sword couldn’t sink further than half a foot deep because the wound on the leech’s body instantly closed up, causing his shortsword to be stuck in it. The leech then enveloped Yan Liqiang’s body from all directions like a huge meat blanket or a moving wall. It wound itself tightly around Yan Liqiang and rapidly pulled him to the bottom of the lake.

The force coming from the leech’s body was simply terrifying. Yan Liqiang had always thought that no one could match his strength until today. When the huge leech started coiling its body up, he felt as though he was being shackled up by metal chains. Not only that, but the metal chains were winding themselves tighter and tighter around him. It made him like he was a peanut thrown into an oil press machine. Every cell in his body was being crushed.

Facing enormous pressure like this, the only thing Yan Liqiang could do was to curl up. He hugged both of his knees and relied on his powerful leg strength to withstand the terrifying force that the huge leech was exerting on him underwater.

If it wasn’t Yan Liqiang but another ordinary Martial Grandmaster in this situation, he probably wouldn’t have been able to persevere for even a second given his strength and physical endurance.

Seeing that Yan Liqiang was immobilized, the leech’s scary huge sucker that looked like a dark abyss started moving toward Yan Liqiang’s head.

At such a critical moment, Yan Liqiang unleashed his fury. He clenched his teeth and forcibly pulled out the Black Scale Sword that was tightly stuck inside the leech’s body. He then plunged it into the scary sucker and gave it a hard twirl.

A big glob of blue blood sprayed out from the huge leech’s mouth, instantly turning the lake water around it into a strange blue color. Its terrifying body started twisting as it rolled in the water. Without waiting for Yan Liqiang to continue stirring, the sucker suddenly swallowed the Black Scale Sword along with Yan Liqiang’s arm.

Yan Liqiang immediately felt his arm being sucked in by a strong force. Enormous pressure was exerted on his entire arm. It was impossible to move his arm and the Black Scale he was holding. In just the blink of an eye, Yan Liqiang was left with only one usable arm.

With only his left hand, Yan Liqiang performed the Eight Extremities Fist technique and landed a series of powerful blows on the leech’s body.

BAM, BAM, BAM...!

The sounds were like muffled drum beats. The mountain-splitting force of the Eight Extremities Fist technique that bombarded the leech’s body didn’t have much effect on it, other than tickling it.

Before Yan Liqiang could get another few punches in, he suddenly felt a great tremor in his dantian. The vital Qi hidden in the depths of his dantian suddenly churned like a waterspout and was out of control. It surged toward Yan Liqiang’s arm and got sucked into the terrifying leech’s mouth.

Yan Liqiang’s expression immediately contorted. He didn’t expect the leech to not suck his blood, but the vital Qi in his body after it latched onto him.

While the huge leech latched onto Yan Liqiang and sucked out the vital Qi in his body, it rushed toward the bottom of the lake. Amid a pile of rocks in the depths of the lake, a huge black hole appeared before Yan Liqiang.

This damn thing wasn’t planning on bringing him back as a snack, right?

The vital Qi in his body was coursing rapidly and Yan Liqiang couldn’t even move. He might still be able to persist for now, but if the leech kept on latching onto him, he would eventually drown even if he didn’t get eaten by it.

This was an unprecedented moment of life and death to Yan Liqiang. In this situation, he had to come up with every possibility of survival.

If the Eight Extremities Fist Technique didn’t work on the huge leech, then he should change to another technique.

In just a split moment, Yan Liqiang opened up his left fist into a palm. He kept his five fingers close together as his palm suddenly became translucent and glowed white. A powerful sword aura emitted through the palm of his hand. At this very moment, Yan Liqiang exhibited the Divine Sword Sect’s treasured ‘Fusion Sword Technique’, an ultimate technique that could turn a palm into a sword. If any Elders from the Divine Sword Sect were here, they would definitely exclaim in shock at the sight of Yan Liqiang’s hand.

Yan Liqiang jabbed hard with his left hand, penetrating his hand all the way up to his elbow into the huge leech’s body. This caused the huge leech to again barf up globs of blue blood in the water. However, in just a flash, the wound in its body instinctively closed up again.

Before Yan Liqiang could make a few more jabs, the huge leech’s body coiled a few more rounds before another huge sucker appeared before him and latched onto his other arm.

Yan Liqiang was completely immobile now.

An intense pain shot up his right wrist before Yan Liqiang felt the veins on his left hand being cut by a sharp knife. The blood coursing through his veins immediately came gushing out.

One of the suckers was sucking Yan Liqiang’s vital Qi while another started sucking out his blood...

Yan Liqiang, whose ability to control was extraordinary, contracted the muscles on his arm and instantly closed off the veins in his left arm to restrict blood flow. Even so, Yan Liqiang could still feel the blood in his entire body going to his left hand due to the powerful suction. The rushing blood broke through his control over his veins and gushed into the scary sucker.

In just the space of a few breaths, Yan Liqiang’s face turned blue and waves of dizziness started hitting him.

Is this how I’m going to die?

Die in a leech’s mouth and be sucked into a dry corpse?

No, no! I don’t want to die! Not here in a leech’s mouth!

Yan Liqiang yelled indignantly in his heart...

But I can’t move right now! What should I do?! What should I do...?!

Another intense wave of dizziness hit him and he was suddenly seeing black. Yan Liqiang knew that in the moment between life and death, only death would await him if he failed to find ways to cope with the situation before him within a short amount of time!

Yet, he wasn’t able to move his body at all! What should he do? What else could he do?

Before another more intense dizziness hit, Yan Liqiang recalled a voice in his consciousness. It was back when he tried to make a human with the Heavenly Stone last year. After failing to do so, he had a conversation with Fu Guang on the value of the human body.

...

“...Within the vast universe and space, human is one of the very few high-ranking seals in existence. In order to activate the seal of life for humans, the energy required is beyond your imagination!”

...

“...The value of a person’s body is beyond imagination. To many beings that are beyond your imagination, the human body is the real treasure of the universe.”

...

“The human body is valuable because it is one of the very few species in the whole universe that can evolve and attain the highest realm of life...”

...

“A human body most suited for cultivation among all the species in the universe...”

...

The words flashed through Yan Liqiang’s mind. Then all of a sudden, a brilliant idea flashed through his mind during the desperate moment. Without thinking, he summoned the vital Qi in his dantian, pushed it all into his arm, and channeled it into the huge leech.

When the huge leech was sucking him like crazy, Yan Liqiang instinctively tried to control his vital Qi to stop it from being sucked out of his dantian. Both forces were like playing a tug of war with each other. However, Yan Liqiang was now sending the vital Qi in his dantian into the huge leech’s mouth. He was going to let it suck all it wanted. Even if it wouldn’t, Yan Liqiang would forcibly pour it in...

GO ON, GET ALL YOU WANT...!

Yan Liqiang snarled in his heart!

This will decide whether I’ll die or live...!

Chapter 559: Moment of Life and Death

The gusting vital Qi was like water that broke out of a dam that swam towards that huge leech. Yan Liqiang didn’t care anymore now.

The reason humans were humans and stood at the peak of the food chain wasn’t purely due to power but the unique talent of this body. People could cultivate and reach the pinnacle of power through cultivation.

There was no use for his brain power now and his power wasn’t as strong as this huge leech. What should he do? Yan Liqiang betted that this monster of a leech’s cultivation talent was far below his. He betted that although this leech could suck away his vital qi, it wouldn’t be able to store as much vital Qi as him.

This was because he was human and this body was the most perfect art of the universe. Vital Qi was the crystal of a person’s cultivation!

If Fu Guang didn’t lie to him and his prediction was correct, then he would be able to use vital Qi to burst this huge leech no matter how huge its body or how powerful it was. It was just like eating too much would burst a person from the inside. A body that can’t contain too much vital Qi would burst open if it took in more vital Qi than its upper limit.

If this huge leech had a Qi sea, then he would lose!

Yan Liqiang’s Ten Dragons Ten Elephants Divine Technique was the highest grade technique in the world. Under the effect of the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing, the vital Qi gathered in Yan Liqiang’s dan tian was at least tens of times more than the people in his cultivation state.

When Yan Liqiang opened up his vital Qi reserve for the huge leech to suck, the huge leech seem to have been struck by bliss at first and increased suction like a hungry baby on a milk bottle. It sucked Yan Liqiang’s hands tightly as though fearing Yan Liqiang would fly away.

When the vital chi reached inside its body, the black body of the leech started to show bands of rainbow like rays. Yan Liqiang gritted his teeth and let go of the sword that held the Black Scale Sword. Instead, he held tightly a slippery organ that was twirled on his hand. Yan Liqiang controlled the flow of his blood while increasing vital Qi output by five times.

The huge leech squirmed in the water while dragging Yan Liqiang towards that black cave.

If before Yan Liqiang’s vital Qi was like water flowing out of dam then now, it was mountains quakes and tsunamis.

Soon, a fifth of Yan Liqiang’s vital Qi had been inserted into the leech. When Yan Liqiang was about to be dragged to the cave entrance at the bottom of the lake, that huge leech finally felt something was wrong. It stopped squirming in the water, the lights on its body flashed faster and faster.

You wanted it didn’t you, I’ll let you have it...

Yan Liqiang gritted his teeth and kept sending his vital Qi ferociously into the water leech.

The huge leech seemed to have felt pain and started rolling about in the lake water bringing up all the mud and rocks in the lake. At the same time, it wrapped Yan Liqiang’s body tightly and started to contract as though wanting to squeez Yan Liqiang to death.

Yan Liqiang couldn’t help spitting blood under the huge pressure of the squeeze.

Yan Liqiang couldn’t see anything anymore. It was all mud around him. he couldn’t even open his eyes. Yan Liqiang felt his body rolling about heavily in the water. There was mud everywhere, in his nose, ears and when he spat blood, a huge mouthful of mud went into his mouth.

Yan Liqiang shut his eyes and ate the mud but kept inserting vital Qi into the leech. He knew his tactic succeeded. The huge leech was beginning to feel the pressure of his vital qi. If he wanted to live he had to persist. If he let go now, it would be giving up all his previous efforts and he would die.

The leech rolled around in the water heavily. The two sucks that held Li Yuqian’s hand had released as though wanting to spit Yan Liqiang’s hand out. However, Yan Liqiang knew that if he let go now, it was certain death so his hands clutched the two suckers tightly. He was going to stall till the end.

Yan Liqiang felt his body kept rolling in the darkness. All his bones especially his ribes were cracking as though on the border of breaking. Dizziness and pain kept charging at his brain making him feel weak. His consciousness was momentary. The only thing supporting Yan Liqiang was his will, he couldn’t die here, he couldn’t let go!

It was unknown how long the leech rolled around in the water but just when Yan Liqiang was about to completely lose consciousness and felt he might have lost the gamble and was about to die, he suddenly felt a coldness on his right hand. A strange cold energy flew from the sucker he held tightly too and flow into his body through his meridians.

That icy cold feeling made Yan Liqiang who was about to completely lose his consciousness wake up.

What was going on. Why was this leech inserting energy back into him. Was it that it couldn’t hold on and wanted to use this way to save itself from danger? He must not let the leech have its way.

Yan Liqiang kept inserting his vital Qi into the huge leech.

But in the blink of an eye, Yan Liqiang’s left hand suddenly felt a hot flow inserting into his body.

Everywhere the hot flow went, Yan Liqiang’s arm felt like it was burning. His muscle, bone and blood vessel felt like they were going to explode.

The cold and hot energy met in Yan Liqiang’s body!

In a rumble, Yan Liqiang felt there was an explosion in his body...

The ceiling of Martial Grandmaster realm was pulverised in that explosion...

Chapter 560: Fortune and calamity comes together

After an unknown amount of time, Yan Liqiang slowly woke up!

When he opened his eyes, what appeared before him was strands of crystal that came down from the cave ceiling. They were like arrows that pointed at him as though they would shoot down at any time. Around his body was a soft flesh, he seemed to be laying on that huge water leech.

Yan Liqiang was shocked and instinctively jumped up from the ground.

This jump shocked Yan Liqiang again because he found that with this jump, he flew up from the ground and went 20 meters high in the air.

“oh, shit...” Yan Liqiang screamed and waved his hand in the air. But Yan Liqiang did practice martial arts and found his balance after a few rolls before steadily landing on the ground.

“crack...” when Yan Liqiang landed, he used force on the sturdy ground and stood at two 15cm deep footprints. The back of his feet sunk into the rock.

Was the ground made of sand?

Yan Liqiang looked down and rubbed his eyes. The ground wasn’t sand, it was a type of grey granite. How did he step in?

Yan Liqiang raised his foot and tried stepping down again. There was another crack. This time, Yan Liqiang used a little force and his foot sunk 30cm into the ground. Cracks stretched out from the hole he stood out.

Yan Liqiang dazed for a while and lifted his feet from the ditch. Then he looked at his hand, this... didn’t seem to be the ground’s fault but his... his body’s power had suddenly increased to a terrifying level.

Just on the ground next to Yan Liqiang, there were a few stalagmites. In order to verify his idea, Yan Liqiang reached out his hand and pinched the stalagmite. With just slight force, Yan Liqiang crushed it into two pieces.

What the fuck! What is this!

Yan Liqiang looked down and saw his tattered clothes. Then he looked around, this place seemed to be a big mountain cave. Not far from him was where he got up. Half of the leech’s body was on the ground and the other half was in the water.

The 20 meter long leech seemed to have shrunk. For some reason, the shining black body also turned a dull grey. The leech laid there not moving.

Yan Liqiang who was still struck with after fear dashed in a flurry of shadows and retreated 50 meters. He broke five water bucket sized stalagmite crystals and retreated to a higher ground drawing safe distance between the leech.

There was such huge change to his body. He felt like his power was like the seas and any move exploded out power like a volcano. This made Ye Mo feel he couldn’t completely control it.

Yan Liqiang focused his mind and internally glanced. With this, his heart started beating quickly again. His internal body had the feeling of completely being reborn. His blood qi was like dragons, essence was full. Compared to before, he was more than ten times powerful. Under the nourish of the qi, blood and essence, his entire body’s bones, muscles and meridians became very strong. His bones were like iron, his muscle fibers’ explosive power reached an unimaginable state. every time his heart beat, it made the blood flow like rivers in his vessel across his body. The meridian in which his vital qi ran through was many times wider. What shocked him even more was that under the skin of his chest in the middle dan tian region, there was a cauldron.

The lower dan tian qi sea’s cauldron was just qi cauldron. Infusing qi cauldron and cultivate vital qi, that was the marker of reaching a martial warrior. The cauldron in the middle dan tian was essence cauldron. It was also called essence sea. having an essence cauldron in the essence sea was a marker of reaching martial ancestor. At this time, as Yan Liqiang breathed, there was this mysterious chi that was drawn from the air and into the essence cauldron becoming a part of his own essence. Some of the essence spread in the essence sea and another partcontinued down into the qi cauldron turning into slivers of vital qi.

This was the power of martial ancestor masters. Through just breathing, they could extract powerful energy from the air and turn it into essence and turn essence into qi. During the process of cultivation, reaching martial ancestor was a huge milestone like ordinary people reaching martial warrior.

Martial warrior represented the beginning of cultivation, becoming strong. Martial master meant becoming a teacher and teaching others martial arts. Meanwhile, martial ancestor meant that you had the right to start your own sect. On White Silver Continent, this was the marker of becoming a powerful person. Yan Liqiang went back to Gan province two years ago and the reason he started an Archery Academy and not some God Arrow Sect was most because his cultivation wasn’t at martial ancestor level yet. No matter how powerful his archery skills were, if he suddenly started a sect, people would only laugh at him for being ignorant!

Yan Liqiang just remembered that before he lost his consciousness, there was a hot and cold energy coming into his body from the leech. It made him who was at martial grandmaster peak reach martial lord immediately. He didn’t expect that once he woke up, he had surpassed martial lord by many states and reached martial lord. The key about breaking through from martial lord to martial ancestor was cultivating essence and opening the essence sea in the middle dan tian and then condensing the essence cauldron. There was still martial knight and martial devil these two large states but he passed them strangely. Yan Liqiang was very confused...

Essence was the mother of qi and blood in the body. It was the source of life. after reaching martial lord, the most crucial part of cultivation was related to essence. usually, even the most talented martial lord master wouldn’t be able to reach martial ancestor and form the essence cauldron without decades of cultivation and gathering of essence...

Did he accidentally suck all of the leech’s essence over? That leech wanted to devour him but he devoured it instead? And now, he strangely reached martial ancestor.

Yan Liqiang looked at that leech far away and broke a stalagmite next to him. He hurled that sharp rock towards the leech.

His casual throw made the rock shoot out like a cannon and pierced that water leech creating a bowl sized hole.

The leech was like a pile of rotten flesh and didn’t move at all...

Yan Liqiang tried again and threw another rock. He found that the leech still didn’t move and the wounds didn’t close and heal...

The leech was...dead, or was it acting dead?

This water leech was very wise, Yan Liqiang had to be careful!

Yan Liqiang gulped some saliva and carefully walked next to the leech and tested a few times before finally making sure that it was dead!

Chapter 561: Underground Stone House

The big water leech was dead!

Yan Liqiang unfathomably progressed into a Martial Ancestor like a dream!

These consecutive ‘accidents’ made Yan Liqiang feel like he was dreaming. He looked at his powerful hands and pinched himself twice. After dazing for a long while, he let out a sigh and accepted this reality.

Although Yan Liqiang still didn’t understand how all this happened, surviving this disaster was always good!

The pond was in front of the leech. Yan Liqiang guessed that the leech had come in through the pond and this pond was probably connected with the cave at the bottom of White Grass Lake. If he left from here, he could probably get back to the lake.

This cave didn’t seem ordinary, but Yan Liqiang was no geologist so he wasn’t interested in those stalagmites and crystals.

Yan Liqiang didn’t know how long he had spent on the leech but the most important thing now was finding an exit from here.

After looking at the pond and studying his environment and making sure there wouldn’t be a second leech, Yan Liqiang took a deep breath and jumped into the pond water. He was planning to become familiar with the environment and test the waters.

About half of the leech hanging in the water seemed very scary. Yan Liqiang went into the water and looked. He found that the bottom of the pond had a deep well that reached underground. He didn’t know how deep it was, but he was strong, and that gave him the courage. The water was very clear and he could see everything in it so he could keep swimming.

After swimming for about two to three hundred meters, the tunnel down became straighter. He swam in that tunnel for another hundred meters, took a turn, and the water flow suddenly became volatile. A few hundred-meter wide terrifying underground river appeared before Yan Liqiang.

The tunnel he was in connected with that underground river. It was like a T-shaped intersection. The river was terrifying because the current was so fast. Instead of flowing up, the water flowed below into the dark abyss. Near there, the desperate current wanted to drag Yan Liqiang in forcefully. Yan Liqiang started to spin in the water. Eventually, Yan Liqiang stuck his hand into the rocks on the two sides to stabilize himself.

Feeling the power in the water, Yan Liqiang’s face changed!

If he went into that underground river and was taken to some unknown place, would he survive? Who knew what was there and how he would come out? Judging by direction, White Grass Lake was above, not below!

Yan Liqiang held himself with one hand and then grabbed a rock from the wall and threw it into the river.

In the blink of an eye, the rock disappeared like a leaf in a tornado.

Sh*t. With this kind of current, he would never be able to swim upstream. Probably only that big water leech could go up. Humans would never be able to swim up in that sort of current!

Yan Liqiang stayed in that cave for a long while; he took a whole hour. After confirming that there was no other way out and the current didn’t slow down with time, he returned to that cave.

In a splash, Yan Liqiang jumped out from the pond with eyebrows locked in a frown!

What should I do?

That was the most pressing question!

There must be a way. There must be a way!

Yan Liqiang comforted himself and studied the cave again. It was very deep and what he saw was only a small part of it. He hadn’t been to the back of the cave, so perhaps he could go see it. The heavens always gave a slim chance of survival. Since the heavens didn’t let the leech eat him, then it wouldn’t let him die here either!

Thinking about this, Yan Liqiang cheered up. He looked at the leech and thought before bending down and dragging its body up with all his might.

This leech was definitely a rare beast, and these types of beasts had too many treasures in their bodies. Thus, Yan Liqiang didn’t want to waste it. plus, Yan Liqiang’s Black Scale Sword was probably still in its belly!

Yan Liqiang inserted his hand into the sucker of the leech. He used his power and with a slice, his palm dissected the leech’s body like a sharp sword drawing open a few-meter long opening. After searching in the sticky organs of the leech, he finally found the Black Scale Sword and washed it in the pond.

Usually, these strange beasts would have a crystal core, but Yan Liqiang didn’t know where it would be found. He dragged the leech up so now the crystal wouldn’t run off on its own so he could take his time.

Yan Liqiang headed towards the back of the cave with the Black Scale Sword.

The cave was very deep and twisted. After leaving the pond for a few hundred meters, Yan Liqiang found some mushroom-like plants. After a few more hundred meters, Yan Liqiang opened his mouth wide and was very shocked!

“I’m not seeing things, am I?!” Yan Liqiang murmured and rubbed his eyes. He wasn’t seeing things – there was a stone house next to the cave wall ahead.

A well with steam seeping out was next to the stone house, forming a natural small pond. In the middle of the pond was a two-meter tall strange plant. There was red fruit on it. Even with the tens of meters of distance in between, Yan Liqiang could smell its aroma.

In the small yard of the stone house, there were stone tables, stone stools, and chairs. On the other side of the stone house, there seemed to be a small garden with a lot of strange plants that Yan Liqiang had never heard of.

Someone used to live in such a place and built a house and a garden?

Yan Liqiang’s mouth was wide open but then he became excited. Since someone lived here before and could turn it into this, it meant that there was a way out of here...

Chapter 562: Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Leech

Suppressing his excitement, Yan Liqiang headed towards that stone house.

It had two rooms, one big and one small. Yan Liqiang headed to the smaller room first.

The room had no door but a skin-curtain. It was completely tattered. Yan Liqiang touched it with his sword and the curtain fell to the floor.

It seemed like no one had been here for a long time.

In the first room, there was a stone press, a stone chair, and a stone stand. There were bottles and jars on the stand and a stone-made cauldron. There was a layer of dust on them but Yan Liqiang recognized them immediately.

Yan Liqiang walked out of the first room and headed to the second. He brushed away the curtain and went in and saw a dried body sitting on a stone bed. This gave Yan Liqiang quite the scare.

Up until now, Yan Liqiang had seen all kinds of things and an ordinary dried body wouldn’t be enough to scare him. However, this body had been here for who knows how long, still sitting on the stone bed. Its face seemed lively, as the hair and beard were still there. The eyes were shot and the body wasn’t rotten – the body had just lost its water and seemed a little dry.

Focusing his mind, Yan Liqiang carefully walked into this room. The set up here was simpler. Other than a stone bed and stone table, there was nothing else.

Yan Liqiang studied the dried body. From the looks of it, there was no external injury. The person probably died naturally but it was very magical that this body didn’t rot after death. According to what he knew, the bodies of only those who had a very high cultivation state, at least above Martial Ancestor, would not rot.

For some reason, the body was missing a hand. The body had a silvery necklace that had dense runes inscribed on it. The thing hanging off the necklace was a small black beast core.

Crap, this necklace was a talisman artefact! Yan Liqiang was a bit surprised. He perused the necklace. It had exquisite craftsmanship, especially the formation runes and the design. It definitely came from a master. Judging by the runes, the necklace was a defensive talisman used as insect repellent.

Out of respect for the dead, Yan Liqiang wasn’t going to take the necklace. He felt that for someone to carry something with him to death, the person must have cherished it a lot when he was alive.

“Although we don’t know each other, it’s still fate that we met here. Your necklace is exquisite but in a few years, I can make it myself. I’ll leave it with you!”

After speaking to the body, he didn’t find anything else in the room and was a little disappointed. Just when he wanted to leave, his eyes glanced at the body again and he stopped.

Yan Liqiang noticed that the only hand the body had was clenched into a fist and placed in front of the stomach. For some reason, the index finger wasn’t clenched and instead reached out. Yan Liqiang walked nearer and looked at the direction the finger was pointing. It seemed to be pointing at the stone table next to the bed.

There might not be any meaning to this, but what if it was a clue?

He had plenty of time now so Yan Liqiang didn’t mind testing his luck.

There was nothing on the ground below the table other than dust.

Yan Liqiang squatted down and used the sword to knock on the ground below the table. The sound was solid, nothing hollow.

Since there was nothing below the table, it seemed like he was thinking too much. The finger probably wasn’t pointing to anything here. Yan Liqiang got up and laughed in self-mockery and shook his head before heading toward the door. Just when he was about to cross the door, Yan Liqiang stopped and turned around looking in the direction the finger pointed to once again. He quickly went to the table and felt under the table. A few seconds later, Yan Liqiang’s face was full of surprise and joy. When he took his hand from under the table, there was a stone tablet in his hand. The tablet was filled with small writing.

– Since you have found this tablet, it means there is fate between us. If you took my talisman necklace, you would probably be dead now. The necklace is filled with poison – anyone who touches it will die. Very well, you didn’t touch the necklace. In that case, everything left here is yours.

– Since you have reached this place, you must’ve escaped from that ten-thousand-year spirit leech. It means you’re very lucky and fortunate. You must be thinking about how to leave this place. The only way to leave is through the water pond in that cave. It’s connected to the underground river. The water of that river is like blades that scrape the bones. Normally, if you enter you would die a certain death, but in the middle of the twelfth lunar month each year, the time of the great tide, the water in the river can slow down or even recede. You have one day’s worth of time to go back to the surface through that.

– That ten-thousand-year spirit leech is an extinct being within the world. Its essence and blood Qi is extremely thick. It lived for ten thousand years and ate countless earth dragon fruit in the cave. It has reached an unimaginable level. It’s the most precious thing, especially for martial practitioners. If one uses the leech’s essence for oneself, becoming an ancestor or saint is not out of the question. I originally wanted to use it to forge an Emperor God Pill to reach Martial Emperor, but the heavens forbade it and my life was coming to its end. I could no longer set up a trap to subjugate it. I’ll leave the rest to fate. I wonder who would be lucky enough to get the essence of that ten-thousand-year spirit leech.

– The fruit on the small tree outside is earth dragon fruit. It matures once every 360 years. Once it matures, it emanates a seven-colored light and aroma, but you must not eat it. It’s a huge supplement for strange beasts like the leech, but for humans it’s extreme poison. The things in the gardens are all planted by me. You can eat all those fruits and mushrooms.

– When I was still alive, I had a title called Thousand-Faced Demon Monarch. Some Dao protectionists call me the Thousand-Faced Lust Demon. I wonder if the world still knows of my name. I dominated the pugilistic world and tried all the extreme beauty in the world. I could enter the royal palace, the big sects, island nations, and deserts freely but I have never coerced any woman. It was all mutual. I’m a hundred times better than those hypocrites who act righteous but are secretly bleak. In the cauldron room next door, there’s a secret manual under the cauldron foot. It’s my gift to you. You can take it, but it’s up to you if you cultivate it or not. As for other things, never mind, never mind...

– Little Mei... Little Mei... Little Mei... Little Mei...

The remaining words were all ‘Little Mei’ which seemed to be a woman’s name. There seemed to be endless regret and longing in those words...

Chapter 563: Thousand-Faced Divine Technique

“So that giant water leech was some ten-thousand-year spirit leech and ate quite some earth dragon fruit here!” Yan Liqiang rubbed his face and murmured. “It seemed that I devoured the leech’s essence Qi!”

Yan Liqiang still didn’t understand why the leech started to insert its essence into him after he inserted vital Qi that was beyond its capacity. Probably no one knew why other than that dead ten-thousand-year spirit leech.

Thousand-Faced Demon Monarch, Thousand-Faced Lust Demon. These two titles gave Yan Liqiang endless thoughts, but from the person’s last words, he was probably a half-righteous and half-evil character who thought highly of himself. He had never heard of this title but he might have been very powerful back in the days.

Yan Liqiang looked at the body again and then bowed, “Thank you, Senior, for showing me the ways. If I can leave, it will be all due to Senior. Since Senior left me a secret manual, then I will take it and not disturb Senior!”

Then, Yan Liqiang left the room and went back to the cauldron room. Under the foot of the cauldron, he indeed found a metal box.

Yan Liqiang took a deep breath and opened the box with the mentality of opening a mystery box. Immediately, he saw a secret manual called ‘Thousand-Faced Divine Technique’ inside.

Holding this manual, Yan Liqiang felt that it was made from neither metal nor paper. It was very strange. The material seemed similar to the manual of the Golden Bell Divine Protection Technique. Yan Liqiang curiously flipped open to the first page and saw two lines of words.

The first line – Your face can change a thousand times but never lose yourself!

The second line – Only those who reached Martial Ancestor, have dense essence, and formed an essence cauldron can cultivate this.

What did this mean? Was this secret manual teaching people how to do make-up? It actually required people to be a Martial Ancestor to have the right to cultivate it!

Yan Liqiang kept flipping and after he saw the latter contents, his eyes were wide open in shock. F*ck, this manual really did teach people how to change their face but the contents of it were too unimaginable. It didn’t teach people to rely on medicine or face masks, but how to control your bones, meridians, muscles, vocal cords, and skin and even some nodes to change one’s height and looks. The reason it required the cultivator to be a Martial Ancestor was because only those who reached Martial Ancestor had powerful control over their body. Only with that powerful essence could they mitigate the side effects of changing one’s appearance!

Looking at this Thousand-Faced Divine Technique, Yan Liqiang was shocked. If he mastered this technique, he could have thousands of identities to walk over the world.

Yan Liqiang held this book and indulged himself in reading!

After quite some time until Yan Liqiang felt his stomach was gurgling, Yan Liqiang moved his eyes away from the book. He had now completely remembered the contents of the book in his head.

He put away the secret manual and went into the garden. He found a watermelon-shaped thing that was greyish yellow in color and cut it open. There was fruity flesh inside so he tried it a little. The thing was salty and sweet and very soft. He ate it and after a while, he didn’t feel any discomfort. Instead, his stomach felt warm. It was only then did he dig in and eat it all. Then, he felt endless stamina growing in his body.

“Luckily, I made arrangements at home and the archery academy before coming out. With that many people looking after it, outsiders wouldn’t know about my situation within half a year. Even if I don’t go back for the time being, nothing would go wrong. No one would dare to cause trouble. There’s no point worrying right now – I can only stay here for the moment. It’ll be solitary cultivation!”

Yan Liqiang looked around and wiped his mouth. He had decided to use this time to stabilize his cultivation state. Although he strangely reached Martial Ancestor this time, Yan Liqiang felt this power wasn’t stable. He couldn’t control his power that well either. He would use this half-year to settle. Of course, he would also learn that Thousand-Faced Divine Technique during this half year. When he went out again, he would be able to throw that King Cobra’s mask into the bin.

Thinking about this, Yan Liqiang cleaned up the pill room and stayed in there.

In the days after, Yan Liqiang stayed in the cave in solitary cultivation. He was either meditating or practicing martial arts or ‘Thousand-Faced Divine Technique’.

Yan Liqiang thought that the leech’s body would rot after a few days. If it was dead, he would throw it into the underground river to prevent air contamination. But for some reason, it still didn’t rot and instead began to dry up, becoming more sturdy and elastic. This way, the body became Yan Liqiang’s training tool. Yan Liqiang would drag the huge body and run circles in the cave every day to use up his stamina and control his power. After he was tired, he would use Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing to recover and strengthen his body.

With such cultivation, Yan Liqiang’s power stabilized in the Martial Ancestor realm and increased as well. Yan Liqiang’s strength now was frightening. Yan Liqiang didn’t know if the leech gave its strength to him too, but now he felt that even if he didn’t use inner Qi while punching, he could easily smash down that sturdy stone wall.

With his current power, if he used powerful fist art like the Eight Extremities Fist technique, then the power would be many times stronger. When Yan Liqiang punched, the entire cave seemed to be filled with thunder. He could even shake those stalagmites and crystals off.

His cultivation of Thousand-Faced Divine Technique also progressed rapidly...

......

Two months later, Yan Liqiang stood in the cave next to the pond and looked at his reflection after he transformed with the Thousand-Faced Divine Technique. It was exactly the same nation-bewitching face that he had in the Heavenly Realm...

With the sounds of bones clicking, the figure in the water changed into Yan Liqiang’s original look. Yan Liqiang laughed in joy...

Chapter 564: The Tiger Escaping the Dungeon

It was the 14th day of the twelfth lunar month in the 15th year of the Yuanping reign in the Great Han Empire.

The Gulang Plains was covered with snow. The northern wind was chilly and the calm white grass lake formed a thick layer of ice.

A few wild goats were searching in the snow for food. They were naturally vigilant. They were eating some dried grass stems and unique snow algae while looking around with their big eyes and upright ears watching the environment around them.

Suddenly, there was a strange sound at White Grass Lake. The few goats stopped eating and looked up vigilantly at where the sound came from.

Crack...! The sound was getting louder and it was just coming from the lake. These few goats turned to run without hesitation.

Rumble...! A fist pierced out from underneath the ice. The ice surface cracked open like a spiderweb. Then, a figure covered in water jumped out from the water surface thirty meters into the air before landing firmly on the ice.

This person was Yan Liqiang!

He had stayed in that cave for more than half a year until this morning. He found that the blade-like current had slowed down indeed. He quickly grasped the opportunity to get out from the underground river and swam to White Grass Lake.

“Hahaha...” Yan Liqiang laughed as he looked around. He had the satisfaction of seeing daylight again. After wasting so much time underground and with the leech, his clothes and shoes were ragged while his hair was messy. He looked like a beggar. Other than the Black Scale Sword, nothing he carried was in fine condition.

The water that was dripping off his clothes froze in the blink of an eye. Yan Liqiang’s hair and eyebrows were instantly covered in frost. To ordinary people, this frigidness would be bone-piercing and unbearable, but to Yan Liqiang, he didn’t care at all. What was the point of being a martial practitioner, if one couldn’t even resist against heat and cold?

After judging directions, Yan Liqiang was in a good mood. He shook off the snowflakes and headed east like an uncaged tiger. Yan Liqiang crossed ten meters with each step and dashed across the snow like lightning. Each time his feet landed on the thirty-centimeter thick snow, it only left a footprint one centimeter deep. His mobility in martial arts had reached a state of great mastery.

After running for tens of kilometers, boisterous sounds and cries of pain from behind an earth hill sounded in Yan Liqiang’s ear. There also seemed to be a fire over there. Yan Liqiang frowned and changed directions before heading to that small hill.

When he came to the hill, Yan Liqiang saw that a few hundred meters away, there were more than twenty Shatu tents. At this moment, a group of two hundred or so cavalry circulated the tents and waved their scimitars. They hacked over all the Shatu who came out of the tents regardless of gender or age.

Out on the snow, there were tens of bodies and red blood scattered over the snow. Those Shatu people wailed in pain. Every moment, there would be a Shatu person hacked or shot by the cavalry.

These twenty or so tents could at most house 70 to 80 Shatu people, but there was about a 200- person cavalry and every one of them were elite. The power difference was huge so what Yan Liqiang witnessed was slaughter.

Yan Liqiang didn’t sympathize with the Shatu Seven Tribes, but when he saw the faces of those cavalry, Yan Liqiang was shocked. Those cavalry weren’t Shatu people.

Those cavalry had dark faces and hideous cow-horned helmets. They wore pitch black armor and rode on rhinos.

In the blink of an eye, the Shatu who charged out of the tents were hacked to the ground and only a few women survived. Those cavalry jumped off their rides and in their laughter dragged those Shatu women into the tents. Some of them cut open the Shatu bodies and toof off their helmets. They used the blood of the bodies to color red their horns.

After quickly filtering the information, Yan Liqiang guessed who they were. They were from the Dark Ram Tribe and their rides were the special long-haired rhinos of the Dark Ram Tribe.

Dark Ram people were more savage, bloody and crueler than the Shatu people. Their power was huge.

Why did the cavalry of the Dark Ram appear on the Gulang Plains? Was it that during his half year of solitary cultivation? Yan Liqiang thought that the Dark Ram people couldn’t resist crossing Qiyun Mountain and reached out their claws to the Gulang Plains again. If the Dark Ram people were really brought into the fight for the Gulang Plains, then it would have a huge impact on the situation...

Just when Yan Liqiang was studying the Dark Ram cavalry, one person who just dug out a Shatu heart turned and looked at Yan Liqiang. That soldier immediately pointed at Yan Liqiang and spoke in his language. Those soldiers who were still outside all looked at Yan Liqiang.

Seeing that Yan Liqiang was by himself, they thought Yan Liqiang was an escaped Shatu. The Dark Ram cavalry weren’t worried and didn’t all come over. One head pointed at Yan Liqiang and called twice. Immediately, five soldiers rode their rhinos towards Yan Liqiang’s hill...

Chapter 565: Strike Fear

The long-haired rhinos were very fast. Even on the thick snow, their speed was no lower than rhinodrake steeds.

The long-haired rhinos were a bit shorter than rhinodrake steeds, but they were more robust. Their stamina was far weaker than rhinodrake steeds, but in terms of short bursts, they were far stronger than rhinodrake steeds. When the five long-haired rhinos charged at Yan Liqiang, they came over like five bulldozers.

Their noses spewed out hot air and their hair flowed in the wind. Snow scattered off their hooves and those soldiers with their bloodied helms roared as they charged over at Yan Liqiang. These soldiers who just slaughtered didn’t consider Yan Liqiang a threat. To them, Yan Liqiang was like prey waiting to be hacked. Even if Yan Liqiang ran, he wouldn’t be faster than their rides.

Of course, Yan Liqiang wasn’t going to run. He just narrowed his eyes and studied that cavalry as he rated their battle power.

Their equipment was rather simplistic. Even on such a cold day, they only wore a few half-old hide armor. Their arms and legs were exposed. Only one of them had a foxtail around his neck. Two of them held curved swords, and two of them held a wooden pole spear. One of them held a bow and arrow. It seemed that legends of the Black Ram people being extremely poor was true.

When this cavalry charged at him, the cavalry at the tents roared in excitement as though cheering on a good show. Some of them went into the tents and searched, not caring about the results. When a few of them came out, their bodies were full of things. Two Dark Ram soldiers dragged a tied-up Shatu woman to their head. The head touched the woman’s face and said something to the soldiers next to him. Then he began laughing in a lecherous manner...

Whoosh!

In the blink of an eye, those five soldiers were within a hundred-meter range of Yan Liqiang. The archer drew his bow and shot an arrow at him.

Yan Liqiang smiled and reached out his hand and caught the arrow.

The archer was no good at shooting. Especially since he was shaking on the rhino, there was no accuracy at all. When he shot this arrow, he didn’t expect it would get Yan Liqiang at all. The purpose of this arrow was to scare Yan Liqiang into running and they would chase up from behind and easily kill him.

Seeing Yan Liqiang catch his arrow, the archer almost thought he was seeing illusions. He shot again and that arrow was again caught easily by Yan Liqiang.

He shot again when he was within 50 meters of Yan Liqiang, and he still caught the arrow easily. This time, the archer’s face finally changed. He had never seen someone who could catch his arrows with bare hands at this range. When the other four kept charging at Yan Liqiang, the archer stopped the rhino, wanting to run instead.

But at this time, how could Yan Liqiang let him get away? The closest rhino was within twenty meters.

Seeing the three arrows in his hands, Yan Liqiang shook his head. The arrowheads his manufacturing bureau made were all one tael and four maces heavy. All the arrowheads of the Great Han Empire were about this weight. Meanwhile, the arrowheads of the Black Ram people were only about one tael and one mace heavy. It was 20% lighter than his. The arrowhead wasn’t smooth at all; there were quite some ditches. Clearly, the material of the arrowhead wasn’t good!

Yan Liqiang then casually flung his arm and the three arrows flew out. The arrows were more powerful than any arrow shot by powerful bows. The instant he raised his hands, the archer and two swordsmen’s chests were pierced by the arrows. They fell off their rhinos without even making a sound.

The two carrying spears didn’t see the three behind them falling. They had charged up to Yan Liqiang now and roared, aiming their spears at Yan Liqiang from the two sides.

Yan Liqiang reached out with his hands and grabbed the spears. Then he pulled and the two soldiers felt their hands burn as they fell off their rhinos. Their hands were bloody and they almost lost a layer of skin. Their spears were in Yan Liqiang’s hands. Then Yan Liqiang shoved and the two spears penetrated their chests, leaving bloody holes.

It had only been about a second from Yan Liqiang killing three with the arrows and the last remaining two.

Those Black Ram people in the distance were still boisterous. Most people were busy searching and robbing the tents and didn’t notice what happened. Only those watching the situation froze in place.

Yan Liqiang looked over and just when the leader’s face changed and wanted to say something, Yan Liqiang threw the two spears in that direction.

The spears traversed the wind and snow. They passed three hundred meters in a flash.

One spear penetrated the leader and nailed him into the ground while the other spear pierced four soldiers who stood in a line.

Within two seconds, ten Black Ram soldiers died including the leader.

All the Black Ram soldiers yelled and got on their rhinos. Just when Yan Liqiang thought they would charge at him using their numbers, the quickest to get to his rhino just ran off without even daring to look back. The rest of them did the same and fled everywhere while perched low on their long-haired rhinos!

“Haha, these Black Ram people are quite smart!” Yan Liqiang laughed and shook his head as he looked at the bloodied ground covered in corpses. When the winds blew again, he had disappeared from his spot.

Chapter 566: Late Night Return

By the time Yan Liqiang returned to Qinghe County, it was already late at night.

Likewise, it was also snowing in Pingxi Prefecture. The gates of Yan Fortress were tightly shut and dark clouds loomed over the city. From afar, only the dangling windproof lanterns at the gates were moving. Although it was late at night, patrolling guards could still be seen walking on top of the walls. In the darkness, only occasional barks could be heard in the distance as they echoed through the silent night.

When Yan Liqiang came to the fortress, he could hear footsteps of the patrolling guards and a deep voice. “BUCK UP NOW!”

“We can’t afford to slip up and become butts of the joke while the Young Master is out to cultivate in seclusion! The next shift is in two hours – we’ll go back to the barracks and get some drinks to get ourselves warmed up then!”

Yan Liqiang still remembered the voice. He was a guard leader from the Gao Clan that he recruited back at home from Pingxi Prefecture, and also a veteran from Gan Province. He was very experienced after going on a few escort missions last time, and decided to settle down in Yan Fortress with his family to serve the Yan Clan because of the generous offer and job stability.

After the man finished saying that, the walking guards responded in unison and then continued their patrol.

Hearing the conversation above him instantly made Yan Liqiang feel relieved. It would seem like nothing big had happened in the Yan Fortress during his absence for half a year.

Of course Yan Liqiang didn’t call out to anyone. He was too embarrassed to be seen in his ragged appearance. It would be difficult to explain, so he could only wait for the patrols above him to leave before moving. He flew like an owl and easily flipped over the high fortress wall that was several zhang tall. Entering the Yan Fortress, he very quickly reached the Yan Residence. It went without saying that the Yan Residence was also heavily guarded by both normal guards and hidden guards. Even though it was late at night, the corridors of the courtyards were still brightly lit by lanterns. A few groups of guards were vigilantly patrolling with wolfdogs.

Yan Liqiang easily made his way to the courtyard he stayed without alerting anyone.

Although no one was alerted, he still alerted a dog. Goldie, who had been waiting in Yan Liqiang’s courtyard, immediately charged out of his warm doghouse in excitement at the sight of his return. It wagged its tail and excitedly circled around Yan Liqiang in his room. He kept licking on his hand and even barked twice in excitement.

His barks instantly alerted the other people.

“Who...?!” Yu Qing was the first to appear outside Yan Liqiang’s room. As soon as she arrived, she saw a disheveled and ragged man in her young master’s room. How terrible! Yu Qing didn’t even hesitate to plunge her sword into Yan Liqiang from behind. She moved powerfully with a sword technique, abnormally nimbly bringing down her sword with a whoosh behind Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang, who just lit the candle, turned around and pinched the tip of the sword. “It’s me!”

“Ah, Young Lord!” Yu Qing finally got a clear look at Yan Liqiang’s face and his clothes filled with holes. She had a look of surprise on her face as she rubbed her eyes adorably.

Yan Liqiang seemed a little embarrassed too as he gently let go of the sword tip. “Umm, close the door first. The guards outside are coming...”

Yu Qing roamed her eyes over Yan Liqiang’s muscular body which oozed the scent of masculinity, as her cheeks flared up a little. As soon as she shut the door, quick footsteps were heard rushing inside the courtyard from outside. Rustling of clothes were also heard as the men flipped over the walls. In just a flash, quite a few people gathered outside the room.

“What’s wrong?!” The dull noise of the sword being pulled out of its scabbard was heard outside.

“Nothing! Young Lord just came back!” Yu Qing sheathed her sword and calmly replied from inside the room.

“Thank you for your hard work, everyone. No need to disturb the rest from their rests. Just inform Steward Zhou tomorrow morning!” Yan Liqiang also spoke calmly.

The guards exchanged looks with each other and heaved a sigh of relief when they heard Yan Liqiang’s voice. After the leading guard responded in acknowledgement, everyone left in just a flash.

“Young Lord... are... are you alright...?” Yu Qing roamed her eyes quickly over Yan Liqiang’s body again as the blush on her face deepened.

“Ahem... ahem...” Yan Liqiang was feeling slightly embarrassed too. Fortunately, Yu Qing wasn’t an outsider so things weren’t too awkward. He rubbed his face. “Well... I got into a little bit of an accident!”

“Wait for a moment, Young Lord. I shall prepare a bath for you!”

“No need, I’ll just bathe with cold water in the courtyard!”

“I can’t have that!” Yu Qing shook her head firmly. “Please wait for a moment, Young Lord. I’ll be done very quickly!” After saying that, Yu Qing immediately left without giving Yan Liqiang a chance to say anything else.

...

Ten minutes later, Yan Liqiang sighed in pleasure while soaking in a wooden bathtub filled with hot water. “It really feels great to be home...!”

With two heaters burning, the entire bathroom was as warm as spring. Slices of ginger were also added to the hot water in the bathtub to dispel the cold. It had been half a year since Yan Liqiang had taken a hot bath. Amidst the thick steam, he laid his head on the soft wooden pillow behind the wooden bathtub. Shutting his eyes, he sighed in pleasure as he enjoyed the warm fuzzy feelings of being enveloped by hot water.

This was how a person should live. If there weren’t sh*ts like power struggle or future crises, Yan Liqiang wished he never knew any martial arts. Just being able to live like this every day in Pingxi Prefecture was enough for him. There was no need to fight so hard in life!

CREAK...! The bathroom door was pushed open. Yan Liqiang knew who it was just by listening to the sounds of footsteps.

“Qing’er, just leave my clothes on the rack behind the screen!”

“Alright!” Yu Qing answered softly. She would normally leave after setting the clothes down, but Yan Liqiang wasn’t sure why he heard Yu Qing’s footsteps going around from behind the screen today and to the side of his wooden bathtub. Yan Liqiang’s body stiffened up a little.

“Young Lord... Let me... help you wash your back!” The little girl’s voice trembled as she spoke, then Yan Liqiang felt a pair of gentle and delicate little hands dip into the water before they gently massaged his back.

Should I chase her away? Yan Liqiang closed his eyes, but he was thinking about this question to himself in his heart. Would it be bad for him to reject her and break her heart...?

Yan Liqiang thought for a moment before deciding that it was best for him to pretend that he had fallen asleep. Hence, he shut his eyes and let the little girl service him. It actually felt quite nice as she was able to control the strength of her hands very well.

At first, Yu Qing was quite nervous. When she saw that Yan Liqiang seemed to be enjoying it silently, her trembling hands gradually started moving more naturally.

Yan Liqiang was relieved to find out that the little girl only sincerely wanted to wash his back for him. Although his eyes were closed, he spoke up. “Did anything big happen while I was in seclusion?”

“Young Lord, are you referring to Gan Province or the Gulang Plains?”

“Did something happen on the Gulang Plains?”

“I heard that the chief of the Dark Wood Tribe was assassinated, and things were chaotic because people were fighting over becoming the next chief. In the end, they got beaten up very badly by the people from the Dark Razor Tribe and many died. After the new chief in the Dark Wood Tribe came into power, they lured the people from Black Ram Tribe to the Gulang Plains!”

So it turned out that it was the Dark Wood Tribe who lured the Black Ram Tribe there. The outcome was beyond Yan Liqiang’s expectation, but it wasn’t all that strange either. After all, the Shatu people never really had any sort of baseline or sense of honor. The Dark Wood Tribe would definitely do something like that if they were desperate. Their territory happened to be right next to a part of Mount Qiyun. Therefore, it was very normal for the Dark Wood Tribe to collude with the Black Ram Tribe.

Yan Liqiang didn’t expect his arrow to cause so many changes on the Gulang Plains.

“What about in Gan Province?”

“I don’t really know the specifics, but I heard that since the Black Ram Tribe people appeared on the Gulang Plains, many soldiers came to Pingxi Prefecture over the past two months. They seemed to be preparing for a war. Oh right, and many people came looking for you, Young Lord. The Provincial Governor sent people here too. But since you weren’t home, they left...”

Chapter 567: Between Father And Son

After a comfortable sleep on his bed at home, Yan Liqiang woke up the next morning, feeling like a new man. He changed into a new outfit, then went to greet Yan Dechang first before both of them had breakfast together at home.

As Yan Liqiang had more matters to attend to, he was left with less time to spend with Yan Dechang. That was why Yan Liqiang exceptionally cherished the time he had with his father.

They had a very simple breakfast which consisted of millet porridge and steamed buns. Even though they were wealthy now, their breakfast remained the same. If it was too sumptuous, they couldn’t get used to it as they felt millet porridge and steamed buns were the best. The only difference was that they could add as much sugar as they liked into their millet porridge now. Since sugar was a luxury, they could only be found in wealthy households and not in ordinary households.

“Seems like you had a great harvest for cultivating in seclusion this time. I can see a lot of changes in you. You’re like a sword that has been quenched by fire...” Although Yan Dechang wasn’t a martial practitioner, as a father, he could still pick up the subtle changes in Yan Liqiang’s aura and energy. He thought it was the result of Yan Liqiang’s improvements in his cultivation. Little did he expect his son to have already progressed into a Martial Ancestor and was officially forging his way toward becoming a powerful martial practitioner. Even in the northwestern region, it was very rare to find people who had attained such a cultivation realm!

“Yes, I have indeed made a great harvest this time!” Yan Liqiang conversed with Yan Dechang while slowly sipping on his millet porridge. He was still very humble and kept his cultivation realm a secret from Yan Dechang to avoid shocking him. “If we run into anything now, I feel like I should be able to protect us!”

“That’s great!” Yan Dechang nodded and had a look of relief. “The people from the Lu Clan came to visit a few times during your absence over the past six months. They came bearing gifts and inquired after us. Since you’ve returned, you should pay them a visit if you have time as etiquette. I heard that Old Master Lu has left the woolen mill in Lu Beixin’s care. Even her brothers can only assist her from the side. The girl seems to be doing a great job though. It has only been a few months since the Lu Clan opened up their woolen mill, but customers and merchants are flocking there. They have already earned seventy or eighty thousand taels of silver since then. I see that the girl is also quite good at housekeeping. Since both of you will be getting married, you shouldn’t neglect her. Go see her when you should.”

Recalling the scene when Lu Beixin had thrown her gold hairpin into the water and asked the boatman to fetch it during their first meeting made Yan Liqiang laugh. “Lu Beixin has always been a very clever girl. She may have some temper from being spoiled since young, but she knows how to manage people well. If she really puts her heart into it, managing a woolen mill which mainly consists of female workers shouldn’t be a problem for her. I see that Old Master Lu has really given a lot of thought to this. Oh right, I just got back yesterday and haven’t gotten the chance to ask about our own woolen mill. How has it been doing for the past six months? Did we earn a lot?”

“I heard from Steward Zhou that the mill is doing extremely great. We have nothing to worry about selling anything with that partnership thing that you came up with. We’re selling as much as we produce. There are people lining up to pick up their goods every day in the Yan Fortress. In just half a year, we have earned more than forty hundred thousand taels of silver!”

“Hehe, not bad, not bad. Almost as much as I expected. It seems like the production rate of the woolen mill has stabilized and the reputation of The Greatest Mill has spread too!” Yan Liqiang nodded in satisfaction.

“Who would have thought that wool could make so much money? I heard that there are quite a few people recovering their fields outside Pingxi Prefecture growing grass and rearing sheep. It is really unprecedented for them to give up their field to plant grass instead of crops!”

This instantly raised Yan Liqiang’s eyebrows. The speed of people making enclosures for sheep was a lot quicker than he expected. Initially, he thought that he’d have to wait until next year before anyone would do something like that. Little did he expect some courageous people to start doing that this year. From a certain point of view, this could be considered a good sign.

“Are there many enclosures like that?”

“I heard that there are quite a lot from some merchants visiting the Yan Fortress. Since there’s price inflation for wool, people are fighting for them everywhere. These things that grow on the sheep are no longer just wool but shiny silver in many people’s eyes!”

“That’s true. If planting grass and rearing sheep can bring in more profit than crops, any smart person would get into this business!”

“I just can’t understand it. If everyone stops farming and starts planting grass, the sheep may eat grass but we humans can’t do that! I just find the whole thing outrageous!” Yan Dechang said with a frown.

“By the time less people are farming, food prices will go up. Then naturally, there’ll be more people farming again. In a busy world, nothing is ever outrageous. Everything just revolves around one thing – profit.”

Yan Dechang was still concerned. “Food has been scarce. There are hungry people everywhere. With more lands being used for grass, there’ll be less food. If a piece of land is used for planting grass, then it will be for feeding sheep. If it is used for crops, then it will be for feeding people. This is not negotiable. With more hungry people, there’ll be chaos!”

Yan Dechang’s economic mindset was typical of a small-scale farmer. They only saw the ratio between wool and food, but failed to see other things. Yan Liqiang wasn’t surprised about it either, because it was normal for someone to think that. If Yan Dechang could say that, then it meant that he had given it some serious thought, though it was limited.

“Well, any living person would solve that problem. If they are dead, what is the use of woolen fabric? Father, you have to believe that all things will eventually have a solution. When that time comes, countless smart people will find the easiest way to solve the problem. Wool is only a trend. Now that this trend has formed, it will flow like a river. Even if you can block the river, the river water will naturally continue flowing through another opening with the least resistance and will go straight into the sea...” While Yan Liqiang spoke, his eyes had a mysterious glow.

“I have no idea what you are saying!” Yan Dechang sighed emotionally. “When we were poor, all I can think of was to make a little extra money every day to put better food on the table and get you something better to wear. If I have more money to spare, then I’d find you a good master to train you. Now, money is gushing into our home like buckets of water from the woolen mill, manufacturing bureau, and salt pans. The amount of money you are earning is kind of scaring me. We can’t possibly spend everything in ten lifetimes. I sometimes wonder what propels you to make so much money!”

“Money is a worldly aspiration for everyone. With a certain amount of money, one will be able to do anything. It may even open up a whole new world. Rest assured, Father. We are making money through honorable methods. If you feel insecure about having too much money at home, you should travel somewhere more often whenever you feel bored. You can contribute back to the community as much as you want. The Yan Benevolence Halls can be found everywhere in Pingxi Prefecture. By next year, we’ll probably have one in every prefecture and province. If you wish to do some good deeds, the disciples from the archery academy will assist you...”

Chapter 568: Situation

Yan Liqiang exited the Yan Residence after bidding farewell to Yan Dechang. It was still cold, but it was no longer snowing today.

Yan Liqiang looked up at the sky, then patted Goldie, who had followed him out from home, on its head. He didn’t bring any escorts, only Goldie who was bouncing around in front of him among the snow while they made their way to the archery academy.

As usual, the archery academy stood in its stillness. Although it had been snowing for the past few days, the students had cleaned the plaza outside and the smaller paths every day. The path was lined with plum blossoms planted by Yan Liqiang and the students and they were in full bloom since two days ago. Beside the plaza was a forest of plum blossoms that emitted pleasant fragrances. The forest was so beautiful that it attracted many tourists who came for flower viewing.

The students lined up in two rows and stood straight on both sides of the archery academy’s entrance.

“HALT!” A student who was standing guard at the entrance stopped Yan Liqiang when he approached. After taking a look at Yan Liqiang and Goldie who was beside him, he spoke to him with a serious face. “Please go over there for flower viewing. Unauthorized personnel are prohibited from entering the archery academy!”

Yan Liqiang observed the students who were on guard duty. The new faces were around seventeen or eighteen years old, and they were brimming with energy. Without a doubt, these were students from the new intake. This year, the students that the archery academy was recruiting were no longer restricted to Pingxi Prefecture; they were also welcoming students from Gan Province and the northwestern region now. Since Yan Liqiang was trapped underground during this year’s recruitment, he had to let Shi Changfeng handle everything.

Yan Liqiang secretly nodded in approval at the students who were standing straight by the archery academy’s entrance. Just by looking at their physique and temperament, he could tell that they had been well trained over the past few months in the academy. Their discipline also suggested that they possessed the quality of an archery academy student.

“I wish to enter,” Yan Liqiang told them calmly.

“The archery academy does not accept tourists!” The young man firmly shook his head.

Yan Liqiang scratched his head. He was the one who set the rules here, but here he was, being stopped by a few people who had never seen him at the archery academy’s entrance. He was at a loss for words. He did have an identity pass to freely enter and exit the place, but he had left it in his room inside the archery academy when he was going to cause some disruption on Gulang Plains. When he left, he didn’t expect he would stay for half a year there. Now that he had returned, he ran into a bit of trouble.

Yan Liqiang thought for a moment, then told the young man, “I wish to meet Master Shi Changfeng. Please notify him at once!”

The students guarding at the entrance were shocked when they heard the young man who was about their age requesting to meet Master Shi of the archery academy as soon as he got there. ‘How bold of this person! Who does he think he is? Even if the Pingxi Prefectural Governor came to our archery academy, he wouldn’t be given any preferential treatment!’ they thought to themselves.

The few students exchanged glances with each other and communicated with their eyes.

“What’s your name? What business do you have with Master Shi?”

Yan Liqiang rubbed his nose, then smiled at the young men who were staring at him. “My name is Yan Liqiang. I’m here to find Shi Changfeng so that he can bring me inside as I’ve left my identity pass inside!”

“AH...?!” The new students instantly widened their eyes as they looked at the young man standing before them in disbelief. This boy who looked like them turned out to be the best archer in the northwestern region, the youngest Heavenly Master Craftsmith in the Great Han Empire’s history, the Baron of the First Rank and also the Archery Master to the Crown Prince...

They’d heard so much about Yan Liqiang. Now that he was standing before them in the flesh, they were stunned. They found it hard to believe that the smiling young man standing in front of them with a huge golden dog was actually a famous individual and their idol.

“Liqiang!” Just when the students on guard duty were in a daze, a surprised voice rang out from inside the door. The voice belonged to none other than Shi Changfeng.

Yan Liqiang immediately smiled when he saw Shi Changfeng.

Shi Changfeng was riding on his rhinodrake steed, wearing a fur coat, and leading a team of guards with bows. It seemed like they were about to go out.

The guards who followed Shi Changfeng were seniors from the archery academy. When they saw Yan Liqiang, they immediately exclaimed happily, “Ah, the headmaster is back!”

Upon seeing Yan Liqiang at the entrance, Shi Changfeng and all the guards dismounted their steeds and flocked toward him.

“Greetings, Headmaster!”

After discovering Yan Liqiang’s identity, the students at the entrance hurriedly bowed to him with an embarrassed expression on their faces.

“No worries, all of you are just doing your job. I am very happy to see that all of you are doing a good job!” Yan Liqiang gave some words of encouragement to the students on guard duty, then turned to look at Shi Changfeng. “I was just about to send them to notify you. Are you going out?”

Shi Changfeng seemed relieved. “You’ve just returned. Let us go in and talk!”

Yan Liqiang nodded. “Alright, let’s go in!”

Seeing Yan Liqiang’s return, Shi Changfeng naturally canceled his plans of going out and went back inside the archery academy with Yan Liqiang.

...

“What? The imperial court is about to wage a war on the Gulang Plains?!” Yan Liqiang stood up in shock with a cup of hot tea in his hands.

Shi Changfeng set down the teapot as the expression on his face grew serious. “Ever since the Dark Razor Tribe started the war with the Dark Wood Tribe, there had been such talk in the Imperial Capital. Rumor has it that it was a letter from the Dark Razor Tribe that made Lin Qingtian deploy soldiers to the Gulang Plains on his own accord to aid them in suppressing the Dark Wood Tribe’s rebellion. I’m sure you’ve heard of this already!”

“Indeed, I did.” Yan Liqiang nodded.

“But too many people opposed it. His Majesty refused to aid them. No one from the northwestern region is willing to be Shatu’s cat’s paw either. However, the situation is different now. The Dark Wood Tribe is trying to drive away the wolves with tigers for the sake of self-defense by luring the Dark Ram Tribe people to Gulang Plains. This has changed the nature of conflict between Dark Wood and Dark Razor Tribes. This is no longer an internal strife among the Shatu Seven Tribes as the Dark Ram Tribe got involved and is trying to get their hands on the Gulang Plains too.

“The Gulang Plains is still nominally part of the Great Han Empire’s territories. The Shatu Seven Tribes is also nominally a subject of the Great Han Empire. With the appearance of the Dark Ram Tribe, the northwestern region and Imperial Capital no longer had any reason to refuse sending armies to the Gulang Plains. Some time ago, Lin Qingtian passed a resolution in the imperial court, calling for the deployment of troops to the Gulang Plains. He also appointed Anxi General to lead the troops. The official document from the Ministry of War had reached Pingxi Prefecture yesterday. The Prefectural Governor had sent a letter to the archery academy, requesting for my presence in Pingxi Prefecture for a discussion...”

Yan Liqiang’s knitted his brows together. It was no surprise that Shi Changfeng’s information would be more detailed than Yu Qing’s. “Other than waging a war on the Gulang Plains, what other plans does Lin Qingtian have?”

“A large troop will be mobilized, and army provisions will be prioritized. After all, deploying troops to Gulang Plains will require money. The Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War are short on funds and are struggling to cope with the army’s expenses, so Lin Qingtian passed a resolution in the imperial court to start increasing tax for every province for ‘defensive tax’. Not only that, but he is also going to select a few provinces to start forming militias as backups for the Great Han Empire’s army as safety measures!”

Yan Liqiang was stunned as soon as he heard that. Goddammit, Lin Qingtian was really going to implement a defensive tax in the end.

Yan Liqiang had changed history to a certain extent. The Great Han Empire’s Southeastern Navy General Zheng Huaian’s life was spared, and naturally the pirates never appeared along the southeastern coast. Lin Qingtian’s plans for the southeastern coast were completely foiled by Yan Liqiang through Zheng Huaian. For the past one year, the defensive tax that should have been implemented in the Great Han Empire and the militias that should have been formed in the provinces along the southeastern coast never happened.

Yet, Yan Liqiang didn’t expect the wheels of history to be this powerful. It brought back Lin Qingtian’s plans for defensive taxes again through the chaos in the Gulang Plains after delaying it for more than a year. Not only that, but he still had a valid reason for imposing it. Anyone who dared to oppose it would be dubbed as a criminal who wished for the Great Han Empire to be invaded by outsiders. There was no need to wonder what the collected defensive taxes would be spent on and where the militias would be formed. Given Lin Qingtian’s schemes and deep foresight, the defensive taxes would ultimately go to the Great Han Empire’s southeastern provinces like Hai, Tu, Hong and Yu Provinces, which were under his jurisdiction.

Although the Heavenly Tribulation wasn’t here yet, signs of the Great Han Empire falling apart were starting to show. However, at this moment in time, no one could see through Lin Qingtian’s plans yet...

The most ironic part was that Lin Qiangtian was actually doing all this under the disguise of a virtuous cause for the nation and its people.

Chapter 569: Encounter

Yan Liqiang was very happy with the situation at the archery academy!

During his solitary cultivation, the old batch of students, under the lead of Shi Changfeng and the rest, turned into a pack of wolves and swept past many states in the northwest. This group that suddenly popped up only targets Shatu merchant parties and left no Shatu alive. They ultimately became the nightmare of all the Shatu merchants in the northwest region.

Before, the Shatu Black Wind Bandits often targeted the Han merchants and committed countless atrocities. But now, it was finally their turn to taste what it was like being robbed in the wilderness.

Interestingly, when the Shatu who suffered losses went to the local authorities to report the crimes, the local officials pinned these crimes onto the Black Wind Bandits. This made the Shatu at a loss for words.

News was circulating everywhere in the northwest that the Black Wind Bandits were Shatu people in disguise and they only killed Han merchant caravans. All the northwest merchant groups and convoy bureaus were deeply affected by them. The local authorities and citizens detested this, but they didn’t have any hard evidence. Those Shatu bandits killed and robbed and did all the bad things, but once they took off their masks they became Shatu citizens and merchants. Due to the protection of the Writ of Grace, the local authorities and convoy bureaus couldn’t do anything to them. Now that it was their turn to suffer, the local authorities and citizens all rejoiced and laughed. As for capturing the bandits, that would be a joke. The Shatu in the northwest couldn’t do it so they could only report the crimes and then the local authorities would count the heads of the Black Wind Bandits and then do nothing about it.

In such a situation, the archery cavalry of the archery academy went through more than 30 battles in half a year and annihilated more than 30 Shatu merchant caravans. Those young people soon matured after those battles and the shower of blood and fire.

The old students formed teaching groups in the academy and became role models for the new students. Other than this, the core members of the old students became the leaders and heads of the new intake of students. Under the leadership of these old students, the new 3,000 students soon transitioned into the atmosphere of the archery academy.

The archery academy was the foundation Yan Liqiang valued the most. It was more important than the manufacturing bureau and wool factory to him. Seeing the academy going on the right path and heading to prosperity, Yan Liqiang felt assured. The manufacturing bureau and wool factory earned money; the archery academy earned people. With money and people, he would be able to protect what he wanted no matter how the world changed.

This time, Yan Liqiang stayed with the new and old students in the academy for three days. He personally took on the task of training them and taught them a new Great Ancestor Long Fist technique that was very practicable in battle. He had two meetings with the old students. On the fourth day, he heard Lei Sitong was coming to Pingxi city to check the Gan Province military equipment. Yan Liqiang took his guards and left Qinghe County and went to Pingxi City to see Lei Sitong and Wang Jianbei again.

The meeting point wasn’t in the city but in a camp outside the city. Lei Sitong invited Yan Liqiang to the camp to watch the training of the soldiers.

“Kill... kill... kill... kill...”

In the chilling wind and drum beats, the nearly 10,000 soldiers formed an orderly square formation and roared like thunder. They held their spears and stood through the ice and snow, practicing the change in their formation. When those ten thousand spears pierced out, frosty light flashed everywhere, making people’s blood boil.

Lei Sitong, who wore full armor and a red cape, had one hand on his waist and the other perched on his sword. He stood dominantly at the general stand. Yan Liqiang stood on Lei Sitong’s left. Wang Jianbei and Liu Yuchen stood on Lei Sitong’s right. The generals of Pingxi Prefecture stood behind Lei Sitong.

“Liqiang, what do you think of the men in this barrack?” Lei Sitong turned and asked.

“The soldiers here are all the cornerstone of the country, and they are great men!” Yan Liqiang said genuinely.

“Haha, well said Liqiang!” Lei Sitong pointed at the soldiers and exclaimed, “The Silver Continent has tens of thousands of countries. It’s the law of the jungle. Without them, there wouldn’t be the Great Han Empire and the citizens wouldn’t have a stable life. It’s these men’s spears and bodies that keep those ravenous wolves outside our country. They deserve to be the cornerstone of the country. Every time I look at them, I think of when I was young. I was also in the army just like them, practicing on the field before now!”

“The Provincial Governor was once a soldier?”

“Of course! This is the family rule of the Lei Clan. All men from Lei Clan must train in the military for at least six years after they turn 18. Joining the army is like cultivation, I was no exception...” Lei Sitong laughed. His eyes studied Yan Liqiang from top to bottom, “I heard you’ve been in solitary cultivation for this half year. It seems your power has improved quite a bit – even I can’t see through you!”

Yan Liqiang put on a bitter face and didn’t mind the other officers, ” I have never done anything immoral, but for some reason in this Great Han Empire, there are people from the capital to the Gulang Plains who want my head. Thus, I need to work harder. If it’s in terms of archery skills and an overt battle, I have some confidence in that. But I’m scared some people will use any means necessary. If I don’t work hard, then maybe someday my head will fly off from my neck. Then, that would be too late for regret. I still haven’t married yet, if I die like this, it would be such a pity. To be honest, I still want to find an opportunity for solitary cultivation next year...”

Hearing this, Lei Sitong shook his head and smiled bitterly. Even Wang Jianbei and the other generals couldn’t help but smile.

“Sigh...” Lei Sitong pointed at Yan Liqiang and suddenly asked, “I heard your archery academy students are also practicing formations. Who do you think is stronger, your students or these men?”

Hearing this, all the colonels on the side tuned in and watched Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang remained calm, “My students are practicing formations so that they can learn to listen to orders. If they don’t listen to me, how can I teach a few thousand students all by myself? To say who is stronger, it would depend on what. As the name Archery Academy suggests, my students are mainly studying archery. They rarely know about the other arts of war. If there is an even number of people and my students were to compete with these men in archery, then I believe my students would be stronger. After all, they practice archery more. If they were to compete in terms of spears and formation, then they would be no match...”

Yan Liqiang was honest and those generals nodded in agreement. Afterall, Yan Liqiang’s fame was there as the number one archery master in the northwest. With such a master and those students who learned for a year, these men really might not be able to win. But if it was something else, these generals would be full of confidence.

Only Lei Sitong gave Yan Liqiang a deep look but didn’t say anything and just smiled...

Lei Sitong then brought Yan Liqiang back into the hall of the camp. There was only Wang Jianbei and Liu Yuchen there as well. After serving tea, Liu Yuchen got up and closed the door.

“Liqiang, can you guess why I came to Pingxi Prefecture this time?”

Yan Liqiang looked at Lei Sitong and then at the other two before sighing, “Is it that someone is using this opportunity of the Great Han Empire attacking the Gulang plains to start trouble with me?”

Chapter 570: Counter Measure

Hearing this, the three glanced at each other. Lei Sitong sighed and said, “So you already guessed it!”

Yan Liqiang smirked, “The person at the capital tries so hard to send an army to intervene in the Gulang Plains, bleeding the blood of our Han men to obtain peace for the Shatu people. I’m the thorn in his side. That guy wants to use this opportunity to cause trouble for me. I wonder what news the Provincial Governor and Prefectural Governor have for me?”

“Yan Liqiang, you have the title of the Qiyun Protectorate. Theoretically, the Gulang Plains is the area you manage. This time the imperial court is sending an army to the Gulang Plains and this is greatly related to you!” Lei Sitong said. “We’ve received news that the newly-appointed Anxi General Wei Wuji hasn’t arrived yet, but he wants you to be responsible for the army provisions!”

According to the military and political system of the Great Han Empire, Yan Liqiang’s title of Qiyun Protectorate General was usually free and ordinary governors couldn’t manage him. However, in times of war the imperial court would appoint a general to manage the warfare, then this Protectorate General would be under the command of the general.

“Who is this Wei Wuji?” Yan Liqiang frowned and thought. He didn’t know this person at all.

“Wei Wuji was originally the Yun Province Military Governor, but was then approved by Lin Qintian and rose steadily until he became the military vice minister. This time he was appointed as Anxi General due to the invasion of the Black Ram Tribe!”

“So he’s a loyal henchman of Lin Qingtian’s... This guy doesn’t harbor goodwill!” Yan Liqiang realized and shook his head, “Provincial Governor, you know that this title of Qiyun Protectorate General is an empty position. All the imperial court gave me was a weaponsmiths quarter and there’s only a squad of soldiers. That’s not even as many as our Yan Clan servants. I pretty much have no soldiers and the imperial court is giving me such a huge task. This is probably not suitable!”

Lei Sitong groaned, “That’s right, but many things in this world are unreasonable. Otherwise, what’s the point of your fists? You accept the position of Qiyun Protectorate General and now Wu Wuji is the Anxi General. If you reject Wuji’s orders, then he could punish you according to military law...”

“How many people did Wei Wuji bring this time? The imperial court wouldn’t let him come alone!”

Wang Jianbei shook his head, “Of course he wouldn’t come here alone. He brought 200,000 soldiers this time. At the same time, all the northwestern provinces each have to give him 20,000 soldiers. So by the time he arrives, he would have more than 300,000 soldiers under his command!”

“So that means if I don’t listen, then Wei Wuji can cut my head off and accuse me of being a coward in the wake of the Black Ram invasion and refusing military orders, thus ruining my reputation?”

“That’s about right!” Wang Jianbei nodded.

“Okay, then where’s the money?!” Yan Liqiang reached out his hand, “Since the imperial court wants me to be responsible for the military provisions, then at least give me money. The food for this many people isn’t a small number. How much money did the imperial court give me?”

“The imperial court didn’t give you one silver. It would be the Northwestern Transportation Office who will give it to you. Wei Wuji told you to think of a way!” Lei Sitong said and took out something from his sleeve, “Liqiang, have a look at this...”

It was an official document but not an ordinary one. Yan Liqiang took it and looked; it was a list of all the provisions, weapons, armor, anchor, food, horse, arrows, cloth, and machinery. The number behind each category was shockingly huge. It was impossible to gather all the things on there without a few million silver. Even with that much money, it wasn’t easy to gather it all.

“What is this?”

“These are the things Wei Wuji wants you to gather. It was just sent to the Northwestern Transportation Office three days ago. I have some connections there so I got a copy!”

Yan Liqiang was laughing in anger, “So this means that the Wei guy thinks he got me. Even though I earned some money these two years, it wouldn’t be enough to supply these 300,000 soldiers. If I don’t accept this, he can find an excuse to kill me. If I accept it, then even if I use up all my money, I can’t satisfy the needs of the military and he can find a random excuse to kill me!”

“That’s it!”

This was the real lethal situation. For someone like Lin Qingtian, he could easily manipulate huge power and position himself on moral high grounds. If he gets the opportunity to attack, then you wouldn’t even be able to resist. It was all too easy for a big general to toy with a logistics officer.

Yan Liqiang frowned and thought before looking at Lei Sitong, “Then what does Provincial Governor have to teach me?”

“It would be at least the fourth lunar month of next year when Wei Wuji comes. If you want to avoid this disaster, then it’s best that Wei Wuji doesn’t have the opportunity to encounter you and give you orders!”

“You’re saying...”

Lei Sitong laughed like an old fox, “I think the military order Wei Wuji has for you is on the way but you still haven’t received his order yet so you’re free. Sometimes, if you know you are no match, retreat is no shameful thing. So it’s best you find an excuse to dodge and make Wei Wuji unable to see you. That way, he can’t send the order to you and you can still protect your business. This is the same as how the uninformed have no sin. Otherwise, it would be all too late if the order arrives to you!”

“Thank you for telling me lord!” Yan Liqiang saluted with his fists.

“This is for your benefit and mine. With our relationship, if Wei Wuji really wanted to harm you, it would be the hardest for me to be caught in the middle! But this time, it’s unavoidable for you to lose some fortune. At least put on a good show to shut people’s mouths...”

“I know what to do!” Bright light flashed in Yan Liqiang’s eyes as he nodded...

Chapter 571: Outsmart

Three days after meeting with Lei Sitong and his group, Yan Liqiang returned to Huanglong County. He then stayed at the manufacturing bureau and the Lu Clan for a day each before having a secret discussion with Qian Su and Old Master Lu.

On the 21st, Yan Liqiang returned to Yan Fortress and during the morning of the 22nd, news shocked the entire Pingxi Prefecture.

The news came from the archery academy. It was said that Yan Liqiang was showing off Overdrive Arrow, his secret ability with a hundred-picul bow and an arrow. For some reason, everything seemed fine when he shot the first two arrows that struck the marker five kilometers away, but just as Yan Liqiang was about to shoot the third arrow, his face changed abruptly. There was a crack from his body that caused him to spit blood before falling to the ground. This sent the entire archery academy into chaos.

News of Yan Liqiang’s cultivation going wrong and his heavy injuries soon spread throughout the prefecture.

That night, Pingxi Prefectural Governor came over to Yan Fortress to check on Yan Liqiang’s condition. It was shortly after that news broke out from the Prefectural Governor’s Office; Wang Jianbei confirmed that Yan Liqiang rushed his cultivation too quickly by taking a shorter path. In turn, it left subtle traces of damage on his body. When Yan Liqiang was attempting to perform that technique, his vital Qi ran wild, causing half his meridians and muscles to be shocked by the bow before the vital Qi turned on him. This brought him to the brink of death.

Before the day was even bright on the morning of the 23rd, the pale-faced Yan Liqiang was wrapped tightly and left on a black carriage before all the servants of the Yan Clan. Then, the hundred students from the archery academy rode off, escorting his carriage out of the Yan Fortress with their rhinodrake steeds and strong bows on their backs.

A few days later, the students returned to the Yan Fortress and news regarding Yan Liqiang was leaked once more. He was heavily injured so he went to Mount Azure Dragon to cultivate in search for a master and sacred medicine as a cure. Nobody knew the exact location of Yan Liqiang, only that he would return once his body was healed.

Just before he left, he ordered the manufacturing bureau and the woolen mill to let Lei Sitong take over management duties for the time being. He also ordered for 100,000 taels of silver to be used in support of the Gan Provincial Army along with 100,000 arrows per year in support of the journey the imperial court’s army would be making to the Gulang Plains to expel the Black Ram people.

This happened so quickly that when the news of Yan Liqiang falling into Qi Deviation and going into Mount Azure Dragon to recover spread throughout the entire northwest, all people were in shock and pity.

No one doubted the authenticity of the events that had transpired. It was said that the few thousand students of the archery academy saw Yan Liqiang spit blood. How could it be fake? Then, the Prefectural Governor and a few famous doctors in Gan Province could testify. Many people also saw Yan Liqiang being escorted from Yan Fortress. Some even saw students escorting Yan Liqiang at Mount Azure Dragon. All the news formed a complete chain of evidence.

Meanwhile, Yan Liqiang donated some of his wealth in support of the imperial court as well as the country in their efforts to fend off the Black Ram people. The fact that he did this while he was still heavily injured made people respect him even more.

...

One noon a week later after Yan Liqiang’s incident, a squad of fifty cavalry ferociously appeared outside Yan Fortress.

Seeing them, the guards wanted to go up but the cavalry came up without hesitation. The leader raised his whip and whipped a guard to the floor. He then glared at the guard and roared arrogantly, “I’m the personal guard of the Anxi General. I was ordered to come to Yan Fortress to send an emergency military order. Who dares to stop me?”

Just as the guard hesitated, the leader took his cavalry into the fortress, knocking aside merchants on the street as they charged straight ahead in front of the Yan Residence.

“The Anxi General has an emergency military order. Let Qiyun Protectorate General Yan Liqiang come out and accept the order!” the leader yelled at the guards of the Yan Clan condescendingly from his horse.

The cavalry didn’t get off at all. They just stared coldly at the Yan Clan’s gate.

After just waiting for a few seconds and seeing that the Yan Clan people still hadn’t come out, the people on the horses began cursing.

“F*cking hell, this Yan Liqiang has such a big attitude. He still hasn’t come out?!”

“If he still doesn’t come out, we’ll charge in and burn this manor!”

“How dare this Yan Liqiang, a mere Qiyun Protectorate General, dare to have an attitude in front of the Anxi General?”

Just as these people were cursing louder and louder, Steward Zhou ran out of the house while panting. “Military lords, I’m here, I’m here...”

“Bastard, who are you?!” Seeing the attire of Steward Zhou, the leader’s face changed. “Where is Qiyun Protectorate General Yan Liqiang? Get him out now to accept the Anxi General’s emergency order. If you don’t take things seriously, we’ll behead you!”

“Military lord, I’m the head steward of the Yan Residence. Young Master Yan isn’t at home!” Steward Zhou wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“Then where is he?”

Steward Zhou could only repeat what happened to Yan Liqiang. Hearing this, the soldiers were dazed. They’d been sleeping on the roads and barely ate just so they could get here as early as possible. How was it possible that such events transpired?

“Doesn’t Yan Liqiang have a father? Where is he?” the leader asked.

“With the young master’s accident, the old master is sick with worry and had to leave Yan Fortress to accept treatment at Pingxi City!”

Not a single Yan Clan member was here. They didn’t even see Yan Liqiang, so how could they pass down this order?

The leader impetuously spun around a few circles at the Yan Residence’s gate. Looking at the wide open gate, he grit his teeth and turned. “Let’s go. We’ll go to the Yan family’s woolen mill!”

The squad changed directions and headed to the Yan Clan’s woolen mill.

At the square outside the woolen mill, they encountered a black-faced Gong Tieshan. Gong Tieshan waved his hand and four to five hundred Gan Province soldiers with shiny crossbows appeared to surround the cavalry before pointing the crossbows at them.

“Piss off!” Gong Tieshan spat on the ground and looked coldly at the cavalry. He used his carrot-sized finger and pointed at the leader with a face full of contempt. “I don’t care if you’re some personal guard or not. The woolen mill is under the protection of the Provincial Governor and the Gan Provincial Army. I’ve been ordered to protect it. The Anxi General has no right to order me, and his orders aren’t the Emperor’s orders. If you want to go in, show me Lord Lei’s order if you can, or you can let Young Master Yan take you in. Otherwise, go back to wherever the f*ck you came from. If you don’t... I may know who you guys are but not the arrows of my men.”

Chapter 572: The Situation At The Capital

“A bunch of useless idiots...” Lin Qingtian slammed his palm down. The ten-thousand-year sandalwood table in the office shattered. Lin Qingtian turned around and looked at the person bowing before him, “What did Wei Wuji say?”

“General Wei brought the army to Chi Province, so he would only reach Gan Province at the end of the fourth lunar month. General Wei said that he would think of a way to find Yan Liqiang after he arrives at Gan Province!” the person answered carefully.

“Find? How?! Mount Azure Dragon is that huge. Even if he spreads the entire army over Mount Azure Dragon, he wouldn’t be able to find Yan Liqiang. Plus, Yan Liqiang might not even be there!” Lin Qingtian’s eyes grew bleak. “Clearly, it was someone next to him who leaked the news. Yan Liqiang got the news and used the same tactic to avoid them. Yan Liqiang is young but he is as cunning as a slippery eel. There is no way he would come out at this time...”

“General Wei has too many people around him – he’s still investigating how this news was leaked but there are no results yet!”

Lin Qingtian frowned, and wrinkles formed between his eyebrows, “How is the business of the Yan Clan’s manufacturing bureau and the woolen mill?”

“General Wei sent news saying that his men and the Transportation Office people can’t take over those businesses. Before Yan Liqiang left, he asked Lei Sitong to take care of them. Without seeing Yan Liqiang, he couldn’t make the order. Lei Sitong is not under his command. Even though General Wei has the identity of Anxi General, he can’t intervene with the local authorities. Plus, that Lei Sitong isn’t easy to deal with. The Yan Clan has great connections with the Gan Provincial army. They have a deep foundation there and ordinary people can’t touch it so this is a bit tough...”

“Alright, you can go. Tell Wei Wuji that before he finds Yan Liqiang, don’t do anything rash. Leave it for now to prevent more trouble...” Lin Qingtian waved his hand impatiently.

“Yes!” That person bowed as he left Lin Qingtian’s office.

Lin Qingtian stood with his hands behind his back and frowned as he treaded in his office. A Great Han Empire Times newspaper fell to the ground alongside the table. In an obvious spot, there was the catchy title: ‘The Creator of the Greatest Mill, the Heavenly Craftsman of the Great Han Empire, Goes Into Hidden Rehabilitation After Receiving Heavy Injuries’.

This article recounted the story of Yan Liqiang falling into Qi deviation in detail and didn’t forget to applaud Yan Liqiang for donating money to help the country even though he was heavily injured. He still thought about the country and wanted to help the people...

In just a day, pretty much the entire capital knew about this. Under such a situation, Wei Wuji’s order, the lethal blow that Lin Qingtian was confident in, clearly seemed inappropriate. Yan Liqiang was heavily injured and just went to rehabilitation, but you still want to pull him out to work on military provisions? Making someone work for you when their life was in danger was crossing the line. Even at the imperial court, if someone was sick or wanted to resign, the emperor or the prime minister wouldn’t disagree. This was only rightful. More importantly, you couldn’t even find the person to give the order to right now.

Lin Qingtian had this indescribable feeling of discomfort. It was like his prepared punch had hit air.

Using the Gulang Plains situation, he would get rid of Yan Liqiang. This was something he had planned for a long time. The Emperor let you be the Qiyun Protectorate? I’m going to use that as the rope that will choke you to death and break apart your family. I’ll let the world see who is the master of the Great Han Empire. Can a kid like you intervene in the political battles of the imperial court? I’ll get rid of you and see who dares to act against him....

His idea was good, but just when the sword was on his neck, Yan Liqiang ran away again!

For some reason, Lin Qingtian felt that these two years hadn’t gone well for him. The big plans he made all didn’t go according to plan, but he still didn’t know what went wrong. This time, even a small Yan Liqiang could escape from him twice. This made him feel very annoyed.

Was there some powerful figure with that person in the imperial court?

Or was someone scheming against him?

At this moment, there was another rush of footsteps and a voice sounded, “My lord, the Anbei Military Governor’s Office has an urgent message!”

Lin Qingtian stopped and took a deep breath, “Bring it in!”

The doors to the office opened and a servant bowed as he handed a letter over above his head.

Lin Qingtian opened the letter and soon, his anger shot up again...

This message was sent by Anbei General Shi Tao. There was no good news here indeed. It was a ‘nightmare’. In the message, Shi Tao reported that the Storm Army started mass keeping sheep on a few grassfields in the northeast. They had two woolen mills and started weaving wool. Wool was a very popular commodity and the demand was greater than the supply. After knowing the Storm Army could produce cloth and wool, the local merchants all rushed over. The Storm Army sold both wool and sheep fur and was ballooning with wealth. Now, the Storm Army had bypassed the restriction of the Anbei Military Governor to buy food and military equipment from the local merchants. Recently, Shi Tao asked to see Long Feicheng but was rejected by the Storm Army saying that Long Feicheng was checking the paddocks and didn’t have time. This had never happened before as it was always the Storm Army begging the Anbei Military Governor’s Office...

Shi Tao knew where his value was and why he was selected by Lin Qingtian to be this Anbei General. If the Storm Army could bypass his control, then he would be useless. Thinking about how much he offended the Storm Army over the years, his fate would be doomed if he had no value. That’s why he desperately asked for Lin Qingtian’s support...

Lin Qingtian had no way. Could he order sheep to not grow wool? Or forbid the flow of wool on the market? That was impossible. Wool was flowing everywhere in the world; it wasn’t something an order could forbid. He wasn’t emperor yet and even if he was, he couldn’t do that...

Lin Qingtian let out a heavy roar and the letter burned in his hands.

“M-My... Lo...Lord... Your... Your face...” That servant looked at Lin Qingtian in shock. The servant saw a layer of black scales actually grow out of Lin Qingtian’s face...

Lin Qingtian stopped and touched his face. Then he turned around and looked at the servant with cruel red eyes. Before the servant said anything, Lin Qingtian punched the servant and the servant turned into a fresh bloody pulp, spattering blood across the office...

Chapter 573: Come Again

The spring wind of the second lunar month greened up the trees on the roadside of the capital city. As the temperature grew warmer, the streets became more crowded. There were many powerful officials in the capital and the population was huge. Consumption was huge too so all those on the main streets were the merchants, escorts, and logistics people that came incessantly...

In the west part of the city, a squad of eighty escorts with the Wu’an Escort Agency flag protected forty to fifty carriages as they slowly headed into the capital city.

From afar, the grand outline of the capital city appeared before them. The escorts all became joyful. They were at the capital, knowing that their mission was almost over. They were quite fortunate as the trip was safe. If they rested up a few days here and then were lucky enough to get a return mission, then they would earn even more...

Behind this squad were five carriages with people inside. They followed the escort squad. This was an extra mission the escorts picked up on the side of the road. Usually, for escort squads that ran long-distance missions, if they weren’t protecting something too sensitive, then merchants or bypassers could pay them some silver to follow them. That way, they could avoid ordinary bandits and enjoy a comfortable trip while the escorts get paid. Everyone was happy.

These were normal occurrences for escorts that usually came into the capital.

Just before the capital city, there was another diverging path. A shorter escort under the signal of the lead guard rode his rhinodrake steed and turned to the back of the squad.

“Everyone, the capital city is here. The capital city is under the Emperor’s feet. There are usually no bandits during the day. Our squad is going to the temple ahead to do the exchange so we won’t be keeping up with everyone. I wish everyone luck and safety. Those who seek fame get fame, those who seek wealth get wealth. Maybe in the future our Wu’an Escort Agency might need you guys to come visit. Farewell!”

This guy had a sweet mouth, especially with these pretty words. Those following the convoy knew it was time to split up. Everyone cupped their fists and parted ways while thanking them.

One carriage that followed the convoy continued down the public road for more than half an hour before arriving at the western suburb carriage parking area.

This carriage parking area was a stop for horse carriages. It was a place for people to draw customers. The capital was huge and there was a huge travel market. Therefore, those who didn’t have their carriages could come here to ride them. There were quite a lot of carriages here and it was very busy.

The carriage that followed the convoy squad stopped. Those few people inside all got off. The coachman counted seven. There was still one inside. The coachman looked inside and saw a young person sound asleep inside the carriage. He was almost even drooling.

‘Knock knock knock...’ The coachman knocked on the door and spoke louder, “Customer, we’re at the capital, you can get off now...”

“Huh...” The young man opened his sleepy eyes and glanced outside, “Oh, we’re at the capital?”

“We are. If you want to find a place to stay, you should hurry. After dark, the inns are charging extra for foreigners who want to stay...”

“Alright, thanks for the reminder!” The young man yawned and grabbed a simple bag and his long sword before getting off. Then, he studied the place.

The nearby people glanced at him and pretended he didn’t exist.

This young man wasn’t very handsome. He was a bit tanned and he had medium height and build. He had a tight fit that was grey and overwashed. His simple weapon and bag were clearly that of a foreigner on his first time out looking for an opportunity in the capital city. There were too many youths like him in the capital. There would be 200 to 300 thousand youths like him that came to the capital each year. Most of them couldn’t find a foothold in the capital. Only a few lucky or capable ones or ones that had friends to help could stay. Those capable ones might be able to become a guard for a wealthy family. As for attaining fame and wealth in the capital, there might not be one in one hundred thousand.

The youth stood there for a while. Seeing how no one was interested in looking at him a bit more, the youth had a strange smile and rubbed his face. He quietly said to himself, “This place is really like a taxi stop...”

This youth was none other than Yan Liqiang.

Probably no one in the entire Great Han Empire could guess that the legendary Yan Liqiang who was said to be in secret cultivation had switched identities and appeared before everyone with an ordinary face in the capital in this carriage parking lot.

Yan Liqiang came back this time for big matters.

The air here was mixed with horse manure and urine. The people getting on and off were also a blur to him. Coachmen were yelling out, trying to draw customers and there were a few stalls selling flatbreads and steamed buns. The stalls were steaming and quite some people were squeezed there.

Yan Liqiang acted like a newly-arrived youth. He asked for directions first before arriving at the flatbread stall and spent a few copper coins to buy a spring onion flatbread. He chewed on it as he walked out of the place.

There were a few hoodlums squatting underneath a tree with a few blades of grass in their mouths. Their eyes glanced cunningly at everyone. Yan Liqiang walked before them but they didn’t glance at Yan Liqiang for one extra second...

Chapter 574: Place to Stay

Those hoodlums didn’t notice him and Yan Liqiang acted like he didn’t notice them either and just walked past.

The capital city wasn’t a completely unfamiliar place to Yan Liqiang. He knew that in a place like the capital city, those hoodlums had deep connections behind them. Most of them would be the eyes of different levels of government as well as the wealthy. Even the Emperor had some eyes like this.

If these hoodlums didn’t notice you on the streets, it pretty much meant that no one would notice you in the capital city.

It seemed like his image change was very successful this time. Yan Liqiang laughed to himself and kept walking ahead while munching on his flatbread.

Everything in the capital city was expensive. They weren’t affordable for a newcomer youth so Yan Liqiang didn’t go in the city and started walking around the town like an ordinary youth. By the time Yan Liqiang finished the flatbread, he arrived at an ordinary inn and walked in. He asked for the price and then took the cheapest room.

“This room sleeps ten, six copper coins a night. You can’t bring anyone in, and you don’t have a blanket. If you want a blanket, then it’s two extra copper coins per night. I’m going to tell you now – you need to look after your belongings in the common room. If you lose anything, it’s not our responsibility. There’s no use even if you report to the law enforcement office, you understand?” The attendant brought Yan Liqiang in.

Yan Liqiang heard this and could only nod.

In the inn corridor, there were quite a few random things stacked there. The people living here were pretty much all poor foreigners. During the day, they would all go out to find jobs, so most of them weren’t here. A few people were playing chess in the courtyard. When they saw Yan Liqiang, they just took a glance and lost interest.

In the blink of an eye, the attendant took Yan Liqiang to the common bedroom.

That common bedroom was indeed a common bedroom. In a twenty square-meter room, there were two wooden beds that reached from the door to the corner of the wall. There was a narrow passage in the middle and there was a hay mattress on the bed as well as a few tattered bags. The smell of sweat mixed with foot odor drifted in the room.

“There are only seven people in this room now, so just find a place to sleep.” The attendant pointed at the bed and was about to leave. He didn’t want to stay here for one extra second.

“Brother, may I ask where I can find a place to work in the capital?” Yan Liqiang pulled the attendants sleeve and shoved a copper coin in his hand, acting like he didn’t know anything. “I just arrived, so please give me a few pointers!”

The attendant felt the copper coin and stuffed it in his chest before telling Yan Liqiang the places to look for work in the city. Then, he left after Yan Liqiang expressed his gratitude.

Looking around the room, Yan Liqiang casually threw his bag at the head of the bed and just went out. He went to the nearest job street and roamed around until night.

When Yan Liqiang came back, the rest of the people in the room came back too and were discussing job opportunities in the room. One of them had found a short-term job which was keeping horses for a wealthy family, but the others haven’t found a job yet.

Yan Liqiang was very quiet and listened on the side, rarely speaking. The group chatted for a while and then fell asleep.

Before sleeping, Yan Liqiang checked his bag. It had been searched indeed. In the bag, there were only two sets of tattered clothes and a fake family letter. There wasn’t a single copper coin inside. Yan Liqiang pretended he didn’t know and used the bag as a pillow and slept.

In the middle of the night, snoring sounds echoed in the room. Yan Liqiang felt a hand touch his body and reach for his arms, wanting to take what was there. Yan Liqiang kicked and there was a grunt. The hand retreated back and nothing else happened that night.

The next morning, the person who found a job left the inn. The rest of the people acted normal and cleansed themselves with the water from the well next to the hostel before leaving. Yan Liqiang was the last.

While washing his face, Yan Liqiang scooped the water up from the well and looked down at the reflection. Yan Liqiang smiled, and the face looked quite similar to Wang Baoqiang’s, full of ruralness. No one who saw this face would think he was some expert. This was what Yan Liqiang wanted.

In the next four days, Yan Liqiang left early and came back late, acting completely like an ordinary person. He also went to those job markets and walked around. He didn’t get anything these few days, but at his inn, two hoodlums and a law enforcer came at night. A few people sleeping in their room were called out. But they only scanned Yan Liqiang once and didn’t ask anything.

On the fifth day, Yan Liqiang left the inn early in the morning and bought two buns on the side of the streets. He chewed as he went to the Hundred Clans Market outside the city in the west. Yan Liqiang had been strolling around this area for the past few days. This was the place where Yan Liqiang hired Xu Enda and the rest.

At just daybreak, quite a few people had come to the empty space next to the river. Yan Liqiang came here and also found a place waiting for his ’employer’ to come.

It was the 24th day of the second lunar month in the 16th year of the Yuanping reign in the Great Han Empire. This was the day he arranged to meet Fang Beidou.

As the sun came out, more and more people started coming over to hire people. Yan Liqiang came up and when the sun was getting high, Yan Liqiang finally saw Fang Beidou...

Chapter 575: Settle Down

It had been two years since they last met. Fang Beidou was dressed in a blue luxurious gown with a jade headdress. He looked so much more mature now that he was sporting a mustache. Beside him was Xu Enda who had a square face and thick eyebrows. Compared to before, he now looked much more muscular and was more finely dressed. It would seem like he had a good life working at the newspaper publishing company and was highly regarded by Fang Beidou.

The people who had gathered at the Hundred Clans Market for work had discerning eyes. As soon as Fang Beidou and Xu Enda were here, they knew both of them were clients and everyone immediately flocked to them.

Yan Liqiang was no exception. When everyone flocked over to both of them, he followed them and squeezed through the crowd too.

“My lord, are you looking to hire someone...?!”

“I’m strong, obedient, and meticulous with my work...!”

“I have a few beautiful servant girls with me, do you want to take a look at them...?!”

“We’re not picky with work. We’ll take anything as long as we will be fed and be given a few extra copper coins!”

“Brother Xu, Brother Xu! It’s me, Liu An! We met here before...!”

Everyone tried hard to sell themselves. Since Xu Enda and his brothers used to look for work in the Hundred Clans Market, those who recognized him tried to worm their way into being friends with him.

Fang Beidou and Xu Enda stopped walking. Fang Beidou scanned the faces around him. He had a normal expression on his face, but his heart was filled by countless questions – Who is the one? Who is the one?

Half a month ago, Fang Beidou received a letter from Yan Liqiang through a falcon post. In the letter, Yan Liqiang gave him a few tasks, including the ‘recruitment’ he was doing today. Rather than Fang Beidou, it was more like Yan Liqiang wanted this. Fortunately, Fang Beidou had been the one personally handling many matters in the publishing company, especially when it came to recruiting manpower. To avoid giving an opportunity for someone to exploit, he would hand-pick and personally interview the people he would hire. Hence, this wasn’t his first time coming to places like the Hundred Clans Market or the Great Enclosure to hire someone.

Up until now, Fang Beidou never understood why Yan Liqiang had him come here to hire people. Even if he didn’t, he knew that there was always a good reason behind Yan Liqiang’s every action. Therefore, he didn’t dare to be negligent.

Fang Beidou reckoned that it was perhaps Yan Liqiang wanted to send someone to the Imperial Capital, so he wanted to use the opportunity of recruitment to give this person an identity to stay in the Imperial Capital. It went without saying that this person must have come with an important mission. Otherwise, Yan Liqiang wouldn’t go through this much trouble. Yet, after Fang Beidou scanned the faces around him, he failed to spot anyone special. All these people flocking to him were nothing more than ordinary men who struggled financially.

Was it that his IQ was too low, or the person whom Yan Liqiang arranged wasn’t here yet? Fang Beidou muttered in his heart. Just when his gaze swept past Yan Liqiang’s disguised face, Yan Liqiang winked at him. Fang Beidou was slightly taken aback before he took another careful look. Although Yan Liqiang didn’t really stand out from the crowd and was wearing plain clothes, his left thumb and pinky were slightly bent while he kept his other three fingers straight. Fang Beidou was startled, because this was the secret signal that Yan Liqiang told him before.

Fang Beidou was very experienced. He took another look at Yan Liqiang and realized that his hand had gone back to normal. He stopped staring at him and nodded to Xu Enda, signaling him to begin.

“Ahem, ahem. Everyone...!” Xu Enda cleared his throat. “Our manager is here today to hire a few permanent staff. We will need laborers that are strong, can drive a carriage, take care of horses, and even better, are good with their hands! You will be given two meals a day. There will be a probation period of three months, in which you will be paid seven maces of silver every month. You will be given a raise after you are formally employed!”

Upon hearing Xu Enda’s voice, the older women and people who were trying to introduce servants walked away at once, while a few people who knew how to drive carriages and take care of horses stepped forward. A few that walked away also included lazy men who were only looking for short-term work with daily pay. With that money, they would be able to buy food for another two days. As long as they weren’t hungry, they would definitely not work. A few of them walked away while muttering, “Turned out to be a long-term job. How troublesome. There’s no way I can get alternate days off...:”

With that, the crowd around Fang Beidou and Xu Enda immediately thinned out. With only about twenty people left, Xu Enda started questioning them on things like their name, origin, skills, work background, and background in martial arts.

The remaining people answered his questions honestly, and a few of them even performed two rounds of fist technique on the spot. They looked presentable, flexible, and seemed to be strong. It went without saying that the people who put on a display of the fist technique were those who hadn’t even passed the three stages required of a Martial Warrior. Therefore, they were only demonstrating brute force that made them seem a little better than normal people and detered others from bullying them.

In just a flash, it was Yan Liqiang’s turn.

He came forward and put on an honest smile. “My name is Wang Shagen [1] from Hui Province. I have driven carriages and cared after horses before. I know fist techniques too and have chased thieves away...”

“Oh, what kind of fist technique do you know?” Xu Enda asked.

“Iron Thread Fist technique!”

“Please demonstrate!”

“Sure!” Yan Liqiang nodded, then stood with a serious face. He exhaled audibly, then punched out and stamped his foot hard on the ground as he began to demonstrate the Iron Thread Fist technique. His movements were rigorous as he kicked up the dust at his feet.

The Iron Thread Fist technique was the most ordinary fist technique, even more so than the Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist technique that he had trained before. In fact, Yan Liqiang was the third to demonstrate this technique.

Fang Beidou silently watched the Yan Liqiang’s performance of the Iron Thread Fist technique with his eyebrows raised.

After Yan Liqiang finished his performance, his face was a little red and he was panting. He only stepped away after seeing Xu Enda nodding.

The other few people behind him also took their turns in answering Xu Enda’s questions and put on a performance.

By the time they finished interviewing everyone, Xu Enda looked at Fang Beidou. “Manager, what do you think...?”

“This one, this, this, and this, this and this...” Fang Beidou pointed to eight people and of course, Yan Liqiang was one of them. “You people, follow us!”

Yan Liqiang naturally followed Fang Beidou and Xu Enda, and those who were not chosen walked away too.

...

Half an hour later, Yan Liqiang received his first task in the Imperial Capital under his pseudonym of Wang Shagen. He was to guard a courtyard located at the edge of the town at the foot of Mount Longqi in the Imperial Capital. There were a few houses in the courtyard which were used as the publishing company’s warehouses. The place was watched during the daytime as there were people moving stuff around, but at night when there was no one else around, he’d have to pay more attention to prevent fires from breaking out and theft.

Yan Liqiang was the only one who would be guarding the courtyard. There were extra rooms there, so Yan Liqiang could live there too. Hence, on the same day, Yan Liqiang carried his luggage on his back and moved into the courtyard after staying the previous few nights in Datong Inn.

Chapter 576: Before the Great Catastrophe

The courtyard occupied an area of more than two mu and consisted of eight houses. It was rather a quiet and secluded place, complete with the few orange trees that surrounded it. The last time Yan Liqiang left the Imperial Capital, the publishing company hadn’t owned this property. Hence, this was undoubtedly a newly-purchased courtyard by Fang Beidou during the past two years.

Several rooms on the ground floor of the courtyard’s building were used as storerooms where the unsold newspapers were kept. It had been two years and ‘The Great Han Times’ circulation had exceeded twenty thousand copies, covering the entire Imperial Capital region. The scale of the publishing company had grown several times, and could truly be considered the best newspaper in the empire. Despite its popularity, it wasn’t strange that there would be several unsold copies for every issue. The rooms that Yan Liqiang guarded in this courtyard were piled with these newspapers that were printed but never got sold.

In Yan Liqiang’s previous life, these newspapers would ultimately be turned into paper pulp again. However, this would be too wasteful in the Great Han Empire. People in the Imperial Capital might not buy these newspapers as the content was already outdated, but in an era where the flow of information was relatively obstructed, many people would still buy them if they were delivered to provinces and prefectures that were further from the Imperial Capital. Even if it was half a year or a year outdated, the people there would still see these as rare and interesting items. Hence, the leftover newspapers stored in the houses of this courtyard that Yan Liqiang guarded would be bought by some traveling merchants and sold off somewhere far away. It went without saying that these outdated newspapers would be sold at much cheaper prices. This would bring profit to the publishing company, and it was also way better than turning them into trash or paper pulp.

Chapter 577: The Stone Turtle Shocks The World

The second lunar month of every year was when the northern provinces worked on agriculture and water circulation, and this year was of no exception. It was said that this habit continued in the Great Han Empire for more than a hundred years. Before, the famous Grand Chancellor Guo Chun wrote in the ‘Empire Agriculture Ten Incidents’ that ‘The Provincial Governor and Transportation Offices should tell the soldiers and citizens that working on agriculture provides huge benefits and removes harm. So in the northern provinces, at the start of spring, people would mostly be working on plowing the land and building waterways as well as setting up dams. It was something that the bureaucracy should often do and be tested on...’

In the decades that Guo Chun was the Grand Chancellor, the local bureaucracy working on building waterways every second lunar month of the year was settled.

Chapter 578: Detonation

“Reprint those newspapers, the printed ones can go to the trash...”

“Pull down all the previous headlines. Put the story of the Spirit Peace River’s stone turtle at the front. Yes, the writing must be big, especially the words on the back for the turtle. Even a blind man has to see it. Put this news out, the report article can wait a little...”

“Add the printing label...”

“Print 300,000 copies of this newspaper...”

“No one is allowed to rest tonight, all of you work overtime. The salary will be five times the amount, let the transportation carriage group wait outside. Send the first batch to Jinling and other cities...”

Fang Beidou’s throat was on fire, his head covered in sweat as he made orders in the printing press. The entire newspaper agency from head to toe was working very hard.

Under Fang Beidou’s governance, the printing press used its fastest speed to reprint the newspapers. Soon, a newly-printed Great Han Times appeared in Fang Beidou’s hands.

Fang Beidou didn’t look anywhere else but the headline: ‘Spirit Peace River Stone Turtle Emergence Shocks The World.’

After a brief introduction, a crystal clear image of the turtle was shown. Most importantly, there wasn’t one word missing from its back. It was in large bold text and covered the entire page.

“The Great Han Empire, fifth lunar month in the 16th year of the Yuanping reign, the Heavenly Dog devours the sun in Liu Province...”

“The Great Han Empire, eighth lunar month in the 16th year of the Yuanping reign, the great drought in Zhu province...”

“The Great Han Empire, first lunar month in the 17th year of the Yuanping reign, the great earthquake in Gong Province...”

“The Great Han Empire, fourth lunar month in the 17th year of the Yuanping reign, landslide on Mount Luchuan...”

“The Great Han Empire, ninth lunar month in the 17th year of the Yuanping reign, the Heavenly Tribulation occurs. All stars fall. The capital regions become the land of death, a desert that spans a thousand li where thousands of lives perish and return to ashes...”

“The stone turtle doesn’t open its mouth. If you see this item, you gain the opportunity. Save the citizens, escape a thousand li away, and you shall survive!”

Even Fang Beidou’s heart was shaking when he looked at the content. Other than the content itself, it was because he knew from whom this content came from.

This was the crisis of the empire, tens of thousands of stars falling, thousands of kilometers of land around the capital turning barren. Without that person, he didn’t know how many would die under this crisis and what huge change would come to the Great Han Empire.

The reason the Great Han Empire Times existed was due to today!

“Manager, do you think this is fine?” A craftsman carefully looked at Fang Beidou’s face.

“Print everything like this, quickly...”

“Yes, yes...”

Everyone in the printing press worked quickly. When it was dark, the bundles of newly printed newspapers were carried out of the printing press and carried onto the carts waiting outside.

Under the protection of the guards, the coachman waved his whip and the horse quickly pulled the carts to all places in the capital during the night.

The printing press was lit up everywhere. Everyone was working overtime and challenging the night...

Not just the printing press, but the entire capital erupted. When it was dinner time, the restaurants, the homes of the wealthy, and even the farmers were discussing the stone turtle.

......

In the palace’s throne room, all the ministers and the Emperor himself looked at the stone turtle with a serious face. Everyone was silent as they glanced at each other. The atmosphere seemed to have been frozen.

The turtle was very heavy and the palace received news of it late. With countless people watching it while it was shipped, it traveled slowly. So by the time it was shipped to the palace, it was already dark.

“Everyone, the stone turtle is here. Speak up with what ideas you have!” The Emperor scanned his ministers and finally spoke.

“Emperor, this is very suspicious. The words of the stone turtle are too shocking and blasphemous. The entire capital is worried about this now. I think someone is behind this. The White Lotus Society is best at doing such foul play. I think we should forbid discussion of this in the community. Those who dare to speak of this will be punished heavily!” The Minister of Justice Gu Chunyi spoke first.

“Lord Gu, that’s not the best idea. We don’t know if the White Lotus Society is behind this. Even if they are, restricting discussion would be useless and would instead cause chaos. Tens of thousands of people saw this already at the river and on its way to the palace, more citizens saw it as well. Probably a few hundred thousand people saw it. If we apprehend them for discussion, then wouldn’t we be apprehending more than a hundred thousand people? Even if we empty all the prison cells, it wouldn’t be enough. That would cause great trouble!” the Imperial Capital Military Governor Yan Jingtian said.

“So Lord Yan thinks we should let rumors spread and not care about it?” Gu Chunyi glared at Yan Jingtian coldly.

“Of course not, otherwise His Majesty wouldn’t have called us over for discussion. This is a big dilemma, so we should be careful about it. Everyone should voice their opinions and let His Majesty decide!” Yan Jingtian said calmly.

“Lord Yan is right, this is a big issue, the imperial court must not worry first and give those enemies a chance to attack. Careful, Your Majesty!” another minister said.

Gu Chunyi glanced at that person desperately. Lin Qingtian left the capital two days ago to Jin Province to check on agriculture. He would take seven days to come back. As soon as he left, this big thing happened in the city. Although he already sent news to the Grand Chancellor, Lin Qingtian probably only just got the news now. Even if he rushed back, it would take at least three days.

Under Gu Chunyi’s signal, the Minister of Revenue stood out and coughed, “I feel the message of the stone turtle is unfathomable. It says that the heavenly disaster will come during the ninth lunar month of next year and turn the capital into a desert. This is definitely blasphemy and shenanigans. We should let the justice department send troops out to investigate who is behind this and if this is related to White Lotus Society!”

“That’s right, that’s right, we should do this!” The political faction of the Grand Chancellor all stood out, supporting the Minister of Justice. As Lin Qingtian’s faction, the first thing they should do was have authority over this thing. With that, they could gain benefits. Whether or not the White Lotus Society was behind this was not priority.

With Lin Qingtian’s faction standing out, the Emperor’s faction immediately came out too and the two factions began arguing in the imperial court.

“Cough cough...” A shaky old minister came out and said, “I think everyone doesn’t need to argue. There’s no rush to determine whether it’s real or fake or how the imperial court should act accordingly. We just need to wait till the fifth lunar month and see if the Heavenly Dog devours the sun. If that doesn’t happen, then this stone turtle is all lies and the imperial court needs to do nothing. If there really is such an event, then no one would dare to stay around the capital. If something big happens, I suggest everyone and His Majesty make early plans...”

The throne room fell into silence...

Chapter 579: Decision

Fang Beidou stayed at the printing press all the way till wee hours of the morning. Seeing that everything was running smoothly and everyone was working without needing him there, Fang Beidou breathed easy and walked out of the printing press.

The stars shone brightly above him. Mount Longqi was very quiet now. There was only the sound of leaves rustling and insects chirping. In the distance, the capital city was still lit up. For some reason, Fang Beidou felt that tonight seemed to be brighter than usual.

“It would be strange if the people in the capital could have a good night’s sleep!” Fang Beidou murmured and felt his stomach. A few hours ago, he felt hungry but now although he hadn’t eaten anything, the sense of hunger disappeared after rush hour. He looked down and thought of Yan Liqiang and couldn’t help but walk down the mountain.

There were no people on the road now and soon Fang Beidou came to the small yard Yan Liqiang guarded. Seeing that no one was around, he dashed over the three-meter tall wall without knocking and landed in the small yard.

“Haha, you’re here...” Under the mandarin tree, Yan Liqiang had a table with two chairs set up. He was enjoying a small drink by himself. There were fried peanuts, roast chicken, and some salads.

“You guessed I would be coming?”

“Of course, although I’m not as good as you at predicting, I knew you would come tonight and you definitely would not have eaten yet...” Yan Liqiang smiled and raised his cup before finishing it.

Fang Beidou looked and saw there was a pair of chopsticks and a cup left on the table. He just walked over, picked up a chicken drumstick, and started eating.

“Mhm, not bad, not bad, this is the outer west gate’s old Fang Clan’s roast chicken. I never realized it was this good...” Fang Beidou chewed while speaking. Only in front of Yan Liqiang did Fang Beidou need to not cover up.

Today was a special day, especially this dinner for Fang Beidou and Yan Liqiang. There was no great celebration here nor flowers and applause. There were only the mutual trust and tacit agreement between them.

After chewing a fat drumstick and a few chicken breasts and half a bowl of salad, Fang Beidou wiped his mouth and raised the cup Yan Liqiang poured for him, “Alright, I’ve eaten. No need to say anything, I salute this cup to you representing all the citizens in the capital!”

“I salute you too. Without you, I can’t do this alone!”

“Cheers!”

“Cheers!”

The two touched cups and downed them before looking at each other and they began laughing.

“What’ll happen later on?” Fang Beidou asked.

“The news is still saturating, people are dubious, but it’s fine. In about another month when it’s the fifth lunar month and news of the Heavenly Dog devouring the sun comes from Liu Province, it would be even more interesting!” Yan Liqiang smiled, “From the beginning of the fifth lunar month, people will start moving away from the capital city. After the eighth lunar month, there’ll be a small climax. In the first lunar month of the next year, that’s when the real great retreat will happen. The Emperor and the ministers will probably wait till after the first lunar month of next year. By the fifth lunar month, those who still dare to stay are those who don’t want to leave and want to die here...”

“Then what’ll happen to the Great Han Empire?” Fang Beidou continued asking.

Yan Liqiang pointed at his arm. “Does it seem I have more hands than other people?”

Fang Beidou stared blankly for a moment and shook his head!

“Then do you see me with a halo behind my head making you want to kneel down?” Yan Liqiang pointed at his head and asked.

Fang Beidou shook his head again. “No!”

Yan Liqiang showed his hands and sighed, “So I’ll be honest with you – I don’t have three heads and six arms, nor am I some god or saint reborn. What I’m doing now is the extreme of my ability. From today on since the stone turtle was dug out, the future of the Great Han Empire is unknown to me. I might know less than you. The future of the Great Han Empire, whether the Emperor or the Grand Chancellor wins, I don’t know at all!”

Looking at Yan Liqiang’s face, Fang Beidou knew that Yan Liqiang spoke the truth. He thought and said, “Around the fifth lunar month, the ministers in the capital will probably start considering moving the capital. This will be huge, do you have any measures in mind?”

“There are no measures – I’m just doing what I can. I’ve already done the most important thing I needed to do coming here. As for changing capital, you said it was huge yourself. It’s not something that an unimportant figure who can’t even protect himself like me can do something about. But I do have one thing I want to try. Regardless if it succeeds or fails, I will leave the capital and go back to Gan Province to be a local bourgeoisie once I do it!”

“What is it?”

“See if I can kill Lin Qingtian!” Yan Liqiang said calmly and drank a full cup.

Fang Beidou’s face changed immediately and he lowered his voice. “You want to die?”

“I know the dangers involved, but I won’t be content if I don’t try!” Yan Liqiang showed an adamant face. “Lin Qingtian wanted to kill me more than once. He’s not someone with more heads and arms. If I don’t try, how would I know if I can kill him or not? I feel that with him dead, many things can be resolved!”

“If Lin Qingtian is that easy to deal with, would he be Lin Qingtian? Do you have any idea how many people wanted his life in these few decades but ended up dying?” Fang Beidou looked at Yan Liqiang.

“I’m not dumb enough to go up to him and duel him!” Yan Liqiang shook his head. He raised a finger, “One arrow. I just need one arrow to know the results. If I don’t even have the courage to fire an arrow at him, I don’t need to keep cultivating then!”

“You made up your mind?”

“Mhm, when he comes back this time, I will find an opportunity to attack!” Yan Liqiang nodded.

Fang Beidou drank a cup and sighed, “I feel like it’s a very difficult thing to attain longevity with you!”

“HAHAHAH...” Yan Liqiang laughed...

Chapter 580: My Heart Is bright

Fang Beidou left and when Yan Liqiang was the only one to remain, the night wind was getting cold. At this moment, there was dew on the grass blades. Yan Liqiang sat in front of the desk alone, drinking until he finished the wine in the kettle. Then, he yawned and returned to his room.

After returning to his room, Yan Liqiang thought and took a deep breath before going into the Heavenly Shrine with a strange feeling.

“You’re here?” Just like how he was waiting for Fang Beidou, when Yan Liqiang came into the shrine, Fu Guang was already waiting for him.

“I’m here!” Yan Liqiang smiled and looked at Fu Guang and the toy capsule machine before rubbing his face, “To be honest, it’s been like a dream, and I don’t want to leave!”

“This is your choice!” Fu Guang looked at Yan Liqiang with deep eyes. “Before you make a decision, I already told you this would be the result. If you choose to save people, you will expose the existence of the Heavenly Stone. The Heavenly Tribulation that will happen one year later covers the heaven’s plans. Even the most powerful beings can’t predict it accurately. One can only see it in the Heavenly Realm. The Heavenly Stone has its own will, and you’re too weak now to be its true protector.

Since you have chosen to expose the existence of the Heavenly Stone, the Heavenly Stone will no longer stay in this world where you are from. Otherwise, you find yourself dead very soon and the Heavenly Stone will fall into the hands of the being it doesn’t want to get close to. If that happens, it will surely bring true disaster and destruction. It won’t be just the matter of a few million people but countless worlds and dimensions!”

“Is there really someone behind the Heavenly Tribulation that’s going to happen in a year?” Yan Liqiang asked in disbelief.

“If you consider something like me with self-consciousness as a person, then someone is indeed behind it!”

“How is that possible?”

“Nothing is impossible. The so-called impossible is ignorance to true power!”

Yan Liqiang looked at the floating Heavenly Stone again and was filled with this indescribable feeling. It was this stone that brought him to this world and gave him two lives and everything he had now. When he owned it he felt nothing, but when he was about to lose it, he felt reluctance. He realized he had already considered this thing a reliable friend and a part of his life.

The Heavenly Stone seemed to have sensed Yan Liqiang’s emotion and in that shower of light, rare animals and spirits jumped out of the Heavenly Stone and started circulating around Yan Liqiang. They seemed to be comforting him and saying farewell.

“Will I be able to see it and you again?” Yan Liqiang asked.

“The Heavenly Stone will leave a mark deep in your sea of consciousness. If you can survive in the future and become strong enough, you can activate that mark. That mark will bring you to find the Heavenly Stone again!”

“I feel so much better after hearing that. At least I still have a chance!”

“Before the stone leaves, you can still use the energy points and seals of life you have here!”

“No need, it has already given me enough. The things I leave behind can be for memory so that when we meet again, it won’t feel too distant...” Yan Liqiang smiled.

After leaving the Heavenly Shrine, Yan Liqiang looked peacefully at the door in his sea of consciousness. Slowly, that door became obscure and faded before completely disappearing...

When he opened his eyes again, Yan Liqiang found that he was already in tears.

Everything had a price! He thought there was no price before.

He could only choose between giving the warning and having the Heavenly Stone. According to Fu Guang, the Heavenly Tribulation that would happen in a year later wasn’t natural. There was a powerful being behind it. The Heavenly Tribulation was already on its way passing through countless space voids. It was like a bullet shooting at the center of the Great Han Empire. No one knew about it. If he disclosed it, it would expose the existence of the Heavenly Stone and bring about many catastrophes. So, the Heavenly Stone could only leave.

Of course, Yan Liqiang could keep owning the Heavenly Stone as long as he didn’t disclose the Heavenly Tribulation. In the future, Yan Liqiang could still use this divine artifact to create miracles and glory.

Yan Liqiang chose saving people because he felt this was his mission and purpose in coming to this world. He had to do this. If he didn’t, then no matter what achievement he attained, he wouldn’t feel happy throughout his entire life. He would feel he was a selfish coward hiding behind the Heavenly Stone, and such a person didn’t deserve it!

I came, I saw, and I will change it!

No matter what the future was, using the Heavenly Stone to give all these people a chance to live was worth it!

My heart is bright, there’s no need to say anything else!

...

The next morning, Yan Liqiang for once didn’t cultivate Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing. He climbed to the top of the roof and faced east as he watched the sun rise. When the sunlight splashed on his face and gave him a warm feeling in his heart, Yan Liqiang smiled and got off the roof. He packed before leaving the yard towards the capital city.

A foreigner who came to earn some money wanted to go see the busy capital city now, this was very reasonable. Plus, what if the capital city disappeared after one year? He should use this time to wander more.

Of course, the real reason was that he had decided to assassinate Lin Qingtian. Before he drew his bow, he had to at least check the landscape.

“Brother, do you want to buy flowers?”

At the west gate, a small girl selling flowers stood before Yan Liqiang and looked fearfully at him.

Yan Liqiang stopped for a moment; this scene seemed familiar. The little girl was a little older but she was still the same girl. There were peach flowers in her hand, and they were everywhere outside the city.

“This is peach flower, one copper coin a flower!” the little girl said timidly.

Yan Liqiang searched around and took out an iron coin and passed it to the little girl. Then, he selected a small flower and placed it in the little girl’s hair and patted her on the head, “Remember, be brave at all times. Other than this capital city, there are flowers everywhere else in the world!”

The little girl looked dazedly at Yan Liqiang but he had already disappeared into the crowd...

Chapter 581: Watch The Point

“Come and look quickly, the first unique news of our paper. Spirit Peace River Stone Turtle emergence. Yuan Tianfeng’s shocking prediction appears...” The newspaper boy carrying a sack of newspapers called out all over the streets. Hearing this, even those who usually didn’t buy the newspaper would stop to buy a copy.

“Come here, give me one...” An old man selling corn powder in a stall quickly wiped his hand on his clothes and took out a few copper coins for the boy to come over and he bought a copy of ‘The Great Han Times’.

The shocking event last night had spread all over the city. Many of those who didn’t witness it with their own eyes still heard about the stone turtle, especially the prediction on it. The prediction made everyone’s heart jump. In the ninth lunar month of next year, the Heavenly Tribulation would happen. Tens of thousands of stars would fall and a thousand kilometers around the capital city would turn to barren desert. Tens of thousands of civilians would die.

Everyone on the streets was discussing this.

.....

In that alley with the rice flour stall, those few old men were tanning while talking about yesterday.

“If the capital city really is to be a death ground and a huge desert, then wouldn’t the entire capital population die? Just how big of a catastrophe would this be...”

“Didn’t you see the newspaper? It said it’s a heavenly disaster. Stars will come crashing down – how can that be small?!”

“The stone turtle really had these words on its back. My cousin was at the river yesterday, he saw it with his own eyes...”

“Would this be fake? This is too absurd...”

“If it’s blasphemy, then there only needs to be the last line. But look, Yuan Tianfeng clearly was scared that people wouldn’t believe it so he made quite a few predictions before that. Do you dare to not believe it?”

“Old Chen is talking about waiting to see if the Heavenly Dog will devour the sun in Liu province in the fifth lunar month...”

“What if there is?”

“Then we probably have to get packing and stay with a relative in Lu Province. We can just wait and die in the capital city. As long as we live, there will always be a way. Not just me, but probably even His Majesty will have to move houses...”

Suddenly, one sharp-eyed man saw a few law enforcers in the distance. He pulled their sleeves and the group quickly stopped talking.

“What are you old men squabbling about here, go your own ways...” One of the law enforcers scanned and yelled, “Don’t spread rumors when you’re bored. His Majesty is still in the palace, and the ministers are all in the capital too. Those White Lotus Society bastards love to start rumors. Don’t get misled...”

“Haha, we were talking about the Journey To The West story that old man Guo said at Wangyou Restaurant. We’re planning to go listen to it again today!” Old Chen smiled and cupped his fists to the law enforcer. Then the old men split off.

Yan Liqiang brushed past those few law enforcers. Looking at Yan Liqiang’s rural and honest look, the law enforcers just glanced at him and ignored him.

Yan Liqiang roamed the streets while listening to the discussion of the stone turtle. He felt relieved as he made notes on the shape of the nearby streets and buildings, especially those buildings that were four stories or higher.

Since he had decided to assassinate Lin Qingtian, he would need to survey the surroundings. Ever since coming here, Yan Liqiang had walked more than two rounds between the Grand Chancellor’s office and the palace.

If he wanted to assassinate Lin Qingtian, he had to know Lin Qingtian’s routine. As the Grand Chancellor, his basic routine was going to the imperial court and coming home. The journey passed Chaoyang Square, or the Phoenix Parade. This distance was nearly two kilometers. So if he were to attack, it would have to be on this journey.

Yan Liqiang walked as he contemplated the specifics of the assassination. He couldn’t do so during the morning as the day was just bright and people were wary. There were people everywhere in the city. Regardless if he succeeded in the attack or not, it would be very difficult for him to get away. So, it would be best to wait for Lin Qingtian’s trip home. As the Grand Chancellor, he had a lot of business to attend to and usually came home at night so nighttime was the best time to attack. Even if he failed the assassination, he would have a higher chance of getting away.

If it was someone else, Yan Liqiang wouldn’t be so careful, but it was Lin Qingtian. Yan Liqiang knew he only had one chance – if his arrow missed, he had to run away immediately. If Lin Qingtian got close to him, he had no confidence he could escape even though he was a Martial Ancestor now.

According to Fu Guang, someone was behind the Heavenly Tribulation. Ordinary people wouldn’t be able to know unless they had the Heavenly Realm, but Lin Qingtian’s actions before made it seem ike he knew it was going to happen.

Yan Liqiang roamed the streets for a few hours until it was midday. He finally selected a few places he could attack. Those places were on the side of the Phoenix Parade. The closer spots were a few hundred meters from the parade, while the farther ones were a few kilometers from there. Two of the places were the pavilions of wealthy families. Standing on top would give him a good firing angle. Another was a tall tower, and that tower faced the Phoenix Parade. It was sixteen stories high and fifty meters tall. It was a tourist spot situated behind the Three Sages Temple. It was just an ordinary temple and he didn’t hear there was some expert there.

At midday, Yan Liqiang just sat on the side of the road and ate a few buns for lunch. By afternoon, he checked those places he selected carefully and was more confident...

Chapter 582: God Extermination Arrow

Lin Qingtian only rushed back to the capital city three days after the stone turtle’s appearance . When he got back, the words of the stone turtle had already spread. Even the provinces near the capital knew about this. This shocking news spread to all directions. No one was able to control or contain it.

These few days, the Great Han Times worked tirelessly every day because the three hundred thousand copies had long sold out. Each day, the printing press printed at full capacity and printed an extra seven hundred thousand copies. Even that didn’t seem to satisfy the market demand.

Using Fang Beidou’s words, the citizens of the capital region bought newspapers like crazy. Even those who didn’t look at newspapers bought one. The foreign merchants, tourists, and even escort agencies all bought large bulks of the paper to take back.

News of the impending doom was like throwing a huge boulder into a calm lake. The ripples spread voraciously outwards.

If the prediction on the back of the turtle was fake, then it might be a trick from the White Lotus Society. But if it was real, then the Great Han Empire would have to change the location of the capital...

For all the countries, changing the capital concerned the fortune of a country, especially a huge country like the Great Han Empire. There were easily a few hundred thousand wealthy and powerful people in the capital. How to move and where to move these people posed a huge problem and would involve interests in all directions. What’s more, a large number of citizens also had to move. Where would they go? Where would they stay and eat? These were big problems and if not dealt well would cause huge chaos.

In history, those countries that changed capitals would need a few years or even a few decades of preparation. But the Great Han Empire only had one year or so...

A few days after the emergence of the stone turtle, food prices around the capital area started to rise...

Real estate surged with people wanting to sell their houses every day. The capital city’s overpriced land had begun to loosen up...

On the official roads, those carts leaving the city started to increase. Due to this, the escort agency business exploded...

To everyone, the authenticity of the prediction would be verified during the fifth lunar month, but a lot of people didn’t want to wait till that time and began to move. Those hoodlums in the city rustled as though they were sniffing a chance to get wealthy in this time of great change...

In the prisons, people were caught for all sorts of reasons and the prisons quickly filled up....

Under such an atmosphere, the capital was full of worry and dark energy.

As the culprit behind all this, Yan Liqiang lived a low-key life these few days. During the day, he would go around the city, and at night, he would go back to the newspaper office’s yard. He couldn’t be more low key.

The yard also became free since the latest newspapers were always sold out so nothing was stored there. Fewer people started buying the old newspapers, less than a third from before so Yan Liqiang had some quiet time to himself.

As for Lin Qingtian’s news, Fang Beidou brought it over personally every day.

The imperial court was a bit chaotic these few days. The ministers were in a huge argument for the potential disaster. The Emperor’s side felt it was necessary to make early preparations while the Grand Chancellor’s side felt it was unnecessary. There was always a rebuttal for every reason one side found...

Under such a situation, Lin Qingtian still left early and returned late every day to tightly control the situation in the imperial court.

Yan Liqiang saw the situation in the capital city but he didn’t feel guilty at all. Compared to the disaster in one year, this was nothing. Regardless, there would be more people to live on. He didn’t care about the situation in the imperial court because it didn’t matter. In the end, it depended on who was stronger.

On the 17th day of the third lunar month, a wool-delivery squad that departed from Gan Province reached the capital city...

On the 18th day of the third lunar month, in the depth of the night, Fang Beidou appeared in Yan Liqiang’s small yard again with a long wooden box.

“It’s from Gan Province!” Fang Beidou gave the wooden box to Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang opened the box, inside was a bow sack. His hundred picul Horned Python Bow lay inside.

Yan Liqiang took it out and checked it before nodding with satisfaction.

“I still feel it’s too dangerous!” Fang Beidou sighed, “There are only a few people as strong as Lin Qingtian in the entire Great Han Empire. It’s too risky!”

“How would I know if I don’t try? If it were that easy to kill, it wouldn’t be my turn to kill him. And if I can’t kill him now, it’ll be harder to kill him in the future!” Yan Liqiang said as he unwrapped his bow. Ten black shining arrows were inside the casing. These arrows looked different from the runed arrows Yan Liqiang got from the Shatu people. The arrows in general were two inches longer and the arrowheads had a triangular spear shape. There was also a dark red beast core embedded at the joint of the arrowhead and body. Runes flowed from the arrow, making it look ferocious yet strangely beautiful. It was countless times higher in level than the runed arrow he got from the Shatu...

Looking at those ten arrows, Fang Beidou sucked in a cold breath. He knew this was the work of a talisman master. He could tell it had terrifying power just by looking at it. He stared at Yan Liqiang as though it was his first time seeing him. After a long while, he gulped and asked, “This... this is a talisman arrow?”

“Mhm, this is called the God Extermination Arrow...” Yan Liqiang carefully picked up an arrow and studied it, “If this can’t take Lin Qingtian’s life, then his life is quite big...”

“When do you plan to attack?!”

“Tomorrow!”

Chapter 583: Unexpected Person

In the distant horizon, a bolt of lightning shot through the clouds and lit up the sky. After a while, a thunderous sound came from the distance...

Hearing the thunder, the people in the not-so-busy streets sped up. It was already nighttime now and most of the people in the capital who had been busy for the day were ready to go home and eat a hot dinner. On the side of the streets, only a few restaurants and hotels were still running. Most of the shops had closed.

Today was the 19th day in the third lunar month of the 16th year of the Yuanping reign in the Great Han Empire – the day Yan Liqiang was going to attack.

Yan Liqiang wobbled on the newspapaer office’s carriage. He narrowed his eyes as he looked at the streets. Occasionally, a luxurious carriage would go past his. Some of them were exquisite products of the manufacturing bureau. In the past two years, quite a few of the carriages the manufacturing bureau made were sent to the capital district, especially in the capital city. There were many wealthy and powerful people here. A few thousand taels of silver may be expensive for ordinary people, but to these elites, it was nothing. It might just be equivalent to the cost of a meal. With the Emperor leading the way, the elites in the capital city all copied and ordered carriages from the manufacturing bureau. Of course, some of them were fake.

Seeing the sky suddenly darken, the restaurants started hanging lamps outside their doors.

Some shops were closing and attached blocks of wood on their doors.

Some policemen walked into nearby taverns together...

Some women were reproaching their crying kids.

After a few lightning bolts, pea-sized rain started falling from the sky. The sky was dark and the streets were watery. Now, there were even fewer people...

The carriage stopped at one street next to a building that could cover the rain. The rider knocked on the carriage, reminding Yan Liqiang, “The Phoenix Parade is just ahead...”

“Alright, I’ll get off here...” Yan Liqiang agreed and put on his cape and hat while carrying his wooden box as he got off.

The carriage went on ahead while Yan Liqiang quickly went into a dark alley under the rain.

The sky was dark with the occasional flash of lightning. Yan Liqiang carried his long wooden box containing the bow and walked in the small alley towards Three Sages Temple. He passed by some people but they didn’t seem to notice his wooden box. There were too many people selling their assets in the capital, so carrying a wooden box wasn’t anything special now.

Just when he was 1,000 meters away from the temple, Yan Liqiang turned into a distant alley and two figures stopped in front and behind Yan Liqiang.

“Brother, what are you carrying? How about letting us see...”

Lightning flashed, illuminating the pale face and knife the hoodlum had in front of him.

They had cruel smiles on their faces.

Yan Liqiang hadn’t anticipated this event.

“You two. What I’m carrying isn’t worth money, so we should go our own separate paths...”

“Quit wasting time, it’s unlucky that you met us two today. Leave everything you have and piss off. Otherwise, my knife isn’t just for show...” the hoodlum in front of him sneered. With a glance, they started pressing towards Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang looked around – there was no one within 100 meters. Since these two wanted to die, they better not blame him.

When they were one meter from Yan Liqiang, the two charged at Yan Liqiang at the same time...

Yan Liqiang’s figure disappeared. The two hoodlums had blood in their mouths and glared at each other. Their knives stabbed into each others’ hearts. Even if the police saw them, they would think the two killed each other. No one would care why these two small figures died. There just needed to be a reason. As long as no upper-level citizen questioned this, who would care about how these two died...

A few minutes later, Yan Liqiang had arrived at the backyard of Three Sages Temple. He stood below the tall Three Sages Temple.

At this moment, the monks were having their night lesson. One could hear chanting from the front but there was no one at the back.

When the lightning illuminated the dark again, Yan Liqiang’s figure had already dashed up the second floor of the tower. He shook open a window and slid in before shutting it. This entire process only took half a second.

Yan Liqiang came to the tower and went straight to the top. He took off his cape and hat and opened his wooden box, taking out his bow and arrow. He opened the window a little bit and waited like a hunter as he watched the Phoenix Parade intently. He calmed down his breathing and waited for Lin Qingtian’s carriage to appear.

The closer it came, the calmer Yan Liqiang was.

Yan Liqiang waited in the tower for two hours when a group of people and a carriage appeared.

There were fifty guards in front of the carriage. The cavalry behind had the full customary Grand Chancellor proceedings. Despite the rain, they held their customary staves rigidly. A black luxurious carriage was in the center of this group, and there were fifty more guards behind them.

Yan Liqiang moved his fingers and quietly pushed open the window with four God Extermination Arrows in his hand.

Yan Liqiang waited quietly for the carriage to reach the middle of the parade.

The carriage was getting closer to the position Yan Liqiang was going to fire at. Just when Yan Liqiang took a deep breath and was about to shoot...

Lightning flashed and the world lit up again, along with the rumbling thunder sounds. Yan Liqiang’s eyes bulged and he almost gasped. At that instant, he found that there was a person in front of Lin Qingtian’s carriage. He wore all white and he had a strange golden mask on his face. He stood in the middle of the street and blocked Lin Qingtian’s entourage. Even with Yan Liqiang’s eyes, he didn’t see how that person had appeared.

That person carried a sword in one hand but two heads in the other. Due to the angle, Yan Liqiang couldn’t see the faces of the two heads. He just looked calmly at the carriage coming over.

The rain and wind seemed to have been parted by an invisible hand around that person. He wore white robes and stayed perfectly dry. He seemed like an immortal...

Even from a distance, Yan Liqiang could feel the shocking temperament from that person. It felt like a mountain was there with just him standing in place...

“Huuuu...” Lin Qingtian’s entourage rustled. The horses were frightened and bucked up where they were no matter how the guards whipped them. They didn’t dare to go up and instead retreated...

Chapter 584: Jade Luo Palace Appears

In the stormy night, a white-robed man with an eerie golden mask stopped on Phoenix Parade in the capital city. One man and one sword carrying two heads stopped Lin Qingtian’s entourage.

Lin Qingtian’s horses rustled and couldn’t come forward while that person walked towards the entourage step by step.

A few hundred meters away on Three Sages Temple, Yan Liqiang’s sharp eyes pierced the rain and darkness locking onto that person, more specifically, the two heads. As the person walked, the two heads wobbled, giving Yan Liqiang a familiar feeling.

“Who dares to stop the Grand Chancellor on his way?” one guard yelled at the man.

The man didn’t seem to hear it and kept walking towards them. The horses were all out of control and wouldn’t listen no matter how much the guards beat them.

Suddenly, one rhinodrake steed knelt down with a whine and almost flung the guard off. From this rhinodrake steed, the entire entourage of horses started to kneel. Lin Qingtian’s group became went chaotic.

Yan Liqiang had never seen such a scene and was extremely shocked.

Lin Qingtian’s carriage was still silent.

Twenty or so guards jumped off from the kneeling horses and pulled out their weapons, roaring as they charged at the white-robed person like a giant net while stepping on the water on the street.

Those who could be Lin Qingtian’s guards were at least Martial Masters or above. Those guards were strong and synced together well.

When Lin Qingtian’s guards were thirty meters from that person, the white-robed man moved his sword lightly.

One horizontal slice!

It didn’t slice people!

It sliced the rain!

Raindrops flew out, going from soft to hard. All the guards suddenly had a red dot in their forehead before their head exploded. Twenty or so bodies instantly appeared in the Phoenix Parade. Bloody water and brain matter splashed across the streets.

The heavens lit up again in thunder. Everyone’s faces in the entourage were pale. Martial Masters were like insects to such power. They couldn’t even stand one attack.

“Lin Qingtian...” a voice with endless killing intent but a sliver of oldness sounded from behind the mask. He threw the two heads at Lin Qingtian’s carriage.

In the hands of the white-robed man, even raindrops could kill much less than the two heads.

The two heads flew out like cannons.

In a rumble, Lin Qingtian’s carriage exploded.

The two heads floated a few meters in front of the carriage in the air. Lin Qingtian reached out with one hand and stared straight at the golden masked man.

Yan Liqiang finally saw the two floating heads. Their faces were pale, eyes sunken with only the skin covering the bones. They were the Banes of Heaven and Earth.

When he went with Sun Bingchen to send Ye Tiancheng into the capital, he encountered the Banes of Heaven and Earth in Hui Provincial City. The two easily took the heads of Ye Tiancheng and the Crown Prince’s advisor Lord Fu. Yan Liqiang still clearly remembered their dominance. That was the first time he had seen the two true masters, but now their heads were in the hands of that white-robed man.

“Who are you?” Lin Qingtian’s eyes shot out beams as he stared at the mask.

“Just a student of Jade Luo Palace!”

Lin Qingtian’s eyes narrowed.

Jade Luo Palace, the most mysterious of the four major sects. Yan Liqiang was overwhelmed with shock. No one knew where the sect was or who was a descendant of the sect. Their sect members almost never roamed the world but every few decades or hundred years, a sect member would come out to do something very shocking and then disappear. The last time one appeared, it was at least sixty years ago. Yan Liqiang remembered the tale that the last time one appeared, he annihilated the entire Blood River Sect by himself.

Why did someone from Jade Luo Palace want to attack Lin Qingtian?

Countless questions popped into Yan Liqiang’s head.

“Are you not afraid of death, attacking the Grand Chancellor of the Great Han Empire?”

“Jade Luo Palace slays demons and protects justice. We fight for the world and never know fear!” The white-robed man raised his sword and pointed at Lin Qingtian. “A demon putting on human skin and becoming the Grand Chancellor of the Great Han Empire is a great misfortune of the world!”

Lin Qingtian’s eyes went cold and attacked first!

His fingers crushed and the two heads above him exploded into countless bones and blood that shot out at the white-robed man like countless arrows.

The white-robed man sliced!

Lin Qingtian was like a huge vulture as he opened his hands and dashed in the air, punching out. His fist wind shocked the streets like lightning.

Rain within a hundred-meter radius paused and scattered under that huge pressure. The water from the ground was shaken up and flew towards the air.

The white-robed man sliced again!

Sword light rose like the sun in darkness. Sword Qi swooped at Lin Qingtian like the ocean!

Fist force and sword force clashed!

An explosion sounded on the street.

The stone boards within a hundred-meter radius sank down, and countless cracks appeared. The shops on the side crashed into ruins as though they were made from sand. The rain in the air turned into a white pulsing wave-like mist and spread out. All the guards and Lin Qingtian’s entourage spat blood. Their bones were all cracked and they fell to the ground.

Even from a thousand meters away, Yan Liqiang felt the tower shake.

Half the capital city was shocked by this attack.

Yan Liqiang’s face changed. This was the power of top-level powerful beings – it was too terrifying!

Rumble rumble...

The tower was shaking just like the ground as wood from the roof fell down.

In a few seconds, half the street had disappeared. The two figures dashed out of the capital while flying.

Yan Liqiang gritted his teeth and jumped out from the tower, chasing the two and also disappearing into the darkness...

Chapter 585: Demon Reveals Himself

The capital city was shocked!

As he jumped around, Yan Liqiang looked back. He saw that large amounts of soldiers charged out of the barracks towards the Phoenix Parade. Black shadows jumped on roofs and charged towards the parade.

But those people were slower!

Lin Qingtian and the white-robed figure seemed like they were almost flying. They just tapped lightly on the ground and were a hundred meters away, only leaving two faint afterimages. It was very dark and rainy – even those with keen eyes couldn’t see clearly over fifty meters. Yan Liqiang had powerful eyes and kept watching the battle. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to see their motions.

The soldiers at the city gates were also alarmed and ran around the city wall with a few officers shouting in the rain for soldiers hiding in holes to come out and gather.

Yan Liqiang flew past ten meters high in the air above these soldiers like a bird. After flipping over the city wall and jumping down, he stepped on the city wall again and shot out like a cannon outside.

F*ck!

Yan Liqiang cursed. He thought he was fast enough, but compared to those two, he was more than one caliber below them. Before he could still lock onto the two with his eyes, but now the two had completely disappeared from sight. Yan Liqiang could only see the approximate direction they were headed. It was north.

Luckily enough, Yan Liqiang still had other measures.

Assassinating Lin Qingtian was huge so Yan Liqiang had made full preparations.

Yan Liqiang looked up. In the dark clouds and thunder, there was a black spot that was like a prideful spirit. It didn’t fear the wind and rain and kept flying under the clouds. Only when lightning struck through the night sky could one see a black spot flying around in the air.

The Fiery-Eyed Golden Falcon pointed the way for Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang kept chasing north.

The fast wind and rain splashed into his face, hurting his cheeks. Yan Liqiang was completely wet. He was using all his power now with each step pushing him forward thirty meters.

Passing farms, villages, and grassfields, Yan Liqiang ran for fifty kilometers before finally going into a mountain under the guidance of his spy satellite.

Half an hour later, Yan Liqiang stopped at the border of a valley. Inside the valley a thousand meters away, Lin Qingtian and the white-robed swordsman clashed in an intense battle. Sword Qi, fist force, and spirit Qi all erupted. It sounded like they were producing thunder in the valley. This valley with a radius of five kilometers was a complete mess...

One couldn’t even see the people clearly in such a battle, much less intervene.

Yan Liqiang arrived and quickly hid himself before wiping the water from his face and took out the hundred picul bow and four God Extermination Arrows. He focused on the two figures and pulled the bow to a half-drawn state while watching for an opportunity to strike.

Ten minutes later, there was a rumble. A sharp mountain north of the valley collapsed in their huge clash. Tonnes of rock and mud slid down. The ground below Yan Liqiang was shaking.

Yan Liqiang’s finger didn’t shake at all; he still aimed at the two entwined figures.

The two jumped up from the ground!

The white-robed swordsman raised his sword and roared, “Lightning!” With this word, thick lightning shot down from the clouds onto the swordsman’s sword. In that moment, shocking light shone from the man’s sword. He almost became transparent as he was completely enveloped in lightning. It was like he was a descended god. He hacked out at Lin Qingtian. Sword Qi and lightning fused together into an unimaginably powerful strike. Yan Liqiang could even feel the electricity of the water around him...

Lin Qingtian was covered in red light. When the white-robed swordsman hacked, the light enveloping Lin Qingtian seared up ten times. In the red light, an anomaly appeared. It was a pair of terrifying red eyes. Within the range of the light, trees and flowers all withered in the blink of an eye.

Lin Qingtian roared as he punched at the white-robed swordsman. His entire body was covered in red light. The red light turned into a huge red metal fist figure and smashed out.

The ground below him quaked as the lightning sword Qi connected with the red light. Their moves connected with their targets...

The sword light sliced over Lin Qingtian’s arm and his arm fell off immediately. At the same time, the white-robed swordsman was smashed a hundred meters back. His figure shot into the stone wall like a cannon smashing countless rocks.

Now was the time!

Seeing Lin Qingtian heavily injured and falling from the sky, Yan Liqiang fully drew his bow and jumped from the hill. In the air, four God Extermination Arrows shot at Lin Qingtian with supersonic speed from four directions and silently struck the target...

Rumble...

With a beastly howl, Lin Qingtian was enveloped in flames. Four fiery lizards rose from the flames and opened their bloody mouths, devouring everything in flames.

Yan Liqiang would never forget the next scene.

Just when he thought Lin Qingtian was gone, the fire fell to the ground and the flame enveloping Lin Qingtian dispersed.

Lin Qingtian was gone!

What fell to the ground was a figure with hideous scales and skin. There was a broken tail and a crocodile-like face. He was a monster who stood on the ground with two legs like a human. He was covered in wounds and his eyes flashed with red light. After glancing at Yan Liqiang, he turned to run at an unimaginable speed. That figure was like a chameleon and gradually changed colors, becoming one with the darkness. In the blink of an eye, that monster had disappeared into the woods...

What was that thing?

Where was Lin Qingtian?

Yan Liqiang felt his brain was like wood after he saw this...

Chapter 586: Great Shock

The rain continued as the wind blew over. The drenched Yan Liqiang shivered and his brain started working again. He looked at the messy valley and quickly ran over.

Yan Liqiang’s head was still in a mess. That scene challenged Yan Liqiang’s knowledge regarding this world. Why would Lin Qingtian turn into that? Were there really other nonhuman races in this world? Why would they turn into Lin Qingtian and become the Grand Chancellor of the Great Han Empire? And Jade Luo Palace seemed to have known that Lin Qingtian wasn’t human. What was this?

Countless questions appeared in Yan Liqiang’s heart. Yan Liqiang felt that he discovered something significant this time.

In the blink of an eye, Yan Liqiang charged into the valley!

There were broken trees and rocks everywhere. The ground was covered in holes and the walls were marked with sword Qi. This entire valley seemed to have been hit by a meteor.

Rumble... In a rubble of rocks, the white-robed swordsman came out. As soon as he got up, he spat a mouthful of blood and wobbled. Then he started coughing heavily...

“Senior, are you okay?!” Yan Liqiang didn’t charge up immediately, fearing the white-robed swordsman would misunderstand.

“Who are you?” The golden mask seemed extremely eerie especially when the mask turned to talk to one with that coarse voice. This natural pressure came pressing by.

Yan Liqiang gulped some saliva and said calmly, “My name is Wang Shagen...”

“No!” The white-robed swordsman stopped Yan Liqiang and shook his head. His eyes scanned Yan Liqiang’s bow as he kept talking in a coarse voice, “You’re not Wang Shagen, you’re... Gan Province’s Yan Liqiang. I’ve seen your bow at Mount Azure Dragon next to the Heavenly Lake. You just changed your appearance but your archery prowess and bow didn’t change. There are very few cultivation methods that can change one’s appearance. To reach a level that has no flaws like yours, there would be even less. There’s only the Thousand-Face Divine Technique. This was the Thousand-Faced Demon Monarch’s unique secret but he’s disappeared for a long time, probably dead. The Thousand-Face Divine Technique hasn’t seen the light of the world for a long time. It seems like you have received the Thousand-Faced Demon Monarch’s heritage...”

Looking at that eerie golden mask, Yan Liqiang felt goosebumps on his head. He had this feeling of being naked and completely seen through. The white-robed swordsman was beyond his imagination. He didn’t expect that this guy only glanced at him once at the Heavenly Lake and completely saw through who he was. But the only thing that made Yan Liqiang feel assured was that this white-robed swordsman didn’t seem like some evil guy.

Yan Liqiang rapidly thought and just nodded, “Senior has keen eyes. I admire you. That’s right, Junior is Yan Liqiang!”

“I didn’t expect you dare to attack Lin Qingtian.”

“Lin Qingtian is the Grand Chancellor but he’s the tumor of the Great Han Empire. I’ve long wanted to kill him!”

“You saw everything just then?” the white robed swordsman continued asking.

“I did!” Yan Liqiang nodded, “Senior shot at Lin Qingtian and then I saw him turn into a monster and run off towards that direction...”

The white-robed swordsman looked at the direction Lin Qingtian ran and sighed, “What a pity, I didn’t kill him this time...”

“Senior, who is Lin Qingtian? Why did he turn into that?” Yan Liqiang asked the question he wanted to ask the most.

“Do you want to know?” the white robed swordsman asked deeply.

After hesitating for one second, Yan Liqiang nodded.

“There are people coming!” The white robed swordsman turned around and glanced outside before coughing. He supported his body using his sword with difficulty. After stopping the cough, he pointed at the ground, “There’s Lin Qingtian’s broken arm... if you want to know the answer, pick it up and follow me...”

Then, the white-robed swordsman dashed and disappeared into the woods. Yan Liqiang looked at the ground and ran over. There was indeed an arm. That was no human arm; it was more like a crocodile claw. There were dark scales all over the thick arm. Its nails were like the claws of wild beasts.

Yan Liqiang picked up that inhuman arm and went into the woods too.

A few minutes after the two left, one figure dashed and then two people appeared in the valley.

One was an old man whose beard was white. The other was a white-faced eunuch. Yan Liqiang had seen him in the imperial palace before.

The old man scanned the valley and said, “They’ve already left!”

“There’s something here...” The eunuch came to where Yan Liqiang had picked up the broken arm. He bent down and felt behind a rock before picking up something. It seemed to be the skin of a broken tail. It was half the size of a palm and covered in tough scales.

Looking at this, the eunuch’s face changed, “Go, let’s go back to the imperial court!”

After the two left, a few more waves of people came to the valley and left after conducting a short search...

...

Two days later, the capital released news that shocked the world. The official imperial court announced that Grand Chancellor Lin Qingtian was assassinated. The announcement was obscure about the assassination process and just said it might involve some enmity and the imperial court will use all its resources to apprehend Lin Qingtian’s murderer. On the same day, the Minister of Justice was sent to prison by the Emperor for failing to maintain security and allowing thugs to hurt the safety of the capital city by causing the Grand Chancellor to be assassinated...

Chapter 587: Incident

“Customer, please come in...”

It was lunchtime and the sun was high. Seeing a carriage stop before their restaurant, the attendant’s face immediately exploded with hospitality and greeted them. He held the horse reins and made the carriage stop.

“Take care of the carriage and feed the horse some hay and water. After eating, we still need to make way...” The rider jumped off and took off his hat while hanging the horsewhip on his belt. This person was Yan Liqiang but he was still disguised as Wang Shagen.

“Don’t worry customers, our restaurant is famous in this town. There’s a horse den right behind, so we’ll definitely feed your horse well and clean its hair. If you need to nail horseshoes, we can get that done for you too. The price is definitely fair. If you spend more than one silver in our shop, this will all be free!”

“Mhm, add some peas in the hay, don’t make it have diarrhea!” Yan Liqiang studied the place and after making sure there were no tough characters here, he went to the carriage and opened the door like a real coachman, “Master, let’s have some food here before we make way!”

“Cough... cough... cough...!” There was some coughing in the carriage and then a grey-robed sickly looking old man slowly got out of the carriage. He held Yan Liqiang’s hand and got off. Yan Liqiang then grabbed the luggage bags. Then he gave the carriage to an attendant.

“My master likes a quiet and clean place. Find us a spot in the restaurant!” Yan Liqiang said.

“Alright, customer come with me!” The attendant swung his towel and patted the dust off their clothes and led them in.

There were quite some people here since it was lunchtime. Most of the tables were seated and the shop was very noisy. The attendant led the two to the second floor to a rather quiet table. Yan Liqiang ordered a few fresh dishes. Three dishes and one soup as well as three bowls of rice. He carefully asked for the price. After the attendant told him, he nodded in assurance.

There were a few people seated on the second floor talking and chatting. One table of customers carried weapons. When Yan Liqiang and the old man came up, a few of them turned to study them. But after Yan Liqiang ordered and the old man kept coughing, no one looked at them anymore.

Who would’ve thought that Yan Liqiang and the old men were real masters?

Yan Liqiang waited for the food and said nothing while the other tables talked nonstop. The table with weapons was the loudest. Almost the entire second floor was filled with their voices.

“Did you hear? A few days ago, a Heavenly Dog really did devour the sun in Liu Province...”

“How did I not hear about something this big? It has spread all over the world. Countless people have been waiting during this month!”

“But it came quite late. It was on the 26th. I almost thought it wasn’t going to happen!”

“Not just you, but a lot of people also thought it wasn’t coming. Now it seems that the prediction of the stone turtle from the Spirit Peace River is true!”

“That’s for sure. Now there’s going to be quite some drama in the capital city. Pity we can’t see it!”

“If what the stone turtle predicted was true? Then the capital would have to move. Staying in the capital city means waiting for death!”

“Certainly. Those elite and wealthy officials of the capital are probably all busy moving!”

“Where is it going to be moved to?”

“I heard Anxi City!”

“It’s not our job to worry about such big things. His Majesty and the imperial court will worry about it!”

“That’s right, but I feel that it’s quite strange that the imperial court removed the position of Grand Chancellor. This is the first time in all the years of the Great Han Empire that we have no Grand Chancellor!”

“Didn’t they set up a Grand Secretariat in the imperial court? There are so many ministers and grand secretaries there. They’re all smart. Surely they’re no weaker than a Grand Chancellor!”

“That’s true...”

Their discussion mentioned the two great events that happened in these two months. One was in the imperial court, one was out. Inside the imperial court, the Emperor used the news of Lin Qingtian’s assassination to remove the position of Grand Chancellor saying that no one would be able to succeed this position. Instead, he changed the Grand Secretariat so that they would share the power of the Grand Chancellor. Many of the ministers and grand secretaries there were direct reports of the Emperor himself.

The three ministers of the six ministries were changed in the past month.

Sun Bingchen had returned to the capital city a few days ago and had joined the Grand Secretariat as a grand secretary.

As for the outside, it was the Heavenly Dog devouring the sun in Liu Province. With this, it meant that the first prediction was right. The imperial palace, with internal and external pressure, was probably boiling with chaos.

Yan Liqiang had been on the road for these two months. Every day when he stayed at hotels or ate at restaurants, he could hear news of the stone turtle and Lin Qingtian’s assassination. Different people reacted differently to this news. Those officials standing on the side of the Grand Chancellor were all worried, fearing of being punished. Meanwhile, the ministers on the Emperor’s side all felt great.

To be honest, the Emperor was indeed good at grasping opportunities. However, even Yan Liqiang didn’t know what the future would be like now. Last time in the Heavenly Realm, Lin Qingtian was fine this year. Meanwhile, he was ‘dead’ now. Yan Liqiang knew that there would be a butterfly effect on what he did and a lot of things would change. Other than the heavenly phenomenon that would be recorded, everything related to humans was completely unpredictable. The future of the Great Han Empire slid toward the unknown...